I just stand there gazing at her lovely body. Her breasts are full, with blush pink nipples. I have never known that kind of want that I’m experiencing right now. My cock is so fucking hard.
“I don’t understand. Why would you want me when you have anyone?”
“Because we’re the same. You said so yourself. We understand each other and are what my religious foster parents used to call equally yoked,” she says quietly. “Deep down inside you must have realized that we’re made for each other.”
“You’re nineteen,” I shoot back sternly.
“So,” she says sharply.
“I’m seven years older than you.”
Hauling in a deep breath, she continues, “Age is just a number. I’m not some young college kid who doesn’t understand relationships and responsibility. I grew up being a full-time caregiver for a bunch of kids, all day long, every single day year after year. That changes a person. I wouldn’t even know how to interact with guys my own age. They seem like children to me.”
“You’re also Rick’s sister,” I point out.
“I’m not Rick though. I’m me,” she says slapping her hand against her chest. Lord help me because I can’t help but notice how that hard slap makes her pretty breasts jiggle and her skin pink up. I close my eyes and count to ten in my head to keep from reaching for her.
“Rick is my best friend. I promised him that I wouldn’t hit on you.”
“Well, you sure as hell kept that promise. God knows you haven’t given me any reason to hope we might end up together.”
I shoot back, “Do you think wanting something makes it okay?”
“No. I think pretending you don’t want it makes you dishonest.”
I shake my head slowly, feeling conflicted like never before.
“You don’t understand what it costs for us to cross this line.”
“It doesn’t cost anything. That’s all just made-up bullshit in your head to keep you from opening up to accept the love you deserve in life. This is all about wrangling your fears to the ground and taking what you want in life.”
“Fear? I’m not afraid of shit,” I growl. This woman can prick my pride faster than any person alive.
“You’re afraid of hurting me. Instead of owning up to that you’re making it about every other issue under the sun. This isn’t about Rick saying I’m off limits or him hating you for falling in love with me. It’s not about my age or any damn thing else except your belief that you’re too large.”
She’s not wrong about any of that. Rather than admit it, I just stand there staring at her like a complete idiot. This smart, beautiful woman is overwhelming all my defenses and I can’t have that.
When she speaks again, it feels like being harpooned through the fuckin’ chest.
“You’re afraid you won’t be able to stop once you start. That you’ll hurt me.”
I don’t bother to deny it. She can tell by the expression on my face that she hit the nail on the head. She takes a step closer.
I glance away. “It looks like you’ve thought about this a lot.”
“Yes, of course I have. You’ve slowly become one of the two most important people in my life.”
“How long have you been mulling this over in your mind?”
She hesitates for the first time, and I see something serious in her eyes.
“Since the first night I realized you weren’t looking at me like everyone else did. You didn’t see me as a sad little exploited foster kid that the system let down. You saw me as a person because like you said, we’ve both been through it.”
My eyes drift back to her earnest face. Something in my thinking shifts because she’s right. Of course she is.
“You never treated me like I was a burden. You treated me like something precious that needed to be treasured and protected. And I like that feeling way too much to ever let it go.”
I can’t stop staring at her beautiful face, as all the pieces of information she just dropped slot into place in my mind.
