by Kendall Ryan
“You don’t like that?” I rub her right where she needs it. She clenches her jaw and closes her eyes. I haven’t moved aside the fabric yet, but I can feel how wet she already is.
“Please, Cam,” she whimpers. I pull at her dress with my teeth, and when I rub my nose against her nipple, she gasps. “Please, what?”
“Touch me.”
Anything for you.
I push one finger into her then, eliciting a strangled cry from her. I tease her, savoring each little sound that escapes her. She reaches down, fumbling for my zipper. It takes her far less time than it took me to figure it out. In seconds, she has my engorged length in her hand.
This is going so fast. Too fast.
Three seconds later, I finally have her out of that damn dress, and my pants and boxers are shoved down. Settling in my lap, Natalie rubs the tip of my cock against her silken wet core, egging me on.
Fuck.
“I don’t have a condom with me,” I groan through gritted teeth.
“What, you didn’t think we were going to be doing this tonight?” She smirks, her cheeks painted red. She may sound cocky, but I know she’s just as in awe of this as I am. I dip my head down and flick her erect nipple with my tongue. She shivers.
“A man can dream.”
“Hold on.”
Natalie props herself up on her elbows, giving herself enough leverage to reach over and rifle through the top drawer of her nightstand. Then, this beautiful creature with her mussed hair and half-torn dress pulls an entire roll of new condoms out of the drawer. Is this a goddamn magic trick or am I actually this lucky?
She grins sheepishly at me. “What?”
“You’re perfect.”
“Don’t you want to know why I have these? My mom thought I was too much of a prude, so she gave—”
“I don’t care,” I mutter against her lips, crushing them with a kiss. I rip a single condom off the roll, leaning back to slide it on.
“Let me,” she says, her eyes wide and eager. She takes the condom from my hand, slowly guiding it along my length. She breathes her warmth against my neck while her hands stroke against my shielded cock. I shudder. This is excruciatingly magnificent.
When Natalie lies down next to me, I move over top of her, our chests touching skin to skin.
“You sure?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she whispers.
I nod. With one long, slow thrust, I push inside the hottest, tightest heat I’ve ever felt. Natalie cries out.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, fuck. Yes . . .” She gasps. “Just more.”
And I give her exactly that.
Jesus.
Natalie fits me better than I could have ever imagined. And I did imagine. This is every fantasy I’ve had for the past few weeks, now come to life. And it’s better than any dream I’ve ever had.
Shit.
I’m going to lose my shit soon if I don’t take it slow. I need to relish the embrace of her arms, her lips, her pussy. I can’t take any of this for granted, because this very well may not ever happen again with the obstacles we both have to face.
The question is, how much longer can I last?
Chapter Eighteen
Natalie
I was right. The sounds Cam makes while he’s inside me are more satisfying than any fine wine.
“Fuck, Natalie, you’re perfect.”
These short, breathy words rush into me, filling me. With each deep, meaningful thrust, I float even higher.
Cam’s lips trace my collarbone as his deft fingers rub tight circles against my clit. His thrusts are shallow, teasing me with promises of even more pleasure. But I’m greedy as all hell.
“Cam!” I gasp. “Please!”
He dips his arm beneath one of my legs, shifting his angle of penetration. With a slow, patient thrust, he finally fills me to the hilt. His pelvic bone is flush against my clit, pressing unforgiving pressure against that needy bundle of nerves. I buck unconsciously, my back arching.
One of his hands slips behind me to support my writhing body. The other gathers my hair at the base of my neck and pulls, revealing a sensitive spot of my neck and angling my aching breasts toward the ceiling. Never one to leave me wanting, he draws my painfully erect nipple into his mouth. His tongue flicks and teases it. I cry out, losing my mind with the feeling. Soon, his tongue lathing my breasts synchronizes with his hip thrusting as he pushes himself deep into my body, which is suddenly so needy for him.
How is he so good at this?
