Rugged Fire [Rugged Savage Valley, Colorado 4] Read Online Free PDF Page B

letting him go on and nodding.”
    “Really, Lianne, don’t sweat it. I’m fine.”
    “That’s not the point! I really wanted you to like them.”
    “You did?”
    Lianne stopped her angry pacing, realizing she’d said too much.
    “Do you like them?” Jamie asked.
    “N–No. I mean, that’s not what I was talking about. You’re my friend, and I have all that stuff going on with them—”
    “I’m beginning to wonder what kind of stuff, exactly.” Jamie giggled.
    “No! I just mean that with all the loan stuff, and then with all the crap you’ve been getting around town about your dad. I thought they wouldn’t care about all that.”
    “You so like them.”
    Lianne collapsed onto the couch, her breath coming out in a defeated huff. “Damn it.”
    “Look, don’t worry about me. I’m just fine. What you should be worrying about is getting them in your bed.”
    “Jamie!”
    “Let me guess. You went home, jumped straight into your pajamas, fixed a cup of hot tea, and are now trying to decide whether you should watch the new Jane Eyre again, read the next chapter in Emma , or do some work on the attic.”
    Lianne glanced down at her pajama-clad legs. “That’s not entirely true.”
    “Come on, Lianne. Call those boys up. Invite them over. Get yourself some lovin’.”
    “You’re still with the Yeatses, aren’t you?”
    “It’s possible.”
    “Have you already hit the moonshine?”
    Jamie didn’t say anything, only giggled.
    “Jamie! I told you to stay away from that stuff. It’s too strong.”
    Jamie muttered a reply, but Lianne’s phone beeped, blocking out the conversation for a moment. “Hey, Jamie, I’ve got another call, but be careful tonight, please.”
    “Yes, ma’am!”
    “Will you?”
    “Bye, Lianne. Blue eyes await me.”
    Lianne suppressed a groan. Jamie would do what she wanted to, but Lianne wished she’d do it with someone other than a couple of lion-shifters. She liked the Yeatses all right, but they were bootleggers. In fact, they kind of reminded her of her cousins Noah and Carter. Those two were the wild ones of the bear-shifters and the Yeatses were the wild ones of the lions. She didn’t want Jamie to get her heart broken when the Yeatses had had their fun with her. But she’d have to worry about that later.
    “Hello,” she answered the call, some of the annoyance lingering in her voice.
    “It’s Seb.”
    “Oh! Seb…um, hi.”
    “My brother and I are at the diner. We’d like you to meet us here.”
    “Oh, would you? That’s a very interesting fact you’ve shared with me. Thank you.” She felt her sarcasm rolling out but didn’t care to stop it. Why should she care that they wanted her to meet them at the diner? It wasn’t like she’d been waiting for them to call. She hadn’t left her makeup on or anything in case they decided to pop over. It wasn’t like she was the kind of girl who sat around waiting for a fella to call her up.
    “I know we messed up. Please come by. It only has to be for a few minutes. We’d like to apologize and buy you a milkshake.”
    She suppressed a giggle at the idea of a milkshake apology. Instead, she sucked in a long, drawn-out breath and then let it out nice and slow. “I guess I can make an appearance.”
    “Good,” Seb said. “We’ll see you soon.”
    There was a small beep letting her know the call had been ended from his side of the line, and Lianne shook her cell phone in frustration, annoyed that she never knew what the hell she was supposed to say to him. But then a jolt of excitement raced through her blood. She ran up the stairs, ripping her pajamas off as she went. She threw on her clothes again and, after a quick glance in the mirror, shot her makeup-covered face a smug smile. Good thing she had left it on.
    Then she dashed out the door, heading straight for the Carson twins.
     
    * * * *
     
    Lianne wrenched the door to Savage Hunger wide open. The scent of hamburgers on the grill, of mushrooms,