Psyche Souffle (Knead to Know Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

we’re on a tight deadline. If you were going to plan the perfect seduction, what would happen?”
    Phoenix was worse than I was. “Seducing someone isn’t the same as love. He’s been doing that for centuries and she still doesn’t love him. He needs to win her heart. There’s a difference.”
    He shrugged. “Agree to disagree. How does he win her? How would I win you?”
    My eyebrows shot up. “Those are two different questions.”
    “I don’t think they are.”
    “Well, you winning my heart would be damn near impossible,” I lied between my teeth. Phoenix was so dangerous and frightening to me for the exact opposite reason. I could too easily fall for him, and he would destroy my heart because he wasn’t the type to ever allow himself to feel the same way.
    “Exactly,” Phoenix said. “We need to operate on the assumption that Psyche feels the same way about Cupid. How do we get around that?”
    I chewed on my thumbnail. Phoenix stood in front of me in boots, black leather pants that looked soft and supple, and a black sweater. Did he have any non-leather pants? I had doubts. It wasn’t as hard as it should have been to imagine us together. “Do you always wear leather?” I asked, avoiding the question.
    “Pretty much. Does it bother you?”
    I shook my head. It looked good on him. “I guess the first step would be getting me to trust you.”
    His dark eyes searched mine. “It’s that easy?”
    “Says the compulsive liar and manipulator. Building trust, especially once it has been broken time and time again, is possibly the hardest thing to do.” I glanced at my watch. Holy crap. Time had really gotten away from me. I shot to my feet. “I have to go. We’ll talk later.”
    “You’re abandoning me? You piss off a god and leave. Really?”
    I waved over my shoulder. “I’ll call you if I think of anything.”
    The apartment above the bakery was dark, which meant Izzy was asleep. Not that baking was an illicit activity, but explaining why I never needed to rest was hard. I unlocked the alley door and slipped inside, breathing a sigh of relief. Being here was like coming home. Actually the bakery often felt more like my home than my house did, but I pent more time here, so I guessed it made sense. I replaced the apron on the hook by the door with my coat, then switched on the light.
    Phoenix sat on a stool, waiting for me. “So predictable.”
    I tied the apron around my waist. “Why are you harassing me again, already? Do you have Psyche’s address?”
    “Not yet.”
    “Great, then I have time to do what I need to do.” Phoenix mentally exhausted me. “I promise I’ll think about ways to get her to fall in love with him, but I can’t think about anything if you are here.”
    Phoenix crossed his arms, pleased creases forming around his eyes. “Oh, really? And why is that? Do you find me irresistible?”
    “Hardly.”
    “Alluring?”
    “That pretty much means the same thing.”
    “Tempting.”
    “Still a synonym.”
    He grinned at me.
    “I find you…” I pressed my hand into his chest. “Distracting and you know that. In fact, you do it on purpose. You like to see me squirm.”
    His eyes darkened as they trailed down to my hand, still resting against his chest. The room suddenly felt small. “I haven’t even begun to make you squirm.”
    I hadn’t been with anyone since my ex-boyfriend Baker, so it had been a while. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. I had almost given into Phoenix a couple times. But even if I could have kept my emotions out of it, I wouldn’t have been able to give him what he wanted. I didn’t have a problem with a little casual sex between friends sometimes. But the half-vampire thing complicated my life more than I ever anticipated. I wasn’t ready to accidentally murder him, or anyone, during sex. I needed to know I had complete control and if tonight proved anything it was that my hunger still held the reins.
    He broke the spell by laughing.