Hot To Touch: Hot To Touch, #1

By Layla Valentine

I'm the woman who has almost everything
But he's going to give me the one thing money can't buy…

Naomi:

I'm a businesswoman, a CEO, and a billionaire.
In business, I'm at the top of my game
But in love?… the numbers don't always add up.
So when smoldering-hot firefighter Ace gives me the eye
I figure it's high time for a hard-earned night off
And one night is all I planned, but it all went up in smoke…
How do I handle having a baby?

Ace:

She's a firecracker
The belle of the board room
And a freak in the bed
Smart, stubborn, gorgeous Naomi
She's been fighting so long, she doesn't even see that she needs rescuing
I'm gonna break down her walls
I'm gonna give her my baby

This is the first book in the Hot To Touch series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Layla Valentine
• Release date: Jun 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201505707

Book preview

HOT TO TOUCH

Book One

LAYLA VALENTINE

Copyright © 2022 by Layla Valentine

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

CONTENTS

1. Naomi

2. Naomi

3. Naomi

4. Ace

5. Naomi

6. Naomi

CHAPTER 1

NAOMI

W hat do you mean, the team only tested the system twice after installation? This is a thirty-million-dollar contract! I said with a huff into my cellphone as I strode out of Aspen/Pitkin County Airport. My single roller bag rattled along behind me as I moved through the crowd.

I’m sorry, Ms. Richards, but the chief operations officer said we only had the budget for two run-throughs. He told us to stop after that. The assistant on the other end of the line sounded mildly terrified—but unlike many of my associates at Archimedes Gears, I had never been the type to shoot the messenger.

Ian again, I muttered, knowing the COO in question was lagging behind too far to overhear. I ordered ten run-throughs, not two. Doesn’t the head of Engineering realize that I outrank Ian Shaw? This project has two of my patents!

Life as the CEO at Archimedes Gears never had a dull moment. I was always putting out fires or dealing with unpleasant surprises. Toss in the toxic old-boy network that resented answering to a woman half their average age, and I found I had to fight hard for things that should have sailed through without resistance.

I’m sorry, ma’am, really, the assistant said. She was younger than me, stuck in the dead end that was the clerical department. And of course, she was forced to break the news, instead of the man responsible, who was literally behind my back. She continued, I just thought it was better that you know. Is there some way that you can work in an extra test on the cable car before you take the clients up the mountain?

Maybe, I said.

I could hear Ian struggling to keep up behind me, puffing as he moved.

I suppressed a groan of frustration. Every time I turned around, he was sabotaging another of my projects with his impatience, his corner-cutting—and his eagerness to take the credit for my hard-earned successes.

Worse, he wanted to sleep with me. He wasn’t very blatant about it, and considering he had half my muscle tone and no backbone, I never felt unsafe around him. He was just…annoying, and persistent, and once he had realized it would never happen, spiteful.

Thank you for the warning, I told the assistant. I’m sure Shaw would never have told me on his own. Because he was a cowardly, backstabbing little weasel. The only advantage he had over me was that he didn’t have to fight to get the cooperation of every engineer, administrator, and board member in the place. And for the stupidest reason ever.

I understand, ma’am. Is there anything I can do? She sounded relieved.

I had shown a little too much of my pent-up fury over all of this, and I felt bad about it now.

Just keep your ear to the ground. I hung up, then quietly sent her a bonus from my discretionary fund. Despite my best efforts, none of the rank and file at Archimedes got paid enough.

I looked back at Ian, glaring daggers at him as I waited a few moments for him to catch up. He was reedy and colorless, and smirked at me as I waited.

Hurry up, we’re running late, I snapped at him, and he colored slightly, the smirk dropping off his face. Damn, Ian, don’t you ever hit the gym?

I prefer to exercise my mind. He sniffed haughtily between wheezes for air.

Now it was my turn to smirk.

And yet, I’m the engineer.

I had to spar with him. Our usual running half-argument covered up the urge to publicly dress him down for his undermining both my authority and my project.

I saved that for a private space instead—inside the hired car that drove us up to the High Peak Ski Resort, several miles away.

Crammed against the door on my side of the limousine, I made sure the soundproof barrier between the driver and us was closed, then turned a full-force scowl on Ian.

You want to explain why you’ve left me walking into a client demo of a barely tested custom cable lift installation?

He jumped slightly, the smirk wobbling on and off of his lips as his nerve kept failing him. Testing ten times onsite would have been a waste of money, he insisted. I couldn’t possibly justify it to the board.

It wasn’t up to you to justify it to the board. That’s my job. It was your job to back my play and make sure that those tests were completed.

It was a huge risk for