More Than Friends (2 page)

“Mel doesn’t
love me anymore than I love her. She liked what being with me did for her
status, but she wasn’t in love with me.”

“I find that
hard to believe.”

“Why?”

“Because...”
She dropped her gaze to stare into the coffee mug cradled between her palms.

Justin sat forward,
suddenly very interested in Lily’s next words. “Because what?”

“Because
you’re you.” She kept her gazed on the mug.

He wanted to
see her face. “That means women automatically fall in love with me?”

“Don’t they?”

“Did you?” He
placed his mug on the coffee table and knelt in front of Lily. Hooking a gentle
finger under her chin, he urged her to meet his gaze. “You’re a woman, Lil, did
you
fall in love with me?”

Seconds
drifted by as she simply stared at him. As her gaze danced from one of his eyes
to the other, her pupils dilated, giving her emerald gaze an olive glow. “I
don’t think I should have come here.”

“Why?”  The word
came out on a husky whisper. He hardly breathed as he waited for her response.

“Because I’m a
little intoxicated and you’re asking me questions I don’t want to answer.” Her
breathy voice brushed across his cheek, a cool caress on his heated skin.

He pushed back
the curtain of curls that hid her face from him and tucked it behind her ear.
“Why don’t you want to answer?”

“I might say
something I’ll regret tomorrow.”

Well, well.
Things were finally getting intriguing. “Something like what?”

Her gaze
dropped to his mouth then snapped wide. “Mel!” She wrenched her chin from his
grasp, jumped to her feet and stepped away from him, sloshing coffee onto his black
and silver Enigma rug, but he didn’t care. “Mel is the reason I’m here. You
shouldn’t have dumped her.”

Disappointment
curled tight around his gut. He had been positive Lily was about to say
something far more interesting. Feeling like an idiot on his knees in front of
her, he stood. “Would you prefer me to remain unhappy in a relationship I don’t
want?”

“You were
unhappy with Mel?”

“Yes.”

Lily’s mouth
turned down at the corners. “I guess that’s it then.” She looked away. “I...I’m
going to miss you...I mean I’m going to miss you and Mel—together.”

Did this
woman have even the tiniest inkling of how much he wanted her? “I was hoping we
could remain friends, Lily.”

Stunned, she
gaped at him. “Us?”

He forced a
smiled, trying to keep things light. He didn’t want to scare her off, but he
wanted her to know that he sought a relationship with her—even if it was merely
friendship to start with. “Yes, Lil. Us.”

“I don’t
think that’ll work.”

“Why not?”

“I’m Mel’s
friend, I owe her my loyalty.”

“I’m not
asking you to be disloyal to Mel. I’m simply suggesting that we keep our friendship
too.”

“That could
get awkward. You know how it is when couples break up.” She held her coffee mug
close to her chest as if using it as a shield to keep him at bay. “There’s
always the friends split—her friends and his friends. Then, there’re the
friends you made together. Who gets whom... it turns into such a mess. Since I
was already Mel’s friend when you started seeing her, I don’t think I can be
yours any longer, Justin.”

The way she
said his name sent warmth spreading from his chest to his belly. If Lily
couldn’t even bring herself to be his friend, what chance did he have of  being
anything more? An unfamiliar desperation gripped him. He’d never needed or
wanted a woman the way he did this one. Once she walked out of his apartment,
he had no doubt she’d be walking out of his life forever.

The realization
hurt like hell. He wasn’t sure whether he was strong enough to let her go
without making a monumental fool of himself. But he did know one thing; he’d
kick himself for the rest of his life if he didn’t kiss her at least once
before she disappeared.

Justin
shrugged, took her mug out of her hands, and placed it beside his. “Then I
guess I have nothing to lose.”

He saw the
stunned expression in Lily’s gaze as she realised what he intended. He liked
that he caught her off guard.

Her shocked gasp
was lost in his mouth as he covered her lips with his. He’d waited, it seemed,
a lifetime to kiss Lily Harper, and now he had the chance he wasn’t letting it
slip away.

