Page 12 of The Christmas Exchange

I stared up at him as he towered over me. I wasn’t sure I wanted him to kiss me, because I was afraid I was possibly going to combust. But I did. It was practically a sin with how badly I wanted to feel his lips against mine.

“I’m just wondering what exactly you’re waiting for,” I countered.

A soft chuckle escaped him. He pressed his pelvis against me, pinning me against the wall of the elevator. We still hadn’t moved. I forgot we were even supposed to be going to our room. I glanced past him, noticing that Miles had moved over to where the panel of buttons were beside the door. A devious smirk played on his lips as he casually watched the two of us.

“I’m waiting for you to make a move, sweetheart,” he murmured as his face dipped closer to mine. His breath was but a whisper away from my lips. “You’re in control here, not me. I just saw you and Miles kiss and as badly as I want a taste for myself, I don’t know if you only want him or if you want me too.”

He wanted my honesty and that was the one thing the three of us had always given one another. I wasn’t sure what this would do to our friendship, but I wasn’t quite sure I cared anymore. After having an attraction to my two best friends that only grew over the years, I was done playing it safe. I was here to live my life, not to keep letting it pass me by.

“I want you both.”

“Fuck.” Miles let out a sharp breath from where he was standing.

Julian’s dark eyes glimmered under the lights in the elevator. The corners of his lips twitched. “That’s my girl.”

His lips brushed against mine, teasing me in the slowest possible way. My knees felt weak. My breath was caught in my throat, anticipation was coursing through my veins. Would he or wouldn’t he kiss me? It was absolutely maddening and slowly killing me.

My eyelids fluttered shut as he softly pressed his lips to the corner of my mouth. He brushed his nose against mine before kissing the other corner. I groaned and my shoulders sagged as a chuckle rumbled in his chest. “So impatient.”

I abruptly grabbed the side of his face and pulled it to mine. He didn’t fight me, he didn’t hesitate, and his mouth crashed into mine. His hips shifted, grinding his erection against my stomach as he kept me pressed against the wall. His hand moved to the front of my neck. Using his thumb, he tilted my chin up while gripping my throat with his fingers.

My lips parted without warning and Julian’s tongue slid into my mouth, tasting and teasing me. I wasn’t sure I was breathing anymore. It didn’t matter anyway. He drew the oxygen from my lungs, kissing me until I was weak on my feet. My body threatened to melt into a puddle.

I was dizzy from the lack of oxygen, the alcohol, his lips, and Miles' eyes. It was almost too much yet not enough. Such a contradiction, yet I wanted more. I wanted it all… from both of them.

Julian’s lips felt like they were bruising my own, like when he finally pulled away his mark would be stained on my mouth for an eternity. I didn’t care. It was brutal yet gentle. Rough yet soft. He was obliterating my thoughts, muddling my mind. There was nothing rushed with the way he kissed me. It was like he had all the time in the world and wasn’t going to rush it.

And then his lips were gone.

In an instant, he pulled back and the elevator dinged. I hadn’t even realized we were moving. At some point, Miles must have decided to press the floor number and we had reached it.

Julian’s hand was still on my throat and his gaze crashed into mine.

“You misunderstood me earlier.”

My eyebrows scrunched together. “What do you mean?”

“The other time we kissed, when I said I regret that more than you’ll ever understand…”

My stomach sank at his words as the memory seeped back into my clouded thoughts. Julian didn’t move away, still keeping me pinned against the wall, caging me in.

“I didn’t regret kissing you, Raegan. I regretted that I stopped. I regretted letting you walk away instead of instantly calling Erin to end things with her.”

My eyes widened and I stared back at him, completely speechless. Julian released me and took a step back. My knees half buckled and I swayed on my feet. “What?”

“Shh,” Julian said as he stepped closer and slid his arm around my waist, pulling me away from the wall. “Let’s get you to bed. And if you remember this conversation in the morning, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

My eyes flashed to Miles' as he stood by the door, holding it open for us. “I have questions for you too.”

Miles laughed softly. “I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t the one who kissed you when I had a girlfriend.”

“Yeah, but…” My voice trailed off as they led me down the hallway to our room. “I’m really confused by all of this. How is this not weird?”

“Because it’s us,” Julian murmured against my ear as he helped me into the room. He led me over to the bed and Miles pulled back the comforter as Julian set me down on the mattress. Miles dropped to his knees and pulled off my shoes before I scooted up to the pillows. As I laid down, Julian dragged the blankets up to my chin. “Sleep, sweetheart. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Neither of you ever made a real move before because we weren’t supposed to mess up our friendship… but now both of you at the same time?”

Miles laughed again. “This is a conversation for tomorrow, Rae. Maybe Julian and I finally came to our senses and decided we’d rather share than fight over who gets you all to themselves.”

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