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Marshmallow, peanut butter and the unfamiliar taste of Bastian, everything blended together into a high-octane cocktail of sensuality. It melted her bones and dissolved her mind.
    His hand slid to her hair, pulling her closer. A moan buried in her throat threatened to sound. He felt so good, so right…and so wrong. Something inside her stood up and screamed in a high-pitched wail. It pierced her brain like a railroad spike, jabbing with cold, prickly pain.
    This was wrong.
    This was Bastian.
    She was kissing her best friend like a lover.
    Yanking away, she sat back on her heels. Both their breaths rang out, emotion and passion speeding air and blood through them. Unbridled yearning creased his face. Pupils wide, the brown of his eyes was a mere suggestion as he challenged her to see his honesty.
    “There, Charlie, that’s my secret.”
    Her tongue touched her lip, tasting him as her mind spun in kaleidoscope swirls. Bastian had just kissed her. Not the light goodbye and hello kisses of before, but a flat-out fiery French kiss from the east side of heaven. Her trembling fingers pressed against her mouth, holding the last trace of him.
    “I-I’ve always known you were attracted to me.”
    His brows arched. “Attracted? Is that all that kiss showed you?”
    “Look, maybe the sex talk tonight got a little—”
    “Don’t belittle this. What I feel for you is real. I’ve been feeling it for over a year, maybe longer.”
    Fear forced tears into her eyes and burned her throat. Things were changing this very second. “Don’t.”
    “It’s too late. You wanted to know, so know everything. I’m more than attracted to you. I love you. I love you not only as a friend, as my best friend, the best damn friend I’ve ever had, but as a woman. I want you in my life, in my bed and in my heart. Friendship isn’t enough anymore. I want more.”
    Hot tears blinded her. She shoved away from him, thrusting off his hands as he reached for her. A sob replaced the moan in her chest.
    “You just ruined everything.”

Chapter Two
     
    “Wait! Where are you going?”
    Bastian’s shout followed her as she fled the campfire. Damp air chilled her legs. Grasses snipped at her ankles with jagged pokes, and she delved deeper into the campground.
    Escape .
    How could he? How could he shred everything they were? She’d just told him how special he was to her, him and his friendship. How she was free to be herself with him, no pretenses needed. Now it was gone. Because he wanted her. Sex changed everything. No one knew it better than she did.
    A hidden tree root halted her flight and she stumbled to a crouch next to the stump. A harsh sob tore from her. Using the sleeves of his shirt, she wiped her wet face. She’d lost her best friend, the other half of herself, and pain gnawed at her bones. He was gone. The person she turned to when life sucked. The person she sought out when she wanted to laugh. The person she was most safe around. The person she loved.
    The man back beside the fire was just like the rest of his gender. He wanted her. Not for her, but for what she could bring him. Pleasure.
    He said he loved her but he just meant he lusted for her. That was what it always meant. She’d heard those words many times. They never meant anything but “come to bed.” Bastian was supposed to be different, always had been. Everything sacred now felt like a lie. The one lone brick became a fortress around her fragile heart.
    Adam’s betrayal had glanced off her but Bastian’s destroyed her.
    Shaky limbs stilled as resolve flooded her. Their bond was broken, forever lost to one glorious illicit kiss. He wanted more. More meant sex. Fine. If he valued their connection so little he was willing to throw it away for a quick fuck, she’d give him exactly what he wanted.
    Then she would walk away. But she’d be damned if she was going without tasting every bit of what she’d denied herself all these years.
    Charlie drew a deep breath, let her