51. Lincoln
LINCOLN
The petrol station was quiet when I pulled in behind it, parking my SUV in the shadows, out of sight of any security cameras. Exiting the vehicle, I leaned back against the wall, my heart pounding in anticipation.
Five days. Five long days since I’d seen Daniel in person.
Talking to him on the phone and texting him were no longer enough.
My uncle had forbidden us from seeing each other while they worked through the aftermath of Operation Foxglove and my parents’ arrest, but…
clearly, he’d underestimated our levels of self-control.
Another SUV pulled up alongside mine, and I couldn’t hold back my smile. Seven seconds later, a six-foot, red-headed hockey player was launching himself at me, and everything was right in the world.
“Hi,” Daniel breathed into my throat. “Let’s never do that again.”
“Never do what?”
“Go for five whole days without seeing each other. I almost thought about enrolling at Whelford. I’m jealous of Enzo fucking Fontana, Link. Enzo Fontana! He got to practice with you all week, and I only got dick pics. He probably got to see your dick in person in the locker room. Wanker.”
“You’re not actually jealous, are you?”
Lifting his head, he regarded me flatly. “Of Enzo? Nope.”
“Of anyone? Because—”
“No.” His lips slid across mine. “It’s weird, really, when I think about it. I should be jealous, in theory. I mean, I basically wanna possess you, and not in a demon way, before you say it. But I guess…I dunno…” His cheeks flushed.
“You guess…that you don’t need to be jealous, because I don’t want to even look at anyone else? Because I love you more than anything?”
“Uh, well, yeah. Because that’s how I feel about you, so.” He pressed his hips forwards, and I became aware of his rapidly increasing erection, rubbing up against mine. “Mmm. Secret rendezvous are so fucking hot, aren’t they?”
“I think it might just be you.”
“Mmm, maybe. Whatever. No point in wasting a perfectly good boner. Let’s get each other off, and then you can catch me up with everything that’s been happening.” His palm slid down between us, stroking over my hard shaft.
“Fuck.” I thrust into his hand. “You have a point.”
“I do.” He got my trousers undone, and then his fingers were wrapping around my fully erect dick. “Hello. I missed you.”
“Are you…talking to my dick?”
“Yeah. I missed it.” His thumb swiped over the tip, and I groaned. He smirked before dipping his head to my throat. “The marks have all faded. We need to do something about that.”
“Fuck, yeah. Mark me up, baby.” Shivers ran down my spine as his mouth moved over my skin, grinding into me as he went into vampire mode, leaving fresh bruises littered all over my throat.
I reached into his joggers, working my hand over his dripping cock until he gasped, lifting his head to smash his mouth over mine in a messy, biting kiss. “Fuck. Stroke us together,” he panted. “Wanna feel us come at the same time.”
Getting both of our hands wrapped around our dicks, I stroked us hard and fast, both of us on a knife-edge after days without each other.
I felt him stiffen against me, and then his cock was pulsing, cum soaking my hand and my dick.
It was all it took for me to follow him over the edge, my release combining with his as we panted against each other, caught in the high of our shared orgasm.
“Ahhh. That’s better.” He held my gaze as he lifted his hand, slowly and deliberately licking it clean. “Fuck yeah, we taste so good.”
“Come here,” I rasped, tugging him into me. I kissed him hard and deeply, tasting us on his tongue. “Mmm. You’re right.”
“Always am.” Shooting me a bright grin, he fished a wad of tissues from his pocket, cleaning up the rest of our combined release, before carefully doing up my trousers. “I like you in these. They make your bulge look extra sexy.”
My brows rose as I watched him tuck himself away and pull his joggers back up. “You’re weirdly fixated on my dick.”
“Mmm. I dunno, I love it, but it’s not even my favourite part of you. Truthfully, I’m weirdly fixated on you as a whole. That’s a fact.” Wrapping his arms around me, he turned us, walking me backwards towards my car. “So. Fucking. Fixated,” he said between kisses.
“Same.”
“Yeah, I know—” His phone vibrated next to my leg, and he groaned. “Who’s interrupting our date? It better be important. Hello? King. What do you want?”
“Where are you?” Ryker said through the speaker.
“On a date with my boyfriend,” Daniel replied, and I stared at him. Boyfriend, he mouthed.
“For fuck’s sake, Arson. You’re gonna give me grey hair, I swear,” Ryker groaned.
“Aren’t you supposed to be staying away from each other until you’re given the all-clear?
” I barely paid him any attention, my gaze still fixed on the man staring right back at me, mischief sparkling in his bright eyes and his mouth curving into a smirk.
My heart skipped a beat. “He’ll phone you back,” I said loudly, then took the phone from Daniel, hitting the End Call button. “Come here. Now.”
“So much for lying low,” came a dry voice from behind me. Daniel screeched straight into my ear, and I shot him a glare before slowly turning around, rubbing at the side of my head.
“Sorry,” my boyfriend murmured, kissing beneath my ear, and I smiled.
