Read Online The Grand Finale by Janet Evanoich - Free Book Online Page B

Jake poured some milk into the blender. He added an egg and searched through a small box sitting on the counter, finally extracting two bottles. “A little vanilla, a dash of nutmeg,” he told Berry. Hewhipped the mixture and poured it into a large glass. “Here. You don’t have to chew this.”
    “It has a raw egg in it.”
    “Eggnog usually does.”
    “Hmmm.” Berry cautiously sipped at it and licked a milk mustache off with the tip of her tongue. He had a plan. Swell. Another plan. The world needed one more plan.
    Jake took the empty glass and put it in the dishwasher. He slung an arm around Berry and eased her toward the stairs. “Let’s go to bed.”
    “Don’t I sleep on the couch?”
    “I had beds delivered today. The ladies all have their own rooms.”
    “And?”
    “And you sleep in my room.” He opened the door to his bedroom and motioned her in with a Sir Walter Raleigh flourish.
    “Oh, no,” she groaned, “not tonight, Jake. I’m too tired.”
    Jake grinned at her as he turned down the bed linens. “No. Not tonight. When I share a bed with you for the first time I want you wide awake and panting.”
    Berry stood blank-faced in front of him, tootired to formulate a retort, her mind focusing on the fact that he’d said when I share a bed with you, not if . Was it that inevitable?
    He draped the royal-blue silk pajama top across her shoulders, kissed her on her forehead, and left, closing the door behind him.
     
    Berry surfaced through the drowse of sleep, stretching her legs, then her arms. She was in the biggest, most comfortable bed she’d ever slept in. “Yum,” she sighed, rolling onto her back, feeling the delicious silk pajama top slide over her breasts. This was a lovely way to awaken, she decided. Slowly and luxuriously. If only she didn’t have this peculiar feeling of being watched. The feeling crept along her neck and tingled in her scalp. She cautiously opened one eye.
    “Morning.” Jake grinned down at her.
    Berry pulled the covers up to her neck. “What are you doing in here?”
    “I need some clothes. Want to take a shower?”
    Berry looked at him suspiciously. He had a towel slung over his shoulder. “Aren’t you going to take a shower now?”
    “Yup. But I’m a good guy. I’d be willing to share it with you.”
    “What a pal.”
    “I can do wonderful things with soapsuds.”
    “I don’t think I want to hear this.”
    Jake sat on the edge of the bed and ran his finger along the blue silk collar. “I like the way you feel under this material. Now I know why they make pajamas out of it. It never felt like this when it was on me.”
    Berry liked it, too. It was fun to wake up feeling pampered and feminine for a change.
    He ran the material between his fingers. “You would feel like this in the shower, when you got all lathered with soap.”
    Holy cow. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Not even her ex-husband. Especially not her ex-husband!
    Jake’s desire was obvious in his dark eyes as his finger traced a trail over the small swell of her breast. There was something incredibly carnal about his lazy exploration of her pajama-clad body. She licked her lips in anticipation of his good-morning kiss. When it happened, it said, Good morning, good golly! His handsheaded south, and Berry didn’t want him to stop. He went from Montana to Salt Lake City and paused at Phoenix. Berry really needed him to continue on to Mexico.
    “Don’t stop,” she whispered.
    His hands were warm on her belly, his fingertips resting on the thin elastic band at the top of her bikini panties. “Once I cross the border, there’s no going back.”
    Berry exhaled. Crossing the border wouldn’t be good. Pleasurable? Yes. Smart? No. There would be no going back in more ways than one. She groaned and pushed away and straightened her nightshirt.
    “I need a moment,” she said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever felt anything like this.”
    “You were married for four