Love in the Headlines: A Star-Crossed Friends-To-Lovers Romance (Love in the Headlines Series Book 1)

by Candace Knoebel

  His shit-eating grin was spread wide across his face, pompous and as arrogant as the words Live Free tattooed across his bare abdomen.

  My head shook. “You’re sick, you know that?”

  “Just your regular, everyday sadist.” Pushing his bowl away from him, he reclined on the stool. “What’s all this for anyway?” He nodded toward the counters littered with cooking supplies and the box of flowers I’d had delivered an hour ago. All yellow tulips. “You planning on proposing or something? Tell me now, so I can have you admitted before you take the plunge.”

  A throaty chuckle surfaced. “Nah. We’ve only been dating for a little over a month. I just … I want to make her feel as good as she does me.”

  He made a gagging motion. “Isn’t that about the sappiest shit I’ve ever heard? Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?”

  I waved him off.

  After a considerate pause, he said, “No, really, man. I’m happy for you. At least one of us gets to experience the big ole L-word.”

  I couldn’t explain the heat that brandished behind my rib cage, expanding out through my skin at the thought of telling Prim what my heart could no longer deny. Words that had been shelved long ago, left to collect dust.

  “It’s weird … feeling this happy. It almost doesn’t seem real.”

  “That’s because you’ve never met a good one before her.” He stood. Rinsed his bowl out in the sink and then put it in the dishwasher. “Should I find a place to crash tonight?”

  “Nah. Just stay away from the rooftop.”

  With a large hand clasped on my shoulder, he said, “Don’t fuck it up, buddy. You deserve this. She’s good for you.”

  She was. My heart had capitulated completely to her light. To her heart.

  And there was no turning back.

  ***

  My heartbeat was drumming by the time eight p.m. rolled around.

  Prim would be here any moment.

  I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the tie I’d managed to change three times before settling on a gray one. “Prim, I’m in love with you,” I rehearsed to my reflection. “No.” I shook my head, changing my stance. “Prim, the way I feel about you … I’ve never felt for anyone. I’m in love with you.”

  You sound like an idiot. I adjusted my tie again, the fabric clinging a little too tightly around my neck. And you look like one too.

  Pulling off my tie, I threw it on the counter and unbuttoned the top button of my shirt. Prim wouldn’t want all of this. It was too fabricated. Too formally informal. It had to be perfect when I told her. Every detail on point.

  The buzzer rang in the living room, and I swore my heart about leaped out of my throat.

  She had arrived.

  Jogging to the door, I unlocked it and pulled her rightfully into my arms. The place where I always wanted her to be.

  “Hey you.” She laughed with her arms pinned to her sides. “I’ve missed you too.”

  “You smell good.” My nose was in her hair, drawing in her scent. Rich like cream. Sweet like honey.

  What was it about her scent that made every negative thought dissipate? Every doubt. Every fear. She embodied hope. As if she were the very essence of calm.

  Standing back, I held her arms out, so I could drink her in. She wore a yellow dress, tight along the bodice and flowing out at the hips with watercolor flowers along the hem. She looked like light. Pure and bright.

  “You’re stunning.”

  “And you’re handsome.” She planted a kiss to my cheek, and then her nose drifted up. “Mmm. What is that glorious smell?”

  Taking her hand, I guided her to the stairs and then up to the deck I’d spent the past hour putting together.

  She gasped the moment I opened the door, hands cradling her mouth. “Grayson, this is …”

  “I told you I had a surprise.” I wrapped my arms around her waist as I pulled her against me. “What can I say? You bring out the romantic in me.”

  Yellow tulips swayed in small jars surrounding the seating area filled with oversize pillows. Buttery light from candles flickered in the summer night breeze. In the middle was a makeshift table made from timeworn crates that held a plate full of tacos and the cake I’d made for her.

  She crouched and leaned toward the flowers, inhaling their scent. “Your mother’s favorite,” she remarked, a thoughtful gleam filling her cerulean eyes. “This is so beautiful, Grayson. I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. Just enjoy.”

