Lovestrung: A friends to lovers romance

by Karen Ferry

  “Please listen to me,” he said when I couldn’t get any further, his body plastered to mine.

  “Really, it doesn’t matter,” I started.

  He pushed his thumb against my lips, silencing me.

  “It was a job,” he said low. “It paid well, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it at first. But the reason I went down that road? It’s like I told you our first morning together as a couple. I can’t and won’t ever be poor again. It…” he stopped talking and closed his eyes briefly. “It scared me, all right? I want to be able to buy you the perfect ring when the time comes. I want our children to have the best of everything in this world.”

  I let out a small sigh at his words.

  “Getting a bit ahead of yourself there, aren’t you?” I teased, but oh, how I wanted that future with him.

  “Scholarships weren’t enough to get me through vet school, Penelope. Luke offered me the job when I needed it the most, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t seem like I’d struck gold at the time.”

  I pushed a strand of hair away from his forehead and ran my thumb over the frown.

  “All right, then.”

  “You have to believe me when I tell you I didn’t cheat. I hadn’t had sex with a woman in a year before you.”

  I couldn’t keep the surprise out of my voice. “You hadn’t?”

  “No. I meant it when I said it had been a long time for me that first night you came to dinner. Sure, it might look as if I kissed those other women in the photo shoots, but I didn’t. My blood didn’t burn when I felt their lips on mine. The touch of their hands didn’t set me on fire. When my dick got hard, it was because I thought of you. Only you.”

  God, how his words set me on fire at this very moment and I cursed each second we were stuck inside the elevator. I needed him now.

  But he kept talking. “The only woman whose lips and touch I’ve wanted for a fucking long time are yours, darlin’. And you’re the last woman who’ll ever get mine.”

  “Shut up and kiss me,” I breathed.

  His lips quirked in amusement as the elevator stopped at his floor, and when the doors slid open, he stepped away and out of my space, but he took my hands again. I loved that he couldn’t seem to stop touching me. I went willingly when he turned and tugged me gently behind him.

  He had to let my hand go to pull out his keys when we finally got to his front door, and, my breath puffing from desire, I welcomed the heat that spread like a wildfire between my legs.

  “Hurry,” I whispered and pushed my body against his back.

  He hummed. “Impatient, are we?”

  As he opened the door, I pushed him gently over the threshold.

  “Oh, yes, indeed I am.”

  He turned around and grabbed my hand, and with another tug, I was back where I belonged: inside his home. He shut and locked the door and then leaned against it, watching me as I untied the belt around my coat.

  “Why aren’t you undressed already?” I grinned at him.

  He pushed back from the door and walked towards me, keeping his gaze locked with mine. The unmistakable love that met me made me tremble from head to toe. When he stopped in front of me, he stilled my shaking fingers.

  “Because I want to take my time with you this time, Penelope.”

  I wet my lips. “So, that’s a no to ravishing?”

  He inhaled deeply. “Oh, there’ll be plenty of it. Just not the kind you have in mind, I think.”

  A thrill coursed through me at the blatant desire that shined from his gaze, and I let my arms fall listlessly to my sides.

  “Show me, baby,” I breathed. “I’m all yours.”

  28

  The Sweet Life…For Real.

  “I never thought I’d be so lucky,” Ethan murmured as he began to unbutton my coat, his gaze following his movements. “I thought I’d never be worthy of you.”

  “Why not?” I whispered. “You deserve the world. You deserve everything, baby.”

  He let out a trembling sigh. “My blood is tainted, darlin’. You know where I come from…who my father was.”

  The mentioning of his father in such an intimate moment doused the fire coursing through my body.

  “And your point is?”

  A lock of his hair flopped down his forehead, almost completely hiding his eyes. “A part of him lives inside me, Penelope.”

  “That’s bullshit.”

  His head snapped back, eyes wide and fearful, so I closed the distance between us and pressed my body flush to his. I wrapped my arms around his neck, needing to be as close to him as I could get.

