Embrace the Heat by Cassandra Lawson Read Free Book Online

nose.”
    Simon felt like an idiot. What the hell was
he doing? He was acting like Connor would if Raven were injured. Of
course, Layla was his friend which made it okay to worry. After
setting her down, he ran a hand through his hair.
    “No one was injured?” Simon asked.
    “Nothing serious,” Shelby reported. “Layla
smells like undead blood, so she could use a shower soon. Other
than that, we’re all fine.”
    “Good,” Simon said. “An extermination team is
ready to go. Do you have any last details?”
    “Nope,” Shelby said, “I sent you everything I
had. After we clean up, the team will head out again.”
    “You’re off for the rest of the day,” Simon
said. “I think our trainee has had more than enough excitement for
one day.”
    Peter looked at Layla with total adoration in
his eyes, and Simon found that he suddenly wanted to feed the kid
to turned vampires. “I’ll walk you home,” Peter said to Layla.
    Shelby was watching him closely, and it
looked like she was having trouble keeping a straight face. “I’ll
give the final instructions to the extermination team,” she
offered. “Peter, you’d better let Simon walk Layla home.”
    Layla let out a huff. “I’m not a child. I
will walk myself home.” With that she stormed off, and Simon was
further annoyed to see Peter staring at her ass as it shook back
and forth.
    Simon raced after Layla and grabbed her hand
when he finally caught up with her. “Mind telling me why you’re so
pissed off?” he asked.
    Layla stopped and spun like she was getting
ready for a fight. Then she sighed and shrugged. “Actually, I’m not
really sure what’s going on with me. I’m irritable, and the fight
made me want to fight more. Mind if I join one of the training
sessions after I clean up?”
    “I’d rather have you get some rest, but it’s
up to you.”
    She smiled at him. “This is why I love you
more than Connor,” she said. “Con would tell me to get my ass home
and rest like he said.”
    Simon laughed. “Yeah, but I’m smart enough to
know that I shouldn’t pick a fight with a cranky pixie.”
    “You’re an ass,” she said. “Now let go of my
hand so I can go home and clean up. I’m in no mood to deal with
your teasing right now.”
    Later Simon would wonder if he’d lost his
mind. He leaned down and spoke against her ear. “Trust me; you’d
enjoy being teased just a little. I’ve been told I’m very
talented.”
    Layla shivered and tried to retrieve her
hand, but for some reason he didn’t want to let it go.
    “I’ll bet I can’t find a single human who
would say that,” she said almost angrily.
    Simon dropped her hand like it had burned
him. She was right. What the hell had he been thinking? “Don’t
train too long,” he said and walked away.
     

Chapter Seven
    Sparring had done nothing to take the edge
off of Layla’s agitation, and her shower head had done nothing to
relieve the sexual tension. Even chocolate wasn’t working.
    She was tempted to ignore the buzzing phone,
but Simon was still testing her to make sure she kept the damn
thing on. If she ignored it, Simon would bitch at her during the
next meeting or come over now to bitch at her about her phone being
off.
    Picking up the phone, she read the
message.
    ur phone bettr b on.
    She typed back.
    It’s on. Getting ready to go to sleep.
    The reply came back quickly.
    Glad 2 hear I don’t have 2 punish u.
    For the hell of it, she decided to be a
brat.
    Are you going to spank me if I turn my phone
off?
    “Top that!” she said to no one.
    maybe
    She stared at his reply for a long time. This
might be going too far. Simon was kidding, but thinking about it
was getting her pretty damn turned on. Not that she really liked
the idea of spanking. She just liked the idea of Simon touching her
ass.
    Another message came.
    is ur phone off?
    With an exasperated sigh, she replied.
    yes
    Then he replied.
    haha I win.
    Layla smiled and shook her head before
replying.
    you are