Claire came for him with a startled cry as if she hadn’t expected to climax. The sound stripped his soul bare, so he kept going, digging his fingertips into her hips to keep her tight against his mouth as he drove her harder.
“No. No. It’s too much.” Her body shuddered and quaked as she continued to orgasm. “Linc, I can’t...”
But she could. And she did. Beautifully.
As she lay gasping for breath, he kissed his way back up her body and gathered her into his arms, ignoring the sharp bite of lust so he could soothe her with gentle kisses and soft murmurs. His emotions tangled as she murmured his name.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he replied. “We’ve only just gotten started.”
She threaded her fingers through his hair and seized his lower lip between her teeth, growling playfully at him. “You’re such an amazing man—”
He didn’t want her praise, didn’t want to think about her comparing him to the husband she’d lost. Instead, he kissed her deeply, until there was nothing but her heat and the softness of her skin beneath his hands and his lips.
“I have to have you,” he murmured, his tongue swirling around her nipple.
“I’m all yours.”
The steamy rasp of her voice only added to his excitement and Linc knew if he didn’t get a condom rolled on in the next few minutes, there was going to be trouble. She watched him from beneath her lashes through the entire procedure, but when he shifted between her spread thighs and positioned himself at her entrance, he saw that her eyes had drifted closed.
“Open your eyes,” he commanded. “I need to know you’re with me.”
She smiled languidly, lifting her hips so that he slipped a little ways inside her. “I’m here.”
And when she did as he requested and met his gaze with her own, he plunged inside her in one smooth stroke. She whimpered and arched her back, accepting every inch of him. Gliding into her wetness proved to be mind-altering. Her long celibacy made her so tight that by the time he was seated deep in her heat, he was reeling.
Grinding his teeth together to keep himself from coming, he glanced down and saw her lips curve into the most glorious smile he’d ever seen. With his brain waging a fierce battle against his body, Linc began a steady, torturously slow rhythm, determined to give her everything he had and more.
“You are so tight,” he groaned. “You’re driving me crazy, Claire.”
In answer, her snug, slick walls pulsed around him and he began pumping into her harder, going as deep as he could. She met each thrust with a little chant and sank her nails into his skin.
“More,” she begged. “I want all of you.”
So he gave her everything he had. His breath rasped against her neck as he filled her again and again. Reaching between their bodies, he cupped her, putting the perfect pressure on her clit.
“Come for me.”
And then she was. With a long, searing cry, her body began to shake. Linc clamped his mouth over hers, drinking her pleasure as her body gripped him and started a chain reaction that sent him soaring off a cliff right after her.
* * *
Ten days before Bettina’s party, Claire took her culinary expertise to the Mills-Forrest House and spent several hours preparing a selection for Linc’s mom to choose from. Although Bettina had a reputation for being a tough cookie, Claire had always gotten along well with the Charleston matriarch.
And Claire wanted to keep it that way, which was why for the past couple days her focus had been on brainstorming dishes and assembling her menu. Not on daydreaming about the magical night she’d spent with Linc.
Today’s plan was for her to serve her menu ideas to Bettina as a mid-afternoon snack. While she was occupied doing this, Linc had offered to take Honey to the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry so she wouldn’t have to hire a babysitter.
It still perplexed her that he enjoyed spending time with the two-year-old. Honey could be challenging at times, although the toddler’s sunny personality made up for the worst of it. But Linc was fond of Honey and, of course, she adored him. Watching them together made Claire’s heart ache because it reminded her that Honey would never know her father. And despite how Jasper had begun changing as his many tours overseas took their toll on his psyche, from the expression on his face when he held Honey in his arms at the hospital, Claire knew he would’ve done anything for his little girl.
Dolly was ironing sheets in a small nook near the kitchen when Claire carried in several grocery bags of ingredients. The older woman scowled as she watched Claire unpack and arrange things on the enormous marble island.
“I told her I’m not helping with the cooking for the party,” Dolly said with an imperious sniff she’d picked up from her longtime employer.
“You already do so much for Bettina,” Claire said, her tone soothing. “I wouldn’t want you to feel pressure to do more. So I hired waitstaff and an assistant to help me prepare all the food.”
With a satisfied nod, Dolly returned to her task, and for the next two hours, the two women worked in companionable silence. For her part, Claire was happy to not have to chat.
As she was finishing up, she heard the distant sound of the doorbell ringing. Fortunately, Bettina had warned her that she was inviting some of her friends, so Claire had come prepared with enough food. While Dolly headed off to welcome the guests, Claire put the final touches on her plates, wondering whom she might encounter today.
Promptly