For a second,
she kissed him back. He slid his arms around her, bringing her into contact
with his body. She was warm and supple. Her curves fitted perfectly, and she tasted
so good. Then she tensed in his arms, pushed at his shoulders, her hands
balling fistfuls of his Oxford shirt as she clung to him. He wasn’t sure
whether she was pushing him away or trying to stop him from releasing her. It
didn’t matter, he was finally kissing Lily, and she was as satiny and as sweet
as he imagined.

“Justin...”
her unsteady voice was no more than a breathy whisper. “Justin, we can’t.” But
she plastered her lips back to his.

His own
breathing was pretty ragged too, but who could blame him? He’d lusted after Lily
for months. She’d been in a relationship with Wayne when he started dating her
friend and roommate. Sometimes he thought the only reason he continued to date
Mel was so he could see Lily.

She had no
idea how he felt about her, and now her relationship with Wayne was over, he
didn’t want to wait for some other guy to swoop in and snatch her away. Not two
minutes previously, he’d decided to let her go but, like the initiation of this
kiss, he’d hate himself if he didn’t try to win her first.

He changed
the angle of the kiss, taking it deeper, delighting in the way Lily responded
to him. The way she returned his kisses, her hands released his shirt to roam
over his back with the same restlessness that ran through him.

“Justin, we can’t,”
she said again. Her words said one thing, her action another. She continued to
drive him crazy with her caressing hands and the way she rose on tiptoe and
danced her hips against his arousal.

“Then make me
stop, Lily, because I don’t think I know how to stop kissing you now I’ve
started.”

She moaned
and tugged at his shirt until he heard the telltale pop of stitching giving.

He slid his
hands into her honey hair, framing her face with his palms. If he’d known she
tasted so incredible, he would’ve took the opportunity at Christmas to kiss her
under that mistletoe someone had placed above the door in the cloak cupboard.
When she’d opened the cupboard to retrieve his coat they’d both looked up and
saw the fake shrubbery pinned to the ceiling. They’d paused, stared first at
the festive foliage then at each other. Seconds had passed while Justin debated
the wisdom of giving into the desire to kiss her properly. But he was aware of
Mel and Wayne in the next room, as well as several mutual friends crammed into
the flat, so he’d smiled and gave her a brotherly peck on her cheek.

“Merry
Christmas, Lil,” he’d whispered, his voice rusty. Her eyes had gone a shade
darker, and he swore they shared a ‘moment’.  Then more people from Mel and
Lily’s small Christmas party joined them in the tiny hall as everyone said
goodnight. He’d left with a heavy sense of disappointment mixed with relief
that he hadn’t done something stupid that would’ve embarrassed Lily.

“Is this a
dream?” she asked between kisses.

He drew his
hands out of the lustrous spill of her hair, and gathered her tighter against
him. “If so, I hope it never ends.” 

Mouths fused,
he cupped her butt, and rocked against her with the same fervour she danced her
hips against his. He needed more... like her wrapped naked around him in his
bed. “I’ve wanted you for so long, Lil. You must have noticed.”

“Don’t say
that.”

“It’s true.
Wanting you and not being with you is like torture.” He needed to bury himself
so deep inside her neither of them would know where he ended, and she began.

Her hands
dove under his shirt, her fingers cool on his burning flesh. Justin tugged down
one of her dress straps, kissed her throat, the sinew at the side of her
slender neck, and worked his way down toward the swell of her breast. Somewhere
in the back of his mind, he registered that he was moving too fast, but he was
too inebriated by Lily to gather the strength he needed to pull back. He eased
her dress down enough to uncover her breasts, unable to resist closing his
mouth on one pebbled nipple.

She gasped
the sound raw with desire as she sunk her fingers into his hair to cradle his
head. “Justin...yes...
oh
...”

Encouraged by
her husky pleas, he bunched the skirt of her dress in his hands and rucked it
up until his palms encountered her firm butt. A quick roam over her neat bottom
told him she wore a thong. The discovery nearly brought him to his knees.

“Lily.” Her
name tore from his chest on a low groan.

All these
months, he’d dreamed of making love to her, but in none of the wild and lusty
scenarios had she ever been drunk, and he had never taken advantage of her.
She’d never shown any interest in him as more than a friend, and if he made
love to her tonight, while she was intoxicated, she’d never forgive him. Hell,
he’d
never forgive him!

