Friends with Benefits: A Friends to Lovers Holiday Romance (A Different Kind of Love Book 4)

by Liz Durano

  “I didn’t have a reason to. Besides, it’s also been a year since I’ve seen you. I missed you last time, remember?”

  My belt buckle forgotten, Caitlin slides up my body so we’re face to face again, her hair cascading along the sides of my face. I can smell her shampoo, sage and lavender. “Of course, I remember. I missed you. My partner in crime was MIA.”

  “I was working, but I missed you, too.”

  “No, you didn’t. You were traveling. Italy from what I heard.”

  “Doesn’t mean I wasn’t working.” I gather her hair in my hand and push it to the side as we lapse into silence. I can feel her watching me, studying me. “What are you looking at?”

  “You,” she replies, stroking my stubble with the back of her hand. “You’re all grown up.”

  “You are, too.”

  She bites her lower lip again, her gaze lowering down to my mouth. I can’t believe we’re doing this but it’s also way past the point of no return. I don’t think I can stop myself even if I want to.

  “I want you, Cam. Just for tonight. And then–”

  “And then what?”

  “And then we’ll figure it out later.”

  “Then stop talking and kiss me already, woman.”

  Caitlin chuckles. “Ooh, keep talking like that, and I just might.”

  I give her a playful spank on her buttock and she gasps, her eyes widening in surprise before I pull her down to kiss me, our tongues sparring, teeth mashing. This time I wrap my arms around her, one hand on the back of her head and the other on her hip, keeping her in place as she grinds her hips against me. I groan. There’s no chance in hell this train’s stopping now.

  Holding her, I shift positions again, flipping her back on the bed. “No more talking,” I murmur as Caitlin arches her back, helping me undo her bra. Her breasts spill out of their cups and I toss her bra to the floor. She moans as I squeeze them, pulling her nipples before I take one in my mouth, sucking and licking. She closes her eyes and brings her head back against the pillows. I do the same to the other nipple, feeling her body writhe beneath me. I move my head lower, zigzagging my tongue down her belly, my hand sliding lower and settling between her legs.

  “Fuck, Cait. You’re so wet.”

  “I thought you said no more talking,” she gasps as my fingers slide along her sensitive lips.

  “That was the exception.” I kiss the skin just below her belly button and she raises her hips, helping me lower her panties down her hips until she’s completely naked before me. Gently, I nudge her knees apart, kissing the insides of her thighs as she giggles, my stubble grazing her skin.

  Her clit is already swollen when my mouth descends on it, stroking her with my tongue as she whimpers, her fingers in my hair. I love the way she says my name, the way her hips buck beneath me as I slide one finger inside her and then another.

  I’m taking a huge risk but I’ve made my decision. We both have and this is it. I feel her orgasm approaching, her back arching as her I hold her thighs in place, hooking my forearms underneath her legs and holding her down. She tastes divine and I know once won’t be enough. This won’t be something that happens only one time, not when she’s like a drug I’m not going to be able to quit so easily. When Caitlin comes, her body shudders and she falls back on the covers, pulling one of my pillows to muffle her cries. Her legs quiver in my grasp as I give her clit one more lick, one more suck between my teeth and she groans in frustration.

  I get up from the floor and taking my wallet from my pocket, I unbuckle my pants, stepping out of them and my boxer briefs. When I straighten up, Caitlin watches me with wide eyes, her chest heaving as she catches her breath. Her gaze leaves my face, sliding lower down my torso. A half smile graces her lips as I slip a condom out of my wallet.

  “You really are all grown up, Campbell Murphy, and in more ways than I can count.”

  “I didn’t realize you were counting, Cait O’Halloran.” I crawl on the bed between her legs. “I’ll have to make sure you’ll forget all about counting before we’re done tonight.”

  She chuckles. “Is that a challenge?”

  “You bet it is.” I kneel in front of her, tempted to rip the condom wrapper before asking that question one last time. She’s my best friend’s sister, the girl next door I grew up with. We’ve hung out together, laughed, and argued. We’ve commiserated like thieves and gotten into trouble together more times than I can count. But we’ve never done anything like this. “Are you sure about this, Cait?”

