She wanted me to kiss her. That had been painfully obvious. And damn, I wanted to do that as well. The reality of the situation had settled like a cinder block in the pit of my stomach.
But her father had been right on the other side of the door, and this was his home; this was his daughter. I wanted to be respectful, but I was also madly in love with Holly. And the way she looked at me, the hopefulness, the arousal reflected back in her expression, I’d almost said fuck it all.
In fact, I’d just been about to lean in and kiss her when I’d heard my best friend’s voice come through the door, the slap of reality reminding me that what I was doing in his home was wrong.
And although I had no intention of walking away from Holly, didn’t see her as some child, but a curvy, luscious woman who wanted me, and only me, I knew I couldn’t stand back anymore. I had to tell Aston. I had to be honest and pray like hell he knew what I felt for Holly was exactly what was supposed to happen.
I went into the guest bedroom and shut the door, leaning against it for a moment as I thought about everything, as I pictured how all of this would play out. I wasn’t a man who was normally hesitant or terrified of things, but when it came to Holly and the situation, I was scared shitless.
I lifted my hand and ran my palm over my cheek and jaw, feeling the day’s worth of stubble over my skin. It would’ve been smarter if I just went to a hotel, but Aston had insisted I stay here. He was a damn good friend, but then again, if he knew the things I thought about where his daughter was concerned, he’d kick my ass until there was nothing left.
Fuck. I was in one hell of a situation.
I started getting undressed, going for the button of my shirt, popping it through the hole at the collar, and continued down until I could take the whole shirt off and toss it on the edge of the bed. I went for my belt and then my slacks. I was now in my boxer briefs, the rest of my clothes folded up so I could wear them tomorrow morning before I headed back to my apartment building, which hopefully could be entered by then.
I walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down, closing my eyes for a minute and rubbing my hand over the back of my head. I was exhausted, not so much physically but mentally, this war with my heart and mind enough to suck the life out of anybody.
When I opened my eyes again and looked over to the bedside table, the small clock sitting on the polished wood told me it was barely nine. I knew sleeping would probably be impossible. Although I was tired, a part of me was also wound up. In fact, my heart was still racing from the near kiss, from the things Holly had told me.
It was a small strip of pink I caught out the corner of my eye, and I looked over to the pillow, something peeking out from underneath it. It had a lacy edge, delicate and dainty. I knitted my brows and reached for it, hooking my finger along the edge and slowly dragging it out until it hung in front of me.
A deep, low groan left me when I realized exactly what I was holding.
Panties.
Holly’s panties.
Although she was the only female in the house, so it would’ve been obvious, I knew she specifically put these here for me. She made up my bed, left this little prize for me. She was a bad girl, so naughty yet innocent.
I brought that silky material closer to my face and looked at it. Holly was curvy and all woman, her body meant for a man to hold onto as he brought her to the throes of pleasure over and over again. And the underwear hinted at innocence and vulnerability, but also this little piece of sexiness I knew she held within herself.
And like a dirty fucking bastard, I brought those panties to my nose and closed my eyes as I inhaled deeply. God, she smelled sweet, like the nickname I gave her.
Sugar plums. Yeah, that’s what she smelled like, probably tasted like too.
I opened my eyes, my cock so fucking hard it was like this steel pipe I carried between my thighs. I looked down at the monster between my legs, the head of my dick pushing through the bottom of my boxer briefs. I could see pre-cum dotting the tip, and because I couldn’t help myself, I reached down and rubbed my palm up and down the length. I was rock-hard, so stiff that even my balls ached as they were drawn up tight to my body.