How He Really Feels (He Feels Trilogy) (6 page)

He brushed his lips once against mine, much like he had on New Year’s Eve, and desire coursed through my veins as tingles raced up and down my spine. My heart started beating faster and desire pooled hot and low in my belly. I felt dizzy. He broke away for just an instant to look into my eyes, as if to be sure that I wanted this as much as he did. When he saw his feelings returned, when he saw the lust in my eyes, he brought his mouth back to mine, and this time, he really kissed me.

I tightened my arms around his neck as I felt his tongue at the part of my lips and I opened my mouth to his. I ran my fingers through his beautiful hair, just like I had wanted to do since
the day I had first met him, finding it soft and silky. His strong, masculine hands gripped my hips as our tongues met, tentatively at first and turning into a sensual and explosive dance.

We kissed for an eternity, or five seconds, or ten minutes, in that same place, his hands gripping me against him. I had kissed some men in my life, but I had never had a kiss as hot and passionate as Nick’s.

I could kiss him forever.

His desire for me was evident as his lips claimed mine, his tongue slow and sexy even as it was hot and aggressive. I could feel his arousal against my hip, and I knew that my own panties were moist from his kisses and his touch and his scent. Hell, my panties were moist the second he knocked on my door earlier that evening. I felt a throbbing sensation begin down low, and I suddenly felt desperate for him.

As much as I wanted him in my bed, I didn’t want to rush into something that could potentially lower his opinion of me. I wanted this to turn into something long-term, and rushing into bed wouldn’t be the smartest option. I was getting way ahead of myself, but he was here with me and kissing me, and I was thrilled beyond words that something was finally happening with us. Yet the logical side of me sparkled through the lust.

Nick pulled back and pecked my lips once more. He sighed deeply. “We should stop,” he said huskily, lust heavy in his eyes. It was like he could read my mind and wanted exactly the same things as me, and I fell even harder for him in that moment.

I nodded, and I pecked his lips again.

“I want to see you again, outside of the office,” he said against my lips.

“I would love that,” I said, kissing him again. Our kiss turned hot again, and damn if I had the self control to stop from taking it further. I moaned into him and I felt him grow even harder against me. His tongue moved more aggressively against mine, as if my moan was an invitation to move things further. His hand started moving up my side to my ribcage, and he was literally centimeters away from my breast when just then, of all times, my damn cell phone rang. I didn’t make a move to answer it. Nick broke away from me, muttering a curse, and spotted my cell on the end table next to the loveseat and reached over for it. He handed it to me. I would’ve left it ringing all night, but since he handed it to me, I felt obligated to answer it.

“Hello,” I answered, trying not to sound too annoyed after reading the screen.

“Jules, it’s Trav,” the familiar voice of my best friend rang out. “I need to talk to you. Now. Want to do dinner?”

“I already ate.
Maybe tomorrow?” I asked, silently praying that would be okay.

“Well, tonight would be better, even if we don’t eat. I really need to talk to you,” Trav said.

“It can’t wait until tomorrow?” I asked.

“No. I need to see you tonight.”

“Fine,” I sighed, extremely irritated. “When are you coming?”

“Now.
Bye,” he said, as we both hung up.

“That was the guy that I was with at the Christmas party. He needs to talk to me. But it’s no big deal. You don’t have to go,” I said with a smile. I added, “And don’t worry. There’s nothing between us. He’s my best friend, nothing more.”

“I’ll stay until he comes, then I’ll leave. I don’t want to impose on you two,” Nick said.

“Not at all.
Stay,” I said, kissing him playfully. “Maybe whatever girl crisis he’s having can be solved by both of us.”

“You are a hard girl to say no to,” he replied, pulling me against him in a tight hug. I could have stayed there forever. “Should we clean up our mess?” he asked, pointing his chin toward my coffee table, where our paperwork was strewn all over. The buzzer sounded just as I finished
putting the papers in my work bag. I thought I had a little more time, but Trav made it over in record time, so I was quite annoyed when I had to buzz him up.

