More Than Friends (8 page)

“Perhaps it’s
time we took this someplace a little more private,” he groaned against her mouth,
his ragged breathing attesting to his fight to keep the kiss from reeling out
of control. “Come back to my room with me, Lil.”

Lily’s heart
rate escalated, a new tension assailed her. She wanted this. She wanted him.
Already her self-control was slipping. Who knew what might happen if she
continued to move against Justin in this barely concealed mating dance.  If she
weren’t careful, she’d be manure for the office grapevine all the way into next
year.

He stepped
back, capturing her hand in his warm clasp. “Let’s go before we get arrested
for lewd behaviour.” He led her from the cocktail party straight to his room.

The door
shutting behind them echoed through the dim interior. Night was finally closing
in, and the room’s only lighting was a mellow streak of burnish twilight. She
caught an impression of luxury furnishings, vases of flowers, wide windows and
a large bed.

He pulled her
close and brushed a kiss on her shoulder, then another.

“I can’t stop
thinking about you.” His low, intimate cadence husked over her, making her
tingle all over.

From the
tension that had radiated off him in the lift and the short walk to his room,
she expected him to leap on her and strip her before the door even closed. She
was unprepared for this show of tender love and respect and it melted any last
edge of resistance. She missed Justin, wanted him too much even to consider
denying either of them this.

She slid her
hands up his shirt, enjoying the sensation of toned male chest beneath her
hands. Lily sighed deep in her throat with pleasure and closed her eyes,
wanting to enjoy every second of her body’s heightened awareness.

His kisses
moved to her neck. “I love it when you do that.” He deposited a series of affectionate
nips with a combination of teeth and lips that took the strength out of her
entire body. He wedged his thigh between hers and she pressed against him,
delighting in the way his hand slid down to her tush to cradle her against his
arousal.

Her sigh
turned to a moan, and she groped blindly for his mouth, suddenly desperate for
everything he had to offer.

Justin’s
mouth on hers was ten times better than it had been earlier. Downstairs, she’d
been semiconscious of her colleagues’ avid attention, but now she was totally
in the moment, and it was WOW!

Without
breaking the kiss, Justin scooped her into his arms and blindly crossed the
room.

In seconds,
he placed her on the centre of the bed and came down next to her, never
releasing her from his delicious kiss. She kissed him back with equal
open-mouthed intensity. One kiss merged into another, so scorching-hot Lily
wanted him never to stop kissing her. If the last time they made love was any
point of reference, his kisses could last long, long into the night.

He slid a
hand along her thigh, drawing her silky dress up as he went until her thighs
were uncovered. Tearing his mouth from hers, his voice raspy, breathing ragged,
he said. “Do you feel that, Lil? You make me tremble like it’s my first time...
I want you
that
much.” Then his mouth settled back on hers, and his hand
shifted between her legs.

“Oh, Justin.”
Her breath came out on pants as she fumbled with his belt, pulling and tugging
to get it loose. “You make me tremble, too.”

He cupped her
at the juncture of her thighs. “You’re so hot.”

Liquid heat
suffused her and she gasped with pleasure, her breathing quick and shallow, even
more tattered than before. “You’re hot, too.”  

Justin
chuckled softly. “I mean I can feel the heat radiating from you.” He nuzzled
the tops of her breasts where they swelled above the neckline of her dress as
he eased the lacy material of her red panties aside and slid his fingers over
her. “You’re so ready—so wet for me.” He rubbed her clitoris with leisurely
strokes.

Lily moaned
and arched into him, unable to stop the roll of her hips against his teasing
fingers. She was going to come, but she didn’t want it like this. She wanted
Justin with her, filling her and making love to her when she did.

“Yes.
Oh,
yes
.” She moaned again even as she pushed at his hand, trying to stop him.
“No, no, no, not without you. I don’t want to come without you, Justin.”

