30. Arden
30
ARDEN
There were people everywhere. And my house wasn’t exactly equipped for lots of company. I was starting to realize that maybe I’d done that by design.
And I was running out of excuses to avoid them all. I needed to change. I needed to get Brutus water. I needed to check the horses again .
Nora filled my vision, crouching low like I was twelve years old again. “I made some soup. Do you want some? Or maybe some tea?”
“Only if you add a strong dose of whiskey,” Lolli called from the opposite side of the room as she watched the deputies combing the property. She glanced my way. “Or I brought my brownies. One or two of those, and you won’t even know what day it is.”
“Don’t tell Trace you brought them,” Fallon muttered from her spot at the kitchen island where she’d been put to work chopping vegetables for some other thing Nora was making.
Lolli turned back to the window. “I don’t know. Maybe I should tell him. Wouldn’t mind being cuffed by a few of those new recruits. ”
Kye choked on a laugh. “Please, tell Trace that. But warn me before you do. I want to get it on video.”
Nora pushed to her feet and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Lolli, I really don’t think this is the time?—”
“This is exactly the time.” She sent me a wink.
I appreciated her rescue attempt. Normally, I would’ve gotten a chuckle out of the back-and-forth, but the walls felt like they were closing in around me today. Fallon and Rhodes in the kitchen. Nora hovering. Lolli catcalling at the window. Kye’s massive form taking over my armchair. The knowledge that Trace was walking a crime scene with Anson right now to get his profiler take.
It was all too much.
A loud knock sounded on the front door. Linc squeezed my knee and then stood. “I’ll get it.”
I was pretty sure I’d sent him a panicked look because I wanted to bolt. Too many people. Too many possibilities for what this all could mean. He sent me his best reassuring glance, but it didn’t do much good.
A second later, voices rose, and someone was stomping down the hallway. Shep appeared, his Colson Construction hat still in place and jeans dusty from a jobsite. “What the hell happened?” he barked.
Linc stepped in front of him in a flash. “You need to rein it in. She’s been through enough today.”
A mixture of anger and respect flashed across Shep’s expression, but he struggled to take a breath. Then Thea was by his side. She squeezed his arm. “Linc’s right. You storming around all caveman-like isn’t going to help anything.”
Shep’s gaze dipped to her. “Caveman-like?”
She shrugged, a small smile playing on her lips. “If the shoe fits.”
He lowered his head to give her a quick kiss. “Thanks, Thorn.”
My chest tightened at the tenderness, the back-and-forth, the give and take. They were so in tune with each other. But what would become of either if something happened to one of them?
The walls closed in a little more, and my breathing grew shallow. Tiny dots started dancing in front of my vision .
I shoved to my feet. “I’ll be back,” I mumbled, bolting for the front door.
A handful of family members called my name, and I thought I heard Linc’s voice saying something. Maybe telling Brutus to stay? But the ringing in my ears was too loud to know for sure.
Tumbling outside, I tried to breathe, but people were everywhere out here, too. More pressure. No space.
I started walking, just trying to get away from everyone, everything. Someone fell into step beside me, not touching me but there. “Follow me,” Linc ordered.
His voice wasn’t gentle or harsh, but I heard the command in it. And that cut through the fog. My body listened on instinct. Apparently, it was an idiot. But I didn’t have it in me to come up with another plan.
So, I followed.
It took me a couple of minutes to realize that Linc was leading me toward the main house. “Aren’t Trace’s people up here?”
Linc shook his head. “They cleared it. No one got in. Camera feeds were checked, too.”
Camera feeds.
One of the things that was supposed to keep me safe. But they hadn’t this time. It was as if someone had known the system. They’d climbed a spot in the fence around the property where we had fewer cameras. They’d worn a dark hoodie and jeans that made it difficult to make out any distinguishing features beyond broad shoulders. But the creepiest part had been the mask.
Whoever it was had looked straight up and into the camera with a mask that only had dark holes for eyes and a mouth. It was the sort of thing that could give a person nightmares. And that’s exactly what they were trying to do.
Anger surged to the surface. Whoever this was wanted to terrorize me. And they were succeeding.
Linc plugged in the code to the front door, then opened it and ushered me inside. The moment I stepped into the cool quiet, I breathed a little deeper .
“Come on,” Linc said, leading me farther into the house. He moved to the door that led to the basement. There were only two things down there: a gym and a screening room. If he thought going for a run right now would soothe me, he was dead wrong. And if he thought I could focus on a movie, he wasn’t as bright as I thought he was.
