Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Unable to handlethe chaos of nerves zigzagging through me, I lie back and focus on the open sky above. The sun is preparing to set in the west, so all I see is a landscape of blue with a single white puffy cloud on a slow path to nowhere. It’s shaped like a horse. Or maybe a puppy. No, definitely a unicorn.
Lincoln reclines beside me, our hands by our sides with our pinkies touching.
“You’re a really good dad, Lincoln.” The words come out before I even think about them first, but I don’t have time to second-guess them. They’re genuine—I’ve been thinking it all day long.
He turns his head, meeting my gaze. “I don’t think you know how much it means to hear that.”
“Well, it’s true. Lucy is very lucky to have you.”
The softness in his gaze tugs at my heart. Those beautiful eyes even appear to tear up slightly, but he looks away before I can confirm it.
“You were really great today,” Lincoln says after a moment. “Thanks for helping so much. I promise, that’s not why you were invited.”
I smile at his profile. “No problem at all. Helping was the least I could do, since you were so busy with your fan club.”
He grins and turns his head back to me. “Good to know you were paying attention. You thinking about joining?”
I feel a deep blush spread through every pore of my body. “I’m not sure I meet the requirements.” I hold up my fingers to count the ways. “I’m not married or rich and I don’t have kids…” When I realize that’s all there is, I shrug and twist my lips in mock disappointment. “Maybe Officer Gabe has a fan club I can look into.”
Lincoln turns his body, propping his elbow near my head, then slips his fingers through mine while narrowing his gaze. “I think fucking not.”
Amused, I regard him with wide eyes. His profanity should not turn me on even more, but it does. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” He looks so serious. The fire behind his eyes blazes bold and bright with zero fear. Zero hesitation.
How does he do it? How does he maintain such confidence when I’m such a mess of doubt?
“Do you want all that stuff?” he asks. “Marriage? Kids?” His nonchalant tone doesn’t mask the depth of the question.
However, I have nothing to hide when it comes to this subject. “I haven’t spent too much time thinking about it. I might be the only woman you know who hasn’t created a Pinterest board for her future wedding.” I smile. “That’s not to say I wouldn’t want to get married if I met the right person.”
I can feel his eyes studying me as I watch the unicorn cloud transform into something else. “If I marry, it will be for the right reasons—love as opposed to money, trust as opposed to fear, commitment as opposed to obligation.” I don”t dare to turn my head and meet his gaze. “Then maybe I can think about bringing a child into this world.”
Lincoln’s pinky hooks into mine. “Sounds like the responsible thing to do.”
My chest tightens. “Families are all built differently, and sometimes the unexpected is the blessing we never knew we needed. I know all that. Lucy is the perfect example—what’s meant to be, will be.” I inhale deeply, considering my words. “I just really want to be a good mom, you know? My mom didn’t exactly provide the best example.”
His fingers slowly weave through mine. “You don’t need an example, Evie. I watched you with those kids today. You’re a natural.”
It’s a sweet compliment. “This is just one day.” I finally turn to face him, smiling. “You can’t tell me every day of parenting is like a walk in the waterpark.”
He gives me a genuine smile. “Definitely not, but you’re compassionate and caring, beautiful and driven. Just the fact that you care about bringing a child into this world the right way tells me everything I need to know. Just because your parents were shit doesn’t mean you will be. You had your uncle. Plenty of kids out there aren’t fortunate enough to have a Patrick they can run to.”
“I know I’m lucky.” I nod. “What about you? Would you ever want to have another child? Or marriage?”
He looks away, seeming to give the question some thought. “Would I? Yes. Lucy would have to give her stamp of approval, of course.”
“Of course.” I grin at his profile, loving his love for his daughter.
“And I suppose my wife would have to put up with my very demanding work schedule.”
Realizing he’s being sarcastic, I chuckle. “You mean your nine-to-five job that crosses into after-hours when you visit a certain bar manager?”
