Lovestrung: A friends to lovers romance

by Karen Ferry

  Time passed quickly, and once I felt we had enough photos, exhaustion born from the adrenaline rush set in. Kate must’ve have been feeling the same as me, because soon after, she yawned widely and gave me a quick hug.

  “I’m exhausted,” she grimaced as she let me go. “I think you have enough ammunition for now. I’ll email the photos to you in the morning, yeah?”

  I nodded. “Thanks for helping me.”

  She smiled shortly and then turned to leave. “Oh,” she stopped and grinned at me. “This was actually a lot of fun. Let me know when your dad lets you off the hook. We’ll have a sleepover at my place.”

  I nodded once and gave her a half wave before I left the garden and went to the back of the house and up the stairs of the wraparound porch. Our old dogs, Sam and Molly, were snoozing in front of the door when I let myself inside and barely glanced at me as I bent to scratch their ears. Yawning widely, I stretched before leaving them alone and went up the stairs to my room. Sad and edgy, I rubbed my eyes, needing to sleep more than anything else, but when I reached the top of the stairs, husky moans reached my ears, causing me to cock my ear. A low giggle followed by a manly groan made my breath hitch, and I wondered if I’d somehow missed seeing either one of my brothers leaving the party to go upstairs with a girl. Theoretically, I knew what went on at these parties, but the thought of catching one of them making out – or worse – wasn’t something I was prepared to see. Actually, the very idea of it made me gag.

  But just like curiosity got the cat, I couldn’t stop myself from finding out what was going on. I tiptoed down the hall, avoiding the familiar spots in the floor that creaked and moaned, and peeked around the corner. My hand flew to cover my mouth at the sight that welcomed me only a few feet away.

  Ethan was standing against the wall, head thrown back, eyes closed, and his fingers fisted in that girl’s blonde hair as she kneeled before him. My eyes flew down to his bath trunks pooling at his ankles, taking in the way his thigh muscles clenched while the girl’s head was buried in his groin, bobbing up and down. Sucking noises whooshed in my ears and I closed my eyes before the sound of another long groan falling from his mouth pushed me to open them again.

  “Don’t stop, baby,” he panted, pushing his hips closer to the girl.

  Shocked, but unable to look away, my eyes fused to his groin, taking in the sight of his manhood as the girl hummed, her tongue playing with the tip and her hand fisted at the base.

  Look away, Pippa. Look. Away!

  But I couldn’t. All I could do was keep my mouth shut and stare as she kept it up. It was too dark to read her eyes, but the way she looked up at him, smiling around his cock, was a look of female power I’d never seen before. She was enjoying this as much as he was. I should feel ashamed of myself, but when Ethan hissed, pumping into her mouth, the only thing at the forefront of my mind was to keep watching him. My gaze swept up to take in his face, and I gasped into my hand still covering my mouth.

  He was beautiful. His hard jaw set, as if he was gritting his teeth, and his hair flopped into his eyes as he stared down at her. He bit down on his lower lip, his cheeks flushed, and I thought I’d never seen him look more beautiful. The way his abs clenched with each thrust made my insides warm, and the newly found familiar throbbing between my legs as I kept watching made me burn. It was similar to the way Adam’s kisses made me feel, only this time, the sensation was tenfold – all-consuming, intense, and just plain incredible.

  I thought the romance novels I’d started to read the last year had prepared me, but nothing could at seeing the first blowjob in my life. I was fascinated.

  And, I found out when I felt a trickle of wetness between my legs, massively turned on.

  I was also jealous.

  I wanted to be her.

  “I’m gonna come,” Ethan groaned seconds before his hips pumped one last time, his whole body taut as he no doubt did what he’d warned and came in the girl’s mouth. I rubbed my thighs against each other, trying to find relief, when he stilled, panting hard. Then he leaned down to the girl, put his hands under her armpits and pulled her up, his mouth covering hers in what I could only describe as a deep, grateful kiss.

  I frowned, wondering if he could taste himself as he kissed her. The thought was so arousing, I bit down on my lip almost hard enough to break the skin.

