‘Sweet,’ Zac replies, grabbing the whisky tumblers and pouring two nips. We haven’t shared more than a flicker of eye contact since we walked in the door.
I clink our glasses and brave a direct look at his eyes. ‘Cheers.’
Tenderness swims in his gaze as he smiles at me. I have to look away, or I can’t be held responsible for what I’ll do next.
‘Wow, this is good,’ he says, his tongue sweeping over his bottom lip like he’s purposefully trying to torment me.
‘It is,’ I parrot, screaming silently at myself.You are a smart woman, Josie. Think of something interestingto say!‘So,’ I add in a dramatic voice, ‘I started taking the pill recently.’
Oh my god, woman.
Zac’s brows fly up, but this train has already left the station, and there is no going back.
‘Doctor Ellison prescribed it for the bleeding I’ve been having. It’s going to help balance my hormones.’
He blushes through another sip, and I assure myself this was a good track to take. What better way to cool down a surplus of heat between two best friends than a bit of intermenstrual bleeding chat?
‘When did you start taking it?’ he asks, leaning onto his forearms across from me, his pale-blue shirt tightening over his shoulders.
Eyes up here, Josie.
‘A couple of months ago. So, you officially won’t get an SOS text from me in the next few weeks, saying: “Send thoughts and prayers, I’ve been knocked up by a biker called Shotgun!’’’
He laughs lightly as I swallow a bigger gulp of whisky, hissing when it burns the back of my throat.
‘You OK there, sunbeam?’ Zac swirls his glass with a smirk. ‘You don’t have to drink that if it’s too strong for your delicate little body.’
‘Shutup.Let the record show that I’m the last person who’d ever be described as delicate.’ I down the remainder of my glass in one go to prove my point.
Oh shit, bad idea.
A line of fire sears up my oesophagus, burning through my breath and threatening to make my mouth explode. I clutch my neck and cough so violently that it throws my shoulders forward. By the time I’ve caught my breath, Zac’s moved beside me, his eyes wide and his hand running up and down my back.
‘You OK?’ he asks, scanning my face. ‘See? This is why you can’t have nice things.’
I cough out a laugh. And while I adore all the different sides of my best friend, sweetheart-Zac is the most irresistible. He’s looking at me like he’s the one who injured me.
‘Seriously, are you OK?’ He catches a tiny droplet of whisky off my bottom lip with his thumb before sucking the tip into his mouth.
Fuck it, I tried.
The tightrope inside me snaps, and I catch Zac’s face between my palms and drag his lips down to mine. His spine stiffens as I brush my mouth over his, tasting whisky and something much more delicious. I want him so badly that my insides clench, but he’s not responding. I kiss both corners of his mouth before pressing my lips to the sweet centre again, begging for entry that he doesn’t give me, and my head jerks back.
‘Sorry,’ I say quickly, embarrassment flaming up my face as I step backwards. ‘I shouldn’t have done that. We said we wouldn’t. I’m sorry.’
Oh my god, I just pushed him off the cliff before he was ready. No, I jumped off it like a lunatic and wrenched him down with me.
I turn away from him with my chest burning, but he catches the loop of my black pants in his finger and tugs me back around. His mouth slams against mine, a moan erupting out of me as our tongues wind together. He grips my shoulders and presses me against the counter, pinning me with the full weight of his body as he captures me in a deep, lush kiss that makes my knees buckle. His mouth breaks from mine only to glide his tongue over my neck before he returns his lips to my own, branding me with another kiss that leaves me breathless. His arms wrap around my lower back, and for what feels like eternities of bliss, we make out, totally lost in each other’s mouths.
When his pelvis rolls against mine, I sigh and grind my body against his, wringing a groan from his throat as he cups my breasts through my silk shirt.
‘Fuck,’ he pants, stroking his thumbs over my nipples through the fabric. ‘Should we be doing this?’
I nod firmly. ‘Yes. We should definitely be doing this.’ To underline my answer, I drop my elbows against the counter and tilt my chest upwards in invitation.
Desire flashes in Zac’s eyes as he undoes the buttons of my shirt, pushing the fabric open to reveal my satin bra. He grunts with need and runs his knuckles over the bra’s inner edges, the tips of his fingers sinking beneath the fabric, making heat pool between my legs. I’m already so turned on that I can’t see a metre in front of me, and god help me when he touches me bare.
He returns his lips to my neck, and I fold my arms around him, turning my face to catch his mouth with mine again.
