Forbidden Touch: A Best Friends To Lovers Romance

by Iona Rose

  He’d called me a fool. A fool who gave up too soon.

  Was he right? I believed in following people’s wishes. I’d hate to pursue Brooke when it seemed clear she wasn’t interested in a relationship with me.

  According to Jack and Amelia, Brooke was frightened.

  I couldn’t wrap my mind around this. Brooke was the most fearless person I knew. She had pushed us to buy a house for fuck’s sake! She’d taken on the renovation of a two-bed apartment with me… unfazed.

  I would be the first person to admit I knew very little about a woman’s thinking process. I knew Brooke as my best friend but not as a woman. All I knew was that I wanted her back and I knew without a shadow of doubt that we would work.

  We fit each other the way pieces of a puzzle fit together. If she couldn’t see it, I had to show her. Jack had warned me to go slowly though. To take it easy. Not pressure her and most importantly, not to jump into bed with her.

  It made sense. Having sex with Brooke made her think we were only good together in bed. I had to show her otherwise and that meant staying out of her bed.

  I worked steadily for the next hour and a half as I managed to strip off the wallpaper in both bedrooms. Satisfied with the day’s work, I wrapped up by putting the tools away and carrying the trash outside.

  I cleaned up as best as I could but when Brooke opened her front door, she made a face. “You’re filthy. To the bathroom young man,” she said.

  “Yes ma’am,” I said with a grin and followed her in.

  I started stripping off as soon as I entered the living room. I shed off my overalls, followed by my t-shirt and shorts, which thankfully had been protected from the grime by the overalls.

  “What are you doing?” Brooke asked with a squeak in her voice when I was down to my boxer briefs.

  “Getting ready to shower,” I replied.

  She closed her eyes, whirled around, and turned her back to me.

  I grinned and picked up my clothes from the floor then carried them to the spare bedroom. Just because I’d decided I wouldn’t sleep with Brooke didn’t mean I would pretend that we were not intimately familiar with each other’s bodies.

  I dropped my clothes on the bed and pulled down my boxer briefs over my rock-hard cock. It didn’t help matters that everywhere smelled tantalizingly of Brooke. I wrapped a towel around myself and tried to pat down my cock jutting out of my body, lifting the towel. Touching it made it worse. Painfully worse. I shrugged and made for the bathroom down the hallway. As I entered the bathroom, I bumped into Brooke and my hands shot out to steady her.

  “I was just checking if everything is okay in the bathroom,” she said, her voice a whisper.

  I could hear her shallow breathing that matched mine. The flush of her cheeks and the feverish look in her eyes told me she could feel my hard cock. She had to, as it now pushed against her belly. What was running through her mind? Was she remembering how good it felt to be filled up completely?

  Time became suspended as we stood there gazing at each other and our bodies grew more heated by the second. Her nipples pebbled under my gaze, reminding me of the first time we had bumped into each other like this and her towel had come off.

  It had been less than two weeks ago and yet, it felt like a lifetime, the first time I had seen her half naked and I’d been floored by how gorgeous she was. It was also the first time I had been sure Brooke had wanted me too. That she had thought filthy thoughts about me.

  She had thrust out her breasts at me and her nipples had pushed against my chest. It had taken every ounce of self-control then to step away. It had been easier that time because I hadn’t tasted her yet. I hadn’t licked her sweet nipples or heard her moaning and crying out my name.

  My instincts screamed for me to kiss her, grab her curvy ass, and push her body against my cock. But I knew all too well how that would end up. We would have an awesome twenty minutes but after that, Brooke would be cold and guilt ridden, all over again.

  Not the reaction I wanted. I groaned inwardly and took a step back. I grinned as if my balls were not aching and my cock was not throbbing painfully. “We have a knack for running into each other,” I said and side stepped her to enter the bathroom.

