She could feel the warmth of his big hands through the thin cotton fabric of her t-shirt.
He ordered her not to move, yet his hands had not stopped roaming over her back.
Kira counted to sixty in her head and gently pushed him back. "Time's up.'
Her face was flushed scarlet.
'Can you stay still now?' she complained. 'You're letting the doctors' good work go to waste.'
She had never seen a man who treated his body with a more cavalier attitude.
Didn't he care about his own well-being at all?
'We haven't seen each other for ten days. Do you think a one-minute hug is enough?' Austyn said grudgingly. Kira snorted. 'And whose fault is that?' He had no comeback to that.
It was his fault.
He leaned back against the headboard and had to be content with looking at her instead of touching her.
Kira had lost weight.Exclusive content from .
When he held her, he could span her entire waist with just one palm.
She was petite to begin with.
Now she must be underweight.
'Did you skip a lot of meals?' he asked.
'What did Deborah mean?' Kira asked at the same time.
Austyn heard her question.
He had been anticipating it.
Deborah's parting shot was delivered to him but aimed at Kira.
'Well?' Kira prompted. 'She said some things can't be kept hidden forever. The longer the silence, the deeper the hurt.'
She repeated Deborah's words almost verbatim.
'What did she mean by that?'
Austyn maintained an impassive look on his face but deep down, he was starting to panic.
He had to think on his feet. 'She's trying to drive a wedge between us.'
'Why?' Kira paused. 'Stupid question. Forget I asked.'
Deborah had not given up on trying to snatch Austyn away.
Kira changed her question. 'How?'
Austyn said in an even voice, 'She's trying to make you believe she and I share a secret, to make you jealous.'
'Do you?' Kira couldn't help but ask. 'Do you share a secret with her?'
'See? By asking me that, you've fallen into her trap. Austyn artfully dodged the question. 'It's hard to prove a negative. If I tell you the answer is no, I can't offer you any evidence. Then you won't believe me. You'll come up with all kinds of wild guesses and insist that I tell you the truth. Then we'll argue. And she will have gotten what she wanted.'
Kira smacked the side of her head. 'Oh! Talmost fell for that!'
She looked sheepish. 'I've been trying to puzzle out what the "secret" is this entire time. I even asked Damian about-
Her hand flew to her mouth.
She almost let it slip.
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Austyn caught her movement. 'What did you ask Damian?'
More Than Just An Apology Kiss