Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
EDEN
“Uh, Nona… I have to go.”
“What? Why?” She pulled in a sharp gasp. “Holy shit. He’s standing there right now, isn’t he? He totally just heard you.”
My whole face felt like it was a moment away from catching fire. “Gotta go,” I blurted. I hung up on Nona’s protests and dropped the phone to the counter with a clatter. “Uh… h-hi. Um… what’s up?” Oh god, kill me now.
He pushed off the wall, that dimple in full effect as he took a step closer. “Just checkin’ on that water, darlin’.”
Shit! I’d forgotten the whole reason for coming into the kitchen in the first place. “Crap! Sorry.” Rushing to the fridge, I jerked it open and grabbed a bottle of water from the top shelf. “I’m so sorry. I got sidetracked,” I said as I handed Lincoln the water. “Nona called, and, well….”
“So I heard.” His deep chuckle made my belly swoop but did nothing to alleviate my humiliation.
“Exactly how much of that did you hear?” I asked with a wince.
“Enough to know you got it all wrong.”
If the ground could have opened up beneath me, I would have been more than happy to be sucked into its dark oblivion right then.
“Oh god,” I groaned, covering my face with both hands.
“This is so embarrassing. Is it possible for you to forget this whole thing happened? Like maybe bump your head really hard and give yourself amnesia?”
I heard the water bottle hit the counter, and my body jerked in surprise when his rough fingers wrapped around my wrists and pulled them down.
When I looked up at him, Lincoln’s face had that same soft warmth as earlier.
“No, baby. You’re not getting it. I mean you’re wrong about what you just told Nona. ”
“I… huh?”
He took a step closer. The delicious muskiness of his cologne filled my nose and made it impossible to think. “I said, what you told Nona was wrong,” he repeated in a low, gentle voice as his hand came up and his fingertips traced along my jawline. “It wasn’t just wishful thinkin’, baby.”
“It wasn’t?” I managed to ask in a shocked whisper.
“No, it wasn’t.”
I couldn’t feel my legs, and I was pretty sure I was two seconds from having a heart attack. “So… you were… I mean, we… you were really going to kiss me?”
The air between us began to crackle, and I watched in fascination as his emerald eyes grew darker by the second. “Been kickin’ myself in the ass for not doing it since you drove away. Not gonna make the same mistake now.”
With that, his fingers on my jaw dragged down and wrapped around the side of my neck, and his lips lowered against mine.
My body locked as my brain tried to process what was happening, but when Lincoln’s tongue darted out and ran across my bottom lip before demanding entry, I quickly got with the program and opened wide for him.
It was by far and away the best kiss I’d ever had in my life.
His lips were full and soft, his fingers on my skin pressing deeper as his arm circled my waist and pulled me even closer, forcing me to my tiptoes to give him more.
My arms looped around his neck, and I held on for dear life as the kiss that started off sweet and gentle turned carnal in a beat. I couldn’t get enough.
A moan worked its way up my throat as my nails raked through the hair at the back of his head.
I’d been dying to touch those blond locks since I first laid eyes on Lincoln months ago, and it was just as silky as I’d imagined it would be.
Everything about the kiss was perfect. Everything about him was perfect.
If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake up. I could have died in his arms right then and been totally happy with that. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards.
Just as things were getting really good, Rocky let out a small yip and butted his head against our legs.
Lincoln let out a frustrated growl when Rocky gave us a second head butt. As much as it pained me to do so, I pulled away from Lincoln’s lips and lowered from the balls of my feet, looking down at the cock-blocking dog with a glare.
“Fuck me. You gotta be kidding,” Lincoln gritted. When I turned back to him, he was looking at his pooch with the same agitation I was feeling. “You’ve got shit timing, buddy.”
Rocky yipped again and plopped his butt on the floor, his tail swishing across my floor happily.
There was just no way to stay mad at that cutie. “Guess he doesn’t like not being the center of attention,” I said, smiling up at Lincoln.
His arms dropped to his side, and with a force of will I didn’t know I was capable of, I took a step back. Space was required if I was going to get my brain to function and my lungs to pull in a full breath.
“Probably best he interrupted,” Lincoln said, making my heart skip several beats before he continued. “We keep this up and I’ll never get your system installed. But after….”
A goofy smile stretched my cheeks so wide they ached. “After works for me.”
“Good,” he said softly, brushing my swollen bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “’Cause now that I’ve had a taste, pretty sure I’m addicted.”
He turned and exited the kitchen, moving to my living room to get back to work on my new alarm. I gave myself a few moments to get my bearings, and as I worked to slow my heart rate, Rocky stood and padded over to me, giving my hand a lick.
Looking down at the playful pup, my grin grew even wider. “Well, that was unexpected.” He gave me another lick. “But damn nice.”
Damn nice didn’t even cover how amazing that kiss was. And I couldn’t wait for after.
I got through a few more episodes of my show while Lincoln worked, but if someone were to quiz me on what happened, I’d fail miserably. As hard as I tried not to, staring at Lincoln’s ass and the muscles in his back as he bent over or squatted or hunched was just too damn tempting.
“You gonna watch your show or gawk at me the whole time, darlin’?” My entire face and chest burned cherry red at being busted when he turned and shot me another wink over his shoulder. “Not that I mind the attention.”
I gave him a playful glare. “You know, a gentleman wouldn’t have called me out on that.”
