Chapter 30
CHAPTER
THIRTY
SUMMER
F or a moment, his eyes are a maelstrom, and when I blink, they fade back to his dark brown eyes I’m used to behind his spectacles, unchanged.
His body is so hot, burning on top of me as my legs wrap around him.
What the hell just happened?
I run my hands through his hair. The room and the house are so quiet, and I’m acutely aware of Cali’s presence inside the wall. “Lincoln.” I whisper, “is…that still you?”
His body doesn’t move, his breath is so heavy. “Yes, it’s still me.”
“What went on inside your head just now?”
He is still and unmoving, and if it weren’t for his pounding heart pressed to my chest, I would believe him dead.
But then he makes motions, pressing himself deeper inside me. He fucks me slowly and forcefully, causing my legs to open involuntarily and a moan escapes my lips.
If it’s even possible, he’s even better than he was last night. His lips find mine, and I playfully nibble on them. Then he moves his kisses to my neck, and finally to my ear.
It doesn’t seem like he wants to talk, and that’s okay with me. I’ll happily spend the rest of the day entangled in him.
Something flips again, and when he looks up at me, his eyes flicker and I can see the inner workings of his mind change within him.
“Do you want to know the best part about this?” he murmurs, and I let out a sigh of relief at hearing him speak, knowing it’s still him. Although, this isn’t him; he’s changing…
“What’s that?” I pant, his tongue teasingly tickles my ear.
He lifts his head up and stares down at me, pulling off his glasses and smiling. “Having a scientific mind like mine and not giving a damn about ethics.”
My heart races at his words.
Ethics… Of all the things to discuss right now.
He continues, “That I get to test a hypothesis that no scientist could properly research without getting thrown into prison.” I meet his eyes, and he drags his lips down my neck. I bite my lips as he presses my arms around my head, grasping them into his.
I’m captivated by those mesmerizing, flickering eyes that pierce my soul. “Would you like to know what I hypothesize?”
I think I already know. It’s the reason I’m here and haven’t run out screaming. It’s the reason I haven’t put him into prison for kidnapping the girl he has hidden down here. It’s why I crave him so much.
He wants to discover if I am like my father. And I wonder if that’s the reason he’s keeping Cali alive…
My insides tighten as footsteps shuffle on the floorboards above me.
Do they realize what’s really going on down here? I saw the way Xander’s eyes widened when Mikael made a brief appearance upstairs. He was terrified. He knows what Lincoln is…
My hand instinctively goes for my phone—gone. I glance at Lincoln, and he’s smirking.
I grit my teeth. “I’m not my father, Lincoln. I’ve never thought about death until you and Mikael put those vile thoughts in my head.”
I don’t admit to vividly imagining cutting Misty’s eyes out—or how real that urge was, or how often I think about death.
He chuckles softly. “That’s not exactly what I’m referring to, although we will address that, eventually. What I really want to explore is what I can make you do. I want to have complete control over your mind, baby.”
I’m weak. Weak. He’s been manipulating my thoughts for weeks. Years, even.
My throat starts to burn, and I push away from him but am only met by a solid wall of his ab muscles. “You don’t own my mind. I’m in complete control of myself. Full mind control is impossible.”
He chuckles again and kisses my lips, releasing his grip on my arms. A smile spreads across his face as he beams down at me. “You’re sure of that?”
Goddammit.
Why does he have to look so hot? His hair is so perfectly mussed, his skin so smooth, like silk, like an underwear model. And the way he kisses… Right now, it’s so much like Mikael.
So much like Mikael…
He stares at me with a cool gaze, devoid of any emotion. I’m left lying in his bed, mesmerized by the V-shaped muscle of his thigh.
He tilts his head. “Get on your knees.”
I twerk my head and arch a brow. If he wants to play games, then we’ll play games. I’ll show him his hypothesis is bullshit.
I cross my legs defiantly. “Actually, I think it’s time for me to leave.”
He arches his brow, and his eyes…they are serious.
And not his…
A wave of nausea fills my stomach as a sickening realization hits me. I’m not going anywhere. He’ll never allow me to leave, and I’m not even certain I can do so without his explicit permission. This nauseousness is the same as when I thought about turning him in.
I’m a prisoner, just as much as Cali is.
“Please, let me go home, Lincoln.”
He licks his bottom lip, and I don’t even recognize him at this moment. He sounds like Lincoln—his intellect, memories, his essence—but it’s not Lincoln. Not the way I understand him…
It’s that third alter, the one that scares me even more than Mikael does.
“Does it hurt?” he asks with genuine curiosity. The nausea comes in waves, contracting every muscle in my belly, my head dizzy with the sensation like I’m going to pass out.
I whip my head to face his steady gaze. “Does what hurt?”
The nausea.
It’s awful—crippling. My hands curl into fists, and I press them on either side of me just to steady myself. This isn’t him doing this…it’s impossible. He can’t control my physical reaction like this. He’s fucking with me.
“You’re not supernatural. You’re just smart and contrived, and somehow, you planned this.”
I pull up to my knees and sink into the soft duvet. After a few seconds, the nausea subsides completely, as if it never existed. The pain and waves, everything stops, and I can breathe again.
