Brother’s Billionaire Best Friend: A Second Chance Romance Series (Book 2)

by Wood, Lauren

  It wasn’t something I should have been contemplating, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted her. I knew it was wrong, but that knowledge did nothing to stop me from thinking about the off-limits.

  We dropped Bella off where she was supposed to be and then I took Dina where she wanted to go. The last few miles were silent, and I wanted to say something, but so help me, I had no idea what I was supposed to say. It was so painfully awkward, that it was hard to focus.

  When I pulled up, I wanted to desperately make it right. I wanted this weird awkwardness between us to be over. We shouldn’t be this way. I’d known her for years, best friends with her brother. We had to get past this, at least for him.

  “I guess I will see you at the wedding tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, guess so. Thanks for the ride, John.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Dina grabbed the handle of the door and then stopped. I had no idea what was going through her mind, but I wasn’t going to let it bother me. I couldn’t. I knew there was something that was going to happen between us if she didn’t leave now, so I was silently hoping that she would just go. I didn’t need the temptation. I would choose wrong.

  “Can I thank you, John? Properly?”

  I had no idea what that meant, but I agreed. I would have agreed to anything, if it would have given me another few moments with her, right and wrong be damned.

  “Sure.”

  She leaned in suddenly and planted her lips on mine. It took me a moment to figure out what was going on, and I could feel her tongue sliding through my lips. It was hard not to lose it then. It was perfect, amazing, right, all at the same time. It was also so damn wrong, but at the moment I didn’t care. The taste of her and the way she smelled, all piled up on top of the feeling of her tongue wrapping around mine.

  I pulled her onto my lap and kissed her deeper. I wanted her to know that I was into her, and I heard a soft sound as I pulled her down on my hard need. Nothing that I had ever done before made me feel this way, and for just a little while, I forgot who it was that was on my lap.

  My hands were just as pressing as her tongue was to me. She was whimpering as I thrust upwards, trying to suggest what I wanted most. This was how I handled girls, but I’d somehow let it slip my mind that this was Jack’s sister.

  “Wait, wait.”

  Fuck. That is the last thing I wanted to do. Couldn’t she feel how hard I was, dying to get inside of her? Jack’s face kept flashing in my mind, but I was able to push that out of the way. My focus was laser-pointed.

  “What?”

  “Don’t you have to go get my brother and his friends?”

  I cursed and remembered that I was the designated driver. I couldn’t stay here and frolic. I had to get them home. My cock was throbbing painfully though. It didn’t want to leave her, no matter what the background noise was. I wanted to live in the moment, this moment, just once, rules be damned. Everything be damned.

  “Fuck.”

  She giggled and climbed the rest of the way over me and out the door. I tried to stop her, her hands going to mine, pushing them away. I could see the mischief in her blue eyes and I knew that I was in trouble. Jack’s little sister was messing with my head now.

  “See you at the wedding, John.”

  She had a big grin on her face that lit up the truck’s interior. I didn’t want her to go, but I knew I had places to go myself.

  As I pulled away, I was trying to figure out what had just happened. It felt like something important and I wasn’t sure where to go next. I just shook a little inside, my lips actually tingling from where we touched.

  Dammit, that woman was going to get me into so much damn trouble. I just knew it.

  7

  Dina

  “Why are you asking me all of these questions about John? Today of all days?”

  “I am not asking a bunch of questions, Jack. I think you're a little paranoid. I was just asking how long he was going to be in town for.”

  “Why do you want to know?”

  I had to think quickly, because my brother was looking at me suspiciously now, and I didn't like the looks of that at all. Nobody needed to know about John. I made Bella promise she wouldn't say anything, and I was hopeful she was so drunk last night, that she wouldn't even remember what was said.

  “Well, mom stuck him in my room, and I am staying over at Tammy’s. It would be nice if I could sleep in my bed again. That's why I'm asking.”

  He seemed to relax, and it made me wonder why he was so worried about it. Did he know something that I didn't?

  “Oh. Well, I think he is supposed to be leaving tomorrow or the next day. We're going on our honeymoon three days from now, so everybody should be gone by then. I am sorry mom put you out. You know she's always liked John.”

  “I think it's because he flirted with her a couple of times.”

  I was just joking, but my brother Jack did not seem to find it all that funny. He thought I was serious, and I had to reassure him I wasn't. I never realized how touchy my brother can be about the women in his life. It wasn’t just me, or maybe it was the idea of it being his friends. Neither boded well for the naughty thoughts that had been in my mind ever since.

  “Why would you even joke like that?”

  “Why are you so uptight about it? He has been your friend for as long as I can remember.”

  “We were best friends, until he had to go out West with his dad. I have missed him being around, but I still don't want to think about him hitting on mom. That would just be gross.”

  “Why?”

  Jack looked at me like I was crazy.

  “When you're friends with someone, their families are off-limits.”

  I didn't like the sound of that at all, but it wasn't like anything was going to happen. Not really. I didn't like the idea, that I didn't even have a choice. I should be able to have a choice, if I wanted to make it into something more. No one should have that kind of control over me.

