Groaning, she rolled over and squinted at the clock. It was almost five o’clock in the morning, and right beyond that door, Steven slept peacefully on her couch. In the brightness of the morning, he would still be there. Waiting. Watching.
Knowing he could have had her, and hadn’t.
Well, she’d gone and done it. Ruined years of platonic friendship with a few sips of rum, and a misplaced, ill-timed, unwelcome kiss. What was she supposed to do now? Go out there, and pretend last night had never happened like he suggested? Even though her body still hummed from the orgasm he’d given her? He had been, hands down, the best she ever had.
And she hadn’t even had him.
So not fair.
Tossing the pillow aside, she threw her legs over the side of the mattress and padded across the tan Berber carpet her landlord had just put in. If she had any hope of being able to deal with what was coming in the morning, she needed to pop a few Ibuprofen, and down a big glass of ice cold water.
She headed into the bathroom and brushed her teeth to wash away the taste of rum. Afterward, she opened the cabinet for some Ibuprofen…then remembered it was in the kitchen. She’d taken some last night when she’d come home from work.
“Crap.”
She crossed her bedroom and then cracked the door open, sliding through and tiptoing toward the living room. Halfway there, she froze. The TV was still on, and Steven was still awake. He sat on the couch, facing the TV, and held a glass of something dark. His hair stuck up all over the place, as if he’d been running his hands through it. He did that when he was stressed, or upset, and this time…
It was her fault.
She didn’t even dare to breathe, one foot still frozen in the air. It wasn’t too late to turn around and go back in her room. To pretend she hadn’t seen him looking so upset. But this was Steven, and he was the most important person in the world to her, and he was probably worried she would hate him now…
And she couldn’t do that to him.
His head dropped back against the couch. “Lauren,” he groaned, his tone strained.
Hugging herself, she took a deep breath and walked around the corner of the couch. “Look, I’m sorry about—”
The words choked her and turned into a gasp.
She’d noticed he was awake, but she hadn’t seen was what he was doing. But, oh my God, she did now. Every. Single. Detail.
He sat on the couch, with his dress shirt unbuttoned. If not for what he was doing, she easily could have gotten caught up in his hard pecs, and even harder abs. And the light dusting of reddish blond hair on his chest was enthralling.
There was no other word for it.
Except maybe…addictive.
But the real show was taking place further south. His navy blue, pleated khakis were unbuttoned and unzipped, and his huge cock jutted out, erect and wanting, and his hand had been moving up and down the hard length with a strength that she couldn’t look away from. Or ever forget. And, even though she should, she—
Oh my God, she couldn’t look away.
Nothing could make her.
He froze mid-pump. She probably should have turned away, or covered her eyes, but she was too busy staring at his impressive length, and the long blue vein that ran up the side of his shaft. His large hand still held on to his huge erection, and his jaw hung open, as if he didn’t have a clue what to say.
Neither did she.
She’d literally just caught him with his cock in his hand.
So she just stared. And stared some more. My God.
“Well.” Swallowing so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed, he straightened. “This isn’t awkward or anything,” he said drily.
“Y-You… I…” She finally covered her face. “Oh my God. Seriously? On my couch? I just bought it!”
The rustling of fabric as he tucked his erection away was the only sound.
She peeked through her fingers. He didn’t look any less hard. As far as she could tell, if anything, he seemed even harder than before she’d walked in. “It was either that, or in your bed. I figured you’d prefer the former.”
“You obviously did.” And just like that, the embarrassment and shock gave way to anger. A couple of hours ago, she offered herself up to him, and he refused. Made her feel like he didn’t want her, or find her attractive, when he obviously did. And now he took what could have been—no, should have been—hers. “Was that supposed to…to…hurt me?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t follow.” He blinked, standing up unsteadily. He set down his glass, sloshing it over the side and onto her table. “How the hell is me jerking off a direct insult to you, when you weren’t even supposed to see it, or find out it happened at all?”
He stood there like some sort of untamed sex god, with his pants undone, his cock hard, and his shirt open. All mussed hair and sex. And it wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. “You let me think you didn’t want me. Let me go to bed alone, ashamed that I threw myself at you, when you clearly weren’t attracted to me. And the whole time, you’re out here…doing that.”
“I assure you I wasn’t jacking off for hours.” A muscle in his jaw ticked, and he drove his hand through his hair. “I was just trying to sleep, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop thinking about earlier. So I decided to ease a need that wouldn’t shut the hell up so I could finally get some shut-eye. That’s it.”
She stomped up to him and smacked his shoulder. He didn’t even flinch. It, of course, didn’t hurt him. The man had the pain tolerance of a cement post and was just as hard…in more ways than one. “You shouldn’t have been doing that at all. It should have been me doing that. It should have been mine.”
He caught her wrist, his warm hand closing around it easily. The same hand that had been on his erection moments before. Her stomach tightened in response. “You were drunk, and if we fucked, you’d regret it in the morning. You’re not just some girl in a bar, Lauren. I refuse to treat you like one for an orgasm. Is that so damn wrong?”
No. It wasn’t wrong at all.
