December Heat Read Free Page A

damn sexiest woman he’d ever met and the fact she had a baby seemed somehow to enhance her subtle sensuality.
    God, he’d been in this sun too long. What was he thinking?
    “She. No, she’s not mine. I’m minding her for a neighbor.”
    “Oh.” Why did he sound so disappointed? He wasn’t one of those men who believed women should be barefoot and pregnant every damn day of their lives. Women were made to caress and cuddle, to enjoy, for both their brains and their beauty, in and out of the bedroom. To live their lives in any way that fulfilled them as a woman and a person. After all, men were the ones to reap the benefits even then. And he reminded himself again that, as his best friend’s wife, Nicolette was out of bounds.
    The silence between them seemed to expand and grow taut. Jake felt sure he’d hear it snap at any moment.
    The baby stirred, its little pink fist stabbing at the air, drawing Jake’s gaze. Again a tiny hand came to rest against her breast, and Jake found himself wondering if her skin was the same light tan beneath the pink triangles.
    “What are you doing here, Jake?” Nicolette’s voice washed over him.
    “I’ve come to take Mark up on his offer to spend a few days.” He patted his shirt pocket where he’d returned the letter for safekeeping. “It’s been quite a while and we have some catching up to do. I have a few days up my sleeve, so...here I am.” It was more than a few, but he hoped desperately that they’d invite him to stay as long as he needed.
    Nicolette studied him for a moment. He’d always liked her hazel eyes. At this moment, they were tawny-colored, warm and inviting. Her long lashes fluttered. He could understand very well Mark’s attraction to her.
    No wonder he’d been anxious to stake his claim on her, marrying her within a few months after they’d met.
    “I think you’d better come in, Jake.” She stood back to let him pass.
    Jake entered and followed her through the cool screened verandah, and into the open and airy living room. The huge glass panels and double sliding doors, which formed the best part of two walls, seemed to allow the outside to filter into the house. Huge gum trees shaded the room from the heat of the summer sun.
    “Very nice,” he said as he drank in the surroundings. The floors were polished a light gold color, with bright scatter rugs providing a softness and warmth to break up the effect of the wood. The furnishings were casual, mostly cane and a lightly polished pine, and the deeply padded lounge chairs appeared quite comfortable. He noticed how quiet it was, until the loud, musical chirp of the cicadas shattered the silence.
    “Have a seat.” She indicated a chair. “I’ll just put this little thing to bed. Won’t be long. She usually goes down no trouble at all.”
    He realized now that the scent, which assailed him as soon as Nicolette had opened the door, was the soft sweet smell of baby, and woman.
    “Take your time.”
    Jake sank back in the comfortable chair. A man could get used to this, he reflected and wondered if the lifestyle would really suit him once the novelty of not being shot at, and sometimes hit, wore off. He watched Nicolette as she walked away. Barefoot, shapely bare legs, and a nicely rounded bottom he wouldn’t mind curving his palm to fit.
    Where the hell was Mark anyway?
    When Nicolette returned, minus baby, she’d dressed in denim cut offs and a white singlet top, short enough to expose a tantalizing strip of tanned midriff. He could still see the fluoro pink mounds through the white stretch fabric. She looked even more appealing covered up.
    She dragged her hands through her short straight hair, her movements emphasizing the suppleness of her lithe body. He watched as the loose strands of hair fell back into place.
    “Where’s Mark?” He broke the silence before it became too tense, but he wondered if it was simply his own intensity which filled the air between them.
    Nicolette looked