Chapter 46 Elizabeth
ELIZABETH
@pancakesareelite:
It’s been forever since I’ve been on a date
@theanswerisno:
Same
@pancakesareelite:
Two birds, one stone
@theanswerisno:
You are so cheeky
@pancakesareelite:
Are you blushing right now?
@theanswerisno:
No
@theanswerisno:
Okay, fine. I am
I couldn’t believe it. The formulas Lincoln used, the lengths he’d gone to.
The only thing unlinked to a calculation, the only known factor, was the solid one hundred percent next to my name.
Lincoln Carden believed I was the unachievable number of perfection.
According to science. Despite knowing all my flaws.
Despite everything. And when I looked into his eyes, I knew, without a doubt, that he really believed it to be true.
I scrolled to the bottom of the spreadsheet where the conclusion lay blank, but the spreadsheet was already set up to auto-populate once the rest of the cells were filled in.
I changed a few things, marked myself down (which led to an error) and then marked him up instead.
The final percentages jumped around. I needed the fourth scenario to be on top.
4. We fall in love, get married, do all the things, and I get to love her forever
Lincoln Carden wanted to marry me?
He wanted to love me forever?
And while I continued playing around with the numbers, his arm circled my waist and stroked the not-so-flat stomach I’d tried hiding. His mouth pressed against my shoulder, sending a buzz of electricity to my brain.
And then I did it! Sort of.
“There we go.” I twisted toward him. “There’s a one hundred and seventeen percent chance we’ll fall in love, get married, do all the things, and you’ll get to love me forever.”
“One hundred and seventeen percent?” He bit down on his lip in the most adorable way. “That hasn’t been peer-reviewed.”
I pressed my mouth against his, and he chuckled before scooping me up.
“Careful,” I said, already grinning. “With all this carrying, you might hurt your back.”
“Your smart mouth should have been a dead giveaway.” He burst out laughing.
I vibrated at the sound.
When he set me on the bed, I looked up into those gorgeous eyes and said, “Hey, Lincoln, I love you.” Then I pulled my top off.
He froze.
I should have timed my confession better.
Taking off my shirt in front of the man who blushed when I looked at him for anything longer than a second was a risky move.
He almost comically adjusted his glasses.
I reached out to take them off. They’d get in the way of me kissing his eyelids, his eyelashes. I wanted my mouth on every part of him.
But his hand shot up to stop me. “No, no, I need to see first.”
“Did you even hear me?” My hands dropped onto the waistband of my pajama shorts.
This time, he launched forward, stopping my hands again. “Not yet.” He inhaled and closed his eyes. “Give me a second to compose myself. I’ve wanted to hear you say that for so long.”
I gnawed on my bottom lip to keep from having the laughter spill out of me.
“Link.” I crawled to the edge of the bed, where he stood staring.
“Lincoln.” I slid my hands up his shirt, and a shiver shot through me as my fingers traced over the strong, lean body I’d spent far too many moments thinking about.
“Permission to touch all of you… everywhere?” He straightened and gestured up and down my body.
“With all of you and everything you’ve got.” I leaned forward and kissed his Adonis belt, which peeked out between the hem of his shirt and the top of his pants.
He pulled off his shirt, and I planted my lips on his skin, biting and licking as I moved upward until I was standing on the edge of the bed. I leaned downward and kissed him.
Lincoln’s strong arms circled me and then I was on my back. His weight pushed down on me like I’d dreamed of. I wrapped my legs around his waist, wanting to be even closer. A low groan escaped him, and his touch, which had been gentle and hesitant, turned sure and desperate.
He whispered my name against my lips and dipped his head, but I pulled him back up.
“Stay here. Kiss me,” I managed, even though I wanted him everywhere, all at once.
“Lily.” His eyes were filled with excitement and desire and… love.
He wet his lips and placed his mouth on mine in a deliberate, slow kiss that had I been standing, would have knocked me over. “I think you should know… I… haven’t been with anyone.”
I leaned in for another kiss, desperate to keep my mouth on his. “Same.”
He pulled away, his eyes darting around. “No, I don’t think you understand.” He gulped. “I’ve never been with anyone.”
Lincoln Carden was a virgin?
My heart raced, filling with warmth and love at the intensity of this moment. I cupped his jaw until his gaze met mine. “Oh. Are you sure you want to do this now?”
His brown eyes darkened. “Yes.”
“If you don’t…”
“Elizabeth,” he said, his hands gaining confidence as he pressed his fingertips against my skin, “I want you so badly that I fear I’ll devour you entirely. So you’re going to have to tell me when to stop.” He lowered his mouth to my neck, trailing his tongue down my collarbone.
“Devour me, then,” I breathed, unable to say much else as the little jolts of electricity kept sparking through me.
And so he did.
Slowly and intentionally. Lincoln Carden made love to me in a way no one else had. We fell into a tangle of limbs between the thin sheets and heavy blankets, our skin hot and glistening. My heart cracked open, overflowing with the love he so openly had for me.
His mouth stayed on me. Keeping me there. Grounded with him.
Lincoln Carden was the first man to love me. I knew that to be true. And he showed it in every way he could. I let go in the safety of his arms. Something I hadn’t been able to do before.
“I never want to be apart from you,” I admitted.
“You never have to be.” He captured my mouth in a sweet kiss as his hands crept toward mine, entangling our fingers. “And by the way, I love you too.”
“You love me?”
He smothered me with kisses. “Now you’re just fishing to hear me say it again.”
My heart sang. I’d been hoping someone would say those words to me, but I had no idea I’d be lucky enough for it to be Lincoln.