Free Heat Flash by Taylor Anne Page A

expelled a ragged breath. His eyes scanned the room before landing on hers. “I thought it was going pretty damn good.” His chest heaved up and down.
    “Because,” she faltered. Fury gripped her. “Because I’m not one of your women you can use only to toss aside when it’s convenient for you.” The words were out of her mouth before she could draw them back.
    He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His sandpaper voice was barely above a whisper. “Ken, I would never use you or hurt you.”
    She pulled away from his touch. Pain flashed in his eyes.
    “Too late,” she choked out the words. “You did a damn fine job of that once already.”
    “Aw, hell.” He put his head down in his hands. When he looked back at her, his words were quiet. “That was four years ago. That was a mistake. There were circumstances involved.”
    She waved her hand in the air, dismissing his explanations. She didn’t want to hear any excuses about that awful night. “Doesn’t matter. You rejected me. You betrayed me.” She looked him straight in the eye. “It hurt. And I can’t forget about it.”
    He had ripped her heart out four years ago. The entire family, including Mason, had gotten together to celebrate her father’s early retirement from the FBI. Kendall had a little too much to drink that night and she practically threw herself at Mason. He encouraged her advances and led her on almost to the point of them leaving the party to go to her room. Then he did one of the worst things a man can do to a woman. He blatantly rejected her.
    She was devastated by his rejection, but more so when he left the party, flaunting another woman in Kendall’s face. She vowed that night never to let him have even a scrap of her heart again.
    Nothing he could say now would make her pain go away.
    “Ken.” He took her face in his hands and gently turned her toward him. “Look at me. That night…. it was nothing….”
    “Nothing personal.” She retorted. “I know. That’s what you whispered in my ear when you left the party with your playmate.” She jerked her head out of his grasp. “Get the hell out of my house.”
    Without another word, she gathered up their empty beer bottles and went into the kitchen, leaving him to see himself out.
    ****
    “Thank you Mr. Sandeford.” Kendall shook the hand of her newest client. She smiled. This was going to be a big client for her. “I look forward to doing business with you and your wife.”
    “Same here, Miss Reed. And call me Art. We welcome the opportunity for an independent local to handle our accounting instead of contracting with a large corporation. Edith’s boutique isn’t quite ready for corporate minds. Actually, Edith isn’t ready for the corporate minds.” Mr. Sandeford’s laughter filled the air.
    Kendall let out a small chuckle. Mrs. Sandeford was a short, round, jovial woman who couldn’t care less about the corporate world. She only wanted to bring her boutique items to middle and lower class people who couldn’t afford to shop in larger, more extravagant shops.
    “Well, you tell Mrs. Edith I can’t wait to meet with her again.” Kendall did a complete walk around her Rogue before stopping next to the drivers’ side door. Uneasiness rolled off her in waves.
    “Ma’am, you all right?” Concern lit the older man’s eyes.
    Kendall shook off the shiver running down her spine. “I’m fine. Still a little concerned about those flats I had the other day when we met at Cajun Roy’s.”
    Shielding his eyes from the late afternoon sun, Art shook his head. “I can imagine that was a shock seeing both your front tires slashed. I’m still convinced it was a case of mistaken identity. Why would anyone want to do that to you? I wouldn’t put much thought into it. You know this city is full of criminals and mischief.”
    “You’re right.” Kendall slid behind the wheel. Of course he would think nothing of the act. He wasn’t aware of all the other incidents and