They're Strictly Friends (Tough Love Spinoff Book 1)

by Chloe Liese

“You know.” I waved my hand around. “As in you will expect things of your child—goodness, intelligence, and hard work. Like your parents did you and your siblings. Oh, your parents are so wonderful. I’m glad we live near them.”

  “Yes, well”—Lucas cleared his throat—“you might revise that statement once the baby’s here and Mum’s beating down your door each day demanding time with her grandchild.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think I’ll mind it one bit, Lucas—it’s not like I have any relationship with Maman anymore. Charli’s my mother now.”

  A heavy silence fell around us, and I could tell Lucas was preoccupied by how his body tensed, the sound of his teeth grinding. Papa had shown up a few months ago at Farthington. He’d disinvested himself of Bertrand, and hadn’t wanted to come to me until he could tell me in all honesty that he was free of Maman and her world. It would be a lie to say I didn’t ache for reconciliation with my mother—but the truth was it was on her to begin that process.

  For now, Papa and I spoke periodically on the phone, and he’d paid a few visits here and got to know Lucas. Loulou was a little quiet when Papa was around, I think because of how protective he felt for me, but when he let his guard down, the two of them, and often I, too, had spent many spring nights talking animatedly about everything from economic policy to footie.

  Lucas was frowning as I resurfaced from my thoughts.

  “Loulou? What is it?”

  Lucas smiled distractedly at me. “I was just…thinking something through.”

  I nudged him with my elbow. “Well, what is it? Tell me.”

  Turning toward him tweaked something in my hip, and I groaned when the pain hit. Lucas’s hand moved swiftly to the familiar point of discomfort.

  “Poor darling,” he muttered, pressing the heel of his hand right into my hip and backside, making me moan with relief. He planted a gentle kiss on my cheek.

  “Distract me,” I said wearily. “Tell me what you were thinking.”

  He sighed and laid his cheek on the top of my head. “I was just thinking I want us to be married before the baby comes. I bet it sounds absurd, but it’s just that I hadn’t let myself think much about it because you’ve been so tired and sick, and I know you’re not up for a big wedding, but now, the baby will be here soon, and I really want us to all be a family, legally.”

  Peering over my shoulder at him, I smiled. “That’s not absurd, Lucas. Those are your feelings.”

  “Well, my feelings are simply that. They’re silly. It’s not practical—”

  “They’re not silly,” I said emphatically. “They’re important. Your feelings matter.” I sighed as I shifted again and got moderately comfortable. “I do wish it could have been different, that we could have done an obscenely fun, proper wedding, but you’re right that it’s just not been possible with this pregnancy.”

  I glanced down at my round belly, and felt the baby shift. Lucas’s arms threaded tighter around me, and he squeezed gently. “You’ve been so bloody brave Elodie. Months of being ill. IV fluids. Broth and biscuits. You just bore it all like a saint.”

  “It meant the baby was all right,” I whispered, interlacing my fingers with his. “I’d bear anything for them to be safe. It meant my body was doing what it needed to keep our baby alive and growing.”

  Lucas released one of my hands to smooth my hair, twirling a curl around his finger. “I know, sweetheart, but you just need to understand I’ve got a bit of a chip on my shoulder, all the trouble this one’s given you. They’d better come out downright heartbreakingly adorable and not give you a hint of issues on their way out.”

  I snorted, shaking my head. “You clearly aren’t familiar with the process of labor. It’s hellacious, Lucas. Nairne likes to recount Jamie’s birth whenever she’s got more than two whiskeys in her system, and I’m not going to lie, it sounds terrifying.”

  He laughed quietly. “Fair enough. But that’s what a spinal is for. We’ll get you good and numb and then voilà, pain-free birth.”

  I sighed happily. “That’s the plan.”

  Nuzzling my hair, he breathed deeply. “God, I will never get over how delicious you smell. Like flowers and sugar and something sinful. It’s absurdly addictive.” He smoothed my hair again, peering down at me. “You made me think of it, mentioning Nairne’s labor. Do you remember, spending the day with her while she labored in denial of being in labor?”

  “Oooh, you made those piña coladas!” I sighed and my face fell. “They were virgin, weren’t they?