Nick stood up as I waited by the door. He came over by me and took me in his arms. “I had a great time with you tonight, Julianne. I live out in Fountain Hills, and I’ve got a thirty minute drive ahead of me, so I’m going to take off.”

Damn
, I thought. “I had a wonderful time, too.”

He kissed me in that leisurely, sensual way of his again, his tongue dancing slowly against mine, sending tingles from deep in the pit of my stomach through my chest, just as I heard a knock on the door to interrupt us –
again
.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” I said, disappointed that he was leaving.

“I’m looking forward to it, Julianne,” he said, brushing my lips one last time with his, and then I opened the door to Travis.

“Trav, this is Nick. He was just helping me with a work project,” I said, as Travis shook Nick’s hand, my past meeting my – hopefully – future.

“I was just leaving. Nice to meet you, Travis. See you tomorrow, Julianne. Great work on that market analysis,” Nick said. He winked at me, and then he was gone. My hands tingled at the thought of what went on between us that night and what could potentially happen in the future between us. And suddenly I felt a chill in his absence. His warmth was gone, but my best friend was here, needing to talk to me. So I had to focus.

Chapter 5

“What was that all about?” Travis asked as I closed the door.

All I had to do was smile and Travis knew.

“Did anything happen here?” he asked casually.

“Not really, but it could have if you hadn’t called when you did,” I replied.

“I’m shocked! You aren’t that kind of girl,” he joked.

“Whatever. What do you want?”

“Well, um, Brooke and I broke up.”

“Oh, Trav, I’m sorry,” I said, hugging him. “Why? What happened?”

“Actually, I dumped her,” he answered.

“What? Why? I thought you liked her.”

“Well, Brooke was awesome, beautiful, sweet and all that, but I just wasn’t into her, and it wasn’t fair for me to stay in a relationship that I wasn’t into. I feel really bad, though. I think that I broke her heart. She didn’t see it coming.”

His big brown eyes looked
so sad as he spoke.

“I’m so sorry, Travis,” I said, taking him into a big hug.

“It’s okay. I’m kind of into someone else anyway.”

“Who?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he answered.

“Come on, I’m your best friend. You called me because you wanted to talk. You can tell me anything, Trav,” I said.

“I know I can, Jules,” he said.

“If you aren’t going to tell me, why did you insist on coming over right in the middle of my date with Nick?” I asked.

“That was a date?”

“Okay, not technically. He came over for work stuff, but I’m pretty sure that was just a cover for both of us.”

“So what happened after the work stuff?”

“He admitted he is into me. There was a lot of kissing and definitely some moaning. It was just getting hot when the phone rang, so thanks for that.”

“You didn’t have to answer.”

“No shit, but Nick handed me the phone. I found that to be very gentlemanly.”

“It’s alright.”

“It’s sexy. So answer my question. Why did you insist on coming over tonight?”

“I don’t know. I just needed to talk to you about Brooke. I feel awful about it.”

“How did you do it?” I asked gently.

“I just went over to her house and I told her that I wasn’t into it anymore. She was so upset. She cried. She called me an asshole and every other name in the book. She thinks I cheated on her and I’m leaving her for someone else.”

“Why in the world would she think that?”

“I don’t know. She never really trusted me; at least I don’t think she did. I told her it wasn’t about anyone else; that it was about me not feeling right about things. But she didn’t care.”

“How long were you two dating?”

“Not long. Exclusively for a few weeks, maybe.”

“Well better now than later, right?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. She isn’t seeing it that way right now.”

“She’ll be okay. Now tell me about this other girl you like.”

He made a zipping his lip signal, and I giggled. We hung out and cleared some sitcoms off of my DVR while he drank beer and I continued with my wine. Travis slept over on the couch that night, and the next morning I awoke to the sound of the radio.

“Turn the damn radio down,” I yelled groggily.

