Just Friends

by Stacy Gold

  “God, you’re incredible.” I had to taste it. Make her feel good. I wanted to see her react. Watch her cheeks flush.

  Leaning over, I sucked her firm, rose-colored nipple into my mouth until she tangled her fingers in my hair and held my head close. I slid one hand between her legs, found dampness, and rubbed down, then back up, with my thumb. She gasped and my heart couldn’t decide whether to stop, or race at a higher speed. I pressed my palm against her clit and made small circles until she bucked and swiveled her hips into my hand.

  “Please tell me you have a condom, Jordan.” Her voice came out choked and guttural with need.

  I let her nipple escape from my mouth with a pop and looked up.

  Face flushed. Eyes glassy. Hips still moving in tiny, jerky circles against my hand.

  My dick throbbed. Taya wanted me.

  “I have a condom, Jordan.” I smirked, and made a mental note to thank Max for giving me a box of Trojans as a “camper-warming” present last summer.

  She snickered then went serious. “That’s good. Because you’re going to need it.”

  “Hold that thought.”

  I rummaged in the cabinets, my heart beating like a fifteen-year-old’s about to lose his virginity. When my hand hit cardboard, I hesitated.

  Taya was special. I didn’t want to fuck things up with her. And I knew this would change things between us, for better or for worse. But something about the two of us together felt so right. Always had.

  I glanced over. She lay splayed out across the bench half-naked, hair tumbling in messy waves. The most spectacular woman I’d ever seen. The most amazing woman I’d ever known. I might be an idiot for doing this, but I’d be just as big an idiot if I didn’t.

  Tearing into the box, I grabbed a foil packet.

  “Now, where were we?”

  “Here.” She sat up, skillful fingers undoing my belt and shoving my snowboard pants and long underwear to my ankles. My cock sprang free and stood at full attention in the cool air.

  She wrapped one small hand around the base and my knees almost gave out. “Damn. You’re big.”

  Shit. Some women thought I was too big. For one short second, I worried this was over. Then her mouth covered the head, all warm and wet, and she sucked. Her hand slid up to meet her lips, then back down.

  I groaned, wrapped both hands in her hair, and let the fire build. She looked up at me and circled my head with her pink tongue. I twitched in her hand and my knees almost buckled.

  If she didn’t slow down this would be over before we even got all our clothes off. That would be a damn shame. I pulled her head back. “My turn.”

  The crunchy polyester carpet grated my knees as I grabbed the waistband of her leggings and pulled them down. I ran my hands back up her long legs. Traced the shape of her calves. Trailed my fingertips up the silky skin of her inner thighs until her legs parted.

  Her musky fragrance filled my brain. So fucking wet. For me.

  Fuuuuuck.

  ****

  Jordan’s roving fingers sent shivers up my spine. As he traced patterns on my inner thighs, another wave of wetness flooded my center. So much wetness I could smell my own sex. Mortified, I thought about pushing him away.

  Then his tongue drew a scorching, wet line up my slit. I froze and held my breath. Waited for his next move. Prayed he wouldn’t stop.

  Prayed he hadn’t just been repulsed by my spare tire. Or decided this was a huge mistake after all.

  After a too-long beat his fingers spread my lips wide, exposing my hard nub to the heat of his breath. His tongue flicked over my clit once, twice. Then, with a groan, his restraint disappeared and he licked me back and forth, up and down, around and across, over and over.

  “Oh, God.” I gasped and clutched Jordan’s head, striving for purchase in his short brown hair while my body twitched uncontrollably.

  With each swipe of his tongue, a sizzling tingle grew from my center and spread until it reached my fingertips. Until every inch of me was buzzing like a high-tension wire. He slid one finger into me, hooked it, and suckled my clit. I exploded into a million bright, hot lights with a wrenching cry.

  A wrapper crinkled and his mouth disappeared, replaced by his hard cock.

  He slid up between my swollen lips, rubbed over my engorged, and now very sensitive bundle of nerves. I gasped and wrapped my legs around his waist, tried to slip him inside me.

  Reaching between us, I closed my hand around him. He was so big. So hard. I squeezed and he twitched in my palm.

  I wanted all of him. Inside me. Filling me. Now.

  Closing my eyes and arching my spine, I pressed his head against my sopping entrance.

  He shifted forward then stopped. I waited, tamping down my nerves, afraid he’d changed his mind. Afraid he didn’t really want me after all.

