“You’re so fucking beautiful, I can’t speak.”
She smiles. It’s not her everyday grin. And it’s nothing like the face she makes when she’s about to laugh. It’s not the strained curl of her lips I’ve seen when she tries to skate through an uncomfortable situation. It’s definitely not an expression she’s plastered on to placate me. This smile is big and real. It makes her glow. “You think so?”
“Yeah.” My insistence makes her smile even brighter. That does something to me. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
I probably shouldn’t have admitted that, but I won’t lie to her…at least not more than I have to.
She frowns. “Now I know you’re being less than honest.”
I catch her chin in my grip and lift it until she’s forced to look at me. “I’m not. Until this week, I had no idea how stunning you are, Echo.”
She searches my eyes breathlessly as she reaches for the buttons of my dress shirt. “Are you going to take your clothes off?”
If she gets me naked, my plan will go sideways. I feel like a class-A bastard, but I don’t merely want her. I’m dying to worship her body. And the urge isn’t just about her looks. She’s staring at me with uncertain eyes, and everything inside me aches to hold her, to prove to her that I find her desirable. Beautiful. Lovable. I might not cherish her in the til-death-do-us-part sense, but I care enough about her to make damn sure her first time is the best it can be. Maybe that’s enough?
Nope. I’m rationalizing again. I need to stop.
Gently but firmly, I grab her wrists. “Eventually.”
“Are you going to touch me?”
“Yes.” I doubt anything, even guilt, can stop me now.
Finally, I lift my hands to her body, shocked to find I’m shaking. Instantly, my palms cup her breasts, and she fills them. Echo is more than a handful.
Her eyes slide shut. She sighs out a shaky moan. The sound slides all the way through my body.
You’re fondling your best friend.
And I’m so fucking aroused by her, I barely manage to stop from stripping off every stitch I’m wearing and carrying her to bed.
Shit, I have to get myself under control. It shouldn’t be this difficult. I’m not hard up. Three short days ago, I stopped by Jayci’s place to get a little before I headed out for a sexless week in Hawaii. I left satisfied enough. It should have tided me over for a mere seven days.
But I never suspected I’d be unexpectedly fixated by my gorgeous best friend.
“Hayes…”
Her plea sounds breathy and desperate. I can’t resist that.
I slide my thumbs over her nipples, gratified when they stiffen even more under my touch. I’m torn between kissing her, sucking on them, or just staring.
Echo takes the decision from me, pressing closer and tilting her lips under mine.
Lowering my head, I close the distance between our mouths and send my lips crashing over hers without finesse or restraint. She whimpers and opens to me, luring me deeper, inviting me to take more.
Yes. Fuck yes.
Our kiss spirals out of control in seconds. Desire scalds me. I’m on fire. It’s surreal. This is Echo, my best friend since childhood.
Right now, I fucking want her so badly I’m shaking and sweating. But I shouldn’t make her mine in every way if I’m not going to make her mine forever. So I have to settle for making her feel good this week…and hope that’s enough.
Without ending the kiss, I lift her, carrying her to the sofa and plopping down on the cushions. She tumbles onto me, straddling my hips and falling deeper into my kiss as she presses herself against my cock. Without missing a beat, she wriggles against me. Her little catches of breath, along with her hard nipples burning my palms, crush my best intentions.
Realizing how gorgeous Echo is shocks me, but seeing that she’s also sexy as fuck? Mind. Blown. She oozes female. And sex. Echo might be a virgin, but she’s clearly not self-conscious about her body, afraid of what might happen next, or remotely shy. She moves in the perfect rhythm to simulate sex—and drives me out of my head.
I need to get control of this situation or…
Best not to think about the “or” right now.
Reluctantly, I grab her hips to still them and ease back from her lips. “Slow down, shortcake.”
“Why?”
Because I’m trying not to fuck you isn’t the answer she wants to hear. “Let me make you feel good first.”
“You are,” she swears as she tears into the buttons of my dress shirt with feverish fingers. “You will.”
She’s released a few by the time I grab her hands and stop her. But as soon as I let go of her hips, she gyrates on my cock again. Fresh desire rips through me. I toss back my head and groan.