“Not in my changing room! Out, Leonard, before I drag you out by your dick,” Lilah says, and I drop Chiara back onto her feet, the red colour painting her cheeks so wonderful, I can’t help but press a kiss to it. My lips catch fire from the heat of her skin, but I leave her in the changing room, still almost naked, and face my friend.
“Calm down. I was only helping Chiara with her zipper,” I explain, but Lilah’s eyes drop to my crotch before they meet my gaze again.
“Yeah, sure,” she spits back, and I narrow my eyes at her. “Anywhere but my changing rooms or I will block your number for the rest of eternity,” Lilah warns, and I raise my arms in mock surrender for the briefest moment, then I cross them over my chest.
Chiara steps out of the changing room five minutes later, two dresses in her hand. She asks me which of these I prefer, so I take them both and walk toward the register. We line up because the store remains crowded, and I do my best not to think about our moment in the changing room. I saw her almost completely without clothes, had her under the control of my touch, even if it was only briefly. My eyes got a glimpse of the perfect curves of her tits, the dips of her hips, and the birthmark stretching across her left hip bone. It brought out something I’d never felt before.
I felt insatiable.
One look wasn’t enough. I need more. I need to study her not only by staring at her body but by tracing it with my fingertips. The desire to find all of the spots on her that cause her eyes to roll into the back of her head is stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced before.You can’t have her, I remind myself, so I keep all of these thoughts to myself.
Chiara and I don’t speak about what happened, neither of us willing to let a moment of weakness destroy what we’ve been building for months. I don’t know if we’re friends, but whatever we are, we get to have intimate moments like the one in the changing room, right? It’s completely normal for two roommates to know what the other looks like naked. It’s inevitable, isn’t it?
At least that’s what I keep telling myself in an attempt to keep my lips from crashing against Chiara’s and satisfying every need, curiosity, and desire I have for her.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
chiara
“I’ve missed you so much,” Graham says as soon as he wraps his arms around me. Warmth and pain and nostalgia all combine with happiness as I hug my best friend.He’s really here.
“I’ve missed you too.”
He releases me before stepping toward his brother and flinging his arms around him in a big hug. My eyes shift to Irena, Graham’s girlfriend. She has a lightly tanned skin tone, hazel eyes, and an adorable smile.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you, Irena. I’m Chiara,” I say and hold out my hand, doing my best to soften my features at her.
“Wow, you’re even more beautiful than the pictures Graham showed me,” she blurts out and shakes my hand. I can tell she wants to hug me instead, but I’m not the type of person to easily show affection to people I don’t know.
“So are you,” I reply, and her cheeks flush a bright red.
Her eyes scan my face for several seconds longer, and then she moves over to greet Leonard and thank him for buying her a plane ticket and bringing her here. The Formula One driver’s features are hardened into a brooding look. My mind briefly drifts to the fact that he’s been laughing and smiling with me for months now, and I’m the only person to see him so loose all the time.
His eyes catch mine, and I give him half a smile. It brings a warmth into his gaze, one only directed at me. Leonard is many things. A pain in the ass. A dick. Irritating as fuck. But he’s also slowly becoming my favorite per—Nope. I can’t even think it without shuddering.
I also can’t think about how handsome he looks with his hair out of his usual braids and cut shorter at the sides and longer at the top. He had it done three days ago, and I’ve already had a thousand naughty thoughts about tugging on his curls while he pleasures me in every possible capacity. Leonard was gorgeous with the braids, and he somehow is even more so now. So much so that I can’t keep my eyes from drifting to him whenever they want to get their fill.
“Should we go out for dinner?” Graham says, but Leonard places a hand on his brother’s shoulder, struggling to take his brown eyes off me. I smile even harder at the way he tilts his head first, keeping his gaze on me until hehastoshift it to Graham.
“Chiara and I have an event to attend today. You know, for the art gallery you have no more interest in owning with her,” Leonard replies, and I realize for the first time there is tension between the two of them.
“Leonard, this is none of your business. Leave it alone already,” Graham replies while I do my best to keep my entire body from tensing to the point of breaking.
Already. This isn’t the first time Leonard has said something, which only makes me angrier. This isn’t something he’s allowed to be upset over. It isn’t even something I get to be angry about. Graham fell in love, and I’m happy for him. Plans change, it happens. Leonard shouldn’t make his brother and my best friend feel bad about it.
“We should go to our room and get ready,” I say to Leonard and cock my head in the direction of the door. We’re in Graham’s and Irena’s room.
“Wait. You two are sharing a room?” my best friend asks with surprise on his face. Leonard glares at him in response.
“We have the penthouse suite, so we have separate rooms,” he says in a slow and low tone, almost like he’s warning Graham not to say anything else.
They’re glaring at each other, and I’m losing my patience. I take three steps toward Leonard, grab his hand in mine, and pull him out of the room. He goes willingly, surprising me, but not enough to distract me from how angry I am with him. There is a lot I’m grateful for that he’s done for me, but the second he started meddling in my relationship with my best friend, he brought me right back to the irritation I’ve felt for him for most of my life.
We walk down the hallway, take the elevator up in silence, and then I move toward our penthouse suite, unlocking the door to meet an excited Benz. She’s wagging her tail and running around, jumping at Leonard’s legs when he steps through the door. I’m about to start screaming at the Brit when he backs me against the wall, his face so close to mine, I can taste the mint from his gum on my tongue.
“I don’t want to hear it,” he says, his fingers wrapping around my wrists and pinning them to the wall. I’m so stunned, I let him do it, even though we both know I could easily wrestle him to the ground.
“You’re going to hear it,” I finally manage to croak out, his eyes fixated on my lips. He shakes his head and tightens his hold on me before stepping even closer, his chest flush against mine now.
