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The bartender slid a receipt and pen to me to sign, along with my credit card. We both closed our tabs.
He mumbled something under his breath.
“What’s that?” I asked.
I signed the receipt, my signature a bunch of curls and scribbles, illegible, and I shoved my credit card back into my wallet.
Was he grumbling over the cost of drinks or where I had booked a room?
“I’ll walk you home,” Lincoln said.
If he wanted to accompany me across the street in the dark, I’d accept that proposition, but that was all I was willing to accept. “Knock yourself out.”
I wasn’t inviting him into my room for drinks or other scandalous acts. It was dark outside and walking alone in a small town in the middle of nowhere probably wasn’t a wise decision either.
I slid off the stool, my feet planted firmly on the ground, but my body swayed. I’d had one too many screwdrivers: two.
“Whoa, there,” Lincoln said. He was quick to put an arm around my waist to steady me.
While I enjoyed his touch, I also didn’t want him to get the impression that I was interested in more, at least not right now.
I’d just met the guy.
Well, technically, I met him earlier that morning, but it was still the same damned day.
I exhaled a breath, trying to steady myself in the bar. “I’m okay,” I said and glanced at him as he stood beside me, towering over me. “You don’t have to hold me up. I won’t fall.”
He leaned in, his breath warm which sent tingles through my body. “If you insist,” Lincoln whispered. His tight grip around my waist loosened.
I slipped from his grasp and staggered out of the bar, one foot in front of the other. I didn’t tip over or fall, but he was right, I could not get behind the wheel of any vehicle.
Stepping outside into the cool spring breeze, I wrapped my arms tight around myself.
Lincoln kept up with me as he strode right along my side. He shucked off his coat. “Hold up,” he said and wrapped his jacket around my shoulders. “Here.”
I slid my arms into the sleeves, already warmer. He had long sleeves on and had been smart in what he wore. “Thank you,” I said and pulled the lightweight coat tighter.
I shouldn’t have borrowed his jacket. The smell of his masculine scent was intoxicating as it enveloped my senses.
I took in a long, deep inhale, breathing his scent in, my body warm and tingling.
“Everything okay?” Lincoln asked with a raised eyebrow.
Shit.
Had he noticed what I’d done?
No. He couldn’t have.
I shoved my hands into his coat pockets, my fingers warmer already. Together we strode across the quiet road for the motel.
Why was the parking lot jam-packed with vehicles? The motel hadn’t been crowded earlier when I’d checked into the place. Had the rooms all been booked over the past couple of hours?
A flash of bright light in the darkness blinded me.
I held up my arm to shield my face and my identity. “Fuck,” I said with a groan and stopped walking.
I’d been caught.