It was one of the things that made him such a good guy.
But her cheeks were red hot with embarrassment, and her stomach was twisting with desire, and screw being reasonable. She’d rather be naked and screaming his name. “I wasn’t that drunk.”
He snorted. “The hell you weren’t. You’re a damn lightweight. Let’s not pretend otherwise. You were wasted off your ass, feeling horny, and you kissed me because I was the only guy there.”
If only that was true. “It wasn’t like that.”
He snorted. “Funny. We’ve been friends for over twenty years, and you never acted like you thought about more than that until you pounded back some shots to prove a point.”
“Neither have you, yet here you are. Masturbating on my couch while…what? Imagining me naked? Or were you fantasizing about someone else completely? Someone more your type than your lame little cupcake?”
His grip on her wrist tightened, and his gaze spit fire at her. “Lauren.”
“Steven,” she snarled back at him, breathing heavily. She yanked on her wrist, and this time he let her go. She backed up a step, toward her bedroom, rubbing her wrist. Not because it hurt. She could still feel him holding on to her, even though he wasn’t. Finally, she said, “Let’s just do what you said all along, and forget this ever happened. As far as I’m concerned, none of this did happen.”
He curled his hands into fists at his sides. “The hell it didn’t.”
Oh my freaking God. The man made no sense. “You just told me a little while ago we had to pretend it never happened.”
“That was before,” he said, a muscle in his jaw ticking.
“Before what?” She wrung her hands in front of her. “You’re obviously mad at me for kissing you, so I don’t understand what your goal is here.”
“I’m not mad at you for kissing me.” He gritted his teeth together so hard it was a miracle they didn’t crack. “I’m mad at how you did it.”
She
blinked at him. “What? That doesn’t even make any—”
“That’s not how our first kiss should have been. It’s not the way it was supposed to go down. It should have—” He broke off and muttered a curse. “It should’ve gone like this.”
And then she was in his arms.
His mouth was on hers, and his hands were everywhere, and all she could think was…finally. He swept her into his arms and carried her into her room, his mouth moving over hers without any hint of hesitation this time.
Earlier when he kissed her, it had been amazing.
She thought it couldn’t get any better than that, and lost herself in the moment. To top it off, he’d made her come without even really having to try. But now that he was kissing her again, and he wasn’t holding himself back from her, that kiss faded away into oblivion.
This, right here, was a kiss. And after he was finished with her, no other kiss in all of time would ever compare with his.
He dropped her onto the bed, covering his body with hers. “I’m not going to ask you again. Are you sure you want this?”
She nodded frantically, breathing fast and heavy. “Y-Yes. I’m sure.”
“By the time I’m done, you’re never going to forget what tonight felt like. What we did. For the rest of our lives, when we see each other, all we’ll think about is this one night together. The only night I made you scream my name so loud it woke up the neighbors.” He caught her hands above her head, holding them captive on her pillow. “And you’re not allowed to hate me for it afterward.”
She bit her lip. “I could never, ever, hate you.”
Something flashed across his expression, and he twisted his lips. “I hope like hell you’re right.”
Then his mouth was on hers…
And she was a goner.
Chapter Seven
With Lauren’s lips pressed against his, and her soft body underneath his, it was hard to remember why he fought against this in the first place. Hard to remember why this might very well be the worst mistake he ever made in his life. Or maybe, just maybe, it might be the best decision he ever made…
And he hadn’t even made it yet.
No pressure, or anything.
He skimmed his fingers down the outside of her bare thigh and back up the inside. All night long, she stayed on his mind. He couldn’t shut out the way she cried out his name as she came, her fingers digging into him as if she was never going to let go. And she hadn’t. Even though he sent her to bed alone, she’d been with him the whole time.
In his head.
His raging erection hadn’t let up over the past two hours, so he finally gave in and decided to take care of himself so he could get some damn sleep. All it had taken was him picturing her coming, with her back arched and her mouth parted, and he’d pretty much been there. Of course, the second he got close to orgasm, she popped in and caught him jerking off. And now nothing could help him but her.
Slowly, he inched his fingers toward her core, tracing her slit. She was wet and hot and ready, and he was so far gone he ached to slide into her warmth without wasting a damn second of their time together. But this was the one time he was letting himself have her, so it needed to be everything he’d dreamed of.
She needed to scream for mercy.
Hopping off the bed, he undid his pants and let them hit the floor. He kicked out of them and made quick work of removing the rest of his clothing. She watched from the bed, lifting up on her elbows and biting down on her swollen lower lip. There was obviously no need to hesitate at his nakedness. After years of friendship and that embarrassing moment on the couch, she’d seen it all now.
Once he was naked, he stood there, staring at her. “Too many clothes. Take them off slowly. I want to watch.”
“Uh…okay.” She let out a small laugh. “Seriously?”
He squared his jaw. If she wanted to fuck him, she’d get the real him. In bed, he didn’t mess around. He ravished his partners, in every way, and left them trembling. But as he drove them insane with need, he always remained in control. Never forgot where he was, or what he was doing, or lost his head.
