Too Hot to Handle by Aleah Barley Read Free Book Online Page A

too fast for her to figure out what was going on. Pushing the gun out of the way, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in tight against him. The minty scent of his toothpaste overpowered the stench of smoke that still hung in the air. The warm chest and strong muscles that had made her feel so safe the night before were stifling in the mid-morning heat.
    No matter how hard she struggled, he just stood there, blocking out the sun.
    “You left without saying anything. I was worried about you.”
    “Worry.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “You were worried about your badge, your gun, and your car.”
    “Damn straight. Do you know what happens if a police officer loses his gun? It’s not like I can go down to the corner store and buy another with my six-pack of beer. Internal Affairs gets involved. That’s something I can’t have.” Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked. A bird cried out. Jack dropped his head closer to her ear. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
    One of his hands enveloped hers, taking the gun away. When he finally had the weapon in his grasp, he let out a sigh of relief. “You shouldn’t play with guns. You could have hurt yourself.”
    “I was going to hurt you.”
    “You weren’t going to hurt me, Honey.” His chest rumbled with silent laughter. “You had the safety on.”
    “I didn’t know.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to calm the screaming in her head.
    So much had happened, it was hard to keep everything straight. Between her house burning down and the way she’d felt with Jack’s lips on hers, his hands moving across her body, she was finding it hard to concentrate.
    A soft kiss landed on her mouth, real and reassuring. The flutter of his lips against hers. Nothing harsh or predatory, but it touched her somewhere deep inside. Despite everything else that had happened, Jack Ogden was a good man, stalwart and trustworthy.
    Damn him.
    “Will you help me?” she asked.
    And then—because that might not be enough—her lips formed another word. One she didn’t use often. “Please.”

Chapter Five
     
    “Wow.” Jack’s first reaction was shock. It was also his second reaction. “I never thought I’d hear you say that.”
    Please. One word. Six letters. Jack couldn’t have been more surprised if Honey had gotten down on her knees and begged for his help.
    “I need you.” Honey flushed. She wasn’t used to asking people for help.
    “I know.” He wasn’t going to let her down. Even if she had pointed a gun at him. Her hands were sweaty, her breath coming fast. She was terrified. That wasn’t acceptable. Not while he had air in his lungs. “I should take you down to the station. Get a formal statement.”
    As soon as he said it, Jack knew he’d made a mistake. A formal statement was never going to happen. If she’d wanted to go to the police, she’d have stuck around for the cops last night. Honey was the kind of woman who solved her own problems, and this time she was asking him for help. He wouldn’t let her down, even if it meant waiting and taking her statement back at his house.
    He nodded toward the burned-out building. “Were you inside?”
    “I was supposed to be.”
    “Damn.” So it wasn’t just arson. It was attempted murder.
    Someone wanted Honey dead.
    Standing in her backyard, less than ten feet from the husk of her house, she was a sitting duck for any villain who decided to come looking for her in order to finish what they’d started the night before. He had a dozen questions he wanted to ask her about the fire, but first he needed to make sure she was safe.
    “Let’s get out of the open, sweetheart.”
    Nothing happened. “I’ll take you out to breakfast,” he added.
    Breakfast seemed to be the magic word, because her head started nodding against his chest.
    “I could use some coffee.” She stepped backward, tightening her grip on the backpack she was carrying. The bag was heavy, weighed down by contents that shifted and