Forbidden Desires

by Jenna Hartley

  She shrugs, her voice lower than before. “I don’t know. I can’t say I’m not curious.”

  She mentioned earlier she isn’t drunk anymore, and I believe her, even though it’s hard to wrap my head around what she just said. This bold and direct Jules—someone I’ve seen several times over this last week—is extremely hard to ignore. She’s becoming bolder . . . more daring. But, what the fuck?

  I narrow my eyes at her. “Curious about what exactly?”

  She lifts her chin, exposing her neck some more, and I’m momentarily distracted by it, almost missing her answer. “You, Carter.”

  The way she looks at me makes me feel like I’m a freaking wonder of the world. I don’t realize I’ve taken a step closer to her until I see the reaction on her face. Her sharp intake of breath as she glances at me with wide eyes.

  “What about me?” My nose fills with the smell of her perfume. It’s subtle, the same one she’s been using for as long as I can remember. This time, it’s mixed with something I can’t identify though, something unique to just her.

  “I’ve always wondered about you, I suppose.”

  Even though her reply wasn’t anything special, it does something to me. A strong awareness of my heartbeat overcomes me, and I feel breathless. Despite that, I smirk at her, momentarily wondering if I’m losing my mind. “You’ve wondered if I’m good in bed?”

  At that, she averts her eyes from me.

  But I won’t have it. “Look at me and answer my question, Jules.” I know I’m pushing her right now, but something inside me needs to know. “Is that what you’ve been wondering about?”

  She throws her hands up in defeat. “Yes, okay? Are you happy now? Goodness, Carter. I mean, look at you. You look like a freaking model, and you’re a good guy on top of it. We’ve all wondered. I can’t think of a girl in high school who didn’t have a crush on you at some point.”

  Her statement, mixed with her red cheeks, makes me stop for a second, my mind going completely blank before it reboots. “You,” I say, “had a crush on me?”

  “Oh, please. Don’t act like you don’t know. I’m pretty sure Ollie told you all about it and you guys had a good laugh about his silly little sister.” She purses her lips, and I see that sass returning.

  “Wait, wait. Your brother knew?” Wow. This keeps getting better and better. I’m floored, to say the least. “He never said a thing. Not once.”

  Now, she looks as shocked as I feel. “He didn’t?”

  I shake my head before shoving my hand through my hair.

  “Oh,” is all she says in response.

  We’re quiet for a moment, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

  This revelation is huge. For me at least.

  “So . . . you had a crush on me, huh?” I can’t help myself but feel a little cocky about it, wanting to dig deeper. No way can I let this go easily. Thankfully, the crowd has mostly disappeared, and the commotion around us has turned into white noise.

  “I think we just established that, Carter. Can we move on from that now? I’ve already embarrassed myself enough.” Her head dips, and I instantly miss the connection.

  Since I’m not sure what else to do, I keep pushing. “Do you regret having a crush on me?”

  She frowns at me. “No. Just talking about it feels weird and humiliating, especially since I thought you knew all these years and just ignored it.”

  I still can’t believe my best friend kept this from me. Somehow, I’ll have to figure out why.

  My hand goes to my chest. “I swear I had no clue.”

  She smooths out her dress even though it looks flawless. “Well, now you know and we can stop talking about it, all right?”

  In a twisted way, her obvious discomfort is amusing. She looks fucking cute, all flustered and discombobulated. Like I’m getting under her skin. “Okay. Let’s get back to the ‘being good in bed’ part then.”

  Her mouth drops open at my words. It takes her a moment to compose herself, but I give her whatever time she needs. When she gives me a small smirk that’s sexy as hell, I wonder if I’m playing with fire, and suddenly, I wouldn’t mind getting a little burnt.

  This whole conversation is a game-changer.

  She leans in closer like she’s about to whisper a secret to me. “Does that mean you’re ready to tell me then?”

