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

half an hour,” Jack said. His happiness came across the phone.

That would be me if my plan worked. I had been a fool for so long by ignoring what had been brewing over the years between Brooke and me. I knew we would be happy together. We actually behaved like a couple. The only thing we did not do was to sleep together.

I’d never told Brooke this but my last casual fling and the one before that, had broken up with me because of her. Each had accused me of cheating on them with Brooke.

I never forgot the last words that the last girl threw at me. If you aren’t already, you want to.

It was true. I couldn’t remember a time when I hadn’t thought about fucking Brooke. But our friendship had held me back. She was too precious to me to risk losing over a fuck. Now I was sure I wanted more from her, I felt ready to seduce her and get her in my bed. After conquering her body, the rest would follow easily.

I finished the conversation with Jack after confirming I would be there, then hastily threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I needed to wake Brooke up from her long nap and give her something to eat.

I’d gone down to the deli down the street and bought some sandwiches. Before my shower, I’d already eaten a couple of sandwiches and washed them down with coffee.

Smiling at the thought of waking her up, I felt disappointed to find that Brooke wasn’t on the balcony. I looked down at the strip of beach and thought I saw her.

I hurried out of the condo and took two stairs at a time as I headed to the ground floor. I kicked my sandals off and as I tucked them under a bush, I saw Brooke’s colorful sandals.

I sprinted, enjoying the feel of warm sand under my feet. I saw her from a distance, walking leisurely and stopping every so often to pick up something from the beach.

She didn’t see me until I was right in front of her.

“Hi,” I said.

A flush crept across her cheeks as our gazes met. “Hi.”

“You disappeared on me,” I said in a joking tone. I wanted our relationship to return to normal.

She grinned. “You were showering and I didn’t know how long you’d be. Who knew what you were doing in there?”

I laughed, feeling relieved my Brooke was back. If only she knew how right she was. I couldn’t remember the last time I had jerked off in the bathroom. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Being around Brooke and wanting her every second of the day, constituted desperate times.

She wore a lime green bikini top that pushed her full breasts together, and a small pink sarong, giving me a peek at her gorgeous thighs. When we were in high school, I felt sure that every teenage boy had jerked off to thoughts of Brooke’s breasts. They were big and firm and no bikini top was adequate to contain them.

“We’re going to try on the wedding outfits, do you want to come?” I asked her, trying to keep my gaze from dropping to her gorgeous body.

“No, I think I’ll take a pass. The beach is calling,” she said with a cheeky grin.

We strolled back together. Brooke retrieved a towel she had hidden from view and arranged it on the sand.

“I’ll bring you a sandwich and a drink before I go,” I told her.

“Thanks!” she said.

I went back into the condo, wrapped a sandwich in foil paper and poured coffee into a travel mug. I carried them back to where Brooke lay in the sand. She was on her back and I looked at her with regret, wishing I didn’t have to go anywhere. “There you go,” I said.

She turned to me and smiled.

My heart somersaulted in my chest.

“Thanks. You’re the best.”

When she smiled at me like this, I experienced a moment of doubt over my plans. Brooke trusted me. By planning to seduce her, I would be breaking that trust. I reminded myself that the end result justified the means. I couldn’t think of any other way of getting Brooke to move me from friend zone to boyfriend zone. I kissed her on the forehead and said goodbye.

As I strolled to the resort where Jack, Amelia and their wedding party were staying, my mind alternated between guilt and conviction on what I intended.

I found Jack, Mark and Caleb in his suite.

They were relaxing on the balcony that looked out to the beach.

“About time you got here,” Jack said.

“Don’t blame him,” Caleb said. “If I had a hottie or a girlfriend like he does, I wouldn’t leave my room either.”

I didn’t bother denying it because that was my intention.

“Is Brooke with the ladies?” Jack said.

“No, she wanted to relax by the beach,” I said and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler.

We sat talking for a while and then reluctantly, entered the suite to try on our outfits for the day.

Later, the other guys left for the bar, leaving me and Jack alone. “Hey, can I ask you something?” I said.

“Sure,” Jack replied, leading me back to the balcony.

We leaned over the rail and looked out at the people enjoying themselves on the beach.

“How did you know or decide that you were ready for this?”

Jack was my younger brother but when it came to love and relationships, he was definitely more experienced than I was. I’d never been into long term relationships. I disliked the drama that went with it.

“It’s nothing specific that I can point at,” Jack said. “It just feels right with Amelia, you know?”

I nodded. It had always felt like that with Brooke. Right. The final test would be when we made love. When I finally made her mine. But the preliminary test showed Brooke and I were sexually compatible.

“Something tells me that you’re just about ready too,” Jack said. “Is it Brooke?”

I laughed. “Not even close