The Distraction Read Free Page A

a live wire. My purse fell from my hand and I grabbed the door handle just to keep my legs from buckling.
    â€œWh-what are you doing here?” I managed.
    He was early. Two and a half days early. I hadn’t cleaned up; my stuff was everywhere. There wasn’t any food. I wasn’t wearing any makeup, my hair wasn’t combed, and my underwear wasn’t even remotely sexy. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. I was supposed to pick him up at the police station. We were supposed to have sex in the car twice. Maybe three times. Then we’d come back here so I could make him a huge homecoming dinner wearing dirty lingerie, only to have to warm it up later because he’d been unable to keep his hands off of me.
    I couldn’t move.
    His head tilted to the side. “I live here. At least I used to.”
    I pulled the shirt away from my chest, hiding my body’s immediate reaction to him. Was it weird that I was wearing his clothes? I hoped it didn’t freak him out.
    He still stood in the hallway, as if waiting for me to invite him in. It hit me all in a rush how rude I was being, and I quickly stepped back and pulled open the door.
    â€œSorry, I . . . Hi.” I stepped forward and rose on my tiptoes to give him a hug. “Welcome home.”
    Touching him was like brushing against open flames. Scalding, terrifying, but also fiercely addicting. His arms surrounded me, drew me closer, until my feet were barely touching the ground. My breasts, bare beneath the soft cotton, grew tender and heavy, and my fingers grasped his broad shoulders too tightly. I inhaled, dizzy from that familiar masculine scent that I’d missed so much these last few months, and then shuddered, like I hadn’t really breathed since he’d left. He had to feel my heart pounding against his hard chest.
    His head turned, and his mouth found my neck. He whispered something against it that I couldn’t hear, and my whole body quivered as his breath warmed my skin. The desire was still there, stronger than before. The intensity of it frightened me; I was almost afraid to set it loose. We would burn each other to the ground.
    Then he was pulling back slightly, his mouth seeking mine.
    And for some absolutely insane reason, I turned away.
    â€œChocolate,” I said, too loudly. He set me down, his hands lingering on my waist. “I just ate a cupcake, I have chocolate breath.”
    No, I did not just say that.
    He didn’t move for a moment, as if waiting for me to tell him this was a joke. Then he scowled, and withdrew his hands from my sides. One thumb tapped his lower lip. “All right.”
    â€œIt’s my birthday, that’s why I had the cupcake.”
Shut. Up. Anna.
    He froze, gave me a look that bordered on horrified.
    â€œI didn’t . . .”
    â€œOh, I know.” I waved my hand as if I wasn’t disappointed. “I don’t even know why I said that.”
    He didn’t know it was my birthday. I knew he didn’t, but it still struck me how little time we’d actually been together.
    He was frowning.
    â€œIt doesn’t matter,” I said. “Really.”
    I had clearly lost my mind. Or my nerve. Or both. Whatever the case, my sex drive was running full steam, but my brain was running interference. This wasn’t supposed to be awkward, but since I’d acted so strangely, he was pulling back as well. It was as if there were a barrier between us, a wall of glass that neither of us could break.
    Now inside, he took a slow look around, gaze lingering on the bat for a moment before I hurried around him to close the door. The bolt sliding home clicked loudly enough it might as well have been a prison cell.
    He stepped into the kitchen, getting his bearings. Goddammit. The plates were one thing, but I’d totally overdone it with the spice rack. I knew it.
    He picked up a mug beside the sink, then ran his index finger over the