Friends to Lovers: A Secret Pregnancy Romance (Heart of Hope Book 6)

by Ajme Williams

  She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. “What’s with Cyrus, speaking of men.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think he likes parties.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t like men looking at you.”

  I waved that away. “He knows me. He’s comfortable around me.”

  “What about Lyle and Jacob?”

  I laughed. “They’re goobers. I think they’re hilarious, but if you’re talking about dating material, it’s not them. Maybe Conner though,” I said. “Would that be weird since he works for you?”

  “Well, I’d have to have Cyrus kill him if he hurt you.”

  I laughed. “Not Jude?”

  “I don’t want Jude to go to jail.”

  “Good looking out for me and you.” I picked up the tray of cupcakes and brought them back to the main party room. I’d remembered coming here as a teen when April would have sleepovers or parties. Her parents would come in and tell us it was late and we needed to quiet down. It wasn’t easy for April and August when they died, but April at least had her life on track and was happy. I made a mental note to call my parents, who moved to Florida last year to escape the bitter winters in North Dakota. I wanted to make sure I always appreciated them and stayed in touch. April’s situation was proof that loved ones could disappear in an instant.

  For a moment, I looked around the room, happy to see life in the house again.

  “Hey Petal.” Lyle stepped up to me, invading my space.

  I took a step back, hitting the wall behind me.

  “Like a pretty flower.” His eyes were glassy and his words slurred. I was glad that Jude had arranged for Uber drivers to take people home.

  “Hey Lyle. Having fun?”

  His gaze settled on the swells of my breasts. He leaned in toward me and his hot, alcohol-laden breath made me wince. I wanted men to think I was attractive, but this was too much.

  “Lyle. I’m up here.”

  He lifted his head. “Did you know flowers are sexual beings?”

  “I think I heard that in biology class.” I tried not to roll my eyes as I put my hands on his chest to push him back.

  He put his hands over mine and leaned in again. “Petals are the pretty part. The part that attracts the man.”

  “Do you mean pollen?” I didn’t actually know the purpose of petals on a flower, but I was pretty sure they weren’t to attract men.

  “We could go pollinate.” He waggled his eyebrows.

  I couldn’t help myself, I started to laugh. He grinned like a goofball apparently liking that I found him entertaining. All of a sudden, his eyes widened and he was lifted off the floor by the scruff of his neck.

  I saw Cyrus, looking menacing behind his mask as he grabbed Lyle.

  “Cyrus.” I squeaked.

  He moved Lyle to the side and let him go with a little push. “Have some respect, dickwad.”

  Lyle kept his gaze on Cyrus as he brushed down his Superman shirt. “Ah…Petal…it was nice talking to you. I’m going to get a drink.” He pointed to the side.

  “Enjoy, Lyle,” I said, laughing as he side-stepped his way to the keg all the while making sure Cyrus didn’t come after him.

  “I hope he didn’t wet his pants,” I said, turning my attention back to Cyrus. Immediately, my humor left as his dark eyes looked down on me. “What?”

  He inhaled and exhaled a couple of times. “Wanna dance?”

  “Sure. Do you? Because you don’t look like you want to dance.”

  “No, I want to dance.” He smiled, but it was so forced it nearly looked painful and I laughed.

  I took his hand. “Come on, Zorro.”

  After that, most men stayed away from me. I was going to complain to him that he was ruining my love life, but I wasn’t interested in Lyle or Jacob, and I didn’t want to put Cyrus in the position of going to jail if April had him kill Conner, so I spent the rest of the evening dancing with Cyrus and hanging out with April.

  When she and Jude disappeared up the hall, I decided it was time to go.

  “Are you ready to leave?” I asked Cyrus who was leaning against a wall, scowling at Lyle.

  “Are you?” he asked. “I’ll stay if you’re having a good time.”

  I laughed. “You’re such a martyr.”

  He frowned.

  “You’re having a miserable time. Let me put you out of your misery by letting you take me home. You can drive, can’t you?”