“I love it when
you say my name like that.” But he wouldn’t allow her to stop him. His mouth
covered hers. “Please, Lil. Let me,” he whispered against her lips just before his
tongue sneaked back to caress hers. He slid a finger inside her, then another.
Easily locating her G-spot, he focussed his attention there. She clutched the cool
cotton sheets and groaned a series of incoherent grunts and sighs as he teased
her satin-covered nipple with his mouth while his fingers worked her G-spot and
his thumb caressed her clitoris until all that filled her mind and body was the
heavenly spire of undiluted, mind-blowing, pleasure.

She loved
Justin. She was so utterly catastrophically in love with him, it brought tears
to her eyes. He not only knew where to caress her to make her body hum, but how
to make her feel more alive than she’d ever felt in her life. When she was with
him, the world seemed dazzling.

“Hey?” Justin
brushed the corner of her eyes. “What are these for?”

“I—” But Lily
couldn’t say the words that swelled in her chest. She was scared. Something
held her back, something that wasn’t a factor when he was only a one-night
stand that first time. What if she told him she loved him and he turned out to
be like the other guys she dated? What if he cheated on her? The thought kept
the words ‘I love you’ choked at bay.

She shook her
head, forced a smile. “That was earth shattering.” She cupped his cheek in her
palm and hoped he didn’t see her fear. “Thank you.”

Justin
smiled, dipped his head for a kiss. “We’re not done yet, sweetheart.”

Every time he
called her that, her heart leaped with longing. What wouldn’t she give to be
his sweetheart for real?

In record time,
Justin was out of his clothes and helping Lily out of hers. He pulled the clips
from her hair to free it. Then the soul-searing kisses and caresses began all over
again. He kissed his way up her naked body, paying thorough attention to her
breasts, dragging another round of incoherent moans from her.

“I love you,
Lil,” he whispered against her flesh. The fine hairs on her body prickled, and
a shiver ran the length of her spine. Her nipples grew tighter and her belly
clenched.

Lily squeezed
her eyes shut and bit down on her bottom lip. She was too afraid to tell him
she felt the same and her heart broke. She may not be ready to say the words
back to him, but she could show him with her body how much she loved him.

Barely
holding the panic at bay, she ran her hands over his sculpted torso until she
was able to wedge her hands between their bodies. She pressed against his
chest. “I think it’s my turn.”

He allowed
her to push him easily onto his back. She tore her gaze from his tanned chest
and met his smouldering blue gaze. The expression etched on his face told her
he’d noticed her avoidance tactic, and it had hurt him.

It made her
pause.

“I’m sorry,”
she whispered, blinking at the tears that blurred her vision. “I need more time.”

He flinched,
then inhaled a heavy breath. “How much time do you think you might need? A
week? A month? A year? Two? Forever?” He sat up, sinking his hands in her hair
and holding her head to make sure he had her full attention. “Because I don’t
care, Lily. I love you. I want to marry you, and I’m willing to wait—however
long it takes.”

Lily dropped
her gaze, unable to give him what he was seeking—reassurance.

“Isn’t it
time you admitted the truth?” he continued. “You used Mel as a ready excuse
when the fact is you’re petrified to be with me because you don’t trust me
enough not to hurt you.”

It was Lily’s
turn to flinch, but Justin wasn’t done yet. “You accused me of being like Wayne,
and it was only once I had time to analyse the deeper accusation that I
understood why you were so reluctant to give us a chance.” His tone was gentle,
but his words cut deep into Lily’s heart. “Sure, you told yourself you couldn’t
betray Mel by having a relationship with her ex—and I think you actually
believed that—but the truth is you’re terrified of falling in love.”

“That’s not
so. The only reason I haven’t fallen in love is because I haven’t met the right
man yet.”

“I see.” He
released her.

No! This was
all going wrong. She never meant for Justin to think she didn’t care about
him—that she didn’t love him. She clasped his hand between hers. “I don’t
mean—I mean. I don’t know what I mean. I just know I couldn’t survive if you
ever cheated on me.”

“Why would I
do that?”

“It’s what
men do. They cheat.”

He drew his
hand from her grasp and cupped her face between his. “I just told you I love
you. You’re the only woman I’ve ever fallen in love with. I want to be with
you, Lil. Only you!” His mouth landed on hers with a kiss beyond words that
spoke to her heart and unlocked its chamber of trust. Justin loved her. This
amazing, patient, incredible man loved her. Tears overflowed her eyes and spilt
down her cheeks.

