Rules of Friendship: Friends-to-Lovers Standalone Romance Novel

by C. A. Harms

  “You may have just opened the door to something you aren’t fully prepared to accept.”

  “You don’t scare me, Dawson,” I say playfully, but I mean it entirely. I’ve never trusted anyone more than him.

  His arms tighten around me, and I feel his excitement pressed against me. To ensure he understands I want this, I move against him, applying just enough pressure to his large erection. His response is a growl, as he leans in and bites my lower lip, gently tugging.

  “Show me,” I demand, as he releases my lip and looks over my face with careful consideration. It’s as if he’s giving me the chance to change my mind—only I know what I want and it’s him.

  “You should get to bed,” he whispers hoarsely after he leans back. Instead of allowing him to move away, I hold him closer.

  I shake my head defiantly while trying to convey to him just how much I want it. How much I want him. “Don’t wanna sleep,” I protest, wiggling against him more. Suddenly, feeling the dominating confidence of my own, I let the moment take over, and I remember it is Dawson with me. Dawson. My best friend. I’ve known this man my whole life, and this is my chance to have him in a way I’ve imagined so many times before. “I’m not tired, in fact . . .” I pause, repeating his previous action of biting, gently tugging on his lip, and sucking it softly before releasing it. “Drinking always makes me feel like staying all night long doing things much more exciting and exhilarating.”

  “Reese,” he growls, trying to fight the hunger I knew he feels too. His words sound more like a plea as he allows his lips to brush over my jaw before he descends toward my neck.

  “Seems almost as if you feel the same,” I challenge, brushing my body against his hardness just enough to gain a reaction out of him.

  “You should stop,” he says in a shaky voice, sounding unsure. I use his hesitance to my advantage as I arch my head, opening my neck to him entirely.

  “I don’t want to stop,” I confess, feeling brazen and alive. “You want this. I want this. So why hide it? I say we stop thinking so much and feel what our hearts and bodies are telling us to feel.”

  His teeth sink into the side of my neck, just enough to make me moan. “I’m gonna wipe every other man from your mind,” he assures me as he begins backing me up toward my room. “All you’ll ever remember is me, and the way I make you feel.”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  Dawson

  It is like the most vivid dream, a replay of all those nights I’d thought of her in my mind. Her auburn hair is scattered over the soft pink color of her sheets. The dark raspberry shade of her panties still in place but nothing more. The way she looks up at me as I hover above her, as if I were a God, as if she were created for me.

  “You are so beautiful.” Her cheeks blush the sweetest shade of pink from my compliment, but I’ve never meant anything more than that. Reese is gorgeous, and the best part about it is that she knows it, yet hides it well.

  I watch her intently, my arms and legs trembling from the rush of adrenaline as her hands touch my chest. Closing my eyes tightly, I’m unable to fight it anymore. Unable to fight us anymore. So I lose myself in the way it feels. Slowly, delicately, almost as if she etches each dip to memory, she explores. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” Reese murmurs as she continues a path downward, over my chest and stomach, pausing at the waistband of my boxers just before hooking her fingers below the elastic. “I’ve dreamt of this time so many times that I should feel ashamed, but I’m not.”

  So many words linger in my mind, hanging from the tip of my tongue, but I can’t concentrate enough to speak. Feeling Reese explore my body where every touch is amplified is like nothing I’d ever felt before.

  My mind screams: more. Touch more. Take more. Take it all, as I’ll give you everything.

  And the second I feel her small hand engulf my cock, barely fitting around its wide girth and long length, I swear to God it takes all I have inside of me not to explode. “Jesus,” I growl, “I’m trying to control myself, Reese, but you’re making it almost impossible.”

  “Don’t,” she says, and I open my eyes to find her staring up at me. “Just let go. I don’t want you to hold back.”

  For a few seconds, I just watch her, giving her this one last chance to decide that we’ve already gone too far. One last chance to take the out and run back to that friend zone if she is uncertain. Of course, I pray like I never prayed before that she doesn’t rethink this, but I have to be sure she wants this as much as me.