  He nodded. “I can drive. And I’m not miserable.”

  “Hmm. Well you’re not bored,” I said making my way to the front door. “Irritable? Is that it.”

  He growled.

  I had to admit, I liked Cyrus’ protective instinct for me. It would have been nice if it was based on something more than friendship. The truth was, I was probably like a kid sister to him. It was annoying, and yet, I was happy to at least know that he had my back.

  7

  Cyrus

  I didn’t want Petal to miss out on any fun, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hella happy that she was ready to go. I was getting fucking tired of having to keep men off of her. When I saw Lyle breathing his drunk-ass air on her, I saw red. The only reason he wasn’t dead right now was because she was amused by him and not afraid.

  I drove us to her apartment over her shop and parked on the street. I tossed my mask, gloves, hat and sword in the back seat.

  “I had fun,” she said to me as I walked her to the door of the building.

  “Me too.”

  “Did something happen?” she asked as she unlocked the door that would take us to the stairwell up to her apartment.

  I grunted to keep from saying, “Yes, men were touching you and I couldn’t stand it.”

  “Do you want a drink?” she asked. “Then Don Diego can tell me what’s got his mask all in a twist.”

  I frowned. She was amused by me as she had been of Lyle. And like Lyle, I found myself gazing down at her assets before remembering I wasn’t a douche like him and returning my gaze to her eyes. “I’m Zorro.”

  “Not with your mask off, buddy,” she said, opening the door. “You coming Zorro or not?”

  I followed her in, shutting the door behind me. We went upstairs and she opened her apartment.

  “Wine, beer or something stronger?” she asked as I headed to her couch to take a load off and get my bearings back.

  “Beer is good.”

  She got two beers, popped the tops and gave me one. She sat next to me on the couch, toeing her heels off and tucking her feet under her. She clicked her bottle with mine.

  I pointed at her with my beer bottle. “What’s with the witch outfit? I thought you were going as a cartoon character or something?” That outfit was the bane of my existence all night. I hated that I was reduced to a jealous ninny because of the attention it attracted from men who weren’t good enough for her.

  “I was but then decided on sexy witch.” she grinned. “I think I pulled it off. Do you?”

  My jaw clenched as I sipped my beer. “It’s nice.”

  She frowned and inwardly I kicked myself for hurting her feelings. The truth, she pulled off the sexy witch look in spades. But I couldn’t tell her that.

  She looked down at her cleavage. “Lyle Simmons and Jacob Donner thought it was more than nice.”

  “Is that what you want? Those two fuckwits to be nice to you?”

  Her brows shot up, and I knew I was tipping my hand. She’s your friend.

  “Careful Zorro, I might think you were jealous,” she teased. God, if she only knew the dirty images that flashed in my head involved her getting out of that outfit.

  Just so she couldn’t tell what I was thinking, I looked away and drank my beer.

  “So, the witch is in session. What’s on Don Diego’s mind?” she asked.

  I sighed and shrugged, then took another sip of my beer. What the hell could I say?

  “Seriously Cyrus. You’ve been out of it all evening. Since you picked me up. Did some
thing happen?”

  I played with the beer bottle until I came up with a legitimate sounding excuse. “Just some concerns about my mom.”

  “Oh? Is something wrong?”

  “I don't know. She just sounds off. Tired. Run down.” That wasn’t a lie, although it wasn’t what had me preoccupied for the last few hours.

  “Maybe she’s working a lot.”

  “Maybe.” I sipped my drink again glancing at her as I did, wondering if she was buying my excuse. God, it was so hard to manage this insane desire for her. It gave me a headache.

  I set my bottle down on the table next to the couch and laid my head back to rub my temples.

  “Maybe you should go visit her if you’re this worried?”

  I felt the couch move next to me, and next thing I knew, her fingers were massaging my temple. I opened my eyes to find her lush, sweet tits in my face. Jesus, I wanted to bury my face in them. Drown in them.

  I jerked back, trying to pull away, but she just moved forward and kept massaging my temples.

