Read Online The Best Man by Ella Ardent - Free Book Online

breasts and
he gathered her into his arms, kissing her with all the passion that raced
through his veins.
    Everything
was going to work out just fine.
     
    * * *
     
    Jake
had left a couple of towels on the beach, although Christine hadn’t seen them.
He’d been optimistic, but his hopes had been far exceeded. He led her out of
the water and dried her off, wrapping her in a thick towel with care.
    After
another searing kiss, he took her by the hand and led her back toward the
resort buildings. Beside the stairs that led to the room she was sharing with Fiona,
Jake stopped.
    “There’s
a path here,” she said, wiggling her toes. “Where are we?”
    Jake
kissed her again, unable to get enough of that sweet mouth.
    It
had been intoxicating to give Christine a fantasy in the moonlight, but Jake
wanted more privacy for their next encounter. He lifted his head and held her
shoulders in his hands, bending to touch his nose to hers and whisper. “ À
demain, chère. ” He pressed a kiss to
her temple, then her ear.
    “Tomorrow,”
she whispered, then pouted. “What about tonight?”
    “ À
demain, ” he repeated, treating
himself to one more slow deep kiss. Christine shivered at his touch. Her lip
trembled when he broke their kiss, tempting him to taste her again.
    Instead,
he turned her in place, liking how she gasped. Jake spun her three times, gave
her on last quick kiss, then left her on the path. It wasn’t easy. He wanted to
follow her upstairs and spend the night making love to her.
    He
stepped into the shadows of the garden, unable to keep himself from watching
her. Christine waited, biting her lip with uncertainty.
    “Jake?”
she whispered. When he didn’t answer, she pulled off the blindfold and looked
around. She glanced toward the noise of the closest bar, then surveyed the
shrubbery.
    “Tomorrow,”
she whispered, then blew a kiss before she darted up the stairs.
    Jake
fought the urge to whistle as he returned to his cottage, knowing the sound
would only reveal his presence.
    Take
me. Christine’s breathless demand
haunted him and he knew he’d be awake all night thinking about doing just that.
Jake swallowed, hoping that someone in the wedding party had won the bet
already.
    He
wasn’t sure he’d be able to resist Christine much longer.
     
    * * *
     
    Chapter Three
     
    There
was a rap at the door first thing the next morning. Christine was already awake
but lingering in bed, happily recalling her interlude with Jake. Fiona had come
in much later and groaned at the knock, then buried her head under her pillow.
Christine grabbed a robe and answered the door.
    One
of the maids stood there, smiling, with floral arrangement. There was a card
tucked in with the flowers, Christine’s name written on the front in that familiar
masculine hand. Her heart took a little skip, but she smiled and found a tip
for the maid, then leaned back against the door with the flowers in her grip.
They were beautiful, a dozen shades of yellow and pink, and beautifully
fragrant. She didn’t even know the names of all the flowers, they were so
exotic.
    “What’s
that?” Fiona demanded, peering from beneath her pillow.
    “Someone
sent me flowers.”
    “Get
out!” Fiona sat up then, surprise and curiosity waking her up. “Who?”
    “I
don’t know.” Christine was pretty sure she did know, but she wasn’t going to
confide in Fiona. She opened the card and scanned the contents.
     
    Last beach cabana on the right. Be there alone at
noon.
    Bring your mask.
     
    Christine
caught her breath.
    “Well?”
Fiona demanded.
    “It’s
not signed,” Christine admitted, which was true.
    Fiona
fell back into bed, burying herself beneath the pillow again. “So, you have a
secret admirer. Good for you.”
    “Jealous?”
Christine teased and Fiona laughed.
    “No.
I don’t like any secrets when it comes to admirers. Put it all in the window,
boys, and give me more. Hey, could you put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door
when