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

itself. Blaze was who mattered. And I knew then that I could not live without him in my life. I was his, whether he wanted it or not. I clung to Blaze, inhaling his scent. He smelled of home, warmth, and love.

“How is he?” Blaze asked me, pulling me back to look at my face.

“A lot better,” I said and cradled his face. I couldn’t get enough of him. Couldn’t wrap my head around how he had hopped on the next flight as soon as I sent him a text saying I needed him. “Blaze.” I’d forgotten that my mom was also in the waiting room.

Blaze kept my hand in his as he struck his hand out to greet my mother. “I’m so sorry Mrs. Mathews,” he said. “I’m glad Mr. Mathews is a lot better now.”

My mom smiled, warmth radiating from her.

I watched the change in fascination. She metamorphosed into this warm mother figure, even going as far as offering Blaze her cheek to kiss. I shook my head as Blaze tucked me under his arm protectively.

Blaze got more information from my mom about dad’s condition than I had earlier. They had been relaxing by the pool when his face contorted and one side of his face started drooping. She had called for an ambulance and in less than five minutes, the paramedics had been with him.

We stayed a little longer then Blaze and I left for the hotel.

“You’re awesome, you know that?” I said to him in the cab. “I didn’t think to book a hotel.”

“You were worried about your dad,” he said and kissed my forehead.

He’d booked us into the five-star Serene Stays. “This is fancy,” I said as we padded across the lobby.

“You deserve it,” Blaze said.

We checked in, then followed a bellboy to the elevators and to our room on the second floor.

“Bliss,” I said, surveying the king-sized bed.

“I’ll draw a bath for you,” Blaze said. “It’ll relax you.”

“You’ll relax me,” I said and plopped down on the bed.

“I’ll be there too,” he said and disappeared into the bathroom. In seconds, the sound of water came into the room. Blaze then returned to the room.

I patted the bed next to me. He came and sat down. I took his hand and sandwiched it between mine. “Thank you for coming,” I said.

“You’re the most important person in the world to me,” he said, holding my gaze. “Whether we’re dating or not, that is one constant that will never change.”

I scrambled onto his lap and threw my arms around his neck. “I’m the luckiest… woman,” I said, my voice catching.

He held me tight. “I’m the lucky one. And now, if you want us to ever be allowed back at Serene Stays, we better turn off the tap before the bathroom floods,” Blaze said.

I jumped from his lap and ran to the bathroom, his laugh following me. “Blaze!” I shouted. “You lied to me. The water can’t flood.”

“I know,” he said, taking his shirt off as he walked into the huge bathroom. “But it would have gone to waste.”

I took his cue and began stripping, all the while eyeing the huge bathtub waiting for me. Blaze stepped into the circular tub first after which I followed. I sank into the water and sat between his legs. I relaxed back onto his chest and let out a deep sigh of satisfaction.

“I’m finding it hard to believe that such a horrible day has ended like this,” I said, feeling teary again, as I recalled my confrontation with my mom.

Blaze massaged my shoulders and arms.

I told him everything that had happened since I’d arrived.

He wrapped his arms around me when I reached the part where I confronted my mom. “I’m glad you did,” he said when I finished talking. “Even if she didn’t have the right answers, healing will begin. That makes me happy.”

He was right. I already felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off me.

“You know what else made me happy?” Blaze said.

“What?” I said.

“That you reached out to me. You called me when you needed me. That means a lot to me.”

“I love you Blaze,” I said. “And I need you in my life.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Blaze said. “Let’s get out of the tub. I want to make love to you.”

“I want it too, but Blaze, the water is still hot,” I protested.

He gently pushed me up. “We’ll come back. I can’t wait. I want you now Brooke.” His tone sounded raw and sensual.

His voice shot straight to my heart like an arrow. I followed him out of the bath and grabbed a towel. We kept our eyes on each other as we wiped ourselves dry. An urgency came over me as I took in his body, taut with muscles and his cock, steel hard while bobbing up and down.

I went to him and kissed him, my arms went around his shoulders possessively. Our bodies immediately ignited a fire between us that we spent the next hour trying to extinguish.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Brooke

We flew home the following afternoon after spending the better part of the morning at the hospital. The doctor assured us that my dad would mend, even if it would take a lot of time.

“It’s a good thing that he has someone dedicated to caring for him,” Blaze said in the cab on the way to the airport.

“Thank God for that. Now, I appreciate their dedication to each other,” I said. “Hey, I’ve been thinking, I really don’t want that Assistant Finance Director’s job.”

“Why?” Blaze looked puzzled.

I didn't know how to explain it, so I started from the beginning. I told Blaze how Mason had dangled a carrot of promotion in front of me and said whoever worked hardest would get the job. He had been smart about it too, by mentioning who else was in the running for the position. As I spoke, I felt like a fool. It became clear to me what Mason had been doing. He wanted me to want