Chapter 16
sixteen
. . .
Lincoln
I’d been with my fair share of women before.
I’d had a few failed relationships, a few flings, and plenty of casual nights with women that didn’t go beyond that.
But this.
Brinkley Reynolds filling her mouth with whipped cream and then rubbing herself against my dick.
Nothing had ever been sexier.
I was done for.
If I never saw a woman come undone again, I would still die a happy man.
Seeing her fall apart from just my mouth on hers. Her body rubbing against mine.
I hadn’t even seen her naked or been inside her yet.
Hadn’t touched her or tasted her the way I was desperate to.
It didn’t matter.
Her gaze searched mine, and I carried her back to the counter and set her down. My fingers stroked her face as I pushed the dark hair behind her ears.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Umm… I’ve never been better. I’m guessing you’ve got a little situation going on, though,” she purred.
Had there ever been a sexier woman?
I reached for her hand and rested it over my throbbing cock, straining against my jeans.
“Nothing little about the situation going on here, sweetheart,” I said, my voice gruff.
Her hand continued to stroke me up and down, and I squeezed my eyes closed.
“You’re right about that. You’ve got quite the package on board, Captain.” She waggled her brows.
“You ready to drop the no-dating-professional-athlete’s rule?” I said, nipping at her lips.
Her eyes widened. “You don’t even date often; why are you asking that?”
“Because I want to date you.”
Her eyebrows narrowed, and she shook her head. “Don’t say that, Lincoln. Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
She pushed me back and hopped off the counter, moving to her plate of pie and taking a bite as if this were all a big joke.
“Hey.” I locked my gaze with hers. “I don’t say things that I don’t mean. I’d think you’d know that by now.”
“Let’s see, you haven’t dated in quite a while. You can’t stand me most of the time, and we work together. Oh… and you’re moving across the country. To you, I’m just some small-town smoke show.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
I barked out a laugh. “Well, you are hot, and you did grow up in a small town, so if that makes you a small-town smoke show, so fucking be it. But that’s not the reason that I want to date you.”
“You just want to date me because you’re probably horny and you’re stuck here in Cottonwood Cove.”
The fucking nerve of this woman.
She took another bite of pie and raised her brow at me like I was the crazy one.
I forked some pie, tipped the utensil back, and flung it at her. A chunk of apple and some sort of crumbly shit landed on her cheek, and she gasped.
Now it was my turn to laugh. I hadn’t expected to aim so well, but damn, it served her fucking right.
I was as offended for her as I was for myself. First, her accusing me of not knowing what I want and then her saying that I’m only interested in her because she’s the only thing here in Cottonwood Cove.
What the fuck was her deal?
She reached for a napkin and wiped her face, turning her back to me.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she whispered.
My chest squeezed because she was all over the fucking place, and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing when it came to her. I moved closer just as she turned around and aimed the can of whipped cream at me and sprayed me in the face.
“Take that, sucker. You have no idea who you’re dealing with, Lincoln Hendrix!” She ran to the other side of the island, holding the can in her hand, her eyes wild and full of fire. She was laughing hysterically, and I couldn’t help but do the same.
I swiped the whipped cream away from my eyes and shook my head.
I reached for my plate of pie, carrying it with me as I moved around the island that sat between us. Her chest was rising and falling, and our labored breaths filled the air around us.
I stalked toward her, almost predatory.
The way I wanted this woman wasn’t anything I’d ever experienced before.
“Put the whipped cream down,” I said, closing the distance between us.
She studied me, setting the can on the counter.
I stood right in front of her, my gaze locked with hers. “Open your mouth.”
“Someone’s feeling full of himself.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
I raised a brow, waiting for her to do as I said. Her mouth fell open, and I scooped up some pie and fed it to her. She groaned as she sealed her lips around the fork before I pulled it out, and she chewed slowly.
“I always know what I want. You think because I haven’t had a relationship recently that it means that I’m incapable? That’s never been my problem.”
“So, what’s your problem, Captain?” she asked, her voice sexy as hell.
“I haven’t found anyone worth doing it with. There was Jaqueline, but it was doomed from the start,” I said, taking a bite of pie for myself before I moved the fork back to her sweet mouth.
“Why was that? Because life on the road makes it impossible? Because you have endless women dropping to their knees for you?”
I studied her. She liked to act tough, but she was fucking scared. “We had nothing in common. There was no conversation. No laughter.”
“Just hot sex and lots of it, right?” She pursed her lips and squared her shoulders.
“Sure. It was just sex. We both have our pasts. I have nothing to hide. The sex was fine, but at the end of the day, that got old. As did her annoying desire for attention and the spotlight.” I set the plate down on the counter.
“That’s why I normally keep my relationships casual.
I have never craved the company of a woman—until now. ”
“Really? I’m supposed to believe that you crave me?” She tried to act unaffected, but her cheeks pinked, and I noticed her breaths were coming fast again.
“Yes. Because I do.”
“You’ll get bored. So, we can agree to a one-night thing, because I can’t deny that I want you, too. But that’s all it is. One night, then we go back to working together and pretend it never happened.”