  Knowing she had a crush on me when we were younger has fueled something inside me. Something forbidden, a fire that’s tormenting me, begging me to take what it wants, what it has desired for so long but has always been denied.

  The taboo of it all has somehow vanished. Even though I can think clearly enough to know there’ll be consequences, I don’t care.

  Something inside me snaps, and I take another small step toward her.

  Bending down, I move closer to her face, barely missing her cheek as I move my mouth to her ear. “If you’re so curious about it, why don’t you find out yourself?”

  Silence.

  Even though we’re in the middle of a busy public place, it feels like only the two of us exist.

  Then she lets out the tiniest yet most potent moan I’ve ever heard. Not sure I was supposed to hear it, but I did. Despite knowing exactly what’s right and what isn’t—making a move on my best friend’s sister is definitely not on the right side—I turn my head slightly to the side and take her earlobe between my teeth.

  After a soft tug on it, I move further down and give her throat a gentle kiss.

  “Carter, what . . . what—” The rest of her sentence disappears into thin air as I suck on her skin.

  After a moment, I move back a few inches to look at her. Her eyes are closed, the lights around us bright enough to show her flushed cheeks. When she opens her eyes, they’re pure fire. It’s potent and draws me in like nothing else. She licks her lips absentmindedly as her gaze flickers to mine.

  A brief moment of doubt hits me. “Jules, I don’t know what to say.”

  “Then don’t say anything.”

  Instead, I can’t help myself and gaze at her mouth too, making it pretty obvious what I want.

  When I look back up at her, the fire seems to burn even brighter in her eyes.

  “Just kiss me already, Carter.” Her voice is steady, and I know those words will forever change our relationship.

  So I do.

  Any willpower I had left vanishes the second my mouth makes contact with hers. Her lips are like a whole new world, begging to be explored, urging me on to learn everything there is about them.

  This feels good. So damn good. Maybe even too good.

  I can’t think clearly anymore, my mind completely taken over by everything Julia.

  She keeps making little noises in the back of her throat that spur me on even more. Our lips and tongues fight for dominance, unable to get enough of each other fast enough.

  Grabbing my shirt, she pulls me even closer, not that I’m complaining. This gets me exactly where I want to be, pressed as close to her as possible.

  My hard body pushing into her soft one.

  Her hands find their way into my hair, around my neck, and down my back, until it feels like she’s touching me everywhere. I know we’re both in trouble when she squeezes my ass, and I’m close to pulling her legs up around my waist.

  Loud catcalls around us snap me out of the fog, clearing my muddled brain enough to pull back.

  “Jules,” I whisper, waiting for her to open her eyes.

  When she finally does, a small smirk forms, her eyes shining with mirth.

  She takes my hand and starts pulling me away from the balcony. “Let’s go back to the hotel bar, Carter. I might need another drink.”

  How am I going to survive this woman?

  Chapter 11

  Julia

  The bar is more crowded than it was during my earlier visit with Marc, which makes sense. It’s now close to 10 p.m., meaning prime time is just starting in Vegas. People are everywhere, most bodies showing more skin than they’re hiding. Disp
laying your best attributes loud and proud definitely seems to be the theme in this city, even more so when the sun is down.

  By some luck, a couple leaves their spot at the bar just as we make it there, and we conveniently slip into the smooth leather chairs.

  Thankfully, the bartender spots us right away, and Carter orders two Long Island Iced Teas and some orange juice.

  What the heck?

  He looks at me and shrugs. “If there’s one thing you do even worse than drinking alcohol, it’s mixing alcohol. I’d rather have you drunk again than hanging over the toilet half the night.”

  “That only happened once years ago. How do you know all this stuff? You weren’t even at that party.” I give him a look, still more shaken up about that kiss than I’d like to admit.

  Because . . . Carter Kennedy just kissed me.

  Kissed. Me.

  Holy.

  Shit.

