Up in Flames Read Online Free PDF

absence.” She tried to stand but fell back down. “We have to get to him.”
    “Relax, Cara.”
    “Don’t tell me to relax,” she snapped.
    Hayden’s lips twitched in amusement, but other than that, he showed no sign of her words affecting him at all. “There’s that first mood swing.”
    “That’s not funny,” she snarled and tried to stand again. Her legs were just so damn weak. When she failed again, she sighed and glared at Hayden. “Do you mind? I could use some help.”
    “Alex is fine.” Hayden pushed her back down to the hearth. “I just talked to him not two hours ago.”
    Cara relaxed a little. “Does he know I’m alive?”
    “Not yet. I just told him I needed to talk to him and that it was important. If you had concerns about meeting him, then I would’ve kept your survival a secret for now.”
    She shook her head. “No. We need to tell him. He needs to step forward and sign that treaty with the senate.”
    Cara let out a tired breath and leaned back against the stone by the firebox. The heat from the stone seeped into her back, warming her. She suddenly felt very tired. “When will he be here?”
    “Three days.”
    Cara sighed and stared at the ceiling. “How well can you get me in three days?”
    Hayden snorted. “How hard do you want to work?”
    She studied his handsome face, and her stomach actually felt as though it flipped inside her. She’d never felt anything like this, and she didn’t like it. Not at all.
    “You can’t just shoot me up with something or give me a pill?”
    Hayden gave her a half smile that made her heart skip a beat. “It’s not that simple. Strength building is something you have to do. It’s not something I can give you.”
    “So what do we do?”
    “We work on building your strength and endurance.”
    “When do we start?”
    Hayden stood and held his hand out to her. “After you eat.”
    Cara stared at his hand, wondering if she touched him again if that weird fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach would return.
    “I won’t bite, Cara,” he said.
    His voice held just a hint of amusement, but his eyes shone with compassion and understanding. He made her feel safe, which was odd. Never in her life had she needed to rely on someone else for anything, most of all safety. It was a very strange predicament she found herself in, and she wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
    She chewed at her lower lip. Hayden didn’t rush her. He waited patiently as though he knew how she struggled with her feelings. Either he was incredibly astute, or she was incredibly transparent.
    She lifted her arm and placed her fingers in his palm. When his warm hand closed around hers, a tingling began in her wrist that quickly traveled up her arm. She jerked her hand away, startled at the sudden hitch in her breathing and the way her whole body heated.
    He frowned slightly. “Something wrong?”
    She shook her head. Tightening her resolve, she made her best effort to shove those strange feelings to the back of her mind, to the deepest recesses of her consciousness. She placed her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet.

Chapter Five
    Hayden watched the play of emotions across her blue eyes. He’d never seen anyone with eye color that matched their hair. The light blue was striking against her fair skin.
    “We’re going to walk slowly to the kitchen,” he said as he settled her hand at his elbow, then covered it with his.
    Her fingers were cold, and they trembled against his arm. Part of it could be weakness. Part of it could be the confusion and sparks of desire that occasionally ignited within the depths of her gaze. In truth, Hayden had trouble hiding his own attraction. She was beautiful—stunning, actually.
    Her hair hung halfway down her back and curled softly on the ends. She was about the same height as Miya and barely reached his shoulders since he was taller than average. Her muscle definition was obvious, even with the atrophy. It wouldn’t take her