Forbidden Touch: A Best Friends To Lovers Romance by Iona Rose (best classic literature .txt) 📕

down with my food and coffee to explain. She wore a sheepish look. “Rules for us,” she said. “We’ll be living together for an undetermined number of weeks and since we’re in uh… dating, I thought we needed some ground rules.”

She couldn’t even say the word relationship. “Like what?”

“Okay,” she said. “The first one is that we shouldn’t spend all night in each other’s beds during the week. Only on weekends, like we did when we were living apart.”

I loved Brooke but she was insane if she thought this would keep her heart safe. “Go on.”

She smiled, probably pleased I had not offered any objections. She read the second one… something about keeping up with our social lives.

I agreed with that one a hundred percent. “Okay,” I said when she finished.

“Do you have anything else you’d like to add?” she said.

“In this relationship, you’re the one in the driver’s seat Brooke. We’ll do what you want. If you want rules, fine.” I meant it. I knew if I pushed it, I would end up losing her and that was the one thing I could not bear.

We ate quietly after that, and when we were done, I carried the dirty dishes to the sink and cleaned up. “Want to watch a movie?” I asked her.

“Sure,” she said. “There’s a new Bruce Jones movie I’ve been wanting to see.”

“Defender of the Time?” I asked.

“That’s the one.” Brooke nodded.

“I’ll put it on,” I said and crossed to the living room, my mood greatly uplifted. Brooke and I had the same taste in movies and we’d always watched movies together when we were growing up.

Five minutes later, we were settled on the couch with our attention on the screen. I rested my hand on her stomach and massaged it softly. Brooke’s hand rested on my thigh, running it up and down every so often.

After about ten minutes, Brooke’s heavy breathing told me she was asleep. I reached for the remote control and turned down the volume. It did feel restful to lie down with Brooke in my arms, doing nothing, simply breathing in her scent.

I felt terrible having to wake her up an hour later but it was late and I needed to go home. I lifted her hair and planted soft kisses on her neck until she woke up.

“I wasn’t asleep,” she defended. “I was resting my eyes.”

I laughed. “I have to leave and you need to go and rest your eyes in bed.”

I moved in the following weekend, on a Saturday. Brooke was at work, and I had to admit I felt a bit disappointed. I’d planned to take her out on a photo tour at eleven. I loved fun dates and I wanted to show Brooke all the fun things I’d gotten to do in the past.

I swallowed my disappointment as I lugged my suitcases up the stairs to her apartment. I’d stored my furniture and the things I didn’t need in a storage unit then moved to Brooke’s guest room with three large suitcases, containing mostly my clothes.

I felt excited about living with Brooke, despite her rules. The thought of seeing her every morning and every night made my heart feel as if it was ready to burst. Living in such close quarters would be sure to break the huge wall Brooke had put up. I’d planned to start today by taking her out on a surprise fun date.

It seemed as though the surprise was on me. I unpacked and stashed my suitcases in the overhead spaces in the closet. I glanced at the time. It was almost eleven. I gave up on Brooke returning home in time for the tour.

I took out my phone and called Ken, the guy who organized the tour. I apologized profusely but he was cool about it. I couldn’t really blame Brooke. I hadn’t told her about the surprise I’d planned for her. Another time, I told myself.

I made a sandwich for lunch, washed it down with a bottle of water and changed into my dirty-work clothes. Work was better than hanging around hoping Brooke would show up.

A plumber had come in and taken care of all the plumbing work. We were working room by room and the master and extra rooms were ready for flooring.

Brooke texted me before I left to go to the upstairs apartment. The smile I wore faded as I read the message.

Having lunch with Mason. Be home soon. Bye!

A burning need to punch someone, preferably Mason came over me. I imagined him seated opposite Brooke, looking for ways to accidentally touch her. I wouldn’t put it past him to try underhanded ways to touch her. I never forgot when he’d tried to kiss her forcibly.

I inhaled deeply. There was no point in getting upset. They were in a public place and as Brooke had pointed out to me several times, she was an adult and could take care of herself.

I texted her a short message, basically acknowledging receiving the information. I left my phone in the living room and headed upstairs. I didn’t want to keep glancing at it to check for text messages. I needed to work and that’s what I planned to do.

I worked steadily all afternoon. Thoughts of Brooke and Mason invaded my mind several times. I glanced at my watch. Three o’clock. Why was lunch with a boss taking so long?

Finally, I gave up trying to fight it. I’d become angry and jealous—a feeling I wasn’t at all familiar with. Just when I was contemplating going downstairs to grab my phone, the sound of someone inserting a key came before the door creaked open.

“Blaze, are you here?” she said.

“I’m in the master bedroom,” I called, pleased to hear her voice and at the same time angry but I didn’t even know exactly why.

In the past, when a woman I was dating did something to upset me, I simply walked away. I’d never reached a level of being hurt and angry, so I didn’t