Chapter 13 Lincoln
LINCOLN
THIS IS GONNA BE… GREAT
Ipull into Nova’s driveway and stop in front of her house, kill the lights, and frown at her slim shadow moving within her living room, visible through the closed curtains.
That’s not safe.
Announcing to visitors you’re home and where, specifically, inside you are, is dangerous. And small-town living, even amongst residents you trust and have grown up with your whole life, isn’t a good enough excuse to make stupid mistakes.
I make a mental note to swing by town tomorrow and buy her a proper roll-down privacy screen. Which, when I really think about our situation, is so fucking ironic, I’m tempted to slam my skull against a speeding train and pray for a little sense before I get myself killed.
Shaking my head and snatching up the car keys, I open the door and slide out, patting my shirt down as nerves jump in my stomach and dread fills every other available section of space.
My jaw aches from constant clenching, and my heart weeps as I think of Scarlett.
I think of a man walking into her life just as I have Nova’s, and I feel the rage all over again.
Which makes me clench my jaw.
Which pisses me off.
I slip my keys into my pocket and pull my phone out to make sure it’s on silent, because the idea of Aster calling—and Nova asking questions—is horrifying enough to wrap a vise around my lungs and squeeze.
Finally, I put my phone away and start toward the porch stairs, running a hand through my hair as nerves trickle through my veins.
Before I make it onto the first step, Nova’s front door swings wide, and the woman herself smiles. She fucking glows.
“You’re not late.” She leans against the doorframe in a dress that hugs her curves and emphasizes her chest perfectly.
With a high neckline that leaves her shoulders on show, and dips at her hips that make my mouth water, she kicks one heeled foot over the other and smirks.
“I was pre-cranky at you for being late, seeing as how ridiculously inconsiderate that would be, especially because you’re only next door.
But now you’re here, and all that arguing I was hyping myself up for has gone to waste. ”
“I have something we can argue about.” I stalk up the stairs and grab her arm, yanking her into the house and slamming the door until the windows on each side hum.
“You wait for a man to knock, Nova.” I release her and pace toward the kitchen doorway, only to turn back again and scowl.
“You’re expecting a date? You make him knock.
And those curtains?” I snarl, spinning and pacing away.
“They’re crap! Curtains are for aesthetics.
They’re not for security. I could see you while I was outside, which means other people can see you, too.
” I turn back again and meet her smiling eyes.
“Stop being happy! Jesus. Start thinking about safety.”
“You sound like my brother.” She covers her grin, though it does nothing to hide the bounce of her chest. “Nice temper, though. Also, you skipped the part where you’re supposed to tell me I’m pretty.
Something about how my legs look in these heels, and how I’m wearing shapewear so my butt is popping extra tonight.
” She points toward the sky and purses her lips.
“I even washed and dried my hair. And for what? Not even a ‘Wow, Nov. You look cute. Wanna bang?’”
Anger is like popping candy in my blood. Like lava burning my veins.
My eyes drop to her legs anyway, without my conscious permission, and my cock turns hard.
I want so badly to touch. To explore.
“You look cute.” Swallowing, I drag my gaze up again. “Also, I’m buying you blinds tomorrow. Permission to come in while you’re working and install them? Or I could come by after work, so you don’t worry that I’m gonna steal your shit.”
Ironic. I know.
“Permission?” She slides her tongue along her teeth, her smile beautiful and blinding. “Am I your drill sergeant?”
“Just answer the damn question!”
“Permission denied.” She smirks. “I’ll buy the blinds myself, since you’re kind of unemployed.
I’d feel bad about spending your money. Once they arrive, you can come over and help me install them.
” She folds her arms, pushing her breasts higher and drawing my eyes the way a snake charmer controls his serpent.
“Did you come here in a bad mood, or is that a result of me opening my door and robbing you of your chance to knock? Because I saw you two hours ago.” She crinkles her nose. “You weren’t shouting then.”
“The curtains and door thing,” I grumble. “Mostly. But you’re really pretty, too, and I made that big speech about not banging you while you’re vulnerable.”
She snorts and twists, peeking back at her ass. “Regret your words yet? Because I look damn good, and these Spanx are doing things for my rear end.”
“Have you ever had casual sex with a man after letting him peel your shapewear off?” I lift a brow and wait for her eyes to come back around. “It takes an extremely confident woman to still feel sexy after fighting for her life against the stretchy straightjacket.”
“Two glasses of wine, and I won’t give a shit.”
“So, vulnerable and under the influence.” I throw my hand up and drop my head back, a long, pained groan clawing along my throat.
“Jesus. You’re asking me to take advantage of you, Nova.
You’re practically begging me to take something not truly offered.
” I bring my eyes down again and search hers.
“There’s gonna come a point where my moral code and attempt at being a good, decent gentleman count for nothing.
Because I’m a man, and you’re a woman, and there’s this thing about biology and animals and attaching one thing to another.
Eventually, evolution is gonna fuck us over. ”
“Terrible, horrible excuse for a lack of self-control,” she teases.
“Evolution, my ass. If I’m offering, I’m offering.
At two glasses of wine, consent still exists.