  He doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looks at his hands, giving me a chance to study him without interruption. His jaw is clenched and his mouth is drawn into a tight line, making my body tingle. It’s hard to focus on much else at this point when I can still taste him on my lips. Even forming a coherent thought proves to be difficult with our kissing scene imprinted in my mind and on endless repeat.

  “I just do.” The words are barely a whisper as his gaze flicks back to me. Even in the dimmed light of the bar, his eyes flash brightly, the hunger I saw earlier easier to recognize now.

  Hunger for me.

  The thought alone makes me press my legs together and squirm in my seat.

  He’s watching me so intently I’m certain he knows exactly what’s going on with me.

  Reaching out, he brushes a lock of hair from my face. “What are you thinking about, Jules?”

  “You.”

  It’s official: my brain’s on vacation.

  What is it about this man?

  I’ve never been this bold. With anyone. Ever.

  Somehow I like it. A lot actually.

  “What about me?”

  The drinks arrive and after taking a sip of the orange juice—much to Carter’s delight—he plays with the rim of his glass, clearly toying with me.

  His eyes shine with amusement, and the smirk he gives me turns my mind into a buzzing mess of static. Looks like he’s challenging me just as much as I challenged him earlier.

  “Oh, Carter.” Usually, I’m not one for playing games, but doing this with him is a thrill I’ve never experienced before. It’s incredibly exciting, not to mention a major turn-on.

  Moving to the edge of the barstool, I conveniently wedge myself between his open legs. Leaning forward, I keep track of his eyes as they move away from my face down to the neckline of my dress. “I think you know exactly what I mean.”

  The corners of my mouth twitch when I watch him swallow several times.

  He takes another sip. “Are we going to talk about what happened?”

  I shrug, the sheer thought of Carter and me together giving me sharp palpitations. “I don’t know. What’s there to talk about?”

  “I don’t know, Jules. Maybe the fact that you could start a small fire with the tension between us. This will be hard to hide from anyone, especially Ollie when he gets back from his vacation.”

  I stare at him for a while, my thoughts racing a mile a minute. Thankfully, he lets me be, probably knowing the wheels are turning in my head.

  There really are only two options in this situation.

  Option one: forget about the kiss we shared and pretend it never happened. I’m not sure how realistic the chances are of going back to the way we used to be before though because Carter is right, the chemistry between us is insane. It’s undeniable, and I can easily spot it in his gaze now that I know what it looks like. Seems like we’re a walking billboard of sexual tension.

  Option two: give in and provide our bodies with what they so clearly want. I mean, we’re both adults, so it shouldn’t be hard, right? Isn’t that what some people do? To get it out of their system? I know how Carter feels about relationships, so I wouldn’t run into any issues with him afterward either since we’re on the same page. Both of us knowing this wouldn’t go anywhere.

  We can just have a wild night in Vegas and that’s it.

  Nothing else.

  No old crush coming back to haunt me and no broken hearts, right?

  Easy peasy.

  I clear my throat. “As I see it, there are two choices. The aftermath of both will more than likely include some level of awkwardness, but I think at this point, that will happen regardless.”

  He cocks his head to the side, listening intently. “Go on.”

  “I suppose the question is, which kind of awkward do you want?”

  His voice is steady, his gaze alert. “I’m good with whatever you decide. I’ll deal either way.”

  I’m not sure I’m happy he’s putting the ball back in my court. It’s thoughtful he leaves the decision up to me, yet at the same time, I’d like to get a better read on him too.

  He must sense my indecision and leans closer. Like whatever he has to say next should stay only between the two of us.

  Grabbing me by the waist, he rubs his thumbs over my hip bones. “Don’t doubt for a second how much I want you. I’m close to losing it right here and taking what I want. But I also know this is a line we can’t re-establish once we cross it. I like to live on the edge though, and there’s no one else I’d rather take there with me than you.”

  My heart races like crazy, skipping beats as the sweetest buzz of excitement and anticipation rushes through my body. Those sensations make me even more aware of his eyes on me and his touch as one of his hands slowly makes a descent down my hip.