“What are we doing?” I protested.
Linc didn’t stop until he reached the gym. “Talking it out doesn’t help you. You need to do . You don’t have access to your art studio, and you can’t go for a ride. But you can fight.”
He flipped on the lights, illuminating the space. The fact that my brother was a professional athlete meant that he had a ridiculous setup in his gym. Half a dozen cardio machines, countless pieces of weight training equipment, and a whole boxing and martial arts setup.
There was a punching bag, a speed bag, a kickboxing bag, and, of course, fight mats. Linc moved toward those. I just stared after him as he slid off his shoes. Even the man’s feet were hot.
Linc crossed to a cabinet with a variety of gear. Pulling out two sets of hand wraps, he tossed one to me.
“You’re wearing jeans,” I said dumbly. I had changed into loose shorts and a sports tank, but Linc was still in the same pants and tee he’d worn to The Collective.
“Maybe it’ll give you the upper hand,” he shot back, wrapping the fabric around his hands.
I scowled in his direction, but it died as he moved around the circle on the mat, loosening his muscles. My mouth went dry. Even in those simple movements, he had a grace I couldn’t explain. It pulled me in and held me captive.
“Come on, Vicious. You need to let it out.”
Warmth and annoyance warred within me, and over the same thing: that he understood me so well. But I started moving because I worried that I’d combust if I didn’t. Was afraid I’d snap and bite someone’s head off who didn’t deserve it.
I quickly donned the wraps and began swinging my arms in warm-up moves that brought new blood flow into them as I kicked off my flip-flops. My thighs and calves warmed, the tension there easing. Linc slowed and moved to the center of the mat. I did the same.
As I met him there, I realized just how much bigger Linc was than me. He dwarfed me in every way. And that should’ve put me on edge, but my jujitsu training was the great equalizer, allowing me to use someone’s size against them.
“Gonna give me all you got, Vicious?” Linc challenged.
Everything heated in a new way, the buzz of what was to come mixing with the knowledge that Linc was such a beast in the ring. I arched a brow at him. “That depends. You gonna hold back because you think I’m breakable?”
The gold in those hazel eyes flashed brighter. “Would never disrespect you in that way.”
And the funny thing was, I believed him. Linc might be the only person who wouldn’t hold back. My brothers, the guys at the gym, they all restrained themselves in some way. And it annoyed the hell out of me. The only thing that eased it was when I handed one of them their ass.
I lifted my hands, closing them into fists as I settled into a fighting stance. Then, I waited. Linc studied me for a moment as if checking whether I was ready. Then his knuckles bumped mine.
The tap was featherlight, and then Linc was moving again, his panther-like grace in full effect. We circled each other, and he was surprisingly light on his feet for his size. Each of us sent out a few testing jabs and the occasional kick. We were studying each other’s defenses.
While we’d each watched each other spar once, that was different than being in the ring opposite someone, seeing how they moved up close, and feeling how much heat they could put behind their blows. And Linc was a beast of beauty.
He moved in with a sneaky uppercut, a punch I wouldn’t have expected, given how much larger he was than me. That punch required a lower angle, one that meant he needed to get down. But Linc had it all, apparently. Quickness, power, and flexibility.
My skin tingled, a combination of the rush of the bout and feeling way the hell turned on by all that was Linc .
He sent another punch in my direction, but I didn’t let this one connect. I ducked under the blow and took advantage of his open side. My fist connected with his ribs, and Linc sucked in a breath.
But I was already moving out of the retaliation strike zone. Some alpha males at the gym couldn’t handle me getting in good hits, or God forbid, kicking their asses. But Linc just grinned at me, a little too widely. “Damn, Vicious. That was good.”
“You look like one of those freaky clowns at a carnival. You know, the ones where you shoot out the teeth? It’s creeping me out.”
Linc chuckled. “Can’t I appreciate good form?”
“Only from the mat,” I shot back, moving in to attempt a foot sweep. There was just one problem. While I could potentially use Linc’s size against him, he was too damned centered. His balance was something I’d need to study.
I only had a second to curse mentally before he flipped me onto my back. I hit the mat with a smack but rolled away before he could pin me. I was on my feet in a flash, circling away to regain my balance.
“Nice try, Vicious,” he goaded.