  “Petal.” Jesus, my dick was straining my zipper.

  “Yes?” She kept rubbing.

  I growled. She had her irritated expression when she looked down at me, but it quickly vanished as she realized her tits were in my face.

  “Oh, sorry.” She started to pull away, and heaven help me, I couldn’t let her.

  I wrapped my arm around her. “The fuckwits weren’t the only ones who noticed your sexy witch outfit.” My voice was low and raw.

  Her breath hitched, but I didn’t know if it was from good or bad tension radiating between us.

  “Oh?”

  I rubbed her back just above her ass. I was going to hell for sure. She’s your friend. Shut up!

  “Do you want to know why I’m so agitated?”

  She swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”

  I watched her for a moment, knowing I was about to cross the line, not just skirt it as I was now. Finally, I took her hand and studied her face as I brought it toward my aching dick. I had a moment to rethink this, but in the end, I pressed her hand down so she knew exactly why I’d been agitated all night.

  Her eyes went wide and I had a moment to second guess my decision. But then her fingers gripped me. Fucking A, I was dying. I looked at her and instead of withdrawing, I dared her to do more.

  “That must be uncomfortable,” she said, her voice low and breathless.

  One thing I loved about Petal was her humor, especially when it was unexpected.

  “Immensely.”

  She started stroking my cock through my slacks.

  I growled again, wondering why she was into this when she was supposed to be the one to tell me to stop.

  “Fuck Petal…you’re supposed to be repulsed.”

  “Why?” She squeezed my dick and I damn near came right then. She pulled the belt from my buckle and warning bells blared.

  I covered her hand with mine. “Be sure, Petal. Be very, very sure.”

  “If I put your hand on me, you’d know I was very sure,” she said.

  Jesus fucking Christ. She was telling me she was wet. And good God, I wanted to feel her there. Taste her there. Moving quickly before we could change our minds, I gripped her hips, pushed her back on the couch, and rose over her, looking down at this sweet, lovely woman who was making me lose my mind.

  “Are you saying you’re wet?” I asked.

  She swallowed and nodded.

  I held her gaze as I slid my hand up her thigh and under the short dress. I drew my fingers over the panel of her panties, finding them soaked through.

  I pulled my hand back and brought it to my lips, sucking her essence off my fingers. “Mmm.”

  Her green eyes flashed with wild heat. She wanted this.

  Taking a chance, I said, “I want a treat, Petal. Can I have one?”

  “Can I have a treat too?” she asked.

  Seriously, I was about to come in my pants. “First things first.”

  I tugged her panties down, pushed her skirt up to her hips, and took in her sweet pussy. It was covered in a nest of red curls and I wanted to drink from her like a man dying of thirst.

  To make sure she was okay with what was happening, I looked into her face and saw desire. The swells of her tits strained the bodice of her dress and I had to see more.

  “I want to see your tits.” I pulled the top part of the dress down, watching in awe her tits appeared. They were creamy with hard pink nipples begging for attention. I massaged one nipple, loving how she gasped.

  “Cyrus.”

  “Yes, Petal.”

  She didn’t answer.

  “Do you want to give me a treat now?” I asked.

  “Yes. Have your treat.” Her hips rose like she was offering her pussy to me.

  I moved down her body, settling my shoulders between her thighs. She put one of her legs over the back of the couch and the other on the floor to make room for me.

  I inhaled a breath, taking in her sexy scent. “So sweet.”

  Her hips rose again.

  “Petal wants a treat too, doesn’t she?”

  “Yes. Don’t be mean, Cyrus.”

  I laughed, feeling such a wonder about this woman. “Never to you, my sweet Petal.”

  And then I dove in, lapping my tongue through her folds and tasting her sweetness. She let out a long groan making me feel like the king of the world.

  “Oh my God.” Her hips rocked in time with my mouth. I took my time at first, wanting to discover every inch of her pussy, and then slowly I picked up the pace. I sucked and licked and then thrust my tongue inside her.

