by Elena Aitken
Faith looked over at Logan and shook her head right as he said, “There’s no way she could keep up with me. Not if I was really trying.”
“Is that a challenge?” She turned in her seat so she faced him. Logan grinned and turned to face her as well. She tried not to notice his hard chest under the too tight T-shirt he wore or the way it stuck to his biceps. It really had been too long since she’d been with a man. She was clearly becoming delirious if she was looking at Logan in any way other than a pain in her ass.
“It could be.” His voice was low and rough, and dammit if she didn’t think it was sexy.
Faith shook her head and forced herself to turn away and put both hands on her beer. “Whatever. It may have been a few years, but I’ve still got it,” she said. “Definitely not much of a challenge.”
Across the table, Sarah let out a low whistle and Brody chuckled. But it was Logan’s response that held her attention.
He kept his voice low, barely more than a gruff whisper, but she heard him loud and clear. “Oh, it’s definitely a challenge.”
The rest of the evening passed quickly over more beers and wings. But Katie and Damon never did show up to join them. Fortunately, the conversation steered away from Logan and Faith, not that there was even anything to discuss there, and after a bit, the men excused themselves to play a game of pool while the women chatted.
As soon as Faith had Sarah alone, she had to ask. “So, what exactly is going on between the two of you? Are you guys officially dating or…”
Sarah shrugged, but she wouldn’t meet Faith’s eyes. “Brody? Me? Oh no. It’s not…we’re just friends.”
“Seems like more than that.”
“I mean, we do spend a lot of time together. More and more over the last few months, actually. He probably spends more time at my house than his own, actually. And now that he’s started coaching Rory’s soccer team, well…I kind of like having him around.”
Faith grinned. “So, you’re dating?”
“Oh my goodness!” It was not her imagination when she saw her friend’s face turn a very bright shade of pink. “No. I mean…no.”
“It sure sounds like dating.”
“We’re friends. It’s never been anything more.” Sarah shrugged and looked down at the table.
“But you want it to be–“
“No!” Sarah’s head shot up. “I mean….can we not talk about this anymore?”
Faith put her glass down and leaned across the table. “It’s okay, Sarah.”
“No.” Sarah shook her head, looking flustered. “I just…we’re just friends.”
Faith wasn’t buying it. She may not believe in love herself, but other people did. And whatever was going on with Sarah and Brody was definitely more than a friendship. Anyone could see the way they looked at each other.
“Honestly?” Sarah shrugged and turned to look as Brody made a shot to break the balls on the table before looking back at Faith. She leaned over the table and whispered, with a small smile on her face, “I really like having him around and all, but I haven’t really thought about dating him. I actually haven’t thought about dating anyone. I think it might be too soon.”
All at once, it became clear to Faith what the problem was.
It’s okay to be happy.” Sarah and Josh had been high school sweethearts, and they’d all been friends in school. Faith felt certain that what she said was true. Josh would have wanted Sarah to move on and be happy. “And Brody is great with Rory, right? I mean, he coaches the soccer team and he doesn’t even have kids. That’s like next level.”
She smiled. “I know, it’s just…” She looked down and swallowed hard before continuing. “It’s hard.”
Faith smiled supportively. She couldn’t even imagine just how hard it was. “Whenever you’re ready, Sarah. Don’t overthink things, okay? Just go with it and let it happen the way it should. And whatever you do, please do not feel bad about moving on, okay? You know as well as I do that’s all Josh would want.”
And she was pretty sure Josh wouldn’t have any problem with Sarah being happy and moving on with Brody, but she didn’t say so. Clearly her friend wasn’t ready. Not yet at least.
Sarah nodded and smiled. “Thank you, Faith. It’s true. Sometimes I think I just need someone else to say it, you know?”
She did.
It wasn’t until much later after Faith was home and shutting off the lights as she got ready to go up to bed that she allowed herself a moment to think. What if she’d been wrong? What if love was a real thing? She’d spent so long pushing it away and keeping any real feelings from coming close, but what if she’d made a mistake? After all, Katie and Damon had found it, even when it had been there the whole time. And Hope and Levi. And even Sarah—hell, she may have found it twice. Even if she didn’t know it yet.
She paused in front of the fireplace and picked up a framed photo of her parents. They’d been in love. Desperately in love, Hope used to say. But her twin sister hadn’t known the truth. She’d never known. Only Faith held onto the secret that their parents’ happily ever after had all been a lie.
Chapter Ten
By the time they’d gotten the bikes unloaded and had returned to the guesthouse at ElkView, the tension between Damon and Katie was so thick that Damon was reconsidering their decision to blow off beers with the others at the Knot. Maybe it would have been better to be around other people instead of alone with whatever it was that was going on between them. And there was something going on. He couldn’t deny it anymore, not if he wanted to retain any sense of sanity at all. No, they were definitely going to have to address the elephant in the room. And soon.
“Do you want to shower first?” Katie asked as they walked through the front door. She moved easily through to the kitchen and opened the fridge. “I’ll just—”
“No.”
