Page 41 of Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

I could’ve moved. I could have flipped us, pinned her beneath me, and played it off like another joke. But I didn’t. I stayed right where I was, staring up at her like she was the only thing that mattered.

Because in that moment, she was.

18

MERRITT

Oh my God. What the hell am I doing?

I was sitting straddled on top of Kannon, his strong chest beneath my hands. The look in his eyes said exactly what he was thinking. The room had become too quiet, too still and the laughter that we had shared just moments ago now seemed like a distant memory.

Swallowing hard, I looked down at him. His eyes were fixed on mine, filled with an intensity I hadn’t expected. Suddenly, our teenage years came flooding back to me. All the teasing, the laughing, the closeness we had always shared and never fully acknowledged.

Oops. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

I stared down at him and had a whole conversation in my head. I could see him trying to decide what he should do as well. We were at a crossroads. What we chose to do next could destroy our friendship. It would cross a line that couldn’t be un-crossed.

But were we really friends these days? It wasn’t like we talked a lot. We didn’t spend time together. Hell, we didn’t even live in the same state.

So why did this feel so monumental, so earth-shattering? It was as though we were standing on the edge of a massive cliff. One wrong step could send us spiraling into an abyss from which there was no return. This wasn’t a choice between friends and lovers. It was a choice between holding on to our past or diving headfirst into an uncertain future.

His chest rose and fell beneath my hands. He kept looking at my mouth. It was like he was screaming what he wanted, and I just had to take the leap. I could smell his cologne. Unable to help myself, or perhaps unwilling, I leaned down. He lifted his head from the floor to meet my lips with a kiss that was over a decade in the making. It was white hot, desperate, and out of control.

The kiss blurred our past and the present. Every unsaid word was poured into it. Shared glances, lingering touches, flirtatious banter, it all made sense now in retrospect. The kiss was our grand revelation. It was a long time coming even though we had both known it would likely be the death knell for our friendship.

His hands slid up my back, causing a shiver to run through me. They then moved to my hair, tangling in the strands. His touch was gentle but electrifying at once.

“Kannon,” I said against his lips, slightly breathless.

“Merritt,” he murmured back, his voice husky and low. There was no joke in his tone now, only raw desire. “What do you want?”

In response I kissed him again. This was okay. A little voice in the back of my head said I could make out with him. There was nothing wrong with that.

His hands moved to my hips. I let out a soft sigh against his lips, feeling his hardness under me. He was so good, it was almost sinful. Excitement filled me like hot fire, threatening to burn me to ash. Could I handle this? Could I handle him?

“Stop thinking,” Kannon whispered against my lips, as if reading my thoughts.

I pulled back slightly, meeting his gaze. “How did you know?”

He gave me a lopsided grin, the Kannon grin that had always disarmed me. “You get this look, like you’re working on an explosive science experiment.”

I laughed then, feeling the tension evaporate. I didn’t know what to say. But maybe I didn’t need to say anything. Could I give myself a free pass to just enjoy the moment? My body knew what it wanted even if my brain didn’t.

I sank back down, resting my weight on him. My hair fell around us like a curtain. I braced my hands on either side of his head, slowly grinding down on him. My breath caught at the feeling of him against me. He groaned, his eyes closing in obvious pleasure.

The heat between us grew, reaching a fever pitch. It felt like an eternity since I’d last been this close to another person. It took all my willpower not to moan loudly and tell him exactly how much I wanted this, how much I needed him.

“Kannon,” I whispered against his lips as I nibbled them softly.

His hands slid up and down my back, leaving trails of goosebumps in their wake. He was too good at this. The wine may have helped with our inhibitions, but there was no denying the chemistry that always simmered between us.

“Tell me what you want, Merritt,” He breathed against my ear and neck before nipping gently on my lobe sending a shiver down my spine. “I’m all yours.”

That was all it took for me to lose control completely. Raising myself up slightly, I stared down at him with a challenge in my eyes that he couldn’t resist. “I want you,” I finally admitted.

He sat up, shocking me and impressing me with his power. Then he flipped me over and it was his turn to hover over me. He stared down at me with such intensity I felt my insides turning to mush.

He kissed me once again, taking over the situation. I was thrilled to give him total control.