  Caitlin takes the foil wrapper from my hand, licking her lips as my cock juts in front of her like a steel rod. Any more talk and I’ll be in trouble.

  ”Let me,” she whispers, kissing the head of my cock, her tongue licking the precum glistening at the tip. I hold my breath, savoring the sensation of her warm tongue and her lips and now her hand, wrapping around the length of my dick, her other hand cradling my balls. Shit, if she doesn’t hurry, I’m going to come. Foreplay is fine but in our case, that might as well have started hours ago.

  “Cait…”

  Her tongue cradling the underside of my cock, Cait takes me in her mouth slowly. I grip her hair with both hands, still kneeling in front of her as she repositions herself on all fours in front of me. The sight of her ass is enough to do me under. I’m losing all composure, the quantitative analyst that I am now reduced to the ordinary man he is underneath all the armor of designer clothes and thousand dollar wristwatches. They’re all for show to the world to see but not to the woman in front of me. No, Caitlin has seen me at my most vulnerable. She’s seen all of me before any other woman ever did. She’s seen the broken boy that I used to be before I made the decision never to leave my fate in someone else’s hands.

  I pull away and Caitlin looks up at me, her brow furrowed. “I’m not going to last if you keep teasing me like that,” I say, my voice gruff, all my muscles tensing. God, how much I want her.

  She takes the hint and tears open the foil wrapper. Slowly she rolls the condom over my dick, her tongue pressed against the side of her lip as she focuses. Can condom rolling be any less romantic? But I also wouldn’t have it any other way. I love the way she concentrates on my cock, like it’s the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen.

  “Come here,” I gently push her back down on the bed, our bodies coming together again, no more words forthcoming. Mouths meeting, teeth scraping, and tongues sparring. Our hands linger, stroke, and squeeze. Our bodies mold against the other like two halves becoming whole. When I enter her, she gasps and so do I. It’s an exquisite feeling, heaven bottled in the few seconds our eyes lock together as I move deeper inside her, making sure she’s okay. Her gasps make the pit of my belly tighten, her little moans music to my ears.

  The next thrust comes harder and Caitlin whimpers, her fingers digging into the back of my shoulders.

  “Fuck, Cait, you feel so good.” Fast and slow, shallow and deep, I vary my strokes, feeling her pussy tighten around my cock with every thrust, her body shuddering as her orgasm nears. I kiss her, our eyes meeting, connecting. I want to tell her how beautiful she is, how she feels so right in my arms but there are no more words. Just this, our bodies meeting, coiling, coming together. She’s tight. She’s warm. She’s perfect.

  And as Caitlin comes, my name breathed against my mouth, she’s mine.

  When my own release comes, I bury my face in the delicate curve of Caitlin’s neck, sinking my teeth into her soft skin. Nothing else matters but her.

  Seven

  Campbell finds me in the living room two hours later, sitting on the lambskin rug on the floor in front of his Christmas tree that’s all lit up. Fully decked out with the decorations we’d purchased at the holiday market, he added white string lights that make the golden ribbons and tinsel glisten like stars.

  “What are you doing here?” He settles on the rug behind me and brings the blanket over our shoulders, his body so warm against my back.

  “I remembered the tree.”
>
  “Ah, yes. I forgot to set the remote for it.”

  I turn to look at him, his stubble grazing my shoulder as he leans forward. “I found the switch for it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You did a great job with it, Cam. It’s beautiful.”

  “Thanks to you,” he says, chuckling. “My mother’s probably still in shock after I sent her pictures of it. She figured hell must have frozen over.”

  I giggle. “No, Caitlin just stormed through your apartment and demanded you put a tree up.”

  Campbell scoots forward, his legs on either side of me and his arms circling my waist. “Thank you for demanding I put a tree up. It’s the best decision I ever made.”

  “To put up a tree for Christmas?”

  “To be with you.”

  Suddenly it’s as if he just said something he’s not supposed to say. The reality of what just happened between us hitting me like a cold shower. “Well, about that…”

  I feel Campbell’s body stiffen though his arms remain where they are. “I thought it was just for tonight.”

