SEVENTEEN
Cassie
Four Months Ago
Nerves rioted in my stomach all day, to the point where I’d nearly lost my breakfast once and hadn’t been able to eat lunch at all.
I paced the space in the apartment, smoothing down my form-fitting dark blue dress, staring at my heels, and wondering if they were a good idea. I shook my head at myself, knowing better, and ran to my room quickly to slip on some black sneakers.
There. Much better.
I took a moment to look in the mirror. My hair was curled in big curls over my shoulders, my makeup was done with a precise hand, and my jacket and purse were on one of the breakfast stools waiting for me to pick them up.
Lincoln was set to arrive any minute.
After the night before and our very romantic hang out date, Lincoln had stayed the night, cuddling me close and making my stomach dance with butterflies so much that it had almost been hard to sleep.
That morning, when he was getting ready to leave, he had asked me out on a real date.
I didn’t need time to think and didn’t hesitate at all when I said yes, putting no good use to any advice I’d gotten from Teen Queen magazine when I was fifteen and it had said to not act too eager around the boys who liked you.
I don’t know why that bit of advice stuck with me, but it did.
The Teen Queen editors would be so disappointed.
But I hadn’t needed time to think because something, my heart or brain or both, had said that this situation was right, it felt good, I felt happy, and for the first time in my life, I was going for it without hesitation.
Throwing caution to the wind and letting myself fall for this man who proved he wanted to be with me was more freeing than anything I’d ever done.
A knock sounded at the door, and I marched over to it, taking a steady breath before I unlocked and opened the door.
The breath was knocked out of me when I saw him standing there. Lincoln was tall and broad shouldered, his presence filled the doorway, but when I looked at his sandy blonde hair, his button-down shirt under a suit coat, no tie, and his slacks that landed over nice dress shoes, words, for the first time ever, failed me.
“Holy.” Lincoln cleared his throat, cutting himself off whatever words he was going to say. His deep-brown eyes took me in, and when they landed on my face, he grinned broadly, and I felt a blush spread over my cheeks. “You look absolutely beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I nodded and gestured to him. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
“Thanks,” he said and followed me into the apartment when I took a step back, heading for my coat and purse.
I was halfway to putting it on when he took it from me, holding it for me, and I bit back the wide grin I felt at the gentlemanly move. Oh wow, was Lincoln going to fulfill all of my romantic heart’s wishes?
“Thanks,” I said, grabbed my small clutch, and turned to him. “Ready?”
He eyed the small purse and cocked a half smirk. “That’s not big enough to hold a book.”
I held up the small bag and looked at it. “Was I supposed to bring a book?”
“No, it’s just you always bring a book.”
I blushed again, wondering how much attention this guy had been paying if he knew that about me. Apparently, a lot. “Well, I was hoping the evening would entertain me enough that I don’t need one,” I started. Then, because it was us, I said, “Besides, if I get bored, I can read on my phone.”
He barked out a laugh and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the door. “I’ll do my best to entertain you.”
“You better,” I said, turning to lock my door once we were out in the hallway. “I wore my best dress for this.”
My admission met silence, and I turned to see him eyeing said dress. “You definitely did.”
I thought the ride to the restaurant would be tense after that moment outside my door, but Lincoln slipped into easy conversation with me the moment he started driving. He told me about practice and how he and Crew had worked through their differences. He explained that he was pushing Lincoln onto me and had nothing but friendly feelings as far as I was concerned.
I was relieved to hear that, because I had been avoiding Crew for a while, not wanting to present a kind of opening for him to think we could date.
I hadn’t been available to date in a long time.
Watching Lincoln round the car and open my door, hold my hand as he led me into that restaurant, pull out my chair, and take my coat, I knew why.
I had unintentionally been holding out for Lincoln.
Dinner was filled with easy banter and talk about future books from me. Lincoln was still champing at the bit for more of the series.
“Seriously though,” he said, swallowing a bite and politely wiping his mouth with his napkin. I couldn’t believe that made me swoon, but there we were. “You need to get that book published.”