  “I’m not just saying that because I don’t want to believe it. You’re not the same. You will never be anything like him.” I pushed up on my toes until our lips were perfectly aligned. “If you need me to remind you of that fact every day for as long as I live, I will. But I hope that, in time, you’ll come to the same conclusion.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  I ached at the torment swimming in his eyes.

  I hurt for the boy he’d been when I’d first met him.

  And I hurt for the man I’d come to love with every fiber of my being.

  “I know you, Ethan. I love you, and I have faith in you.”

  He pushed at the lapels of my coat, causing it to slide down my shoulders, and I shivered again when he trembled violently.

  “I love you so much it fucking hurts sometimes,” he whispered. “It’s the sweetest pain I could’ve ever imagined, but I don’t want it to stop. I want to make it last forever.”

  My skin prickled underneath the layers of clothes separating us, and I couldn’t stand the barrier between us any longer.

  “I need to feel you, Ethan.” I nibbled on his lips. “Please make love to me.”

  He pressed his mouth firmly to mine, his tongue pushing against my lips, begging for entrance, and I granted it to him. Our tongues danced a slow, sensual, knowing dance; one that I’d gotten to know well since I came home, yet one that felt different now. Whereas Ethan was usually frantic, lustful when we were intimate, he took his sweet, agonizing time now. His big hands found their way inside my long sweater, his knuckles teasing my nipples that hardened behind my bra and I groaned, wanting more.

  Always more, more, more. As much as he would give me.

  I breathed harshly when I lost his mouth. “You’re being unfair,” I huffed.

  He only smiled, and I lost his eyes when he removed my sweater swiftly. I toed out of my boots and grabbed on to his shirt, but he distracted me from my task of undressing him when his mouth came down one mine again.

  His hands framed my cheeks, taking full demand over my movements, and I loved it. I pressed my hips into his, moaning when I felt his cock grow even harder against me. He moved his head, his lips trailing one burning kiss after the other down my face and neck.

  “God, you’re so good at this,” I murmured.

  “Shhh,” he crooned. “No more talking. Just feel me, darlin’.”

  Oh, I did. I felt his touch everywhere.

  His lips on my burning skin.

  His hands on my breasts.

  His hard cock against my belly.

  But I needed more, and while his lips danced on my feverish skin, I ran my hands underneath his shirt and up his hard chest. He jerked when I found his nipples and played my own game on the small disks. I could feel and hear his breathing as it grew louder in the room, and I smiled triumphantly.

  “Unzip my pants,” he murmured before his mouth closed over mine again, and I did as he asked while his mouth grew more persistent. He was losing his precious controll, and I thrilled, knowing I was the cause of it. I moaned, trying to push him closer to the edge. I wanted him wild, mad with lust, and when his hands started to shake around my breasts, I knew I’d succeeded.

  He wrenched his mouth from mine as I pushed his jeans over his hips.

  “You’re playing with me.”

  I smiled, hoping he could see how wild I
was for him in my eyes.

  “No, I’m not, baby,” I breathed.

  “I want to be gentle with you.”

  The way his eyes had turned almost black with lust sent a delicious thrill through me.

  “I don’t want gentle,” I answered and kneeled before him, keeping his gaze locked with mine. “I want you the way you are.”

  I breathed against his cock, scraping the fabric hiding it with my teeth. His hands found its way into my hair, releasing it from the hair-tie, and when I felt it cascade down my back, I sighed.

  “You want my dick, darlin’?”

  I nodded and flexed my hands around his tight ass, squeezing it.

  “Please?”

  He opened his mouth and released a long groan when I ran my hands against the cock head again.

  “Have at it, then.”

  Pleased he gave me what I desired, I pulled at the band of his boxers and when his cock sprang free, I felt a rush of wetness in my pussy. I licked my lips and then I feasted on his hard but velvet soft skin. The long rumble that sounded from his chest was like music to my ears. His grip tightened in my hair, then gentled, as I took him as far down my throat as I could get before I glided back up.