  I nod. “Yes, just for tonight. I mean, I don’t want what just happened between us to stand between you and Jordan. Your friendship is very important to him. To the family, and to me.”

  “As it is to me, too, Cait. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize my friendship with him or your family… and that includes you.”

  So what just happened between us?

  I turn my attention back to the tree, not wanting to ruin a beautiful moment between longtime friends because in the end, that’s what we are—friends. Who cares if we’re sitting on a faux sheepskin rug buck naked? Besides, it had been my decision to have sex—and boy, other than the guilt I’m feeling right now, it was the best decision ever. I’ve always known Campbell to be this quiet, intense and driven kid and I’d never once considered him as anything but a friend mainly because I grew up with him. He’s the boy next door... and whenever we get together, my partner in crime.

  Who knew that between the sheets, he’s amazing? His hands, his mouth, his… I bite my lip. No, better not go there.

  Still, I may not have the experience to make such a declaration that he’s an amazing lover—after all, I’ve only been with two men before tonight—but I’ve also never felt so comfortable, so sexy and so gorgeous with any man before. The way he makes love is just beyond words. And even if I could find the words, I won’t because most of it can’t be described using the alphabet, at least, not in a coherent arrangement.

  I turn my head to look at him. I never realized how thick his lashes are. “I wanted it to happen, Cam.”

  Campbell kisses my shoulder. “I did, too.”

  I swallow nervously, our faces too close for two people who call themselves just friends, our lips inches away. I close my eyes, not knowing what to expect yet hoping that he kisses me. And he does, his arms tightening around my waist, pulling me against him.

  Our kiss lasts for a few minutes, a combination of soft and feathery kisses, and sweet ones. None of the passionate deep kisses he gave me earlier, the ones that made my toes curl. I feel his hand cup my breast, his thumb and finger pinching my nipple.

  Suddenly I pull away. My heart is pounding fast, as if there are a hundred horses galloping right under my ribs. “This isn’t going to work, is it?” I ask hoarsely. “I’ll always want more.”

  His hand leaves my breast. “Same here.”

  “It sucks because last night was… it was amazing.”

  “It was.” He strokes my cheek. “So what do you suggest we do, Cait?”

  I don’t answer. I turn away to look at the tree again, needing to change the subject. “You forgot the star. The one that goes on top.”

  “No, I didn’t.” He leans away from me, reaching for something on the coffee table. It’s a star ornament I’d picked out at the holiday market. I’d picked it specifically for the top of his tree. “I wanted you to have the honor of putting it up there. Thanks to you, I have a tree.”

  I take the ornament from his hand and get up from the floor, not caring if I’m naked. I want him to see me before we have to say goodbye to this little adventure, before we return to the way things were between us. He’s my brother’s best friend and the boy next door, and that’s the way things are going to be.

  It shouldn’t be too difficult to walk away from this, right? After all, we’ve always been good friends, able to tell each other anything and everything we want. That’s why I’m so comfortable around him.

  I stop in front of the tree and look back at him. “Why don’t we both do it together? It’s your first tree, Cam. You should do the honors, but because I bugged you about it, then I can help put it up, too, as your partner in crime, so to speak.”

  “Troublemaker,” he chuckles as he shrugs off the blanket from his shoulders and gets up from the floor.

  The sight of him makes me catch my breath, my mouth turning dry. Goodness, but he does work out, doesn’t he? Even his quads are toned, and his calves. Or maybe he runs. He always did like running. I force my gaze away from his legs, knowing I’m bound to let my gaze drift higher and I don’t need the distraction.

  As he stands behind me, he rests his hand on mine, his fingers holding part of the ornament. The warmth of his body is a welcome sensation against my shoulders and my buttocks and I close my eyes. Why does this feel so intimate? So special? Why do I keep wanting more?

  Campbell rests a hand on my opposite shoulder. “You ready?”

  Get your mind out of the gutter, Cait. “Yup.”

  As soon as we position the ornament on top of the tree, we both take a step back. “Thank goodness, this doesn’t have those prickly needles,” Campbell says as we both chuckle. String lights he’d arranged at the top of the tree illuminate the star perfectly.

