Hot Whisper Read Online Free Page B

guesser.”
    “Mmm, not so much, actually. I didn’t have you pegged at all.”
    “Care to elaborate?”
    “Not really.” He took his hat off, revealing thick, jet-black, wavy hair that he probably took for granted and any woman she knew would die for.When he reached up and ran his fingers through it, Claire had the sudden urge to walk over to him and do the same thing.You know, as a professional, she tried to tell herself. “Well, I have plenty of supplies to work with and we’ve got nothing but time on our hands.”
    “Ah . . . so you really are a backup-plan kinda guy?”
    “I try to be prepared.”
    “Well, where’s the fun in that?”
    He looked at her as if not knowing whether to take her seriously or not. She often got that same look from her parents.
    “Can I help you put things away?”
    “Sure,” he replied, and started unpacking the bags.
    Claire noticed with approval that they were reusable mesh but had to giggle when she pulled out a whole pineapple. “What? Were you thinking of having a luau?”
    He grinned. “I told you I got caught up in the moment. It was chaos in the grocery store. I swear people were grabbing random things off the shelves, and I jumped right into the fray. I actually like to cook, but I’m a typical buy-only-what-you-need kind of guy. The pineapple was a rare impulse purchase. Maybe I was lamenting the loss of my tropical vacation.” He placed ground beef, an onion, peppers, and a packet of chili spices on the counter. “See, the ingredients for chili. No more, no less.” He looked at Claire with male satisfaction. “What? Why are you grinning?”
    She lifted a carton out of the bag. “Eggnog?”
    “My one Christmas indulgence,” he explained.
    “Orange juice, butter, sub rolls, lunch meat.” She nodded. “Pretty normal,” she continued, but then grinned when she unveiled a pint of strawberries, one apple, two oranges. “You are such a girl,” she teased.
    “Hey, we were going to be snowed in. I didn’t want to get scurvy.”
    She peered back into the bag and giggled.
    “What now?”
    “Really?” She lifted up a container of chocolate fruit dip. She wiggled her fingers. “Hand over your man card.”
    Jesse shrugged and raked his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know—I guess I was wondering what I was going to do with all of that useless fruit, so I felt compelled to purchase that.” He raised his eyebrows. “Hey, let’s try it.” He opened the carton of strawberries and rinsed them off. After handing her a plump one, he took the lid off the dip.
    “Don’t mind if I do.” Claire dunked her strawberry in the dip and took a juicy bite. “Oh, mmm, yeah.” She nodded. “Good stuff.”
    Jesse grinned, then followed suit. “See, I knew what I was doing,” he told her and, after dipping his strawberry into the chocolate, he took a generous bite and groaned.
    Claire had a comeback on the tip of her tongue, but when Jesse licked a bit of chocolate from his bottom lip, she completely forgot what she was about to say. For someone so big and strong he had a sensual grace about him that made her want to sigh . . . and so she did.
    “You’re right—good stuff,” he said, mistaking her reason for sighing. “Want more?”
    “Oh, you better believe it,” Claire answered instantly, but then felt heat creep into her cheeks.“I mean, yes, please.”When Claire accepted another strawberry, the brush of his fingertips against hers sent a warm tingle up her arm. Her eyes widened in surprise and she wondered if he was feeling the same way. She took a nibble of the strawberry and toyed with the button on her suit while she tried to regain her composure.
    “You look uncomfortable,” he commented.
    “Well . . . this is a bit of a situation I’ve gotten myself into.”
    Jesse gave her a slight grin. “No, I meant you look uncomfortable in that suit.”
    She lifted her shoulders. “It’s all I have, remember?”
    He leaned forward and rested his hands