He turns to me, narrowing his eyes in consideration. “Good point. She’d also have to put up with my raging crush on a certain bar manager.” He lowers his head, inching ever-so-slowly toward me, barely allowing his beard to tickle my lips.
My heart beats so fast that I can barely think straight. All I can focus on is how sexy Lincoln truly is, especially right now with his darkened gaze, his shirtless and perfectly sculpted body, and his powerful hands that slide around my waist in a secure grip.
“I’ve missed these lips,” he murmurs before closing the gap.
As soon as his mouth lands on mine, all the air whooshes out of my body. Simultaneously, a groan rises from his chest, one so quiet that I might have imagined it, but when twin moans slip past our lips and into our mouths, I know it was real. We’re in lockstep, vulnerable together and wholeheartedly savoring each other course by course. I can’t wait to devour the whole damn meal.
“You have no idea how unbelievably sexy you are,” he rasps between kisses. “I couldn’t take my eyes off you today.”
Desire burns through me as he wraps a leg around one of mine, pulling me closer until his hard length pushes against my center. Fuck me. At least, I hope he does. I can only imagine how we would fit together—his cock buried so deep inside of me that I would never be able to let him go. This is a man who knows how to fuck, I bet my life on it.
I’m blind with need as our kiss deepens, our tongues sliding in circles around each other’s, and groans vibrate our bodies. At some point, I yank my mouth away, desperate for air. Throwing my head back, I suck in a deep breath, only to feel his mouth between my neck and shoulder, my sensitive skin buzzing to life.
Is this man for real? Single. A doctor. A damn good dad. A delectable kisser. And surely there’s more, if that’s even possible. I’m fucking ruined.
Lincoln’s tongue darts out, swiping against my neck as he slips off the straps of my cover-up one at a time, never leaving my skin as it slides around my collar. Then he kisses a trail down my sternum, tugging the fabric of my dress as he goes, until his mouth is nestled between my heaving breasts.
“Your skin is so soft,” he murmurs, his attention settling on my breasts. “So sweet.”
His beard is rough on my skin, but the friction of it only adds to the pleasure building in my core. He manages to slip my cover-up completely off my body, so I’m left in nothing but my yellow bikini.
I nearly choke as he reaches for one of the triangles of my top then runs a long finger up and down the edge of the material as my nipples rise to attention. His mouth dips down so he’s hovering there for a brief second before closing around me. He sucks the nipple into his mouth hard, soaking the material.
Pleasure shoots through me in a gasp, then he roughly yanks the triangle of fabric of my top to the side, takes one lingering look at my bare breast, then goes back to my nipple like a man on a mission.
A cry shoots up my throat at the intensity of his sucking. Just when I begin to feel a pinch of pain, he licks me there, soothing the ache before repeating the cycle over and over, then he moves to my other breast.
My bare breasts are completely exposed now as he feasts on me, an appetizer I swear he might not ever finish—until he moves back up to my mouth, lips latching to mine as his fingers slide down to my bikini bottoms.
“I’ve never wanted a man’s fingers inside me so badly,” I gasp.
He chuckles and slides his finger along the hem like he did my top. “Oh, Evie. When my fingers start fucking you, you’ll never want another man to touch you ever again.” He buries his mouth in my neck, baring his teeth and nipping my skin, causing me to jerk against his palm. He growls. “And I might just kill any man for trying.”
As badly as I want him to rip off my bikini bottoms completely, I relent to his pace. I’ve already told him what I want, and there’s no doubt he’s going to give me what I want, but he’s clearly a man who likes to tease and torture.
Lincoln slips a finger beneath the fabric, cursing under his breath when he reaches my center. He doesn’t waste a second gliding over my slit, up and down, in achingly slow fashion. “So wet already,” he groans, his fingers moving to my clit. “I bet you taste like absolute sin.”
It takes everything in my power to not grab his hand and use it as my own personal sex toy. If he doesn’t plunge those thick fingers inside me soon, I might just have to.