  She cried out and her hips shot up as her pleasure shot through her. Sweet pussy nectar coated my tongue.

  “Mmm…sweeter than cupcakes.”

  She reached for me, her hands desperately grabbing at my shoulders.

  I laughed. “Not enough for you?”

  “I want you, Cyrus.”

  I levered back on my knees and finished undoing my belt and my pants, shoving them along with my boxer briefs down my legs and kicking them off. My dick sprang free eager to have attention.

  She sat up, gripping my cock and immediately taking the tip into her mouth.

  Electricity shot out from my dick. “Ah fuck, Petal.” I gripped her head, worried I was about to shoot my load, and yet at the same time, wanting to let her touch me. Or maybe it was more about me needing to see those sweet lips wrapped round my cock.

  But it was too much. I could feel my balls contracting. Readying to come.

  “You need to stop.” I groaned. “Unless you want me to come in your mouth.” What I really wanted was to sink inside her body, but I’d take this too. “What do you want, Petal?”

  She released me and lay back. “I want you inside me,” she said, wrapping her legs around me and tugging my dick to her entrance.

  I held back, wanting to remember this moment. I slid my fingers sliding along her pussy and then inside to make sure she was ready for me. I didn’t know how long it had been for her, and I didn’t want to hurt her by plunging in when she wasn’t ready.

  “Are you ready for me again?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she said on a moan.

  “You’re tight, honey.”

  “Then it will be extra good for you, right?” she said.

  “Jesus, fuck.”

  Her words made my dick so hard he was nearly coming out of his skin. I pushed my tip to her entrance, and growling again I slid in, slow.

  Holy fuck, she was tight. And hot. My brain started to short circuit at the magnificence I felt.

  She whimpered and for a minute I thought I was hurting her.

  “Cyrus,” she pleaded, gripping my hips with her hands and pulling me with her legs all at once until I sank fully inside her body.

  Sensation after sensation shocked my system. “Aw fuck!” I cried out. “Petal.” I groaned again. “Fucking sweet Petal.”

  Her body was like a light socket in
a good way. Heat sizzled around my dick lighting me up like fucking Christmas tree. But I had to be sure it was good for her too.

  “Tell me I’m not hurting you,” I gasped as I fought against the instinct to thrust like my life depended on it.

  “No. You’re not hurting me.” She arched and moaned. “God, Cyrus…fuck me…I need you to fuck me.”

  I was a smart man. I didn’t need to be told twice. I pressed one hand by her head and the other on the back of the couch, and then let loose the beast clawing for release.

  I plunged and withdrew, watching her as she arched her head back, reaching for the same release. I was pounding and pounding, her tits bouncing each time I plunged in. It was the sexiest, most erotic things I’d ever seen.

  I sped right to the edge and then swore as I pulled back, biting my lip to wait for her. “Petal,” I gasped out. “You need to come…you need to come now…”

  I took my hand from the back of the couch, licking my thumb and then rubbing it over her clit.

  She screamed out. Her entire body bowed off the couch, and her pussy clamped down on my dick until stars blasted out behind my eyes.

  8

  Petal

  There was an idea perpetuated by society that the handsomer and bigger the man, the better he must be in bed. In Cyrus’ case, that was true. Sure he was broody and aloof, but he was also intense and that intensity was now focused all on me as he plunged inside me drawing out the orgasm to end all orgasms. He’d simultaneously rubbed my clit and it drove me wild.

  As the first wave of pleasure shot through me, he let out a feral growl and moved over me again as he let himself go, thrusting and thrusting, harder and harder. I clung to his shoulders as one orgasm seemed to roll into another.

  “Fuck!” He plunged in deep, ground his hips into mine, and then shuddered, filling me with warmth. My pussy continued to contract as he did it again, and again.

  The rest of my body was like wet noodles; completely limp.

  He let out one more shuddering breath and then stilled. For a moment, we simply lay gasping for breath. He started to pull away but I held on to him, not ready for the moment to be over.