Each roll of sensation shoots shivers from my nipple to my clit and back again. I can feel him growling against my sternum, losing some of his perfect control.
“God, I’ve wanted to feel you . . .”
“How long?”
“Forever.”
His mouth is on my throat, and I’m seeing stars.
“Oh, Cam,” I cry, suddenly so, so close.
“Is it good?” he whispers against the column of my throat, and I dig my fingers into his muscled ass, pulling him even deeper.
His thick length hits me in just the right spot, and we both feel it. That explosive connection that’s about to combust.
He fits me like he was always meant to.
“Yes, yes, yes . . .” I can’t stop the word from slipping out of my lips. I’m quickly arriving at a place I’ve never been before. Suddenly, I’m terrified that I won’t ever recover from this, this blinding pleasure, and that no one else will ever again measure up.
I don’t have time to think any more as pleasure pulses through me. My walls clench and unclench around Cam’s impressive girth. He’s perfect. It’s like he was made for me.
My cry of ecstasy is muffled by his kiss, tongue against tongue. Shivering with pleasure, I come undone around him. He pumps faster, gaining just enough traction to then lose himself. Cam groans into my mouth, matching me shudder for shudder.
His body drapes across mine in an embrace of hot skin. I cling to him, refusing to let this perfect moment end just yet. Our bodies are still sensitive with the aftershocks of that sexual earthquake.
Laughter bubbles out of me before I realize what is funny.
“What?” Cam asks, his lips moving pleasantly against my collarbone.
“We’re so stupid.”
“Why’s that?”
“We could have been fucking for the past decade,” I say between gulps of air. My heart is still pounding.
He chuckles. “You wouldn’t have wanted to have sex with me back in high school.”
“And why’s that?”
“I didn’t know any tricks yet,” he whispers, drawing a featherlight circle around my nipple. It perks up without my permission.
“No fair.” I pout, rubbing my leg against his upper thigh. Even the lightest of touches wakes up his cock. I feel it hardening again against my hip.
“Hey now,” Cam says, propping his head against a free hand. The flush of his cheeks and the smile on his face make me so happy.
“Hey now,” I repeat, pressing one hand to his scruffy jaw so I can draw him in for a soft, warm kiss. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him as we settle under the sheets.
All the time I spent sleeping in a bed alone, I had no idea what I was missing. I knew I was lonely, but not to this extent. My heart aches.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, always knowing.
“Nothing. I’m just happy.”
With that, he squeezes me tighter. There’s no place I’d rather be than here, dozing off in my best friend’s embrace.
• • •
“What the fuck?”
My eyes snap open. Cam jolts up beside me, yanking the sheet over my naked chest. It takes me a moment to know what startled him.
Jack.
He’s standing there with rubber gloves and a garbage bag slung over his shoulder.
“Jack!” I squeak. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to help clean up,” he says. His voice is empty and cold.
Cam grabs hold of a pillow, tossing it over his waist as he gets out of bed. “Look, Jack—”
But Jack doesn’t stick around long enough to hear Cam’s explanation. He turns and hauls ass out of the room, and I hear a door slam distantly a few moments later. My throat goes completely dry, and I feel faint.
“Shit,” Cam says under his breath. I hear my pulse, a frantic drum in my ears. I can’t breathe.
“Nat?”
Cam’s voice is distant and garbled. My stomach churns, like I might throw up. His hands on my cheeks pull me back into the moment.
“Nat, just breathe.”
“Cam— Cam!” I gasp.
“You’re okay. It’s going to be fine. Just breathe.”
Nothing is fine.
Jack has been one of my very best friends for over a decade. And now I’ve betrayed him.
“What does he think? Is he angry? He seemed so upset. Oh my God, what are we going to do?” Tears slip from my eyes, burning trails down my cheeks and Cam’s fingers.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. We didn’t do anything wrong.” Cam wraps me in his arms, and I pull in shuddering breaths against his warm chest. He feels so strong and solid, but inside, I feel like my entire world is crumbling.