With Lauren, it was even more important he do exactly that. If he let himself slip, or remembered how much she meant to him, then he might put too much feeling into this. Into something that didn’t need any feelings at all.
Sex was sex.
That’s all this was.
He lifted a brow. “Do I look like I’m kidding around? I want to watch you undress, and then I’m going to worship your whole delicious body. Everywhere.”
She swallowed hard, her tits rising and falling rapidly. “God.”
“Nope. It’ll be me in that bed, and it’ll be my name you’re calling out, not his, when I lick that sweet pussy of yours, and take you so hard you forget what it feels like not to have me buried inside of you.” He raised a brow and crossed his arms. “Is that going to be a problem for you?”
A small groan escaped her. “N-No.”
“Then undress. Now.”
Sitting up, she licked her lips. “Steven.”
“You’re overthinking this too much. Just take it off.”
Letting out a frustrated breath, she rose on her knees and gripped the bottom of her tank. She lifted it slowly, baring inches of skin at a time, but not nearly enough.
He held his breath. As much of his body as she’d seen, he hadn’t seen anything on hers that wasn’t normally covered by clothes. A bikini, at the least.
She could literally cut her clothes off of her with a pair of scissors, and it would still be the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. By the time the bottom swells of her tits peeked out, he clenched his fists and his breaths came out erratically. He’d never needed to see an article of clothing removed as much as he did right now. “Lauren.”
She lowered it, hiding her breasts from him again. At first, it appeared to be a slip of the hand, but then she smirked and batted her lashes. “Yes…?”
“Take. It. Off.”
She let it fall back into place, hiding all her delicious skin from him again, and cocked her head to the side. “Make me.”
He growled, forgetting his command for her to strip, and all the reasons why he had to treat this like every other one-night stand he ever had. He was supposed to be in control of this whole affair, and yet he didn’t feel in control.
At all.
She tried to scoot backward on the bed, away from him, but she was too slow. He easily caught up to her, grabbed her ankle, and yanked until she lay flat on her back. Her hair splayed across the bed, like some kind of brunette halo, and she watched him. His breath jammed in his throat. Her glowing blue eyes were filled with so much life, passion, need, and so much more he couldn’t even begin to describe.
His fingers flexed on her ankle, and he swallowed hard. He couldn’t do this. Couldn’t forget where he was. Or that this was just another—oh the hell with it. This wasn’t just another woman. It was Lauren. His Lauren. And there was no ignoring that.
Hell, he didn’t want to ignore it.
Grabbing the waistband of her shorts, he tugged them down her thighs with one harsh pull. She gasped and grasped his bare biceps. “Steven.”
“Yep, still me.”
Without looking at what presents he already bared, he yanked her shirt over her head, too, and finally…he looked. He’d waited so he could see the whole picture at the same time, with nothing in the way, and his patience was duly rewarded. After years of friendship, chaste hugs and kisses on cheeks, and clothes in the way…
It was his turn.
Her pale, smooth skin was flawless, and her tits were tipped with small, dusky rose nipples. Her waist was even smaller than he thought, even though he’d seen it millions of times before. Her hips flared out to ridiculously seductive proportions, and she had a light dusting of brown curls between her legs, but the rest of her was bare.
She was, in short, perfection.
Way too flawless for a guy like him.
“
Lauren…” He ground his teeth together and brushed her hair off her shoulder. He didn’t want anything obstructing his view of her naked skin. “Shit.”
She lifted up on her elbows, all soft lips and naked skin. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He skimmed his fingers over her skin, right under her tits. “I just need a second. You’re beautiful.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she lifted a leg, bending it at the knee, and her gaze dipped over Steven’s body. It lingered on his abs. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Thanks, cupcake.” His lips twitched into a smile, and he lowered his body on hers. The second their bare skin touched, he hissed, and she groaned. “Damn.”
Nothing had ever felt as right as this.
Melding his lips to hers, he caught her hands and held them above her head as he ravaged her mouth. The time for words—and doubts—was over. She dug her heel into his ass, urging him closer. And then even closer.
It still wasn’t enough. He needed to be inside of her.
Groaning, he deepened the kiss. She tasted like rum and a sweet flavor that was uniquely her, and he couldn’t get enough. Her tongue sought and found his. This night, this time in her arms, would be unlike any other he’d ever had. Because she was Lauren.
His best friend.
Holding both her wrists captive with one hand, he traced the curves of her body, memorizing the way her soft, smooth skin felt under his rough fingertips. Everywhere he touched, goose bumps rose, and he slowly traced a path toward her left nipple. It puckered and hardened, begging for his touch, and who the hell was he to deny her?
He always gave her what she asked for.
Scraping the side of his thumbnail against it, he circled the hard bud. She whimpered into his mouth, arching her back and tugging on her arms. She was restless, and her need vibrated off of her, feeding his own. He broke off the kiss and nibbled a path down her neck, still not releasing her wrists.
“Steven,” she breathed, her voice soft and pleading. “Please. Let me touch you.”
He shook his head. “No.”
“But—”
“I said no,” he growled in reply, gripping her ass and hauling her against his hard dick roughly. “You feel that?”
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