My Ex From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy) Read Online Free Page B

that my lack of interest had more to do with me than any deficiency on the countryside’s part.
    After a few moments, I reached the back fence. There was no one around. I couldn’t believe it. All that effort I’d gone to and the dumb guy hadn’t even shown. Not that I blamed him. He’d probably only promised to meet Bethany as a way to get rid of her. If he’d even existed at all.
    I was just about to turn and leave when someone moved out of the shadows. “Hey there, handsome …” I drawled in what I hoped was a sultry voice. I know “handsome” was beyond lame but as I’d opened my mouth, I’d realized I had no idea what his name was.
    He glanced up. The moon was behind him so I couldn’t see his face clearly. He seemed to have dark hair and be wearing jeans and a leather jacket but that was about all I got.
    “The name is Kai,” he corrected.
    How to put this without sounding stupid? Aw, screw it. There is no way. His voice made me tingle and shiver and warmed me in places that definitely should not have been warm at that moment. Think of every bad romance cliché and you’re getting close. Kai’s voice was dark and lazy and slightly foreign and … whoa baby, I’m getting weak just thinking about it.
    Name, voice, it all worked for me. Fortunately, he couldn’t see me nod like an idiot puppy at his words.
    I’ll give Bethany props for this. Based on voice alone, this guy could have been the world’s ugliest dog and I’d still get why she made the date with him. Although I was totally hoping the face would do the voice justice.
    Kai came slightly closer. Not near enough to reveal his face, but close enough for me to notice he was taller than me, with broad shoulders. I guessed he was about six feet to my five feet, five inches. Very promising.
    “Wasn’t sure you were going to come,” he said.
    I put my Bethany voice back on. “Of course I was, silly.” I added ‘casual’ into my voice repertoire. “Enjoying the moonlight?” Yeah, I was knocking that witty banter out of the park.
    Kai continued to move closer, until it was just the fence separating us. The voice inside my head cheered. That’s it, buddy. Come closer and let me see the goods .
    I almost lost my breath. He was that good looking. He was maybe about seventeen, but he’d outgrown that awkward boy-to-man phase. Before me stood a fine male specimen with dark hair that curled slightly at their ends, eyes the color of my favorite strong espresso, and wearing a spicy cologne that I found myself leaning into to inhale like a crack addict.
    Suddenly, I didn’t want him to think that I was Bethany. What was I supposed to do, though? Pull the wig off and look like some little kid pulling a Halloween prank?
    If I went through with my original plan of making him think that Bethany was dead weight, he’d probably bolt to get out of spending time with me. Her. I weighed my options.
    Even if I did get Kai to like me as Bethany, the chances of him meeting her again and realizing he’d been duped were slim. Which meant that I could have this night, Bethany would lose out, and then Kai and I would go our separate ways.
    I was a veritable mastermind of strategic planning.
    He shot me a cocky grin. “You gonna come out and play, sweetheart?”
    Insolent puppy. My total crushing on this dude was at odds with my natural inclination when hearing something like that to shoot off some sarcastic comment. I clamped my lips firmly together, swung my leg over the fence (big props for stretchy yoga wear) with only a moment of hesitation, and hopped down on the other side.
    “Better?” I raised an eyebrow. Two could play at this cocky thing.
    Kai shrugged and pushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. “It’s a start.” He sat down on some spongy ground and patted the place next to him. “It’s dry.”
    I sat down. Now, I’m going to be brutally honest. I had no idea what to do or expect. While I’d kissed a couple guys before, there’d been