I knew that the threat of losing one of my best friends would hurt, but I didn’t think it would break me like this. And I never thought it would be Jack.
“It’s my fault,” Cam murmurs. “I’m going to fix it.”
The space he filled in my bed is suddenly very empty. He’s up, pushing his limbs through last night’s clothes.
“It’s gonna be okay,” he promises. He drops a kiss on my head before he walks out the door. Downstairs, the front door clicks shut behind him.
I scrub the tears from my eyes, but my hands still shake.
What was I thinking?
How could we have been so stupid?
The most incredible night of my life might become the biggest mistake of my life. We were selfish. We should have known that this would change our friendship with Jack, or even ruin it.
But then something even more terrifying than that occurs to me. Did I just ruin my friendship with Cam too?
Chapter Nineteen
Camden
What the fuck was I thinking?
My stomach churns as I make the short drive back to the apartment I share with Jack. It’s not the effects of the alcohol I drank last night making me feel sick. It’s the way his face contorted when he saw Natalie and me in bed together.
Gripping the steering wheel tighter, I step on the gas. I knew what I was doing was wrong, sneaking around behind my best friend’s back with the one girl we always swore was off-limits, but every time I was with Natalie, none of that mattered to me. It was worth the risk. She was worth the risk. Now, though? After seeing the hurt and confusion in Jack’s expression—yeah, I feel like the world’s biggest asshole.
This isn’t me. I don’t sneak around and fuck over my friends. I’m a grown-ass man, and I should have behaved like one. I should have sat him down and come clean about how I was feeling. Maybe he would have understood and given me his blessing, and then again, maybe he wouldn’t have. What would I have done then? Because I’m pretty sure not pursuing Natalie isn’t an option.
My feelings have grown so much that, honestly, I don’t think I could go back to being just friends. Even after today, if that’s what they both want, I don’t see it being possible. And the thought of that is fucking torture. The idea of walking away from half a lifetime’s worth of rock-solid friendship because I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants? I groan and slam my fist against the steering wheel.
Finally, I turn onto our street and park my car. Then I jog up to our apartment and burst inside.
“Jack?” I shuffle back to his bedroom when I don’t find him in the living room. He’s not here.
Seconds later, I’m back out the door, headed to the only other place I think he might be—the bar.
It’s only eight in the morning, but when I stroll in, he’s already here. Jack is crouched behind the bar, the sound of bottles clinking together as he works.
“Hey.” He greets me without turning, his voice flat.
“Hey.” I take a tentative step closer. Jack doesn’t turn to face me, and honestly, I’m not sure I could handle seeing his wounded expression anyway. He has every right to deck me, to scream and curse and tell me to get the fuck out, but instead he continues stocking the bottles of beer inside the cooler beneath the bar. Somehow, that makes everything ten thousand times worse.
Running my hands along the worn surface of the bar, I inhale deeply, steeling my nerves and trying to figure out what the fuck I’m going to say. A million options flash through my head, but none of them seem adequate, and a simple I’m sorry won’t work at all. Because deep down, I’m not sorry. Being with Natalie was everything.
“So . . .” I drum my thumbs along the cool surface of the bar until Jack finally stops and turns around.
“Why didn’t you just fucking tell me?”
My throat goes dry. God, I feel like a fucking asshole. Scrubbing my hands through my already messy hair, I release a deep breath. “And say what? That I’m in love with her?”
His eyes meet mine, and they’re so dark, so angry. It’s so unlike Jack that my stomach tightens.
“It’s about damn time you realized it.”
The fuck? “You knew?”
He snorts, then rolls his eyes. “Everyone knew except for the two of you. Why do you think I took that stupid bet with you? Why do you think I introduced her to Ben?”
Jack’s words are like a shock to my system. It takes me almost a full minute to respond. None of this makes any sense. He knew? The entire fucking time?
