BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER

Kaleb nodded.”I totally understand. My parents on the other hand are simply thrilled that I’m back in town. I guess they don’t bother me so much because they still have Tilly. She’s a lot to handle so I guess they were simply relieved when they had one less child to worry about ”

Sliding glass doors led to a balcony that showed a stunning view of the city in the distance-bright lights, so full of stories and interest.

“So beautiful.” she said again. He dipped his head in silent concession, moving towards the kitchen and pulling a bottle of champagne from the fridge. She recognised the label for its distinctive golden color. He took her martini glass from her and put both their glasses in the sink, then she watched as he unfurled the foil from the champagne bottle and popped the cork effortlessly, grabbing two flutes and half filling them.

“Your sister is an amazing friend too,” Sasha continued, desperate for something to say in order to fill up the silence, “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like her… she’s the only one I can call a friend.”

“Ouch” Kaleb said, clutching his chest playfully, “You are saying you don’t consider me a friend? Such a hurtful thing to say, doll face. You wound me!”

Sasha punched him playfully, “Stop calling me, doll face. And you know what I meant. Besides, it’s the truth. We have never been friends… Why do you suddenly care about that now?”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

He turned to face her fully, and Sasha held her breath.

“Change is a part of life, is it not?” he asked, then continued without waiting for her to reply, “In fact, some people say it’s constant. We weren’t friends before, yes, but is there a rule that says we can be now?”

Sasha swallowed. He was right, but there was something about the way he was staring at her that made her feel like he didn’t mean just friends. He didn’t have to say it. She could read it in his eyes and the crazy thing was that she didn’t want to be just friends either. She thought about Tilly. The best thing to do at the moment was to leave him and go back to the party, where she could be around other people and not be disturbed by her emotions. Where she could be safe from him, but her knees felt shaky, and she wasn’t sure she trusted them to carry her across the room.

“Well, how do you suppose we begin this… Friendship of ours?” she heard herself say instead. His lips twisted and she felt something sharpen within him, something that sparked a thousand little questions inside her.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he strode across the room, champagne flute in hand, passing Sasha’s to her as though he were fighting himself, as though he were fighting this. And she couldn’t understand that. If it weren’t for the gale-force strength of her own needs, she might have paused to ask him why he was looking at her with such intensity, why he stared at her in a way that seemed to strip her soul bare.

But the incessant thrumming of her own desire was all Sasha was conscious of.

“You could have dinner with me… tomorrow” he said simply, swallowing so his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.

She bit down on her lip, and his eyes dropped to her mouth, so her desire became louder, more urgent, desperation rolling through her. This was crazy. Madness. Necessary.

Outside, a spark of color exploded through the sky-bright red, vibrant, its beauty an imperative they both resisted.

“Congratulations on your new house, Kaleb” she said quietly, unable to take her eyes off his face. “They lit fireworks. Don’t you think we should get back to the party now?”

Congratulations? Kaleb stared at the woman in front of him, completely at a loss for what the hell had come over him. He didn’t care about the damn party at the moment, and he had a feeling that she didn’t too. She was running away, and he didn’t want her to. No other woman had ever slammed into his body the way she did. She had literally hit him out of nowhere. He moved towards her, and the second his hand curled around her arm, simply to steady her, at least that was what he told himself, his body tightened with a whole raft of needs he no longer wanted to ignore. Right here, with the starlit sky exploding beyond the walls of his house, something within him shifted. It was as though an ancient, unseen force was propelling him to act, reminding him that this could be his only chance with her.

“I don’t care about the damn party right now, Sasha,” he said. And he dropped his head, surprising her completely if her husky little gasp was anything to go by, parting her lips so he could drive his tongue deep inside her and feel every reverberation of her body, he could taste her desire and welcome it with his own.

Perhaps she had expected him to kiss her gently, to explore her slowly, but there was nothing gentle about this, nothing slow. It was a kiss of urgency and it detonated around them. Sasha made a groaning noise into his mouth, her desire roaring through her body, taking control of her. This was not a warm, comfortable kiss. It was a kiss that redefined everything in her life, pushing new boundaries into place. She clung to his shirt for dear life and he kissed her deeper, his mouth moving over hers, demanding more of her, his tongue dueling with her own, his body cleaved to hers so not a breath of space remained between them. It was a kiss of complete domination and she succumbed to it utterly.

“Just this one night, Sasha” He pushed the words into her mouth as he spun her body, tightening his arms around her waist and lifting her in his arms. He sat down on the chair, pulling her onto his lap, pushing at her dress and making a guttural sound of frustration when he found the cotton of her underpants.

It was everything she wanted-the impermanence, the perfect treatment… But…she couldn’t… Not with Kaleb Luthor. What about Tilly?…

She sprang up from his lap, wiping her lips desperately as if trying to wipe away his kiss and Kaleb hated watching her do that.