  “Geez, Jack. I really don't think you have to worry about mom.”

  I said it as a joke, but Jack turned to me and then got all serious.

  “None of my family would be okay. I saw the way you were looking at John yesterday. Don't even think about it, Dina. I mean it. He is not for you, and I don’t want to hear about anything going on between the two of you.”

  I wanted to tell him that he was being ridiculous, but Jack had known for quite a while how I felt about his friend. At the time, it was no big deal, because I was just a child as far as they were concerned. Suddenly things had changed. I wondered how he would have felt, if he had known that John and I kissed the night before. I'm sure that Jack would not have taken it well.

  “I don't know what you're talking about, brother. He just gave me a ride home last night. That's it.”

  I stopped, because I shouldn't have said that. He didn't know about John giving us a ride home. He didn't know that I had taken Bella out and gotten her drunk the night before. And I couldn't believe that I had ratted myself out. I was usually better at lying, though I’d never been great admittedly.

  “He took you home last night? What the fuck? When?”

  “Yeah, we had a couple of drinks and needed a ride home. I tried to call you, but you didn't answer. Jack answered your phone. He said you were drunk last night and wouldn’t have been able to help anyways.”

  “Who is we?”

  Instead of straightening his tie, like he had been doing for so long, now I had all of Jack's attention and I certainly didn't want it. I wanted him to go back to the mirror and stop looking at me the way he was.

  “I took Bella out. She didn't want to have a bachelorette party, but I thought we could have a few drinks. You wanted me to keep her busy, so we went out and both drank a bit too much.”

  I thought he was going to be mad, but he was actually happy about it.

  “I knew the two of you would get along. All you had to do was give it a shot. Once you get to know her better, you'll lo
ve her just as much as I do.”

  “I can see why you're marring her, and I'm happy for the two of you. I wasn't sure about you getting married again, but now I see that it was the right call. And she is lovely.”

  “You don't know how good that is to hear, Dina.”

  I thought he was making it a bigger deal than it was, but I wasn't going to argue with him. He wasn't telling me off for getting his bride drunk, so that was good enough for me.

  So, what I was concerned about was all this talk of John. I should have never brought him up. I knew that I wouldn't do it again. That would not be a mistake I made twice.

  * * *

  “Care for a dance?”

  The wedding was over and I was feeling a bit weird. I think that happened to everyone during weddings, though I couldn’t be sure. After the discussion with Jack, I had been avoiding John. Now, he was standing over me with his hand out.

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

  “Nothing ever really is. Come dance with me, Dina.”

  I was nervous to do so, because I remembered the kiss and how he had responded too well. It ran in my mind, the feel of him underneath me, and I can’t say that it was doing me much good.

  “Come on, Dina. You know you want to.”

  “I do, but that’s the problem.”

  He pulled me up on my feet and towards the dance floor. I didn’t see Jack around, but I knew he wouldn’t like me dancing with John. He told me to stay away from him. He was very clear.

  John didn’t seem to have the same compunction though. He pulled me up against his body tightly and it took my breath away. I could feel the hard lines and bulky muscles that I’d felt while on his lap. It was all coming back to me, and my heart was racing in my chest. My breath was coming out in uneven gasps, and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.

  “This will not end well, John. Jack already warned me.”

  “Jack is taking care of Bella in one of the bathrooms. I have you all to myself.”

  It was too much information, but also enough that my mind started to work another way. The song was over, and John pulled me away and towards a hallway that had no one around. I knew what was on his mind, I knew the consequences, but I let him pull me into the coat room anyways.

  “What are we in here for?”

  “You know what.”

  Then he was kissing me and my knees were going weak. This was the fantasy that I’d had for so long. I wanted him, needed him and the more I tried to deny it to myself, the more it was useless.

  He pinned me up against the wall, in the layers of hung coats, and I could feel his hand moving up my top. His fingers played with the hard nipples that came through the fabric, and his mouth was feasting on my neck. I rolled it to the side, to let him have more, while my whole body shook with need. I couldn’t say no, not this time.

  The door opened suddenly and John was off of me so quickly, I almost giggled. He could say he wasn’t nervous, but he was. Maybe I should be too. I ran, plain and simple. It was too much and my cousin almost catching us, was all the reminder that I needed. I had to be crazy, to think that this would work.

  8

  John

  3 months later

  I was sitting in my office when Lisa came in. She had said something about driving by, but I never knew if she actually would or not. She was about as bad as I was, when it came to being on time or showing up at all, on occasion.

  When she walked through the door, I put a smile on my face, even though I wasn't really feeling it today. She was the one that had initiated the meeting and when I had tried to get out of it, Lisa had made it clear that it wasn’t an option.

  She didn't care if I was in the mood or not. As far as she was concerned, it was my responsibility to please her. Usually I didn’t have a problem with this, but I wasn’t into it today, hadn’t been as ready for it since I got back from the wedding. Now, I had even more on my mind, remembering the conversation I’d just had with Jack.