“Sorry babydoll,” he yelled back. He seemed quite chipper for 7:00 in the morning the day after his big breakup.

I got out of bed and went into the living room. Travis was cooking.

“Why are you in such a good mood? I thought you were all distraught over your breakup with Brooke,” I started.

“Well you made me feel so much better last night. Hanging out was fun; it’s been so long since we’ve done that, just you and me. I had a good time and I just wanted to thank you for it by making you breakfast,” he replied.

“That was very sweet of you, Trav. Thank you,” I said, kissing him on the cheek.

He had set my small kitchen table for me and I sat down to a glass of orange juice as I waited for my breakfast to finish cooking.

“So tell me more about Nick,” he said distractedly after he placed my breakfast in front of me and sat down across the table from me with a plate of his own.

“He’s so hot,” I said dreamily as I thought of the previous night again, when his lips were on mine. I wanted it to happen again; the sooner, the better. “I asked him over to help me with a market analysis due Friday – even though I really didn’t need the help. We set a plan for the week so I can finish it by Friday, and then we ate some food and drank some wine and he asked me to dance. He told me that he has feelings for me, and I told him about my crush on him, then he kissed me and we made out for awhile.”

“Good for you. I’m happy that you’re happy,” he smiled warmly at me.

After eating my breakfast, I got into the shower and got ready for work. I wanted to look good that day, since it was the day after Nick and I had revealed our feelings for each other. Travis was still there when I finally was ready to go to work. “
You taking the day off work?” I asked, wondering why he was still at my apartment and not at his job.

“No, I don’t have to go in until 11:00 today. Big meeting at 5:00, so I’m heading in late and staying late,” he answered.

Travis worked at a big architecture firm in Phoenix. He often took whatever hours he wanted since his dad owned the company. He worked hard in his own right, but his dad didn’t care when he came in as long as he put in at least eight hours a day.

“Well that’s a tough job you’ve got. How do I look?” I asked.

“Gorgeous, as you always do, Jules,” he answered.

“Aw Trav, you’re so good to me,” I said.
. “I gotta run to work. Are you staying here or leaving?” He had a key to my place, so he knew he was welcome to do whatever he wanted.

“Staying.
But I’ll lock up when I leave,” he answered.

“See you later,” I said, heading out the door.

I arrived at work a few minutes early. I was super excited to see Nick again, and he was on his way into the building as I pulled into the parking lot. He was waiting for the elevator as I walked into the building, and he grinned. Something new was in his eyes when he looked at me; it was some combination of lust and something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I felt an electric charge pass between us.

“Hello, Julianne,” his deep, sexy voice spoke.

I loved how he said my name. It made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. It even made my palms sweat.

“Good morning, Nick. How are you this morning?” I smiled back.

“Better than yesterday morning,” he winked at me.

The elevator doors opened and we stepped on, alone. He pressed our button for the seventeenth floor. I had never been so happy for the normally interminable elevator ride up to our floor. I was certainly hoping that he would make some sort of move on me to make my palms sweat all day. And he did not disappoint.

We stood on opposite sides of the elevator as the doors closed. He glanced at me, a devious grin on his face and a glint in his eyes. The second the doors snapped shut and we were alone on the elevator, he stalked toward me like I was his prey. God, he was sexy. He pressed me against the side of the elevator with his hard body, one arm leaning against the wall above my head and the other grasping my hip. I breathed him in, his woodsy, manly scent making my legs turn to jelly. He gazed into my eyes for a moment, and then his lips took mine and I felt the world slipping away. I snaked my arms around him for support because I didn’t think I’d be able to stand on my own. I felt the length of his body against mine. His tongue entered my mouth, warm and sweet and slow, and my heart raced and my knees shook. His mouth was pure magic on mine as he claimed my mouth with his. I had never kissed anyone like that before. Again I felt the sensation that I never wanted it to end as every nerve on my body stood on high alert. The more he kissed me like that, the more I felt myself falling in deep. I wanted him more than I had ever wanted anybody in my life.