Buy Link: The Distance Between Us
Author: L.A. Witt
Publisher: Samhain
Length: Novel

Rating: 4.75

Rhett Solomon and Ethan Mallory have recently ended their 10-year relationship, yet they are stuck living together until they are able to unload their house. They decide to take in a roommate in hopes that the extra income will allow them to separate sooner.  Yet neither of them are quite expecting the gorgeous, green-eyed Kieran Frost to walk through their door.

Both Rhett and Ethan are immediately attracted to Kieran and each quickly start up a sexual relationship with their new roommate.  They have both been sure that their own partnership has come to an end and they are just biding their time until they can separate.  The lingering ties between them are so painful each can’t wait to move on and finally sever the cords. Yet seeing the other with Kieran, and later rekindling their own sexual relationship (both as a pair and as a threesome with Kieran), causes things to slowly begin to change.  They start to question whether the old feelings are still there and whether is it still possible to close the distance between them.

I really enjoyed this book and found the way Kieran’s presence affected the dynamic between them so interesting and deliciously complex.  Seeing their former partner with another man helped Rhett and Ethan suddenly see each other and their relationship in a way they weren’t able to when it was just the two of them. There were so many dynamics happening all at once, from the jealousy watching Kieran get to be with their former partner, to the way they used sex with Kieran as a way to help determine their own feelings for each other, to how they slept with each other to try and find a way to interact without fighting.

Early on after Rhett walks in on Kieran blowing Ethan in the family room, he and Ethan talk:

“I know what you were thinking last night,” he whispered, trailing kisses up the side of my neck to the underside of my jaw. “I saw it in your eyes.”

I bit my lip, sucking in a breath when he flicked his tongue across my earlobe. “What was I thinking?”

“Seeing us like that, it turned you on, didn’t it?” He pressed his hips against mine, and I shivered. He was as hard as I was and holy hell I want him.

“Of course it did.” I struggled to keep my teeth from chattering.

He raised his head and looked at me, his face just inches from mine. “You wanted him to suck your cock like that, didn’t you?”

I moistened my lips and looked him in the eye. “Not quite.”

His eyebrows jumped. “Oh?”

“I didn’t want to take your place.” I put my hands on his face and leaned closer to him. “I wanted to take his.” And for the first time in ages, I kissed Ethan.

The sex in this book is super hot.  The story is told from Rhett’s point of view, so we primarily see the encounters he is a part of, but there is plenty going on.  Each man is sleeping with the other two, both separately and in pairs.  And the first menage scene is off the charts hot.  But even with all the sexual hook ups, the emotional arc of the story is really focused on Rhett and Ethan and whether they can find their way back to each other after the past few years of their relationship falling apart.

I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the addition of Rhett’s daughter Sabrina. I am usually not a fan of books with kids. Maybe it worked for me because Sabrina was in college and not living at home, but I thought her presence helped to illustrate how much of a family Rhett and Ethan had become, and was one more example of why it was so hard to just end things cleanly.  Ethan had been a father to her for so much of her life, and having that relationship change was hard for all of them.

A couple of small quibbles.  Kieran is supposed to be incredibly built, working as a bartender in a place where only the hottest guys are hired. Yet Rhett has to teach him how to lift weights?  How is it possible he got this gorgeous body without ever knowing how to do a bicep curl?  Also, Rhett’s tongue stud seemed to be mentioned over and over to the point that the repetition became a bit distracting.  But these were little things, not major complaints.

I thought The Distance Between Us was a great story and I loved watching the way Ethan and Rhett’s relationship twisted and changed throughout the book.  They used sex as a way to get close enough to each other to move past all the fighting, yet I appreciated that in the end they took the time to actually talk out their problems and figure out what had led to their relationship falling apart in the first place.  And I loved how even though Kieran was a part of the whole thing, the book is still a love story between Rhett and Ethan.  I enjoyed watching their journey back to each other and it is definitely a recommended read.

P.S.  Not to worry about Kieran. He gets his own HEA in Witt’s upcoming book The Closer You Get.  I will be reviewing that next week and L.A. will be visiting the blog to talk about one of my favorite tropes, the virgin hero.  We will also be giving away both books in a giveaway next week so be sure to check back in!