Forbidden Touch: A Best Friends To Lovers Romance Read online

  The problem as I saw it now, had been when I had started fantasizing about other things with her other than sex. Maybe buying a house together had made my fantasies go into overdrive. Whatever the reason, I’d started to see Brooke in my future. Living with me. Sharing my bed. And it did not frighten me at all.

  I had a decision to make.

  “Ready?” Brooke asked from the door.

  I sat up and swung my legs to the side of the bed. “I’m ready.”

  Brooke sashayed in wearing a pale blue dress that knocked the wind out of me. It clung to her curves but the plunging neckline was what had gotten my mouth to water. I couldn’t take my eyes from the swell of her breasts and her deep cleavage. I imagined how it would feel to run my tongue over her soft skin. Would she moan or cry out or would she stifle her pleasure? I imagined Brooke’s hot body writhing under mine as I pressed my cock between her legs.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter,” Brooke snapped.

  A denial sprung to my lips but I swallowed it back. “You look beautiful.”

  “You don’t think it’s too sexy for the wedding?” she asked, looking down at herself.

  I cleared my throat. Was it me or had the room suddenly become stifling hot? “No, it’s perfect.”

  She grinned. “Thanks. I’ll try on one more. I think I might have gone overboard with this one.” She giggled. “This trip is bringing out my wild side. I want to be wild for a week. Does that make sense?”

  I nodded, unable to speak. If Brooke wanted to be wild, I’d definitely be there to witness it. Then a thought crossed my mind. Just what kind of wildness was she talking about? Did it involve guys, because if it did…

  A few minutes later, Brooke’s footsteps sounded and I looked up expectantly towards the door.

  When she emerged, I lost all my powers of speech. The only movement came from the lower half of me. My cock ‒ acknowledging never having witnessed such sexiness ‒ pulsed to life.

  She wore what was technically a bikini but in reality, was a scrap of cloth barely covering anything. I saw skin everywhere I looked. She had thick mouthwatering hips and I couldn’t help but stare at the swell of her pussy and imagine licking it, tasting it, inhaling it.

  I must have groaned out aloud, because Brooke asked me in a concerned voice if I was okay.

  I cleared my voice. “I’m good. You look amazing.” I sounded how I felt. Lust filled. Out of my mind desperate to touch, to see if her skin felt as soft as it looked. To plant kisses on her belly. To cup her pussy in my big hand and claim it as mine with my cock.

  She entered the room and walked the length as if she were on a catwalk.

  I kept ogling her but I didn’t care. The scrap of cloth disappeared somewhere in her ass crack, leaving her ass bare. All the blood left my body and dropped to my cock.

  I had never wanted a woman as much as I wanted my best friend in this moment. I needed a cold shower desperately. Anything to take my mind off her hot body and fantasies of claiming her. Making her mine. My decision was made.

  I had a new mission for Hawaii.

  Chapter Three

  Brooke

  I grinned like a fool in the Uber on the way to our apartment. The skies were blue and the sun was wonderfully hot. I had already fallen deep into a vacation mood. I couldn’t believe Blaze had to coax me into going with him. I’d been an idiot.

  “I’m waiting for your undying gratitude,” Blaze said, his gaze burning the side of my face.

  “You have it,” I said looking out the window at the passing views. “This is so beautiful.” I inhaled salt tinged air and twirled my fingers around the lei that a beautiful girl ‒ who looked like a belly dancer ‒ had draped around my neck.

  I was headed to a condo where I would spend a week with Blaze in vacation mode, a voice in my head reminded me. I was well aware of this but I refused to let my attraction for my best friend ruin the vacation for me. I wasn’t a teenager and could control myself.

  We would probably be busy with other people, I reminded myself. Maybe I would even meet someone. Weren’t vacations all about short exciting flings? I for one was ready for anything. I felt free, as if in leaving the mainland, I had left behind my inhibitions.

  The condo complex looked just as pretty as I had imagined it to be.

