Page 6 of Bending The Rules

A glance at the time told me I had about forty minutes before I needed to leave the hotel. I closed my eyes and laid back, intending to take just one last moment to myself, but I had a hard time getting my eyes open.

I blew out a short breath, then picked up my phone from beside me on the bed. I set the alarm to give me ten minutes – just enough time for a power nap.

I tossed the phone back onto the bed and laid back again, closing my eyes. I loved hotel beds – huge and comfortable, with nice sheets and down duvets.

Perfection.

I didn’t waste much of my short ten minutes drifting off – I was asleep in no time. But annoyance ripped through me when, four minutes later according to my phone, pounding at the door to my suite interrupted my nap.

A groan escaped my lips as the knocking continued, and I dragged myself up out of bed to the door. A quick peek through the peephole brought a frown to my face.

What the hell is he doing here?

I belted my robe a little tighter, then pulled the door open to Justin’s annoyingly handsome face. “Why are you here? We’re supposed to be meeting at a restaurant. Neutral ground.”

“I’m here to talk,” he said, sidling past me into the room.

I quickly covered my chest with my arm, hiding the strain of my nipples against the thin fabric of my robe. “That’s what the meeting is for. I’ll see you in thirty-five minutes, at the restaurant where we agreed to have this meeting.”

“It can’t wait. And I’m not here to talk about the signing, I’m here to talk about me and you.”

I gave him a dry laugh. “Thereis nome and you, Justin. And that’s on you. You’re the one who stabbed me in the back.”

He scoffed, shaking his head. “How long are you going to stay mad at me? Huh? The shit happened seven years ago!”

“And I will stay mad as long as I please,” I shot back, nostrils flared. My anger faltered, into confusion, then arousal, as he stepped toward me, closing the small space between us. I backed up, he stepped forward, and we repeated that dance until my back was against the wall, and he was so close that my breasts were a heavy breath away from grazing his chest. “Justin… what are you doing?”

“I don’t think you’re really that pissed,” he said, ignoring my question as he brought a hand to my cheek, brushing a thumb over my skin. “I think you’ve just gotten used to being mad, and aren’t ready to embrace a different emotion.”

I swallowed hard, damn near whimpering as his hands dropped, slipping under my robe to grip my ass. “What kind of emotion?”

He didn’t answer. He just grinned, then lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me.

It was supposed to feel like being kissed by your brother.

That’s what I’d always pictured, the odd times I allowed my imagination to take me there, and wonder. I’d experienced a “spark” before, probably more than my fair share. Justin and I didn’t have that. We werefriends.Capital F-R-I-E-N-D-S, that was all. No chemistry, nooomph.

Only… this kiss wasoomph-yas hell.

He gently nibbled on my bottom lip, an action I took as a request for entry. I granted it, and he slipped his tongue inside, licking into my mouth to taste me. His fingers dug into my ass cheeks as he easily lifted me off the ground, hooking my legs around his waist to press me into the wall. I moaned as he deepened the kiss, gasped when he moved a hand between my legs to play in the wetness he’d created there.

I arched into his touch, rocking my hips in time to the rhythm he’d created. My mouth fell open as he lowered his mouth to my neck, sucking and biting and kissing while he stroked me with his fingers. I pressed my head against the wall, closing my eyes as blissful pleasure began to build in my core.

“Jus,” I breathed. “What the hell are we doing? Where did this come from?”

He nipped my collarbone before he raised his head to meet my eyes, and shrugged. “Hell if I know. This is a dream, Tee – everything that happens is coming from your subconscious. So that’s a question you have to ask yourself.”

What the hell??

I shot up from my prone position on the bed, panting as my gaze darted around the room.

There was no one else there.

I blew out a sigh, then ran a hand through my disheveled hair as I reached for my phone to shut off the blaring alarm. The gift of quiet enveloped me for about two seconds before a loud knock sounded at the door.

I climbed out of bed and made my way to the door, unnerved by the sense of déjà vu that played in my head. My heart was racing by the time I put my face up to the peephole, and I audibly gasped when I saw who was on the other side of the hotel door.

The nervous butterflies that erupted in my stomach pissed me off – I’d spent seventeen years seeingallof Justin, good, bad, and ugly. He’dnevermade me feel like this.

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