He licked his lips. “Is that what you want?” he whispered.
Yes.
My body clearly wanted it, but we were best friends. We said we’d never cross that line. We had boundaries for a reason.
I thought of a few different ways to respond.
But whatever sexual tension existed between us over the years culminated in that moment and I was unable to form the words to stop what was happening. He touched my hand. His fingertips trailed up my arm and over my shoulder. It wasn’t an overtly sexual touch, but he might as well have stripped me naked. I felt exposed. I couldn’t resist what was happening between us anymore.
Instead of using my words to respond, I used my mouth. Leaning forward, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. Even though I initiated it, all the air left my body when our lips touched.
My heart stopped.
My mind went blank.
Fear was replaced by lust as he took over. His arm encircled my waist and he pulled my body flush against his. Tilting me, his mouth took control, moving over mine. Our kiss was both sinful and worshipful at the same time. Each meeting of our lips was even more decadent than the one before it and I could feel him restraining himself. But when my tongue met his, his grip on me tightened and a deep, rumbling moan vibrated through him.
He pulled away slightly.
I opened my eyes to find him staring at me.
“What are we doing?” he whispered.
I drew his face closer to mine and kissed him deeply in response. “Something we shouldn’t,” I murmured against his mouth.
His soft lips and magical touch created a sensation that coursed through my body. As our kiss intensified, his hand roamed down my back to my ass like it was familiar territory. Drawing me closer, he slipped his hand underneath my tank top and caressed me with his fingertips. That subtle touch alone sent shockwaves directly to my core. My toes curled when his tongue teasingly met mine. Shivers ran up and down my spine as his dick rubbed against me. It was all those little things that created the intense desire that twisted my gut so forcefully that I moaned into his mouth.
If I had on panties, they would’ve been soaked.
He pulled away slightly. “Brooklyn…” His voice was rough and thick with want. “Is this what you want?”
Instead of answering, I kissed him. For at least five solid minutes, we rolled our bodies against one another as we tasted each other’s lips. The long languid kisses were deep, sloppy, and hot.
“Brooklyn,” he groaned, the pads of his fingers brushing the underside of my breast. “I’m trying… but you’re making it hard.”
“I can feel how hard it is.” I sucked on his bottom lip. “And that’s making it hard for me.”
“Are you sure this is a bad idea?” His finger moved over my hardened nipple. “Because I’m not.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Yes, it’s definitely a bad idea.”
“So, you don’t want me to eat you until you come?”
His words sent a chill down my spine. But at the exact same time, reality hit me.
“You’re my best friend. I don’t know why the idea popped in my head, but I think it’s just the craziness of the week. It’s stress. My body’s reaction to everything going on with me and happening around me is to release the stress in the best way possible. I haven’t had sex in a while and you’re admittedly a very attractive man. I think it’s just a combination of stress, tiredness, and horniness. That’s all. That’s all it is,” I overexplained as words somersaulted from my mouth.
His hand slipped from my breast and relocated to the small of my back. He was quiet. The way he looked at me was uncharted territory.
“I’m just stressed and it’s making me crazy,” I added.
Nodding slowly, his eyes searched mine. “You never answered my question.”
“I know,” I whispered, blinking back a wave of emotion that came over me suddenly.
“Why?”
A minute passed before I could give him my honest answer. “Because I’m scared.”
He planted a gentle kiss against my lips before pulling me onto his chest. Without another word, he held me until we fell asleep.
…
Chapter Nine
I cracked my eyelids open and realized I was in bed alone. Groggily, I grabbed my phone and immediately shot up. It was way later than I thought. Looking through my phone, I had three missed calls from Kim’s burner phone and a text message to meet her in the back with the rugs. I had a couple of hours to spare and wanted to talk to Jay in the light of day. I wanted us to have a clearheaded conversation, free of alcohol and hormones because last night was a mistake.
Though… it didn’t feel like a mistake.
“Jay?” I called out as I walked through the apartment.
When I made it to the kitchen, I noticed that he was gone and so was the duffle bag he carried to the gym. Part of me was relieved to put off the conversation because I didn’t know exactly what I was going to say. I knew we needed to talk about it, but I didn’t know how I felt about what happened. I just knew that our friendship changed last night. The other part of me wanted to live in denial. Either way, I was going to be thinking about what happened for the rest of the day.
Like I don’t have enough on my plate. Closing my eyes, I rubbed my temples. What is going on with my life?
Two hours later, I walked into the furniture store with my head on a swivel. I was greeted by
