Free Not For Sharing (Romance with Sizzle) by Kenzi Costello Page A

apart if he did) I
didn’t want to know the details quite honestly because my Ethan was pure
of heart, ok maybe a little scorched around the edges but 24-carat all the
same. I had only known him to be overly-protective of me, and I believe this
was instilled in him through seeing his mother suffer years of abuse at the
hand of his father. At age 13, and during a particularly violent episode, Ethan
jumped in between them and knocked his father unconscious. This impulsive act
severed their relationship completely and his father died from alcohol
poisoning not long after. This was around the time that Ethan began his slow
decline down a reprehensible path. I’m not sure that he had ever confronted his
demons, which, I believe, is why he trivialised sombre or heated moments, and
which I could find quite exasperating.
    His riotous
nature as an adult was rather more selective, seen only in exceptional
circumstances. The only time I’d had proof of it was very early on in our
relationship. I had expressed to Ethan my fury at a colleague, from our parent
company, who had taken a drunken lunge to indecently grope me at a corporate
event. I re-call Ethan being disturbingly quiet. He clicked his neck to the
side, his eyes blinked rapidly and I could see his jawbone repeatedly
clenching. I had never seen him react like that before, and haven’t since,
thank goodness. I heard through the grapevine three weeks later, that my
colleague had been seen with black eyes and a broken nose but had refused to
report the incident further. I never challenged Ethan about it, I didn’t need
to, but Iquickly learnt never to mention
any impropriety again, well not anything I could handle myself anyway.
    I hold my
forehead, trying to stop my shrivelled brain from banging against my skull. I
certainly didn’t miss this part of getting smashed. I can safely say that beingtee-total is the way forward , again. Then I feel my heart sink as
notions of Ethan’s alleged affair begin to persecute my soul again.

Chapter 2 – Smitten
    11 Years Earlier
    Pru had met
the notorious Ethan Cassidy when she was a wide-eyed 18yr old, and he, four
years older at 22.She was now 29 years old and more passionate than ever but
with Ethan becoming strangely withdrawn, she had started to question whether
the chemistry was still there. It hadn’t always been like this. The hot-blooded
attraction at their first encounter was unmistakeable. However, at the time,
Pru had needed far more persuading than Ethan to act upon it…
    It was the
summer of 2001 and Ethan was enjoying a few beers at a local wine-bar, The Clover
Club, preparing for a boisterous Saturday night ahead with several friends.
Riley, his closest friend, was celebrating his 23rd birthday. Their simple itinerary
included a pub crawl around town, rounding off with a visit to Quantum Casino ,
in the city. Ben, being the youngest and unable to keep up with the others, had
made other plans.
    “Shit! I
really have to go. I’m supposed to be on a date in Henri’s restaurant
and I’m an hour late already,” slurred Ben, his eyes glazing over. His one knee
would buckle every few seconds as if an invisible hand was jabbing his leg from
behind.
    As his
friends burst into derisive laughter, Ethan smirked and knuckled his friends
head with fondness. “You can’t even entertain a sensible thought right now
Benny, let alone a woman.”
    An indignant
Ben protested loudly and slovenly. “Hey! I must be doing something right
because this will be our fifth date,” he said smugly, holding up four fingers.
“I can charm the ladies as much as the next man.”
    “Unless the
man next to you happens to be Ethan,” said James, throwing in a resentful
penny’s worth, but Ben was insistent of his supposed allure.
    “I’ll have
you know I had women falling all over me last night.”
    “Only
because you collapsed in the doorway,” Riley remarked dryly as the men continued
to jeer the apathetic Ben, bonding over the