  “Don’t make me come with your mouth,” he warned. “I’ve missed your pussy, darlin’. I need to come inside you.”

  I’d missed him and his dirty mouth so much, I hummed deeply, making his cock twitch in my mouth. Time ceased to exist as I did my best to bring him as much pleasure as I could, but then he pulled out and bent down to take my mouth with his. I kissed him back and held on to his strong arms before I felt his hands under my armpits and he pulled me up.

  “Enough,” he growled against my mouth and pushed me back. “Lie down on the couch,” he demanded.

  Again, I did as he asked, and when he kneeled before me, he spread my legs.

  “You really need to learn to wear a skirt,” he mumbled and took a firm hold on my leggings. “Up.” I pushed my hips from the soft leather and back as he pulled them, along with my socks, away.

  “I’ll bear that in mind,” I promised him as I pushed my hands through his hair.

  His eyes burned while he ran his hands up and down my thighs, and his nostrils flared.

  “Tell me what you want, darlin’.”

  “You.”

  “Where?”

  I couldn’t stop trembling as I felt his thumbs press in and down on my clit behind my frilly panties.

  “Everywhere,” I hedged.

  “Say it,” he teased and rubbed gently against me, causing me to gasp.

  “I want your mouth on my pussy, baby,” I moaned, “and I want it now.”

  “Done.”

  My head felt heavy and I took a deep breath when he removed my panties. As his head descended between my legs, I widened them even further even though my muscles screamed from the tension. But I didn’t care. At this very moment, I believed I’d die if I didn’t feel his mouth on the most intimate part of my body. His lips closed around my clit, and I held my breath. When I felt his tongue start licking me out in earnest, it became impossible to keep my eyes open any longer, and I let my head fall back on the couch.

  He ravished me with his tongue, lips, teeth.

  He made me forget everything around me.

  I felt him everywhere.

  When he pushed a finger inside me, I lost all control, and I started to ride his face, spurred on by his groans and warm breath against me. The fire spread through me, starting at my toes, through my entire body, until it stopped at the top of my head.

  “Ethan…baby…I’m coming,” I cried out.

  Specks of light flashed behind my closed eyes. My body went taut, and I tightened my grip in his hair, not even caring in the least if I hurt him. His relentless torment on my clit lessened slowly as I came down from my high, and I found the will to open my eyes. Seeing him still kneeling between my trembling legs, a wicked gleam in his eyes, made me gasp.

  “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” I released my strong hold in his hair.

  He shook his head. “No fucking way. That was hot as hell, darlin’.”

  I flushed underneath his lustful gaze, though I secretly thrilled that he thought so.

  “My turn.”

  He straightened and got up, only to sit down next to me, before he took my hand. “Stand up and sit astride me, Penelope.”

  I shivered at the command but on trembling legs, I did as I was told.

  “Good girl.”

  A small sigh of contentment left his mouth and slowly, I pushed down on his cock, moaning softly when I felt him stretch me.

  “Look at me, darlin’.”

  My eyes snapped up to his. The lust was still there, smoldering at me, but when he wrapped his arms around my lower back, pulling me closer, the lust gave way to love.

  “I’ve been without you for a week,” he murmured softly and kissed the tip of my nose. “I need you to look at me while I make love to you. I need you to see what you do to me.”

  I rested my forehead against his and rolled my hips. That earned me another groan, and loving the sound, I did it again. And again. He thrusted up, all the while keeping his gaze locked with mine, and I saw what I meant to him.

  How much he loved me.

  There were no shadows in his eyes anymore.

  It was like a veil lifted, leaving in its wake a shimmering light only meant for me.

  He grunted as I placed my hands on his shoulders, and the strength I felt when his muscles flexed sent me over the edge for the second time.

