Page 43

At some point in the middle of the night, I must’ve passed out because I don’t remember ever deciding to go to sleep.

After Lincoln opened his heart to me, we told each other with our bodies just how much we mean to each other.

He gave me the most orgasms that I’ve ever had in one night.

The memory of his tongue between my legs ignites a spark there and my eyes fly open searching for him.

Oh god, it wasn’t just a memory.

Lincoln is between my legs.

Talk about a good wake-up call.

I pull myself up and lean back on my elbows to watch the man at work.

There is something so sensual about watching Lincoln pleasure me.

His eyes find mine and stay there as he continues to plunge his tongue in and out of me.

His thumb finds my clit and it’s only seconds before I’m free falling into ecstasy.

My body shakes as he continues to lap at my center.

Slowly, I come down from my orgasm, and he trails kisses up my body until he reaches my neck.

“Good morning.” His voice is raspy and it’s a sound I could definitely get used to.

He places one last kiss on my lips and then flops down beside me .

I turn so we’re face to face and I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face.

“Good morning, indeed.”

He laughs and leans in to kiss me again.

“You’re welcome.” It comes out a bit cocky, because he’s Lincoln.

This man may have rocked my world, but he’s still the cocky asshole he’s always been.

Except instead of irritating me, his cockiness sends butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

That can’t be good.

I’m leaning on my elbow staring back at him, trying to place when everything changed.

I know our back and forth banter only added fuel to the fire that eventually erupted between us.

But when the hell did it become more than that?

Because as I sit here, staring at this man in front of me, I can’t imagine ever not wanting to wake up this way.

Lincoln reaches out and taps at my temple.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

I could easily tell him about the thoughts running through my mind.

That I want to wake up with him between my legs or his arms wrapped around me each morning.

Or that spending nights watching ’90s rom-coms or Marvel movies with him sounds like my kind of heaven.

But how do I know if he feels the same?

Last night was different.

There’s no doubt about that.

But can I really risk everything we have going and insert my feelings into the situation?

Do I really want to complicate things even further?

No.

Not until I know for sure that the feelings are mutual.

Which is why I lean in and give him a quick kiss instead of answering his question.

“Let’s shower.”

Quickly, I roll out of bed before he can grab me and kiss the truth out of me.

Hopefully he’ll be too distracted in the shower to have a conversation.

The sound of his footsteps follow me into his bathroom and he grabs my hand just as I’m about to lean in and start the shower .

“Ellie.” It’s not a question, but I know he’s wondering what’s going on with me right now.

Nerves wrack my body, but I turn my head to look at him.

Taking a deep breath, I try to even out my breathing so my voice doesn’t betray me.

“Yeah?”

He gives my hand a light squeeze but doesn’t let go.

“You know you can tell me anything, right? You’re not gonna scare me off.”

Damn this man and his ability to read through my bullshit.

“I mean, you used to scare the hell out of me. But now that I’ve made you scream my name you don’t seem so scary anymore.”

Cocky asshole.

I mean, I’m grateful he’s lightened the mood, but what an arrogant little shit he is.

I let go of his hand and give him a nice hard shove to his shoulder that has him falling back a step.

“Oh, fuck off, Lincoln. I’m pretty sure I remember you moaning my name last night too.” I turn back to the shower to turn the water on and he slaps my ass.

“Damn straight I was, Montgomery. And I plan on moaning your name as much as humanly possible if I have anything to say about it.”

Once the bathroom is filled with steam, I open the glass door to his walk-in shower and we step in together.

Water pelts my back as we stand face-to-face.

Lincoln reaches behind me and squirts something into his hands.

He rubs his hands together and then starts running them down my arms.

Immediately I’m hit with the scent of pine and leather.

I close my eyes and take a deep inhale.

When I open my eyes, Lincoln is watching me as he continues to lather my body.

“I’m gonna smell like you now. Are you trying to mark your territory or something, Scott? ”

His hands work their way up my stomach until he reaches my breasts.

He gives them a soft squeeze before running his thumbs over my peaked nipples.

“Maybe I am, Montgomery. You got a problem with that?”

A small gasp leaves my mouth as he gives both nipples a quick squeeze.

I try to form words but the feel of his hands on my body is too damn distracting.

Shaking my head, I’m able to get out a quiet “no” as he continues to work his hands down my body.

They eventually find my ass, and he grabs me and pulls my body toward his.

He’s rock hard and he pushes himself against my body to let me know just how I’m affecting him.

“Do you see what you do to me, Ellie? I’m so far gone for you, I don’t even bother trying to hide it anymore.”

My hand finds his length just as his fingers find my center.

Together we get each other off as our tongues tangle and our hands work in unison.

