More Than Friends

Other titles from Celeste Anwar:

Carnal Appetite

Carnal Knowledge

Carnal Thirst

The Color of Twilight

Her Every Desire

Resurrection

Pleasures of the Flesh

Indecent Proposition

Project Nemesis: Wolfen Domination

Project Nemesis 2: Island Fever

Cajun Heat

Voyeur

Revenge Sex

Pinned and Punished

Chapter One

          Jake, Brent, and Lizzy had been friends with each other since grade school.  They couldn’t remember a time when they hadn’t been together. 

          To them, it seemed only natural that they become roommates at some point in their lives.  When they’d finished most of their college and were tired of living in the dorm rooms, they decided to rent a one bedroom beach house on the lake together to save their money for grad school, student loans, and to get out of the dorm life and adjust to the outside world.

          They’d never actually lived together, but they’d been friends for so long, they’d slipped into a routine with one another that went smoother than any of them had imagined possible.

          To Lizzy, life was perfect.  Probably too perfect if she thought about it.  Sure, the guys had their problems, mainly, that they didn’t like picking up after themselves, but it wasn’t a big deal to her.

          She’d been sick of the constant partying and interruptions to her studies that living in a dormitory had been to her, hated having strangers as roommates, and moving back to her parent’s house wasn’t an option.  She didn’t like the controlling nature of her mother and father.  She was a grown woman and could make decisions for herself, whether good or bad, and she was capable of handling any situation that might arise.

          Moving from a tiny bedroom to an entire house with a huge front and back yard and access to the lake gave them the room to move and finally feel free.

          The one rule was they never brought anyone home.  It wasn’t a big deal for Lizzy.  She’d only had one boyfriend after high school, and that had ended badly.  Actually, technically, it’d never really ended for her—he’d just stopped calling and coming around and moved on without breaking it off with her.  She’d moped around for a few weeks after discovering she’d been abandoned/dumped.  It hurt her pride, but she’d poured herself into school and other activities that took her mind off romantic troubles.  After that, she’d decided that most men were emotional cowards.

          Jake was a ladies’ man.  There were times when they didn’t see him all weekend.  Lizzy didn’t know what he was up to, and frankly, she didn’t care as long as he didn’t bring any drama back home with him.  Brent was more like her—quiet and reserved, into studying to be a lawyer.  She couldn’t imagine Jake and Brent both working as lawyers, but they’d decided to go into it together and were going to start a law firm with each other one day when they were done with school and internships.

          It just made Lizzy mentally shrug.  She’d never understand men.  Honestly, she didn’t even feel like trying.

          At any rate, living with Brent and Jake, she had the best of both worlds.  She got someone to snuggle in the giant king-sized bed at night, without all the worries and hang-ups and work of having to please a boyfriend.  She had someone to share the bills and responsibilities of up-keeping the house.  She couldn’t imagine a more perfect situation.

          They’d never given any indication that either of them were interested in being more than friends with her, and she’d never hinted at anything either.  That didn’t mean she didn’t find them attractive.  On the contrary, she hadn’t noticed it when they were younger and still kids, but as Jake and Brent had filled out in adulthood into full grown men, she most definitely had noticed they had the looks to attract any number of women.  Unfortunately for her, they’d had plenty of time and experience with women.

          It used to hurt her that she escaped their notice, but she got used to it after a while.  She figured she just wasn’t their type, or that they couldn’t imagine getting involved with a friend.

          Jake was tall, blond, with the most gorgeous green eyes she’d ever seen on anyone.  He had the look of a beach hunk with sculpted abs and a sensuously full mouth.  He was tan all over, muscular from years of playing football in high school, and spent his free time helping her out in the garden getting more tan and beautiful.  His muscles rippled whenever he moved, hypnotizing her, and she found that she often stared into space when near him.  He always acted like he didn’t notice.  The tattoo on his bicep accentuated the muscles of his arm and always seemed to draw her eyes when he was hand-working the rows or digging out a trench.

          Brent was the exact opposite of Jake—dark and dangerous looking, with thick black eyebrows that cut low and sexy over his brown eyes.  His aquiline nose and high cheekbones, combined with the nearly constant five o’clock shadow across his defined jaw and chin meant he was full of testosterone, and she could feel it any time she was around him.  He was just as muscular since he’d also played sports his entire life and hadn’t lost any of it in the years since.

          She knew this, since they all shared the same bed when they were all staying at the house and not off chasing some strange.

