Evan went equally still, slowing down his jerky movements and giving her a tilted reassuring smile. "Great Tits Hall of Fame, remember?"
She gave a nervous laugh. "I feel stupid."
"No." He took a step forward. "Not stupid. Beautiful."
Hair tumbled in her eyes as she shook her head.
"Yes, you are."
Then he reached her. Tucking one hand tightly over the camera and letting it fall to his side, he reached out with the other hand and gave her nipple a light caress through the raspy sheer bra. She let out a startled yelp.
Shit, he couldn't believe he'd just done that. He pulled his hand back.
"Evan?" Her eyes were heavy, half closed, and her arms were trapped between his body and hers. "You didn't forget about what happened before, did you?"
"No." He leaned closer to her, inhaling her scent of citrus and something else he couldn't define, something earthy and subtle.
"I didn't either."
"Halley, I have to tell you that if you take your bra off, I'm going to touch you." He meant to put his hand deep into his pocket, but instead he dropped it to her waist.
Her breath sucked in hard. "You are? But I thought we were best friends, that's all."
They were. That should be all. But it wasn't enough. "I can't help it. I want you. Bad."
Prying her cold fingers off the bra clasp, he pressed her hand against his erection. Her eyes went wide.
"I can't fight it anymore, Halley. I don't want to fight it anymore."
Then he kissed her. It was different from the kiss earlier that morning. That had been urgent, carnal. This was languid and moist, her mouth fully open to receive him, their breath mingling together as he tasted her. It was slow and thorough, a hot discovery of each other.
She whispered against his mouth, "I want you too. For months now. I'm going nuts, Evan."
That was the best thing he'd heard in years. "Then let's go nuts together, sweet stuff."
Halley's tongue slipped into his mouth and he sucked on the tip lightly. She pulled back with a groan, her hands falling onto his waist. Those fingers touching, fluttering, gripping his belt loops had Evan's breath hitching.
With one hand on the back of her head, he took her mouth again and again, pressing rough and desperate, their teeth knocking together as he slipped across her slick lips.
Control. He needed to go slow. But that was so damn hard when Halley was pressed up against his bare chest wearing nothing but a doily that called itself a bra.
He broke off the kiss, and swallowed hard. They both panted, staring at each other, Halley's expression bewildered and aroused.
"Evan, if we do this, things are going to change between us."
Her nipple brushed against his bare chest as she spoke. "Things have already changed between us. And if we ignore this, the tension will always be between us. I think we should do this, have this one day together, then we can go back to the way we were before."
Not that he could envision ever going back to being pals and watching Halley date other men, but one step at a time.
"So, you mean, we'll just get this strange lust out of our systems?" She was clearly hesitating.
"Exactly."
"And nothing will ever keep us from being friends?"
"Nothing ever. I swear it." That was the whole truth as he knew it. He didn't plan on losing Halley's friendship. But he was going to if he didn't act on these feelings for her. He couldn't bottle this desire up another day.
Taking one step back, he lifted the camera in front of him, adjusting so that Halley was on the screen viewer.
"Take it off, sweet stuff."
There was hesitation, a split second of thought, before Halley tossed back her head, arching her breasts in an unconscious gesture of defiance. The clasp separated between her fingers, and Evan's heart pounded painfully as there was another split second of indecision.
He watched the screen as she made up her mind. The bra slid across each full breast and down her pale arms to land out of view on the floor.
There was nothing but her in front of him. He pushed the button with his thumb to take a picture, no intention of ever putting this on any website. Not even as a joke to teach the hackers a lesson. Not even when no one would ever know they were Halley's breasts.
This view was for him, and him alone, one he'd been waiting five years to see.
It was a damn good view, rivaling the Grand Canyon in natural beauty. Her shoulders were back, her chest rose and fell on anxious breaths, and her nipples were smooth and round, pressing forward with pride.
Halley's breasts were pale and incandescent, rounded and curving in perfect symmetry, not too large and not too small. Just right for him.
He took another picture. And another. He didn't want to risk missing this shot.
Her hands came up to flick a piece of hair out of her mouth, causing her breasts to rise in a fluid motion. Evan groaned, staring at her now, not the screen, and itched with the agonizing need to touch her.
"Did you take the picture?" she whispered, the sound of her ragged edgy voice making him throb.
"Yes." He moved a little to the left, wanting the side view of her, the upsweep of her breast, the graceful arch of shoulder to side.
"Then what are you doing?" She stood still, but turned her head to follow his progress.
"Taking pictures for me."
"Evan!" Her mouth dropped.
He loved the way her waist fell into her pants, with enough room between the fabric and her skin for him to easily slip in a finger or two. Moving slowly, he walked behind her, capturing her long and smooth back, and her ass sitting snugly in her pants.
With a shrug, he said, "I think I may be looking at my next screen saver."
It made her blush. He didn't care.
"You can't do that," she whispered.
"Why not?" It was the best idea he'd had in months.
He stepped on her bra as he moved around her other side. Leaning over, he scooped it up. It was warm, the way Halley's skin would be. He brought it to his nose. It smelled like her, soft and citrus and erotic.
"I had no idea you wore such sexy bras. I almost passed out when I saw this little see-through number."
"It's a private indulgence," she said. "A reward for my success."
Lifting the hair on her shoulder, Evan kissed her flushed skin. "That's what these pictures are. A reward for my success."
"Success for what?" Halley stood very still, her shoulders taut and her chest rising a little faster than normal.
"For fixing your website."
She gave a little scoff. "Sure, you fixed it after they made me naked."
He laughed, though it did annoy the hell out of him that his site had been hacked. But the first thing on his mind right now was her soft warm flesh, uncovered and so close to him.
Her head tilted back. She added, "The pictures aren't for you. They're supposed to be for the website, for the hackers."
Revenge would have to wait. "We'll talk about that later. Right now, I've got to touch you." He set the camera down on his desk and reached for her, putting his hands on her warm waist above her pants.
"Are you sure we should?" Her voice was a little whimper that didn't fool him for one second. She was trembling now, leaning toward him, her nipples hard and rosy. Halley looked as if a breeze blowing between her thighs might make her come.
Evan wanted to make her come. He wanted her to let go. To completely give it all up, to break and shatter beneath his touch, no thoughts of anything but their bodies and the pleasure he was giving her.
"I want you," he whispered in her ear. "Can I have you?"
He pulsed with desire, ached with the need to bury himself in Halley. There had been quite a few women in his life over the years, but it had always been casual, a little company and enough to take the edge off. He had wanted women, but had never needed.
He needed Halley.
He loved her. She knew him backward and forward and there were no games between them ever. There wouldn't be now. He could never be anything but honest with her, which was why he could no longer hide his desire for her.