Page 8 of Passionate Hearts

“I think all that’s left is for you to help me take my bra off.”

Had she really just said that? River wished she could shake her head without drawing attention to herself. To her credit, Brianna simply nodded her head and unclasped her bra. She let the bra fall to the floor. This was the most intimate moment she’d ever had with Brianna. Having her this close to her as she was undressed sent an electric current coursingthrough her. She wondered what would happen if they kissed, or even went a little further. That would never happen. Brianna was too good of a friend to make a move on her in this state. Was it wrong that for a minute she wanted Brianna to make a move? Maybe it wasn’t crazy, but it was definitely ill-advised.

She heard Brianna take a deep breath behind her.

“Let’s get you dressed.”

Brianna helped keep River stable as she pulled up the pajama bottoms. Her touch was light against River’s skin as she helped pull the shirt on over her head. When they were done Brianna rubbed the back of her neck with her hand again.

“Is that better?” Brianna asked.

“Much better.” River pulled Brianna in for a hug with her good arm. Brianna’s scent filled her nose, sandalwood and rose. They locked eyes and River knew it would be easy to kiss her. Or at least easy enough, all she had to do was lean in. River restrained herself, barely. Brianna pulled away and offered her a smile.

“Thanks,” River managed to say.

“Anything for you,” Brianna answered.

“Get some rest, buddy,” Brianna added.

Brianna closed the door behind her as she left. There was only one thing that River knew for certain. She was definitely not getting rest anytime soon. She managed to lay down in her bed and get somewhat comfortable. Why was Brianna suddenly having this effect on her? It was true that she’d always found Brianna attractive. But they moved in together so soon after meeting. She had told herself that getting involved with a roommate was the kiss of death. A recipe for disaster. They had become friends and she’d started dating Tiff. Any attraction she’d felt for Brianna had been put away a long time ago, or so she’d thought.

Her skin still tingled from the traces of Brianna’s touch. Maybe she’d hit her head harder than she’d thought in the accident. In a few days she’d be over whatever she was feeling and could go back to Brianna being her friend and roommate.

Tonight, she was still suffering from the heat she felt in her core. River managed to open her bedside table and pull out her vibrator. She paused long enough to listen for any noise indicating that Brianna would be close enough to hear her. When she was sure that Brianna was in her bedroom, River turned the vibrator on. She only had one good hand, which made maneuvering the device somewhat challenging. Still, she managed to get the vibrator inside her pajama pants. Once inside her pants it was simple to find her clit.

River pressed the vibrator close against her clit and closed her eyes. Pleasure mounted inside of her, spreading throughout her body in waves. Her mind went back to a fewminutes earlier, Brianna’s hands touching the bare skin of her thighs. She imagined what would have happened if Brianna would have allowed her hand to travel upward a few more inches. She and Brianna could be kissing right now. It could be Brianna’s fingers playing with her clit. A few seconds later her body gave way to the pleasure mounting inside her. She bit back a loud moan as her orgasm crashed against her.

River lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She put the vibrator back inside her bedside drawer. She felt conflicted about the entire night. Grabbing her phone, she sent Tiff a text asking her how the night was going. Her eyes were growing heavy, and she still hadn’t gotten a response from Tiffany. The entire night was on permanent replay in River’s mind as sleep settled over her.

Chapter 4

What the actual fuck had just happened?Brianna leaned against her door, breathing heavy. River had asked her for help, which made sense. But undressing River had awoken something powerful buried inside of her. It had taken every ounce of self-control she’d had not to wrap her arms around the woman. Every fiber in her body had wanted to kiss every part of River’s body. A whole-body connection had been formed.

Even more, Brianna could swear that River felt it too. That feeling of reciprocity had to be her imagination. There was no way that she and River were both developing an attraction for one another at the same time.

Brianna sat on the edge of her bed and stared at her door. What was she doing? River was her friend and her roommate. These newly developing feelings were a recipe for disaster. Not to mention the fact that River wasn’t even single. It was true that Tiffany wasn’t Brianna’s favorite person. Still, Brianna wasn’t the sort to get involved with someone who was already seeing somebody. The entire thing made her stomach churn.

Mel had told her to give herself a couple of weeks. She laid flat on her back and stared at the ceiling instead of the door. She just needed a couple weeks for her head to take control of her heart. She squeezed her eyes shut, but her mind immediatelyjumped to the memory of River standing bare in front of her. Brianna covered her face with a pillow and screamed into it.

The slimy feeling of guilt came over her. River had no idea that Brianna was here picturing her half naked. What kind of friend was she? In times like these there was only one answer. Workout. Brianna needed to lift something heavy and exhaust herself. If her body was tired, her mind was sure to follow. Brianna sent River a quick text explaining that she was going to run to the gym for a quick workout. River sent her a thumbs up emoji.

Brianna sighed and threw on a workout tank top and yoga pants. This was exactly what she needed to get her emotions under control. The drive to her gym saw Brianna skipping every possible romance song that came onto her playlist. She finally tired of the constant skipping and turned the music off.

The free weights were her friends and that’s where she went to find a station. Without much consideration of her surroundings, she found and claimed a free bench. Then she found a pair of ten-pound dumbbells.

“Brianna? Is that you?”

Brianna turned her head to the side and saw Jordan Foxx in the station next to hers. Brianna’s smile widened. Jordan ran an amazing animal rescue in WaterColor.

“It’s me. How have you been?” Brianna asked.

Most people hated the tedium of small talk at the gym, but Brianna was the exception. She loved it. There was something so fun about being able to talk about nothing in particular while working out.

“I’ve been doing well. Reese is out of town. She went to Atlanta to visit some old friends of hers. So, I’m focusing on doing the day to day things until she gets back. I’m doing a Krav Maga class after this if you care to join me?”

Brianna had heard of Krav Maga, but she’d never considered trying it before. But she wasn’t one to turn down a challenge, and this kept her out of the house for a whole extra hour.

“Sure. I’ll try anything once,” Brianna chuckled.

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