“I’m not sure. I haven’t really thought about it. The holidays really snuck up on me this year.”
“They sneak up on you every year,” she says with a giggle.
I laugh with her. She’s right. I don’t really think about holidays and all of that. Not unless it involves Bella.
“What would you like to do for Thanksgiving?” I ask as Bella finishes off some of the finger foods on the plate.
She sighs as she leans back on the couch. She looks a little tired and I notice that she kicked off her shoes. They must have been pinching her feet. She hates heels and I was surprised that she wore them tonight.
I grab her ankle and set her foot in my lap. She smiles sweetly at me as she puts her other one in my lap and lays back against the armrest of the couch.
“I’d like to just have a relaxing day. Especially since I’ll be so busy with Christmas parties and events for the rest of the year. Maybe we can just hang out? Order pizza or Chinese food or something? That is, if Gracelyn doesn’t need my help with Dash.”
“Whatever you want,” I tell her as I rub the soles of her feet with my thumbs.
Bella moans, her head rolling back on the armrest. Her poofy yellow dress is up around her thighs and I try not to stare at her creamy legs like a creep. I glance up and see that Bella’s eyes are closed. She’s got a tiny smile on her rosy red lips, her cheeks flushed from the warm room.
I finish rubbing one foot and move on to her other one. My whole body tenses when her toes brush against my erection. Bella’s eyes snap open and we both freeze, our breaths stuck in our lungs as we gaze at each other.
Chapter 5
Bella
* * *
My heart is thundering in my ears as Harry and I stare at each other. His wavy maple colored hair is hanging around his shoulders and his dark eyes are locked on mine. They look vulnerable, stripped back, and exposed.
There’s something else in their depths too.
Hunger.
Hunger and lust and the longer that I stare into his eyes, the more I can feel my own attraction grow. I’ve always wanted Harry. Is it possible that he feels the same way about me?
The stiff erection in his pants tells me that’s a real possibility. I let out a shaky breath, my chest rising and falling rapidly as the sexual tension between us grows.
“You know, I could have handled that guy downstairs.”
“You don’t have to handle him. That’s what I’m for.”
“That’s what you’re for?” I ask with a little chuckle.
“Yeah, keeping guys away from you. You’re way too good for him or anyone else downstairs. You shouldn’t even waste your time with guys like that.”
Harry scowls as he thinks about me and the guys downstairs and I drag my feet off of his lap, sitting up closer on the couch next to him.
“Who should I spend time with then?” I ask quietly. “Who is good enough for me?”
Harry swallows, his dark eyes seeming bottomless.
“No one, Bella. No one is good enough for you.”
“So I’m destined to be alone then? That sounds lonely.”
“You won’t be alone.”
“Then who will I end up with?” I ask, sliding along the couch closer to him.
“Me,” he says quietly and the longing that I hear in his voice wrecks me.
He watches me, his eyes unblinking as I scoot over on the couch cushions toward him. Our knees brush and a zap of electricity shoots through me. I shiver, my eyes falling closed briefly.
Harry’s warm palm, brushes over my cheek and he cups my jaw, tipping my face up toward his. I blink my eyes open and we stare at each other. I can feel his breath rush over my lips a second before our eyes flutter closed and Harry’s lips land on mine.
It’s… everything.
It feels like coming home and like standing on the edge of a cliff. I feel relaxed and also like I’m about to change everything I know.
Maybe it’s because I’ve known Harry for so long. I know everything about him. How he likes his coffee, what time he wakes up, how he feels about crowds, his favorite movie, band, and books. He is as familiar to me as I am to myself but knowing how he kissed? That I didn’t know.
His lips are soft, pliant, and they mold against mine perfectly. He kisses me once and pulls back. Instantly, I miss the feel of his mouth on mine.
We stare at each other and I rise up, kneeling on the couch. My hands grip his shoulders to steady myself and Harry reaches out, his fingers digging into my hips as I stare down at him. He licks his lips, staring up at me with wonder and I can’t wait any longer.
I lower until we’re eye to eye, until our lips are an inch apart.
“I want you,” I whisper and Harry’s eyes spark.
His hands move to the back of my head and he tugs me down, closing the distance between us and sealing his lips with mine. I moan, opening for him and he slips his tongue inside my mouth.
I get lost in him, in the feel of him under my fingertips and pressed against my body. I’m not sure when it happened, but I’ve crawled into Harry’s lap and now I’m straddling his lap. The skirt of my Belle costume is bunched up around my hips and I can feel his stiff erection through the thin pants of his beast costume.
I’ve been grinding on him for I don’t even know how long. It feels so good to rub myself against that thick rod in his pants and suddenly, I’m seeing what all the hype around sex is. If it feels this good just to dry hump him, how will it feel when he’s finally inside of me?
I want to find out.
It takes all of my strength to pull away from Harry and his addicting lips but I want more. I need more.
“Take me to bed,” I whisper against his neck and a second later, I’m in the air.
My arms and legs wrap instinctively around Harry as his fingers dig into my ass and he strides with me out of the library. The library door creaks as we head out and down the hall to the left.
I can still hear the party going on downstairs and I should probably go down and check on things but I can’t find it in me to care about how everyone else is feeling right now. Harry and I are finally together. This is more important than anything else.
Harry lays me out on the bed and I giggle when the yellow skirt puffs up around me. I roll over, reaching for the zipper but Harry beats me to it. I wiggle out of the sleeves as he finishes unzipping me and together we drag the yellow dress off and toss it to the floor.
Harry’s white dress shirt and cotton brown pants quickly follow. My gaze drinks him in, starting at his feet and moving up over his strong legs. They snag on his cock and I swallow. He’s huge and ready for me. I wonder how I’m going to possibly fit all of him inside of me.
“I’m going to take care of you, Bella. I’d never hurt you,” Harry says quietly and my heart flips over in my chest.
This is Harry, my gruff but gentle best friend and I know that he would never hurt me. The anxiety that I had just moments before is gone and I hold my hand out to him.
“I want you,” I say a second before my lips land on his.
I get lost in his kiss, in the feel of his bare skin against mine. He’s hot, like he’s burning up, and I can feel his heartbeat racing against my own.