Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KRISTIN
He said it didn’t mean anything. What the hell, how could last night have meant nothing? It meant everything. We’d consummated our marriage, we’d pushed past a wall that I’d built to keep him out and god he knew my body like nobody else.
I ached in ways I’d never admit out loud, but it was the good kind of ache.
The kind that reminded me of everything we’d done on that couch, everything we’d finally let ourselves want.
The air still smelled faintly of smoke and leather, as well as the sweetness of his skin.
My cheek rested against the rise and fall of his breathing, the rhythm calm and confident, like the world outside couldn’t touch us here.
I should’ve felt guilty. Or ashamed. Or at least nervous. But I didn’t. I felt full. Content. Like something inside me had finally unclenched. Turning on my heel, I marched back toward the hallway and down the stairs.
“Fuck you.” I shouted when I hit the bottom step. Linc was still standing at the counter, with his coffee cup half raised to his mouth, his brow arched as he watched me stalk toward him.
“Fuck you, last night meant nothing. Three years, Lincoln, three years I waited for my body to hum like that. Three years waiting to be touched with such care, by someone who knows me better than I know myself. That’s what last night was.
And if you’re too butt hurt to see it then fuck you,” I shouted, my breathing rapid and shallow.
It was then I realized I hadn’t quit walking, and we were toe to toe, almost pressed up against one another.
Linc’s eyes met mine, and the world went silent, no sound, no movement, just the wild pounding of my heart in my ears.
He reached for me, his hands shaking as they found my waist, pulling me in until there was nothing but the searing heat between us.
My breath caught, and his lips brushed mine, hungry and desperate, and I felt myself unravel.
The kiss deepened, his hands tangling in my hair, anchoring me as if I might float away.
Every fear, every wish, every ache I’d ever hidden poured out of me and into him.
The world tilted, fractured, and in that impossible, infinite moment, he was the only thing I cared about.
When we finally parted, his eyes simmered with heat, and need. “It meant everything, Tin. You’ve always meant everything to me.” He lowered his head again, and kissed me again. This time it wasn’t as fierce, it was soft, tentative, reigniting that spark that set my nerves alight.
Walking into Kipp’s house was going to be bad enough.
Doing it with Lincoln at my side, his hand brushing mine like he wasn’t the least bit ashamed, that was going to be unbearable.
I caught my reflection in the small mirror and almost laughed out loud.
I looked wrecked and happy, a woman who had stopped fighting a battle she couldn’t win.
“You’re not walking in there alone,” he said firmly, tugging his hat into place. His tone left no room for argument.
“I think I can handle breakfast,” I muttered, though I didn’t sound convincing.
He gave me a look that said ‘no, you can’t’, and that was the end of that argument. The corner of his mouth lifted just enough to let me know he was amused.
Sure enough, the second we hit the porch, it started. The smell of bacon and coffee drifted out through the open door, mixing with the cold air. Laughter spilled through the doorway like it had been waiting for us.
“Well, well, well, look who’s making her walk of shame this morning,” Lexie sing-songed, leaning against the railing like she’d been waiting all night for this. Arms crossed, smirk wide. Her grin was bright as sunlight on snow.
Heat rushed to my cheeks, but before I could open my mouth, Lincoln grumbled, “It’s not a walk of shame if you’re married to the person.” His glare could have melted paint.
Lexie barked a laugh. “No, I’m pretty sure in this situation that’s exactly what it is.”
“Lexie!” I gasped, half-horror, half-wish the house would swallow me whole. The boards creaked under my boots as I shifted my weight, wishing I could disappear into the wood.
Behind her, Nash nearly choked on his coffee, trying not to laugh.
Fallon smacked him in the chest, and Nora shook her head like she was above the mess, though the twitch at her lips betrayed her.
Griff leaned down as Elle whispered something in his ear, and he coughed into his hand, not fooling anyone.
Ryder and Kipp both looked like they’d been dragged into a soap opera they had no interest in watching.
The whole house felt alive with it, the teasing, the noise, and the warmth of people who didn’t know when to stop.
Lincoln’s arm slid around my waist, broad and possessive, and I felt the vibration of his voice before I heard it. “You think you’re funny, Lexie, but I don’t. And from her blood family no less, didn’t expect that.” His voice was calm, yet it carried a weight that quieted the porch for a moment.