  As soon as the Uber came to a stop, a lady clad in a white sleeveless shirt and a skirt stepped out the front glass doors. She came towards us smiling and struck out her hand. “Hi, welcome to Oahu! I’m Nadine and I’m your host for your entire vacation.”

  We introduced ourselves.

  A young man joined us and easily grabbed our suitcases.

  We made our way into the building as Nadine rattled off all the amenities for our convenience. Restaurants, swimming pools, beach, food, gorgeous views, it all sounded perfect.

  Our condo was on the third floor and when we entered, I felt as if I had stepped into paradise. Everywhere I looked, I saw glass views of the blue ocean and the mountains. I immediately made for the French doors and stepped out onto the balcony, leaving Blaze and Nadine to conclude our check in.

  I rested my hands on the rail and gazed out at the beach. It wasn’t overcrowded and I couldn’t wait to join the people relaxing on the sand.

  After a moment, I heard the French doors open and Blaze stepped out.

  He came to stand behind me and slipped his hands around my waist.

  I stiffened. A weird reaction as it was a totally Blaze thing to do. Except things had changed. The tropical setting, the perfect view of the beach and the almost naked people on the sand. All this worked to hike up my attraction for Blaze. Heat swamped me as he continued to hold me. Heat sizzled over my back as his body fit snugly behind mine. I closed my eyes and inhaled his masculine scent. Sparks of desire shot through my body, pooling at my core.

  “I bet you can’t wait to be out there lying in the sun,” Blaze said and chuckled.

  I knew he was remembering the bikini. I gave off a nervous laugh. I’d been so brave buying the G string bikini and modeling it for Blaze. Seeing his reaction had been worth it. It had been silly but a part of me had wanted to prove I could attract Blaze. I hadn’t missed the hard on he’d been trying to hide in my bedroom. The thought of him seeing me again in my bikini excited me further. But that would be as far as it could go. I refused to join the list of Blaze’s conquests. Teasing was as far as it would ever go. “What time are we meeting your family?” I asked him and wriggled out of his hold.

  “In about an hour,” Blaze replied. “We have time to settle in and shower.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I said happily. “I’ll unpack and then take a shower.”

  The blast of lust which had hit me when Blaze held me, clung to me like a sheen of sweat and refused to deflate. I needed time alone to get my senses back to normal. I left Blaze on the balcony and went to wheel my suitcase to one of the bedrooms. I took the first one, knowing Blaze would not be particular about which bedroom he took. The large windows were open and a cool breeze blew into the large bedroom.

  I frowned as I realized the bedroom had no bathroom. I checked the next one and found the same thing. This meant Blaze and I had to share a shower. I was being silly. A free vacation and I was already complaining about sharing a shower.

  As for privacy, I would be wearing a bikini half the time. Blaze was my best friend and him seeing me half naked or in a towel would be nothing really. I trusted him with my life. Nothing would happen between us unless I wanted it to. And I didn’t. For one, I didn’t want to lose my best friend. And secondly, Blaze had serious commitment issues. I’d never asked him where they had come from. His relationships, if you can call them that, never lasted more than a couple months.

  Back in my bedroom, I was sifting through my outfits and trying to decide which one to wear. To my annoyance, as I decided on which one, I wondered if Blaze would find it sexy. I had to stop thinking of him like that. I had to stop letting him influence my choice of dress. It didn�
�t matter what he thought. He was my best friend. Period.

  I settled for a red strapless dress, perfect for dinner and playful in a sexy way. That done, I stripped off my jeans and top, then wrapped a towel around myself. I walked to the shower, dropped the towel and stepped in, feeling the water caress my body.

  It was tempting to touch myself in the shower. Every scrub over my sensitive bits felt like a sensual touch. I refused to give in to it. I needed to not imagine Blaze’s big hands touching, stroking and teasing me. A sigh escaped my lips, jerking me back to the present.

  I quickly rinsed myself and turned off the shower. Another sheen of sweat formed on my body as soon as I stepped out of the shower and it wasn’t from the heat. My body was on fire. I ached in places I hadn’t realized were capable of aching.

