She peeks at me by opening her hands, then they fall away. “I thought the same thing. That you wouldn’t return my feelings. You seemed untouchable as anything more than a friend. I didn’t want to be rejected.”
“If all I could have was friendship, then that would have to be enough,” I say, finishing her thought process. I know it well. We stayed away from each other romantically because we shared the same fears and insecurities.
Jess smiles from across the couch, and I can tell by her expression the wheels are turning. And then she does the unbelievable.
The thing I have fantasized about for years.
She rises to her knees on the couch, leans forward, and proceeds to crawl my way. Right up to me where she curls herself on my lap, arms wrapping around my neck, and she places her mouth on mine for our very first kiss.
CHAPTER 11
Jessica
I don’t know what I was expecting.
Nothing, really.
I had no expectations, because I didn’t even think or plan what I was doing. One minute we’re acknowledging we’ve been stupidly hiding behind fears and having deeper feelings for each other, and the next I’m in his lap.
My body made the move and my lips pressed to his, but that was where my efforts ended and Dozer’s took over.
His strong arms band around me, hand to the back of my head, and his mouth plunders. His kiss blows through me with the force of a hurricane, leaving me breathless and needy.
Years of pent-up desire I failed to admit? Deep love developed over years that we’ve finally realized is not the friend type? Perhaps it’s even the fact we’re facing life-and-death circumstances, so we’re being given license to act.
I have zero regrets we’re doing this. All my fears melt away, and deep in my soul, I know nothing will be ruined between us.
On the contrary, I feel like I’m gaining a piece of me that was missing.
“JJ,” Dozer whispers against my lips.
I hear something in that tone… residual fear.
“No talking,” I say before pressing into him and slipping my tongue in his mouth. He groans and moves his mouth down my neck. “This is happening.”
“It’s happening,” he agrees, voice gruff and forceful. His teeth graze along my skin, and I shiver.
Then Dozer is pushing up off the couch with me cradled in his arms, as if I’m nothing more than a feather. He carries me to the bedroom, eyes locked on mine the entire time. The intensity… the lust… the determination that nothing will move him off this path.
It’s a new us, starting right now.
In the bedroom, Dozer lays me on the bed, coming down on top of me. His kisses are strong but unhurried. His hands roam without hesitation, and the more he touches me, the more I tremble.
God help me, but the first thought in my mind is that no one has ever touched me in a way that makes me tremble, and I feel a twinge of guilt, as if I’m betraying Chase. He was my first love, after all.
Or was he really? He didn’t commit and…
Dozer brings his body fully flush against mine. His thick erection presses between my legs, and I go dizzy with desire.
Restless.
I need more.
I tug at his T-shirt, trying to pull it over his head, but he won’t stop kissing me and touching me all over.
“Your shirt,” I gasp when he lifts his mouth from mine. My hands pull at it, and he helps… goes to one elbow, lifts the other hand up and over his shoulder, grabbing the soft cotton from behind.
He easily pulls it off, and then my hands are on his chest. The strongest part of Dozer might be his brain, but his name is more fitting to the care he puts into his body. He’s always been built, a fanatic for strength training. He got that from his father, wanting to please his dad by playing football and playing well. Even though he veered from that path once he went to college, he never stopped working out, looking like he could be a professional football player if he wanted.
“I’ve seen you without your shirt before,” I whisper, running my hands up his chest. Chase, Dozer, and I would work out together in college. We’ve gone to the beach more times than I can count when he visits. “But this is different.”
I glance up to see him staring at me intently, and I can’t look away.
“I never thought you’d touch me like that,” he says.
“Like this?” My voice is husky, and I smooth my hands over his chest and down his abdomen, causing the muscles to jump under my touch. He’s rock hard, resting between my legs, and I can’t help but wiggle a little, which causes him to press his pelvis into me.
Sliding a hand behind my neck, Dozer lifts me up slightly so he can bring his mouth back to mine for a searing kiss that’s both tender and passionate. He lowers me, follows with his mouth, and then his hands are moving on me again.