Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Lynx
I knew it would be in my best interest to let Reagan go, but I couldn’t seem to listen to reason. Not from her and not from myself.
I'd waited ten fucking years to get my hands on her again.
Ten years.
Since the first damn time I'd kissed her. Back when I'd been a heartbroken eighteen-year-old. And she’d been … sixteen fucking years old.
A fucking decade.
That was one hell of a prison sentence, and now that she’d shed the ball and chain, there was nothing stopping me.
Well, nothing except her.
If I'd thought for one second that the banked fury in her gaze was anything more than repressed desire, I probably would’ve stepped back, let her climb in her truck, drive off into the night.
But I knew better.
This thing between us was a summer storm gathering strength across the open plains. And there was no running from it. Not anymore.
Stopping her with one hand on her shoulder, I said her name as softly, as calmly as I could.
What I wanted to do was spin her around and crush my mouth to hers.
I wanted to strip her naked, press her up against the side of that truck, and bury my dick inside that sweet pussy.
Then I wanted to remain there for the rest of my fucking life.
But I couldn’t do that.
Not until she gave me the green light.
When she turned back to face me, I closed the distance between us and cupped her face in my hands.
Damn, she was so fucking soft. Just like I remembered.
I swallowed hard, watching her. I saw the way her eyes darted to my mouth, the way her tongue swiped over her lower lip, even the way her eyelids lowered as I leaned in closer.
She was my greatest temptation. Always had been.
Yet I'd managed to never cross that line. It hadn’t been easy, but I'd succeeded because a country boy did not mess with another man’s girl.
That was the bro code. An honorable man didn’t break it.
And despite the fact that Reagan and Billy had mixed about as well as oil and water, I had held my ground, staying out of the way.
But now…
“Reagan,” I whispered as my lips hovered over hers. “I’m so tired of fightin’ this.”
That little hitch in her breath was nearly my undoing, but I waited, wanting her to give me some sort of sign. As desperate as I was for her, I knew I couldn’t simply take because I wanted to. She had to be on board, or I'd lose the war before the first battle started.
“Don’t fight this,” I whispered, my lips brushing hers.
I could practically taste her and it was killing me to hold back.
I wanted to eliminate the few centimeters between us and devour her, to slide my tongue over her lips, past her teeth, into the sweet cavern of her mouth.
But I needed more than that. I needed this woman to give me everything because I wasn’t going to settle for anything less. Not where she was concerned.
“I can’t,” she finally said, her tone firm. Those two words caused her lips to brush against mine, and I inhaled sharply, my cock throbbing painfully against my zipper, every muscle in my body tense.
I swallowed again, and with an internal sigh, I forced myself to pull back, to stand to my full height.
“Like I told you earlier,” she stated, her voice firm, serious. “Keep your dick in your pants and come find me when your divorce is final. Maybe then…”
She let the sentence hang between us, and I filled in the blanks with a million different thoughts.
Maybe then … I'd have her naked beneath me.
Maybe then … I'd get to taste every inch of her.
Maybe then … I'd slide my cock into the warm, wet recesses of her body and drive us both out of our minds.
Maybe then … I'd wake up with her in my arms.
Maybe then…
“Until then, I’d appreciate it if you’d give me some space, Lynx.” Her eyes were sincere. “I need you to give me some space.”
I knew when to concede and now was definitely the time. The woman was giving me hope. Whether or not she intended to honor that, I couldn’t say, but I could hold out until then.
After all, what was ten more days? Little did she know, but my divorce would be final in ten days. Sure, it seemed like an eternity to me, but I knew it wasn’t.
I stepped back and allowed Reagan to get into her truck, the door making a godawful creaking sound when she closed it. She watched me the entire time and I knew she was battling the same desires I was. If she would simply give in…
Then again, maybe this was what we both needed. It gave me an idea.
“Hey,” I called out as I tapped on her window.
I waited as it lowered.
“What?”
“Meet me at the diner for breakfast tomorrow?”
She frowned.
“Come on, girl. You gotta eat.”
Reagan huffed. “Not gonna happen, Lynx.”
