Free Sinful Desires Vol. 4 by M. S. Parker

wasn't crying, why he sounded so cold. I got it. Everyone processed grief differently.
    “Why does it feel like there's this hole inside me, Piper?” His voice trembled. “I haven't loved my dad since before Steven was born. I've hated him since Steven died. Why should I feel anything but relief that he's gone?”
    “He's your father,” I said simply. “He's the one who taught you how to ride a bike when you were eight. He took you fishing when you were six and pulled you out of the ocean when you fell in.” Those had been the only positive stories Julien had ever told me about his father, and they were enough to break through.
    Julien buried his face against the side of my neck and sobbed. The sound broke my heart and I ran my hands along his back, trying to soothe him as best I could. For all the grief of my own I'd dealt with, I was never very sure how to handle someone else's.
    “I'm so sorry,” I murmured as I smoothed down his hair. It was softer than it looked and I stroked my fingers through it as I would a little boys.
    I wasn't sure how much time passed before Julien's shoulders stopped shaking, but it was long enough for me to know that I could no longer say that I wasn't sure how I felt about him. Seeing him in pain had broken open the part of me that had been holding back. I was conflicted about what I still felt for Reed and whether or not I wanted to tell Julien how I felt, but there was no conflict anymore about what those feelings were. I'd fallen for my friend.
    “You're cold,” Julien said suddenly, pulling back. He looked at the clock. “Fuck. It's late and you probably have to work tomorrow.” His cheeks were red and I could tell he was embarrassed.
    “No, I don't.” I stood and held out my hand. “Come on. You go take a hot shower and I'm going to make you some tea.”
    “Tea?” Julien raised an eyebrow.
    “It's what my mom used to make when I was sick or upset.”
    His expression softened. I'd told him about her.
    “Go,” I said. “I'll make you some tea and get out the sheets for the couch.”
    He nodded and headed for the stairs. I put the water on to boil and got the sheets from the downstairs closet. They were cheap, but I'd realized I needed a second pair after Julien had stayed here one night after we'd been painting until three in the morning. I put them on the couch and tried not to think about my epiphany and the fact that the person it was about was upstairs right now, naked and wet.
    I wasn't going to screw this up, I vowed. Just because I knew how I felt now didn't change what I'd originally decided to do. I'd made enough of a mess of my life with Reed and Brock. I wasn't going to lose a friend due to lack of self-control.
    Once I finished with the couch, the tea was ready and I carried it upstairs. I still didn't have a lot of furniture, so the extra room upstairs was empty. As I walked into my room and set the mug on the dresser, I wondered if maybe I should look into an air mattress or something. Even Anastascia would sleep on that. As it was, she'd stayed in my bed the one night we'd had a late girls' night out, but I didn't want a repeat of that. She still kicked in her sleep.
    “Thank you.”
    I jumped as Julien's voice startled me. My hand bumped the mug, sending a splash of scalding liquid over the edge onto my fingers. I cried out, yanking my hand back.
    “Piper!”
    “I'm okay.” Tears welled up in my eyes in response to the pain, but I refused to let them fall. What was a little burn compared to what he was going through?
    “Let me see.”
    Julien caught my hand as I tried to step past him. His touch was gentle and I swallowed hard. I hadn't realized until now that he was only wearing a towel around his waist.
    Fuck.
    I'd seen him shirtless before, but this was different, especially since I was now very aware that I wasn't wearing anything under my robe.
    I was shocked out of my thoughts as Julian slipped my two burnt fingers into his mouth. His tongue