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

by Ajme Williams

  She sucked in a breath.

  “Cy!” Jude’s voice barked at me.

  I closed my eyes and took a breath. I was being a jerk and couldn’t seem to help it.

  I turned to him. I should have been chagrined but instead I doubled down on my annoyance. “I need to see the current financials.”

  Jude looked at Dina. “Why don’t you take ten?”

  That was code for he was going to give me a tongue lashing. She nodded and then left her desk and went to the breakroom. As if she wouldn’t hear him there.

  “If you ever talk about my wife in that tone again, Cy, I don’t give a fuck if you’re my friend and business partner, I will beat the ever-loving shit out of you.”

  I raised my hands in surrender. “This is business Jude. She’s a partner and while I’m sympathetic to your family situation, decisions need to be made based on current numbers. Why Dina can’t just do them is beyond me. It’s disrespectful of her to require April to check her work.” I really was a dick.

  Jude’s eyes narrowed. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “I’m trying to do my job.”

  “You used to be able to do that without being a dick.” He glared at me with his hand on his hips. “Is this about your mom? Are you worried about her?”

  I mimicked him, putting my hands on my hips and glaring back. “This is me wanting to make sure our business stays solvent.”

  He shook his head like he thought I was going nuts. “What has happened to make you think it’s not?”

  “I can’t get current financials. I’m gone four days and I can’t even get a current financial.”

  “You’re a valuable member of this business, but you’re not fucking indispensable. The rest of us know what we’re doing, Cy.”

  Jesus. This was getting out of hand way too quickly. From up the hall, I heard my computer ding with a notification.

  “That’s the McMartin scan report.” I pushed past Jude to my office.

  “Yeah, well, when you get that done, scan yourself and find out why you’re being an asshole,” he called after me.

  I strode into my office and slammed the door. I ran my fingers through my hair wondering what was wrong with me. Well, I knew. It was Petal. She was fucking with my sanity.

  I let out a growl and focused my agitated energy on doing my job. I sent the McMartin scan to Conner. I ran my own financial report although the large number of account receivables annoyed me more. Had Dina sent the invoices?

  Finally, I ran out of things to do, but not the agitated energy. I felt like I was vibrating with it.

  “Fuck it!” I stood and grabbed my coat. I exited my office and found the rest of the space empty. I checked my watch. They’d all gone home and hadn’t told me. Not that I could blame them. If I could barely stand to be around me, they sure as shit couldn’t either.

  I locked up and headed straight to Petal’s, feeling a bit like I was walking into my own doom, but unable to stop myself.

  I reached the bakery and took a moment to rethink what I was doing. Fuck it.

  It was ten minutes past her closing time, but the door was open. I walked in, turned the sign to “Closed” and locked the door. I made a b-line through the swinging door into the kitchen.

  She was tasting frosting, her cupid bow lips wrapped around her finger as she turned to me, her brows arching in surprise.

  I felt a rolling in my chest, and the agitation morphed into something less volatile, but it was still an energy humming in my blood. I wanted her to suck my dick like she was sucking her finger. I wanted to bathe her in frosting and lick it all off her body.

  “Cyrus.”

  I strode up to her, looking like a mad man I’m sure, but she didn’t back away. She wasn’t afraid.

  “You are a witch, you know. A sexy witch.”

  Her brows furrowed in concern or question; I wasn’t sure.

  “You’ve fucking bewitched me,” I clarified.

  She bit her lip and it was so fucking sexy it was a wonder my dick hadn’t appeared out of my waistband.

  “I’m sorry?” She clearly didn’t know what to make of me.

  I took her hand and looked at her finger. The frosting was mostly gone, but there was a small sliver of it still there. I put her finger in my mouth and sucked, letting my tongue gently lave its soft pad.

  Her green eyes flared with heat and her breath hitched.

  “Do you know what I thought when I walked in here?” I asked, licking her finger.

  “No. What?”

