Chapter 46 Lincoln
LINCOLN
Six years ago…
Her body trembles in my arms as I hold her tight. But while she’s devastated, anger and the need to hurt someone rips through me.
I don’t need her words to confirm who’s hurt her. It’s obvious. And I’m going to fucking ruin him for it.
He assured Rett that he could be trusted with his little sister.
Well…
Just look how that turned out.
She continues to cry, and I swear, each sob rips another piece of my heart away.
I hate it.
I’ve always hated it when she cried. But this time is so much worse.
This time, she is really hurting.
Eventually, she pulls back, although she doesn’t look up at me. Instead, she keeps her gaze locked on the stones beneath us.
“He…he…”
“Shush, babe. It’s okay. You don’t have to explain.”
She nods, but she either doesn’t agree or just needs to get the words out regardless.
“He’s upstairs in the hotel room he booked for us with…” My jaw tightens as disbelief flows through me. I squeeze my eyes closed for a beat, wishing her sentence ends another way, but I know what’s coming.
I’m going to fucking kill him.
“Someone else.”
Pure, unfiltered rage takes hold.
“Motherfucker,” I hiss, desperately trying to get myself under control.
She needs me present and with her right now, not storming off to find the cheating fuck and teach him a lesson.
“It was meant to be our night.”
I close my eyes and tip my head to the sky as I drag in a deep, calming breath.
She needs you, Linc. Don’t fuck this up.
When I look down, she’s still staring at the floor.
“Parker?” I whisper, but she doesn’t move.
“Little P,” I say a little louder as I tuck my fingers under her chin and force her to look up at me.
My chest tightens painfully the second her red, watery eyes meet mine.
She’s heartbroken. And yet, she’s still hands down the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on.
I’m pretty sure Parker Donnelly was made for me.
There isn’t a single thing about her I don’t like.
In fact, I like everything about her a little too much.
Rett would kill me if he ever found out. But I haven’t been able to stop myself. Falling for his little sister has been the easiest thing I’ve ever done. It’s been as natural as breathing.
But as easy as it might have been, it’s also one of the hardest parts of my life.
Holding myself back has become almost a full-time job. Sure, it helps that we’re at college now and I’m not around her as much as I once was. But still, she’s a permanent fixture in my everyday life, even if it is from a distance.
She’s the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the thing I fantasize about before going to sleep.
The other girls don’t mean a thing. They’re just some fun. A distraction from the fact that I’m never going to be able to have the one I really want.
“I-I’m sorry I called you,” she whispers, regret dancing in her eyes. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
Sorry? She’s sorry?
She never needs to be sorry about a single thing.
I’m not going to say it because she doesn’t need to hear it right now, but Seth fucking up tonight is probably the best thing that could have happened.
If she’d have gone through with it…my stomach rolls over as images of what they could have been doing right now play out in my mind…she’d have regretted it. Sure, tonight might have been great, but this would have still happened. And it would have hurt even more.
I force a smile on my face.
“I’m glad you called me,” I tell her honestly.
“Thank you for coming.”
She falls into me once again, and I happily accept her embrace.
Dropping my lips to the top of her head, I press a kiss there before breathing her in.
My eyes flutter closed as I allow myself a moment to indulge in the feel of her in my arms.
You’re fucked, a little voice pipes up, but like usual, I shove it back down.
“Come on, let’s get you home,” I say, adjusting her so she’s at my side.
She stills. “I can’t. I can’t go home. Mom will—”
“Whoa, calm down,” I soothe. “I’m taking you to mine. Mom and Nova are out. We’ll have the place to ourselves.”
My idea of heaven.
“O-okay,” she stutters before we begin walking again.
As we move, something to my side flashes in the overhead light and catches my eye.
Without thinking, I release her for a beat and pick it up.
A hotel key card.
My fingers curl around the piece of plastic as my instincts tell me just what room it is.
“Linc?” she questions.
As fast as I can, I tuck the card into my back pocket and pull her back into my side.
She doesn’t say anything as we make our way to my car, and I can only hope that’s because she didn’t see.
Pulling my passenger door open, I wait for her to drop into the seat, but she lingers.
“Parker, what’s—”
Her lips cut off my words as she reaches up and presses them to mine in the briefest, sweetest kiss of my life.
“Thank you, Linc. I—”
Unable to stop myself, I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and duck, resting my forehead against hers.
The need to kiss her properly burns through me. My cock jerks and my pants get too tight at just the thought of tasting her. I just know that she’ll be so much sweeter than I’ve imagined.
Her big, golden eyes gaze up at me, almost begging, and I swallow thickly.
She needs you to do the right thing here, Linc. She’s hurting. Do not take advantage.
“Just so you know, Seth has made the biggest mistake of his life tonight. There won’t be a day that goes by where he won’t regret this.”
Her breath catches, her eyes filling with tears again.
“I don’t care who he has up there with him. She’ll never be you.”
Parker shuffles forward, bringing our lips almost within touching distance.