  “Please don’t hold back, Dawson,” Reese looks up at me, lust in her eyes, as she shifts her hips against me. Her legs part, wrapping around my waist, as she pulls my body in tighter to hers. “I want this. I want us.”

  It’s like something inside me snaps, and I lower my upper body, feeling her bare breasts pressed against my chest. Her nipples harden, her one hand is still wrapped around my cock as she carefully moves it up and down.

  My mouth covers hers and I begin to explore as our tongues tangle together. The taste of the fruity drink she had earlier, mixed with her sweetness, is the best thing I’d ever tasted. I want more with her. I want it all.

  There is hunger inside us both that leaves us crazed for more. Slow isn’t in the cards. Not tonight. This build-up forming between us is years in the making. The denying ourselves for far too long has left us both starving for each other.

  I kiss down the side of her neck, along her chest and continue to move lower, feeling her hand break free from my cock as she groans in protest. Looking up at her, I grin and she bites her lip seductively. Holy fuck. That lip-biting is so hot that I almost combust before we get started.

  Still, I watch her. Afraid to take my eyes off her from fear of missing her reaction, I continue to kiss along her stomach. “Dawson,” she whispers my name, her hips lift off the mattress beneath us. A satisfied smirk covers my lips, knowing it’s me sharing this with her. Marking her. Making her feel good. It’s the greatest feeling. Everything about it and her are empowering.

  I pause just above her panties, trailing my tongue along the waistband, as she quivers beneath me. Her little pants fill the air and her hands fist the sheets at her side like she’s preparing for what is about to take place. With soft kisses, I continue. As I lower her panties, the enticing scent of her arousal makes my pulse quicken. She is waxed down there, and I smile because it’s precisely the way I imagined her to be in my dreams.

  Without being able to resist, I flick my tongue over her clit and her hips lift again as if in search of more. I proceed to assault Reese with my tongue, devouring all she has to offer. Reese shifts against me and moves even closer to my mouth, practically riding my face.

  “Oh my . . .” The words die on her lips as they change to a gratified moan.

  I want to say so many things. More than that, I want to hear her let go. With soft sucks and the presses of my tongue, I continue to taste her, giving her what she wants most.

  Reese is greedy and I love it. Her hand reaches out as she fists my hair, holding me in place, as her hips continue to shift. She grows demanding and, fuck me, it is terrific.

  “Right there,” Reese directs, “yes, don’t stop.”

  “Baby, I’m not stopping until you come all over my face.”

  Her fingers curl tighter in my hair, tugging at the roots, which only drives me more. I push my finger inside of her, curling it up to her g-spot, which triggers her to grip my hair tighter. Moaning loudly, she comes with such a force that I swear I see fucking stars from its rush.

  Instead of stopping, I continue to lick her softly as she comes down from the high with shivers radiating through her body. When her eyes open, she looks down at me and her cheeks redden.

  Beautiful, I can’t help but think before I begin kissing over her waist and moving up to meet her lips. She doesn’t even pause before combing her fingers into my hair again as she uses it as leverage to pull me in, deepening our kiss. “You drive me crazy, but in the best way,” she
confesses, and I feel her free hand touch my waist as she starts to push my boxers down. I feel the urgency in her movements and decide to offer my help.

  Freeing my anxious cock from my boxers, she wastes no time before wrapping her hand around me once more. Her tight grip, the way she offers just a gentle twist as she trails her thumb over the head makes me feel hazy.

  I reach beneath her pillow in search of the condom I tucked there earlier.

  Together, we frantically place it on my throbbing package that’s already ready for Reese. Our hands shake, our breaths become ragged, and our gazes lock.

  I can feel her heat pressed against me as I glide over her, her hips lifting to ride out the contact. I pull back, and her disappointed groan from the broken contact flips something inside me, a satisfied feeling of a man pleasing his woman.

  A look of recognition passes over her with Reese practically reading my thoughts. She knows me well enough to understand that the knowledge of her needing me as badly as I need her satisfies me.

