Read The Hotter You Burn for Free Online

Envy clawed at Harlow, but she paid it no heed. Brook Lynn was worthy of her happiness.
    For years she and her big, golden heart had chased after her party-girl sister, Jessie Kay, while working two full-time jobs just to pay rent—and she’d done it all while dealing with an inner ear disorder. Harlow wasn’t sure what the disorder was called; she only knew the devices in the girl’s ears prevented her from hearing whispers as loudly as screams.
    While Harlow had never turned her evil sights on Brook Lynn—even a bully of her magnitude had lines she wouldn’t cross—Jessie Kay and Kenna Starr, the sisters’ best friend, had not been so lucky.
    â€œAre you offering arsenic or bleach?” Harlow quipped.
    â€œI didn’t ask if you wanted what everyone in town would like to serve you,” Brook Lynn said staunchly, making Harlow flinch. “I asked if you were thirsty.”
    â€œI am,” she said, standing. “Thank you.”
    As an old, ugly dog playfully nipped at Brook Lynn’s heels, she held out a glass of ice-cold water.
    Harlow tried for ladylike, taking a dainty sip, but the taste of heaven snapped the tether to her control and she chugged the rest, draining every drop. No liquid had ever been cooler or more soothing, wetting her tongue and moistening her dry-as-the-desert throat.
    â€œThank you,” she repeated, feeling human again.
    Brook Lynn confiscated the glass. “Actually, you shouldn’t thank me. You should thank Beck.”
    His name alone caused her heartbeat to pick up speed and knock against her ribs. She’d stared at the back door for hours, willing him to come outside and check on her. Surely she’d built up the intoxicating effects he’d had on her.
    â€œIs he here?” Was he still in bed with Tawny? Her hands curled into tight little fists.
    â€œNo,” Brook Lynn said. “He was called in for a meeting, but he told me to take care of you while he was gone.”
    A contented thrill—followed by an irritating realization. He hadn’t cared enough to see her? Wow. Well, screw him. He disturbed her, rendering her breathless and shaky with a simple glance, but so what? Physical attraction never lasted. And neither did he! One and done, the king of the one-night stand.
    Harlow had no interest in being used and tossed aside, nothing but an afterthought to the man she’d welcomed into her body. She wanted affection and love, the kind she’d read about in books and seen in movies. The kind where couples fought to stay together, even during the worst of times. The kind that protected. Defended. Cherished.
    A pang of longing razed her. There’d be no name-calling. No shaming. No being made to feel worthless.
    Before dropping out of high school in favor of being homeschooled, she’d had boyfriends. A
lot
of boyfriends. She’d dated and dumped them at Beck-speed, searching for someone, anyone, to fill the void inside her. A void somehow made bigger when a machine exploded at Dairyland, the milk plant just south of town, killing half the workforce—including her dad.
    As horrible as he’d been, she should have rejoiced, right? All of her problems should have vanished in a puff of smoke. But that couldn’t have been further from reality.
    Brook Lynn turned and, without uttering another word, walked away, the dog prancing behind her.
    â€œBrook Lynn,” she called, and the girl stopped without spinning around. “I’m sorry for the way I acted. In the past, I mean...and recently.” RIP, blueberry pie.
    â€œThat’s great, I’m glad” was the response, “but actions mean more than words, and so far you’ve proved nothing.”
    â€œI know. But I’m still here, subjecting myself to this, so that I
can
prove I’ve changed.”
    â€œPlease. This, as you call it, is payment.” Brook Lynn glanced over her shoulder, looking very much like