Read Online Twice In A Lifetime by Jennifer Jakes - Free Book Online Page B

her lips to curve, but as she nodded, a sob ripped through her. The tears gushed down her cheeks, and she buried her face against his heart.
    “Don’t cry, darlin’.” He brushed kisses to the top of her head. “I was just joking. You’re stuck with me anyway. Celeste said this was a once in a lifetime deal.”
    “But you almost died. Or you did die.” She’d held his head in her lap while he bled out. “And it’s my fault. All of this. I wouldn’t listen to you about Daniel, about the stunt. And then—” She choked. “Then the stupid divorce. I was just so scared you were going to leave me and…and—”
    “Shhh. I know.” He stroked down her back, the heat from his hand warm against the wet material , soothing, reassuring. “Stand up. Let’s get these clothes off before you get sick.”
    “No.” She jumped to her feet. “Let me take care of you. You were just shot for God’s sake.” Guilt cut through her like a sword.
    He stood and held out his arms. “ I’m fine. But when have I ever stopped you from getting me naked?” He winked.
    “Stop it. Stop being nice to me.” She unbuttoned his pants.
    “Can’t help it.” He pulled her against him. “I love you.” He nibbled down her neck. “I’ve always loved you. Always will.” He cupped her face in his palms. “When that set exploded and I couldn’t find you, I –” His voice cracked and his eyes glistened. “I wanted to die.”
    His words fisted her heart with pain. She shouldn’t have been so damned stubborn. What if she’d been killed in that explosion? He would have been left all alone , no other family.
    “I’m sorry. I swam to the surface to tell you I was okay, but…” She shrugged.
    “You were here.”
    “Yeah.” She blew a long breath and threaded her fingers through his, leani ng into his heat, needing to know this was real. “Why were you there that day anyway?”
    He gave her a crooked grin. “It was your birthday.”
    “And?” Had he forgiven her before she was blown up?
    “ I came to give you a present. My copy of the divorce papers— shredded.” He winked. “And if you wouldn’t listen to me, I was going to kidnap you.”
    A ridiculous thrill shivered through her. “You were?”
    “Yeah. But then…” He shook his head. “The rescue team couldn’t find you. They pronounced you dead. But I wouldn’t believe it. I rented a boat and circled the site and went diving for hours on end. That’s when Celeste came to me. She told me about the birthday spell and what she thought happened to you.”
    He stepped back and stripped off his boot and pants, then sat on the bed, looking so healthy, so alive…so damned sexy in his tight boxer briefs.
    Kneeling between his legs, she snuggled against his chest , her fingers stroking the trail of hair below his naval. “But how did you know where I was?”
    “ We didn’t at first, but I could feel you.” He shrugged. “So we hired a medium and had a séance.”
    “A séance? So I’m…” Dead was a sobering thought. She shivered.
    He stood. “Clothes off. Right now. You’re cold.” He stripped her, then climbed into bed and tucked them both beneath the blanket, wrapping her in his heat. But shivers still rippled through her. Was it true? Was she…?
    “Am I dead?” she whispered against his chest.
    “Um, maybe. Kind of. I’m not sure.” He blew a long breath. “I never really understood that part. Celeste said that since she cast the spell at the same time you would’ve died, you were caught in some kind of parallel dimension of the past or of the afterlife.” Confusion wrinkled his brow. “Something like that.”
    “What about Daniel. How could he be here?”
    “He was hurt in the explosion, darlin’. He’s in a coma – on life support. They don’t have any hope for recovery.”
    Dread raced th rough her. “What about the other actors?” All the crew and extras.
    “A few people were h urt, but not seriously.”
    Thank God. “But you were