“Taste me and find out.” I say it as a dare, like I’m brave enough to suffer the consequences. Like he wouldn’t take me to a whole new level. Lincoln Reed won’t just taste me. He’ll eat my soul and spit out the pieces.
His mouth moves up to my ear, his breath hot. “Is that what you want, Evie? You want me to taste your sweet pussy?”
My whole body shudders at his dirty words and at the feel of his fingers tugging at the strings of my bottoms until they fall away, exposing me completely. “Y-yes,” I manage.
He chuckles again then pushes himself onto his stomach until he’s hovering over my center. His hands splay against my skin on the inside of my thighs, and he pushes them apart, spreading me wide and gazing down at me like I’m some kind of prize.
Then Lincoln looks up at me, his expression surprisingly serious. “Remember that day in my office when you told me you’ve never been able to have sex that involves an emotional connection?”
I nod, shivering at the memory and wondering why he would bring that up now.
“I’m not just going to make you come, Evie. I’m going to make you forget every other orgasm you’ve ever had.”
Somehow, I don’t doubt him.
“But I need to make sure this is more to you than just another casual experience.” His eyes stare into mine. “Tell me you feel this connection between us. Tell me this is something more.”
The desperation in his eyes, in his tone. I want to shout the answer he yearns to hear to the skies. I want to tell him I’ve never felt this intensity with anyone else. This isn’t casual. I know that. He knows that. But I’m frozen, mute.
“Tell me, Evie,” he repeats. “I need to hear you say it.”
My heart is pounding, making words impossible.
He growls at my non-response before he dives down and laps at my center, his tongue so wet and warm. I groan as he wraps his lips around my aching clit then sucks my sensitive nub into his mouth while his fingers dart deep inside me, in and out until my body quivers at my pending release.
“You’re good at that,” I gasp out, aching for release, building to a height I’ve never reached before.
He rips his mouth away and glares up at me, a warning that this won’t end well for me unless I do as he says. “You have no idea what I’m capable of doing to you.” He breathes heavily against my clit as his fingers continue moving in and out of me. “Tell me this is casual, and I’ll still let you come, but tell me this is more and you’ll be handsomely rewarded.” He curls his finger deep inside me. “I won’t just fuck you with my tongue and fingers, Evie. I’ll put you on my lap and bounce you on my cock until the moon and stars are all you see.”
My insides coil as my orgasm threatens to unleash.
“Last chance,” he warns.
When he latches his mouth back onto me, he pushes me closer to the brink. A little further and he won’t be able to stop the orgasm aching to burst free.
Everything is different with Lincoln than with anyone else. He touches me, and I melt into him, wax to his flame. He talks dirty to me, and the vibrato of his baritone resonates deep inside me. He comes near me, and I’m engulfed by his cool evergreen scent. He goes down on me, and I feel worshiped by a man who knows how to pleasure a woman.
But I can’t bring myself to say the words.
I’m almost gone, lost to the heavens in this journey he’s controlling, when he begs me again, but I hold back my reply. Why am I so damn stubborn?
Just when I think he might pull away completely and starve me from the release threatening to unravel at rip-roaring speed, he pushes a second finger inside, plummeting me over the edge.
My toes curl and my back arches, breath squeezing from my lungs as I ride out the endless waves that roll through my body. When my body calms, he slips his fingers from me then falls back on the floor of the bounce house.
I turn to face him, my eyes slipping to his tented shorts. Guilt eats away at me, and I want nothing more than to repay the favor. Sliding my hand down his chest and abs, I grip his hard length through his shorts. My mouth salivates at his size, and I begin to stroke him.
A strong hand lands on mine, stopping me midmotion. “I can’t just be someone casual to you, Evie.” He shakes his head. “I want more than that from this.” He turns away, a single line denting his perfect forehead.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper shakily as disappointment racks my body, pulling my hand away and lying back on the bounce-house floor.
Just when I feel like I’ve ruined what might be the most important relationship I’ve formed since I was a child, Lincoln’s warm hand envelops mine. Then he says two words that rupture my already-bleeding heart.
“I’ll wait.”