  “Yes.” He bopped me softly on the nose. “And they’ll have to be for you this time too.”

  “Bugger, I miss alcohol,” I grumbled.

  “Soon enough, my love, you’ll be sitting on that back patio, enjoying the late summer air and a crisp g-and-t,” he whispered against my ear, nipping it softly with his teeth. “And then afterward, I’ll drag you upstairs and make love to you all night long. You’re delightfully noisy when you’ve had a few to drink, I live for it.”

  “Lucas, that is not true!” I scowled.

  “Oh, it’s absolutely true. You lose all inhibitions. You shove my face in your gorgeous cunt, and suck my cock like it’s your last meal.”

  “So I’m a little vocal. It’s healthy that I’m enjoying myself. But here you are making me feel self-conscious. I’m rather put out now, Loulou.”

  I felt his smile against my skin as he nuzzled me. “I love it, darling, it’s why I told you.”

  I turned slowly, so we faced each other, my belly pressing into his and making him smile as he glanced down, rubbing it tenderly. “About getting married soon?” I said.

  His eyes met mine.

  “I’d like that too,” I whispered.

  “Really?” Biting his lip, that forever rogue piece of hair flopping onto his forehead, he was dangerously handsome, so dear to me, and I was desperate for him to be my husband.

  “Really.” I smiled. “Let’s just have our family and a few close friends, and Nairne and Zed and Jamie. What about down at Sarah and Oliver’s? Right in that beautiful spot near the back of the house, overlooking the beach, a simple ceremony and brunch afterward?” I laughed quietly as Lucas’s face broke into a giddy grin. “I bet I could plan the whole thing from the sofa for as short as a week or two from now, as a matter of fact.”

  Lucas hugged me close, kissing me deeply. “Darling, that’s brilliant. I’ll ring Sar right now and put it to her.” He popped up, making his way toward the phone before backtracking, leaning over the sofa and kissing me soundly once again. “I can’t wait to marry you, Elodie Josephine Marie. I can’t bloody wait.”

  To say Lucas’s family was supportive, caring, loving—everything you could ever hope to gain in a family of in-laws when you marry—would be a gross understatement. They’d made it all possible, putting up our friends and the two of us in their home for the night, setting up a long table full of linens and flowers and plates, beautiful mismatched glasses, and silverware. A makeshift canopy had been set up and chairs for us all.

  The morning of our little wedding dawned sunny and promising, a balmy and bright July day that whispered the promise of a hot summer. I woke early to a bed without Lucas, nervous and feeling a little different—expectant and grateful. In a long cotton dress I used as a morning gown and one of Lucas’s jumpers, I wandered barefoot through the garden that led from Sarah and Oliver’s home to the edge of their property, which overlooked a breathtaking seascape.

  The earth smelled loamy and clean, its scent reminding me of my friend, my perfect partner, that I’d marry today. The sea breeze snapped my dress against my legs, swaying through the plants and tall grasses, and the warm early sun kissed my face. Tilting my gaze up to the sky, I said a prayer of thanks and hope. To whom, and for what, I wasn’t exactly sure, but I’d decided that I didn’t need to have all the answers to justify an impulse for gratitude, to have a heart hospitable to joy.

  “Elodie?” Charli stood at the back door of the kitchen, coffee
in hand. She scrunched her face in concern. Sweet Charli, how she’d fussed over me. But it had brought us so close, and I could not imagine my world without her tenderness, her dry sharp wit so like Lucas’s.

  I smiled over my shoulder, waving. “I’m all right! Just enjoying the morning and the fresh air.”

  “Be careful near that bluff, dearest,” she called.

  I smiled and nodded, acknowledging her concern while laughing to myself. I was well away from the edge.

  Jack stepped behind Charli, coffee in hand. “Having second thoughts, dove?” He smirked into his mug, coughing slightly when Charli elbowed him.

  “Honestly, Jack, you’re terrible,” she muttered.

  “Not one bit. You’re stuck with me!” I called. Then, feeling the wind urge me on, I waved goodbye while they retreated into the kitchen. Taking a few more steps along the property, I gained a new vantage of the sea below and wrinkled my nose as I realized there was a man down below, swimming. His arms knifed deftly through the water and his powerful legs kicked, showing pale upper thighs and a stark white arse.

