Rio's Fire by Lynn Hagen Read Free Book Online Page A

if Maverick hadn’t told the man by now, Rio was not going to clue him in. It was now up to Rio to whip Fire into shape. If Maverick was demanding Rio’s mate be an art teacher, then damn it, Fire was going to be the best art teacher Rio could make him.
    “Hadn’t really thought about where we were going. I just wanted to get you out of the house. Do you have a favorite place to eat?” Rio began to drive again, thankful that the back roads weren’t busy with traffic. Living in a small town, they were hardly ever busy, and Rio liked it like that. Brac Village was a small and peaceful town, and had enough forest for his panther to run.
    “I’m really not hungry,” Fire admitted. “Can we just drive around? It’s been a while since I had this much freedom.”
    “Care to tell me why you’ve been locked in the tower?”
    His mate shook his head firmly. Rio wanted to know but he wasn’t going to pry. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who had layers of depth to him. And Rio was looking forward to peeling back every single layer of Fire’s.
    “Okay, am I allowed to ask if you have any siblings?”
    The sides of Fire’s mouth twitched. “I have one brother,” Fire replied.
    Rio let his mouth drop open in a feigned gasp. “Wow, you actually answered one of my questions. I think I’m going to have a heart attack.”

    46 Lynn
    Hagen
    Fire gave a small chuckle. “This coming from a man who had refused to let me know his first name.”
    “Touché. You got me there.” Rio was actually having a good time with his mate. God, how long had it been since he had a decent conversation with somebody over the age of six? Although Rio was talking, he was grappling with things to say. He was a bit rusty with his social skills. “Parents?”
    Fire scowled, glancing out the side window. All right then, Fire’s parents were off the menu as well. Rio was starting to wonder what he could talk about.
    “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you let me know what subjects are safe to talk about? Sound good?”
    “There are just some things that I refuse to talk about because those people still piss me off.”
    Although Rio wanted to smile, he didn’t think it was a very good idea. Seeing Fire…well…Fire-d up was kind of cute. Rio had a feeling telling his mate that his anger was adorable would not be wise.
    “Okay, then maybe I’ll tell you a little about me. I have no siblings, but I do have my parents, and I had a good childhood. I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to be a teacher and mold small minds. My life has been pretty boring. And sadly enough, that’s my life in a nutshell.”
    “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Fire turned to look at Rio. “You haven’t lived at all. Where is the fun in all of that? Please tell me you don’t think knitting is a blast.”
    “No,” Rio said a little defensively. “I said my life was boring. I didn’t say I was an old biddy. Give me some credit.”
    Crossing his slim arms over his chest, Fire gave Rio a look that said he really didn’t believe him. “Then tell me, Mr. Adventure, what do you do for fun?”
    Rio opened his mouth to answer then snapped it shut. He kept his voice steady as he worked his way through the question Fire had Rio’s Fire
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    posed to him. What did he do for fun? Rio became irritated when he saw that his mate was wearing a wry half smile. “I go for runs.”
    “Please tell me there’s more to it than that.”
    Rio turned the corner, passing a florist shop. “Fine, I admit, I lead a very boring life. Big deal. At least it keeps me out of trouble.”
    “If that excuse helps you sleep at night, more power to you.”
    “Why are you being such a prick?” Rio asked, wondering which layer of this sardonic mood fit his mate. “I’m only trying to have a conversation with you. You don’t want to talk, just fucking say so.”
    He was starting to worry that maybe their personalities just did not fit each other. Rio had grown too morose and had