Page 98 of From Best Friend to Bride
And my heart—my guilty, traitorous, confused little heart—fluttered.
Just once.
Barely there.
Like a newly emerged butterfly stretching its wings, something crawled out from the deepest depths of my soul and fluttered into existence.
Something—a feeling—that could never, ever be put back.
Fred’s hold on my wrists tightened the tiniest amount, and his jaw ticked as he clenched it.
Did he feel it, too? This unnamed, unrecognisable wisp of something enticingly alluring yet terrifying?
My gaze broke free of his and flicked down.
His pyjama bottoms were bulging. Obviously so. The line of his erection was clear to see pressed against the thin cotton, with the head of his cock pressing against the low-slung waistband.
I snapped my eyes back up to his. “Fred, are you attracted to me?”
He blinked as if he couldn’t believe I’d just asked that. To be fair, I couldn’t believe I had, so he wasn’t alone in that.
“Wh—what are you saying?”
Well, I’d done it now.
Might as well dig my grave before throwing myself into it.
“You’re hard.” I swallowed, clenching my thighs together once more.
“How do you—”
“It’s not that difficult to miss.” My voice shook a little.
His cheeks flushed, and seeing his usually pale skin spark to life with embarrassment made my breath catch in my throat.
Shit.
I wanted to kiss him.
I wanted him to kiss me.
A proper kiss. A real kiss. One that I’d feel on my lips for days.
Just…kiss me for a second. One crazy second.
He released me, quickly pushing himself up and away from my body. It was as if a cold gust of wind whooshed over my body with his absence, and I quickly sat up, reaching for him.
I grabbed his hand and forced him to stop. “Fred.”
He covered the lower half of his face with his hand and refused to look at me. “Drop it.”
“No. We have to—”
“Drop it, Delilah!” He shook his arm.
I let go of his wrist with the force of his gesture but quickly grabbed his arm again, jumping off the bed to do so. “Is it because of me?”
“Fuck, yes!”