  “Oh my God!” I whispered, because I knew that arse, even from all this distance. “What the hell is he thinking?”

  Panic filled me as I worried about how Lucas might lose his view of the land, knowing his distance vision was weak. I started to pace, trying to think clearly about what I should do, but just as I decided to holler for Charli and Jack, Lucas turned toward the shore, surging powerfully forward to join an incoming wave. He rode it in, standing quickly as it crashed him ashore. Shaking his head like a wet dog, he smacked the side of it to knock water out of his ear. He was breathtaking—lean muscle, tall and graceful as he stepped off the shore with not a stitch of clothing on him.

  “Christ, man.” My body burned awake. I wanted him, badly. I’d been this way for the past month, now that the nausea had finally abated. I was insatiable with want for him.

  As if he’d heard me, Lucas glanced up. Though I had no idea how he could possibly see me, I could have sworn he did, because he beamed, that wide bright smile flashing my way. He jogged forward on the sand, snatching up his shorts and stepping into them, then throwing on a long-sleeved shirt before he headed inland, disappearing from sight.

  I stood transfixed, my mind and body humming with that beautiful vision of my soon-to-be husband, naked and undaunted by the sea. Soon enough, his steady steps sounded across the grass. I turned to see the sun casting its morning beams on Lucas, who glowed. Light danced around him, making his silvery-green eyes sparkle like the morning sea as they took me in. He walked confidently, carefree as he stepped right up to me and tugged me in his arms.

  “God, you’re a sight.” His hands rose to my hair, twirling a curl in his finger, thumbing my lip. I leaned into his hand, kissing his palm. “I knew it was you,” he said. “A beautiful backlit blob from my vantage on the shore, but all mine.” He laughed, kissing me soundly and placing a hand on my belly. “How’s the little tyrant treating you today, sweetheart?”

  I grinned, wrapping my arms around his waist as much as I could with our baby between us. “Just fine. I feel excellent, actually, like I can breathe a little easier.”

  Lucas frowned, stepping back and holding me at arm’s length as he inspected me. “Your belly looks a bit lower, is that it? Isn’t it early for them to drop?”

  “I don’t know, I think there’s a window of time that’s normal. I’m thirty-five weeks today. Seems reasonable.”

  Lucas’s face remained frozen in a scowl of concern, so I pressed closer, smoothing my finger over that furrowed spot between his brows. “Don’t worry, Loulou. I’m fine. Now, I was thinking…” I muttered, grabbing his shirt and pulling him close.

  He was wearing a charcoal-colored thermal that hugged the muscles of his arms and abdominals, bringing out the gray in his eyes, and barely met his shorts, which hung low on his narrow hips. The sun glowed sharper behind him, and he was such a perfect vision of beauty and strength to me.

  “Why don’t we go practice a little of what you’re supposed to do once you’re married?” I whispered.

  Lucas’s eyebrows shot up. “What, again?” He smirked. “Mrs. About-to-be-Edwards, I’ve felt rather used and abused lately, I don’t know if I quite have it in me.”

  I blushed furiously, dropping my head against his chest as he laughed. Pulling me against him, his hands slipped down my back and cupped my arse. “You know I love it, Elodie.” He smiled against my neck, kissing me tenderly. “Come on, then, we haven’t got all day.”

  Lucas tugged me by the arm, waiting for me to follow him as he dragged me toward the field nearby.

  “Where are we going?” I called, laughing as we drifted through the tall grass and wildflowers, the breeze throwing my hair in my face.

  Lucas glanced over his shoulder at me, and my heart stopped. He smiled wide, happiness etched in his features as he tugged my hand gently to follow. “I’m going to make love to you in a field of flowers, cross my fingers the nosy neighbors won’t trip over us while you’re screaming my name, and then we’re getting married already.” He tugged me along. “How’s that sound?”

  I feigned thinking, peering around as he dragged me forward. “I suppose I could be convinced.”

  Soon we were swallowed by a sea of grass and blossoms, the world outside forgotten as nature wrapped around us and the growing sun warmed my skin.

  “This,” he whispered, untying the sash that held my wrap dress around me. “This is very dangerous.” It slipped from his fingers before the fabric drifted off my shoulders. “Oops.”