  “Stop stalling,” she nearly purrs.

  Without another second of pause, I slowly sink into her, fighting the urge to let my eyes roll back. So tight and so silky, being inside Reese feels like pure ecstasy.

  Wholly seated, I freeze from the rush of being inside of her and the look of awe inflicted on her face. Her mouth is slightly parted and her eyes droop almost as if she is drunk on me alone.

  I begin to move, and together we fall apart, piece by pleasurable piece.

  With each thrust we both lose ourselves in one another, and forget there is anything else outside this moment we share.

  I wake up alone, stretching out my arm instantly in search of Reese’s warm body. Disappointed, I find nothing but cold sheets, confirming she’d gotten out of bed long ago.

  I quickly find my boxers on the floor by the bed and slip them on as I step out of her room and into the living room. It is still dark out, just the casted light of the courtyard surrounds the pool and filters in through our windows. I find her sitting on the couch in the darkness. Her legs are tucked up to her chest as she stares off at nothing in particular on the wall opposite her. A feeling of fear hits me like a brick wall. My legs move before I can stop them.

  As I round the end of the couch, she turns and looks up at me, her eyes glistening with tears. Her anguished look hits me is like a punch to the gut. Sitting next to her, I grip her face in my hands. “What’s wrong?”

  She tries to deny that anything is wrong as she usually does when something’s bothering her. Her head shakes as she attempts to turn away from me.

  “Reese,” I say softly, as she lets out a ragged breath, her eyes meeting mine once more. “Talk to me.”

  “I’m scared, Dawson. I don’t want what happened to change us.”

  I stare at her, unsure of what to say, my mind reeling with fear of losing her. A million different scenarios race through my head and I am terrified that I have messed everything up.

  “But it does change us,” I confess, unable to lie. “It changes everything.”

  She closes her eyes tightly, and a tear falls over her cheek that makes me feel so raw.

  “We’re still us, Reese,” I assure her, feeling myself backpedal. “We’re still Dawson and Reese, lifelong best friends. We’re still here for each other, but now we’re better than before.” I hate the way she looks back at me with such an unsure look in her eyes. “We’ve never kept secrets, but lately we’ve both kept one huge one. Now, our feelings for each other are out.” I lean in and softly kiss her, resting my forehead to hers. “This makes us better. It makes what we had before even stronger now.”

  I am desperate to hear her tell me she feels the same. I have to know that what is happening between us is not something she regrets. “I don’t wanna lose you.”

  Fuck me. A hollowed feeling filters inside me, one that aches so much. “You’ll never lose me.” Leaning back, I still hold Reese's face in my hands, forcing her to look at me. “Never.”

  Reese is my rock. Could I live without her? Yes, but I never wanted to face that kind of darkness.

  When she nods, I still get a sense that she isn’t entirely convinced. Standing from the couch, I bend slightly and scoop her up in my arms. Carrying her back to her room, I tuck her in and climb in beside her. Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her body tightly to my chest, holding her firmly. “It’s you and me, Reese, just like it’s always been.” Again she nods. “Only now I get to kiss you.”

  I feel her body shake gently with laughter, and though I still felt raw from her words she spoke only moments ago, I know she’ll be all right. I refuse to allow her not to be.

  Reese

  “So now you’re together?” Heather asks as I shift in my seat beside her. “And before you answer, just know that I am all for it because that man is yum with a capital Y.”

  Just from her description of Dawson alone, I can’t keep from smiling. “I guess we kinda are.”

  “You guess?”

  “Well, I think we’re a little too old to be saying,’ Do you wanna be my girlfriend,’ but from the way he’s acting, that’s what we are.” It feels weird talking about him like that. He’s always been my best friend; it is how I refer to him always. “Things are definitely different.” I smile as I think about our morning. The way he woke me up as he climbed over me. He was naked, sheathed and ready, and I willingly parted my legs to welcome the rather large intrusion. Feeling him was much better than sleeping.