  “Merry first Christmas tree, Cam,” I whisper. “It’s absolutely beautiful. Like, social media worthy beautiful. If you have an account, we should take a picture for posterity’s sake.”

  “I would but I wouldn’t be focusing on the tree,” he murmurs. “And I wouldn’t be posting it anywhere either. It would be just for me… and you.”

  I feel my cheeks blush as I look away. “Oh, Cam, look at the tree. Focus.”

  “I am focusing.” I can hear the dip in his voice. I can feel the charge in the air between us, intensifying with each passing minute. When our eyes meet, it’s all I can do not to swoon. Campbell has a way of looking at a woman like she’s the most beautiful thing in the world. This is what I get for not going out as much as I should have. I need more experience in the dating department to withstand Campbell as a lover. As a friend and the boy next door, I could totally handle him, but like this, it’s impossible. Is that why Jordan always said that even though Campbell is often mistaken as quiet and introspective around our family, on his own, he’s actually popular, especially with the ladies?

  He takes a step closer and I force myself to keep my gaze on his face. Any lower and I’ll really be in trouble. “If you really want me to focus on the tree, I’ll do just that… unless you want me to focus on something else. Or do something else.”

  I bite my lip. This whole thing was my idea and tree or no tree in front of us, there’s no way I’m letting go of it just yet. It’s all or nothing. “Actually, I do.”

  “What is it?”

  I turn to face him, the tree forgotten, and kiss him gently on the lips. “I want this.” My lips travel down his neck, pressing against the pulse beating there. “And this.” I feel his cock hardening against my belly. “I want more before we go back to the way things were between us.”

  Campbell wraps his arms around my waist. “Is that your final decision?”

  I nod. “But if you don’t want to do it again, I totally understand.”

  He exhales, chuckling softly against my ear. “That’s the problem, Cait. Once you get a taste of something you’ve always wanted, it’s difficult to walk away.” His fingers push back my hair, exposing my n
eck to his mouth, his stubble tickling my skin. “But I understand why.”

  “So you’re okay with it all?”

  He nods, his finger lazily tracing my spine, goosebumps rising in its wake. His silence—words replaced by his hands doing the talking—is like a signal informing me that whatever I told him I wanted had officially begun. After all, I hadn’t held anything back: I wanted him.

  I hold my breath, closing my eyes as I allow my body to feel everything he’s doing to me with just a touch of his finger. Why does my body feel so alive, so electric around him?

  He pulls away, his fingers moving to my face, stroking my cheekbone before moving lower to trace the line of my collarbone. It’s as if he’s exploring me, memorizing me, and taking his time. His other hand takes mine and brings it to his lips, stubble grazing, scratching the back of my hand as his lips touch my skin. Then he rests my hand on his chest, as if letting me know he’s not going to be the only one playing this game. It takes two.

  I let my hand explore him, feeling the way his stomach tightens, my fingers tracing each indentation of his six-pack abs. My hand moves lower, gliding past his belly button, my wrist brushing against his erection.

  “Cait…” he groans the moment I wrap my hands around his length, hot and hard against my palm, his skin like velvet. I open my eyes and see him watching me, his nostrils flaring. He says my name again and in his voice, I feel his need, his desire for me. It’s unmistakable. How did I never see it before?

  “Campbell…” I close the distance between us and let our actions speak instead, mouths meeting, bodies melting one more time before the morning comes and we’ll have to go back to way things used to be.

  I wake up the moment I see a sliver of sunlight streaking between the edge of the vertical blinds. We’re back in his bed, worn out and smelling heavily of sex. Beside me, Campbell is asleep on his side, one arm tucked under his pillow and the other draped over my torso. His breath feels warm against my shoulder. I close my eyes as the memory comes, of us on the lambskin rug making love. Goosebumps dot my skin. Already I miss the feel of his lips on mine, his hands gripping my hair and his cock filling me completely. The thought alone makes me blush like mad as I slowly slip out of his arms and into the bathroom. Quietly, I get dressed, ignoring the butterflies in my belly fluttering like crazy as if protesting my planned departure.