Read Online Some Like it Wicked by Stacey Kennedy - Free Book Online

be me .” She heaved a long sigh, gazing up
at him with such pain, it was as if someone had punched him in the gut. “I’ve
never felt like that before.”
    Looking away from him, she smiled at the dragon shifter who
strode by, then she continued, “Truthfully, I’m not even sure I know what love
is. I’m not sure I ever experienced it.” Tears welled in her eyes and she
glanced down to the sidewalk again. “So, do I have a place for you in my heart
where Layton is? No, I don’t. But I’m not quite sure you belong there.”
    Had she rejected him?
    He stared down at her, unsure if he should be angry, finding
a way to change her opinion or asking her questions to clarify what she meant.
    When she looked up at him, she laughed softly. “I’ve
confused you, haven’t I?” At his firm nod, she added, “What I’m trying to say
is that I love the way you make me feel. How you seem to say everything to make
me see sense and I love that I’m no one else but me when you are
around.”
    He arched an eyebrow. “Which means you do have a place for
me in your heart?”
    “No.”
    He frowned. “No?”
    Stopping along the busy sidewalk, she turned to him,
pressing her beautiful body against his. She angled her head back and a single
tear escaped her eye. “I’ve never been loved—all I’ve been is lied to and not
accepted. You cannot possibly be compared to Layton and have a part of my heart
that belongs to him, because the piece of me you’re touching is new and
undiscovered.”
    Warmth and happiness spread through him. “Now that makes
more sense.” He leaned down and kissed her lips softly with a long, enduring
kiss he hoped would show her how pleased she made him. In truth, he didn’t want
the damaged part of her that Layton had caused or the emotional baggage, he
wanted this sweet, pure part of her soul that no one had cherished before.
    When he backed away, he smiled and strode forward, but she
pulled him back, laughing. He looked over his shoulder at her and she gestured
to her right. He’d been so immersed in their conversation, he hadn’t realized
they’d arrived at her house.
    He caught her gaze as she said, “Guess this means
goodnight.”
    Her unasked question hung in the air around them, would he
be joining her?
    As much as he wanted to indulge that thought, he hadn’t
finished finalizing the details of his plan for her and that took priority.
“For tonight, yes, I’m afraid I have to leave you. How about breakfast? There’s
a great restaurant around the corner.”
    “I’d like that.” She smiled, leaning up to give him a quick
peck, then hurried toward her house.
    Hell, he understood her urgency to leave. If he took her
into another fiery kiss, he would forget his plans and make his priority her
body. He watched her open the front door, then step into the foyer, where she
turned back and gave him that ever-so-sweet smile.
    When she shut the door, he spun on his heels, hurrying to
get back downtown.
    On the way, he did a mental checklist of things he still
needed to do, and by the time he reached Main Street, he was glad he’d finished
most of it when she was at the employment office. He turned onto Main Street
and noticed the resident ogre, Arlo, jogging toward him.
    “There’s someone at the gates wanting to speak to Bryanna,”
Arlo called.
    When he finally settled his brutish body in front of Zeke,
he added in his gravelly voice, “I told him he didn’t need to wait at the gate,
but he refused to enter and demanded I go get her.”
    Hot rage filled Zeke’s veins. “A warlock?” At the incline of
Arlo’s big, burly green head, Zeke cursed and tightened his fists. “Did he say
what he wanted?”
    “Bryanna.”
    Zeke allowed the wrath to consume him and he welcomed the
idea of meeting this warlock who had treated her so poorly. He smiled at Arlo.
“I’ll deal with him.”
    Arlo grinned in return, displaying large brown teeth.
“Figured you would.”
    Making his way down the