Twisted Read Free Page A

body.
    Drew’s movements become uneven and jerky, more forceful
    and uncontrolled.
    And a moment later he pulls my hips back against him,
    holding me there, as one long, last guttural moan spills from
    his lips.
    Afterward, we catch our breaths. Still connected and quaking
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    with aftershocks. his hands smooth up my arms as he slips out of
    me.
    he turns me around to face him. his hands caress my cheeks,
    and then he’s kissing me.
    And it’s so sweet. Kind and loving. Such a stark contrast to our
    desperate movements moments before.
    I don’t know why, but my eyes fill with tears.
    Instantly, Drew’s gaze turns worried. “Are you okay? Did I . . .
    did I hurt you?”
    I smile through the tears, because they’re happy ones. Because
    in some weird, unexplainable way, I’ve never felt closer to him than I do right now.
    “No. I’m wonderful. Feel free to be not nice to me anytime.”
    Then he smiles too. Relieved and satisfied.
    “Noted.”
    Drew picks me up and carries me to the shower. We stand
    under the warm spray and wash each other worshipfully. Then
    Drew wraps us in thick, heated towels and bears me to bed.
    he pulls the blanket up over both of us and holds me tight
    against him.
    And it makes me feel precious.
    He makes me feel that way. Always.
    Cherished.
    Adored.
    Was I sore the next day? A little. But it wasn’t so bad.
    Too much information?
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    Sorry. Just trying to be helpful.
    In any case, the aches and pains of the following morning were
    more than worth it, as far as I was concerned.
    But what’s the point of all this, you ask? Why am I sharing it
    with you?
    Because good sex? Really, really good sex?
    Doesn’t need alcohol. And it’s not about compatibility, or prac-
    tice, or even being in love.
    It’s about trust.
    Letting your guard down. Putting yourself in another person’s
    hands and letting him lead you to places you’ve never been before.
    And I trusted Drew. With my mind, my heart, my body. I
    trusted Drew with everything.
    At least I did then.
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Chapter 1
    In high school, biology was my favorite subject. What fasci-
    nated me most were species that transform into a whole new
    being. Like pollywogs. Or butterflies. They start out as one thing, but end up something else entirely.
    Unrecognizable.
    Everyone always looks at butterflies and thinks, “how lovely.”
    But no one ever thinks about what they had to go through to
    become what they are. When the caterpillar builds its cocoon,
    it doesn’t know what’s happening. It doesn’t understand that it’s
    changing.
    It thinks it’s dying. That its world is ending.
    The metamorphosis is painful. Terrifying and unknown. It’s
    only afterward that the caterpillar realizes it was all worth it.
    Because now it gets to fly.
    And that’s what I feel like right now. I’m more than I was
    before. Stronger.
    Did you think I was tough before?
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    Fooled you. Some of it was just bravado. A façade.
    Dealing with Drew Evans is like swimming into one of those
    rogue waves at the beach. he’s overwhelming. And either you kick
    hard to keep up, or he rolls over you and leaves you behind with a face full of sand.
    So I had to pretend to be a hard ass.
    I don’t need to pretend anymore, because now I’m granite.
    Impenetrable, all the way through.
    Ask anyone who’s survived an earthquake at midnight, or a
    house fire that wipes out everything that matters. Unexpected dev-
    astation changes you.
    And I mourn the old me. And my old life. The one that I had
    planned to share with Drew forever.
    You seem confused. Sorry—let’s start again.
    See that woman over there? On the swing, in this empty play-
    ground?
    That’s me—Kate Brooks.
    But not really. Not the Kate you remember, anyway. Like