As much as it
pained, Justin knew what he had to do. He forced his mouth to stop suckling her
nipple, smoothed down her dress, and put her away from him.

“I want you,
but not like this, Lil.”

Her confused
gaze nearly made him forget his honourable intentions and pull her back into
his arms, but he wanted her to know he respected her enough to wait. “When you
sober up, we’ll talk.”

He handed her
back her coffee.

*
* * *

Except she
wasn’t
drunk.

Not since the
moment Justin’s lips stole her breath with his kiss. She didn’t want him to
stop. He was the man she thought of each time Wayne had kissed her, and the
reason she hadn’t made love with him in months. Justin was the man she wanted—the
only one. Her body shook with unmistakable desire. He’d said a few things
tonight that had thrown her. He wasn’t in love with Mel, and he wanted her. This
wasn’t one-sided. She just couldn’t believe it. Was this some kind of
alcohol-induced hallucination?   

She took the
coffee from him and finished the warm beverage before replacing the empty mug
on the coffee table. She should leave, but she couldn’t bring herself to. Not
yet. Not when Justin stood within touching distance, and he was studying her as
though he couldn’t take his gaze off her.

“Do you
really want me?” She sounded pathetic, needy—not at all the woman she prided
herself on being, but she couldn’t make her leave.

He stroked
her jaw, the gesture so tender her heart squeezed. “I’ve wanted you from the minute
we first met.”

His admission
sent tingling warmth to her heart. “You never let on.”

“You were
wrapped up in another guy, and I just started seeing Mel.”

The other
woman’s name was like a splash of chilled water. Mel was her friend, which
meant Justin was off limits. She wanted to wail at the unfairness of fate. Why
let her meet a man like Justin and fall for him only to have to step aside and
watch some other woman saunter in and take him? A woman who wasn’t Mel’s friend,
and didn’t have to abide by the code of friendship.

For the first
time in months, they were both free. Not that it made any difference because as
much as she wanted to tell Justin how she felt about him, she couldn’t. Mel had
met him first.

But what if
it hadn’t happened that way? How would things have turned out?

“Do you think
things would be different if you met me before Mel?”

He hooked a
finger in her dress strap and slid it back onto her shoulder, his attention
focussed on the task. “If Wayne wasn’t in the picture?”

She nodded.

“I would have
asked you to have dinner with me, and I don’t think I would’ve been able to
wait until the end of the evening to kiss you.”

She wasn’t
sure whether it was the neck and shoulders she’d drunk off the tequila bottle,
but Lily found herself unable to hold back what she was thinking. “I wouldn’t have
wanted you to wait.”

“Damn, Lily,
I hope in the morning you forget we had this conversation.”

“Why?”

“You rushed
over here because you hated me for ending things with Mel. By tomorrow, you’re
going to hate me even more.”

“Why do you
say that?”

“Because I
want to do this again.” He tipped her chin and slowly lowered his mouth. His
lips supped hers—once, twice. He pulled back. “And so much more besides. You
already think I’m a louse, I don’t want to prove you right.”

Her breath
caught in her chest. “Justin, I don’t know what’s happening.”

Was this
real? She knew there was always a certain underlying chemistry between them, but
she thought it’d been one-sided. Now she knew it wasn’t, ninety-nine and a half
percent of her wanted to forget that Mel even existed and simply accept
Justin’s lovemaking without worrying about the future. Could she forget? For
one night, make Justin all hers?

“I know.
That’s why I’m taking you back to your place and not to my bed.”

Just once,
she wanted to have what she wanted without worrying about the right course of
action or other people’s expectations or anything else.

“I’d much
rather go in the opposite direction to the exit.” She waited for Justin to
understand her meaning.

It took only
a second before his brows shot up and his eyes sparked a silent question. Did
she know what she was saying, and was she sure?

She nodded.
She’d deal with tomorrow, tomorrow. For tonight, no one outside of this
apartment existed.  

She ran the
tip of her tongue over her lower lip. Inside, Lily was trembling with
anticipation. Time stood still. She’d never experienced this level of
expectancy before. Even her heart seemed to pause, waiting for what would
happen next.