Katie froze with one hand on the fridge door and turned to face him. “No, you don’t want to shower first?” She closed the fridge. “Okay, I’ll—”
Before Damon could change his mind, he moved quickly across the space and pushed her up against the fridge. He used his arms to brace himself, but even so, the move caught her off guard.
“Damon, what are—”
He held up a finger to her lips and swallowed hard. “I think you know.”
“I don’t know if I—”
“No more.” He cut her off. “We both know that there’s something here. And really, we’re about to be married, Katie.”
“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea…” She was trying to keep her voice light, but Damon knew her well enough to know that she was working to keep it under control. Just as he could feel her body vibrate against his.
“Katie…everything about this is a good idea.” Damon pressed his mouth to hers, and in that instant, everything was right again. Every thought and emotion swirling around in his brain came into crystal-clear focus as his lips crushed hers. It took a moment, but only one—and then she was deliciously, mercifully, kissing him back.
Her arms came up, one hand holding him to her, pressed flat against his back, while her other hand ran through his thick hair. He didn’t even care that they were both sweaty and covered in dirt from their ride. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the taste of her in his mouth.
Damon’s kisses became more insistent and she groaned beneath him. Damn, that was sexy. The little sounds she made and—didn’t even know about—made her absolutely impossible to resist. He moved his kisses to her neck, this time determined to taste more of her because there was no way they were going to be interrupted. What would have happened earlier if the others hadn’t gone back to look for them? He certainly hoped he would find out.
“Damon.” She breathed his name as he moved his kisses to the dip of her V-neck T-shirt and swell of her breasts.
He needed to see her. Touch her. Now.
He pulled away, but only enough to tug her shirt over her head. He tossed it to the side and sucked in a breath at the sight of her. �
��Damn, girl. When did you get so fucking hot?”
She laughed but then her smile faded and she looked at him seriously. “Are we doing this? Really?”
“Well, we are getting married.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Maybe we should wait until—”
“No.”
The word came out so fast, and with so much ferocity, that Damon couldn’t help but laugh.
“Point taken,” he said. “And I absolutely agree. Waiting until marriage is such an outdated idea.” He bent and sucked her nipple through the thin fabric of her lace bra, while his free hand tweaked the other.
She sighed, and her knees buckled a little. “It really is,” Katie agreed. “So outdated.”
Damon pushed the lace down over her breasts to expose them, plump and perky and so perfect the sight of her made his cock ache. “Dammit, woman. There is no way I can wait until it’s official.” He knew they were both playing and the wedding wasn’t real, but none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was getting Katie naked, in bed, and beneath him, screaming out in ecstasy.
Without waiting for a reply, he lifted her easily by the hips. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed herself into his hardness with a need that made it hard for him to focus. Somehow, Damon managed to walk the short distance into their bedroom and deposit her onto the bed.
She fell back onto the comforter and instantly leaned back on her elbows, pressing her breasts up in show. “Your turn,” she said. Her eyes were hooded and having her look at him with so much desire in those pretty brown eyes almost completely undid him. Almost.
He didn’t need to be asked twice. He also knew he couldn’t move as slowly as he would have liked. With a few quick moves, he stripped himself of his shorts, shoes, and T-shirt, and stood before her, completely exposed.
She didn’t say anything, but her eyes grew wide with appreciation. After a moment, she shook her head.
“What?”
“It’s just…” She bit her bottom lip. “Well, I…I’ve never…I mean I have…but…”
He silenced her and the thoughts she couldn’t verbalize by leaning over her, bracing his body with his arms as he kissed his way down her body, removing the rest of her clothing as he went. First her bra. Her breath caught in her throat as he sucked her nipple, now bare, into his mouth, not releasing it until her breath came hard and fast beneath him. Then he moved his kisses down her flat, toned stomach to the waistband of her shorts. He traced his fingers along the elastic before sliding them down over her hips, taking her panties with them, leaving her completely exposed to him.
It was then that Damon realized exactly what she’d been trying to say but couldn’t.
They’d been friends for so long that they knew almost everything about each other. They’d seen everything.
Almost.
They’d never seen this. They’d never seen the other naked and completely aroused. This was new. Very new.
It was his turn to shake his head in wonder, but only for a moment before he dropped once more to the bed and started kissing her again, this time with nothing to come between them.
Katie’s brain couldn’t keep up but she wasn’t sure she wanted it to. Because what was currently happening, even if it was the craziest thing ever, was a good kind of crazy.
Every time Damon kissed her body, she was sure she was going to completely combust. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle much more, but at the same time she wanted as much as she could get, because it couldn’t ever be enough.
His body was hard and lean under her hands as she explored everything about him for the first time. Part of her brain screamed at her: This is Damon. DAMON! Your best friend. But the other part of her brain—the louder, more insistent part—told it to shut up and enjoy.
So that’s what she did. Because there was just so much to enjoy. And when his fingers slipped down her body, between her legs to tease her most sensitive spot before pressing inside her, she was no longer thinking anything at all. The orgasm ripped through her fast and strong, and she screamed out as she rode the wave of pleasure he’d created so easily in her.