Lincoln’s on his knees facing me. All that’s in my periphery is his toned torso. When I meet his gaze, he’s smiling, then grabs my hands, intertwining his fingers with mine. “All better?”
This is impossible.
I stare at him incredulously at how soft his hands are, at how he’s mirroring the emotions I’m giving him like he’s so good at doing. Like he’s normal. I can’t deny what I just experienced isn’t normal
“How did you do that?” I ask him.
The look he’s giving me is unholy. “I am a god, pretty girl. I can do anything I want. I’ve been working on controlling your mind for years, from the moment of my existence.”
All this time I thought Mikael was the dangerous one, but now I’m thinking Lincoln is worse. At least Mikael is what he is. He doesn’t hide.
Lincoln is…supernatural. I have no other way to describe him, and he’s completely unpredictable.
I swallow a lump in my throat. “Lincoln?”
His hands find my hair. “Yeah, baby.”
I shift in front of him, my lips caressing his abdomen with my teeth and tongue as he looms above. “You just called me pretty girl.”
He shrugs and stares down at me with those swirling eyes. “I did, didn’t I?” He pushes his cock in front of my face and gently swipes my hair. “Let’s keep playing our game. Bend down a bit.”
I freeze, refusing to move, wanting to see what happens. Slowly, the nausea starts up again. It’s subtle at first, but the longer I wait, the worse the sensation gets.
Impossible…
I shift onto my elbows, raising my ass in the air as the slow wave recedes. He leans down, grabbing my breasts and forcefully handles them. He grasps his cock and positions it in front of my face. I bite my lips together, refusing to part them even slightly. He chuckles and says, “Come on, Summer. Do I really need to ask?”
Ironically, if he wasn’t testing me like I’m some kind of experiment, I probably would have already taken him into my mouth. But deep down, this isn’t about that. It’s about control.
I turn my head in utter defiance. I’m hungover, that’s all this is. He knows how fucked-up I was last night. I’ll wait it out and prove him wrong.
I refuse to look at him as the pit develops in the inner lining of my stomach. The longer I wait, the worse it gets. He plays with me, pressing the tip of his cock into my mouth. I can smell myself on it…it smells sweet. The scent of my fucked-up arousal.
The pain turns to darkness as I snap my jaw closed, refusing to open it.
My skin begins to burn, a searing pain emanating from within. The more I resist, the more intense it becomes.
“How…how are you doing this?” I sputter, struggling to form words.
“Come on, Summer, just open your mouth. It’ll make the pain go away,” he urges.
Something shifts inside me. The anguish in my stomach shoots between my legs. The pain has become so intense, it’s numbing my senses and making it hard to keep my eyes open. It evolves into a sensation I can only describe as pleasure.
I refuse to let him have this control over me. He can’t be this strong. Despite what he believes about himself, this is impossible. My teeth are grinding so hard, as if I’m working against an invisible force.
His hands are soft. “Open your eyes, Summer.” The way he asked wasn’t a demand, more like a suggestion. His voice has shifted again.
When I open my eyes, I see him peering down at me. He’s put on a mask, but his eyes still shine brightly behind it.
And I explode. An orgasm rips through, causing my body to jolt. I cry out as my pussy pulses and juices squirt out of me. I open my mouth and take him in. Instant relief seeps through me like honey.
I’ve never gotten off just by the sight of something before.
The sight of death is so satisfying.
Fuck, his cock tastes good. I close my eyes and grab his hips, running my hands up his groin as it tightens, and his cock grows larger in my mouth. I take him in deep, slowly withdrawing my mouth and making eye contact with him as I reach the tip, teasing it with my tongue.
I peer up at him and crinkle my forehead as I don’t recognize the eyes peering down at me. Why don’t I recognize those eyes?
“Lincoln?” I whisper, pulling my lips off him. He shifts as if agitated, slapping his dick in my face.
He runs his hand over my forehead, down my cheek, then curls his fingers inside my mouth. I stare into those eyes as I suck on his fingers.
It’s not Lincoln…not really. Lincoln can’t see without his glasses, yet he’s touching me with such precision.
“Tell me, pretty girl , do you feel better?” I can’t help but notice the satisfaction in his voice. And the truth is, I am immensely better. I just don’t want him to know that.
He slaps his dick in my face again. “Do. You. Feel. Better?”
I close my eyes as my breath grows heavy. “Answer me, Summer.” His voice is different, deeper, more powerful.
“Yes,” I pant. “I feel better.”
He pushes his cock into my mouth. “Keep going. This time, don’t stop until I see my cum all over your pretty face.” I hesitate for a moment, and a deep ache hits my core, but then I comply and take him in, sucking deeply.
He grabs my hair and pulls my head back. “Get on your back,” he demands. “I want to fuck your mouth.”
Those new, shimmering eyes stare down at me until eventually, I comply, positioning myself beneath him. I sink into the soft bed and his knees hug me tight. He fucks my throat until he quivers, and I swallow most of it. The remaining amount he spreads onto my cheek and mouth, as if I were a work of art.
Right now, I don’t know who I am. However, there’s a certain pleasure in obeying him—it’s better than resisting.
He towers over me with a curved smile through his mask that sends chills through my bones. I don’t know who this is or what he’s becoming, but he feels good. And from this point forward, I’m going to worship him.