“Or two.” His jaw clenched, and all those delicious, cut muscles hardened. She practically scented his arousal, and then her gaze dropped and confirmed it. “Maybe we just enjoyed doing something we shouldn’t. You always liked to break the rules.”

Did he take a step closer, or did she?

Her breath came out a bit ragged. “Every time I did, you followed,” she retorted.

“Because it was exciting.” His lower lip quirked. “Maybe if we gave ourselves permission to do this, the motivation to actually do it would disappear.”

She grabbed on to the theory, suddenly seeing how it made complete sense. What was forbidden was innately craved. It was a human condition. By putting Pierce in the no-touch zone, she’d tricked her mind and body into thinking she wanted him!

Excitement curled through her. Her gaze boldly moved over him, taking in his erection, his gorgeous body on display, and the plain old fact that he wanted her.

Bad.

“So we’ve set up a situation between us by putting the other off-limits,” she said. “How do we solve it?”

One step closer.

“Only one way. Test out the theory. Take the forbidden out of the scenario. If we want to have sex, we have sex. We’re adults. Best friends. We know the deal. You leave in six weeks. It can’t last.”

“The moment we give ourselves permission, we probably won’t even want to have sex. Right?”

His gaze narrowed on her mouth as she licked her lips. A low growl rose from his chest. “Right.”

“Okay. But if we want to have sex, we should set up rules.”

“Agreed. We sleep with no one else, only each other,” he said.

“Yes. And neither one of us should feel bad if we don’t want to have sex. It needs to be approved by both parties.”

He nodded and eased closer. “We keep it a secret. It’s no one else’s business.”

“We don’t let it affect our friendship. No silly couple’s stuff, or dates, or any of that mushy junk. Just an outlet for sex if we both want it.”

“Sounds reasonable. Anything else?” he asked.

They were an inch apart. The room swirled with unbearable tension and need. She stared at his sculpted lips, craving him like a drug. “No.”

“Good.”

With one quick move, he yanked her against him, cupped her cheeks, and covered her mouth with his. She moaned in approval, tilting her head up to give him full access. His tongue dove deep, swirled, licked, explored. She shuddered, her entire body on fire, her core tight and wet. He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs tight around his hips. Staggering a few steps, he pressed her against the wall, kissing her like he was dying of thirst and she was the last drop of water. Thrilled with the edgy hunger he displayed, she nipped at his lips, dug her nails into his shoulders, and moved wantonly against him.

“Taylz?”

“Hmm?”

“I want sex. Do you?”

“Yes.”

She yanked down his bathing trunks and cupped his hard erection, stroking him with light, teasing motions. Steel sheathed in hot velvet. God, he was big and hard and pulsed in her hands, making her want him with her entire soul.

He cursed. “Ah, fuck, I don’t have a condom.”

Not stopping her ministrations, she jerked her head toward the desk. “In there. Top drawer. Don’t leave me.”

He ripped off his shirt, kicked off his bathing suit, and carried her the few steps before dragging open the drawer and grabbing a condom. “Is this stuff organized?”

“Hell no.”

“Thank God.” He swiped the clutter off the desk, and the junk scattered over the floor. Then, with one twist, he laid her out on the desk. “I wish I could take your picture,” he murmured, slowly peeling off her bikini top and bottom. “I wish I could show you how fucking beautiful you are like this.”

She was comfortable in her own skin and enjoyed compliments about her body. She’d been called many things during sex, but seeing the raw truth in Pierce’s eyes, and the way he savored her with each caress, brought a rush of pride that she pleased him.

He lowered his head to suck on her nipples while his fingers played between her legs. By the time he’d plucked at her clit, she was on fire, desperate to be shoved over the edge. She opened the condom and put it on him, her gaze fierce with demand.

He didn’t fight her.

Letting her lead, he allowed her to wrap her legs around him, grip his hard ass, and guide him inside her. Her muscles stretched to accommodate him, the sheer pleasure of his cock pulsing deep inside sending her into orgasm immediately. Crying out, she jerked in his arms as the violent shocks shivered through her.

When she finally opened her heavy-lidded eyes, he was gazing at her with fierce satisfaction. “You’re perfect when you come,” he whispered, kissing her swollen lips. “Let’s do it again.”

He moved, hitting her sensitive bud with exact precision and taking her back up with steady, fast strokes. The desk cradled her weight as she arched up, and her fingers stabbed into his long hair, tugging as the need grew like a hard knot inside her, begging for release. His gaze held hers, fierce with focus, his skin damp with sweat as he slid over her. Then he yanked her hips up and slammed into her with one smooth motion, and she fell apart one more time.

He gritted out her name as he joined her, and she reveled in the shake of his body and the intensity of his response. Slowly, he collapsed on top of her, propping his elbows up on either side of her stomach in order to keep from crushing her.

Taylor held her breath, waiting for the regret to hit and anticipating the rush of embarrassment at having Pierce naked on top of her after a sweaty, satisfying bout of intense sex.

“Was it as good for me as it was for you?” he drawled.

And then she laughed, and so did he, and she realized that the sex was just as good as the friendship.

“Better, baby,” she teased, batting her lashes. “You are a total stud.”

He slapped the side of her ass and grinned at her squeal. “Now I know you’re flattering me.” His face turned serious. “Taylz, you need to talk to me, okay? If you change your mind, I need to know. I don’t want anything to mess up what we have.”

“It won’t. I think we’ve both been clear about what we want out of this. We have rules. It’s a win-win. I trust you, Pierce, and sharing my body just feels like another step to get closer to you.”