Worth Waiting For by Kelly Jamieson Read Free Book Online Page B

awoke before Griff in the morning, sunlight streaming through the open window, the morning air a little too cool now, birds chirping out in her small yard. She slid out of bed and padded over the carpet to close the window and draw the curtains. Then she turned and looked at Griff in her bed.
    He filled the bed, legs stretched out, one arm flung out sideways. His face was now shadowed with a day’s growth of beard, but in sleep he looked so sweetly handsome. One arm was flung up over his head, the swell of his biceps showing his strength. Her heart squeezed so hard it almost stopped her breath, and her legs went soft and weak.
    She put her hands over her face. What had she done? Good God. This was the man she’d loved with all her heart, who had broken her heart so painfully she’d thought she would never recover. And now she clearly knew—she hadn’t.
    Although the sight of him naked, warm and sprawled in her bed drew her to him like a magnet, she forced herself to grab her robe and leave the room. She used the bathroom down the hall, then drew the silky sash tight around her waist as she walked to the kitchen.
    Coffee. She’d make coffee. With fingers almost numb and a mind spinning in circles, she managed to count scoops of coffee and fill the appliance with water. She pushed the on button, then stood there, hands pressed onto the counter, staring at the little red light without even seeing it while the coffee started to hiss and drip.
    She’d cheated on Matthew.
    Guilt and regret swept over her so sharply she closed her eyes.
    “Good morning.”
    Griff’s low voice came from the door of the kitchen. He’d pulled on a pair of jeans, but left the top button undone. They sat low on his hips and he was so beautiful it made her want to cry when she gazed at him.
    Her emotions were so close to the surface she was over-reacting to everything. She could not let him know what he’d done to her. She straightened up and forced a smile.
    “’Morning. I’m…uh…making coffee.”
    He nodded, his eyes serious and thoughtful. Then he strolled into the kitchen, right up to her and put his hands on her hips. He leaned down to kiss her mouth and he tasted minty.
    “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
    She blinked up at him. “I’m not sure.” She turned away from him to get two mugs from a shelf. “Actually, I’m feeling pretty messed up right now.”
    “Yeah.” He thrust a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Me, too.”
    She turned and eyed him, not expecting that.
    He gave a short laugh. “Yeah, I do have emotions.”
    She just kept looking at him. The coffee maker give a final sputter and she turned to it. Done. She poured two cups and moved to the fridge for the milk she knew he would want. She handed it to him wordlessly and he poured a generous amount in. She pushed the sugar bowl across the counter to him and he tipped three large spoons of sugar into the mug, then stirred it.
    She couldn’t help but smile.
    “You really need to learn to drink coffee properly. It’s a beverage, not a dessert.”
    A smile tugged the corners of his mouth too. “I drink it the way I like it.” He paused. “I guess we need to talk.”
    “I guess so.”
    They sat on stools at the high counter and sipped their coffee. Her insides churned and burned. They’d screwed up, and now she was going to hear how badly.
    “I just want you to know that what happened was— That was not my intention when I came up here.” He gazed down into his milky-pale coffee. “I swear I had no idea of sleeping with you at all.” He paused. “Well, that is, until I saw you. Then that was all I could think about.”
    Ainslie didn’t know what to say. She’d felt the same. One look at him and her panties were damp, her nipples at attention and her mind a running porn movie of her and him, naked and sweaty. That still didn’t make it right.
    “It’s clear there’s still something between us,” he said carefully.
    She sighed. Yes. But damned