Cherishing Her During Adversity: A Friends to Lovers Romance

by Alexa McLean

  All that was left was a thong. A single triangle of fabric. I grinned down at her as I hooked my finger around the waistband.

  Flick!

  The thong snapped and rocketed across the room like a slingshot, leaving her mound exposed. She was now mine for the taking.

  Almost immediately, I dove between her legs. I had her legs on my shoulders as my tongue explored her depths, searching for that honey pot. It didn’t take long for me to find it and when I did it was an absolute feeding frenzy. I couldn’t get enough. Every drop intensified my hunger tenfold until I was in so deep that I couldn’t breathe. But I didn’t care about that. All I cared about was getting my fill and making her scream.

  My fingers tightened around her cheeks, spreading them apart as my tongue continued to twist and turn faster and faster.

  She was as wet as a river and getting wetter by the second.

  Her ankles came together at the back of my head. It was her way of telling me that I shouldn’t stop. So, I didn’t. I ran my tongue along her clit. It was swollen with her excitement and even the slightest graze of my tongue was enough to get her hips gyrating. She was pumping herself into my face over and over again as if that would help get her off but I was in it for the long haul and I wanted to make her lose her mind before even coming close to that first orgasm.

  And so, I played her body like a violin. I knew every inch — every curve — and I knew exactly how to touch and caress them.

  My tongue danced its dance and tormented her until she was begging me for release. The desperation in her eyes was real. The need for release wasn’t something I couldn’t deny her for much longer. So, I pulled out all the stops. As my tongue flicked in and out of her hole over and over again, my thumb added an element of friction to her clit. That friction was duplicated on her nipple so that both my thumbs were working in perfect unison.

  Together, it was too much for her to handle and the floodgates were opened. Her juices coated every inch of my face and I was more than happy to lap up the excess.

  I gave her a minute to compose herself. While she sought to catch her breath, I took off my clothes. I was down to my boxers when I noticed that Lola was no longer on the bed. Instead, she was down on her knees. She looked up at me with those great big eyes of hers that made me weak in the knees.

  What made me even weaker was when she wrapped her lips around my tip and started to swirl her tongue all around that sensitive part of my body. The swirling continued along the base of my member as she took me into her mouth. Inch by inch, she got deeper and deeper until I swear, I was hitting the back of her throat. My balls were nestled to her chin.

  Again, she looked up at me.

  I ran my fingers through her hair before fighting my fist and guiding her through the motions. Her mouth was so warm and moist that it nearly sent me over the edge right from the beginning. I don’t know how but I managed to hold back long enough for her to build up a pretty decent rhythm. It felt so good that I didn’t want her to stop but I knew that I couldn’t explode in her mouth.

  “Lola...” I murmured, enjoying her ministrations for a few moments more before finally pulling her off my length. “Let’s start a family,” I whispered as I returned her onto the bed and got on top of her. I was gentle as I slipped inside because I wanted this to be about love and nothing else. I wanted her to know that she truly meant the world to me and that I would do anything to keep her happy.

  She moaned as her nails raked across my back.

  “I love you,” I whispered against her ear.

  “I love you too.”

  We kissed as I continued to thrust my hips, building the friction that would get us to sweet, sweet paradise.

  Suddenly, her body began to tense and I knew she had reached her climax. Her walls tightened around me in a vice-like grip that threatened to let go. But I didn’t want to leave. I grunted with the pleasure of that blissful moment and lost myself inside of her.

  We both collapsed into a heap of limbs.

  “Wow...”

  “Wow, indeed,” I agreed as I slowly pulled myself out of her and saw the mess I had created. I was about to get up and get her something to clear herself with but she kept me on the bed by nuzzling her head into my chest. “Don’t you want to — ”

  “No. I don’t. I just want to lay here with you.”

  It was impossible for me to deny her request so I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight.

  “I can’t believe all of this is happening...” she whispered.

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  “Far from it. I think today might be the happiest day of my life.”

  Epilogue: Lola

  SIX MONTHS LATER.

  Ivan and I never anticipated that we would get pregnant so quickly but it happened on or around the night of our engagement. Now, I had a swollen belly and a hyperactive baby living inside of it.

  “Oh!” I exclaimed as our little boy gave another kick. “He’s going to grow up to be the world’s best soccer player, I swear.”

  “I was hoping he’d be into baseball but I’ll take soccer.” Ivan was standing in front of the mirror, tying his tie. It was the same color as my dress.

  He wasn’t struggling but I still went over to help him because I liked making him look good.

  “How’s that?”

  He looked down and saw that the tie was incredibly short. Instead of the tip hanging by his belt, it was nearly at his chest. “It’s fine,” he said, kissing the top of my head.

  “No, it’s not.” I kept him firmly in place and struggled with the length of his tie for quite a while before I finally got it right.

  “Thanks, baby.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Now it’s your turn.” With his hands on my shoulders, he guided me towards the vanity. I sat down and a moment later, his fingers were running through my hair. One night, I had commented on the fact that I was envious of women who could braid their own hair because I liked the look of braided hair but could never do it myself. Without my knowing it, Ivan had gone out and bought a mannequin at the beauty supply store and had practiced for weeks until he was good enough to do it on his wife. At the time, I had been utterly amazed and touched by the fact that he had gone through so much trouble just to make me happy.