My smile fell away when I met Mike’s unimpressed gaze. He shook his head. “I guess it was too much to expect the two of you to stay away from each other, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Daniel slid his arms around my waist, hooking his chin over my shoulder as he pressed his chest up against my back. “If you’re gonna blame anyone, blame me. I can be very persuasive.”
Mike sighed heavily. “That’s something you and your uncle have in common.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning…we need to talk. But not here. I’ll meet you at the Hoyton house.”
“How did he find us?” Daniel whispered to me.
“You’re not as sneaky as you think.” Mike jerked his head towards our cars. “Come on. We have things to discuss.”
“So you were working together this whole time?” Daniel stared between Mike and Neil.
“Is that why you were so cagey about investigating the Hoytons? Because you were working together?” I asked.
“Yes, Link,” Mike said. He turned to Daniel. “We weren’t working together the whole time, no. But Operation Foxglove coincided with Neil’s own…less-than-legal investigations into the Cartwright Gang.”
Neil smirked at my uncle. “I went to him with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Our goals were aligned, and we decided to pool our resources to catch the bigger fish.”
“Neil?” Daniel bit down on his lip. “Did you know Frank Culverhouse was still alive?”
“None of us knew,” Mike said. “It was you that tipped me off, actually, with your comment about sending detectives to your games. As far as I was aware, no one was investigating you, so it wouldn’t have made sense to waste resources like that, especially when we only had a small team working on it.
I did some investigating of my own, and we both had our suspicions, but we only discovered his true identity when we went through Harold’s paperwork.
” He glanced at Neil. “We let it be known that I would be leading the raid in Wiltshire, when, in actual fact, I’d planned to oversee the arrest of your parents and then take Mr. Culverhouse into custody after Neil had apprehended him.
We knew—or hoped—that he wouldn’t be able to resist coming to your game, and your uncle promised me that he was prepared should Mr. Culverhouse show up.
Unfortunately, I never got a chance to question the man.
By the time I arrived…let’s just say there wasn’t anything left of him to question. ”
Neil held up his hands, his eyes sparkling. “Nothing to do with me.”
“Sure.” Mike rolled his eyes. “You’re lucky my boss was in a good mood after bringing so many high-profile criminals into custody that he didn’t even care that one of my prime suspects had passed away in an ‘accident.’ We disbanded a total of six OCGs— Organised Crime Groups,” he elaborated when we all stared at him.
“And all my friends and their families were saved,” my boyfriend piped up, and then seemed to remember who he was talking to. “Uh, I mean, of course they were all saved, because they’re completely innocent, law-abiding citizens.”
“I suggest you stop talking,” Mike said.
“Yeah. Good idea.” Daniel mimed zipping his lips.
The door creaked, and Daniel’s mum stepped into the room, her gaze immediately going to the sofa, where Daniel and I were sitting far too close, our thighs pressed together.
I rose to my feet, my manners kicking in automatically, but my heart was pounding, and my palms were sweaty.
So far, the conversation had been focused on the deal between Mike and Neil, and no one had said anything about Daniel’s and my relationship.
But judging by the look on his mum’s face, that was about to change.
“Mrs. Hoyton,” I croaked. Shit. Should I kiss her hand, or shake it, or—
“Lincoln, please. Call me Rachel. Mrs. Hoyton makes me sound too old.” She smiled, placing her arms around me. After a moment where my body went into complete shock, I tentatively hugged her back.
Releasing me, she hugged Daniel and ruffled his hair before crossing to Mike and Neil, greeting them with equal enthusiasm. I remained frozen in place until my boyfriend tugged me back down to the sofa, brushing a kiss over my cheek.
“You’ll get used to it,” he whispered, his fingers sliding between mine. “You’re part of the family now.”
Staring down at the floor, I swallowed around the lump in my throat.
Neil clapped his hands together. “Right. Now Rachel is here, it’s time to address the elephant in the room.”
“Okay, yeah. Look, we realise that us being together puts you in an awkward situation, given all this.” Daniel waved his hand between Neil and Mike. They exchanged glances, and then Mike slowly shook his head.
“Regardless of where we all stand in the eyes of the law, we don’t want you to worry about us. The three of us have discussed the situation, and we’re in agreement. If you want to be together, and it’s clear you do, then we’re not going to come between the two of you.”
My brows furrowed as I met my uncle’s gaze. “Is it going to make things difficult for you at work?”
He gave me a wry smile. “Considering the fact that my brother and my sister-in-law are currently in custody with a string of charges against them…things are about as difficult as they’re likely to get, and I have a lot to think about.
But the two of you dating? No, that isn’t going to make things any harder than they are currently.
Surprisingly enough, no one in this room has a criminal record. ”
“We’re totally legit, that’s why,” Dan said, and Mike rolled his eyes.
“Of course you are.”
“Alright.” Neil rose to his feet, crossing the room to stand in front of me. He held out his hand, and I stood, facing him.
The hardened crime boss grasped my hand firmly, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners as his mouth curved into a smile.
“Welcome to the family,” he said.