Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

PART 4 CHAPTER 170 JESS

The warmth in Eric's cabin settled around me like a blanket, the steady crackling of the fire adding a comforting rhythmn to the quiet. I took a deep breath, feeling the familiar flutter of nerves, but I pushed them down, determined

to just enjoy this night. I reached for the bottle of red wine on the kitchen counter and poured two glasses, watching the rich liquid swirl in the firelight.

Eric was crouched by the fireplace, adding another log. He'd been so incredibly patient, never pushing me or making me feel like I had to rush. It was nice-calming in a way I wasn't used to.

Taking a deep breath, I walked over and settled onto the thick rug beside him, handing him his glass. He turned to me, his eyes crinkling as he accepted it. "To a perfect night," I said, raising my glass. His smile grew, and he clinked his glass to mine.

I took a sip, savoring the warmth spreading through me as the wine mixed with the fire's heat. "This place is beautiful," I said, taking in the cabin. "When you said 'cabin,' I'll admit I thought you meant some small, spider- filled shack with no electricity. But this... this is gorgeous."

He laughed, his dimples deepening. "I'm Glad it lives up to your expectations. I designed it myself years ago, and I wanted something entirely off the grid." He gestured around the room, pride shining in his eyes. "It lets me stay out here, away from everything." I nodded, impressed. "How do you work with no signal out here?"

"In the winter, I spend more time in the city," he explained, his tone easy, "because the weather messes with the signal. But come summer, I'm here, and the connection is usually great."

I glanced at my phone, where my messages were still stubbornly unsent. "No luck for me, though," I muttered, a little more disappointed than I wanted to admit.

"It'll probably go through in the morning. The weather's been

nodded, letting it go. The fire had warmed the entire cabin, and I slipped off my coat, draping it over the arm of a nearby chair. I noticed Eric's gaze flicker to my shoulder, where the thin strap of my tank top clung snugly against my skin. I'd picked it on purpose, a small reminder to myself of why I was

Eric had waited and had been nothing but

sat like that, sipping wine and listening to the wind and the fire crackle. The

the table behind me, leaning

it, trying

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warm breath ghosting over my skin. My body stiffened as I tried to relax, to be present, but something just wouldn't let

"Relax, Jess," he murmured, his voice soft and steady. "We don't have to do anything you're

race even as I nodded. "It's not that," I said quickly, scrambling for an excuse. "I, um...

cool beneath my feet. I placed my phone on the dresser and stared at my reflection, catching my own wide-

for this. You like him; he's a good guy. This is normal, so

But the thought only brought Aiden's face flashing into my mind, then Luke's, both tangled somewhere in my memories. But the

Luke or Aiden," I