Forbidden Touch: A Best Friends To Lovers Romance - Iona Rose (free ebook reader .txt) 📗

lives to work. I had worried for nothing. For one, Blaze and I rarely fought. And two, we were in different departments and company politics did not affect us.

We ate lunch together everyday in the café next to our office and met for drinks after work sometimes.

“I love you, Blaze,” I said and leaned on his shoulder.

“I love you right back, Hot Sauce,” he said.

“I hate that stupid nickname,” I protested mildly. Blaze had been calling me the name for years and I had grown into it. It had started when we were both fifteen and my body had sprouted curves overnight.

Teenage pimpled boys had suddenly developed an interest in me and guess who they went through? Blaze of course and he’d started calling me Hot Sauce.

I thought again about the sacrifices he had made so my dream of being a homeowner would come true. “If there’s anything that you ever want me to do for you, all you have to do is ask,” I said in an emotion filled voice.

“Yeah?” Blaze said, a playful tone in his voice.

It hit me then how open my offer was. Definitely not the kind of offer you wanted to make as a woman loving Blaze. Though I wasn’t his type. He loved his women with nothing between the ears. “I’m not giving you a blowjob.”

He feigned disappointment and then grew serious. “There is something you can do for me.”

“Sure, what?” I asked.

“Go with me to Jack and Amelia’s wedding.”

“To Hawaii?” I shrieked, angling my body to face him.

Jack was Blaze’s younger brother. He and his fiancée were getting married in a month’s time, if I remembered the dates correctly. Because of how far the wedding was and the coordination involved, they had opted for a small wedding with family and very close friends. “Why are you asking me? Why not one of your many conquests?”

I couldn’t imagine anything worse than going with Blaze to a Hawaiian wedding. It would be more temptation than I could handle. More than our friendship could handle.

More than once, when we’d both had a little too much to drink, attraction had sizzled between us but we’d ignored it and our friendship had survived. Blaze was family to me and no matter how attracted I was to him; it wasn’t something I would ever act upon.

But it didn’t mean I would allow myself to be tempted beyond my endurance. I could just imagine being in Hawaii. White, sandy beaches and the waves lapping at the shore. A sigh escaped my lips.

“You know how women are,” Blaze said.

Something sharp pierced at my chest. Blaze never considered me a woman. To him, I was one of the guys. I felt stupid to feel bad that I was one of the guys to him. It meant our friendship was safe.

“They’ll misconstrue the invitation and make it out to be more than it is. Then of course, there’s my family. They’ll pester me with questions that I don’t want to answer.”

Everything he said made sense.

“Everything’s paid for Brooke. The flights, the beach condo. All you have to do is show up.” He turned to face me and then treated me to one of his jaw dropping, panty melting dimpled smiles.

Having Blaze as my best friend was like being treated to a toothpaste ad, intermingled with an underwear ad, everyday. “I can’t take a week off work,” I said lamely. “I already took my vacation days.”

“You have ten days remaining,” Blaze said. “I checked.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised by that. As a head recruiter, Blaze was very thorough in his work and always did his homework. Being prepared all the time.

That excuse had been my last line of defense.

Guilt flooded me. I had refused to accompany Blaze to Hawaii when just a few minutes ago, I’d said how willing I was to do anything for him. I meant it too. But going to Hawaii would be a mistake. The end of our friendship. And knowing Blaze, if anything did happen between us, it would only ever be sex.

That was just how he rolled. He loved women and he loved sex. He hated commitment. I really, really didn’t want to go. Besides, we had just bought a house. I was itching to get started on fixing it.

“I hope this house is not what is stopping you from saying yes. It’s only a week. Work can continue while we are away.”

He did sound convincing but I was determined. “I’ll make a deal with you,” I said, suddenly inspired by an idea. Something Blaze could not manage to do. “If you can go a month without sex, I’ll go with you.”

He laughed. “Easy. Start packing your bags, Hot Sauce.”

I was sure his confidence was fake. Blaze needed sex the way the rest of us needed oxygen to live. “Deal,” I said and we shook hands on it.

We finished our lunch, locked up the house and took an Uber back to the office.

“A penny for your thoughts?” Blaze asked me in the Uber. “You’re very quiet.”

I smiled at him and said nothing. I felt pretty sure my thoughts would not only shock him, they would disgust him. I kept picturing him in a speedo with his package on display. Madness.

Chapter Two

Blaze

“Home at last!” Brooke said and let herself fall on the unmade bed.

My eyes roamed over her body, taking in the swell of her incredible breasts and the curve of her hips. She wore a short black skirt and my eyes seemed glued to the view of her creamy thighs. I managed to tear my eyes away but it was too late. I’d gotten hard, so I walked to the window and pretended to look at the view. It had been three weeks since that ridiculous bet with Brook. She’d actually thought I couldn’t survive a month without sex.

Brooke was my best friend but she knew very little of my private life. Sure, I’d dated many women, but none had ever held my interest for