  Lost in my negative thoughts it took a second to register his fingertips skimming my forehead, then my cheek, easing the hair from my face. “You sure you’re okay with this?”

  I met his eyes. His expression was so tender it stole my breath. I smiled, and exhaled my relief. “Better than okay.”

  “Good.”

  He didn’t need any more encouragement. Without breaking our gaze, he slid to the hilt in one long, slow, glorious push. Filling me the way I wanted. The way I’d always dreamed.

  He pulled back slow and easy, then sank into me hard.

  I groaned and met him as he thrust into me again. And again. Harder. Faster. Each stroke building the heated tingling at my core again until it swirled and buzzed through me.

  Jordan’s face twisted as he struggled to maintain control. Reaching between us, he slid his fingers across my clit in time to his thrusts. Once. Twice. Three times and I exploded again, my walls spasming and clutching at his cock.

  “Oh, God. Taya!” He twitched hard inside me then collapsed, face pressed into my hair. “Damn. You’re…that was…something else.”

  Jordan’s welcome weight pressed my back into the rough tweed fabric of the bench seat. I couldn’t think. Didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to ruin this one, perfect moment.

  No one had ever made me feel this wanted. This sexy. This sated. Certainly not Gabe.

  ****

  I lay on top of Taya, trailing kisses down the curve of her neck, enjoying her little shivers. “We should’ve done this years ago.”

  She laughed. “Why did we wait so long?”

  “Because I’m an idiot.” I lifted my head and smiled. I couldn’t have stopped smiling if my life depended on it. “If I’d known how good it would be I would’ve jumped you back in the day. But I’m not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice.”

  I didn’t want to pull away, but I needed to take care of things. So, I dropped a kiss on her nose, pushed myself to standing, somehow managed to kick my pants off my ankles without falling down, and threw the rubber in the trash.

  Not ready for this to be over by a long shot, I climbed up into the cab-over bed and patted the empty space next to me. “Care to join me?”

  “Eh. I don’t know.” Taya, resting on her elbows, held up a hand and peered at it. “I was thinking of going and getting my nails done.”

  I laughed and threw a pillow at her head. “You sure know how to crush a guy’s ego, Monroe.”

  She caught the pillow with a giggle, tossed it on the bench and stood. My laughter died. God, she was gorgeous, looking all freshly fucked with her hair messy and her skin glowing. Because of me. My dick went semi-hard.

  She climbed into the bunk and slipped into my arms, pressing her naked body against mine. We fit together like puzzle pieces, her head on my chest, our legs tangled under the covers. This time it was my heart that swelled.

  “Happy?”

  “Very.” Her voice was rough.

  “Me too.” I kissed the soft strands on the top of her head, and took a deep breath of her clean, lemony scent. “I can’t remember the last time I felt this good.”

  “Right? Maybe we shou
ld just stay here in your camper forever. Do nothing but ski and have sex.” She sighed and snuggled closer.

  My smile stretched further. Helluva a great fantasy. And one I had a shot at making at least part of come true.

  Maybe I was about to make a huge mistake, diving in too deep too quickly, but Peyton was going to meet her sooner or later. Might as well be sooner. Maybe I’d be overstepping some weird boundary of Taya’s, but I had to put it out there. Because I wanted more of this, more of her, too.

  “You know, one of the part-time ski instructors is out for the season. They need a replacement to work weekends ASAP. I could introduce you. Put in a good word…”

  ****

  My heart thumped with enthusiasm.

  I’d adored teaching skiing. And being in the mountains restored a piece of my soul I hadn’t even realized was missing. For the first time since moving in with Gabe, I felt like myself again.

  Still, I tamped down my excitement. Ski instructor was the kind of job you did in your twenties, fresh out of college. Besides, I didn’t know where this thing between us was going, but all logic told me it was going there way too fast.

  I shook my head. “Thanks, but I can’t afford to drive back and forth. And having ski instructor on my resume doesn’t do much for my future career success.”

  “Don’t take this wrong, but…” Jordan shifted around to look me in the eyes without letting me out of his embrace. “Screw your future career success. There’s no telling what might happen tomorrow. So why not live your life so you’re happy today?”

  “Easy for you to say. You’ve got a good career, a kid you love, and you’re still out here living the dream.”

  He shrugged and caressed my cheek with his stubble, then put his mouth by my ear. “You just have to decide what you want. Then go after it.”

  I shivered, but not from cold. It sounded so easy when he put it like that.

