Read Online In the Arms of a Stranger by Kimberley Reeves - Free Book Online Page A

next to nothing so it didn’t take much of an effort to ease himself into a sitting position and get to his feet with Bri still in his arms.  He carried her to the bedroom and lowered her onto the bed, somehow managing to strip off her jeans and tuck her under the covers without waking her.  It was only when he leaned down and touched a soft kiss to her lips that Brianne opened her eyes.
    “Uh , oh, caught in the act,” he grinned.
    Bri tingled from the affect of his nearness clear down to her toes.   Her sleepy gaze lingered on his lips.  “Did I catch you climbing in or out of my bed this time?”
    “Which one would you like it to be?”
    Brianne’s heart fluttered.  “We didn’t…did we?”
    Jake laughed softly.   “Only in my dreams, sweetheart.”  Or maybe hers?   He kissed her again, his lips nothing more than a feathery graze.  “I think I’d better go now.”
    She didn’t want him to go.   She wanted him to slip beneath the covers as he’d done last night and make love to her.  Bri touched his cheek, her chest tightening.  
    “Good night, Jake.   Thanks for…for sharing your body warmth.”
    Forcing himself to straighten up, he tweaked her chin playfully.  “Anytime, honey.” 
    Bri locked her jaws together, biting back the overwhelming urge to beg him to stay.   She’d already spent half the night sleeping in his arms and was just lucky he respected her wishes and hadn’t made any attempts to seduce her.  She wasn’t strong enough to resist him, and judging by the look on his face just before he turned around and walked away, his resistance wasn’t as bullet proof as he would like it to be either.
                                                                     ***
    Chad eyes widened for a fraction of a second before a pleased smile warmed his features.   This was the Chad she’d fallen in love with, the man who had once looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.  Brianne had taken great care with her appearance that morning, joining her fiancé and parents for breakfast dressed in a chocolate brown skirt that fit loosely over her hips and fell to the middle of her knees.  The cream colored top was tucked in and buttoned all the way up with the exception of the very top one which was left undone simply because it had felt like a noose around her neck when she’d tried to fasten it.  There were no colorful bracelets adorning her wrists or dangling earrings on her ears; only her engagement ring and a simple gold watch accessorized the outfit she’d selected.  Apparently, everything met with Chad’s approval.
    “You look lovely,” he said when she arrived at the table then shocked her by planting a warm kiss full on her mouth.   “Your hair looks great too.”
    Bri touched the clip at the nape of her neck self consciously and was glad she’d gone with the last minute decision to pull her hair back , although she’d left a few soft tendrils loose around her face.  She hadn’t much cared for the rather sever look of her new hair style; leaving the stray curls was the only thing that kept her from feeling she mirrored the proverbial image of a spinster librarian. 
    She took the seat Chad pulled out for her and was buoyed for a moment by his open admiration of her attire.   Then she turned to her parents expecting similar compliments and was greeted with an uncomfortable silence and two sets of eyes that couldn’t quite seem to meet their daughter’s questioning gaze.  What in the world was wrong with them?  She thought they would be elated to see her dressed so demurely, especially since her flamboyant clothing had been the topic of conversation more times than she cared to remember. 
    “Well?”   She looked from one to the other.  “What do you think?”
    Phillip smiled at his daughter.   “You look beautiful as always, little girl.”
    Her mother nodded.