Hearts Aflame Collection III: 4-Book Bundle Read Online Free

distract him somehow. Once I had successfully put all my supplies away, I approached him, a smile on my face.
    He wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my head. “I honestly don't think you care about yourself at all.”
    My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. This was exactly why I didn't do relationships, why men were only good for sex. If you gave them anything more, they started to get smart. They started to reach inside of you and unearth things you would rather forget about yourself. I spread my fingers across his back, trailing my hand up and down his spine.
    “Did you hear what I said?” he asked. I could already hear his voice growing more serene.
    “Hmm?” I replied, reaching up to kiss his neck. He responded by kissing me on my forehead. I strained, making my lips available to his. I gasped as he pressed his lips against mine. It was all so familiar and different at the same time. I couldn't fight the disappointment. I couldn't stop myself from comparing.
    As he became rougher, holding my lips in between his, thrusting his tongue into my mouth, I gripped his waist, pressing my body into his, wanting to be as close to him as possible physically, but at the same time, as far away as possible.
    I sucked in a deep breath as he began suck my neck. Warmth spread in between my legs as I felt him grow hard against me. I could feel his hands trailing up and down my torso. I winced as his cold fingers reached under my night shirt, a soft moan escaping my lips.
    John.
    But he wasn't John. He was Liam, and I had to keep telling myself that. I couldn't let my memories seep into our sex. Not this time. I wouldn't.
    There was a knock on the door. It was loud and demanding, as if someone meant to beat it down.
    We froze. All the anxiety from the last few hours hit me at once. We had run from the roof as quickly as we could, met up and immediately come back here. No one knew we lived here and the apartment was registered under a third party. So who could be knocking?
    “Police!” I heard the shout as if it had been produced by my own mind. I squeezed my eyes shut, imagining the gun I knew was in the bottom drawer of my jewelry box in our closet. I could see the fire escape, feel myself grabbing at the railings I ran down it.
    Initial reaction.
    But everything was going to be fine. We couldn't have been in trouble for anything. The government would sort it out.
    “Running won't help,” I murmured into Liam's chest.
    “I know,” he whispered in reply.
     

Chapter Four
     
    “I can't believe you missed it again!”
    John jumped at the shrill voice of his girlfriend as she reentered their kitchen. He shrugged, took another drag of his cigarette, then tipped the ash off into his tray before he replied. “I told you I wasn't going to be able to make it,” he muttered, an annoyed pinch to his voice.
    She stalked into the kitchen, yanked open the fridge and grabbed a plate full of leftover casserole. She slammed it onto the counter, pulled the top off, and paused.
    John took a deep breath, trying to ease his expression. He knew looking annoyed would only fuel her fire.
    “What the fuck, John?! Why did you eat all of it?” she demanded, shoving the half-eaten bowl in his face.
    He drew back and took another drag of his cigarette.
    She huffed, flipping her long, blonde wet hair over her shoulder, then went to grab a plate from the cabinet. “I just don't understand why you can't think of anyone but yourself,” she muttered, as she forked the food into her own plate.
    “I don't know what you're talking about,” he murmured.
    She froze for a moment, then slowly turned, fixing her blue gaze on him. “Do you even care?” she hissed, shifting her gaze for only as long as it would take to place her plate in the microwave and turn it on.
    John watched the plate of food spin around in the microwave, wishing to himself that he could get radiation poisoning and die right then and there. “What makes you think I