  “And if you’re worried about the commute…” Jordan’s voice dropped, grew rougher. “You could stay weekends in the camper with me and Peyton.”

  I froze, glad I didn’t have to look him in the eye while I processed his offer. My heart screamed yes, but my head wasn’t so sure. What if we didn’t last? What if it ruined our friendship? What if Peyton didn’t like me, or I didn’t like him?

  What about my career? Not that I had much of one at this point. “That’s a mighty serious offer, Wiley. You sure it’s a good idea?”

  “Positive.” He tucked a stray hair behind my ear, and tilted my head up so I could see the smile in his eyes. “I’m not asking you to move in with me. I’m just offering you a place to stay on the weekends. I have to warn you, Peyton comes with me most weekends and does ski school. But you can take the spare bed when he’s here, at least for a while. So it doesn’t get weird.”

  His lips brushed mine. Tempted me as much as his words. “I don’t know.”

  His teeth nipped my earlobe, sending a cascade of shock waves down my spine. “C’mon, Taya. Take a chance.” He rolled me onto my back and kissed me, twined his fingers with mine. “What have you got to lose?”

  I thought about it. Not much.

  Because somehow I’d become the kind of person who paid more attention to what I “should and shouldn’t do”, instead of what I wanted to do. The kind of person who lived in fear of worst-case scenarios… Who worried far too much about other people’s opinions. A twist of pain ran through my gut.

  The sad truth was, I’d become someone I didn’t really like or respect all that much.

  What happened to the woman who relished taking chances? Who lived life with gusto?

  I wanted to be bold. Confident. Joyful.

  I might never find that part of me again if I let this chance slip away.

  Ignoring the pessimistic voice in my head, I focused on the singing in my heart. “Okay. Let’s talk to ski school.”

  “Seriously?”

  I smiled at his shell-shocked expression. “Seriously.”

  A wave of euphoria swept through my body. This had to be right.

  “I know dating a guy with a kid is a big deal, but I promise we can take it slow.” Jordan’s eyes gleamed and their corners crinkled. “And I know Peyton’s gonna dig you as much as I do.”

  I pressed my lips to his, trying my best to thank him without words for caring about me, for encouraging me. For being willing to give us a try.

  Half a breath later he hovered over me, hands pressing mine into the mattress above my head. His tongue swept through my mouth, gentle first, then with more urgency.

  Our bodies fused together, Jordan’s skin hot on mine. Abandoning my mouth, his lips trailed fire down my neck. I arched my back, inviting him to continue.

  “You know,” he mumbled against my skin. “We’ve got a few more hours before the road opens.”

  His mouth closed around my nipple. I groaned as the fire sizzled straight to my core.

  “I like the way you think, Wiley.”

  “Good.”

  About the Author

  Compulsive tea drinker, outdoor sports junkie, lover of bad—and good—puns, Stacy Gold writes sassy, steamy, contemporary romance novels packed with strong, independent women and the men who can't resist them, finding love and adventure in the great outdoors.

  ~*~

  Visit Stacy at

  http://stacygold.com

  ~*~

  To chat with Stacy Gold and other Wild Rose Press authors of erotic romance, join us at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/thewilderroses.

  Also Available

  Bedroom Eyes

  by

  Desiree Holt

  Bridget Reilly hides what she sees as a deformity behind a pair of dark glasses. Fortunately, they also hide her lust for the gorgeous Navy SEAL living next door. When a masked ball provides an opportunity to enjoy a glorious night of anonymous erotic sex with the hottie of her dreams, she’s all over that. She soon realizes she's replaced one disguise with another and revealing the truth is not an option.

  But when plastic surgery corrects Bridget’s problems, will he see past her deceit to the love she feels for him or walk away without looking back?

  Also Read

  An Enticing Ride

  by

  Anna S. Lae

  Single mom Abby Rose finally has a weekend alone. She should be out on the town but a snowy, cold, and a long day on her feet make a hot bath and a soft bed seem more inviting. Then sexy mechanic Zack Kelly texts with a tempting offer and suddenly her body is aching in a much different way. He stood her up once, but maybe it's time to show Zack exactly what he missed out on.

  Thank you for purchasing this

  publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  If you enjoyed the story, we would appreciate

  your letting others know by leaving a review.

  For questions or more

  information contact us at

  info@thewildrosepress.com.

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  Stay current with The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  Like us on Facebook

  https://www.facebook.com/TheWildRosePress

  And Follow us on Twitter

  https://twitter.com/WildRosePress