Shattered Vows

Jase brushed en errant curl away from her cheek and cupped her face in his hand, the latent tension growing heavier. Her heart gave a hard thud against her ribs as his gaze dropped to her lips and the seconds stretched out between them.
She had plenty of time to stop him. She should have stopped him, but the tender, almost possessive way he held her face set off a swarm of butterflies in her belly and she’d wondered how it would feel to kiss him.
Then it was too late to stop it because his lips were on hers, and for the life of her, she couldn’t pull away.
Her fingers curled into his shoulders. A shocking wave of heat shot through her, tightening her nipples and making her insides quiver.
Dear God. She’d imagined this. Had secretly longed to know how it would feel, and now…
His lips were warm and firm on hers, his confident hold and the heat pulsing inside her too perfect to interrupt. He kissed her like he had every right to. Like he’d wanted to kiss her forever and was finally staking his claim. She melted into him. Wanting to crawl inside him so that he’d never let her go.
Jase. I’m kissing Jase and it feels…
Way too good.
So good she didn’t want to stop. So good she wanted to keep going until they were skin to skin and he was sliding into her, easing the throb he’d created in her core.
The thought was like a bucket of ice water dumped over her, immediately dousing the fire. Molly pulled away and ducked her head, shaken. But wanting more. Craving it until she ached all over.
Oh my God…
Jase wordlessly slid a thumb across her cheekbone and lowered his hand, allowing her to step back even as her body cried out in protest.
It took her a moment to find her voice, and longer still to find the courage to meet his eyes. When she did, the look on his face was so intent, so full of naked yearning it pushed the air from her lungs. He’d hinted the other night that he wanted her, but she’d never imagined his feelings ran so deep.
She struggled to find her voice. “Jase, what…?” She couldn’t finish the thought.
He shook his head, his gorgeous eyes burning with frustration and a hunger that made her heart pound. “I’ve wanted you forever, Moll. Since the first time I saw you.”
She sucked in a breath at his hoarse admission. He had? Even though she’d been married? To his best friend? Her thoughts were a chaotic jumble, shuffling back over the years since she’d known him, trying to find something she’d missed. But no, he’d never once shown his real feelings for her.
She floundered for something that would allow her to make sense of it. “But you were Carter’s best man, you—”
“Stood up there like a good soldier and watched you pledge yourself to my best friend for better or worse and in sickness and in health? Yeah. I did. And even though I was happy for you both, I hated every fucking moment of it.”
Holy… Molly was too shocked to answer. Though she understood why he never said anything, why he’d hidden it so well. Well enough that she’d never noticed it.
She put a hand to her forehead, her mind spinning. “Oh, God, this is so wrong.” They couldn’t take this any farther. It was too soon, they were friends, and she didn’t want to screw that up.
There was the baby to think of. She couldn’t lose Jase, and continuing down this path would risk everything she had with him.
Jase gave a slow, deliberate shake of his head, his eyes searching hers. “He’s gone, Moll, and he’s not coming back. You deserve to be happy again. So it’s only wrong if you don’t want me.”
The unspoken hurt in his quiet words sliced through her like a blade. Because she did want him. She wanted him so much it scared her. But he was cornering her, pushing her into a place she wasn’t prepared to go.
“I can’t risk losing you,” she whispered back, tormented. “I can’t, Jase, so don’t ask me to.”
He took her face in his hands, his gaze steady and clear, full of emotion that tore at her heart. “Hey. I know you’ve been through a lot. But I’m not going anywhere. And the only way you’d ever lose me is if you shut me out and walk away.”
Panic flared. She shook her head, gave him a pleading look. “Jase, no.” He didn’t understand what he was saying. How disastrous it would be if something went wrong.
“Moll, I know you’re scared. But I won’t hurt you. I would never hurt you, you know that.”
She’d never dreamed Carter would, either. And yet he had.
The panic sharpened. Stabbed through her like a blade. “No.” She shoved his hands away and stepped back, feeling sick. “I can’t. Please understand, it’s never going to happen. I can’t.”