  I shut the door and slipped into the shower. I felt damn proud of myself for keeping my lust under control. My pride didn’t last as heat throbbed through me. My body screamed for Brooke. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to go through with my plans.

  I needed to do the right thing for her and for us. But my body refused to listen. I wrapped my hand around my hard, throbbing cock. I desperately needed some kind of release. I’d never been so hard, even when I was a horny teenager. I grabbed some shower gel, poured some into my hand and proceeded to pump my cock.

  A vision of Brooke writhing and whimpering underneath me, filled my mind as I stroked myself. I closed my eyes and imagined my cock sheathed by her tight pussy walls. I rocked my hips back and forth, as I worked my hand over my cock, pumping faster and faster. “Brooke,” I murmured, over and over again. I wasn’t worried she would hear me as the noise of the water drowned my words.

  A loud grunt rose up my throat and escaped from my mouth as I ruptured and spilled my cum all over Brooke’s shower floor. I stayed still for a few seconds to catch my breath and then cleaned up the mess I had made.

  After my shower and jerking off session, I felt strong enough to face Brooke. I found her in the kitchen, bending over to peer into the oven. I tore my gaze from her curvy ass, determined to keep my thoughts decent for the remainder of the evening.

  She straightened up when she heard my footsteps. “Dinner is just about ready.” She looked so effortlessly lovely with her hair rolled into a casual bun at the top of her head, and stray tendrils falling over her forehead.

  “I’ll set the table,” I said.

  “How did the peeling go?” Brooke asked as she carried the food to the dining table.

  I liked what we had done with the space, opening up the living room, dining room and kitchen so one space flowed into the next. It meant we could talk as we set up the table for dinner. “Better than I hoped. I’ve done both bedrooms,” I said and gave her a quick rundown.

  “Good job.” She smiled at me as we sat down at the table facing each other.

  How had I not paid attention to how beautiful Brooke was? When she smiled, it was as if a ray of sunshine had been directed onto her face. She glowed with inner beauty. “Looks delicious,” I said, my stomach rumbling.

  “Help yourself,” Brooke urged, sliding the dish filled with potatoes to me.

  She’d already served our steaks onto individual plates and I proceeded to serve myself potatoes and salad. “How was your first day back at work?”

  “Odd,” Brooke said. “I miss the lazy mornings,” she said and then her face heated up as she probably remembered they had been anything but lazy. “You know what I mean,” she added feebly.

  “Yeah,” I said and quickly changed topics. The last thing I wanted was more temptation. I could only handle so much. “Hey, what was that about when I came to your office this morning? Mason was acting a little weird.” To be honest, I hadn’t liked the familiar manner with which he had sat on Brooke’s desk or the wary look she had worn.

  “Don’t worry about Mason, I can handle him,” Brooke said.

  “He’s your boss,” I pointed out, the food on my plate suddenly losing their appeal. “What’s to handle?”

  Brooke placed her hand on me. “It’s fine, honestly. There’s nothing to concern yourself with.”

  My stomach churned. A million possibilities zipped across my mind. What if she liked him? I shook my head. I was turning into the kind of person I disliked. Paranoid. As much as I wanted Brooke in my life, I needed to chill. Take a step back and recognize that she was an adult.

  I had to trust that when she said there was nothing to worry about, there really wasn’t.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Brooke

 
I was back where I had been before we left for Hawaii. All I could think about was Blaze and how much I wanted to feel his arms around me and his mouth on mine, kissing me. His nearness didn’t help. His scent surrounded me as we washed dishes side by side.

  My body ached at the memory of his hard cock, separated from me by a mere towel. I had been sure Blaze would kiss me but he hadn’t and I’d been left angry and frustrated. Which made no sense since I was the one who had made the decision to end our affair.

  We chatted as we cleaned up and when we were done, I invited him for a cup of coffee and in response he yawned loudly.

  “I guess that’s your answer,” I said.

  “Sorry, another time?” he said and flashed me a tired, dimpled smile

  And of course, that smile made my heart break into a gallop.