          Brent had the ability to make her breath catch in her throat, even after all this time.  Maybe it was worse now being surrounded by them at every turn—she couldn’t know.  She often felt like she’d made a mistake in housing with them, that it would only leave to trouble and heartache for her.  She didn’t know if she could stand to see the day when they finally found someone to settle down with.  It was coming, without a doubt.

          Lizzy looked up from digging the hole she was working on to transfer her potted tomatoes to where Jake was crouched by the fence, pulling weeds from around their beans.  She froze when she spotted the snake that Jake hadn’t seen, his focus completely on the task at hand.  He didn’t have anything on him to kill it with, and he was bare-chested and barefoot.

          Without a word, her adrenaline pumping, she sprinted the short distance and shoved Jake out of the way against the fence.  The snake hissed and struck at her, feeling threatened.  Lizzy brought the edge of her shovel down on the snake, chopping off its head.

          “Jesus!” Jake yelled, gripping his chest where he’d hit the fence.  “I didn’t see that fucking moccasin at all.  Thanks, Lizzy.”

          The adrenaline was still pumping hard through her veins.  She couldn’t believe she’d had the guts to kill that snake, but she hadn’t wanted to risk Jake getting hurt.   She hadn’t taken the time to think about it, only react.  “No problem.  You okay?”

          He grimaced, pulling his hand from his chest.  He looked down his nose at his chest.  “Just got this huge splinter from the fence.  Can you see it?  I can’t get a good angle on it.”

          “Hang on.”  She set the shovel against the fence, stepped over the dead snake, and moved to kneel beside him.  “Ouch.  That’s a big one.”

          Carefully, with her short fingernails, she picked at the splinter and tried to slowly pull it out.

          Jake yelped like a little boy, squirming under her touch.  “Ow!  That hurts!”

          She chuckled.  Men always turned into babies when they got hurt.  “Don’t be such a baby.  Hold still or I won’t get it all.  Dammit.  I said hold still.”

          “Yes, mom,” he muttered, leaning back against the fence, looking beleagured while she tried to get a small piece out without success.

          “I’ll have to get this part out with my mouth,” she said, looking down at his grimacing face.  He made it seem much worse than it actually was.

          “Just do it and stop torturing me,” he groaned.

          Lizzy bent over his chest, placing one hand on his stomach and the other on his side.  She latched on to the wound, sucking at the spot with all her might until she thought she’d gotten the tip of the splinter out.  She sat up and spat, checking the wound to see if it was free of wood.  It looked good.

          “I think I got it,” she said, looking up at him, pleased with herself for saving the day.

          He was giving her a strange look she’d never seen before.  She felt a little taken aback by it.

          “What’s wrong with you?” she asked, puzzling him over.

          He cleared his throat and jumped to his feet.  “Nothing.  Thanks.  Let me take this damn snake off and bury it so no one will step on the head.”

          With that, he was off, leaving her feeling like she might’ve done something wrong.

* * * *

          Lizzy had left to get groceries for the house, leaving Jake and Brent alone.  Brent was in the kitchen, fixing himself a sandwich when Jake came in.

          He leaned on the counter, watching his long-time friend, wondering if he should say something or not and finally decided he would.

          “I want to sleep with Lizzy,” Jake said.

          Brent choked on the bite of sandwich he’d just put into his mouth.  He swallowed with an effort, then coughed for a minute before trying to speak.  “What did you just say?” he said, looking at Jake as if he’d just sprouted another head.

          “I said I want to have sex with Lizzy.  Just thought I’d give you fair warning.”  Jake crossed his arms over his chest, frowning and waiting for a fight.

          Brent laughed and set his sandwich down on the counter.  “You’re fucking nuts if you think she’s going to go for that.  We’re in the friend zone.  There ain’t no getting out of that once you’re in it.  Besides, she’s our roommate.  If she was the least bit attracted to us do you think she’d sleep in the same bed as us?  Walk around in her panties and t-shirts like we’re just her brothers?  I like the eye candy, but c’mon.  She’s been our friend forever.  You wanna fuck that up just for some sex?  Aren’t you getting enough from other girls?

          Jake waved Brent’s words away like flies.  “This is different.  I can see myself with Lizzy.  More than just sex.  It’s not just that she’s hot and doesn’t know it.  She’s smart and funny.  She’s a good friend.  Why wouldn’t I want to take it to the next level?”

          Brent frowned, considering what he’d said.  “Where the hell is this coming from all of a sudden?”

          Jake shrugged.  “I don’t know.  It’s just a feeling I got that she wants me.  Besides, something happened that sort of woke me up.”

          Brent snorted, then guffawed with laughter.  “All right.  What?  You can’t keep this to yourself, obviously.”