  My heart expanded far past my chest, reaching out for her as I watched her take her time exploring the small haven I’d created. The cosmic pull between us aligned in her presence. The whispered worry over confessing to her was snuffed out by the blood pumping through my veins.

  She took a seat beside me, fanning out the hem of her dress. I served her a plate of tacos before making my own.

  “Did you make this?” she asked as she picked one up.

  A slow smirk tilted my lips.

  When she took a tentative bite, her eyes fell shut as a savory sound of enjoyment pushed up the delectable curve of her throat. After swallowing, she said, “You’re amazing. This … this is amazing.” She went for another bite. “My God.” The back of her hand covered her mouth. “I feel spoiled.”

  My smile grew. “Good.” When I was sure she was satisfied, I dug into my plate.

  We talked about our day. About her newfound fame. About the cameras that followed her around the city and the endless phone calls from her sisters, who had been begging to meet me.

  When it came time for cake, we were leaning back, finding ways to touch each other. A slow finger dragged down her arm. A palm pressed against my chest. We exchanged heated glances as the kinetic energy between us expanded with need.

  “You know … the way to a woman’s heart is her man cooking her dinner.”

  “That so?”

  She tucked a hand between her legs, bunching up her dress between her thighs, and then straddled my lap. With her other hand, she grabbed mine and placed it on her neck as her head dipped back.

  Fuck, I was hard.

  “I have a surprise of my own.”

  “You do?”

  Slowly, she dragged my hand down her throat and onto her breast and then further down to her heaven I loved to worship.

  “Can you feel how much I want you, Grayson?” she said, her dulcet voice throaty and hoarse.

  “Can you?” I pushed my hips against her, so she could feel what she was doing to me. I ran my tongue over her neck and then nipped the fragile skin, smirking when she shuddered.

  I’d done well at maintaining control when it came to her. Keeping her gorged with pleasure. Keeping myself sated with relief from her hands. It was a constant push and pull I’d relished in.

  Waiting. Wanting. Giving. Taking.

  “You’re supposed to be feasting on the meal I made you, woman. Not tempting me with a feast of your own.”

  Her eyes deepened into a sensual blue behind her dark frames. “Who said I was teasing?”

  Her hand caressed the outline of my dick, rubbing with enough pressure to elicit a growl from me. I flipped her onto her back and then traced up her thigh, fingers pressing against her soaking panties. Pushing them aside, I slipped one and then two fingers in, priming her before I made good on her threat.

  “I’ve been thinking about this all day.” Her fingers were at my waist, unbuttoning my pants.

  “You have?” I muttered in between kissing her.

  “Mmhmm.” Her warm hand pulsed around my dick, stroking it with the perfect amount of tension. Familiarity.

  My head fell back from the electric shock of her touch. I was a sucker for her. Gone. Trying to hang on to my sanity as her grip tightened. Her control taking over. We rolled, and then she rose, resembling a fucking goddess on her knees. There was a pleading in her eyes that weakened what resolve I had.

  Licking her lips, she lowered herself, face inc
hes from my cock.

  Fuck. She was going to suck me.

  My eyes rolled upward when her supple lips spread around the crown of my dick, my fingers clenching the pillows at her touch. Her tongue flicked the middle, her other hand giving tight strokes at the base. Her mouth was warm and soft, and I was losing the hold I had over my sanity. When she moaned, her voice vibrated around me. When I caught sight of her eyes, I found myself locked in place. Slipped a hand into her hair, gripping it, pulling it tightly so I could see that pretty mouth of hers.

  “Fuck,” I said as her tongue licked a trail up the base of my dick. “You’re gonna make me come.”

  “Good.”

  It was one word. A plea. Her pace quickened, my hips tightening, thighs clenching as I felt the need surfacing. But I wouldn’t let go. Not yet. Not until her body pulsed with pleasure. I pulled out of her mouth. Urged her closer as my hands caressed her breasts.

  My hand covered her cheek, thumb brushing beneath her eye. “You make it hard for me to stay focused.”

