Hot Like Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

you are. I'm so lucky," she
said in a loud, exaggerated voice, her tongue rolling
over his last name.

    He smiled. It was slow and even kind of hesitant,
but it was a smile, nonetheless. "That's some bigtime overkill, but I'll take it over the sour attitude
you give me most times."
    "Being called a thief makes you, how do you
say ... sour," she told him as she crossed her arms
over her chest.
    "Damn, you sure can hold a grudge," he balked,
with an incredulous expression, as he looked down
at her.
    Garcelle looked up at him, with a soft smile,
which she didn't bother to hide. "No, I just like to
give you a hard time, Kade Strong," she admitted.
    He pulled his hand from his pocket and extended it to her. "Truce?" he asked.
    He really is a beautiful man, she thought as she slid
her hand into his. "Truce," she agreed just as warm
shots of electricity radiated across her hand and up
her arm to harden her nipples into tight buds. Garcelle looked down at his bronzed skin against the
soft caramel of her own. The warmth continued to
spread across her body with ease.
    She snatched her hand away.
    "Something wrong?" he asked.
    "Uh, no. Uh-uh. Everything's good," she said, looking up at him as she wiped a sudden flood of sweat
from her forehead. "How can I help you, Kade?"
    "I'm moving back into my house this week-"
    Garcelle snorted. "So I heard," she said dryly.
    "Excuse me?" he asked.
    Garcelle forced a smile. "Nothing."

    Kade shifted his weight on the porch and cleared
his throat. "Anyway, I need help with Kadina this
summer, and Bianca said you might be interested,
since you only work for them like once a week for
half a day."
    "Like a ninera?" she asked.
    "A what?" Kade asked.
    Garcelle laughed. "You call it a ... a nanny.
Sometimes it's easier for me to say certain things in
Spanish."
    "It's funny that you look black, but you're Mexican.
    Garcelle rolled her eyes. "I'm Dominican. Latinos come from more places than just Mexico or
Puerto Rico. Okay?"
    Kade licked his lips and looked apologetic. "I
didn't mean any disrespect."
    Garcelle laughed softly as she reached up to lightly
pat his cheek like he was a child ... a big, six-foot fiveinch, muscular, good-looking child. "Don't worry.
We'll have all summer, while I'm watching Kadina, to
teach you more about Latinos, Kade Strong."
    "So you'll take the job?" he asked as his eyes
locked with hers.
    "Si," she answered, with a nod.
    "Good," he said, with a nod of his own. "Can you
start Monday?"
    "Si. „
    "Great. Bye then, Garcelle." Kade turned to leave.
    "Adios, Kade Strong." Her eyes drifted down his
strong back to his tight buttocks in the uniform
pants he wore. Not bad. Not bad at all.
    Kade turned suddenly.
    Garcelle jerked her eyes up to his face as a warm
blush flooded her cheeks.

    "One more thing, Garcelle," he said, his eyes
sparkling with humor. "Are you always going to call
me by my full name?"
    Garcelle stepped back and began to close the
front door. "Si," she said playfully before closing the
door.
    She leaned back against the closed door and
breathed out through pursed lips as she waited for
her heartbeat to slow down.

     

3
One Week Later
    "jUno ... dos ... tres ... cuatro ... cinco ...
seis ... siete ... ocho ... nueve ... diez!"
    Garcelle smiled with pleasure in the rearview
mirror as she looked at Kadina, who sat buckled in
the backseat of her car. "Very good. You learn so very
quickly. Your father will be proud when you recite
the numbers for him when he gets home tonight."
    Kadina nodded as she sipped from the bottle of
fruit punch she held. "He already says I'm starting to
talk like you. I'm picking up your ashent," she said,
with pride.
    Garcelle laughed. "That's ac-cent," she stressed.
    Kadina laughed as well. "Yup, that's what he said."
    Garcelle steered her Cabrio carefully as she drove
them to Kahron and Bianca's to deliver the meals
she'd cooked for them at Kade's. She would clean the
house and warm up one