Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lynx
I was holding my breath.
Not only because Reagan’s soft, warm hand was gliding up and down my rigid erection, either.
No, I was holding my breath because the woman had just located the tattoo of her name on my body. I'd gotten it years ago. And it hadn’t been an accident.
In fact, none of my tattoos had been an accident. I hadn’t gotten any of them during a drunken bender. I'd been sober and lucid for every single one, drawing most of them out myself beforehand. Many of them inked directly from my sketches. All of them having meaning to me in some way.
My breath locked deeper inside me when Reagan leaned forward and kissed my chest, her little tongue gliding over my skin. It was an erotic sight, one I'd fantasized about plenty of times over the years.
When her head continued to move south, my stomach muscles tightened. As she traced the muscles that arrowed down between my legs, I finally sucked air into my lungs. But the moment those sweet lips wrapped around the head of my cock, my entire body jerked from the heat of her mouth.
Yet I watched, loving the way she laved me with her tongue, the gentle squeeze of her hand around the base of my shaft.
She moved her hand in tandem with her mouth, stroking, sucking, driving me absolutely crazy.
My cock should’ve been in desperate need of rest after our marathon sex from earlier, but no.
It seemed that part of me was as eager to have this woman’s attention as the rest of me was.
Reagan moaned and electricity sparked through every one of my nerve endings, the vibration causing my dick to twitch.
For several minutes, I watched her, loving the way she teased, not quite sending me over the edge, although I was definitely grasping it by my fingernails. I was close. So fucking close.
Then she did something wicked with her tongue, her fingers lightly grazing my balls.
“Ah, girl,” I groaned. “You’re gonna make me come.”
She moaned, and more vibrations shot through my shaft, my balls tightening against my body.
“I’m gonna come in your mouth, Reagan,” I warned.
Another moan.
I inched closer to my inevitable climax.
“Fuck…” I hissed, my legs tensing when she applied the perfect amount of suction to make my eyes cross. “Reagan…” Reaching for her, I twined my fingers in her hair, pumping my hips gently, not wanting to take control but desperately chasing my release now.
When her hand tightened, her tongue swiping over the head before she sucked me as deep as she could, my control snapped.
I roared as my release barreled down on me, stealing my breath as I came, spurting into her mouth. I didn’t close my eyes, wanting to watch as she swallowed me down. It was so hot I couldn’t seem to stop the damn thing from twitching.
While I attempted to recover, Reagan crawled up my body, her tits grazing my stomach, my chest, until her mouth was hovering above mine. Didn’t matter that I could hardly breathe, I grabbed her, crushing my lips to hers, darting my tongue into her mouth roughly.
She chuckled and pulled back before I could deepen the kiss.
“I think we should probably get out of this bed for a bit.”
My stomach rumbled as though that was the best suggestion I'd ever heard.
Reagan laughed. “And maybe we should eat somethin’ while we’re at it.”
“I know what I wanna eat,” I told her, grinning.
“Down, boy.”
Sage advice, sure. But I was finding it nearly impossible to do with Reagan around.
Not that I couldn’t get used to walking around with a perpetual hard-on.
I could. Especially if she was going to do those wicked things with her tongue again.
But for now, I could rein it in, give her a breather.
For a little while anyway.
Half an hour later, I dished up fried bologna sandwiches and chips.
I'd been shocked when Reagan suggested them, considering that was one of my favorite meals. I wasn’t a complicated man by any means.
I wasn’t a gourmet chef, either, but I knew my way around a kitchen.
Hell, I was twenty-eight years old. If I didn’t know how to cook at this point, I'd be pretty well doomed.
We were eating at the small table in my kitchen when my phone rang.
After glancing at the screen, I peered over at Reagan, then answered.
“What’s up?”
“We got the entire lot cleared,” Ed told me. “The dumpsters were hauled away, so we’re ready for whatever comes next. Wanna meet up tomorrow mornin’?”
I kept my eyes on Reagan. “Yeah. How ’bout you come over to the shop around nine. I’ll have Reagan there with me. She can tell us what comes next.”
“Sounds like a plan. See ya then.”
Reagan was eyeing me suspiciously when I set my phone on the table.
“Why will I be at the shop tomorrow?” she asked, gripping her iced tea glass.
I held up one finger, signaling her to hold on. I got up from my chair, then headed out to my truck. I grabbed the spiral sketchbook I'd been using, then went back in.
“Now, don’t think I’m tryin’ to take over,” I began. “I was just messin’ around and came up with this. Obviously, you can do whatever you—”
Reagan held up a hand, smiling. “Just show it to me, Lynx.”
I flipped open the notebook and pushed it toward her.
Once again, my breath was lodged somewhere in my chest as I watched Reagan study the rough sketch. Her eyes popped up to meet mine, then dropped back to the notebook.
“You drew this?”
I nodded.
“Wow. This is…”
When she looked up at me again, I noticed tears in her eyes, and I instantly wanted to kick myself. Tears weren’t my thing. I didn’t handle them well at all. And to see Reagan cry … that was my worst fucking fear.
“This is…” She exhaled roughly. “Amazing.”
