A Little Bit Naughty by Farrah Rochon Read Free Book Online

shaking her head and expelling a breathy laugh.
    “You know, my klutziness went far beyond getting my foot stuck in Kiera’s wall,” she said. “I’m surprised I didn’t land in the hospital. Although, I did come close.” She looked up at him, her latte-colored cheeks turning a shade of pink. “At the homecoming game my junior year, I broke my wrist doing a cartwheel, but I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want to miss the end of the game.”
    He couldn’t avoid the cynical hitch of his brows.
    “Hey, homecoming was important,” she defended. “The team needed us.”
    “I didn’t say anything,” Mason said.
    “You were about to.”
    Yes, he was. His aversion to the girl she’d been back then, and all she’d represented, was so strong it was still hard to shake it, even after all these years. It was unfair to hold it against her. Being one of the most beautiful, popular girls in school wasn’t a crime.
    “I was going to say that you were pretty brave,” Mason said instead. “The Maplesville Mustangs were lucky to have you cheering them on.”
    Her look was guarded, but she only said, “Thank you,” before returning her attention to his arm. She cleaned out the bits of dirt and grass and applied a generous amount of antibiotic ointment before covering it with a piece of gauze and applying white tape to all four sides.
    “All done,” she said, giving the bandage one final pat. She started to pull her hand away, but Mason stopped her, capturing her wrist with his other hand.
    Jada looked up at him, her eyes filled with…what? Curiosity? Interest? He wasn’t sure yet, all he knew was that it didn’t hold the disdain he usually got from her.
    “Thank you,” Mason said, his voice suddenly hoarse with the want gripping him.
    “It was the least I could do,” she replied with an equally husky quality to her voice. She cleared her throat. “After all, I’m the one who caused you to fall.”
    Mason shook his head as he leaned in a touch closer. “It was an accident.”
    Jada’s eyes dropped to his lips. Her chest rose and fell with each breath she took as she stared at him. Mason edged forward, closing the space between them.
    The shrill of her cell phone broke the silence.
    They both jumped. Jada hopped up from the chair, fumbling the phone as she tried to answer it.
    “Hello?” she answered. “Hello? Kiera?”
    Mason slouched back in his chair. “The service isn’t good in here,” he muttered, running his hand down his face.
     Jada held the phone to one ear and covered the other with her free hand.
    “Yes, I got in,” she said. She glanced at him. “Mason was here. Look, Kiera, I’ll call you in a minute, once I’m in a better service area.” A pause, then, “Okay, bye.”
    She ended the call and looked over at him. “That was Kiera,” she said unnecessarily. She pulled in a deep breath. “I should get going.”
    Mason nodded. The wad of pent-up lust clogging his windpipe just dared him to try to get a word out.
    “Okay, uh. Bye,” Jada said with a jerky wave. She rushed out of the kitchen like the house was on fire.
    Rubbing the back of his neck, Mason ambled over to the front door so he could lock it behind her.
    Just as he approached, it swung open again, and Jada came inside, carrying two plastic shopping bags. “I forgot these outside. They’re decorations for Kiera’s party.”
    She set the bags on the floor and did an about-face. She closed the door behind her, then a second later, came back inside.
    “I forgot my jacket,” she said, marching past him into the kitchen, returning with her suit jacket. “Tell Kiera I’ll talk to her later.” She shook her head. “What am I saying? I can call her myself.”
    The nervous laugh that fluttered from her was as telling as anything else. When had he ever seen Jada flustered? The fact that he was the one who’d put her in this state caused a ripple of satisfaction to course down his spine.
    She turned with her hand on