Chapter 24
SOFIA
Lincoln cursed. The muscles in his arms bulged as he tightened his grip on the controls and blew out a frustrated breath.
“Everything okay?” I asked, securing my fishing rod before I frowned at him.
He gave his head a terse shake. “She won’t start. I’ve been meaning to fix up a few things, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
I took a deep breath and caught a whiff of fuel in the air. “Do you smell that?”
“Smell what?” Angling himself to face me, he lifted his nose slightly into the air and inhaled. “Fuck. I knew I should have gotten the carburetor looked at.”
“How long has it been since you’ve used the boat?” I glanced at him, wondering briefly if I should follow my instincts on this one or let him handle it.
Lincoln pursed his lips, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. “Eden and I took it out a couple of weeks ago, but before that?” His eyes narrowed, and he rubbed the back of his head. “Before that, I’d say it’s been close to six months since the last time she was out on the water.”
I nodded thoughtfully, tilting my head as I looked back at the motor. It was an outboard model I was familiar with, but whether he’d let me tamper with his precious boat was an entirely different issue.
“Do you mind if I take a look?” I moved hesitantly toward the engine dock, keeping my eyes on him and watching as his brow furrowed.
“Why do you want to take a look?” He pushed himself up and came over to join me, his sunbaked skin so warm I got distracted temporarily when I felt the heat of him beside me.
The sweet summery scent of coconut came off him from the sunscreen we’d both applied earlier. I loved that smell. It was quintessential summer, and on him, with his tanned skin and a blue cap pulled over his eyes, it was like every girl’s summer-fling fantasy come true.
“Sofia?” The sound of my name startled me. I jerked my head up to meet his eyes, amusement lighting them up now despite how annoyed he’d been just seconds before. “Did you just sniff me?”
“No,” I scoffed, blinking as I returned my focus to the motor. “I was just thinking. If it’s been that long, I think you’re right about the carburetor. It’s probably starved.”
“Let’s hope it’s that. Pumping fuel through the line is the easiest thing to fix out here without a lot of equipment,” he said but then peered at me curiously. “I’m assuming you know how to do that too?”
“Of course, I do.” I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at him but hid a smile at the surprise that flickered in his eyes when I answered. “I’ve spent hours fixing Dad’s boat with him. A starved carburetor is hardly going to trip me up.”
Lincoln’s dimples came out as he lifted his cap to drag a hand through his hair before replacing it. “Yeah, okay. Let’s do it then.”
“Let’s,” I agreed. “By the way, I was definitely not sniffing you.”
Those Cognac-colored eyes of his rolled, but his smile grew. “Sure. Of course, you weren’t. I totally believe you.”
My cheeks heated, but I decided to let it go. I’d get my revenge fast enough if I managed to fix his boat.
We moved together to the engine mount, then climbed onto the narrow seat at the back of the boat. Swinging my legs over the side, I pushed myself up so I’d be able to find the float that needed to be pumped.
Meanwhile, Lincoln leaned over the motor and used it for leverage as he hopped onto the step above the water. With both of us hovering only inches away from the rippled surface of the ocean, it was like the water was beckoning to me, tempting me to jump in for a dip.
The sun was climbing higher in the sky. The heat as it reflected off the water was becoming almost blistering. Between the heat, the humidity, my jeans, and Linc’s oversized shirt, droplets of sweat tracked down my spine and on my brow.
Most of the fuel lines and parts back there were black, which made them hot to the touch.
Lincoln muttered curses as he worked on lifting the cover.
He was covered by a sheen of sweat himself, but instead of making him look gross, it made him look like he was posing for the cover of a fucking mechanics’ magazine.
It was wholly unfair really. No doubt, I looked like a drenched rat as I balanced on the join between the motor and the hull and dug around for the fuel pump.
“Hang on a sec before you do anything,” Lincoln said, his brow wrinkling as he lifted the cover off. “I want to check something first.”
“You’re worried we’re going to end up flooding the engine?” I swiped at the back of my neck, then lifted the edge of his shirt and wafted some air between my skin and the damp material.
He nodded, looking up just as I lifted the shirt an inch or so higher to catch some of the measly humid breeze. A grin tugged at the corners of his lips as his gaze traveled lazily down the length of my torso.
“There’s no one else around if you want to take that off,” he suggested, motioning to his own shirtless abdomen. “It’s not much better heat-wise, but it’ll make for a much better view for me.”
“I doubt it,” I joked but also not really. “Have you checked what you wanted to check yet? I see the float. I’m ready to pump when you are.”
A burst of laughter came from him before he waggled his eyebrows at me, his cap moving on his head with the motion. “I’m ready to pump, but not the fuel line.”
“Have at it then.” I shot a glance at the captain’s seat and waved a finger toward it. “Enjoy yourself while I get us running again.”
“That doesn’t sound like any fun.” He sighed, fixing me with a pretend pout. Or at least, I thought it was pretend. “Why would I want to enjoy myself when I could be enjoying you?”
“One of us needs to get the motor going,” I said, but I couldn’t help the heat building in my cheeks or between my legs.
Truth be told, there was nothing but miles of deep blue sea around us. No one would see us if we fooled around, and we’d both already proven that when the mood took us, we had no real problem with getting down and dirty in public.
Plus, it was really beautiful out there. Gentle swells lifted the boat and deposited us gently on the other side of each one. The lapping of the waves against the hull was comforting.
As I looked into the unique reddish undertone of his earthy-brown eyes, I wanted to see them darken with need again. It had only been a few hours, but this opportunity seemed too good to pass up.
When was I ever going to be out on the water alone with a super handsome SEAL again? One that I actually liked and enjoyed spending time with to boot.