  Finally, his mouth released hers and he grinned down at her. “Come on, beautiful. I want to make you feel good as well.”

  The small whimper that escaped her mouth as he pulled her behind him grated on my nerves, but I couldn’t fault her for it. If Ethan had kissed me like he just kissed her, I’d probably be willing to go and do whatever he wanted as well. As I watched them move into his room at the far end of the hall, tension seeped through me and I leaned my back against the wall when he shut the door.

  My cheeks aflame, I puffed shallow breaths through my mouth, relieved that I was alone, but then my body flew into action. I pushed away from the wall, and as fast as I could, but still on tiptoes, I ran to my own room next to the very spot he’d blown in her mouth and locked it behind me. My breaths were coming so fast, and my heart pounded – my clothes felt stifling, scratchy on my overheated skin. Keeping the light off, I hurried to undress and jumped into bed. The bed linen on my bare skin sent unfamiliar but delicious tremors through me, and I couldn’t stop replaying the scene in my mind.

  Only, this time, Ethan wasn’t looking down at a nameless girl.

  He was looking down at me.

  His hands were cradling my head.

  His lips were claiming mine in a way I knew would change me forever.

  As my inexperienced fingers wandered down my body, pausing to dip and explore, another rush of wetness made my thighs clench, and I finally gave in to what I instinctively knew my body craved.

  That was the night I discovered what it truly meant to want someone with a desperate and fiery passion. What it meant to have feelings that I shouldn’t have for my best friend.

  But I couldn’t stop myself.

  My heart was wide open, longing to claim his, and I knew I’d never feel the same again.

  17

  Loved Up

  Present Day

  Unfamiliar sensations woke me up. I was lying on my stomach, my arms supporting my head, and I squinted against the stream of sunlight that beamed into my eyes from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Flashes of the night before ran through my mind, and I shivered when something deliciously scratchy caressed down my spine.

  “Mornin’, darlin’,” Ethan’s voice came from behind me, and my lips stretched in a wide smile at the husky sound of his voice.

  “Morning,” I mumbled. I tried to stretch, but then I felt his body on top of mine, and I realized I was unable to move. “What are you doing?”

  “Shhh,” he whispered and nuzzled into the nape of my neck. “I’m making sure this is the best morning we’ve ever had.”

  I filled my lungs with air and kept quiet. His hands felt feather light on my body, the calluses on his palms soothing while arousing at the same time.

  “I don’t know where I should start worshipping your body.” He placed a kiss on my shoulder. “But I do know that I’m going to take my time.”

  A full-blown body tremble started and I bit my lip as his mouth and tongue covered every inch of me. His hands pushed under my breasts, capturing my nipples, and I sighed softly when he kept up his relentless torment on them while he kissed down he length of my body.

  “I fucking love this small freckle right here on your hip,” he murmured. His hair brushed my ribs as he placed a lingering kiss on the spot, followed by a swipe of his tongue. It tickled, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to stop. I never wanted to lose the way I felt when he gave me his undivided attention. “But I’m mad for your tits. Round, soft but perky…perfect.”

  I couldn’t suppress my gasp when he pinched my nipples.

  “Ah, and then there’s your ass,” he sighed. His lips started to explore my
bum. With every lick, bite, and kiss he placed on the cheeks, the wetter I became, and I tilted up my hips, silently begging him to put me out of my misery. “I fucking adore your ass.”

  “God, keep talking,” I whispered.

  His hands disappeared from my breasts, and I sighed when his cock nudged against my opening. Shit, it was already rock hard.

  “I didn’t pay enough attention to your pussy last night. I need to rectify that.” His hands molded my ass before moving on to my hips where he pulled up gently. “On your knees, darlin’. Spread them wide and show me how pretty you look in the sunlight.”

  I was about to get up on all fours when I felt his hand pressing down on my spine. A sliver of vulnerability passed through me, knowing that I would be put entirely on display for him, but desire won – I realized that I wanted him to see me. All of me.

