9. Arden
9
ARDEN
I’d hovered on the stone patio around the pool for too long, simply gazing at the man in the water. No, the beast . He was warring with his demons, and I couldn’t stop watching like some kind of stalker.
When I slipped my feet into the water and felt how cold it was, I knew he had to be truly tortured to put up with those temperatures. But studying him now, his bare chest heaving and muscles and tattoos on display, I knew he didn’t feel it. Not one bit.
Water slid down the planes of his chest, and my fingers itched to trace each droplet. But more than that, his tattoos. The ink was a work of art. Thorny vines, not unlike the ones in my painting, curved over Linc’s sides and up his chest. One pec had the word truth . The other, trust . The combination packed a punch. And the fact that it lined defined muscle with a dusting of dark hair only made the effect headier. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I was not going there.
Linc stared up at me, those gold-flecked green eyes still the slightest bit stormy. “What are you doing here?”
Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? I fought the urge to squirm on the pool’s edge. With my luck, I’d end up tumbling right into the water. Instead, I lifted my chin, defiance sliding through me. “ I live here. What’s your excuse, Cowboy?”
His lips twitched, the scruff coating his cheeks and jaw moving with the motion. “I live here, too.”
“ Temporarily ,” I shot back.
Linc chuckled, and the sound was just like the man: surprising. It was all warmth coated in grit. The kind of sound that had all my nerve endings waking up. “Fair enough.” His gaze roamed over me like the featherlight caress of fingertips. “What do you have there?” he asked, inclining his head toward the white bag next to me.
I instantly regretted my decision to search Linc out. To make sure he was okay. But I couldn’t change my tack now. “The best chicken pesto sandwich ever created.”
Linc arched a brow. “That’s a bold claim.”
“I know how to back it up.”
“Seems kind of cruel to brag about the best chicken pesto sandwich ever created when I just swam for a good hour and am starving.”
“I brought you one.” Dumb, dumb, dumb. I should’ve left Linc to his demons. He was obviously doing just fine in the world. But I was a sucker for shadows, and he had them in spades.
A smile spread across Linc’s face—no, a grin, and a cocky one at that. “You brought me dinner?”
I kicked water at him. “Don’t get too excited. It’s an apology. For being a bitch the other day.”
His grin fell. “Arden, the last thing you are is a bitch. I got pushy. It wasn’t cool.”
I shook my head, strands of hair tickling my bare shoulders with the movement. “You weren’t. You asked for what you wanted. I could’ve said no in a nicer way.” I plucked up a loose string from my jean shorts and twisted it around my finger, pulling it as tightly as I could. “I’m not the best with new people. It takes me a little while to get used to them.”
I didn’t hear him move. And I sure as hell wasn’t looking at him. So, I didn’t see Linc until he appeared right in front of me. My knees were just a breath from his chest. One slight shift, and I’d know what that skin felt like.
Linc’s hands lifted out of the water. He gently took mine and slowly unwound the thread from my finger. “I think you’re doing just fine, Arden.”
I let out a scoff as my eyes lifted to his. Fine wasn’t how I’d describe my people skills. But what did you expect when you’d been hidden away for most of your life? Nora had homeschooled me through middle school, and I’d tried our public high school for all of two weeks before begging her to let me take online classes.
The story Nora gave people was that it was to give me more time with my art. People thought I was some sort of prodigy. In reality, I just jumped at every little thing. That had changed with Kye’s arrival. He’d seen my timidness and asked if I wanted to learn how to protect myself.
Nora had been skeptical at first, but when she saw my confidence growing, she’d ordered us gym mats for the basement. But as much as training in jujitsu had helped me no longer be fearful, I still wasn’t crazy about crowds or new people. It felt like I didn’t have the full set of instructions on social cues.
Linc released my hand, and I instantly missed the contact. People didn’t touch me very often. Something about my awkwardness made them think I didn’t like it. And I often found myself missing the casual affection of a hug or the squeeze of my hand. But Linc’s fingers? They were so much more. I could still feel the rough pads and how they dragged over my skin, leaving a warm trail behind.
“You say what you mean. What you need. There’s not a damn thing wrong with that,” Linc said, his voice lowering to a growly tenor.
“Maybe,” I muttered. “Do you want a sandwich or not?”
One corner of Linc’s mouth pulled up. “Tell me the truth. Is it poisoned?”