  “I wanted to spread that frosting all over your body and lick it off.”

  She swallowed hard. “It’s peanut butter chocolate. Your favorite.”

  I groaned. She was supposed to tell me I was a fucking pervert. Or make me leave. She’s your friend.

  “Make me leave,” I finally said. “I’ll fuck this up Petal and I don’t want to.”

  “I can’t make you leave,” she said, dipping her finger in the frosting and offering it to me again.

  I groaned and closed my eyes as her finger, cool from the frosting, entered my hot mouth.

  “See, bewitching.” I managed to say when she withdrew her finger. I leaned closer to her, wanting to do something that would have her pushing me away, but having a hard time finding the words. Finally, I said. “I’m going home and I’m going to jerk off this hardon.”

  Her gaze held mine, not all put off by my comment. Then I felt her hand on my dick. “I can jerk it off for you. I can suck it off if you’d rather.”

  “Fuck!” I closed my eyes and looked up, willing for the strength to not strip her bare right there and fuck her on her cupcake table.

  Her hands went to my belt and I simply didn’t have the strength to stop her. I looked down at her pretty green eyes watching me as she undid the button of my pants and pushed my slacks and boxer briefs down.

  Her finger dipped into the frosting batter again and holy fuck, I damn near came at the idea of what she’d do with it. With her gaze still on mine, she sank to her knees. Finally, she broke contact and looked at my dick, harder than steel rod.

  She drew the icing along the length. My dick jumped at the cool thick icing, and an electric shock zapped through me, short circuiting my brain.

  “Don’t tease me, Petal….fuck…suck it if you’re going to.” My hand was ready to take over because the clawing need for release in my gut was going to kill me for sure.

  Her hand rubbed up and down my thighs until finally, finally, she took my cock in her fingers and licked her tongue along the length of him.

  I growled and closed my eyes while I thread my fingers through her thick red waves. “I’m going to fucking die, here.”

  “Let me help.” She ran her tongue over the tip of my dick making me whimper with need. This woman was going to bring me to my knees.

  And then she sucked him into her hot wet mouth. She took me as deep as she could, my tip hitting the back of her throat and then sliding back.

  “Jesus…make me come, make me come.”

  She held the part of my dick she couldn’t fit into her mouth and along with her lips she stroked me, firm, deep, until I was a blithering idiot begging for release.

  With her other hand, her fingers massaged my balls. I slammed my hand down on the table needing support as my hips rocked, faster, with more force.

  “Yes, Petal, yes…fuck…make me come…I’m gonna come…”

  I went screaming to the edge, teetered in that one moment of blissful torture. She sucked me deep, again hitting the back of her throat and that was it.

  “Fuuuucccck….” I thrust as the first shot of cum blasted out.

  She sucked and sucked taking it all until it was too much and my cum dripped from the corner of her mouth. Even then, she lapped and licked until my dick was nothing but a limp noodle.

  She smiled as she stood. “Better?”

  I was undone. This woman had stripped me of all my will. A part of me felt I needed to run. It was too
much for her to see this in me. At the same time, I had to stay. I wasn’t lying when I said she’d bewitched me. I was totally, completely, under her spell.

  12

  Petal

  I knew Cyrus was back today and when he didn’t show up at his usual time, I’d decided that while he was with his mother for legitimate reasons, he was also likely using the time to create distance from me. It made me regret having had sex with him because I missed his visits and talking to him. As much as I’d have liked to see our friendship grow, if that wasn’t in the cards, I wanted to retain our friendship. Having sex seemed to have made that difficult for him.

  Closing time came, but because I sometimes had a few last minute customers, I left the door open as I went back to the kitchen to start some cupcakes and frosting for tomorrow. I’d sold out of the chocolate peanut butter so I was making another batch and feeling sad about not seeing Cyrus when he burst into the kitchen.