He broke the
kiss; his own eyes looked a little misty. “Not all men cheat, Lily. Just the
ones you’ve dated until now. I’m not like that. Didn’t I prove so already? If I
were that type of man, I would’ve tried to get you into bed five seconds after
meeting you, because that is how soon I wanted you.” He pulled her into his
arms and held her like he was never going to let her go. Lily revelled in the
sensation of being loved so deeply that Justin was willing to wait for her,
irrespective of how long it took her, to find the guts to return his love.

Except she
was so beyond head-over-heels in love with him already. “I love you, Justin,”
she whispered into his naked shoulder, then louder. “I love you!”

He chuckled,
angled her face for a thorough kiss that left her breathless. “So, does this
make us more than friends?”

She flipped
him onto his back and straddled him with a naughty smile. “Oh, we’re so much
more.”

“Does that
mean you’ll move in with me?”

“Are you
asking?” She scraped her nails lightly down the ridges of his stomach, liking
the way they flexed beneath her fingertips.

“I’m asking
you to marry me and let’s live happy ever after.” He captured her wandering
hands and planted them on the bed either side of his head, allowing him
unhindered access to her body above him. His hands began some wandering of
their own. “Mrs. Elizabeth Knight. I like the sound of that.”

Lily grinned.
“That’s Lily to you.” She dropped a kiss on his mouth before she snagged a
white lily from the vase on the nightstand. She sat up and lightly trailed the
flower along Justin’s hard stomach.

He sucked in
a breath, stilling her hand. “Tell me again.”

Lily held his
gaze. She wanted him to see her heart reflected in her eyes. “I love you,
Justin. I fell in love with you that day we collided on the stairs when I was
leaving to meet up with friends, and you were on your way up to see Mel. You
steadied me from falling but didn’t let me go for what seemed like ages, then
you smiled and said, ‘Hi, Lily, fancy bumping into you here’. You were so
cheesy and cute, and you made my heart flutter, and I fell in love with you
that instant.”

Taking the
flower, he rolled her over and kissed her hard as he positioned himself between
her thighs. “I can’t believe you remember that.”

She stroked
his cheek with a shaking hand. “I remember everything about you, Justin. I love
you.” 

His smile lit
his face. “My Lily.”

Long minutes
later they broke from another deep kiss.

“Do you know
that the lily is a symbol of innocence, purity and beauty?” He stroked the
flower he’d confiscated from Lily along her bottom lip. She didn’t have to look
in a mirror to know it was swollen from Justin’s kisses. The man loved to kiss,
which was lucky because she loved his kisses.

Lily smiled,
treading her fingers through his silky hair. “Not so innocent.”

Justin chuckled.
“But definitely beautiful.” He replaced the flower with his lips.
 

When at last
he entered her, their lovemaking was so wild and raunchy that they fell off the
bed.

Lily was in
love with Justin, and he loved her...and Mel? Well...she’d just have to accept
it!

* * * * * *

MEET THE AUTHOR

Monique
DeVere grew up on a plantation on the beautiful island of Barbados, where her
childhood was all about exploring and letting her imagination run wild. She
spent her teen years in the UK where she still lives with her amazing hero
husband, four beautiful children, and two incredible grandkids.

Monique wrote
her first novel at age fifteen but had her heart set on becoming a doctor until
she discovered that raising her kids was far more desirable. Since writing had
always been her favourite pastime, she naturally turned to writing as her
preferred job and has had short stories published and read on radio.

Sure that medicine
is her second calling, she still has a desire to heal, and has gained degrees
in Homeopathy and Herbalism and currently has her eye on a Holistic Nutrition
degree course.

However, her
first love will always be writing. She loves to create fun, emotional romances
and movie scripts. Her stories come in three categories: sweet, sensual, and sizzling
Rom-Coms.

Monique loves
to hear from her readers. You can contact her by visiting her website:
www.moniquedevere.co.uk
or blog:
http://moniquedevere.blogspot.co.uk
to learn more about her and check out her other books.