  She licked her lips.

  “There was a reason I brought you up here tonight. I have a purpose.”

  “And that is?”

  I swallowed, my heart pulsing, encouraging beats against my ribs. I kissed her until the moment simmered between us. Until she was putty again, anchored and open.

  “I’ve fallen for you, Prim,” I whispered against her ear. Her neck. Her collarbone. “Madly, deeply in love.”

  She shook beneath me as I laid her against the pillows, kissing up her neck, stopping below her ear. “I’m in love with you too,” she said, voice trembling.

  She pulled me closer, her lips sealing our admission. A solitary vow that branded our bones. That took flight inside my bloodstream, filling me with the echoes of her.

  We grew manic, undressing each other. Trying to get even closer.

  When we were down to our underwear, her body flush with mine, my heart banging hard with anticipation, I felt the whispering of need pressing along the base of my skull. Primal and instinctual.

  “I want you,” she said. Such a simple expression, but it was the way her gaze caught mine that told me so much more. The desperation yearning to be fed swirling in those pretty eyes of hers. “I’ve thought a lot about it, Grayson. You said we could go at my pace, and we have, but I … I want more. And I want it to be you.”

  I kissed her forehead. Her lips. Her cheeks. The tip of her adorable nose. “That’s a big decision, Prim.”

  Though I wanted nothing more than to bury myself inside her, I had to know she was entirely sure before we took the next step. Prim was so much more than anyone I’d ever met. A delicate flower I wanted to protect.

  “It is. And it’s what I want.” Her lips parted when I kissed her. Her body softened underneath me. “I’m on birth control,” she said, continuing with her coaxing. “And I bought a box of condoms. They’re in my purse.” A smile. “Surprise.”

  I pulled back, forearms cupped around her head as a heady smirk planted itself on my lips. “My, my, Miss Amberly. Are you saying you showed up with impure intentions?”

  Her lips met my smirk with her own—a dreamy, impish one. “Absolutely.”

  Her arms folded around my neck, pulling me against her mouth.

  “I trust you,” she whispered against my lips, the words zapping me square in the heart.

  “Are you sure?” The question pulsed past my lips, heavy with desire. “There’s no rush. This …” I kissed her long and full. “This is enough.”

  It was only a partial lie. I could wait for her, but there was a rush stampeding through my blood. A rush of longing that drove through every artery, every cell, with an ache I feared would never be remedied.

  When her head dipped with concession, it was like that solitary confession woke something within me. We were open mouths and hands and tangled limbs. Heat and longing and desire that had gone repressed for far too long.

  My fingers took their time in caressing her skin. Mapping every slope. Every inch of desire raised on her milky flesh. I would go slow. Skimming the curve of her neck, the crevice of her collarbone, every inch shuddering beneath my touch, adding logs to the fire I stoked.

  “All this time …” she said in between kissing. “All this time, I didn’t know why I was holding back. Who I was waiting for.” Her teeth grazed over my bottom lip, eyes locking on mine. “Not until you.”

  With a little fumbling, she pulled the box of condoms from her purse. I reached for it, but she stopped me.

  “I want to put it on,” she said, her hands shaking. Her face an ashen mix of desire and nerves.

  Though bravery lived in her words, her body reacted otherwise.

  “Prim …” I stilled her. Kissed her again, filled with hushed confessions. I wanted her good and ready, so it would be as comfortable as I could make it for her. Wanted every movement to be exactly what she desired.

  I took my time, sliding my fingers inside her. One and then two. My thumb pressing dizzying circles over her clit. Mouth devouring her breasts. When I felt her grow close, her planes rippling around my fingers, I placed the open condom around my dick and moved on top of her. She writhed with desire beneath me. Pulled on my back, the thick look of need in her eyes.

  When I pressed against her opening, her grip tightened. I kissed her again, boxing her in, my tongue tasting her need. My thumb brushed across her raised nipple. Keeping the fire burning.

  “Please,” she moaned, her hips moving beneath me. Encouraging me.