His laughter rang through my living room, sounding as beautiful as church bells, and just like I had been at lunch earlier that day, I was mesmerized by the sight and sound of it.
“Been called a lot of things in my life, Edie. A gentleman was never one of them.”
My head cocked to the side, and I narrowed my eyes. “Oh I don’t know. I’ve seen glimpses of it here and there.”
That dimple of his made a reappearance “Oh yeah?”
“Sure,” I returned teasingly. “I mean, you’re the guy who stops his car in the middle of the street to help little old ladies with their groceries. Then there’s the fact that you rescue poor wayward pups from euthanasia, and open doors for women. Total gentleman business right there.”
Placing his hands on his hips, he stared down at me, those green eyes dancing and beautiful. “Looks like you’ve uncovered my secrets.”
“What, that you’re a closet white knight?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. But my mom did raise me to have manners. And she’d tan my ass if a woman I was with was ever in the position to open a door on her own.”
I grinned wide. “Yep. I’ve got you pegged.”
We stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before he seemed to shake himself out of a stupor. “Well, I’m almost finished here. Let me get this done, and then I’ll show you how to use it and get outta your hair.”
My chest tightened, and I did my best to ignore the crush of disappointment at the thought of him leaving. Then it dawned on me.
“You know, I was thinking I’d order Chinese for dinner. Since you’re already here, I could get you something too. My treat.”
“Chinese sounds good,” he replied. “But no way in hell it’s your treat. We order, it’s on me.”
“But—”
“Manners, remember?”
I stopped arguing and pulled my lips between my teeth to hide my giddiness. “I wouldn’t want to do anything that could get you in trouble with your mom.”
“Exactly.” He smirked before turning back toward the alarm. “Why don’t you order while I finish up here. I eat pretty much anything as long as it doesn’t have tofu.”
“No tofu. Got it.” I hopped off the couch and went to rifle through my drawer of takeout menus while Rocky kept me company.
“So what was it that brought you to Hope Valley?”
Prodding at a piece of shrimp with my chopsticks, I looked from my Chinese food container to Lincoln across the length of my sofa.
“Well, I didn’t come here with the intention of staying at first,” I answered honestly.
“I’ve kind of been a nomad my whole life and I was finally looking to set down roots, but I didn’t know where I wanted to settle.
” I gave my head a shake as I confessed the ridiculousness that led me to this amazing town.
“It’ll probably sound stupid, but I did a google search. ”
He gave me a look of confusion. “A google search?”
“Yeah. I typed in “most beautiful places in the United States for middle income,” and Hope Valley was number seven on the list.” That earned me another one of those laughs that I was quickly becoming addicted to.
“So I packed up my stuff and went on a road trip. When I wasn’t trying to find a town that fit me, I was visiting places I’d put on my bucket list, places I wanted to see at some point in my life.
I might have lived all over, but I never really stopped to appreciate where I was, and I wanted to take my time. ”
“Where all did you visit?”
“I went everywhere,” I replied, my voice breathy with awe at the memories of the beauty I’d seen. “All over Colorado, Moab, a couple small towns in Montana and Wyoming, New Orleans, Savannah, Charleston. You name it.”
“Damn, baby. Sounds like a long trip.”
“Took me three weeks, and I loved every single second of it. But when I hit the town limits here, I just knew. It was this feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me I was home.” I turned my dreamy gaze to Lincoln. “That probably sounds ridiculous, huh?”
His face went gentle as he spoke in a low voice. “Not at all.”
My gaze went dreamy again, that time for a whole different reason. My voice was barely a whisper as I said, “I’m really glad I picked this town.”
Leaning forward, he put the container of General Tso’s chicken on the coffee table and scooted across the couch toward me. He did the same with my dinner, divesting me of my shrimp lo mein before rumbling, “I’m really fuckin’ glad you did too.”
Then he kissed me. And god, what a kiss it was.
His big strong hands gripped my hips so hard that I felt the pads of his fingers digging into me through my clothes. He yanked me down to my back and hovered over me, never once breaking the kiss as his body slowly sank down on mine.
The weight of him on top of me felt like being covered by the warmest, safest blanket.
His tongue drove into my mouth as I parted my legs to make room for his hips.
I could feel him, long and hard beneath the denim of his jeans, pressing against the most sensitive part of me.
My mouth opened wider on a low, needy moan while my hips thrust up.
I could get lost in this kiss. I could drown in him and be happy never to come up for air. A ragged, wild sound vibrated from his chest up his throat and down mine. I swallowed it greedily, desperate for anything and everything he could give me. I wanted this to last forever. I wanted more.
But before I could get it, Lincoln lifted his head and ended the kiss, resting his forehead against mine as we both struggled for air.
Several seconds later, he pushed up, grabbed my hand, and pulled me from the couch. He let out a sharp whistle as we walked to the front door, and Rocky hopped up from where he’d been sleeping, curled up on my chair.
“I had a great time tonight,” I said softly, still struggling for a full breath. “Thank you for paying for dinner.”
He held my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Any time, baby.” With one last peck against my lips, he pulled away and ordered, “Lock this behind me. And don’t forget to set the alarm.” Then he left.
It took me a few seconds for my brain to stop swooning and reengage, but once it did, I did as he’d commanded and locked up, setting the alarm before getting ready for bed.
And that night I had the most delicious dreams ever.