Lincoln says my name, pulling away from my lips for a brief moment, and it’s asking permission, and also seems a little like a curse at the same time. “Kissing you,” he growls, throat working. “Is… familiar.”
I’m trying to process what that could mean. Maybe he’s talking about our palpable chemistry—the way we burn when we touch. Somehow, I don’t think that’s it.
In this moment, Lincoln looks haunted. “Like I’ve known you for a long time.”
I smile as my fingers trace the strong tendons in his neck. “Well, it was a forgone conclusion that we’d be right here from the moment we met. Right? This has felt like a game of dominos from the second I saw you.” Fate isn’t something I believe in. How can it be true when good people are punished, and bad people are set free to do and live as they please? Only the good die young. A quote I’ve heard at the funerals I’ve attended over the course of my lifetime. If fate was real, only the bad would perish, and bad luck would find only them.
He clears his throat. “Something like that.”
So, it’s definitely not our chemistry he’s dwelling on right now. Setting my hands on his shoulders, I go up on my toes to bring a kiss to his neck. His body visibly shudders, then melts into mine.
“Goddammit, Maeve.” Lincoln shakes his head, hands firmly grasping my waist. When he slides my sweater over my head he leaves it around my arms for a second, tied up, before removing it completely. Stepping back, his gaze seductively rakes my exposed skin. I squirm with anticipation. “You’re fucking perfect.”
I lose my breath when I meet his eyes. An intensity flares in his gaze. “You okay?” I ask.
His chiseled jaw grits, then he nods solemnly. “Which way to the bedroom?”
Jutting my chin up and right, I motion to the door at the end of the hall. When he picks me up, I wrap my legs around his waist and go willingly. My bedroom is all windows. I wasn’t worried about people seeing into my bedroom when I designed it, but I didn’t have these kinds of activities in mind, either. You don’t have neighbors, I remind myself.
Lincoln lets me slide down his hard body until my toes touch the fur rug in front of the fireplace. I step back, and hit the switch that turns it on, and then flick the air next to me. His grin pulls to one side. “What’s that mean?”
I slide my jeans down my legs and step out of them. He lifts his long-sleeved shirt over his head and raises a brow in question. I indulge him with the answer, “That, my friend, was the last domino. It’s down.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
He’s shaking with need when he grabs me around the waist and brings me to the bed. It’s a soft cloud that wraps both of us, the most pleasant part of my day just got better. Falling into this bed with him reeks of… home. I close my eyes against the onslaught of emotion when he kisses me because it isn’t hard this time. It’s tender and worshipping. His wet mouth slides to my collarbone and in between my breasts. He unfastens the front snap on my bra and continues the assault on exposed, tingling skin. My breath hitches when he slides his mouth over the top of my panties, then pauses.
“Did you hear that?” His voice is husky.
Is he talking about my heart knocking against my chest? “No.”
From his prone position, he raises up on his palms, head swiveling to the window closest to my bed. He hops up, jeans slinging low on his waist because they’re unbuckled. His body is more than remarkable, it might actually be perfect. Not oh, he’s so hot look at those abs, which he has, but the symmetry in his muscles is something spectacular. As someone who studies the human body, I am qualified to make this decision: Lincoln Wilds has the perfect body. I’m momentarily distracted by my realization. He moves stealthily toward a wooden column and peers out.
“I wasn’t paying attention when I was outside. Is this mirrored glass?”
“No,” I say, sitting up. “Though now I’m realizing I probably should have opted for that.”
His hands are in fists by his sides and he cracks his knuckles. “You wouldn’t think you’d need it. No neighbors nearby?”
I shake my head. “There’s new construction up the mountain a ways, but it’s nowhere near completion, and they wouldn’t be working on it at night. What did you hear?”
The dog barks, and the sudden noise jolts me into full panic. “Lincoln. What did you hear?”
“Swiping on a window? Something hitting glass? I’m surprised you didn’t hear it. I can’t blame you, I guess. I was about to take off your panties and show you the world.” He smirks.
I shoot him an annoyed look and ignore his joke. He turns back to the window, intensely studying the yard and out farther. You see outside fairly well with the room being only dimly lit.
“I’m going to check on the dog. She never barks. Not even at the mailman.” I go to grab my robe lying on the end of the bed.
“Don’t move,” Lincoln commands, holding one hand up. I think he’s ordering me to stay naked so we can continue what we started. I hold my breath.
Instead, he whispers, “Someone is out there.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
LINCOLN
You’d think a strange person running through the forest by Maeve’s house would be the most fucked-up part