“It was worth a shot,” I said with a smirk.
I knew it would take time, but the woman would eventually give in. I understood that I needed to prove myself and I would. Easy fucking peasy.
“’Night, Lynx.”
I tipped my hat as she rolled up the window. I watched as she backed out of her spot, then I headed over to my truck.
Half an hour later, I was pulling out of my driveway with Copenhagen riding shotgun.
“Sorry, buddy,” I told my dog. “Looks like another night in the truck.”
Until someone proved to me that Reagan wasn’t in potential danger from that crazy bastard after Amy, I was going to sleep in front of her house. I didn’t give a shit how long it took. She might not want to give me the time of day right now, but I wasn’t about to let anything happen to her.
So what if I had to deal with a crick in my neck in the morning.
As far as I was concerned, Reagan was fucking worth it.
Reagan
I knew Lynx was out there.
I heard his truck when he pulled up last night.
It should’ve given me the peace of mind to allow sleep to take me.
Unfortunately, I'd slept for shit, dreaming about the man. And they certainly hadn’t been bad dreams, although I was starting to question my sanity.
Why? Why the hell did Lynx have to be so nice?
Even after I turned him down, he was still parked out in front of my house, keeping an eye on things the way he had for the past few weeks. I couldn’t even imagine Billy doing something like that. Shit, Billy would’ve probably kept his distance, not wanting to put himself in harm’s way.
“Such an asshole,” I muttered to myself, tossing the blanket off.
It was hot. And it had little to do with the mediocre air conditioning and everything to do with that damn dream.
It wasn’t different than a lot of my fantasies in previous years. All involving the sexy bad boy I should’ve been keeping a serious distance from. For chrissakes, the guy was married.
And okay, fine. He was only married at this point on paper. The legal process was working its magic, and sometime in the near future he would be officially divorced. At that point, I wasn’t sure what excuse I was going to use, but I knew I had to come up with something.
Peering over at my nightstand, I was tempted to pull out my vibrator.
It would certainly take the edge off as I'd learned over the years. I had started with the self-pleasure a long time ago, so it wasn’t like it was anything new.
Having been with a man who’d been focused only on himself, I had gotten used to it.
I briefly wondered if sex with Lynx would be that way. Would I have to resort to getting myself off after?
For whatever reason, I was shaking my head.
No, I didn’t think Lynx was a selfish lover.
No way would women be falling all over themselves to be with him if he were.
And they were. To the point it was almost embarrassing.
So much so that the guy had to be some sort of freak in bed to keep them coming back for more, although he was ready to move on after one night. Or so I'd heard.
The sound of a truck engine turning over had me jerking my attention toward the window.
He was leaving.
I glanced at the clock.
It was only six twenty in the morning. What the hell was I doing awake?
When the drone of the engine faded away, I reached for my vibrator.
Why the hell not?
No way was I going to give in to Lynx, so I might as well satisfy my own needs. Even if the man was off-limits, the fantasies of him weren’t.
Settling back on the bed, I closed my eyes and drew up the mental image of Lynx. The one I always resorted to during times like this. He was shirtless in my mind, walking into my bedroom after having been outside, his chest glistening with sweat, my eyes drawn to all those tattoos.
God, he was sexy.
Before I knew it, I had the vibrator turned on low, the blunt tip pressed to my clit, working me up slowly.
I imagined Lynx turning to me, his heated stare practically undressing me where I lay.
I imagined his eyes trailing down to where my hand was tucked beneath my panties.
He was watching me as I let the vibration roll over my clit, driving me higher and higher.
Then I imagined it was his tongue on me, his mouth driving me closer to the edge.
“Oh, shit!” I cried out, my orgasm slamming into me unexpectedly.
I rode it out until I was too sensitive to the vibration. At that point, I tossed the damn toy onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Although the relief was instant, I knew it would never be enough to keep my thoughts from drifting to that man.
And one of these days, I was going to give in.
Which would leave me where?
As another notch in Lynx Caine’s bedpost?
Forcing myself to sit up, I sighed. “Yeah. No fuckin’ thank you.”