Something Witchy This Way Comes by Veronica Blade Read Free Book Online Page A

best way to explain it to Hayden without overloading his brain circuits.
    “Oh, really? Who better to learn from than me? I’m qualified.”
    I yanked my thoughts from his text to stare at him. “You’re offering me self-defense lessons?”
    He shrugged. “Well, yeah. You tutor me every day on your own time. I could return the favor.”
    “You’re my bodyguard, remember? It’s not like you’re just standing around.”
    “I’m being compensated in other ways. You’re not. Besides, what if something happened and no one was around to help you?”
    Having him teach me how to defend myself was a fantastic idea but I wondered how smart it would be to spend even more time with him. “You beat up some guys last year and now you’re an expert?”
    Hayden scoffed. “I had real lessons. I can show you what they taught me.”
    I gazed unseeing at the textbook. “I don’t know.”
    “Oh, I get it. You’re not jumping at the chance, because you secretly like me.” Hayden grinned. “You’re afraid that after a while, you’d eventually break down and give into temptation.”
    I tried to work up a good sneer, putting everything I had into it to make it convincing. “My, we think a lot of ourselves, don’t we?”
    “That’s the only reason I can think of that would make you turn down a perfectly good opportunity to be in control.”
    If I refused, I’d have to come up with an excuse that didn’t involve admitting how hot he was. How tempted I’d be… Or I could take advantage of his offer and trust myself. It’s not as if I’d ever be in danger of truly liking him. “Fine. Teach me.”
    “Good. I will.” He gave me a smug look and wiggled his eyebrows.
    I ignored that, but something else bothered me about his offer. “I’m curious about something. If your dad used to beat you—”
    “ Step -dad.”
    “Right. Step-dad,” I said, our studies completely forgotten. “If he used to hit you, why would he spring for lessons that would teach you to defend yourself against him?”
    “He didn’t. I used to walk home from school and pass this martial arts studio. One day I went inside and asked for lessons. The guy said no, of course. I needed my parents’ permission and I had to pay for the lessons. I was naïve, but pretty determined.
    “Every day after that, I stopped and watched through the window. One night, my step-dad came home drunk when I was supposed to be in bed.” Hayden touched the bridge of his nose. “Broke my nose. When I stopped at the martial arts studio the next day, I worked up the nerve to ask the guy for a job and he said yes. Probably felt sorry for the poor kid getting his ass beat.
    “Legally, I was too young to work, but he let me do little things, like get clean towels and set up the rooms.” He smiled, but there was a far-away look in his eyes. “After a while, he gave me some lessons. Later I got good enough to teach the beginner classes. I taught them and he continued to teach me. The rest is history.”
    Hayden had had a rough time, but had persisted until he found his way out. I was mightily impressed with what he’d accomplished. Too bad he took a wrong turn somewhere. He had a ways to go before rejoining the human race, and I had little faith he could do it.
    “We’ll start Saturday,” he said. “Why don’t you pick me up in the morning around nine?”
    “You’re okay with my Scion when we could be driving your Viper?”
    “I don’t care what we use. I just want to avoid steering anything after a night of debauchery. Friday night is Christina’s Halloween party, remember?”
    My engine totally cooled the rest of the way at the thought of Hayden boozing and ending up with some girl in a Naughty Nurse costume — possibly even drunker than him. I’d have to keep thoughts like that handy to periodically jog my good sense and keep things in perspective. I couldn’t allow myself to forget what a creep Hayden was.
    “Debauchery, huh?” I smirked. “That’s a