Winter Hopes (Seasons of Love) by Jennifer Gracen Read Free Book Online Page B

course.”
    Eyes still closed, his grin widened into a sated smile.
    “You’ve never been like that,” Hailey said. "You were… consumed. You went caveman on me. It was freakin’ hot .” She rolled onto her side to lean up on one elbow and scrutinize him. Her eyes trailed along his naked body. For a man in his mid-thirties, Sam was incredibly fit. Hailey found that most men started to let themselves go by then, but Sam hadn’t. He had a lean build, not overly muscular or bulky. But his long legs boasted powerful thighs and calves, the result of almost twenty years of daily running. She also knew he went to a gym sometimes, which explained the slightly defined muscles in his arms and broad shoulders. Hailey stared at his face as he rested—the arch of his dark brows, the sharp angles and planes of his cheeks and jaw, his full lips. She had always found him extremely attractive, but never more so than at that moment, after the lustful, demanding way he'd taken her.
    Her eyes narrowed. What had changed for him?
    It came to her easily. With a wicked smile, she said in a teasing and sultry voice, “So? Who is she? What’s her name?”
    Sam’s eyes snapped open and his smile froze. “Who?”
    She smirked. “Whoever you met that you wanted and didn’t have. You just took your frustrations out on me, that’s what this was. You couldn’t contain yourself. You must have wanted her pretty bad. Really bad.”
    Sam chuckled and closed his eyes again, taking then exhaling a slow, deep breath.
    “Come on, Sam,” Hailey pressed, still smirking. She trailed her fingertip along his arm, playing with the sparse dark hair on his chest. “Tell me about her. You know you can. Our secrets stay here.”
    “You’re a frighteningly smart woman, you know that?” Sam finally said, grinning again.
    “That’s why I’m one of the highest paid attorneys in Chicago.” She grinned back. “So? What’s her name?”
    “Lydia,” Sam said, relenting.
    “Aha!” Hailey crowed triumphantly. “I knew it! I love it when I’m right.”
    Sam laughed. He reached up and tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, then tweaked her chin.
    “Go on,” she coaxed. “Where did you meet her?”
    “I went to a wedding in Connecticut last weekend. I was a friend of the groom; she was a friend of the bride.”
    “Sounds charming. Did you get your hands on her at all?”
    “Yes.”
    “But you didn’t sleep with her.”
    Sam smiled ruefully. “No.”
    “That was easy enough to figure out.”
    “For you, I’m sure it was,” Sam said. “I feel like I just got through the first round of a cross examination. I pity the people you skewer on the stand.”
    “Oh, please,” Hailey scoffed with a salacious grin. “This was nothing.” She stretched back, making herself comfortable, and asked jokingly, “So, is she prettier than me?”
    Sam chuckled. “You’re both beautiful. But actually, you look nothing alike.” He rose from the bed. He retrieved two bottles of water from the desk, handing one to her as he sat beside her.
    “Always such a gentleman.” She smiled and sat up. They drank in silence before she added, “Of course, that’s probably why you didn’t sleep with her—she was a bit of a prude, and you were a gentleman about it. You didn’t get laid, so you came home frustrated, and called me so you could get it out of your system.”
    Sam shook his head with a soft grin. “Something like that. Again, you’re very smart.”
    “Yes, I am. I also know you by now, even though you usually keep your cards pretty close to the vest. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining,” Hailey said, still teasing him. “You were out of control. Totally hot. I always suspected you had that lurking in you, but… huh! I’m proud of you, Sam.”
    He chuckled. “Well, thanks. I think.”
    “Did this Lydia know how much you wanted her?” Hailey asked.
    “Oh, yeah.” He gulped down more water.
    “Are you going to see her