  I really could not ask for a better husband.

  “There.” I had closed my eyes during the braiding process because it felt good to have someone playing with my hair. Opening my eyes, I saw just how beautiful it was. “Wow, you’ve really outdone yourself this time.”

  “What can I say? I want my wife to look her absolute best for her baby shower.”

  “You know, I’m kind of nervous.”

  “There’s nothing to be nervous about,” he assured. “I know you don’t like all the attention but your mother and Mackenzie only invited close family and friends so it shouldn’t be too overwhelming. And besides, I’ll be right there beside you. I can hold your hand every step of the way if that’s what you need from me.”

  “Thanks.” She got onto her tippy toes to kiss me. “What would I do without you?”

  “You’d probably do just fine. I’d be the one who’d be lost without you.”

  We shared one final kiss before making our way to the car.

  THE BABY SHOWER WAS being hosted at my mother’s house. The street was lined with cars but there was an empty spot in the driveway with a sign that read, “Reserved for expecting mother.” That was me.

  “This looks more than just close family and friends,” I commented.

  “Well, if it is, then blame Mackenzie. She probably invited the entire airport crew.”

  “You know, you probably aren’t wrong about that.”

  Like the perfect gentleman that he was, Ivan helped me out of the car. Together, we walked up to the front door and knocked. There was a lot of commotion coming from inside the building. Most of it consisted of Mackenzie yelling ‘quiet!’

  Ivan and I exchanged a g
lance that had us both laughing.

  Eventually, the door was opened and as soon as we stepped inside everyone yelled ‘surprise!’ I guess Mackenzie had failed to tell everyone that she had spoiled the surprise baby shower about a month ago. She wasn’t exactly the best person at keeping a secret.

  Nonetheless, we played along and did our best to look stunned.

  My mother beamed as she placed a tiara on my head and fastened a sash around my stomach. It had a pin in the middle that said, ‘Mommy-to-be.’

  Meanwhile, Ivan was being fitted into ‘dad suspenders.’ They were decked out with pins. Each pin came with a dad joke. The biggest joke of all was seeing Ivan in suspenders.

  “Why won’t these things stay in place?” said Jacob, Ivan’s fire department buddy and evidently Mackenzie’s new boyfriend. We had set them up on a blind date and it was love at first sight — or, at least, that’s what Mackenzie tells me. I think they are still in their honeymoon phase. But I wish them all the best and I hope it works out because they both deserve to be happy.

  “You’re doing it wrong!” Mackenzie shoved him out of the way but she had no success in the matter. It took a grand total of four guests and finally, my mother to get the suspenders to stay in place.

  “Jeez, I thought that would never end,” Ivan whispered under his breath so that only I could hear.

  “I think that was only the beginning.” And my suspicions proved correct because for the rest of the afternoon we were thrown from one activity to another. First, it was a game called ‘tinkle in the pot’ where our guests had to hold a ping pong balls between their knees, waddle over to a tiny bucket, and try to get the ball in the bucket. Seriously, who comes up with these things?

  In any case, it was a good laugh and at one point, I think that Ivan nearly peed his pants watching the fire chief.

  Then came a diapering game where people were tasked with diapering their partners with toilet paper. The only problem was that the toilet paper was the cheap kind and it kept breaking before anyone could get any momentum.

  All in all, I felt blessed to have so many people supporting us and our family to be. It brought me to tears when I started opening up all the gifts and saw how thoughtful everyone was and how much they truly cared.

  “Thank you,” I said after opening up the last present. “I don’t think you realize how much this means to us. Sometimes, I still think I’m dreaming and that I might wake up in a bed somewhere to find that none of this is real.”

  Ivan took my hand and squeezed it.

  “But here I am, with the love of my life about to start a family. I know that our little boy will be loved and cherished by everyone here and that is more than I could ask for as a mother.”

  And so, I was another step closer to living the life of my dreams — the one that I had always wanted since that day at the carnival where I discovered that I loved Ivan Manning. Now, all I needed was for Ivan to install that white picket fence around our house.

  Sample chapter from Cherishing Her-2 in One Series Boxset

  Book Title: Cherishing His Fake Fiancée:

  A Mystery Billionaire Friends To Lovers Romance

  By Alexa McLean

  Chapter 1: Lily

  Goosebumps prickled along the lengths of my arms. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I straightened my posture and looked out the attic window.

  The street was empty. A few stray leaves left over from the fall, tumbled across the asphalt. I watched them tangle with the tall grass. It was time for me to get off my lazy behind and cut the lawn. But first, I needed to accomplish a bit of spring cleaning. I don’t know how, but junk always seems to accumulate in the attic. Half the time, I don’t even remember bringing it up and yet, there it was stacked and covered with dust.

  I sneezed and I swear, it made the house shake. Even the foundation quaked at my violent outburst. “Well, that’s one way to clear away the dust,” I muttered to myself as I wiped my nose with the back of my hand. “Now, let’s see here...”