  As fate would have it, as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, I ran smack into Blaze and I let out a sharp cry. His hands shot out to steady me. Somehow, when he grabbed me to ensure I did not lose my footing, my towel came loose and before I knew it, Blaze was holding me with my breasts exposed for him to see.

  Thankfully, that was all I had exposed. The towel gathered around my waist and both our bodies kept it there. My breath came out in gasps and my chest rose up and down with it. I looked up at Blaze, expecting to see humor in his eyes.

  His eyes remained on my breasts and to my shame, my nipples hardened under his searing gaze. I did the most foolish thing—I thrust out my chest. My breasts squashed against his hard chest as if they belonged there. Blaze’s hot breath fanned my face. I imagined his big hands cupping my breasts before bringing his mouth down to take a nipple into his mouth.

  And then one of us came back to our senses, and it wasn’t me.

  Blaze took a step back. “Sorry Hot Sauce, didn’t mean to make your towel drop off,” he said, his voice casual. As if it were something friends did all the time, he took my towel and rewrapped it then fastened it above my chest. “There.” He smiled. Then he went around me and headed to his room.

  Only after he shut the door, was I able to rouse myself enough to go to my own room. Shame flooded me. What was I turning into? I had exposed my bare breasts to Blaze. He must have thought I was pathetic. Misery coated me as I got ready for the evening. I would pretend this never happened.

  Erase the memory of my best friend staring at my bare breasts. Seeing my big, peaked nipples. Blaze must have realized how turned on I had been. My cheeks burned with shame all over again.

  Chapter Four

  Blaze

  “How are your parents Brooke, I know they moved to Florida?” my mother asked.

  Conversation flowed around me but all I could think about was Brooke’s breasts. They were more than incredible. My cock pulsated with warmth at the memory. Her big round nipples had pebbled as I watched and it had taken every ounce of self-control not to take them into my mouth and suck on them.

  “I didn’t know you were dating Brooke,” my brother Jack whispered into my ear. “Lucky bastard,” he added eyeing Brooke.

  She looked hot in a red dress but my eyes saw through the dress to her breasts underneath. I would definitely never look at Brooke the same way. It had been one thing to fantasize about her but quite another to see her half naked. “I’m not!” I snapped but my response was drowned off by a laugh from the other end of the table.

  “Blaze,” my mom said. “I always knew that you two would end up together. I’m glad you came to your senses.”

  I looked over at Brooke and found her staring at me with a raised eyebrow. I turned back to my mom. “We’re not dating Mom. She came with me as a friend.”

  Disappointment came over my mom’s features. “You should snag her before somebody else does. She’s practically family.”

  Mom was right about Brooke being family. We had spent a lot of time being in and out of each other’s houses. As the only child, Brooke loved it at our house where it was noisier and rowdier. I in turn, loved it in her house where things were orderly and her parents treated us like adults. Brooke had more freedom than any kid I knew. She’d been trusted to decide how to use her time, where to go and what time to go back home. I raged to my parents more than once about why I hadn’t been given the same freedom as Brooke, and I had been just a boy.

  “How’s your condo Blaze?” Amelia asked me while leaning forward to catch my attention.

  My brother was a lucky bastard. Amelia was pretty and one of the nicest people I knew and a pediatrician to top it all. We all teased my brother, a mechanic ‒ albeit with his own auto repair shop ‒ dating a doctor.

  “It’s perfect, the views are insane,” I told her. I had deliberately picked a different place to stay from everyone else.

  They were all staying at the resort where the wedding would be, while our beach condo was down the road. I wanted to know I could take a break from everyone when I needed to.

  My mom’s face was practically glowing and who could blame her? We’d lost Dad when Jack and I were in high school. It must have been tough for her to raise two boys alone but she hadn’t shown it. And now one of us was getting married and starting his own home.

  I felt proud of Jack and to be honest… a little envious. My gaze drifted to Brooke. She was deep in conversation with Aunt Penelope, Mom’s older sister. How would it feel to be married to her? To have a family with her? She fit into the family already.

