Dangerously Safe (2 page)

She raised the glass to her lips and tossed back the dark brown liquid. Lord, it burned down the throat and into the stomach! It took all her willpower to resist coughing, and her eyes watered.

Chris steadied her hand with his and poured more into her glass. The alcohol must have already made its way into her system. She could have sworn his fingers lingered too long before sliding away.

Damn. Every nerve responded to him in with a violent intensity she’d pushed down for a long time. Tonight could prove to be too hard to be around him. Maybe another drink was all she needed to keep her feelings in check.

This time she sipped from the shot glass enjoying the slow warmth as it slid down. Chris downed another shot and poured some more. She traced the lip of her glass with her index finger as she watched his head tilt back, his Adam’s apple bob, and moisture glisten on his lips.

She clenched her thighs when the ache between her legs grew uncomfortable as she thought about licking the alcohol off of those lips. This wasn’t good. They’d been buzzed around each other before, and she’d been able to keep it together. Tonight shouldn’t be any different.

“You ever get tired of being alone, Hannah?”

Her vision swam when her eyes snapped to his face and took a moment to steady. “Huh?”

“You know. Most of our friends are married or will be getting married soon. It’s just you and me on the singles’ scene. Don’t you get tired of it?”

Hannah didn’t have any complaints about being single. Everyone in her life had been unreliable or untrustworthy with the exception of Chris. She didn’t depend on anyone but herself from day-to-day. Chris was a rare gem in her life.

Her job as a bartender didn’t give her much hope for the possibility of ever having a stable relationship. The shit people told her about cheating, lying, and all kinds of other crap they did to each other was enough to keep her single.

“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s not like there’s a lot of outstanding guys out there just dying to show me what it’s like to have a healthy relationship. I doubt I’ll ever settle with one guy for long. I’ll always get let down or hurt. It’s just the way it is.”

His eyebrows drew together. “Even me?”

“We’re not like that, you idiot. I’m talking about the guys I’ve dated. You’re different. I know you’d never hurt me like they have.” She paused. “So, this isn’t so much about Ariel as it is about you not wanting to be alone. Is that it? Geesh. Buddy, you’re better off without Ariel, first of all. She wasn’t right for you. Secondly, you’re not alone. You’ve got me.”

The fact that she’d never liked any of Chris’s girlfriends didn’t matter. He just hadn’t met anyone who was good enough for him yet.

Chris rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “Did you ever wonder what it would be like if we hooked up?”

She held her breath. “What?”

He shifted so he was facing her with his arm resting on the back of the couch. “Have you ever thought about you and me … you know. Dating?”

“No.”

She hadn’t seen the tiny light in his eyes until she said that little word, and it fizzled out. “Not ‘no,’ Chris. We just we aren’t like that. I love you too much and value our friendship way too much to risk it by adding sex to the equation. I thought that’s how you felt, too. Right?”

Chris pressed his lips together, looked away, and breathed a heavy sigh. “Yeah. I guess.”

Her heart was racing. Did he want more with her? She almost didn’t want to know. Almost.

She worked to slow her pulse. “Chris. Do you want to try dating?”

He looked down for a long time. “I don’t know what I was thinking.  I’m just so sick of trying so hard to make it work and having everything fall apart every time. You know?”

“Dude. You’re drunk. It’s not as bad as you think.” She moved to rest her head on his shoulder before pulling back with her nose wrinkled. “When was the last time you showered?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “What? Do I smell? So what? It’s not like anyone cares.”

“
I
care, you moron. Go take a shower. You’ll feel better. I will, too. Trust me.”

Chris reached over to cup her chin in his hand. “You’re lucky I love you so much or else I wouldn’t put up with you, Hannah Monroe,” he said before he gave her a peck on the lips and held her eyes making her fingers itch to grab his face and touch lips again. She thought he was going to say something else, but he pulled back and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

It wasn’t the first time he’d given her a quick kiss on the lips, but it was the first time she’d almost given in to the urge and grabbed him to make it less chaste. A lot less chaste. The whiskey must have been getting to her.

She heard the water hit the tub in the shower and took a sip of her drink. Her head felt pleasant, light, and free of worry. And all she could think about was that Chris was naked just down the hall. That and he’d mentioned dating each other.
Holy crap!

Her subconscious screamed he’d been hinting that he wanted more with her. It had been in his eyes until she’d shut him down, right?

She’d imagined being naked with him more times than she could count. But her common sense screamed there was no way she should venture into that territory.

It did happen though, right? In fact, there were friends who used each other for sex but never truly crossed that proverbial line into more. They could do it, right?

She threw back the rest of the liquor without thinking. It burned a lot less this time. In fact, she felt great. So great that her annoying Jiminy Cricket voice had dimmed to a whisper and she could ignore it. She poured herself another drink and tipped it into her mouth.

Chris was still naked just steps away. And he’d brought up having something more than friendship. The ingredients were there. She was up to finding out if the recipe tasted as good as it looked. He only thought he wanted a relationship with her. What he really wanted was someone to be with on Valentine’s Day, and she was easily accessible. Right? She could do that.

He was still down the hallway, naked. And he’s the one who had cracked the door to their friendship open to something more. So if she walked down the hallway, got naked, and joined him, it would be on him, right?

The night started out with the hope she’d be able to hook up with someone. It had been too long since she’d gotten laid.

And Chris did it for her. He turned her on. The energy it took to suppress it could be exhausting.

She stared at the bottle of whiskey. What if he turned her down? Then she would have ruined everything without any of the fun. Was it worth that risk?

