Page 78 of Holiday Friend Zones
“Not for me either…” She exhales, her voice barely audible.“It’s like we’ve been circling this moment forever, and we finally found it.”
The words sink straight into my chest, burrowing deep.I pull her closer, brushing my lips against hers again, softly moaning like just that feather touch is going to be the death of me.Then I coax her lips apart again, my tongue slipping into her mouth, tasting her, memorizing the feel of her in my arms.Every time her tongue slides over mine, a surge of lust rips through my bones.
“Ave,” I whimper between kisses.“I am ruined.I need these kisses every minute of every day.”
Her mouth looks kiss-swollen, the way her eyes won’t quite meet mine like she’s terrified of what I just admitted.
“Stop thinking, Ava,” I whisper against her mouth, my hand on her lower back pressing her body into mine.
The music swells into another song, couples spinning around us, but I don’t care.Right now, there’s only her and the way that kiss felt like the start of something I’ve been waiting my whole life for.
“Liam,” she whispers with eyes so blue they look like they are sparkling.
“What is it, baby?I’ll do anything for you,” I tell her.
“Please, let’s get out of here.”
ChapterThirteen
LIAM
We stumble through the door like we can’t get close enough, laughing between kisses, our hands everywhere all at once.Her mouth is on mine, then my jaw, then back again, hungry and sweet, and I can’t stop touching her, sliding her coat off her shoulders.My fingers tangle through her hair, to her nape pulling her closer even though she’s already pressed against me.I kiss her like I’ve been starving for it because I have been.Years of swallowing down every look, every thought, every want, crash to the surface all at once.
My hands fist in her coat, dragging it off her shoulders, letting it fall where it wants.She gasps into my mouth, and the sound damn near undoes me.“Christ, Ava,” I rasp against her lips, pressing her harder into the door.“You don’t know what you do to me.You never have.”
Her fingers curl in my shirt like she’s just as desperate before she kisses me.Her lips taste like wine and peppermint, sweet and sharp, and when her tongue brushes over mine, I rock my pelvis into hers.
I frame her face in my hands for a second, forcing myself to look at her, chest heaving.“You’re mine now.No more pretending.No more running.There’s no going back after this,” I say, my voice rough, the truth of it all sitting heavy in my chest.She’s mine.She always has been.And now that I’ve said it, there’s no taking it back.“Say you get that, Ava.Tell me you want this…us…as badly as me.”
Her eyes are wide, pupils blown, chest rising fast beneath the red fabric of her dress.She nods, but it’s not enough for me.
“I need to hear you say it, I need your words, pretty girl.”
Her hands reach for the nape of my neck, drawing my mouth to hers, her voice breaking against my lips, “I want you, Liam.I’m yours,” she breathes.“Please, please, I want you.”
“Good girl,” I murmur before my palm skims down her side, finding her ass and claiming all the places I’ve only ever let myself imagine.She gasps against my lips, and I steal the sound, swallowing it whole.I kiss her deeper this time, gripping her ass in both hands before hauling her up as her legs wrap around my waist.
She moans into my mouth when I press her against the wall, and I groan back, every muscle in me straining to keep control.My dick aching behind the confines of my pants, so hard I’m afraid it might explode if I don’t come soon.“Wanted this for so damn long.Wanted you,” I tell her, biting gently at her lip.“And now that I’ve got you, this is it, baby.I’m never letting you go.”
And God help me, she smiles against my mouth like she likes hearing it.
Her legs are tight around my waist, her mouth hot and greedy on mine, and I know if I keep her against the wall any longer, I’ll come in my pants.So, I carry her, stumbling blind down the hall with our mouths fused, and her laugh breaking free between kisses.
“Bedroom,” I growl against her mouth.“I need you in my bed.”
We crash through the doorway, and I lower her onto the mattress like she’s breakable, even though everything in me feels wild and desperate.Her hair fans out across the pillow, the red dress clinging to her curves, and for a second, I just stare.Burning the image into memory.The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“Look at you, Ava Reynolds.You’re fucking perfect,” I murmur, tugging my shirt over my head, watching her eyes devour every inch of me.
“Liam—” she gasps when my hand slides under her dress, gripping the back of her thigh along the edge of her panties.She arches her back and her hands slide over my forearms, down my thighs, her nails dragging lightly over my pants.The sound she makes when I push her dress up and over her head breaks something wide open in me.My control, my restraint—it all snaps when I toss it aside and take in the sight of her spread out on my bed, flushed and perfect.
“Fuck,” I mutter, reverent and filthy all at once, tracing the curve of her breast with my thumb before lowering my mouth to taste her.She arches up, fingers tangling in my hair, and the sound she makes is pure surrender.
I suck both nipples into my mouth, kiss down her chest over the soft skin of her stomach, then pause just above where I want her most.My voice comes out rough.“Look at you, Ave,” my hands slide along her inner thighs, thumbs brushing the edge of her panties.“You’re fucking perfect, baby.”
Her eyes lock on mine, wide and dark, while I hook my fingers in the thin fabric and peel it down her legs, nice and slow.When it’s off, I toss it blindly to the end of the bed and spread her thighs wider, holding her steady while she squirms underneath me.
I take my time, parting her with my fingers, just looking, letting the sight of her wreck me before I give in.Then I lower myself between her legs and taste her—hungry and messy, like I’ve been starving for this all my life.Every flick of my tongue is raw, consuming, and unrestrained.She gasps my name, and it only makes me hungrier.Makes me worship even harder.