  He looked agitated and I wasn’t sure what to think. But then he told me I’d bewitched him. I hated that he was annoyed at that, but I wouldn’t deny liking that he felt it. There was something about me he couldn’t resist. Good, because I couldn’t resist him either.

  He wanted me to make him go, but that wouldn’t happen. Instead, I touched him. I took his long magnificent dick into my mouth and did everything I could to make him feel good.

  The desperation and strain I heard in his voice when he said, “Make me come,” made me feel so powerful and feminine in my sexuality. I’d never felt that before.

  But now I’d swallowed his cum and as I stood and looked at him, his eyes didn’t hold satisfaction or anything that suggested he was happy. He almost looked gutted.

  All that powerful femininity vanished and now I felt like a fool. I stepped back. “I guess I should have sent you away like you asked.”

  He pulled his pants up and refastened them. “Fuck. See, I keep hurting you.” He stepped to me. “I don’t want to hurt you Petal.”

  I took the frosting bowl off the mixer knowing I’d have to toss it. “What do you want, Cyrus?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “I want to eat your pussy and make you scream my name.”

  My pussy contracted, clearly liking that idea. But his tone suggested that while he may want that, he also didn’t like that he wanted that.

  “No one is stopping you,” I quipped, annoyed that he was denying himself. Denying me.

  He took the bowl and set it aside and rubbed my arms with his hands. “I’m sorry.”

  I tugged away. “Yes, I know Cyrus. You regret this. Next time you ask me to suck your dick I won’t.”

  In an instant I was off my feet and he’d set me on the table. “One more time, Petal. I’m going to make you come one more time.” His hands slid up my thighs and under my dress.

  “Don’t do me any favors.” I hated that he was doing this. He wanted to preserve our friendship, but the longer he toyed with me like this, the harder it would be.

  His hands cradled my face. “I can’t stop wanting you.”

  My heart cartwheeled in my chest. I wanted to ask him why he kept fighting himself, but I knew why. We were friends. April had suggested it would be a problem if something went wrong for Cyrus and me, and I didn’t want to cause trouble for him and Jude and April.

  “I’m right here, Cyrus.”

  He kissed me then, hard, like he’d been starving for my taste. Or maybe that was me because I gripped his shirt and held him to me, wanting to hold him there and never stop.

  His hands left my face and were a flurry as he removed my apron and unzipped my dress. He yanked it with my bra down and then reached for the frosting bowl.

  My entire body went flaming hot at the idea of what he’d do with the frosting.

  He rubbed some on my sensitive nipples making me moan.

  “You don’t need frosting, Petal,” he said. “You’re so sweet. Too sweet. But fuck do I need sweet.” Then his lips sucked one nipple, hard, and I cried out holding his head to me as he suckled and licked. Then he gave attention to the other nipple and I was a whimpering mess. My hips rocked with the need to be touched. My pussy was jealous.

  He pushed the skirt of my dress up and pulled my panties down. “You’re so wet. I love how wet you get.”

  “Touch me.” As much as I liked hearing what he had to say, what I really needed was for him to follow through and eat me until I screamed.

  He pushed me back slightly on the table and put my legs over his shoulders. He made an mmm sound and then his mouth was on me.

  “Yes!” I gripped his head, holding it to my pussy as he devoured me with lips and tongue. I writhed as he sucked my clit while pressing his finger inside me. “Cyrus.”

  “Do you need to come?” he asked, while his finger fucked me.

  “Yes. God please…”

  “Not God, Petal. Cyrus. Get the name right.”

  Jerk. “Cyrus, make me come…please.”

  “Hold on, Petal.” He added a second finger tilting it up until it hit that one perfect spot while he sucked hard on my clit.

  Stars burst behind my eyes. My hips shot off the table. “Cyrus!”

  Pleasure crashed through me like a tsunami. I bucked and writhed as he continued his onslaught. One orgasm seemed to run into another. On and on he continued.

  When he finished, I couldn’t do anything but lay there. He gently pulled me to the edge of the table and scooped me up until I was sitting.

