Page 63 of Forbidden You

“No argument there.”

“Oh, whatever,” she replies, unfazed. “Look, just give me a shot.Trust me.I promise it won’t be a kids’ party.” Her eyes search mine with hope when she emphasizes the words, and all argument seems to vanish ice in a fire. All I know is I want to give it to her.

“No clowns,” I tell her with a dark gaze as a lousy attempt to control just a little of it.

“Pinky swear.” She childishly holds up her pinky, and I laugh, while my phone starts to vibrate on my desk. “Get to work, I need to take this.”

“Ay, ay, sir.” Her mock salute is adorable, and I playfully roll my eyes before I wait until she closes the door behind her.

“What’s up, mate?” I bark, tapping my pen on the wooden surface of my desk.

“Did you sleep with her yet?”

Goddammit. “I told you! We’refriends.”

“You sound like Hunter, you idiot.” Jason’s smile is almost fucking audible.

“I’m not Hunter.” My situation is nothing like the bullshit he pulled with Charlotte for longer than half a decade.

“Exactly. The man is my best friend, but let’s be honest, you’re the brains of our little fourway bromance.”

“That sounds like a search term for porn.”

“Yeah, if we ever go broke we can make a lot of money with that, but I’m not into guys. No offense.”

His stupid reply has me laughing harder than it should, not wanting to encourage this torture session of the motherfucker.

“None taken.”

“What are you doing, man?”

I push out every ounce of air from my chest. “I have no fucking idea.”

“You like her, don’t you?”

“Of course, I like her. I wouldn’t let her stay with me if I didn’t.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Yeah, I know.

“Yeah, Ilikeher,” I emphasize, then sigh, because I like her a whole fucking lot, “but Jay, come on. I’mtenyears older, and she’sworkingfor me. You have to admit this is asking for a shitload of trouble.”

“Depends. Do you like her because you want to fuck her or because you just likeher?” The intent in his voice kinda pulls on my heartstrings, and the pen stays still between my fingers.

Do I want to fuck her? More than I want my next meal. But I’d be selling her short if I’d tell him that’s all there is. She makes me smile, even when I don’t imagine my dick buried inside of her. An occurrence that’s happening more frequently every day.

I like having her around.

“She met my Dad the other night,” I confess, thinking back to that moment, which seems to slightly remove the charcoal of my burned heart. I lean back in my chair, rolling my lips. “I didn’t plan it. But it didn’t freak me out either.”

Jason stays quiet, though I can sense his amusement even from thousands of miles away before he finally breaks the silence; “I can be a dick like Jensen or Hunter and tell you all the shit you don’t wanna hear, and make a bunch of jokes about this, but ten years is not that big of a deal unless you make it, Bodi. But if youlikeher… crossing that line means there’s no way back. So, I think the bigger question is,” he pauses, and I shake my head, because I know where this is going.

I can see his question enter my office like a freight train, and I silently pray for him to make a joke or say something stupid. Just not spit out the words I’m dreading to hear out loud.

“Are you willing to risk it?”

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