“Really?” That wasn’t what I'd expected her to say.
“Yeah.” A smile formed, then grew bigger. “This is my bar,” she said in a soft whisper.
“Of course it is,” I assured her.
“No.” Her eyes met mine. “What I mean is this is me. This is my style. It’s… Holy shit, Lynx. This is incredible.”
Probably for the first time since I'd drawn the damn thing, I felt the pressure on my chest release. I'd figured it could go one of two ways. She’d like it or she’d hate it.
This, of course, was what I'd hoped for.
But not at all what I'd expected.
Reagan
I felt as though I was in some sort of alternate universe.
And once again, Lynx Caine had rocked my already unstable world with his kindness.
Turned out, the bad boy of Embers Ridge had the biggest heart of anyone I knew.
And to think, I had wasted all this time running from him.
As I stared at the sketch—the really good sketch—of what his vision was for my new bar, I couldn’t help but think this man really knew me.
“The old bar,” I explained, “it wasn’t really mine, you know?”
I looked up to see him watching me.
“I mean, it was mine according to the piece of paper I have showin’ it is. However, it never really felt like mine. But this…” I glanced down at the notebook again. “This is incredible.”
“It’s a rough draft,” he said, his voice soft.
“No, it’s perfect, Lynx. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.” I frowned. “But I don’t know when the insurance company’ll be able to pay out.”
“We’re not worried about that right now,” he said.
My gaze snapped to his. “Of course we are. I can’t build this when I don’t have the money to do so.”
“Like I said, Reagan, we’re not worried about that right now. There’re a lot of people willin’ to help, plenty of donations comin’ in.”
I shook my head. “No. Absolutely not. I will not take handouts.”
Lynx sighed heavily. “Jesus Christ, girl. It ain’t a handout. Do you realize how many people come into your bar on a weekly basis? Hell, half this town stops in at least once a week. Some damn near every day.”
“I get that,” I countered. “But that doesn’t mean they have to help me rebuild.” I shook my head again and got to my feet, but not before Lynx was on his.
When he pulled me toward him, I started to push him away, but resisting him was impossible.
“What happened to you that night … it happened to the whole town, Reagan.” He lifted my chin with his finger. “Don’t offend them by refusin’ their help.”
“You don’t get it,” I argued. “I don’t have the money to do any of it. Shit, I’m lucky I even have a place to live right now.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’ve got everything you need. Just ask.”
This time I did push him away. “No. No way.” I turned and walked to the opposite side of the room. “I am not askin’ you for help, Lynx. Certainly not when it pertains to money. No fuckin’ way.”
I prided myself on being able to take care of myself.
Sure, I had lived with Billy all those years, but I had paid the bills myself.
Half the time, Billy’s paycheck was spent before he ever made it back home from a job, and he certainly hadn’t spent it on me.
I'd learned to live with that. And yes, we had argued every damn day about money, but in the end, I had accepted the fact that I had to take care of myself.
“I need to go home,” I insisted.
I needed some distance, some time to myself.
I needed to think long and hard about all of this. About what I wanted, what I didn’t want. I'd just gotten out of a long-term relationship. I wasn’t sure I was ready for another. Even if it was with Lynx, a man I loved despite myself.
However, love was one thing. Money was something else entirely. And I damn sure wasn’t going to be indebted to Lynx.
No way. No how.
That was the fastest way to ruin a good thing.
When I met Lynx’s gaze, I realized he was holding out his truck keys. However, when I reached for them, he didn’t hand them over.
Instead, he cupped my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.” He was smiling as he said this. “But I already knew that about you. So, do what you need to do, Reagan. But just know, I’m gonna do what I need to do.”
“What does that mean?” I countered hotly.
He dropped his hand from my chin, then pulled me against him. I flattened my palms against his hard chest.
“It means I’m gonna take care of you, whether you like it or not.” His green eyes narrowed. “And like I told you. I’m not lookin’ for a one-time thing from you. So, you can be scared and you can be ornery, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna back down.”
He pulled me tighter against him, and my heart melted in my chest. This man knew all the right things to say.
“You knew what you were in for when you came to the shop this mornin’,” he stated firmly. “Yet you showed up there anyway.”
“I came to talk to you,” I said, although it was a lie.
“Right.” His smirk was both sexy and irritating. “I told you before that you couldn’t handle what I want from you,” he continued. “But you still came to me.”
“I came for sex,” I said, another lie. Good Lord, I probably shouldn’t go outside if there were any clouds.
Lynx chuckled. “Oh, girl. You’re gonna get that and more. Every fuckin’ day for the rest of my life.”
My eyes widened at his words. I wasn’t even sure he knew what he’d just said, but it sounded a hell of a lot like commitment.
“Yeah,” he said softly, leaning down and pressing his lips gently against mine. “And I mean that exactly as it sounds.”
I felt him press the keys into my hand, but I had a difficult time moving from where I stood, still leaning against him. I searched his eyes, trying to figure out what the hell was really going on here.
But in my heart, I already knew.
The question was whether or not I was strong enough to handle him.
For some reason, I seriously doubted I was.