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

There were no words to make her feel better. If you loved someone as much as Jenny loved Henry and they cheated on you, no words existed to ease the pain.

“What are you going to do?” I asked her as we drank our third cup of coffee.

“I don’t know to be honest. I just don’t know,” she said. “Cheer me up. Let’s talk about Blaze. How was the sex?”

I laughed. “Cut right to the chase, huh? It was out of this world.” I’m not a kiss and tell kind of girl but I’d do it to entertain Jenny. She needed it. We talked about the details like teenage girls.

“What are you going to do about this project?” she asked.

“It’s up to Blaze I guess,” I said. I had worried about that. What if he said he wanted us to sell the house and split the proceeds?

There was no way I could afford to buy him out. Sleeping with him had been a mistake and yet it hadn’t been. This conclusion didn’t even make sense but it was exactly how I felt.

Later, after Jenny had left, I felt emotionally wrung out as if I had gone through the experience with her. All along, I’d imagined it being Blaze, and how distraught I would be.

As I pulled the covers snugly around my shoulders, I knew I had made the right decision. I had saved myself from a broken heart. It hurt to know our short affair was over, but I felt no regrets over the decision I had made.

I felt the way I had on my first day at work two years ago. Blaze and I hadn’t spoken or exchanged a text message since our return from Hawaii. I stood outside the office building trying to talk myself into taking the steps to get me inside the building.

I inspected my outfit again. A black pencil skirt paired with a blouse that could be described as a little too sexy for the office.

“Morning Brooke,” Susan said from behind me. She worked in sales and was a horrible gossip. “How was the wedding? We’re all dying to hear if you hooked up with some sexy man in Hawaii.”

I plastered a smile on my face and followed her in. “No, I just enjoyed the beaches and the night life.” Half-truth.

“Not surprised. The way Blaze hovers around you, I’d be surprised if you managed to hook up with someone,” she said and then stopped to look at me. “Wait. How come you’ve never been interested in Blaze?”

I inhaled deeply. “I told you ages ago. Blaze and I are friends. Been friends for decades.”

She leaned towards me and whispered into my ear even though it was just the two of us in the elevator, “I don’t buy that. I think you like girls.”

“Maybe,” I said mysteriously just as the elevator came to a grinding halt. I glided out with a huge smile on my face, pleased I had given Susan a nice juicy bone to chew on throughout the day.

I hurried down the hallway to the accounts offices and only breathed again when I was safely inside. I had a small corner office I loved for the privacy it gave me. It felt good to be back at work. Before I had even sat down, a knock came at the door.

Probably Blaze. He got to the office first and was often the last one to leave, when we weren’t going out for drinks. My heart hammered hard. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face him, but it had to happen at some point, right?

“Come in,” I said and sat down.

I looked at the door expectant and stared at Mason.

He strolled in and shut the door. Mason was my boss and had been hitting on me for years. I handled it by ignoring him and he usually got tired or distracted by someone else, then he’d leave me alone. “Look at you,” he said, his eyes dropping to my cleavage.

I wished I’d picked a more conservative outfit but I had dressed with Blaze in mind, not Mason. It felt as if ants were crawling over my chest as he leered at me. I fought the urge to cover my exposed skin with my hand.

In Hawaii, Blaze had looked at me the same way. Hungrily, his eyes grazing over my cleavage. But Blaze had turned me on with his obvious desire for me while Mason made me feel dirty.

“Were you tanning in the nude? Boy, what I wouldn’t have given to see that,” he said.

“Hello Mason,” I said crisply. “Thank you for a nice welcome back.”

He came around my desk and sat at the edge.

I slid my chair further away. My chair hit the end of the desk and I had nowhere else to go. I told myself to stop being silly. Mason made me uncomfortable and even frightened me sometimes but he wouldn’t do anything to me in an office full of people.

His hand shot out and he caressed my neck.

I cringed but stayed still. I knew the stuff he did bordered on sexual harassment but I’d been hoping by now, he would have quit. It seemed as if my absence had made him bolder. I’d never told anyone about it, not even Blaze.

Especially not Blaze.

He’d gotten me the job when I’d been pretty desperate, another reason why I hadn’t said anything. I needed the job, particularly now with my savings depleted. “How can I help you?” I asked, hoping to remind him that ours was a professional relationship.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Do you mean that?” He moved his gaze to his pants.

Unconsciously my gaze followed his. To my utter disgust, he sported a hard on and I almost gagged on my own saliva. Nausea rose up my throat. “I’m talking about work Mason.” I gritted my teeth.

A knock came on the door and Mason bolted up as if he’d been shot in the ass.

“Come in,” I