Free Your To Take - Connaghers 03 by Joely Sue Burkhart Page A

trapped in the dressing
room while she tossed outfits over the door for him to try on. Since he was
still underweight, she tried to give him room to fill back out without
endangering his modesty and her sanity. She started with casual clothes and
moved toward business casual. Until she knew what kind of job he got, a few
basics would be enough.
    She watched him twist and turn before the mirror. Even in
basic chinos and a plain white dress shirt, he looked stunning. She ran her
hands over his shoulders and chest, smoothing the fabric and checking the fit.
“You really could be a model, you know.”
    “Never thought about it, I guess.” Jesse tried to catch her
gaze in the mirror, but she determinedly concentrated on his clothes and not
him. “I’m too old now.”
    She made a disgusted mock growl. “Don’t talk about old when
you’re still under thirty. You really need a custom-fitted shirt to emphasize
your trim waist.”
    He shrugged. “This is fine. Looks good to me.”
    She stepped back and studied him, tilting her head. An idea
was starting to form in her mind, that old familiar itch promising a burst of
creative energy. She could see him in a fancy shirt made out of the turquoise
silk. Not a normal dress shirt—no, that would be too conservative. Something
that suited his masculine yet delicate features. Maybe a gentleman’s shirt from
the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries. Or an artist’s, something with a bit of
lace or ruffle at the sleeve. Not too feminine, but long enough to hang out of
his coat sleeves.
    A gray cashmere suit with an antique, custom shirt to match
his eyes beneath. Yes .
    “How would you feel about participating in the show with me
next month? Honestly. I totally understand if that’s not something you’d feel
comfortable with. If I asked Elias, he’d probably arrest me.”
    Jesse’s eyes lit up even more than usual. “Really? I’d love
to! The thought of wearing something you made with your own hands…” He let out
a delicious little groan that made her nipples peak and sent a pulse of liquid
heat through her groin. “Definitely, yes.”
    “I have an idea.” She had to clear her throat but her voice
still sounded husky. “When we get back home tonight, I’ll sketch it out, see
what you think.”
    To make him feel better about how much she was going to
spend, she headed to the women’s department. Unfortunately, nothing really
caught her fancy. That’s the downside of trying to launch my own line—nothing
but my own designs will do.
    She turned around, looking for Jesse, and found him
mesmerized by a white fluffy negligee a few rows back in the lingerie
department. She walked back toward him, trying to figure out why he found the
silly thing so interesting. It was innocent and frilly, totally not her style.
He’d already said she was red, passion and fire. Not meek and insipid white,
let alone such a feminine, helpless looking outfit.
    Her hackles rose looking at the damned thing, but she tried
to keep the bite out of her voice. “You’re not picturing me in that, are you?”
    His cheeks flushed but he met her gaze with a sheepish shrug
of his shoulders. “So sue me, I’m a guy. You’d be hot in it.”
    “In this?” Incredulity rang in her voice and he smiled wider.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
    “Remember the surprise factor.”
    That took her aback. When choosing colors and patterns only
by her personal preference, she’d created a solid but boringly conservative
line, which was far from what she’d hoped to accomplish.
    “I already knew you were strong, kind, gorgeous, and that
once you make up your mind to do something, you do it one hundred percent all
the way.” His dropped his voice to a rough whisper. “I heard enough last night
to know that you’re also uninhibited and sexy as hell.”
    Now it was her turn to blush. He’d finally gotten in a dig
about what all he’d heard last night. “What’s your point?”
    “If you were to