  He held me and kissed the top of my head. I half expected him to say something like, “Now we're even.”

  But he simply held me. I found the strength to wrap my arms around him. “You’re really good at that.”

  He let out one bark of a laugh that was followed with a full chest heaving laugh.

  I looked up at him and he wiped his eyes of laughing tears. “You always surprise me, Petal.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was good. Was he making fun of me?

  As if he knew my concern, his hands cradled my face. “You’re amazing.” He leaned forward resting his forehead against mine. “Petal.”

  I couldn’t decide if his saying my name had the “oops I did it again” tone or one that was resigned to this chemistry between us.

  He stepped back. “Are you hungry?” His serious eyes told me that wasn’t a euphemism. “Can I take you to dinner?”

  “I need to clean up here first.” I was going to suggest he get takeout and bring it to my place, but I could feel that he was creating distance between us again. And he was probably right to do so. We were friends, after all. And he’d made it clear that he didn’t want to mess that up. Plus, I didn’t want to create a situation that would put strain between him and April and Jude.

  He helped me clean up the kitchen and then we walked down to a local diner. We were seated and made small talk as we reviewed the menu and then the waitress took our order.

  When she left, we both sat back and simply stared at the other.

  Finally, he said, “I know you don’t like when I say I’m sorry, but I am. I keep putting you in an awkward situation.”

  “I could stop you,” I said. Certainly he was bigger than me, but he wasn’t a man to force himself on a woman either. If I said, no, he’d respect that. At the same time, I understood what he was saying. “But I know what you’re saying. I don’t want to hurt our friendship either Cyrus. And I don’t want to create any strain between you and Jude. Or have Jude end up in jail.”

  Cyrus’ brow arched. “Jail?”

  I shrugged. “April told me that if you or Conner hurt me that she’d have to have Jude kill you. Actually, she’d send you to kill Conner if he hurt me.”

  “Is that a possibility? You and Conner?”

  Of all the things he could have taken from that statement, he focused on Conner.

  I shook my head. “No.”

  He looked down. “But I could?”

  I didn’t know what to say. The truth was, yes, he could hurt me because I liked him and was
beginning to recognize that I would have liked it to grow into something. At the same time, I didn’t want him to know that. Not when he was so adamant that we remain friends.

  “What I’m saying, Cyrus, is that I agree that we should be friends. Friends only.”

  It looked like there was some relief in his eyes, but also maybe some disappointment. I certainly felt the same way.

  Deciding to change the subject, I asked, “How was your trip to see your mom? Was everything okay?”

  He picked up his spoon and started playing with it like he was nervous. “I don’t know. She looked tired and worn down. I made her go to the doctor and she ended up having all sorts of tests. That’s why I was gone for so long.”

  “What were the results?” I could see the worry in his eyes and I wanted so badly to soothe him.

  “We don’t know yet.”

  “But you’re worried?”

  His dark eyes were intense as they looked at me. “Yes, some. She’s all I’ve got.”

  My heart split at the pain and fear he had to be feeling. I wanted to assure him that she wasn’t all he had, because I was here, and I knew Jude and April were there for him too. But that wasn’t the point. This was his mother. Clearly, he adored her. It made me admire him all the more.

  “When will you know?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Probably next week. I’m thinking of seeing if I can arrange for her to move here.”

  It was strange how happy that made me feel. Instead of thinking about moving back to Chicago to be with her, he wanted to bring her here. It suggested he did feel like he had a place here. Not necessarily with me, but he was committed to his business with Jude and April.

  “The cost of living is better,” I said.

  He nodded. “But I’m not sure she’d want to quit her job. She could probably find one here, but maybe she won’t want to start over. I don’t know. I guess I’ll just wait to see what the tests say.”

  I reached over and put my hand on his. “I hope it all goes well. I can see she means the world to you.”

  He gave me a slight grin that gave him a boyish appearance. It was odd to see because normally he was so fierce looking.