26. Calista
TWENTY-SIX
CALISTA
S traddling Lincoln was not how I thought this night was going to end.
I was intending to go for something much more PG.
The plan was simple: spend some extra time with him and ask some questions that might lead me to an answer regarding Sadie’s drawing.
I think I had found what I was looking for, and I managed to get Lincoln to open up to me in the meantime.
Two birds, one stone.
But as we sat there on his bed, the way he was looking at me caused my heart to swell in a way it hadn’t before.
Perhaps it was the vulnerability or the echo of defeat in his eyes.
Whatever it was, something told me he needed me right now.
And I wanted to prove to him just how much I wanted him back.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” I said into his hair.
There was a light scent of pine that overwhelmed my senses. I dragged in a deep breath. He smelled like the wilderness. A mountain surrounded by coniferous trees. Strong and stable—standing all on his own .
“Credit for what?”
“Everything that you do.” There was a blip of quiet, long enough to hear the house settling. “The way you juggle everything and still find time to help care for your mom and sister. Do you know how many women would kill to have someone care for them so deeply?”
It was the kind of romance Ella fawned over in her novels—the very same love she didn’t believe existed outside of printed pages.
She was almost cynical about it, but I knew it was something she eventually hoped to find in her lifetime.
As much as society told me I could stand on my own, I knew I wanted it too.
A partner, a friend, someone to go through life together.
Someone I trusted with my whole heart and soul.
Someone who cared about me so deeply that it hurt.
Someone who I returned those same feelings for.
Lincoln’s dark eyes searched mine. Deep pools of espresso that I was inches from falling into.
“Are you one of those women?”
The question had taken me aback, and I was suddenly aware of his strong hands on my hips. “I think it’s natural for people to want someone who?—”
“You’re not answering my question, California.”
I swallowed, tongue brushing against my bottom lip before I whispered, “Yes.”
“I could be that someone for you.” My heart pounded a few more times within my chest before he added, “I want to be that someone.”
Lincoln’s lips connected with mine, sweet kisses that grew needier the moment my mind registered what was happening.
We relished in each other’s taste, barely breaking apart long enough to breathe in the air around us. I nipped his bottom lip, egging him on, begging for more. He responded to my pleas, his long fingers lifting the edge of my shirt. The spot between my legs began to throb with desire.
“Are you sure you want to do this right now?” I asked, Lincoln’s mouth moving from my jaw down to my neck. His hot breath sent shivers down my spine.
How did this man know exactly what to do to make me go insane?
I couldn’t believe I was cock blocking myself. But I needed Lincoln to want this—to want me —and not just because he was feeling vulnerable.
Lincoln’s husky voice reached my ears. “I’m sure. Are you?”
I almost giggled at the question. I don’t think I’d ever been more sure about something in my life. My skin burned where he touched me, igniting a fire that started low in my belly.
“Yeah,” I breathed, eyes closed as he planted a trail of kisses down my chest. He was so close to the rounds of my breasts, the swollen peaks calling out to him. I prayed my bra would just disappear. “Do you have a condom?”
“I don’t. You think with my mom being a nurse that I’d be a little more prepared,” he joked, his face still pressed to my chest.
I used the pause to take in a shaky breath, willing my brain to work. Running a hand through my hair, I said, “I might have one in my bag. But if I don’t… would you still want to continue? I’m clean.”
The last time I got tested was a couple of years ago. But I hadn’t been sexually active since.
Lincoln stilled, his fingers freezing on my hips. The pause in his movements stirred self-conscious thoughts.
“We don’t have to if that’s not something you’re comfortable with. ”
I leaned back far enough to see his tongue swipe along his bottom lip.
“It’s not that. I just haven’t… uh…”
“You haven’t…” I tried to finish the sentence for him. “You haven’t had sex before?”
He winced at the declaration. “That doesn’t put you off or anything, does it?”
I shook my head, a slow smile taking over my face. “No, not at all. I just can’t believe someone like you hasn’t had sex before.”
“Someone like me?”
“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, but you’re fine as hell, Lincoln Pierce,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You could be swimming in sex if you wanted to.”
Lincoln fought a little smirk. “Swimming in sex?”