  “You have that do me look in your eyes.”

  I quickly close my mouth and look around us to ensure no one else heard her or saw me fantasizing.

  “Shh,” I attempt to appear embarrassed, though I am anything but.

  “It’s good,” Heather says, regaining my full attention, “isn’t it?” When I don’t answer her, the smile on her face only grows wider. “I always knew that man would be dynamic in bed.” With a shake of her head and a gleam in my eye, our professor enters, interrupting our conversation. I am happy actually because it gives me time to reminisce alone in my memories of the weekend and that morning. I can’t imagine a second of it being any better than it was.

  After class, we stop by Mrs. Trolleys and order our favorite coffee. Immediately, I place an order for a half a dozen cinnamon muffins with Dawson in mind. I can’t say I’ve never done that very thing before, because I’ve always gotten things for him over the years. But now it feels different . . . hard to explain. Before, it was more of a way to keep him from being moody or nagging me about not getting him what I knew he’d want. Like I saved him the trip kind of thing. Now, it is as if he is there in my thoughts—a welcome intrusion—and I can’t help but smile happily as I picture myself offering him the box of goodness. Oh, and of course he will give me a kiss of appreciation that may lead to some touching and tasting and . . . well you know.

  I turn around and lean back against the countertop as I await my order, immediately looking around the room. Heather is rambling on about some girl in her apartment building. To be honest, I’m not really paying attention because it is always the same with her. Her neighbor is her one major annoyance. I think it is more a jealousy thing because that girl is a knockout, and the guys she dates are like underwear models that inflict some major panting sessions from just one glance. I think Heather secretly envies the action the girl gets and wants it all for herself. Not that I can blame Heather.

  I am just about to tell her to be kind to the girl and maybe she’ll hook her up with a hottie when my eyes land on a tall man in the corner. He’s at the same corner table where he’d sat with me not that long ago. Friday night it was a blonde girl; today it is a brunette. I shake my head and laugh, actually thankful that he and I had not gone any further than we had because Lance is a player. It’s now obvious that he is not the one gal kind of guy.

  “What are you looking at?” Heather begins to look around, and I see the moment she notices what I had. There is no need to explain. She scrunches her face u
p in disgust, taking a step forward, only I reach out to stop her.

  “Let it go, Mama Bear,” I tug her back at my side. “We should both be thankful that his true colors shone before I became just another one of his gaggle of girls. Besides,” I reply with a shrug when she looks back at me, “I got to spend the weekend wrapped up with someone much better and much hotter.”

  “A definite upgrade for sure,” she says with a smile. I couldn’t agree more.

  “Here’s your order.” I turn around to grab my goodies. With our arms linked together, Heather and I leave. Twenty minutes later we are camped out on my living room floor, our studies spread out in front of us. Coffee and snacks in place, we start to quiz one another.

  I met Heather during my first year of college. She too was majoring in veterinary medicine, and we shared about our dreams of opening up a clinic together after we got out into the real world. It was an exciting thought because if I were to pick someone to be my partner, it would be her. She rocks and keeps me on my toes too. She may be a little wild in the guy's department, but Heather is smart and loyal. She is also total opposite of me: loud, proud, and straightforward. I, on the other hand, usually keep my opinions hidden rather than voicing them.

  The sound of the door being opened sends out a rush of excitement through me as Dawson steps through the entrance. “Hey.” I smile when his eyes lock with mine. Damn, he is a gorgeous sight, and I wonder if seeing him after a long day will always feel this good. I want to tackle him to the ground and kiss him stupid, but I hold back.

  “Hey,” he says in return and offers Heather a nod.

  “I got you muffins.” I look him over from head to toe and back up again, finding him with a knowing smirk on his lips. “Cinnamon,” I say, feeling a little warm after being caught appreciating his fine assets.

  He drops his bag to the floor, and I remember not so long ago being annoyed severely by that very thing. It is weird how now that it no longer bothers me. He walks in my direction instead of toward the kitchen. With each step he takes, my heart races faster.