AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He snorted to himself, aware that Erika would read him the riot act if she heard him comparing women to food. And there was no way in hell she’d appreciate being thought of as comfort food, even if he did mean it as a compliment.
Leaning his head back against the couch, he sighed. He needed to shrug off these feelings that had started to develop for Erika. Blake refused to ruin a great friendship when it was abundantly clear he was the only one fighting this desperate need to cross the line they had no business crossing. He’d kept a lid on his physical attraction to her for years, so why was he suddenly so obsessed with her lips, her legs that went on forever, her smile, her hourglass figure?
While he’d jerked off three times the night of his “lesson,” it hadn’t helped at all—not then or since. Hadn’t slaked his desire for more. For her.
Unfortunately, Erika hadn’t looked at him in the same light the morning after. Shit. Until he’d forced her, she wouldn’t look at him at all. And when she did, it was clear she was uncomfortable, not hot for more. Not that it should have surprised him.
There was no way Erika would have let it go as far as it had if she hadn’t been tipsy and sad, so obviously in the sober, harsh light of day, she’d gone back to her analytical ways, falling back on all those reasons why they couldn’t have sex.
And he’d let her. Desperate to put them back on firm foundation, swearing nothing had changed between them because he’d been worried she would push him away completely otherwise.
Mercifully, he’d talked her off the ledge that day…only to push her right back on it three nights ago when, in his grumpy asshole state, he’d pressed for a kiss “to make it better.” The joke had been on him because that hotter-than-hell, not-the-slightest-bit-platonic kiss had made everything worse. A lot worse.
Erika was too good a friend to slap him or reject him outright, so she’d gone the gentle route, quietly letting him know he’d taken it too far again.
Yeah, tell that to his dick.
Since then, he’d only seen Erika whenever they traded Corky, and during those times, she’d been perfectly friendly…but distant.
It was his fault he was suddenly looking at her and wanting more than friendship. His fault his cock had woken up and taken fucking notice of how gorgeous she was, with her shiny chestnut hair, her soulful dark brown eyes, and her smokin’-hot body. Erika had curves in all the right places.
“Fuck,” he muttered, feeling Corky stir next to him at the sound of his voice in the quiet room. He’d muted the TV while channel surfing, only just now aware of how stifling the silence felt.
He reached over and patted the tiny dog’s head, grinning when she licked his hand, her tail wagging, showing him how much she enjoyed his attention. “I keep fucking up with your mommy.”
The fact she was out on a date with Doug should tell him in bright neon letters he was the only one wishing the status quo between them would change from friends to lovers.
Corky shoved her head under his hand when he forgot to keep petting her.
“Shameless girl,” he said, chuckling. Corky had become quite adept at petting herself with his hand or, if she was laying on the floor, his foot.
Resuming his clicking, he finally stopped his search when he found a repeat of the old Predator movie. Turning off mute, he propped his feet on the coffee table and settled in to watch, repeating the words “get to the choppa” in his best Arnold impersonation. Not that Corky was impressed.
The two of them lay there for an hour before Corky’s head suddenly rose from his lap, her attention turning toward the front door.
She was better than any security service Blake could buy when it came to letting him know Erika was home. The dog scampered off his lap, dashing for the door, waiting for it to open.
Blake held his breath for a moment, hoping she’d said goodbye to Doug on the street so she could stop in to see him and check on Corky.
When nothing happened, he sighed. If Erika was home and alone, she would have come by here before returning to her apartment.
Which meant…
He leaned forward, trying to talk himself into staying on the couch. The pep talk failed miserably as he rose and joined Corky at the door.
Peering through the peephole, he growled when he spotted Erika and Doug standing outside her closed door. The guy was giving her one hell of a good-night kiss.
Blake knew he should give them some privacy. A decent man would walk away and stop spying on them. Unfortunately, he wasn’t decent. At this point, he wasn’t even fucking nice. Because what he did was the opposite of the smart thing.
He opened the door, then feigned surprise when he spotted Doug and Erika, both of whom quickly stepped away from each other.
“Sorry,” Blake said, as Corky sprinted across the hall, Erika bending to scoop the dog into her arms. “Thought Corky was whining because she needed to pee. Didn’t realize you were home.”
As far as lies, his was a whopper, and also a shitty one because it was instantly obvious to his intelligent neighbor that Corky wasn’t wearing a leash for their nightly walk.
Doug was studying him with a curious expression, so Erika offered introductions.
“Doug Prescott, this is my neighbor, Blake Wright. Blake, this is Doug.”