  The darkness had cloaked us in a cocoon last night, but now the sunlight chased it away; he would see me, and I would see him, and I realized that I wanted nothing more than to let the harshness of the light reveal us both to each other.

  “Ah, yes,” he rasped when I did as he asked – my ass was up, knees and legs spread wide, and my upper body and head were down on the bed. Just as he’d asked. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”

  He hummed as I felt more than saw his head disappear under me and his mouth blew on my sensitive bud. “Hold on tight,” he warned. When his tongue gave me one, long lick, I whimpered, but as his tongue flicked my clit, over and over again, I fisted my hands into the sheets and held on.

  He didn’t tease me. He consumed me. He licked and sucked and nibbled everywhere, and I let him. I couldn’t refuse him.

  Wetness surged through me the harder and longer his mouth worked on my pussy, and I became lost in his groans and how he made me feel.

  “Oh, God,” I whimpered. “Baby, I need you inside me. Now.”

  He hummed on another long lick, but before I knew it, he’d disappeared, put his hands on my hips and flipped me down to lie on my back. His scruff and lips glistened, wet from my arousal, and I moaned at the ferocious glint in his gaze as he leaned down and put his mouth on my nipple. I felt two of his fingers thrust inside me, causing me to spread my legs even wider and I grabbed my ankles, baring myself before him. But it wasn’t enough. I needed to touch him, to feel connected to him while he brought me closer and closer to bliss. The only thing I could reach was his hair, but it was enough. It gave me the connection I craved, and I tugged when he rumbled deep from his throat.

  He released my nipple on a loud pop before he covered my body to claim my lips. Always eager, I kissed him back, closing my eyes as his tongue swept through my open mouth and dueled with mine. I panted, writhed, even mewled, as I rode his fingers, completely shameless in my passion.

  When his mouth left mine, I gave out a small sound in protest.

  “Eyes on me,” he grunted.

  I did as he asked. I’d do anything he asked when he had me like this, underneath him and defenseless against his mind blowing torment.

  “Yeah, like that.” His lips bared in a predatory smile. “My girl loves this, don’t you? You love the way I fuck you.”

  “Yes.” I threw my head back when I felt another finger penetrate me.

  “Such a good girl. A good, filthy, beautiful girl,” he panted. “You want my dick now, don’t you?”

  “Please, baby. Please.”

  “Fucking God, you’re making my dick hard,” he rasped.

  I felt his hard cock on my tummy and I gasped when something wet dripped down my navel.

  “Cruel Ethan.”

  He chuckled and I turned my head when he stilled his movements inside my pussy and reached to the antique trunk next to his bed. When he pulled out four condoms and tossed them on his bed, I bit my lip.

  “I’m going to ride you hard, darlin’,” he grinned down at me and tore the foil with his teeth before he sheathed his leaking cock.

  “Please,” I whispered, pulsing around his fingers.

  He rubbed my clit with his thumb once before he sat back on his haunches, grabbed my hips and raised me up. I reached for the iron bars on his bed behind me and wrapped my legs around his waist, my breath hitching when his cock filled me in one, slow thrust.

  “Eyes on me,” he demanded again. I struggled to keep my heavy lids open, but once I met his burning gaze, I couldn’t look away. He started to move, no longer slow and measured, and he did what he promised. He rode me hard, hitting my sweet spot over and over again, while my limbs trembled around him. My breasts ached and bounced, and sweat coursed down my temples, but I didn’t care. I only cared about the way his intense gaze kept mine captive as he took me, and just as I thought he couldn’t go any deeper, he grabbed my right leg from his back and lifted it up on his shoulder.

  That’s when I couldn’t hold back, and I arched my back as the orgasm hit me hard, making me cry out in pleasure.

  “My beautiful Penelope. Mine,” he grunted, pumping faster as he chased his own release.

  As he came, he moaned long and low, the sound hitting me right in my heart, and when his trembling arms gave way and he leaned down to claim my mouth once more, although sweeter this time, my heart sang. He didn’t fall down on top of me but rested an arm next to my head as he kept kissing me softly, nibbling and savoring my lips as his cock glided inside of me. I sighed with joy as I released my strong hold on the bars and wrapped my arms around his neck, running my hands through the silky strands of his hair. The sweet touches on my cheek and neck sent a shiver down my spine.

