Only Read Online Free Page A

emotional distance, dropping her hand. He was shutting down and she didn’t know how to get them back to where they were a minute ago. “I know the difference between fact and fiction.”
    He shoved his hands in his pants pockets. “Did you read the handbook, too?”
    â€œNo.” And that was the truth. She had zero interest in reading a manual about his sex life with his ex. About his sex life with anyone but her. “I assume that part, whatever is in the handbook, is real.”
    He shrugged. “In a sense.”
    She had no idea what that meant. “Then I was right not to read it.”
    He stopped putting more space between them. At her comment, he shifted, moving in closer as he leaned. “I’m not following you.”
    â€œI wanted to get to know you and not the version of who you were when you were married.” Despite what he thought, she wasn’t looking for a good time or to reenact one of the more descriptive chapters. She wanted him, with her, alone and uncontrolled until neither of them could walk.
    Voices grew louder as a group of young males headed into the cul-de-sac. With every stumbling step they took, she held her breath, sure being interrupted would be just the excuse Bast needed to run. When the guys broke into drunken laughter and a chorus of some song that sounded vaguely familiar, she stiffened and waited.
    Tripping and wailing, they hit the first driveway and looked around. Then the shoving started. One after the other shouted about the “right address” but when the security light of the first building on the street popped on, the guys turned and took off.
    And Bast wondered why she wasn’t interested in guys her age.
    At least the light meant crisis averted. Now she had to figure out how to keep Bast engaged. She feared losing him now could mean losing any forward momentum.
    But he didn’t step back. “Maybe the guy in the marriage and the guy in the novel are the same guy.”
    No way did she believe that. He grumbled about the rumors of his sex life, but clearly missed the ones about him getting sick of a life he never wanted and getting out of the marriage rather than continuing with the fun. Kyra held on to those and hoped those strayed closer to the truth.
    â€œWhy did you leave your wife?” Inside Kyra winced at her clumsy delivery. The answer wasn’t really her business, yet it meant everything.
    Bast didn’t squirm or get angry. He just stood there, calm and in control, just like the Bast she knew.
    â€œHow do you know she didn’t leave me?” he asked.
    â€œAs you said before, we know a lot of the same people. They talk.”
    His control slipped a fraction as his eyes grew wide. “About my private life?” He threw up his hands. “That’s just fucking fabulous.”
    To a guy like Bast, all proper and educated, having his sex life blared in headlines and people snickering as they passed around stories had to be a huge blow. She felt for him but she had no idea how to make it better. Not yet. Not while they were apart. But she did know what she wanted. “Also, so we’re clear, I don’t have any interest in threesomes or sharing you with anyone else.”
    He went still. “What if that’s my thing?”
    â€œThen I’m not your girl.” Everything, all her plans and how much she ached to be with him, depended on his next response to keep the dreams alive and breathing.
    â€œKyra . . .” He adjusted his glasses even though they hadn’t moved. “Look, we—”
    â€œNo. Don’t feed me a line.” She rushed to stop whatever awful thing he might say to kill her attraction. “And don’t try to scare me off, because I don’t think you’re interested in threesomes either.”
    â€œThat comment makes me wonder how much you know about men.”
    â€œEnough to keep one satisfied.” She waited for the