“I need an agent first,” I said, taking a sip of wine. “Or I could self-publish, but that intimidates me.”
The thought of figuring all of those faucets out overwhelmed me. I knew people did it all the time and had great success, but I was way too nervous to try right now.
“Either way, you have to. People will eat it up. This may be the first fantasy I’ve ever read, but I couldn’t put it down,” he said, taking another bite of his dinner.
The restaurant wasn’t one I’d been to before and was a prominent date spot for couples. The candles were lit on every table with a flower display on each one, the low lighting in the large room gave the illusion of privacy.
To put it plainly, it was the nicest restaurant I’d ever been to.
It was the nicest date I’d ever been on.
“You’re just trying to get on my good side,” I teased, edging away from the touchy subject of my work. It was hard to praise yourself for something you were so passionate about. I didn’t want to appear cocky.
Lincoln stared at me from across the table. A slight smile pulled at his lips, and his hand reached across for mine.
I set it gently inside of his, and his rough fingers curled around mine. “Being on your good side is important to me,” he started, giving my hand a squeeze. “But you need to have a little more confidence in yourself. This book is amazing.”
I ducked my head and blushed, letting my free hand come to rest on my burning cheek. “How about them Vapors?”
He laughed at my joke and let the notion of publishing drop, falling into easier banter for the rest of the night.
I couldn’t believe I was on a date with Lincoln Ellis, the one boy who had possibly broken my trust before, who was a party playboy—or used to be a party playboy—and had hated my guts for the past two years.
“I could never feel hate toward you, Sunshine.”
His words from that night hit me, and I felt myself flush again. I hated how easily I blushed and how easily just the thought of him made me do it.
I stared at him as he talked, wondering how soon was too soon to get the check and take him home.
Because I was ready for that. I felt like I’d waited all those years wanting him, and now I had the opportunity to experience what I longed for, and I wanted to jump on that opportunity as fast as possible.
“Sunshine?” I heard his voice pull me out of my thoughts and blinked, glancing up at his concerned face. “You okay? You’re a little—”
“Can we get the check?”
Lincoln’s face dropped, his eyes worried. “Okay.”
He was concerned that I was upset or bailing or ready for this night to end, if I could understand the looks he kept shooting at me.
But no, I was the opposite. I was ready for the night to progress, just…not here.
He quickly got the check, signing everything he needed to sign and then helped me into my jacket, his hand grasped tightly around mine as we left. I could feel the tension radiating off him as we reached the passenger side of his car.
“Sunshine, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I—” I turned my back to the car, letting my body lean on it, and tugged him closer. My left hand went around the back of his neck, and I saw his surprised expression right before I pressed my lips into his.
Relief surged through me as our lips touched, and Lincoln let go of my hand long enough to reach around my waist and pull me close. So close that his body enveloped me completely.
I melted into him, and he pressed me against the side of his car, holding and shielding me and kissing me like his life depended on it.
It was maybe even better than our first kiss.
After several long moments, when my body felt like it was on fire, I pulled away and boldly said, “Muscles, either we need to get to my apartment now, or the back seat of your car is going to get a show.”
I’d never been so bold in my life, but I smiled when he cracked a grin, and I realized that it was him that made me so confident, so sure. I’d never been able to talk to anyone the way I talked with him.
I never sparred with anyone like I did with him either, and maybe that should have been an indication that he was someone I could be comfortable with, but I’d let my hate shadow anything else.
In a hurry, Lincoln had me in the front seat and buckled, and he peeled out of the parking lot, making me squeal with worry and excitement.
I felt like my body was on fire.
I wanted to get to the apartment more than anything in my life.
I checked my phone as he drove, confirming Mick was going to be at Tanner’s, and frowned. I hated keeping that from Lincoln. I hated that she was keeping it from him too. She treated him with kid gloves, thinking he wasn’t mature enough to handle that kind of information.
I thought with his newfound maturity, with me at his side, he could handle that news now.