  I could feel him everywhere.

  “Best. Morning. Ever,” I grinned in between brushing my lips over his.

  I felt his wide smile against me.

  “Yeah.”

  He leaned back and the soft look he gave me almost made me gasp, it shined so bright.

  “Have I ever told you I love your eyes?” I murmured. I reached up, tracing the curve of his eyebrows. “The color changes. They’re not just blue…sometimes, they look like the sky does at night – a mix of dark blue and black.” I cleared the scratchiness from my dry throat as I roamed his face. “Sometimes, they are the brightest blue on a clear summer’s day.”

  He tucked his chin, hiding his eyes from me.

  “Poetic Penelope,” he teased and gave my finger a nip. The sting didn’t hurt, but it did surprise me, and I jumped, then laughed.

  “Shut up.”

  He gave me more of his weight and kissed me once again, before he pulled out.

  “Back in a minute.”

  He winked and went to the bathroom and I sighed as I stared at his retreating back.

  “Holy shit,” I whispered.

  I’d never thought I’d find myself in Ethan Collins’ bed, yet here I was for the second morning in a row. After our brunch yesterday, we’d come back and spent the rest of the day making out while watching movies. We were having sex – absolutely out-of-this-world, amazing, combustible sex – and a lot of it, and the enormity of what we had set in motion hit me right in my heart.

  Could we really do this?

  Would we risk everything we’d ever been to each other over…what?

  I frowned.

  What exactly was it I was feeling? Could it really be love?

  Yesterday, I’d been so sure that I was madly in love with Ethan, but now, the doubts set in. I’d tried not to let it bother me that Ethan wouldn’t tell me anything about his second job, and a nagging feeling of unease spread through me again. Knowing that he was working with that woman we met yesterday didn’t sit well with me, either.

  I looked around his loft, taking in how stylish, not to mention luxurious it was. How could he afford it? While his kitchen was pretty outdated for now – he’d told me he’d be stripping it down and put in a new one soon – everything else was brand new.

  “I’m starving. Want to go out for breakfast again or stay in?”

  His voice brought me back to the present and I gave him a small smile when I
saw him standing at the door to the bathroom, upper arms resting above him. He was so comfortable in his nakedness, standing casually before me like that.

  “Penelope?”

  I shook the haze of lust away. “Let’s stay in today, but I want a shower first.”

  “Come on, then.” He jerked his head. “Get up.”

  I shook my head at being bossed about so early in the morning.

  “You know,” I stretched before I left my comfortable spot in his bed, “your bossiness isn’t cute like mine. It’s annoying.”

  The way he grinned at me made my heart skip a beat, and the flash of hunger I saw in his eyes as they trailed over my naked body when I sauntered toward him almost made me swoon.

  “You think it’s hot when I’m bossy in bed. Or against a kitchen counter.”

  I stopped in front of him and went up on my toes to give him another kiss.

  “That’s entirely different, and you know it.”

  “Hmm, is that so?”

  “Yup. Now,” I stepped down to the soles of my feet, “stand aside, bossy, and let me get ready. You’re not the only one who’s starving this morning.”

  He stepped aside.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  My cheeks ached so hard as I tried not to let him see how much I enjoyed this side of him – of us, bantering after the most incredible sex I’d ever had, bar none – and I looked down as I did my best to sashay past him. Feeling a little reckless, and in a bit of a lovey dovey haze, I pinched his buttock when I moved past him.

  “Hey,” he grumbled, making me fall into fits of giggles. But I should’ve known better, and when I felt his hand slap my ass, I yelped. My palm fell on my sore butt cheek, and I whirled around to face him.

  “What the hell was that?” I huffed, rubbing the stinging spot.

  He shrugged. “For giving me your sass. And for pleasure.”

  My jaw fell open at his words. “Pleasure?! Definitely not mine.”