Two bottles and I’m sitting under a table?
Then you’re gonna need that moral code of yours.
” She strides my way with a delicious, hip-swinging gait with the power to weave magic in my blood.
Then she pats my shoulder and continues past. “You’re gonna be okay, big boy. We’re all grownups here.”
I snarl and spin and study her slender back. “Where are you going?”
“To get my purse and a jumbo box of super-sized condoms. If they don’t fit, I don’t sit.”
She laughs at her own joke and click-click-clicks into the kitchen, snatching up a little clutch, then returning with rosy cheeks and dancing eyes. “Come on, Linc. That was funny.”
“If they don’t fit, you don’t sit? Nova!”
“We can swing by the grocery store, I suppose, and consider the regular-sized rubbers. But if you so much as peek at the smalls, I’m walking.”
“You are stress!” I crush my palms against my eyes and groan.
“Not stressful, like it’s a temporary situation.
Stress. Noun. You’re the whole emotion. You—are—stress, Nova Nichols.
And stress kills, dontcha know that? You’re risking my life with this bullshit, all because you want a fun distraction and an extended stroll along Dissociation Lane. ”
“Uh-huh, but that’s how I choose to spend my time.
You also have freedom of choice. And though you complain a lot, all I see is a man in my living room, thinking about sex and secretly wondering if my Spanx are black to match my dress, or beige to match my skin.
Oh! And speaking of avoidance—” She darts around the couch and bends over the coffee table, and though my focus is horribly and selfishly on her thighs when her dress rides up, my heart drops to my fucking asshole when she stands again and reveals a USB drive pinched between her fingers.
“W-what is that?”
“I found it on the floor of my brother’s bedroom this afternoon.
” Slower now, less silly, she wanders closer and stops just three feet away.
“I’m not entirely sure why I even went in there, since I was on my way into the bathroom so I could shower for tonight, but I saw his door, and…
” She trails off, ending her sentence with a shrug.
“You, uh…” I dig my hands into my pockets and swallow the giant fucking ball of dread taking up residence in my windpipe. “Do you know what that is?”
“Well… yeah. It’s a USB thingy, which means it’s probably got pictures or files or whatever on it.”
“Did you look?” I glance around for a computer. A laptop. A whole-ass desk I’ve somehow ignored this whole time. “Do you know what’s on it?”
“No.” She wraps the USB in her palm and studies me with beautiful, speckled hazel eyes.
“I considered it for a second. But he’s my brother, ya know?
And he was away a lot. He wasn’t tapping away at a computer often enough to make me think he’s written the next great American novel.
So that means it could be pictures of…” She wrinkles her lips.
“It’s probably not something I need to see.
Guys are gross. It’s a universally known fact.
So—” She presents the small device and a smile.
“He’s your friend, too. You could check it for me, make sure it’s not something I need to know about.
Like the deed to a secret mansion I’m set to inherit.
Or the details of a bank account with trillions of dollars I could swim in, Scrooge McDuck style.
But if it’s some poor woman’s vagina, I’d rather not see that. ”
“Y-you want me to take this?” She’s giving me the things I stole earlier. Giving me! “To check what’s on it?”
“Sure. If it’s porn, toss it. Or keep it. Whatever you think is appropriate. If it’s something I should know about, give it back.”
“If it’s trillions of dollars, what makes you think I’ll hand them back?”
Dude. Shut the fuck up.
“I’m unemployed now, remember? I could do with the cash.”
Amused, she purses her lips so they curl up on one side. “Will you lie to me, Lincoln Castro?” She pulls the USB away from my fingers. “Will you ever lie to me?”
Yes. I already have.
I literally am right now by not telling you what I know.
“Look into my eyes.” Her voice softens, and her pulse pounds against the side of her neck, right where her stitches are slowly falling away.
“Remember your friendship with my brother and the times you probably saved each other from danger. Think of how much he loved me, and how much you loved him. Remember all that, and then tell me: would you lie to me?”
“No.” God. Fuck. Yes. “I won’t lie to you.”
She releases the USB and drops her gaze.
“Then I guess it’s all settled. If I need to know, you’ll tell me.
And if I don’t, consider that Ry’s last gift to you.
Even if,” she makes a sour face, “it’s something I’m morally not okay with.
The porn industry takes advantage of young men and women. How could you consume something so—”
“Okay, psycho.” I clap one hand over her mouth to silence her words, and the other into my pocket to deposit the USB.
Then, inching closer, I stop only when our chests touch, and her neck folds back to keep me in her view.
“I didn’t consume. I’m not arguing with you about something I didn’t do.
And this is our first date. You don’t get to go full crazy until, like, the fifth. ”
She bites my palm and grins when my eyes darken at the stinging pain.
“This is gonna be fun,” I drawl, squeezing her cheeks. “Date night with you is gonna be… It’ll be great.”
She laughs and latches onto my wrist, dragging me around and across the room to the door. “Did you make reservations anywhere, Mr. Castro, or are you one of those low-effort guys? Because if you’re the second, I assure you, I’m tossing you in the trash just as soon as I’m done with your body.”