I close my eyes, needing a moment to remind myself to do the right thing.
“In you go, little P. We’ve got a full night ahead of us.”
It’s not true, it’s already speeding toward midnight, but I have every intention of at least attempting to turn her night around.
Finally, she drops into the car, taking temptation away.
I deserve a medal for holding out.
My reprieve only lasts a few moments because, before I know it, I’m in the driver’s seat with her sweet scent surrounding me.
“You look beautiful, by the way,” I tell her honestly as I back out of the space.
The emerald-green dress she’s wearing fits her like a glove, and I’m not sure what it’s doing to her tits, but fuck me gently.
Forcing my eyes to stay on the road, I cringe when she lets out a self-deprecating laugh.
“Maybe that was true earlier. Pretty sure I’ve ruined it now.”
“Not even close, Parker. Even on your worst days, you’re still the most beautiful girl in the world.”
The second the words leave my lips, the air around us turns thick.
“You…um…you don’t need to try and make me feel better.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek, stopping myself from assuring her that I’m telling the truth.
We drive in silence for a few minutes before I take a turn she wasn’t expecting.
“Where are we going?” she asks, although it soon becomes obvious when I pull into a McDonald’s.
“When I was a kid and something had gone wrong, my dad would always bring me on a trip to McDonald’s as a treat to try and cheer me up.”
“He was a good man,” she says quietly, making my heart constrict.
“Yeah,” I say, forcing the word past the lump of emotion now clogging my throat. “He was the best.”
I lose myself in memories of the man who taught me everything he knew, the man I try to live up to every single day of my life.
Before I know it, we’re at the window to order and I have no idea what Parker wants.
“Uh…what do you—”
“Whatever used to be your happy food,” she responds.
I smile, unsure that what I used to eat with Dad back then would cut it now.
I glance over at her sad face before placing a ridiculous order for the two of us.
With her lap loaded with food plus two huge sodas sitting in the drink holders, I continue toward my family home.
Parker sits silently beside me, chewing on one of her pretty gold nails, her eyes locked on the world passing us by. I desperately want to ask if she’s okay, but I already know she’s not.
She’s just had her heart broken by a jerk who didn’t deserve to have access to it. Of course she’s not okay.
Lifting the hand I have resting in my lap, I hesitantly reach over the center console.
She might not want my touch or support, but right now, all I can think about is keeping her close.
She startles the second my fingers brush her palm. Her head twists toward me, her eyes wide with surprise. But she doesn’t pull her hand away or break our connection; instead, she shifts slightly and twists her fingers with mine.
Heat rushes up my arm and shoots straight down to my dick.
Get it together, Storm.
That is not what this is.
Just be the guy she needs.
My teeth grind as I force myself to keep my eyes on the road.
The closer we get to my childhood home, the more my mind starts to spin.
Images I shouldn’t be having of her standing in my room, crawling onto my bed, fill my head.
She’s been in the room before. Countless times. But Rett is usually there, too.
We’ve never been there together.
With an empty house.
Fuck. This was a really bad idea.
I shake my head.
What am I even thinking? She isn’t going to want to come to my room. She’ll most likely lock herself in the guest room and try to figure out how to deal with the heartbreak she’s suffered tonight.
Thankfully, by the time we pull into the driveway, her tears have ceased and she’s breathing more steadily.
We sit there as the music plays softly from the speakers, just staring at the dark house before us.
It feels like a big moment, but I know that I’m the only one thinking it.
Be the friend she needs, Storm.
“I don’t think I can wait any longer for a burger,” I confess before killing the engine and pushing the door open.
“Do you ever not think about food?”
All the time…when I’m thinking about you.
“Every now and then. It’s my fuel. A machine this powerful needs every bit it can get.”
She snorts as I take the box from her lap.
“I’m pretty sure you should be eating healthier ‘fuel’ than McDonald’s.”
“Yeah, but tonight can be an exception. We all need food that makes us smile every now and then.”
“Yeah,” she muses as she climbs out.
I meet her at the hood, and side by side we walk to the front door. “Are you sure they’re going to be gone all night?” she whispers as I find my key and push it into the lock.
“Yep. You don’t need to worry about being caught.”
“Who says I’m doing anything I shouldn’t be?”
Lifting my hand to my neck, I rub the tense muscles, regretting my choice of words.
“N-no, you’re not doing anything wrong. I just meant—”
“It’s okay, Linc. I know what you meant. I’ve heard the rumors about you having girls in your room before.”
“Girls in my—you want to go to my room?”
Get it together, you fucking moron.
“Sorry, I just assumed that we’d hang out up there.”
I stare at her, taking in her red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks.
“We can do whatever you want to do. I won’t be offended if you want to just disappear into the guest room.”
She shakes her head and takes a step closer.
“I want to hang out. With you. Show me that not everything about tonight is fucked up.”
I nod.
I can do that.
Taking her hand, I lead her up to my room, praying that she can’t feel mine trembling.