Page 40 of Collided (Dirty Air 2)

I nod. A war rages inside of me, making it difficult for words to come out. Part of me craves to pull her in for a kiss and run my hands across her body while the other part of me wants to push her away and keep a safe distance. For her, for me, for our combustible attraction to one another.

By the time she wraps herself around me, I’m not sure about this plan. My shirt does a poor job of covering her pointed nipples. Her body clings to mine and warms my back, my body becoming sensitive to her proximity.

She shudders when I run my hands across her legs. Every detail of her body stands out to me, like the way her breath hitches once I move or how her arms cling to my neck, warming me both inside and out. I’m sure we look dumb as fuck while I drag us through the cold water.

Sophie detaches from me and wades in the water once we approach the beach. I leave her behind in the shallows as I collapse on the sand, worn out from a piggyback ride from hell. My dick salutes me the moment Sophie steps out from the sea. I prop myself up on my elbows to take advantage of the show because I paid my friendship dues tenfold.

The wet material of my shirt plasters to her body and clings to the curves of her breasts. They’re bigger than I imagined, and fuck have I fantasized. Her pebbled nipples push against the fabric, enticing me to lift the material and take a look. I bite my lip to hold back a groan at the sight of her. She rings out the bottom of the shirt, causing water droplets to trickle down her toned legs.

Fuck me. I regret our agreement to stay friends. Screw friendship. Who the hell gives a shit about boundaries? Women like her can’t be friends with someone like me because it goes against the law of attraction and every damn rule set up by evolution.

A smirk breaks out across her lips as she walks toward me, her eyes remaining on the bulge in my pants. “You look winded. Should I be concerned about your stamina?”

What a little cocktease, playing with her words and my control.

“Why don’t we try it out, see if I meet your standards?” My voice croaks.

She sits next to me, sand sticking to her wet skin like a dirty mermaid with untamed blonde hair and green eyes I can disappear in. God, I’m such a horny fucker around her.

Her finger trails from my neck to my chest before running across the ridges of stomach muscle. My skin heats at her touch. I don’t say a thing, afraid she’ll back out at a moment’s notice. She stops above the waistband of my swim trunks. I silently will her to keep going, desperate for her to cross this stupid boundary she set up to torture us both.

“I’d hate for all of this to be just for show.” Sophie lets out a hoarse laugh, her eyes glittering under the summer sun as she lies down on the sand.

She fucked with me and it worked. My body responds to her like no other, and it messes me up, unsure about the fine line between friendship and temptation.

“I’ll promise you one thing. Being with me will be the best show of your damn life. I wouldn’t just fuck you, I’d wreck you for anyone who comes after me.” I trail a finger down the T-shirt’s soaked material. My fingers run across the curves of her breasts before I stop right above the waistband of her shorts, doing the same shit she did but better. Sophie’s cheeks flush. Her nipples push against the fabric, letting me know how she feels about my touch despite her silence.

“Two can play at this friend game you like. Keep trying to deny the pull between us, I like it. I’m a patient man who can wait you out because I know you’ll give in to me.”

I want her to crave me like I want her—to beg me to slip inside of her and never leave. Well, until I have to. Because in the end, I always do, no matter the girl.

Even with someone as special and unique as her.