When Katie opened her eyes again, Damon was watching her intently. She licked her bottom lip and smiled wickedly before reaching up and pulling him down so his mouth once again met hers in a deep kiss. She sighed into his mouth, but it wasn’t enough. Before long, she wiggled beneath him until he pulled away, just a little.
“Katie, I don’t have a condom.” His eyes were full of regret and so much need that it made her want him even more.
“I’m on the Pill,” she said without hesitation. “It’s fine.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.” To prove it, she pulled him down closer to her, and a moan escaped his lips.
Damon didn’t need any more invitation, a fact that Katie was more than thankful for. He kissed her again, and right as he pushed himself inside her, she heard him say her name. But she couldn’t be sure, because the only thing she could be sure of was the incredible sensations filling her body as Damon began to move inside her.
She wrapped her legs around him, to pull him in even deeper. She needed him closer somehow. Her hands clawed at his back as he pulled back just enough to look in her eyes. Katie’s first response was to look away, to squeeze her eyes shut against his intensity because…Damon.
“Look at me, Katie.” He’d read her mind. Of course he had. He knew her better than anyone. “Stay with me.” His voice was rough and insistent. “Right here.” His body moved slow, punctuating each word with a thrust. She did as he asked and looked straight up into the familiar eyes that were suddenly completely unfamiliar, but just as compelling.
Katie was no stranger to intimacy, although she hadn’t had many partners. But nothing she’d ever experienced compared to what was happening with Damon. She forced herself to focus on his eyes, which had the effect of intensifying every other sensation through her body until finally her vision clouded as the orgasm built deep within her, starting in her core before forcing itself out in a violent full-body shudder as she came completely undone beneath him.
She was only vaguely aware of Damon taking his own release right along with her before he rolled off her to the side. It was only then she felt the loss of him and their connectedness, but only for a second before he reached over and pulled her up onto his chest where he could hold her tight.
She snuggled into him, breathing in his once familiar scent that was now threaded with the scent of their lovemaking. It was different and for a moment, Katie’s brain wanted to go to a place of panic, to a place of what just happened. And it might have, too, if Damon hadn’t chosen that exact moment to stroke her hair and pull her tighter to him. He didn’t say a word, but he didn’t have to because just his presence was enough for her to breathe.
Yes, she’d just had sex with Damon. With her best friend. But it would be okay. It was okay.
Katie wasn’t sure how long they laid like that, because soon her breathing matched his, and she fell into a deep, content sleep.
It was the first time since Damon arrived that Katie had slept through the night. When she finally woke, with the sun streaming through the bedroom curtains, she couldn’t help but laugh at herself a little. Was that really all she’d needed? A little sexual release to help her get a good sleep?
Sexual release with Damon.
Shit.
Had she really just slept with Damon?
She squeezed her eyes shut again and pulled a pillow over her head. No. No. No. No.
Katie knew she was acting like a child the way she shook her head back and forth, stopping just short of pounding her heels into the mattress, but she didn’t care. Because she had, in only one night, ruined everything. Friends couldn’t sleep with each other and ever be the same again. It just didn’t happen. Damon was her best friend in the whole world and now…
She screamed into the pillow, thankful for the muffling effect but needing the releas
e regardless. When finally she’d exhausted her minor tantrum, she pulled the pillow from her face and sat up.
“Good morning.”
“Shit!” Katie yelped and immediately slid back down, pulling the sheet up over her head.
She couldn’t see him, but Damon chuckled and, a moment later, gently pulled the sheet away. She stared up into his smiling face. Her own face burned from the blush of embarrassment that was no doubt a bright shade of red.
“Are you done yet?”
She nodded and then shrugged. “Done what?”
“Being embarrassed.” His voice was laced with humor, but it was gentle, too. He sat down on the bed next to her and waited for her to sit up. “You shouldn’t be, you know?”
She didn’t know. She didn’t know anything. How was she supposed to react? This was not like any morning after she’d ever experienced or even ever imagined.
Katie pulled the sheet tight around her bare breasts. “I don’t know about that,” she said after a minute. “I’m not sure what happened last night. I mean…” She shook her head and corrected herself. “I am sure about what happened, but I don’t—”
He silenced her with a kiss that was so unexpected, she dropped her grip on the sheet and it slipped down. When Damon sat back, he raised his eyebrows appreciatively. “It is a good morning.”
“Dammit, Damon.” She grabbed up the sheet. “That’s not helping.” But it was. His reaction to everything was helping her relax. Maybe it wasn’t such a big deal after all. Maybe they could just carry on and just be them?
“I brought you coffee.” He handed her the steaming mug.
“Now, that is helping.”
“I thought it might.”
She took a tentative sip and then a deeper one, letting the hot liquid fortify her. “So about what—”
“What about it?”
She stared at him. “You really don’t want to talk about it?”
He shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it, but I don’t know if it will make any difference to what I’m feeling.”