The answer was standing on the table right in front of her. She smacked her hand on her forehead. No matter what happened, she had Mr. Jameson to blame. Yup. Chris knew she was a lightweight. Most times he wouldn’t even offer her any. Mr. Jameson made her do it. She had a scapegoat, and Chris was ultimately the one behind it.

It would be her way out if things didn’t work out the way she’d hoped. She could claim drunkenness had her doing things beyond her control. He’d have no choice but to forget their one night together and keep their friendship in-check. They could enjoy great, no-strings attached sex if she played her cards right.

The room spun when she stood up and took a step towards the hallway. Her body swayed for a second before she steadied and took measured steps until she stopped outside of the bathroom. The door was ajar. That was just about an invitation from Chris.

She raised the white tank top over her head and looked down at her bra. Thank God she’d worn the red lace demi-cup bra and matching thong tonight. She thought they showed off her best assets—her big tits and rounded ass. Of course, she’d hoped to be hooking up with someone when she’d chosen them. Having that someone be Chris was just a pleasant, unexpected twist.

After she slid her jeans down her legs and stepped out them, she kicked her clothing against the wall. Her hand shook as she reached for the door handle, and she snatched it back, holding it with the other. Damn that alcohol! It must be giving her the shakes.

She reached out once more and tried to keep her focus on the light coming through the crack. The door opened without making a sound, and she grinned. He wouldn’t be able to hear her coming into the room.

The steam in the room prickled against her cool skin causing her already hard nipples to pull tighter. The friction against her lacy bra stirred the need building in her belly.

Her eyes squeezed shut as she slid the shower curtain to the side. The clicking of the plastic rings holding the curtain on the bar was sure to catch his attention.

Very carefully, she opened one eye and stopped breathing. Chris stood with his face directly in the spray of the shower head, and his eyes were closed. Her eyes took in his naked, slick, taut body down to where his hand was sliding up and down the length of his erection.

His broad shoulders flexed with the motion of his hand, and she squeezed her thighs together. Her panties were already wet.

She watched as the water cascaded over his well-formed muscles down to his perfect, tight ass. But in the end, her eyes settled on his hand around his impressive hard-on. She licked her lips.

“Oh my.”

Chris’s eyes flew open, and his head jerked to look at her. “What the fuck, Hannah?”

He grabbed at the shower curtain, but her grip was still tight on it. She watched as he stuttered before scanning her from head to toe. His eyes rounded the second the pieces of the puzzle came together for him.

“Holy shit.”

Chris Worth froze. The love of his life, his off-limits best-friend was standing practically naked outside of his shower.

Sure, he’d thrown out the line about trying each other out as more than friends. He’d been in love with her from the moment they’d met. Tonight was the first time he’d worked up the courage to say something. But she’d shot him down so fast that he’d never expected this.

What the hell was he supposed to do? “What’s going on, Hannah?”

Her eyes were locked on the hand frozen to his dick. He released it like a hot potato. She continued to stare, biting her bottom lip.

“Hannah?”

She blinked and met his eyes. “You have a really impressive cock, Chris. I had no idea.”

He stared at her while his hard-on swelled even more. Hannah met his gaze as she stepped into the tub and stood in front of him underneath the pulsating water. Her gorgeous brown curls stuck to the side of her face as water ran down her forehead. She angled her neck back allowing the water to slick her hair against her head, and he swallowed hard. Her tits swelled up over that goddamn bra. He resisted the urge to reach around and rip the clasp apart.

Hannah tipped her head forward and ran her hands over her wet hair pushing it back. When she opened her eyes, he sucked in a breath. Her eyes were shining—she wanted him.

She reached out, and her fingertips slid over his slippery shoulders and down his arms. He shivered, even though the pulsing water was hot, and grabbed her hands when they reached his wrists.

“Damn it, Hannah.” He squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again. “Are we really going to do this?”

She looked at him through her lashes and smiled but didn’t say anything. Instead, she twisted one of her wrists free and starting at his navel, ran them down until they circled around his dick. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back.

Sure, he’d been beating off while thinking about Hannah before she walked in on him. He’d done it millions times before, but his imagination hadn’t done near enough justice to what her actual hand on him would feel like. His climax already threatened to explode.

He grabbed her wrist again, worked to steady his pulse, and tipped his head down to rest his forehead against hers. “Damn, Hannah. Are you sure? I need to hear you say you’re sure you want to do this with me.”

Hannah stood on the tips of her toes so her lips grazed his ear. “I think we need to do this, Chris,” she murmured.

Every ounce of blood in his body rushed to his hard-on as he grabbed the sides of her face and pressed his lips against hers. She opened up right away, and he didn’t hesitate to take control of the kiss, swirling his tongue against hers and savoring the way she tasted like whiskey and ginger.

Her body rested against his, and he growled. The wet bra wasn’t going to cut it. He wanted to see Hannah’s tits and feel them pressing against his chest.

He slid his hand around her back, and she stopped him. “Just screw me now, Chris. I just want you inside me right now.”

Just screw her? His dick heard the words and jumped to attention, ready to go. But somewhere in the recesses of his mind, an alarm went off. This was a quick lay to her.

“Hannah—”

She dropped to her knees and licked the tip of his shaft. Oh, hell. He couldn’t think. Not when Hannah’s full, soft pink lips were sipping the water and pre-cum off his dick.

He slammed his hand against the tile wall and grabbed the shower curtain rod with the other as the hormones rushed through his body, making him sway. She teased the tip over and over again before pressing his hard-on against his abdomen to trace the pulsating vein running from top to bottom with her tongue. Chris groaned and squeezed his eyes shut.