My eyes narrowed. “You’re like some Zen giant. It’s annoying.”
“Good,” Linc shot back. “Maybe it’ll annoy you enough to let go.”
I saw it then. The way his moves were designed to make me snap. To release everything that was pent up inside me. And that did uncork the anger.
I moved without him expecting it, grabbing his wrist and twisting it behind his back. He bowed as he made a sound of protest. I expected him to fold, but he didn’t. He pulled some sort of spin move, extricating himself from the hold and leveling a kick to my side.
Pain flared. Not bad but present, and it stoked the embers I’d buried beneath the coals of trying to hold it all together. I moved quicker this time, and with more power. My body tilted, hitting Linc in the shoulder with a roundhouse kick. I would’ve gone for the face if we’d had mouthguards and headgear.
Then again, that face was way too pretty to damage.
Linc stumbled back a few steps but quickly rallied. And then we truly began our dance. Back and forth. We were almost evenly matched but in ways completely unique to ourselves.
Sweat beaded and glided down my spine. My muscles strained in their search for more. More of what? I wasn’t sure. More contact. More pain. More release.
That moment of distraction was my undoing. Linc moved in with a single-leg takedown, and my back hit the mat with enough force to steal the air from my lungs. This time, I wasn’t quick enough to escape.
Linc was on top of me in the blink of an eye, his big body straddling my hips as he pinned my hands above my head. I bucked and writhed, but it was no use.
I knew my grappling game was weak. If my opponent got me on the mat, that was always my downfall. But I couldn’t find it in me to give up now or let him win.
“Tap out,” Linc growled, his face hovering over me.
“No,” I snarled.
His eyes flared, surprise making a home there.
“It’s not enough,” I admitted. “I need more.” I needed to fight until my muscles gave out. Until I was starved for breath. Until I could finally forget about the events of the day.
Linc’s gaze searched mine. “Tell me what you need.”
I tried in vain to unseat him, twisting my hips and bucking against him. It was no use. “I don’t know!” The words were half yell, frustration, anger, and fear stewing inside.
And then Linc’s mouth was on mine.
Everything about it was domination, the promise that he was in control when it felt like everything in my life was spinning wildly out of it. His weight pinning me. His hands holding my wrists. His tongue invading.
I moaned into his mouth, but then I sparked alive, ready to duel. Fighting for that dominance. Feeling the power spark to life inside me.
Linc stole his mouth from mine, his lips trailing across my jaw to hover at my ear. “Tell me what you want, Vicious. Tell me you want me to make you come. That you want me to shatter your body so it’ll never be the same.”
I shuddered under him, the promise of his words digging in. My nipples tightened, beading beneath the light cotton of my bra.
“Fuck,” Linc swore. “I can feel those perfect nipples. Wonder if they’re the same berry pink as those lips I’ve been dreaming about wrapped around my?—”
I bucked with everything in me, rolling so I was the one straddling him, even though he still gripped my wrists. And then I felt it, his hard length pressed against the apex of my thighs, making a home against my core. My body moved on instinct, rocking against him. I couldn’t help it. A moan slipped free.
Linc’s eyes flashed, the green brighter in the sea of gold. “What are you going to do now?”
A dare laced his words—a challenge I was more than ready to meet. My hips rocked again, and Linc swore.
“Pure sin on a fight mat,” he growled.
I grinned down at him. “Is that so?” But my words cut off as Linc’s hips angled up, hitting me right between the legs. The friction and pressure were almost too much. A whimper slipped free, and it was all Linc needed.
He released my wrists and pulled a wrap off. I wasn’t even aware of them hitting the mat until his fingers were tangled in the strap of my tank and bra. His eyes collided with mine. “You tap out; this all ends.”
My free hand slid through his hair, fingers tightening in it, tugging just enough to bring a flicker of pain. Heat. “ You tap out; this all ends.”
Linc grinned—the kind that knocked me senseless. And this one almost did, literally. He didn’t miss his opportunity to get the upper hand, rolling us so I was beneath him again. Only this time, he settled between my legs. Had our clothes magically disappeared, this man would be primed to slide inside me.
And holy hell, did I want that.
Linc ground against me, sending flickering sparks dancing through me and forcing a mewl from my mouth. He nipped my lip. “Those sounds. Like a kitten purring, all pliant and perfect.”
I’d never been described as pliant .
I bucked against Linc, making him harden more, then curse. But he did it with a grin. “Okay, maybe she has claws.”