I would talk to her soon.
After tonight.
Because right now, I needed to get to my room.
We hit my shut bedroom door with a thud, with him pressing me against it with our lips still firmly attached. He shucked off my coat and let it hit the floor, his own sport coat following after.
My fingers worked on the buttons of his shirt, and I let out a sound of surprise as he opened my door, and I started to fall through.
His arms caught me before I could fall, and he grinned as he kissed me again, and again, and again.
Hell, I couldn’t get enough. I didn’t know what it was about this man’s mouth, but I never wanted to stop kissing him.
He slammed my door behind us for privacy, and I briefly wondered why he didn’t ask about his sister being home before he started working on the zipper on the back of my dress.
He turned me, gently scooping my hair up and settling it over my shoulder before he bent and kissed my neck. My eyes closed at the gentle contact, and gooseflesh crossed over my skin.
The sound of the zipper filled the room, and I felt his calloused hands graze over my skin as he slid the dress down my arms and over my hips, leaving me exposed in the pink lingerie I was wearing underneath.
“Holy hell, I’ve died,” he said, making me grin. His hands scooted around my waist, and he pulled me into him, his chest warm against my back. “I don’t deserve you.”
His words pulled a frown from me, and I spun in his arms, looking up at him. I pushed his hair back off his forehead, my other arm still wrapped around him as he leaned over me. “You do,” I said with surety, looking up into his eyes. “You deserve good things, Lincoln.”
His eyes blazed into my own, and I arched up, meeting him halfway as our lips touched and explored again, his tongue grazing my own as he took control of the kiss.
Reaching down, he lifted me into his arms, holding me tightly to him as he crossed the last few feet to my bed, lying me down and looking at me like he’d just won the prize.
My heels were still on, and he ran his hands over my legs, slipping off one and then the other as he stared into my eyes.
His shirt was gone, but he still had on his pants and shoes.
“What are you waiting for?” I asked breathlessly, wondering how to speed this up without wanting to be impatient.
“I just got you, Sunshine,” he said, surprising me as he kneeled by the bed. “I plan to take my time with you.”
Something about him kneeling in front of me made my heart rate tick up nervously. “Oh, do you?” I replied, feigning confidence.
His hum of confirmation was all I needed, and apparently, all he was willing to give me, and I sucked in a breath as his lips met my ankle, trailing up my leg in long, soft kisses. My skin hummed at the contact, and I couldn’t help the shudder that went through me.
I’d read enough novels, I knew what he was doing, and I knew that I was going to like every minute of it. I knew that despite my nerves, I wanted to remain calm.
That calm lasted until his hands reached up under my knees, and he pulled until my ass was nearly off the bed. “Muscles! I’m going to fall.” I tried using my bare feet on his shoulders to push myself back, but he just took them and laid them over his shoulders, holding me still.
“I’d never let you fall,” was his promise, and his breath touched the inside of my thigh, licking and biting gently before soothing it with a kiss.
He did this several times on both sides of my thigh: lick, bite, kiss.
I felt like I was going to burst into flames by the time his mouth reached my center, kissing me through the fabric before he reached up.
My head lifted, and I looked down at him, growing hotter just by the sight of him kneeling before me, and he ripped my panties clean off my body.
I gaped, shocked at what was happening to me right now. Was this a dream? This had to be a dream.
“I can’t believe you just did that.”
“I’ll buy you a replacement and more when I’m pro, you’ll have a closet full of lingerie,” he promised, and with his promise of a future very clear, I relaxed, tears stinging my eyes from happiness.
He wanted this to last. He wanted this to be a long-term thing. He just plainly stated that to me, and I bit my lip as giddiness overtook my emotions. Then his mouth met my center, and the grin left my mouth.
I moaned, just the feel of him and his tongue and his…fingers…shit. I was going to die.
“Muscles,” I said, or tried to say, to try to bring myself back to reality instead of the cloud I was quickly rising on. “I—”
He hummed into me, and my hips tried to shoot up. He placed a strong forearm down over my hips and held me down, his muscles tightening as he did so. “Don’t move.”
