Page 40 of Fracture

My heart stops thumping in my chest, and I run my hands over my face.

I need to get out of the house.

I slide my feet into a pair of black flip-flops, and grab my purse from the chair before heading down the stairs.

I stop short when I see Dylan in the kitchen, leaning back against the counter, book flipped open in his hands. He looks completely relaxed, shirtless in a pair of jeans that hang low to reveal the tattoos that adorn his hips. One foot is crossed over the other as his eyes travel across the page. He smirks, running a hand over his mouth, and I see he’s reading one of my smutty Peter Pan retellings.

The knot in my stomach slowly unfurls as I watch him, as the smile on his face becomes wider. My shoulders start to relax. I move towards him slowly.

“Enjoying that?”

He looks over the book at me, and shrugs with a sly smile. “They just tied her to a tree, and well… She’s having a good time.”

“Didn’t pick you for reading smut,papi.”

“Where do you think I learned it all from?” His eyes stray back to the page. “I read.”

“Dylan Kovac, Sex God trained by women, huh?”

He shifts on his feet, closing the book and putting it down on the counter. “Something like that.” He tucks his hands into his pockets, looking me up and down. “You going somewhere?”

“I… I just had a weird phone call and I was thinking of heading downtown, maybe getting a coffee and buying more books.”

“Want company?”

Yes, I do. I want you to stop all this chaos. I want you to make my head go quiet so I can breathe.Without thinking, I rush at him and wrap my arms around his waist.

“Hey, hey.” He strokes my hair, cradling my jaw and tipping my head back to cast a searching look over my face. “Guera? What’s going on?”

“I just… I need a hug.”

He wraps his huge arms around me, holding my head against his chest so I can hear the soft thud-thud of his heartbeat. “Hugs I can do, any time.” He kisses the top of my head.

It could all be so easy. Maybe Dylan doesn’t even have to know…

I squeeze my eyes shut at the intrusive thoughts. “Why are you so good to me?”

Dylan inhales sharply, holding me tighter. His heart rate picks up, and I gaze at him to see his brow furrowed, as though my words have hurt him.

“Come on,guera, let’s get you that iced coffee and some more smut.” He smiles, though the pain remains in his eyes. He retrieves a shirt from the back of one of the kitchen chairs, and pulls on his sneakers. He eyes me thoughtfully as we get into my car.

“What?” I cast him a smile as I reverse the car out onto the street.

“That book, I mean… It’s dog-eared to shit. You… You like that kind of thing?”

“It happens to be one of my favorites, yes.” I toss my hair over my shoulder and hope I’m not blushing. “Always gets me out of a reading slump.”

“So the sharing and all that, it doesn’t bother you?”

“No, why would it?”

“Have you ever…” He trails off, and I glance over at him.

“Have I ever what?”

“Had a threesome?”

The air in the car is suddenly charged, and I’m not sure if I’m still breathing. I panic for a second that somehow my dirty fantasies have been broadcast from my brain and straight on to a screen above my head. I laugh awkwardly, taking the corner a little faster than I intended.

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