Degrees of Passion Read Online Free

made it easy enough to see by. The brown leather couch with worn edges, the somewhat faded red and gold area rug, the tall, skinny lamp that looked like it twisted apart in segments didn’t tell her much.
    ‘So, you never really said about the apartment,’ Sasha prompted, changing the subject away from her family. ‘How did a college boy get such a cool place?’
    ‘I’m not secretly rich, if that’s what you’re thinking. My uncle’s company manages the building. He lets me have the place at low cost while I’m going to school.’
    ‘That’s nice of him.’
    Kevin shrugged in dismissal. ‘Not really. My mother guilted him into it.’
    ‘How?’ Sasha didn’t know why she pried. The man just seemed so closed and guarded. She wanted to know more.
    ‘She had a falling out with her parents a long time ago and they stopped talking. She got in touch with her brother and I’m not sure what she said to him, but I help him out with handyman jobs around the place when he needs it.’
    ‘The owners don’t care?’
    ‘The owner keeps a mistress on the top floor. He even has a private elevator that goes from her home to the small parking garage downstairs. My uncle keeps an eye on her and discreetly doesn’t tell Mrs Owner about her husband’s side dish. In return, the owner lets my uncle do pretty much whatever he likes with the tenants – so long as order is maintained.’
    ‘Romantic story,’ she said wryly. Sasha moved across the room, to the thick black frames hanging on the wall. She half expected to see pictures of his family, some hint of where he came from. Instead, the black and white photographs were scenes from the city. Thick white mat boards surrounded them, professionally cut by hand.
    ‘Are you looking for romance?’ Kevin motioned towards one of the photos. What appeared to be a homeless couple smiled brightly, hugging each other tight from inside a shopping cart.
    Sasha laughed. ‘I wouldn’t have taken you for a softy.’
    The weight of her messenger bag lessened against her hip. Kevin lifted the strap over her head, taking it from her. She swayed towards him, heavy lids falling over her eyes. Her lips tingled to feel his, but he merely gave her a small smile and pulled away. He set the bag on the couch.
    ‘Shows what you know.’ His tone was low as he turned his back on her. Before she could ask him to clarify, he went to the kitchen. ‘Wine?’
    ‘Have you anything harder?’ Wine sounded too intimate. This wasn’t love and she wouldn’t let herself think it was.
    ‘Tequila it is,’ he said.
    She passed a window, seeing a balcony outside. It was accessed from a room to the right of where she stood. ‘That must be some girlfriend Mr Owner has upstairs if it scores you a private terrace. The view from my window is a brick wall.’ The clink of glasses sounded behind her and she smiled, not turning to look away from the view. ‘I always loved how you can see the stars from here in the Village.’
    ‘Mm,’ was his quiet reply of agreement.
    Anticipation wove through her. With each ticking second she knew they crept closer to what they’d come to do – an affair of the flesh, a one night stand, loveless sex. Nerves bunched in her stomach. Her hand shook and she really wanted a drink to steady her resolve. Sasha didn’t do this kind of thing, didn’t take sex lightly, didn’t have casual flings, but nor did she want to stop what was happening.

Chapter Two
    ‘I have a question.’ Kevin’s hand came from behind, holding a shot glass of amber liquor. ‘How long were you dating this ex of yours?’
    ‘Three years.’ Sasha gripped the little glass between two fingers. ‘Give or take.’
    ‘I never saw you with anyone.’
    ‘We, ah . . .’ Sasha quickly took the shot, tilting back her head. In her mind it had been three years. That’s when they went on their first date. It’s the date she kept in her head for just such a question. With their busy schedules and