  First and foremost, there were some books. You might say I have a bit of an obsession. With my shelves packed, the overflow finds its way into other parts of the house – the attic especially.

  Unfortunately, the attic wasn’t the ideal place to store them. They were covered with mold and most of the pages were stuck together with humidity. “I’m sorry,” I apologized and with a heavy heart, I tossed them into a trash bag. Next came a few unused Christmas gifts. There comes a point when a girl reaches the limit of ugly sweaters she can keep in her wardrobe.

  Once that was all sorted out, I continued to dust. Only, it wasn’t just dust I was dealing with. There were cobwebs up the wazoo up here and it was totally freaking me out. I kept thinking some big, hairy tarantula would jump from the shadows and eat my face clean off my skull.

  Needing some fresh air, I opened up the window and stuck my head outside. Again, I had this feeling like someone was watching me.

  “Grandma?” I whispered almost like I expected an answer from the sky. Of course, all I got for a response was utter silence. “I must be losing my mind.” With a shake of my head, I continued to clean out the attic until it was more-or-less spotless.

  Spent, I wiped the sweat from my brow and sat down with an old photo album in my lap. My parents had given my grandmother a polaroid camera just before they had passed away in a car accident. She became obsessed with the thing, snapping pictures left and right. There were a ton of me playing in the front yard. She had taken the responsibility of raising me when they were gone and she had done everything humanly possible to provide me with a rich and fulfilling childhood.

  I ran my fingertips along her weathered face. It was one of the last before she started to lose herself. First, it was just forgetfulness. She’d misplace her glasses on the top of her head or she’d look around for her car keys only to realize she had been holding them the entire time. It didn’t take long for her to start wandering around the neighborhood, unable to find her way back home.

  That’s when I decided it was time for me to admit her to a nursing home. It was heartbreaking because I knew that I had lost my best friend forever. The woman I called ‘grandma’ was nothing more than a shell. I no longer had someone to talk to about my future and the loving husband I’d find one day or the many grandchildren I planned to give her.

  And when I buried her... it was like a piece of myself was buried alongside her.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force back the pain. Despite the years that had gone by, I still missed her and I thought about her almost every day.

  A tear escaped down my cheek, staining it with a trail of saltiness. I wiped it away and closed the photo album. Grandma wouldn’t have wanted me to live the rest of my life in sadness. She had always advocated for my happiness – for me to do whatever it was that made my heart want to fly.

  “I think that’s enough spring cleaning for one day.” I clapped my hands together and descended the rickety ladder that led to my bedroom, which had once belonged to my grandmother. In her will, she had been gracious enough to let me keep the house being that I was her only grandchild. All her other assets, however, had been liquidated in order to pay for her end-of-life care. Which meant that being between jobs, I was strapped for cash. On the bright side, however, I had a roof over my head.

  My shoulders felt incredibly heavy as I shuffled into the kitchen and made myself a cup of tea – earl gray – the only one grandma kept in the house.

  As I allowed it to steep, I stared out the front window. The curtains were pulled back to let in some of that spring-time sunlight but I drew them to a close hoping it would keep that somebody’s-watching-you feeling at bay.

  Seriously, what’s wrong with me today? I thought to myself.

  I was just about to turn around when I heard that telltale sound I had been waiting for.

  Vroom!

  It rattled through my bones as a bright smile overtook my face, stretching my lips from ear to ear.<
br />
  He was here at last.

  I threw open my front door and saw a sleek BMW round into the cul-de-sac. It was black as night with a bit of pearl to the paint, making it look like it had been soaked in a sea of stars. I’m not even much of a car person and even I could tell that this thing was one well-crafted machine.

  As it passed by my house, the driver-side window came rolling down revealing one of the most handsome men on this planet — hands down.

  Gayle Nash, baseball player extraordinaire, flashed me one of his signature grins. It sent my heart thumping. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of Gayle’s many fangirls. Sure, the guy’s hot and the bad boy every girl dreams of dating as a teenager, but I know very well that its best to keep your goals realistic. I wanted a nice, normal husband and Gayle Nash was anything but normal. Trying to date a guy like that was like trying to tame a wild wolf – you’d be gunning to get hurt.

  And I was smarter than that.

  Gayle killed the engine and emerged from behind the wheel.

  “Are the doors supposed to do that?” I asked as they swung upwards instead of outwards. It looked like something out of a futuristic movie.

  “Mhm. Pretty neat, don’t you think?” His grin deepened. “I picked her up at a trade show. I think it might be the best purchase I’ve ever made.”

  “You always say that about your newest toy.”

  He shrugged. “Care to take a look inside?”

  “Sure.” I approached the car and bent forward so that I was halfway inside the interior. Doing so, my ass was left hanging outside the door. I felt the weight of Gayle’s stare. Was he staring at my ass? Before I could look back and find out, he had joined me. His body was nearly pressed against my own. My heart accelerated and my skin became as hot as lava.

  “Check this out,” he said as he pressed a button on the dash. All of a sudden, the roof of the car came alive with a million tiny specks of light. “It’s called the ‘Star Gaze Feature.’ So, if you ever want to lay down in the backseat and watch the stars with me, all you have to do is ask.”