“Not happening,” I said as my hand moved to the side of her neck, my thumb stroking along her jawline. “It’s all or nothing.”
Was I really fucking turning down one night with her?
This was a first.
She stepped back and shook her head. “Why are you messing with my head?”
“Am I?”
“Yes. I just agreed to a one-night stand. Offered for us to get whatever this is out of our systems. And you’re turning me down?” She crossed her arms over her chest, and her face hardened. She was pissed.
“Correct.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want you in my bed for one night, Brinkley Reynolds. It won’t be enough for me.” My tongue swiped out to wet my lips, and her eyes moved there.
“I don’t date athletes. I don’t set myself up to get hurt. You get one night, and that’s it. Final offer.” Her gaze locked with mine, letting me know she wasn’t backing down.
But neither the fuck was I.
“No deal.” My dick strained so hard behind my zipper that it was painfully uncomfortable. But I was going to stand my ground.
“Fine. Let’s leave things as they are, then.” She raised a brow.
“All right. Friends?” I held out my hand. I knew I’d wear her down. This pull was too strong with us. I’d gone my entire life never wanting anything real with anyone before now. I wasn’t going to fuck it up by starting out the wrong way. This woman was going to be worth the wait.
“You’re a stubborn ass.” She slapped my hand away and started putting everything back in the refrigerator. She wiped down the counter, and I cleaned up the floor.
Our drive to her house was quiet, and she stared out the window.
When I pulled in front of her house, she turned to face me. “I will send the announcement over to you tonight to look over. We have a few days to make some tweaks if you don’t like the wording. But it’s pretty brief and to the point.”
“Sounds good. And we’re off tomorrow, so no workout.”
“Right.”
“Am I still invited to Sunday dinner, or are you revoking the invitation?”
“Well, seeing as I’m not the one who invited you, I don’t think it would be fair to uninvite you.”
She was so fucking cute when she was mad.
And what was she even mad about?
The fact that I liked her?
A lot?
“Great. I’ll meet you over here, and we can go together.”
“Fine. That sounds like a plan. Good night, friend.” She pushed her door open, and I jumped out of the car.
“Friends don’t walk one another to the door,” she hissed, glancing over her shoulder at me.
I reached for her arm just as she was about to put the key into the door. I turned her around to face me.
“I will always walk you to the door. Stop being a stubborn ass.” I set one hand on each side of her face, caging her in.
“I’m the stubborn ass?” She shook her head and glared at me.
“Yes. You’re pissed because I don’t want to just fuck you for one night when you know you want the same thing that I do. That makes you a stubborn ass.”
“You’re so full of yourself. You can’t stand the fact that I don’t want to date you, can you?”
“No. I can’t,” I said dryly. “Because you’re lying.”
“Oh, really? Why would I lie about that?”
I moved closer, invading her space. My forehead rested against hers. “Because you’re scared. Because the future is unknown. Because I don’t have a great track record in relationships, and from what you’ve told me, neither do you.”
“You’ll tire of me, Lincoln. You’re moving to New York. I live here.”
“You don’t even know where you’re going to be living in a few months when you publish your story.”
“Your story,” she said, raising a brow. “It’s better that we don’t cross the line. Things will get messy.”
“I think things are already messy, sweetheart. But I’ve never been a guy that was afraid of the long game. So, I’ll just have to show you that you’re wrong.” I stepped back and made my way down her path, walking backward as she watched me.
“I’m rarely wrong,” she said, and the corners of her lips turned up the slightest bit.
“We’ll see about that.”
I waited for her to step inside before getting back in my car and driving the short distance to my house.
When I got home, I checked my phone and saw an email from my college coach, Jack Hardin.
I’d reached out about Lionel, and he’d gotten back to me.
He said they were actually looking for a backup kicker because their first-string kicker had graduated this past year and they were down to one guy.
I’d sent him the film that I’d taken of Lionel kicking a few field goals that day out on the field, and he was interested.
He also said he knew of a few small programs on the lookout for a kicker, and he’d pass on the word about Lionel.
They weren’t huge football programs, but they would allow him to play, and I was hoping they’d offer him something to help pay for his schooling.
I sent him Lionel’s contact information and then sent Lionel a text, as well, to let him know that he should be looking out for a call.
It was well past midnight, and I didn’t expect a response at this hour, but the kid was full of surprises.
Lionel
I can’t believe this. I don’t know how to thank you, Lincoln.
Just keep training and be open to any calls that come your way. If you want to come train with me and Brinkley next week, we can work on building some muscle, which will make you stronger.
What the fuck was I doing?
I guess I remembered the time I was worried about playing in college, and I didn’t have a fucking clue how to go about it.
Neither did my mom. I didn’t have a father to help guide me, and I knew that Lionel didn’t either.
So, a part of me felt like I could offer that to him in a way.
At least help him out where his own father had failed him.
Lionel
I would love to. I will do anything you say.
If only Brinkley Reynolds would say those same words to me.
Then the world would be a perfect place.