  I laughed quietly, lifting his shirt and sliding my hands along his hard stomach and chest. Lucas tugged his shirt the rest of the way over his head, stepped out of his shorts, and made a bed of his clothing. Pulling me down to him, Lucas lay on his back and held me, back to his front, resting almost entirely on him, so he could easily slip in, unobstructed by my belly. His arm wrapped around me, grasping my breast, while his other hand drifted down my belly and found my clit.

  “Oh,” I sighed. “Loulou, I don’t want to play. I want you inside me.”

  “We’re taking our time, dearest.”

  I groaned. “You always want to take your time.”

  “Because good sex is not worth rushing. We’ve been over this.”

  I laughed until it became a moan. Lucas tortured me with slide after slide of his thick length against me, as he strummed my swollen nub roughly and whispered filthy sweet things in my ear.

  “Lucas, please.”

  “Seeing you full of my baby, begging for my cock, Elodie—it does things to me. It fucking kills me.”

  He thrust in, and we both groaned with satisfaction. “Christ, you’re perfect,” he moaned while pumping gently into me.

  The wind swept over us, pulling my nipples taut and making me shiver. Lucas’s hand drifted to my neck and held me tight against him while he sucked my ear and kissed every divot of my neck and shoulder.

  Once I surrendered to Lucas’s incredible penchant for lengthy lovemaking, time was something I neither cared about nor believed in. I lay facing the vast morning sky, a joyous captive to the man who tethered me to earth and made gentle, demanding love to me. I could barely move and he made it so, holding me tight against him, blissfully helpless but to receive.

  “You’re beautiful, Elodie. This body, all mine to adore.”

  “Yes, Loulou,” I whispered. “As yours is mine,” I whimpered as he hit a tender spot and brought me closer to release.

  “That it is, my love. Only yours.”

  His warm sweet breath, that woodsy scent mingled with saltwater, the low tenor of his voice as he moaned and sighed with each thrust, sent me hurtling toward orgasm. “Lucas, I’m going to come,” I panted, and I reached for his arm as it held me tight against him, using his strength for purchase as I began to shake with the force of my release.

  “Yes, Elodie, take everything you want.” I bucked back into him, and it hit a place that ma
de me snap back and scream in ecstasy.

  Lucas gasped and groaned into my hair as his pleasure spilled into mine, as flowers and blades of grass whispered around us, and we rested in this sliver of time and space, where only we, and our love, existed.

  Thirty-Three

  Lucas

  My heart drummed a violent tattoo against my ribs, syncopated against the rhythmic crash of waves below us. Elodie stood at her father’s arm, the sun beaming down on her beauty that would be eternal to me. Her curls were pinned back softly, and already I knew I’d savor pulling those little clasps one by one, watching each wild tendril unfurl in my hand. A crown of flowers perched on her head, roses and daisies, sprigs of green and countless others I couldn’t name. The whisper of her dress married the wind as she walked slowly toward me, and my heart threatened to capsize.

  “Hang in there,” Zed muttered, a solid bracing hand to my shoulder as water obscured my vision. I dragged in a breath and watched her, her vast blue eyes locked with mine. They were brilliant sapphires today, vivid and depthless like the purest water, the greatest source of life. I was lost in them.

  Sarah stood across the way from me, shaking her head and wiping her tears too, while Kai smiled behind me and Zed. Amelia and Poppy walked softly down the grass, white blonde hair and bright eyes like mine, tossing flowers and smiling. Amelia took it all quite seriously, with even steps and delicate throws of rose petals. But Poppy twirled and skipped, like I knew our baby one day would, if she were a girl and anything like her mother. Noah stood tall and proud next to Kai, waiting for his special task.

  Nairne sat with Jamie in her lap, her eyes fixed on Elodie as tears fell freely. Mum and Dad beamed with joy. Gran and cousins and aunts and uncles formed a sweeping portrait of odd yet loveable family. Jo winked at me and mouthed told you so as Rebecca leaned into her and swayed little Lucy. It was a small party, but one overflowing with happiness. The only notable absence was Elodie’s mother, but today I couldn’t be angry or distracted by that—only focused on my darling, whose every step brought her closer to me.