Free White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout Page A

expression suddenly hard. “Petr will not go anywhere near you. I promise you that.”
    My stomach knotted up. Pulling free, I rolled onto my back. I drew in a shallow breath. “I thought Abbot told them they weren’t welcome back here.”
    “He did, Layla. Father isn’t happy about them being here, but he can’t turn them away.” Zayne moved onto his side, facing me. “Do you remember when we used to pretend this was an observation deck for NASA?”
    “I remember you dangling me off the edge a couple of times.”
    Zayne nudged me. “You loved it. You were always jealous that I could fly and you couldn’t.”
    I cracked a smile. “Who wouldn’t be jealous of that?”
    He grinned as he looked over his shoulder. “God, it’s been years since we’ve been up here.”
    “I know.” I stretched out my legs, wriggling my toes inside the sneakers. “I kind of miss it.”
    “Same here.” Zayne tugged on the sleeve of my sweater. “We still on for Saturday?”
    For years, we’d been visiting a different coffee shop every Saturday morning. He’d keep himself awake to do so, prolonging the moment when he’d return to his room and assume his real form, the one that allowed him to sleep. The only true rest a gargoyle gained was when they turned to stone. “Of course.”
    “Oh. I almost forgot.” He sat up, reaching into the pocket of his jeans. He held a slender rectangular object in his hand. “I did pick this up for you today.”
    I grabbed the cell out of his hands, squealing. “It’s a touch screen! Oh, my God, I promise I won’t break it or lose it. Thank you!”
    Zayne rolled to his feet. “I went ahead and charged it. All you have to do is program your numbers in there.” He grinned down at me. “I took the liberty of programming my number as your first contact.”
    I stood and hugged him. “Thank you. You are the awesome sauce.”
    He laughed, easing his arms around me. “Ah, I have to buy your love. I see.”
    “No! Not at all. I’d—” I stopped myself before I said something I couldn’t take back, and lifted my gaze. Half of his face was shadowed, but there was a strange look in his eyes. “I mean, you’d still be cool even if you hadn’t bought me the phone.”
    Zayne tucked my hair back behind my ear, his hand lingering on my cheek. Bending at the waist, he pressed his forehead against mine. I felt him take a deep breath, and his hand flattened against the small of my back.
    “Make sure you keep the balcony doors in your bedroom locked,” he said finally, his voice deeper than normal. “And try not to roam around the house in the middle of the night. Okay?”
    “Okay.”
    He didn’t move. A slow burn started to slither under my skin, different than my body reacting to his. I forced myself to take a shallow breath, to focus on Zayne, but my eyes drifted shut. I tried to stop it from happening, but my imagination took hold and ran wild. I pictured his soul—his very spirit—warming the cold, empty places inside me. It would feel better than a kiss, better than anything. I swayed, my body leaning toward his, drawn in by two very different wants.
    Zayne dropped his hands, backing off. “Are you okay?”
    A tide of hot mortification burned through me. Stepping back, I held the phone between us. “Yeah, I’m fine. We—we should head back.”
    He studied me a moment, then nodded. I watched him turn and duck back into the tree house. I held my breath, waiting until I heard him drop to the ground below.
    I couldn’t continue living like this.
    But what choice did I have? Go full-throttle demon? That would never be an option.
    “Layla?” he called out.
    “I’m coming.” I lifted my head, and as I started forward, something caught my attention. Frowning, I squinted at the tree branch directly above the observation deck. Something wasn’t right about it. The branch seemed thicker, shinier.
    Then I saw it.
    Curled around the branch was an abnormally long and thick snake. Its