  With a little pressure, I pushed forward, feeling her body tighten like a bowstring when she accepted the tip of me. Fuck. She was warm. And as rigid as I was while emotions clogged my throat. Her eyes glistened with desire and trust. My heart beat sloppily against my chest.

  I strained against the crushing need filling my veins, demanding that I bury myself in her, but my love for her and for making this perfect overpowered any selfish desire I had.

  “Are you okay?” I asked as I kissed along her collarbone, her breasts, her lips, waiting for her to settle beneath me again.

  She nodded, the air slipping from her lungs in labored gasps. A delicate prism of blue glinting in her eyes.

  I pressed more when I felt her relax, feeling the length of me slide a bit deeper. She tensed again.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” I confessed as my arms began to shake, veins surfacing from the strain. “Am I?”

  “No.” Her gaze moved over my face. “You’re perfect. This is … it’s perfect.”

  My hand disappeared between us, thumb swirling over the heartbeat of her sex. I wanted her on the cusp before I completely filled her, a clashing of pleasure and pain that would surely drive her past the edge.

  She tightened around my length as I rubbed and licked her nipples. Kissed her deeply, hanging on by a thread. When I felt her thighs begin to shudder, I gave one final push, all the way in. My head buried itself in her neck as she wrapped around me with the rippling waves of an orgasm.

  With care, I ground into her, pulling in and out as she rode the ends of the wave I’d created, only to be hauled in by a new, more enticing riptide. Being inside her was the best kind of torture. A haven and a madhouse mixed as one.

  My name left her lips in an exhale that fed my starved lungs. That carved itself into my heart with the need to return that very same feeling.

  Her fingers dug into my back as I increased the pace, and I felt my resolve slipping. I wanted to hang on. To make it last. But there was no control left. The pleasured growl that ripped past my lips was loaded with everything I felt for her.

  She held on to me as our hearts beat together. Breaths mismatched. Skin soaked in love and desire.

  When I pulled away, tears dotted the corners of her eyes.

  Panic flooded my chest. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No,” she said with a swift shake of her head. “It’s quite the opposite.”

  I brushed the tear away that had slid down her cheek.

/>   “I’ve never felt so close to someone before. So in love. And it’s overwhelming. Like I just leveled up.”

  Laughter shot out of my chest. “Leveled up? Did you just compare this with video-game lingo?”

  There she was, this beautiful, perfect creature who never ceased to amaze and surprise me.

  The laughter that coursed through her mouth was light and airy. “I think I did, didn’t I?” she continued as she tucked her head against my chest to hide the growing flush rising to her cheeks. “In all my daydreams, I never once imagined it right.”

  I picked up a lock of her hair, feeling its silken texture between the tips of my fingers. “And what is it you imagined that was so different?”

  She sighed with contentment. “The dizzying effect of having your heart race against mine. The way your skin felt … tasted. The stretch of my inner thighs as they parted and were pressed wide to allow you to get as close as you could. The sensation of being filled and how it was part pleasure, part pain. How the need was so great, I felt like I would shatter if you didn’t move yet still shattered more when you did.”

  “You paint a vivid picture. Must be the writer in you,” I said with a chuckle, adding, “Sorry if there was pain.”

  The expression on her face made my heart swell.

  “I’m not.” Her lip caught between her teeth, and then, when her eyes filled with the souls of the stars above us, she said, “You had my heart before I even realized it. Before I even knew that it was you I’d been waiting for all this time.”

  My grin took flight as I leaned my forehead against hers. “I love you.”

  She turned her head up, her smile touching all the way up to her eyes. “I love you too.”

  The Forgotten Notes

  Prim

  MY HEAD RESTED AGAINST HIS chest as I listened to the cadence of his heart. We were in his bed, the door locked, our bodies sore and recovering from the second, third, and fourth round of lovemaking.

  I’d been thoroughly surprised when I realized it hadn’t hurt as badly as everyone had said it would. Whether it was from the practice we’d had over the course of the month or from his tender affection to making it as perfect as it was, I didn’t know. I didn’t care.