“To get me to get my head out of my ass?” I ask.
This can’t be. I lean against the bar, suddenly needing more support.
“Yes, basically,” he says.
Sinking down onto a bar stool, I push my hands through my hair. “Sorry. I’m just a little fucking confused right now.”
Jack smirks. “So . . . was last night the first time?”
I grin crookedly. I can’t believe he’s asking me that. There’s also no way I’m telling him. “Maybe.”
The smile spreading across my face against my will tells him everything he needs to know.
I let out a short bark of laughter. “God, I’m so relieved, man. I thought you were ready to punch me in the face.”
He shrugs. “Nah. I knew how you feel about her. It’s pretty obvious. I know you pretty well, dude.”
“True.”
“But . . .” He pauses, looking me straight in the eye. “If you hurt her, I will hunt you down and skin you alive.”
“That’s fair. I definitely don’t plan on ever hurting her.”
Jack nods, and I can see some uncertainty pass through his gaze. “I don’t know what happens next, that’s for you two to figure out, but just promise me one thing.”
“Anything.” Well, not anything. If he asks me to stop seeing her, that’s not something I can promise. I can’t just turn off these feelings I have for her. They’ve been building for thirteen years.
“Promise me that our friendship won’t change.” He holds out his hand, and I give it a shake.
“Deal.”
Then Jack grins at me. “Now, what the fuck are you doing here? Go get your girl.”
• • •
Hours later, I still haven’t found Natalie. She didn’t answer the phone when I called, so I wasn’t sure where she might be. Trusting my gut instinct, figuring she wouldn’t be at her family’s mansion any longer than necessary, I went to her condo, but there was no answer. So I went to her parents’ house, but she wasn’t there either. Then I headed to the lake spot we used to go to in high school, figuring maybe she went there to think, but no one was there. After going home to shower and change into fresh clothes, now I’m back at her condo, and there’s still no sign of her.
&
nbsp; Fuck.
Where are you, Nat?
I sink onto the floor outside her front door and lean my head back against the wall. I’m exhausted from getting very little sleep last night, and from all the uncertainty swimming in my gut. My eyes fall closed and I take a deep breath. It’s all I can do at the moment, so I focus on taking one deep breath in, and then out.
• • •
“Cam?” Natalie’s voice rouses me awake. I blink up at her, realizing it’s twilight outside now. “I guess I must have dozed off.”
“What are you doing here?” Frowning down at me, she shoves her key into the lock and opens the door.
“Thought we needed to talk,” I say, rising to my feet.
“Yeah, I guess we do. Come inside?”
I follow her in, that same uneasy feeling settling low in my gut. Her expression is unreadable, and I have no idea what to think. But I do know that if she tries to tell me last night was a mistake, it will crush me.
Rather than meet my eyes, Natalie turns toward the kitchen and sets her purse on the counter.
“I tried to call you earlier,” I say. “I tracked down Jack at the bar.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that. I saw that I had missed you.” She still hasn’t looked directly at me; it’s like she wants to do anything but be here in this moment having this conversation with me. Turning to the fridge, she fetches a bottle of water and takes a long sip.
When she sets her water bottle on the counter, I cross the room to stand before her and take her shoulders in my hands.
“Look at me, Nat.” My voice is strained, barely above a whisper.
Finally, her blue eyes lift to mine, and fuck me. There’s so much emotion reflected back at me that it makes me light-headed.
“Have you been crying?” I ask.
She gives me a small nod.
Shit. This is the last thing I wanted. “Why?”
I drop my hands from her shoulders, unsure if she wants me touching her, and instead clench my fists at my sides. I steel myself, waiting to hear that she regrets what happened between us, knowing it will crush me.
Her gaze drops from mine to the floor. “Talk to me, Nat. I spoke to Jack.”
This gets her attention, and her eyes meet mine again. “What did he say?”