Friends--And Then Some Read Free Page A

and he stumbled forward a few steps until he regained his balance.
    Lily let out a sharp gasp, then held her breath. “Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine.”
    “What was that?”
    “How would I know?”
    “Jake, let’s go back down. Please.” Her greatest fear was walking into a bat’s nest or something worse.
    “We already went over that. The light’s got to be around here someplace.”
    “Sure, and in the meantime we don’t know …”
    “Damn.”
    Lily’s hand tightened around his, her fingers clammy. “Now what’s wrong?”
    “My knee bumped into something.”
    “That does it. We’re going back.” Jake could stay up here if he wanted, but she was leaving. From the minute they’d stepped inside this tomb, Lily had felt uneasy.
    “Lily,” he argued.
    Jerking her hand free, she turned toward the stairs and the faint beam of light. It looked as though the attic door had eased shut, cutting off what little illumination there had been from the hall. Everything was terribly dark and spooky. “I’m getting out of here,” she declared, unable to keep the catch out of her voice. “This place is giving me the heebie-jeebies.” More interested in making her escape than being cautious, Lily turned away and walked straight into a spiderweb. A disgusted sound slid from her throat as her hands flew up to free her face from the fine, sticky threads. A prickling fear shot up her spine as she felt something scamper across her foot.
    Her heart rammed against her breast like a jackhammer as the terror gripped her and she let out a bloodcurdling cry. “Jake … Jake!”
    He was with her in seconds, roughly pulling her into his arms.
    She clung to him, frantically wrapping her arms around his neck. Her face was buried in his shoulder as she trembled. His arms around her waist half lifted her from thefloor. “Lily, you’re all right,” he whispered. His hold, secure and warm, drove out the terror. “I’ve got you.”
    It took all the strength she could muster just to nod.
    Jake’s hand brushed the wispy curls from her temple. “Lily,” he repeated soothingly. “I told you I’d protect you.” His warm breath fanned her face, creating an entirely new set of sensations. His scent, a combination of sweat and man, was unbelievably intoxicating. For the first time, Lily became aware of how tightly pressed her body was to the rock hardness of his. Her grip slackened and she slid intimately down the length of him until her feet touched the floor. The hem of her blouse rode up, exposing her midriff so that her bare skin rubbed against the muscular wall of his chest. His hands found their place in the small of her back and seemed to hold her there, pressing her all the closer. Her breasts were flattened to his upper torso, and her nerves fired to life at the merest brush of his body.
    As if hypnotized, their eyes met and held in the faint light. It was as though they were seeing each other for the first time. Her pulse fluttered wildly at his look of curious surprise as his gaze lowered to her mouth.
    “Jake?” Her voice was the faintest whisper, wavering and unsure.
    His eyes darkened and a thick frown formed on his face. Slowly, almost as if drawn by something other than his will, Jake lowered his mouth to hers. Warm lips met warm lips in an exploratory kiss that was as gentle as it was unhurried.
    “Lily.” His mouth left hers and sounded oddly raspy and unsure. Her eyes remained tightly closed.
    “That shouldn’t have happened.” Somehow she had found her voice. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
    “Do you want an apology?”
    Her arms slid from around his neck and fell to her sides as he released her. “No …” she whispered. “I should be the one to apologize … I don’t know what came over me.”
    “You’re right about this place,” he admitted on a harsh note. “There is something spooky about it. Let’s get out of here.”
    By the time they’d returned to the living room, Lily