My neck strained as I reached up to nip his lip. To give as good as I got. Linc’s tongue drove in. Demanding. Dominating.
His fingers moved back to my tank, and he tore his mouth from mine as he pulled down the straps of my tank and bra. “Don’t make me miss this show.”
I sucked in a breath as my back arched, not in any sort of fight tactic but welcoming him, beckoning him closer.
“Fucking perfect. Like those nipples were dipped in cherry juice. Wonder if they taste like that, too.” Linc’s head dipped, and he pulled the bud into his mouth.
My body bowed. I was the puppet, and Linc was the master, pulling every string in perfect synchronicity. I whimpered but didn’t give a damn as Linc’s tongue worked my nipple, tugging so hard I felt it in my clit.
My mouth opened in a silent cry as I rocked against him. “Linc,” I whispered. “Need you inside me.”
Linc’s lips released my nipple with a pop, his face coming to hover over mine. “The first time I’m inside you, it’s not going to be after a day from hell or in search of something to take the edge off. It will be because you want nothing and no one but me. Your body will weep for me, and you’ll beg me to take you. And you can be goddamned sure I’m going to take my time.”
My lips parted on a silent inhale as an argument rose. I wasn’t above begging right fucking now.
Linc stilled my words, putting two fingers over my mouth. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to take care of my girl. Gonna let you spill all that darkness pooling inside you into me. Gonna take it all. Everything you have to give.”
Normally, someone shushing me would’ve guaranteed a knife to the throat, but I was too caught up in Linc’s words, his promises. Wetness gathered between my thighs as my tongue darted out, wrapping around Linc’s fingers and pulling them into my mouth.
I sucked deeply, taking in the slightly salty taste of sweat combined with Linc’s natural flavor. I swore he even tasted like bourbon.
He groaned and rocked into me. More sparks spread, my core tightening around nothing, crying out to be filled. I arched into him. This time, Linc cursed.
His hand moved, sliding between our bodies to the hem of my shorts. He stroked me through the thin cotton of my underwear, and I whimpered, shuddering at the tease.
“Fucking soaked, but we can do better,” Linc growled.
His fingers slipped beneath my underwear, gliding over my slit, back and forth as if he were in no hurry. My hips rose to meet the caress as Linc’s other hand tangled in my hair. I tried to move in search of more or quicker, but Linc wouldn’t let me play that game.
I let out a snarl of frustration.
He only grinned down at me, those strong fingers tightening in my hair. “My vicious girl. Love that fire.”
His words had me stilling, fear striking out, but I was already gone. Lost to this man and his touch, his understanding.
At my stillness, Linc slid two fingers inside. His eyes fluttered closed as if he were memorizing the moment. “Fucking perfect.”
His eyes opened, and his fingers began to move, in and out in an alternating pattern I couldn’t ever quite pin down. Sometimes it was a twist. Other times, a drag against my walls. Occasionally, a stretching glide.
And through it all, I never lost him. Couldn’t take my eyes off his.
“You’re doing such a good job. Taking exactly what I give you. Feeling it all.”
My walls trembled around his fingers, ready to break.
“Not yet.” Linc’s fingers tightened in my hair again, that bite of pain helping me hold back my orgasm. “That’s my girl. Breathe. Take it all.”
In and out. Twist. Drag .
Sweat dotted my brow. My nipples tightened to the point of pain. It was too much.
Linc’s face hovered over mine, his lips a mere breath away. “When you’re ready. Let me see. Let me feel it. Let it all into me.”
Each thrust cracked a tiny piece of my resolve like a chisel strike to stone. Until Linc’s fingers twisted again. One last strike.
I shattered.
Glass fractured, and everything I’d been holding back flooded out. Waves of pleasure and pain coursed through me as my body bucked against Linc. My eyes closed, and my body bowed, moving in wild, nonsensical ways as I let it all free. The fear, the anger, the agony.
I let Linc have it all.
And as I slowly came back to myself and blinked against the light, Linc was there, still hovering over me.
His smile was gentle now, a little lazy. “How do you feel?”
My mouth curved. “Well, your fingers are still inside me. So, pretty damn good.”
Linc barked out a laugh, the vibrations of it coursing through me and setting off aftershocks of all he’d given me in all the ways. “My girl has a point.”
Hearing him call me that— my girl— told me I was more than in danger. I was in the red zone. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.