“Relax, Linc,” Lexie said, lifting her hands like she was innocent. “Just a little ribbing. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before you two finally.”
“Lexie Anne.” Julie’s voice cracked through the kitchen like a whip. The older woman stood there with Phil at her side, both balancing trays loaded with food. Julie’s look could have stripped the paint off the siding. “You hush your mouth before I wash it out with soap.”
Lexie’s grin faltered. “I was just,”
“Doesn’t matter what you were just,” Julie snapped, cutting her off. “Some things don’t need saying out loud.”
The crowd broke quick after that. Fallon tugged Nash toward the door, Nora marched Kipp along, Elle looped her arm through Griff’s, and Ryder shot me a sympathetic smile before slipping away.
Lexie lingered the longest, but Julie’s eyes cut to her again, and she finally huffed and stalked to the living room.
I let out a shaky breath, my cheeks still hot enough to fry an egg. Lincoln’s hand hadn’t budged from my waist. His touch was steady, grounding, but my pulse raced all the same.
Julie brushed by me with a little pat to my arm. “Don’t mind her, honey. Some folks never learned when to keep quiet.”
“Thanks,” I murmured. My throat felt tight, my voice small. Gratitude and mortification tangled inside me until I wasn’t sure which was stronger.
Phil gave Linc a pointed nod, like he was handing over responsibility for my pride. Linc’s jaw unclenched, but I could still feel the storm in him, the way he simmered quietly instead of speaking it out loud.
“You okay?” he asked once it was just the two of us.
I forced a smile. “Yeah. Just maybe next time we don’t walk in together.”
His mouth curved slow, dangerous. “Not a chance.” He lowered his head and kissed me right there in Kipp’s kitchen with Julie and Phil looking at us.
Despite myself, I laughed, leaning into him for just a second before pulling away. “You’re annoying.”
“And you like it,” he said easily, squeezing my hip.
I rolled my eyes, but he wasn’t wrong. The warmth of his lips and hand lingered long after he let me go.
The long dining table was already crowded, the smell of bacon and coffee thick in the air.
I grabbed a plate, tried to keep my head down, but it was useless.
Every whispered laugh, every not-so-subtle glance in our direction made the tips of my ears burn.
The air hummed with unspoken amusement, a quiet rhythm of clinking cutlery and smothered laughter that chased me all the way to my seat.
Nora slid me a coffee with a smile a little too sweet.
Fallon asked Lincoln if he’d “slept well.” Elle muttered something about “newlyweds,” and Ryder actually had the nerve to wink at me across the table.
I wanted to sink through the floorboards, disappear into the smell of frying bacon, anything but sit there under their grins.
Before Lincoln could snap, Phil cleared his throat.
“Eat your food before it gets cold.” His tone carried enough weight to silence half the table.
He might not have been the patriarch of this ranch, but words from his still held weight.
The sound of forks and plates took over again, though the energy didn’t fade.
Julie piled my plate higher than I could ever eat, humming like she hadn’t just saved me from total humiliation.
Lincoln stayed pressed close to my side, his shoulder brushing mine, his knee against mine under the table.
Protective. Possessive. Silent, but seething.
His presence filled the small space between us, warm and steady, like he was daring anyone to push their luck.
Every time his hand brushed mine by accident, my pulse jumped, the memory of the night before echoing in my chest.
I tried to act normal, stabbing my fork into scrambled eggs like nothing had happened, like my entire body didn’t still hum with the memory of him.
The scent of coffee was sharp and grounding.
It felt almost impossible to pretend that nothing had changed.
Here I was, sitting beside him, pretending to be calm while my heartbeat drummed in my throat.
It was ridiculous. Here I was, eating breakfast like a regular person, while every single soul at this ranch seemed determined to make sure, I remembered exactly what I’d done last night.
I caught Fallon’s grin, Nora’s raised brow, the tiny smirk that tugged at Griff’s mouth, and I wanted to laugh just to break the tension.
When the table finally broke apart and everyone scattered toward chores, I exhaled hard. My shoulders dropped. “Well. That wasn’t humiliating at all.”
Lincoln’s hand slid over mine, warm and steady. The calluses on his palm brushed the soft skin between my fingers. “Ignore them. Let them talk. You’re with me, and that’s all that matters.”