  “That’s it, darlin’. Eyes on me.”

  I struggled to keep my eyes open, but I won the war, letting him see what he did to me, too. Sweat dripped down his torso when he with one last thrust planted himself so deeply inside me, I felt a sting of pain. One that I thought I might feel for days, but it didn’t matter.

  Because the pain was exquisite.

  He pulled me closer and buried his face in my throat, nuzzling and kissing my sweaty skin. I burrowed my nose in his hair, breathing him in.

  “You’re stuck with me forever, Ethan Collins,” I murmured.

  He trembled and squeezed me once before he raised his head.

  “Fucking perfect,” he grinned.

  The sheer joy in his beautiful eyes made my nose prickle, but I swallowed the thickness in my throat. This was not the time and place for tears, not even happy ones.

  “Shower,” he said, and I nodded. “Then we’ll talk.”

  I cocked my head at him. “That sounds serious.”

  “It is.”

  With that cryptic remark, I pushed up on my knees, wincing a bit as he slid out of me.

  “Hold on,” he stopped me, hands splayed on my ass, and when he lifted me up, I clamped my legs around him.

  “Ethan, put me down,” I laughed.

  But he only smirked at me as he walked from his living room and into his bathroom.

  “You’re exactly where you need to be,” he grinned. “In my arms.”

  My heart melted.

  “Sometimes, you really do say the most perfect, romantic things to me.”

  His eyes warmed, making my breath hitch from the tenderness he didn’t hide from me. I thought I saw a faint blush creep up his neck and opened my mouth to tease him about it, but he silenced me with his lips.

  I sighed into his mouth.

  My teasing could wait. His lips couldn’t – nor should they.

  But in the back of my mind, I was amazed at the fact that even after all this time, he was still able to surprise me.

  And that was pretty damn exquisite as well.

  "All right, spill the beans,” I smiled at Ethan and blew on the hot chocolate steaming in my cup. “What did you want to talk with me about?”

  Once again, I found myself perched on the kitchen counter, but since I hadn’t brought a bag – which, come to think of it, I really should’ve done – I was wearing one of his T-shirts. My damp hair was hidden in a towel, away
from my face. Ethan was in his usual gray sweats hanging low on his hips, which meant that every thirty seconds or so, I got distracted by his abs and that delicious V at his hips.

  Well, he was gorgeous, so I couldn’t really be blamed for losing my train of thoughts.

  He took a sip before he put his cup down and caged me in. “Your living arrangements.”

  I raised my eyebrows at him. “What about them?”

  “You should move in with me.”

  I coughed, a marshmallow having got caught in my throat. “Excuse me?” I spluttered.

  He rubbed soothing circles on my back, but I was far from soothed.

  “You heard me.”

  “You’re crazy. I can’t move in with you.”

  He tilted his head at me.

  “No, I’m not, and why can’t you move in?”

  I told him the same thing I’d told Gramps.

  “Because I want to live on my own. I’ve never done that, Ethan, and I think it’s important.”

  He frowned, clearly unhappy with my decision.

  “I’m not budging on this.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and straightened my spine as he pursed his lips. I started to feel a little apprehensive when a calculating gleam came into his eyes.

  “All right, then. How’s the apartment hunting going for you?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Not too well, actually.”

  He stepped away and put his hands on his hips. “Luke owns this building. Did you know?”

  I shook my head, surprised at the revelation. “No. Ella never said that, but then again, it’s never come up.” I shrugged. “But what’s that got to do with my living situation?”

  “I can talk to him, see if he’ll let you rent one of the other lofts for cheap.”

  My mouth popped open in shock. “Seriously, baby, that’s sweet of you, but I doubt I can afford it.”

  I hopped down, unable to sit still any longer, and wandered to the dogs that were snoring away in their crates. Freya woke up and thumped her tail once before she resumed her afternoon nap.

  “Let me worry about that.”

  I steeled myself, not liking the sound of that.