  I silently will that hand to move a few more inches to the hemline of my dress, both my body and mind already yearning for his hands on my skin.

  Looks like I found my answer.

  The aftermath of it definitely scares me a little, but the feeling of not taking this to the next level, and quite possibly missing out on the best night of my life, is even more frustrating.

  I take a sip of my Long Island Iced Tea, the warmth of the alcohol rushing down my throat. The smallest buzz in my system gives me the final boost in confidence I need.

  Closing the last bit of distance between us, I brush a finger across his lower lip. “I think we should put out this fire we started. Together.”

  He grabs my hand and brings the back of it to his mouth, pressing a soft kiss to my knuckles. “Fuck. Yes. Lead the way, gorgeous.”

  I close my eyes and take a deep breath, ready to melt into a pile of liquid lust.

  Carter chuckles quietly, clearly enjoying my state of desperation. I finally turn around and make my way out of the bar and toward the elevators as fast as I can, his hand still tightly clutched in mine.

  The ride upstairs seems to take forever, and I feel like ripping my hair out. We stop on almost every level, people filing in and out of the small enclosure, unaware of the need boiling inside me that’s threatening to make me go up in flames at any moment.

  Carter isn’t helping either, his fingers continuously playing with mine. The tension is intense, and by the time the doors open to our level, I’m ready to cry out loud because I’m so relieved.

  Luckily, we’re the only ones to leave on our floor and the hallways are deserted.

  “Finally.” I let out a deep breath, desperately wanting to shake off some of this tension.

  “You can say that again.”

  Carter’s voice seems off, and when I look at him, I’m stunned by the intensity of his gaze.

  Before I can think about it, I’m pressed to the wall by his body as he leans in to give me a kiss that tastes of sweet promises and an unforgettable night.

  Chapter 12

  Carter

  I groan when the light on the card reader finally switches to green and the door opens. We stumble into my room, still attached in as many spots as possible. My li
ps are on Julia’s neck, since I can’t get enough of her skin. It’s soft and warm, and smells amazing. Our hands roam over our bodies like it’s a competition—squeezing, testing, and touching body parts I’ve been dreaming of exploring for a long time. And she has no clue.

  Julia arches into me while I kick the door shut. We definitely don’t need an audience for anything going down inside this suite.

  Pulling back, I look straight into her lust-induced face. Her eyes are half-closed and she’s wearing this small smile that’s sexy as hell.

  Everything about her is sexy.

  “Jules, are you absolutely sure you want this?” It would kill me if she said no, but it would be worse if she regretted it later on.

  We both know there’s no going back from having sex with someone, as much as some people like to pretend there is.

  Sex changes things; it changes people.

  “Oh, hell yes.” Her voice is raspy, her smile turning into that sexy smirk from earlier.

  I’m a total goner.

  “Thank fuck.” I let go of her to take off my suit jacket before throwing it carelessly over the couch. My tie is next, followed by my shirt while I step out of my shoes too.

  All the while, Julia watches me, and I get a kick out of that. When I’m about to unbutton my pants, she swats my hands away, trailing her fingers from my waistband to my chest. She’s teasing me, leaning in to bite one of my nipples.

  “Jules.” The warning is a growl, my need for her so strong, I want nothing more than to throw her on the bed and put my hands on her.

  Thankfully, she takes pity on me, her hands wandering back to my pants. She unbuttons and unzips them, putting her hands into the front before they even hit the floor. At this point, I’m not sure who’s more desperate between the two of us.

  She cups me, eliciting a loud groan out of me when she squeezes gently. There isn’t much I want more than her hands on me, maybe her mouth too, but I know I wouldn’t last long. We’ll have plenty of time for that later.

  “Enough.” My voice is rough and laced with need as I spin her around and pull her body into mine, my throbbing hard-on pressing into her ass.