  “You have things on your mind?”

  I agreed and Lisa smiled. She pulled her long gloves off and set them on the sofa in the office. Lisa knew I had a thing for them, and she usually left them on. She must want something else today. I didn’t know what it was, until she was smiling and bending over my desk. She blew me a kiss and then told me to get over there and give her what she needed. It wasn’t an option.

  Any other time, I would be happy to do just that. She was fine as hell; her legs were long, and her ass was always nice and tight. It was hard to take my eyes off of her, even if I wanted to, which I didn’t. But there was something holding me back. I didn’t want Lisa, I wanted Dina.

  I smiled and moved to get up. I got in behind her and bent her over a little bit more. It was all I could do to stop it. She just felt so damn good and before long, I was able to stop worrying about the quandary that I was in. Lisa’s hot folds were enough to pull me from my stupor.

  * * *

  “You aren’t yourself today, John.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you don’t usually act like this. I have known you a long time, remember?”

  I didn’t know what to say about that. I wasn’t acting like myself because of the call I’d gotten earlier. It was a friend that was in need and of course, I had to help him. I had known Jack for years, just went to his wedding. If he asked me to do something and it was in my power to do it, I would. But at what cost?

  “It’s nothing. I just have a lot on my mind. You came several times. Did you not get enough?”

  Lisa smiled coyly and said that she had gotten plenty. I knew that she was pleased, but I just wanted to make sure that she remembered that. Sometimes, Lisa lost sight of where her place was in my life. I wanted to make sure that it didn’t keep happening that way.

  “I did. I was just wondering what was going on with you, that’s all.”

  I knew that she had more to say, but something stopped her, and I was thankful for that small bit of help. I certainly needed it.

  “Well, I will leave you to it then.”

  And just like that, Lisa was gone. I was spent, and now I had a million things to think about. I don’t know how this was all going to work out, just that it had to. My friend had called me for a favor. I was quick to give him what he asked for, until he told me what the favor was.

  “Would you mind letting Dina stay with you?”

  “Dina, your sister, stay with me?”

  I had been half-asleep when he called, due to the time difference, but I quickly woke up when he started talking about Dina. I hadn’t seen or talked to her since that kiss and the dance at the wedding. Those two events stayed on my mind, but not enough that I decided to track her down and go against Jack to do so.

  “Yeah, she got accepted to USC and needs a place to stay. She wants to stay in the dorms, but you know how college is. I can’t let her go there and stay in those places. There’s no way.”

  I didn’t get where he was going with it at first, yet then he dropped it in my lap like a nuke and I watched it explode.

  “Come on, Jack. We went to college, stayed in the dorms. We survived.”

  “Yeah, but think about what we did, with girls. I can’t let her go and turn into that.”

  “Dina isn’t going to go that way. She’s smart.”

  I tried to convince him he was going off the deep end, but I don’t think he wanted to hear it. We had some wild times in college and even though we’d gone separately, we’d both travelled and visited each other. We had a good time together and there was always an extra woman or two around. My mind went to some of them, what we did, and I was with Jack. Dina didn’t need to be turned into that.

  “Come on, John. You know that I wouldn’t be asking you if I didn’t think it was important.”

  It was important, and I could see that it was.

  “So, what do you need from me, Jack?”

  “Let her stay with you for a little while? Just until
she gets her bearings and we can find her a safer place. I don’t even want her going halfway across the country, but we can’t stop her. She wants to be a movie star or something.”

  “A director. She wants to direct and all of the good teachers and classes for it are out here. New York is even worse, so just be lucky she picked USC.”

  “I didn’t know that you knew so much about my little sister’s aspirations.”

  I wanted to remind him that his sister was old enough to drink. She wasn’t a child, but I knew that it wouldn’t be a good thing to bring up.

  “What can I say, girls like to talk? You can’t help but hear them. You must be better at the tuning out bit.”

  “Yeah, must be… So, will you do it, or what?”

  There was desperation in his voice, and I wanted to tell him no. This was going to be bad news, I could feel it, but at the same time, it had to be done.

  “Yeah, when is she coming in?”

  “Night after next. Can you pick her up, or I can get her to take a cab…?”

  I told him that I would pick her up and it wasn’t long after that, Lisa came in and threw me off. I had agreed, without considering I had a girlfriend. She didn’t live with me, but she was here often and liked to pop in. I feel like I should have said something to her. But I didn’t. I, myself, was still trying to wrap my head around all of this.

  My loins remembered Dina well and having her here, living here, was only going to end in one way. I knew I could fight it, for a little while at least, but it wouldn’t be long before I was going to break all of the rules. There was no other way that this could possibly turn out.

  9

  Dina

  When I found out my brother’s plans, I told him that he was crazy. There was no way that I was staying with his friend. I knew what it was. Jack didn’t trust me, and he was making sure that I didn’t have any fun while I was away. I would be watched like a hawk. When he told me that it was going to be John, I really disagreed with it.