  I walked him to the door but before opening it, he turned to me and pulled me into his arms. “Thanks for dinner, it was delicious.”

  I melted into his arms and inhaled his sandalwood scent that had become as familiar to me as the feel of his hard, chiseled chest against mine. “You’re welcome,” I said and buried my face deeper into his chest. It felt as if I had come home after a long day at work. It felt right and I allowed my thoughts to wonder if I had made the right decision. If Blaze was so wrong for me, why did I feel so safe when he held me? It’s the chemistry, a loud unwelcome voice reminded me. I let out a deep sigh.

  I made as if to pull away but Blaze kept his hands around my waist and our gazes met— everything in me came alive. His gaze which had been on my eyes dropped to my mouth. One of us moved and in the next second, our mouths were glued together, nipping, sucking, licking. Soft purring sounds filled the room before I realized they were coming from me.

  His hands tightened around me as my hands greedily roamed along his shoulders and his back. It felt so good to hold Blaze again. I should stop it, my brain said. But it was a weak thought ‒ and Blaze’s tongue doing delicious things to mine ‒ pushed it away.

  I understood then how a person felt when they had gone for days without water and they finally got a glass of it. They drank it greedily, afraid it would be snatched away. And that was exactly what I did. I touched him everywhere my hands could reach.

  It took a while to realize his movements were not as frantic as mine. His kisses not as ardent. I forced myself to slow down.

  Blaze pulled away, kissed my forehead and turned away to leave.

  I stared in disbelief after him and only believing he was truly gone when he shut the front door. Moments later, I heard the roar of an engine and the truth finally penetrated my thick brain.

  He was gone and he wasn’t coming back. I sank against the wall and slid down until I sat on the floor. My whole body was trembling. Of lust or hurt or a combination of both.

  Rejection stung. I didn’t understand why Blaze had pulled away. I knew he wanted me too. No man had ever made me feel the way Blaze made me feel. His hands and fingers turned me from a thinking woman to one incapable of coherent thought.

  How would I ever make it through the night when my body quivered like it did, with desire. I wrapped my hands around my knees, brought them to my chest, then rocked myself until my body cooled down and my brain cells started functioning.

  Only later while I lay in bed, did I finally feel gratitude towards Blaze for stepping away before we had sex. I’d have hated myself had we slept together. And we would have, had he not been the adult between us and stopped it.

  It would not happen again, I vowed to myself. All we needed was time and the attraction between us would die down.

  I had recovered somewhat the following day and was busy inputting data into a spreadsheet at work when a notification for an email came. I clicked on it. It was Mason, my boss, asking me to come to his office.

  His office was a few doors away from mine and when I knocked on his door, he called for me to enter.

  My insides clenched as I forced one foot in front of the other. It was always worse when I went to his office. He made me feel like a caged animal.

  “Brooke, come on in,” Mason said. “Here.” He held out a stack of papers. “Could you please photocopy those for me? Maggie is not in today.” He smiled, his gaze daring me to say no.

  I seethed inwardly but forced a smile. It cost so much effort to smile that by the time I walked out clutching the papers to my chest, tears of humiliation prickled my eyes. I knew what he was doing and it shouldn’t have irked me but it did. I was not his secretary but he wanted to show his power over me.

  Usually, I was able to look at the bigger picture. I needed the job. He wouldn’t actually do anything to me. I was an adult and could take care of myself. But today, my nerves were frayed after a sleepless, lust filled night.

  As I entered the photocopier room, I saw Blaze and Daniella huddled in the corner whispering. He said something to her then she threw her head back and laughed.

  Tremors ran over my skin. Possessive fury came over me. I talked myself out of it. There was no point in getting mad. This was who Blaze was. He loved women and they loved him back. I’d been smart by bringing our affair to a halt. I congratulated myself as I quickly made copies of each paper, all the while, keenly aware of Blaze’s eyes on me. I escaped as soon as I could and returned to Mason’s office.