  I knew everything about her and she knew everything about me. She had been there for me during the toughest times of my life and I hope I had done the same for her. My one worry was, what if it didn’t work out between us? I would lose my best friend.

  After dinner, I got an urge to be alone with Brooke. “Feel like a walk on the beach?” I asked her.

  “You read my mind,” Brooke said as she stood.

  Brooke and I made our way through the gardens, to the walkway leading to the beach. It was a warm evening with a slight breeze keeping the humidity at bay.

  We were not the only ones with the idea of a night walk on the beach. A few couples and solo walkers went by. We kicked off our shoes and tucked them under a small bush.

  The sound of the ocean crashing on the sand, the swish of the water as it retreated, Brooke’s hand in mine—it became the perfect evening.

  “I’m so full I feel like bursting,” Brooke said.

  “Yeah, me too,” I told her.

  “Your mom is still as lively as ever,” she said. “I bet she misses your dad so much though. I know you all do but for her… they were so close.”

  It had been a known thing with all my friends of how my parents were weird in that way. Of course, I realized as an adult that they had a near perfect marriage as one could hope to have, but as a teenager, they were an embarrassment. When Dad passed on, I felt guilty for years after when I remembered how I had felt embarrassed by them. I would have given anything to have him back. “She never showed it,” I told Brooke. “She still wore a smile but Jack and I knew it was tough for her.”

  We had done everything we could to make her happy. Jack and I were the ideal sons. We never gave Mom any cause to worry. We both worked hard at school, we were home when we were supposed to be and we took turns cooking dinner, so she didn’t have to do it every night when she was tired.

  “She’s lucky to have you two,” Brooke said.

  “We’re the ones who are lucky,” I said.

  We strolled all the way to the end of the strip of beach and then turned around to walk back.

  Brooke let go of my hand. “Race you back!” she yelled, and then took off in a run.

  I gave her a head start of two minutes and ran after her. I let her believe she was winning but when we neared the resort, I zipped passed her.

  “Not fair!” Brooke yelled after me.

  Laughing, I turned back and in our usual horseplay, I grabbed her legs and hoisted her over my shoulder. Her laugh filled the hair, making my own chest fill with warmth.

  When I put her down again, she went for my ticklish spot u
nder my armpits.

  “All right,” I said. “Is that how you want to play it?”

  For the next few minutes, we chased and tickled each other, until Brooke tripped and I toppled over her. She was still laughing as I hovered on top of her supporting myself with my elbows. “You’re so beautiful,” I said as I stared down at her.

  Her laughter died down and she stared back at me with her gorgeous brown eyes. Her gaze dropped to my mouth.

  I knew she was thinking about kissing me. It hit me then. I had serious feelings for her. Feelings that went beyond friendship. I wanted more. I wanted her as my lover, my girlfriend, and eventually, the woman I would share my life with. But convincing her would take all of my skills.

  I knew what Brooke thought of me and she was partly right. I could have been described as a lover of women but that was because I had never met the one. And the reason for that was because she had been under my nose all that time.

  I had a job ahead of me. I had to convince her but to truly get her defenses down… I would need to seduce her. Not a difficult task, as all I could think about was making love to her. I needed to claim her.

  Before I could make a move, she nudged me. “You’re too heavy Blaze, get off me.”

  I rolled away and lay on the sand facing her and the moment was broken.

  “Everyone will be wondering where we are,” Brooke said.

  “Yeah, you’re right,” I said and stood.

  I offered her my hand and pulled her up.

  “Thank you for convincing me to come,” Brooke said and threw her arms around my neck.

  I held her close, taking care to keep my lower body away from her. It wouldn’t do for her to feel how hard I’d become for her. I didn’t want to make this awkward.

  We walked back to the bar and found everyone dancing to a live band. We waved to my mother who was dancing energetically on the dance floor with her sister.

  “Want to dance?” I asked Brooke.