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

from the hiss of fire as it consumed things. By now, the fire had spread to most of the living room. A burning scent filled the air. Desperation and fear clutched my chest.

I ran around the house to the back. Thankfully, there was no fence and I went straight to the back door. I grabbed the door and pushed… to my relief, it opened. The fire hadn’t spread to the kitchen but the visibility was poor because of the thick black smoke.

A figure crawled from the thick black smoke. It was Brooke.

“Brooke,” I called and went for her. I placed my hands under her arms and dragged her out.

As soon as fresh air hit her, she started coughing.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I'm fine,” she said. “But Mason's in there.”

I was about to fish out my phone to call the emergency services when I heard the sound of sirens. Someone else had already called them. “Come on, let's get out of here,” I told Brooke and took her from the burning house to the car down the street.

By the time we got there, the fire truck was already parked outside the house and the place was milling with firemen. In a matter of minutes, they had the fire under control, and the police were already there.

The chief of the fire station came and spoke to us, and took us to the police. They asked Brooke a few questions and jotted down her address and other details.

They finally allowed us to go but not before we saw two men carrying a stretcher from the house.

Brooke covered her mouth with her hand. “My God!”

I tried to feel sorry for Mason and failed. Society was better off without men like him. Brooke had told me that he’d intended to rape her.

We left. I tucked Brooke into the car and drove home. She looked so frightened and lost. I just wanted to wrap my hands around her and take care of her.

In the house, we took a shower together and afterwards, we slipped into bed, and I held her in my arms.

She cupped my face. “This is the second time you came to my rescue.”

“I’ll always come to your rescue Brooke,” I replied.

“Make love to me,” she said.

I proceeded to do just that. I kissed her everywhere, taking my time as if it was our first time.

When it was over, I held her in my arms, as she dozed.

I couldn't sleep immediately. All I kept thinking was, what if I hadn't gone after Brooke? Tears filled my eyes. I held her tightly. She was so precious to me.

I must have made a noise because she opened her eyes and looked up at me. “Are you crying?”

“No,” I said but my voice gave me away.

“What is it?”

“I was just thinking, what would I have done if I'd lost you?”

“You didn’t,” Brooke said in a firm voice. She wiped my face.

“I love you so much Brooke,” I told her.

“I love you more,” Brooke said. “I was a fool not to realize it before. You’ve completed my life. You've made me happy. You filled that hole of loneliness I always carried with me. You've made me a whole woman.”

“And you've made me a whole man.”

We sealed our words with a long lingering kiss.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Brooke

I stretched out on the balcony lounger and moaned with delight, as a slight breeze tickled my feet and the sun warmed my body. Below, happy voices lifted up to the balcony as couples, and people walked by on the beach.

We’d gotten the same room we’d had a year earlier.

The balcony door swung open at that moment. Blaze stepped out carrying two glasses of lemonade.

“Can you believe it's already been a year?” I asked him as I sat up.

“It's been a beautiful year, the best year of my life,” Blaze said. “You’ve made me so happy, Hot Sauce.”

I grinned as he handed me my glass of lemonade. As our fingers brushed, sparks flew between us. We were still madly attracted to one another.

All Blaze needed to do was to give me a certain stare, a certain look and my whole body came alive.

So much had happened in the last year. My dad had more or less recovered and Blaze and I had gone to Florida twice to visit them. With Blaze acting as a buffer, the relationship with my parents had improved.

We were never going to be as warm as other families were, but we cared about each other. And for me, that was enough. I reserved love and passion for Blaze.

I had a little something growing in my tummy but I hadn't told him about it. I’d brought a pregnancy test with me when we came to Hawaii the previous day. This morning, I had done the test and two pink lines had sprouted.

Now, I held the test kit behind me on the lounger. When Blaze settled down, I removed it and handed it to him.

He peered at it and his eyes grew wide with wonder. “Do these two lines mean what I think they… do?” his voice broke with emotion.

“Yes,” I said. “We’re going to have a baby.”

“We’re going to have a baby, Hot Sauce!” A grin split his face in two, then his face grew solemn. “There is something we need to do before we do anything else right here in Hawaii.”

“What?” I asked.

“We have to get married,” Blaze said.

I burst out laughing. “Is that your idea of a marriage proposal?”

Blaze looked at me sheepishly. “I’d planned something a little more elaborate but this has come as a surprise.”

“It doesn't matter. I don't need anything elaborate. I just need to know that you love me.”

“I do,” Blaze stated. “More than life itself.” He got up and pulled me to my feet. “We’re going to have a baby!” he repeated and twirled me around.

“Yes we are,” I said laughing.

I would do things differently with my child than my parents had done with me. I want our baby to know