  Mason was on the phone as he waved me in and pointed at the chair.

  I had no choice but to sit down and as I did so, my skirt rode up my thighs. Discreetly, I tugged at it and kept my legs tightly meshed together.

  He ended the call, stood up and came around to my side. “Thank you for being an obedient girl,” he said, his tone riddled with sexual undertones.

  I sat tightly, with my hands folded across my stomach.

  He perched on the edge of the desk, looking down at me.

  I knew he was ogling my chest. He could look all he wanted, as long as he did not touch. I had debated on what to wear this morning. I’d been tempted to wear a conservative top but decided I would not let Mason bully me into changing my dress code. And so I had worn one of my sexy blouses and from where he sat, he had a nice view of my cleavage.

  “How about a drink after work?” he asked.

  I stared up at him. “Aren’t you married Mason?”

  He was married to a very quiet woman by the name of Juliet. He brought her to the office Christmas parties which was the only time he behaved himself. Office rumors had it that she came from a very wealthy family, which was one of the reasons Mason had married her.

  He stared at me long and hard. “What’s that got to do with anything? I’m asking you to go out for a drink with me. You should be honored. I don’t go around issuing drink invitations, but I think you’re gorgeous and smart. You could go very far in the company.”

  I was as ambitious as the next person but my plan was to work hard and get promoted using the normal methods. Certainly not my body. I looked at Mason.

  He wasn’t unattractive. Actually, he could be described as handsome with slightly greying hair around the temples and a chiseled face. The trouble was, I didn’t see all that with Mason. What I saw was his leering gaze and his lusty eyes that followed me everywhere.

  Which went to show that beauty really did come from the inside. As he sat there, telling me how sexy I was and how much he wanted to show me a good time, the image of Blaze and Daniella came to mind. A burning sensation filled my chest. The little scene replayed in my mind.

  Daniella’s laugh and the way she had placed her hand on his arm, as if he was hers. I shook my head to dislodge the images. In less than a week, Blaze had forgotten about Hawaii. It hurt to know that a period which had been so special to me, had meant nothing to him.

  If it had, he wouldn’t have been flirting with Daniella. He would have been missing me as much as I missed him.

  “No thanks,” I said to Mason.

  “Are you frigid?”

  Mason’s voice penetrated my thoughts. “What?” I asked.

  “Do you enj
oy sex? Is that what this is, because if you don’t, it could be that you’ve haven’t met an experienced man who knows what he’s doing.”

  I gasped at the gross invasion of privacy. Tightening my mouth, I pushed my chair back and stood. “Is there anything else?”

  He chuckled. “I know your type Brooke. You like teasing men and enjoy it when they sniff around you. I’ll be patient but mark my words, I will have you.”

  I fled. His words made me tremble inside but I told myself not to be silly. He was my boss and as lewd as he was, he had a job to protect. Talking was as far he could go. Sticks and stones, I said to myself.

  Chapter Twenty

  Blaze

  Brooke was cool in the days that followed. We worked together in the house a couple of days but she kept her distance. I had no idea what had caused the sudden rift and to be honest, I was worried sick. My plan was meant to bring her closer to me, not push her away.

  We usually took our lunches together at work, but she had started to avoid me. She came up with different reasons every day as to why we couldn’t have lunch together. When we did manage to get together, she went quiet.

  A knock came on my door, bringing me back to the present. I looked up expectantly, hoping it was Brooke.

  It wasn’t.

  Daniella stepped in and shut the door behind her.

  I swallowed my disappointment and forced a smile.

  I’d hoped that by now she would have gotten the message that I wasn’t interested. She was one of the recruiters whom I supervised. She was aggressive and exceptionally good at her job. Unfortunately, she used the same aggression when it came to the opposite sex and it was not attractive.

  She was pretty enough but definitely not my type. Not anymore. My type was Brooke.