I flipped him off and lifted my feet out of the water. “I’ll just take it back to my house. Don’t think I can’t eat both. Or Brutus will help me. ”
Linc’s gaze flicked to the grass where Brutus lay, soaking up the last bits of sun for the day. “Brutus would never eat my sandwich.”
I scoffed at that, but the sound got lodged in my throat as Linc hoisted himself out of the water. Broad, tanned shoulders flexed as his biceps tightened, the inked designs dancing. My mouth went dry as I took in the wall of abs. I was so totally screwed.
Linc grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his shoulders, disrupting my view. “I’ll risk poisoning for the best chicken pesto sandwich ever created.”
I cleared my throat. “It’s worth death.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Linc sat on the edge of the pool, his feet gliding through the water as he did. He was close but not too close, seeming to respect that little hint of truth I’d given him: that I struggled with new people. New anything , honestly, but he didn’t need to know that.
I slid my feet back into the water and opened the bag. I pushed one wrapped sandwich over to Linc and grabbed the other for myself. “I didn’t know what kind of soda you drank, so I just got you a Coke.”
He took the drink nearest him. “Coke’s good. Dr Pepper would’ve been even better.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Seriously? You like the taste of eighty-two different drinks in one?”
“You don’t know what you’re missing. It’s delicious,” he argued. I made a gagging noise, and Linc laughed as he unwrapped his sandwich. “The moment of truth.”
He took a bite and then closed his eyes, groaning as he chewed. “This might just be heaven in a sandwich.”
“Told you.” I didn’t bite into mine because I was too busy staring at Lincoln chewing his. The pure pleasure on his face took root somewhere deep inside me.
Finally, his eyes opened. “Thank you.”
I struggled to swallow. “It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s not. I had a shit day, and you made it a hell of a lot better.”
I studied him for a long moment. I wanted to ask what had made it such a bad day, but I couldn’t, not when I wouldn’t answer questions in the same vein. So, I opted for something else. “This is how you work out what’s bothering you?”
He lifted his chin in the affirmative. “Hell of a lot healthier than some of the alternatives.”
I unwrapped my sandwich, staring down at the perfectly toasted bread. “You’re not wrong there.”
I felt Linc’s gaze on my face as I bit into my sandwich, but I refused to turn, letting him know I was that attuned to his attention. “Is that why you train with Kye?” Linc asked finally.
“No.”
“Please, stop talking. It’s too much.”
I broke off a piece of bread and threw it at him. “I like to know how to protect myself.”
We were edging in on the danger zone, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to give Linc the answers he wanted—the ones he seemed to need .
“You’re obviously good at it.”
“Not as good as you.”
Linc shrugged, the towel shifting with the movement and revealing a bit more of the tan skin below. “I’ve been training for a long time. Been lucky to work with some pretty incredible teachers.”
“Those billions come in handy sometimes.”
“Sometimes,” he echoed, his gaze moving to mine. “How do you deal with your demons?”
My heart hammered against my ribs. “My art. It’s always how I’ve gotten out what I need to.”
“And it’s why you don’t do commissions,” he surmised.
I nodded. “It’s always been such a personal process. The medium, the vision, all of it. I put a piece of my soul into every single creation. I can’t control that. I wouldn’t want to.”
Linc stared at me for a moment, not speaking. “It needs to be wild, just like you.”
Those words hit. Every single one. But they managed to be a caress, too. A balm. “Yes,” I whispered .
“Well, they’re incredible. After Cope showed me a picture of one of the pieces in his house, I’m pretty sure I scoured the internet for every piece I could find. There was a fair amount about your work but not so much about the creator behind it.”
My ribs constricted, making it hard to breathe.
“Kind of surprising, given some of the exhibits you’ve had.”
“I don’t like the spotlight,” I croaked, trying to keep my breaths even and measured.
“Fair enough.”
Linc’s eyes were on me again. But this time, panic took hold. I’d taken a risk sitting here with him. Answering questions I shouldn’t have. Letting him peek behind the curtain.
I stood quickly, gathering up my sandwich. “I need to go.”
I was already moving as Linc called my name, slipping my feet into flip-flops and making a beeline for my guesthouse, whistling for Brutus as I went. I heard Linc call for me again, but it was too late in so many ways.
I was already gone. And it was better that way.