I wanted this. Every fiber of my body wanted this. I was quite literally burning from desire, but we were walking on a very tight rope.
“If we did it just once...” I murmured, my voice trailing off as Austin’s hands met mine, our fingers entwining as we guided the dough from the bowl onto the counter.
“Tell me,” he murmured.
My fingers kept moving, rolling the dough into small balls. Normally, I’d be using my scooper, but there was no way I was ruining the moment by stepping away to grab it.
“If we did it once, maybe we’d get it out of our systems. Then we could go back to being friends.”
He slid out from behind me, coming to stand at my side. His hands mirrored mine, rolling the dough with slow precision before setting each piece onto the cookie sheet between us.
I paused, tilting my head back to look up at him. “Austin, I really want to get to know you as a friend. This matters to me. I can’t live with someone I barely know.”
He froze, the intensity in his gaze softening as if my words had pulled him back down to earth. His breath hitched, and for a moment, he seemed lost in thought, caught in whatever memories or doubts I’d stirred up. Slowly, he leaned sideways, resting his forehead against my shoulder, breathing me in like he needed the contact to steady himself.
“I know. I feel the same.”
I looked down, my barely there satin strap offering little coverage. The counter edge dug into my hips, making the closeness almost too much to bear.
He straightened, and when he spoke again, his voice was firm. “No sex.”
I hesitated, turned toward him, and glanced up to see a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
“No sex. No mess. We don’t need that to get... close. There’s so much more?—”
But I’d stopped listening, my mind racing. Without sex, there would be no entanglements, no crossing into romantic territory. We could stay friends, roommates who helped each other out in more ways than one, without the messiness that dating would bring.
“Fuck it,” I whispered.
He slid his hand to the nape of my neck, and our mouths met in a collision of pent-up desire and need, a kiss full of passion, sealing what we couldn’t put into words.
I was obsessed with the way Austin Hart kissed me. It was passionate. It was effortless. It felt like his lips were meant for me.
“Get up on the counter,” he groaned as his hands went down to my ass, cupping to lift me up.
“Wait.” I turned around and pushed the cookie sheets to the other side of the counter, hoping they wouldn’t slide completely off. “I worked hard for that.”
He chuckled and lifted me up. “I’m definitely getting you some damn onesies, because if this is what you sleep in, I don’t know how long I can keep my promise.”
His fingers brushed my shoulder, flicking off the strap of my satin top, which slipped down my arm, revealing the curve of my chest.
My stomach fluttered; I’d always been self-conscious of my chest, curvier than the girls in my old social circles. My mom used to find clothes to minimize it, to make me look smaller.
Austin’s eyes never wavered, his fingers grazing the side of my body as he murmured, “You are so fucking beautiful.”
His hands moved with purpose, gliding up my sides as he tugged my top down, inch by inch, until my breast spilled free, my nipple exposed and achingly sensitive. His gaze lingered, dark and intense, before he leaned in, his breath hot against my skin.
“I’ve never met anyone as beautiful as you,” he murmured.
Austin caught my nipple between his lips, his tongue rolling over it slowly, deliberately, each stroke sending a wave of pleasure through me. I arched into him, threading my fingers into his hair, urging him closer as he sucked and teased, his mouth warm and relentless. My breath hitched, a moan slipping from my lips as he took his time, savoring me, tasting me, the heat between us building with each sensual movement.
His teeth grazed my nipple as he sucked, and I threw my head back, arching and shoving my hips toward him.
“You like that?”
I let out the most carnal moan. It was the least sexy thing that could’ve come out of my mouth, but it was primal, raw, and unfiltered.
“Yeah, you do. Just like that, Char.” His hand went to the other strap of my shirt, and he pulled it down, letting my other breast pop out.