“ Deep-sea diving in sex,” I corrected.
A rich laugh rumbled through his chest. He rubbed the back of his neck. “As appealing as that sounds, I’m not very interested in casual sex.”
My heart stuttered at his confession. “No?”
“I’m sure if my life wasn’t such a shitstorm, I might have given it a go at one point,” he said, peering out the window and into the night sky. “But I think I’d rather have something more meaningful. You know, a person to call my own?”
Within the confines of my chest, my heart did a little happy dance. If he was admitting this now, that meant that he had to have some sort of intimate feelings towards me, right? This wasn't an unrequited infatuation like I had been worried about.
“You haven’t met someone who fits that vision for you?” I said, sliding my hands from his shoulders to his chest.
“Not until you. ”
This was the softest version of Lincoln I have ever seen. And I was absolutely in awe over it.
I brought my hands back to his shoulders, moving up his neck and into his hair. Lowering my mouth to his, I hovered over his lips. “Well then… I guess I need to show you what you’ve been missing out on.”
Before the heat between us ramped up again I slipped off his lap and moved towards the door. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to grab my bag.”
Lincoln didn’t get a chance to reply. I slid into the hallway and scampered past Sadie’s room, careful not to make too much noise on the shifting floorboards. After descending the stairs, I darted in the direction I had left my bag before returning to Lincoln’s secluded bedroom.
“Got the goods,” I whispered, reentering his room with my bag in hand. The door clicked shut behind me, and I made my way over to his bed. Placing the book bag down on his mattress, I dug through an inside pocket until my fingers met a foil wrapper.
“We might be in luck,” I said, pulling the condom out and reading the expiration date. I thanked whatever god there was out there that it was still good. “I’m assuming since you haven’t had sex that you haven’t ever put one of these on, huh?”
Lincoln eyed the blue foiled wrapper that was pinched between my fingers. “No. I have a very foggy recollection of how to do it from high school sex ed.”
I sent him a brazen smile. “That’s okay, I don’t mind teaching you that too.”
Lincoln’s chuckle morphed into a groan when our lips collided again.
If I had learned anything from my past experience, it was that foreplay was half of the fun.
Most of my previous partners rushed through it, wanting to get to the night's main event.
But those who took their time always got me over the edge and seeing stars. I wanted Lincoln to experience that.
The way his hands caressed my waist and snaked down to my ass told me he wasn’t in any rush.
The tips of my fingers teased the hem of his shirt, giving it a gentle tug.
Lincoln responded to my request. His hands left my body, dragging the dark material over his head and discarding it on his bedroom floor.
With the pesky T-shirt out of the way, I admired the smooth plains of his chest. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought Lincoln was made from marble.
His muscles were covered in enviable olive skin—the kind that didn’t burn within fifteen minutes of unprotected sun exposure like mine.
Light as a feather, I brushed my fingers across his collarbone, down his chest, and over his arms. Little scars and nicks hid on the surface.
Questions came to mind, but I ignored them, banishing them to the back corner of my mind. I didn’t care about his scars or how he got them. All I cared about was Lincoln. I wanted him to realize just how cared for he was.
I applied pressure to his chest, coaxing him to lie back on the mattress, just like he did with me that night at the gym.
He did as I asked, and I pressed a chaste kiss to his lips before working my way down his body.
Keeping eye contact, I placed a trail of teasing kisses down his chest and the hard muscles of his abdomen.
A sting of satisfaction shot through me when his stomach tightened, muscles rippling.
When I reached his hips, my fingers curled around the waistband of his joggers. In one fluid motion, he lifted his pelvis, and I pulled the material down, setting his erection free.
I admired his length. It wasn’t the longest erection I’d ever dealt with, but it was thick and had a slight upwards tilt.
In other words, it was perfect. I placed a light kiss on the tip.
Lincoln bit back a groan, his head falling back at the simple action.
The anticipation was getting to him, and that spurred me on even more.
I parted my lips, wrapping my mouth around him.
With shallow bobs, I moved up and down his arousal, getting him used to the sensation.
A tortured moan tore through his throat followed by a whispered, “Fuck.”