His command was deep and firm, and my body instantly responded and obeyed.
What. Was. Happening?
His tongue was working magic down over me, and I squirmed, reaching out to the sides and holding my blankets to try to hold still, but it was impossible with the way he was working me over.
Embarrassingly, heat overtook my body, and I lost all control of it, of time, of my senses, of…everything as I came hard, that cloud that I was floating to, taking me up, up, up, and away.
“Oh my,” I panted out, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do with that.
How do I function after that?
Lincoln crawled over my body, his mouth gleaming and his eyes proud of what he’d done. I grinned at him, reaching forward and running my hands through his hair as he leaned down and kissed me.
It was erotic the way he tasted and smelled, and I wanted more, more, more of him.
“Feeling good, Sunshine?”
I smiled, and he copied me, his eyes light with happiness. “Oh yes.”
“Want to keep feeling good?”
I moaned and pulled him into me. “Yes, please.” My mouth took his, and my hands reached down, undoing his belt and trying to help him get his pants off.
He stood, his muscles moving in the faint light from my lamp on the nightstand, and he quickly took off his shoes and pants. His underwear came next, and I hummed in appreciation for the sight before me.
Lincoln Ellis was naked in my room, and he only had eyes for me.
He repositioned my body like it was no effort at all and laid over me, pressing his lips to mine in long, languid kisses that had me squirming underneath him. I loved how I felt under his big arms. I loved how safe I felt with him over me, looking down at me like he had real, deep feelings for someone like me.
I could have cried at how happy I was.
He reached behind me, taking my bra off, and left us both lying there naked in the dim light. He kissed me again and then reached to the floor, grabbing protection and slipping it on.
I watched, unbelievably calm despite what we were doing, and knew it was all because of him that I wasn’t freaking out.
He laid back over me, holding me to him, and his eyes met mine. There was so much emotion in them that I took a breath and swallowed hard.
“Are you sure, Sunshine?”
The concern in his eyes had me cupping his cheek. I nodded my head and said, “I’ve never been so sure.”
Without another word, he lifted my hips, my legs circled around him and he slid home. I gasped at the intrusion, slightly painful for a moment from…well, disuse, and took a deep breath as he rotated his hips, letting me get used to the feeling of him before he moved.
My breaths of pain quickly turned into breaths of pleasure, and it wasn’t just how amazing he felt, but how relieved I was that it was him.
It was him.
The one man I never should have fallen for but did anyway, and now I had no regrets about that. Not with the way he held me, looked at me, and made love to me. I had never been so happy in my entire life, and it was because of him.
I looked up at him, seeing him clench his teeth as he held back and my arms came around his shoulders, my hips moving to meet his.
“I’m good,” I said, pulling him close and whispering. “You don’t have to hold back.”
His expression went from concerned to blazing hot in a matter of seconds, and he leaned down, bruising me with his kiss. I moaned into his mouth, our bodies moving together flawlessly.
He was panting, holding me, and moving in and out of me at a set pace, pushing harder and harder as we both neared our releases.
“God, Sunshine, you feel perfect,” he rasped, holding me closer. “I’m—”
“Me too,” I panted, my eyes on him as I neared orgasm again. I moved my hip just right, and he gasped just as I did, and I laughed a little as we both came at the same time.
I was still giddy, giggling while he caught his breath and rolled us to the side a little, not putting his weight on me as he panted.
“Why the hell are you laughing?” he asked, but his lips were pulled into a smile as he watched me, like he couldn’t help himself.
“Nothing, I just.” I took a breath and laid my hand over my stomach. “I thought coming together only happened in romance novels.”
He smirked and pulled me closer again, his eyes looking between my own. “When you have someone as talented as me…”
I slapped his chest playfully. “Oh sure.”
He laughed and pulled me close, nuzzling into my neck and holding me like he didn’t want to let go.
I didn’t want him to let me go, either.