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

me tremble inside but I told myself not to be silly. He was my boss and as lewd as he was, he had a job to protect. Talking was as far he could go. Sticks and stones, I said to myself.

Chapter Twenty

Blaze

Brooke was cool in the days that followed. We worked together in the house a couple of days but she kept her distance. I had no idea what had caused the sudden rift and to be honest, I was worried sick. My plan was meant to bring her closer to me, not push her away.

We usually took our lunches together at work, but she had started to avoid me. She came up with different reasons every day as to why we couldn’t have lunch together. When we did manage to get together, she went quiet.

A knock came on my door, bringing me back to the present. I looked up expectantly, hoping it was Brooke.

It wasn’t.

Daniella stepped in and shut the door behind her.

I swallowed my disappointment and forced a smile.

I’d hoped that by now she would have gotten the message that I wasn’t interested. She was one of the recruiters whom I supervised. She was aggressive and exceptionally good at her job. Unfortunately, she used the same aggression when it came to the opposite sex and it was not attractive.

She was pretty enough but definitely not my type. Not anymore. My type was Brooke.

“Hi, you’ve been hiding in here for too long and it’s lunch time,” she said. “Let’s go and eat. I’m buying.”

I really needed to speak to her. The sooner, the better.

“I’m looking forward to the party,” Daniella said as we walked down the street. She tucked her hands into mine possessively and chattered on about the company anniversary thing in a few days.

I usually enjoyed the yearly company bash but this year I wasn’t looking forward to it. I felt miserable. I wanted Brooke back in my life. We went to Tezzla’s for lunch, and bumped into a group from work. Daniella pulled me to their table insisting that we join them.

Only later after I returned to my office, did I realize we never did have that conversation.

The week trudged along and before I knew it, it was Friday. The panic in my chest kept expanding. I was losing Brooke. I could feel it every time I looked at her. The distance between us kept growing. I had stayed away from her for two days, saying hello when we met in the corridors at work but keeping my distance.

We hadn’t seen each other at home either, because she had Jenny staying over. I missed her in all the ways you could miss a woman. I missed talking to her, hearing her laugh and I missed making love to her. I was done with giving her space. Jack’s ideas were outdated.

Brooke was a passionate woman and she had to be missing that part of her life. I wanted her back in my bed and whether she admitted it or not, I knew she wanted me back too.

That evening, I stopped by a flower store and bought a bouquet of nicely wrapped jasmines. I’d been so confident earlier in the day, but as I knocked on her door, my palms were damp and my stomach felt tight.

Maybe I should have warned her I was going to drop by. I glanced at my watch. Six in the evening. She was probably relaxing after a long day at work and here I was butting into her evening. I was about to turn and leave when she opened the door.

She smiled. “Blaze, hi. I’ve just come from the shower. Have you knocked for long?” Her hair was matted to her head and her skin had the glow of someone who was freshly scrubbed. She was in a white bathrobe that could come undone with a single tug at the straps.

Her sweet scent wafted to where I stood and a sudden vision of her in the shower sprung to mind. My gaze dropped to her slightly parted lips and a surge of desire pierced through me.

“Are those for me?” she said, eyeing the bunch of flowers.

“Yes,” I said, rousing myself from my lust induced stupor. I shoved the flowers into her arms. What was the matter with me? I was a grown ass man but nerves were getting the better of me. This was Brooke, I told myself. My best friend. The girl I had known most of my life.

“Come in,” she said.

I followed her to the kitchen and leaned on the island as she proceeded to arrange the flowers in a vase.

“I love jasmine,” she said and closed her eyes to inhale the flowers. “Lovely.”

All I could think about was how much I wanted to hold her in my arms. How it would feel like to have her softness pressed against me. I was in beast mode and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t keep my thoughts pure. I wanted Brooke. I wanted to make love to her and I didn’t care what would happen afterwards.

She placed the vase on the island. “I’ll go finish dressing.”

As she passed me, I took her hand.

She turned to face me.

We were so close that her breath fanned my face. “I want you Brooke. I want to make love to you,” I growled and tugged at her hand. This had definitely not been my plan. I’d planned to seduce her slowly but from the moment I clapped my eyes on her, all that had escaped my mind.

“Blaze, I…”

Those were the last words I heard before she was in my arms and I was kissing her hungrily. Kissing her was as sweetly intoxicating as sipping on a favorite drink. Potent. Addictive.

Her hunger matched mine. She scraped her fingers through my hair and murmured incoherent words.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I said, moving my mouth away from hers to trail kisses on her jawline and neck. I pulled the straps of her