“How about this?” I suggested, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to do. “We get the motor running, and once it is, we go check out the cabin?”
Before he could say anything or I could think better of it, I grabbed the hem of the shirt and lifted it off over my head.
Rolling it into a ball between my fingers, I tossed it beneath the console of my seat and raised my brows at Lincoln.
“In the meantime, you better get some more sunscreen on us. We’ll turn out pinker than lobsters if we don’t apply more. ”
He swallowed thickly, his gaze lingering as he worked it back up to mine. “I have a better idea. Let’s drop the anchor, apply sunscreen in the cabin, and then come fix the motor.”
With one swift powerful leap, he was back in the boat. His muscular arms snaked around my waist. Then he pulled me against his sunbaked skin. I steadied myself on his chest just as one of his hands came up to tilt my head back.
As soon as he had clear access to my lips, his were on them and he was kissing me as if it’d been months since he’d last done it. Abandoning all my good intentions about fixing the motor first, I roped my arms around him and allowed him to haul me into the cabin.
About an hour and a quick skinny dip to cool off later, I was only wearing his shirt and was perched back at the motor. Lincoln kept shooting me heated glances as his gaze tracked the length of my bare legs and lingered on the skin where it disappeared beneath his shirt.
“Stop looking at me like that.” I tried to inject a warning into my voice, but I couldn’t quite manage it. Nor could I stop smiling.
“Like what?” he asked innocently, but he smirked as he averted his gaze and went back to work.
“Like you want to devour me or something.” The way that I kept catching him looking at me when I tried to sneak glances at him was making me look like a teenager. The secret peeks and smiles as we huddled over the motor weren’t helping either.
“I’ve already done that.” He grinned and held up his hand. “Twice. Just a little while ago. Want me to remind you?”
“No,” I said, laughing as I shook my head. “We need to get the motor running and we probably need to get back to shore at some point. We’ve already missed lunch.”
“Fine, but don’t forget I offered.” When he peered up at me from beneath the brim of his cap, the expression in his eyes morphed from heated to soft and genuine.
“So your dad taught you how to do this, huh?” he asked as my fingers wrapped around the float. It was soft and deflated easily, which meant I was on the right track.
I nodded, frowning for a fraction of a second before I sighed. “Yeah, but we don’t need to talk about him if you don’t want to.”
“I want to talk about you,” he said firmly. “Do you enjoy working on boats, or was it just something you did to spend some time with him?”
I worked on the float as I lifted my shoulders, sucking both lips into my mouth before releasing them with a pop. “It started as wanting to spend time with him, but it grew into more than that. I really enjoy the mechanics of it, and I enjoy knowing how things work.”
“Same here,” he said as he turned a screwdriver to secure the cap back in place. “My favorite toy as a kid was a broken vacuum cleaner. I used to put it together only to take it apart again.”
“It was a broken toaster and, eventually, one of my dad’s busted motors for me.”
Lincoln chuckled. “I should have known. I also graduated to busted motors and other spare boat parts once I started hanging out around the marina more often.”
“Cheers to that,” I said, lifting my free hand to drink an imaginary toast to our shared childhood hobbies.
While we got the boat started, we kept talking. It turned out we’d had a number of things in common as kids, though we’d gone in different directions when it came time to decide what to do with our lives.
“Mom wanted me to become a fisherman,” Lincoln said.
Fuel started filling the tube I had my fingers wrapped around, and it stiffened. That was my cue that we were almost good to go.
“Yeah? Being a SEAL is a far cry from being a fisherman.”
He shrugged, knocking twice on the motor when he was done with his part. “Yep, but it felt like the right move for me and it was.” Something dark entered his eyes, but he jerked them away from me to climb back into the boat. “How does that line feel? Can I give the ignition a try?”
I frowned as he turned his back and headed to his seat, not sure what had just happened. “Sure. I think it should take.”
Lincoln turned the engine over and it started. As I settled into my seat, I burned to ask him what was going on in that mind of his. I didn’t, though. I assumed it had something to do with the incident and I’d promised him I wouldn’t talk about it.
After we got back to shore, fully dressed again, whatever thoughts had gotten him all riled up must have subsided. He walked me to my car, leaning against it as we said our goodbyes.
“Hey, so I’ve been thinking,” I said as I opened my door. “Do you want to hang out with me on the fourth of July?”
A softer smile than I was used to from him popped those dimples in his cheeks. “Yeah. Sure. I’d love that.”
His eyes caught on mine, and he closed the short distance between us by taking a step forward. Sliding an arm around my waist, he pulled me up against his chest and brought his lips down to mine.
“Thanks for coming to check on me yesterday,” he whispered against my mouth, our caps blocking out at least some of the outside world. “And for staying.”
“You’re welcome.” I smiled, placing a last peck on the corner of his lips before pulling away. “I’ll see you on the fourth, Linc. Let me know if you want some company before then.”
Walking backward away from me, he threw his hand up in a casual wave but something guarded entered his eyes again. “Yeah, I will. You too. See you, babe.”
With a last flash of one of his dimples, he spun around and walked back in the direction of the boat. Warmth and joy after the day we’d had warred with worry in my chest.
Those predictions I’d made back when I’d first met him about how I could fall for him felt way too close to becoming true. I wasn’t quite there yet, but I couldn’t deny my feelings for the man were definitely deepening.
What that would mean for me, I didn’t yet know, considering how closed off he was and how much he hated my father.
But it felt like we were right on the precipice of something.
The only question that remained was whether he was there with me or whether he was loitering several miles behind and I was about to go tumbling headfirst all by myself.