Bad to the Bone (Wicked Reads) Read Online Free PDF Page B

cleanliness to
most of her home. Only her guest bedroom and office needed
restoration. Tomorrow. She’d called her principal earlier to let
her know what had happened and that she would need a few days.
She’d also told her she wouldn’t be coming back in the fall.
Olivia’s mind was made up. She was going to law school. And no one
was going to stop her.
    When the doorbell rang, Olivia jumped. Even
though it was a sultry night, she’d locked every door and window.
As much as she tried not to feel as if the vandal was still inside
her home, she could not shake the feeling she wasn’t alone.
    “Olivia? It’s Josiah.”
    She flung off the uneasiness and hurried to
the door. She slid the chain free, then unlocked the deadbolt and
knob lock.
    “Hi,” she said brightly, pulling him into the
house. Her hands shook as she turned the deadbolt.
    Josiah placed his hand over hers and
squeezed. “It’s okay, Liv. I’m here. You’re safe.”
    She exhaled loudly and felt like a helpless
female when, in reality, she wasn’t. She had a gun—two in fact—and
knew how to use both. Tommy had been adamant that she learn to
shoot. She was a better shot than him. She was always vigilant. And
she never took chances. But just the same, she felt safer with
Josiah in the house.
    Olivia brushed back her unruly hair, and
realized she was a disheveled mess. She’d been cleaning like a
fiend for hours. It had served two purposes: it kept her mind off
Vaden and she removed all vestiges of the vandal.
    Josiah smiled down at her. “You look good
enough to eat.”
    A warm flush spattered across her skin. “Come
in. I got to most of the house. I’m going to tackle the rest
tomorrow.”
    “I came ready to clean, Liv. Put me to work.”
He held up a stuffed brown bag of groceries. “But first let’s crack
open this bottle of cab and have some dinner. I haven’t eaten since
a lousy bagel and coffee this morning.”
    Her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten since
her bowl of Cheerios before work. And even that she didn’t finish.
She had sat there miserably drowning Cheerios as she thought of
Vaden. She’d tried pushing him from her thoughts all day. And even
now, with a hunk like Josiah standing in front of her, Vaden
invaded her mind. It had taken her years to stop thinking of
Josiah; she refused to be held hostage again by unrequited
feelings. She was no longer a heartbroken schoolgirl. She was a
mature woman who had a mind of her own and would live life on her
terms. Even if that meant she stepped out of the narrow lines of
propriety that had been drilled into her head since the day she was
born. Lord knows she had with Vaden. She could with Jos. She was
done being safe. For crying out loud, she bored herself. How could
she expect Vaden or any man to find her fascinating if she thought
of herself as exciting as a brown paper bag?
    She smiled a Cheshire cat smile. Oh, but she
had let the cat out of the bag with Vaden. Their trysts had been
throw-down, dirty, epic sex sessions. Last night proved to her she
could not only be naughty but that it was okay. No one got hurt.
Well, except her heart, but that didn’t count. She needed to be
more careful. Sex for the sake of sex could be good. She cocked her
head and looked at Jos who stood watching her with a fascination he
had never regarded her with before.
    “What’s going on in that head of yours,
Liv?”
    She laughed, feeling flirty and carefree.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
    He set the bag of groceries down on the
granite counter. “Very much.”
    “Hah! You’ll just have to use that
imagination of yours.”
    He pulled the bottle of wine out of the bag
along with a corkscrew. Expertly, he uncorked the bottle, never
once taking his gaze off her. Olivia warmed to their flirting. She
liked the power of it. With Vaden, there had been no courting. They
had jumped right into the fire and never once looked back. Her
nipples puckered when she wondered how it would be to be courted by
a