The way I crave this man is terrifying.

I have to physically pull myself back from having my hands on him at all times.

Somehow, I manage to keep my hands above the waist for the remainder of our shower, and somehow Lincoln manages to keep his to himself.

The only exception being when he washes my hair and gives me the best head massage of my life.

It’s unlike any wash I’ve ever received at the salon.

This man could make millions by just washing people’s hair.

How is he so good at everything?

It’s infuriating.

After our shower, we both dry off and he grabs me some clothes to wear.

I didn’t really think my whole seduction scenario through when I showed up naked underneath my trench coat last night.

He tosses me a pair of gray sweatpants and one of his old U of M hoodies.

I pull the pants up over my hips and they absolutely swallow me.

I may be tall for a woman standing at five-ten, but the five inches he has on me makes me feel tiny.

Luckily, I can tie the drawstring tight enough and roll them a couple times to make them work.

Once I finally make my way out into the kitchen, Lincoln is pouring caramel creamer into a coffee mug.

I sit down at his island, and he gives it a quick stir before handing it to me.

“Thanks,” I say as I take a quick sip.

It’s not lost on me that this man knows how I like my coffee.

He even stocks his refrigerator with my favorite creamer.

These little things keep adding up, making it even harder to deny what I’m feeling.

Lincoln takes a seat next to me and we sit together enjoying a cup of coffee.

There’s something so domestic about the moment, I can see us doing this for years to come.

It’s a wild thought that kind of freaks me out.

Hoping to distract myself, I put my mug down and turn toward him.

“Are you heading home early for the holidays?”

Christmas is next week, and our last game before the holiday is on the 23rd.

We lucked out and have a game against Detroit on the 27th, so I’ll be able to spend quite a few days at home in Michigan over the small break.

For whatever reason, we haven’t discussed our plans for the holiday, but I find myself wanting to know if he’ll be going home early to Michigan too.

Lincoln turns in his stool so my legs are between his and sets his coffee down next to mine.

“I think I’ll head home on Christmas Eve to spend a couple days at my aunt and uncle’s place. My cousin Katie is going to Florida for Christmas. Apparently the only gift she wants this year is sun and sand. Can’t say that I really blame her.”

He has mentioned his cousin a few times with me.

Since he moved in with them in high school, I get the feeling she’s more like a sister to him than a cousin.

“I don’t blame her either. I wouldn’t mind a game in Florida but I am excited to spend some time with my parents. I’m sure you’ll be missing her.”

Lincoln’s hand finds my knee, and he starts rubbing his thumb back and forth.

I like that he always wants to be touching me.

It makes me less self-conscious about always wanting to be touching him.

For as much as we have to hide our relationship from the outside world, it’s nice to be able to touch each other whenever we want when we’re in our little bubble.

“Yeah, I miss her a lot. She was supposed to come visit over Thanksgiving, but work got in the way. It’s been too long since I’ve seen her.”

Lincoln’s phone starts buzzing at the opposite side of the island.

He keeps his hand on me but reaches with his other hand to grab it.

“Speak of the devil.” He flashes me his phone and a picture of a gorgeous redhead is on the screen with the name Katie across the top.

I grab my coffee and hold it with both hands before nodding to his phone.

“Answer it. I’ll just be here enjoying my coffee.”

Lincoln stands from the stool but doesn’t go far.

He walks to the opposite side of the island before leaning his hip against it and swiping a finger across his phone.

I try not to listen in on the conversation as they say hello and catch up on each other’s lives.

But it’s kind of hard to do when Lincoln’s voice raises an octave.

“What do you mean you’re pulling into my driveway? You’re in Green Bay?”

Oh shit.

His cousin is here?

Unless he broke our promise, she doesn’t know what’s going on with us.

The look on Lincoln’s face confirms my suspicions.

We both look at each other, panic stricken, before I jump off the stool.

My hands start flailing and I start mouthing unintelligible questions, trying to ask him where I should go.

He walks over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder to calm my flailing body down before I hurt myself.

Silently, he points to the stairs that lead up to his bedroom but then stops me by holding up one finger.

“No, no, it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting you. I was actually about to head out the door to grab some breakfast.”

My heart still pounds as I wait for Lincoln to finish his call.

I can’t quite hear what his cousin is saying on the other end, but his body relaxes as he grabs my hand.

“Just wait in your car and I’ll come out. Give me two minutes to find some shoes and lock up.” He pauses.

“Love you too.” He hangs up his phone and pulls my body into his.

We’re both nervously laughing as we let go of each other.

“Holy shit, Lincoln. That was too close.” I stay close to the stairs, out of sight from the front windows in his living room, hoping to stay undetected.

Lincoln walks to the front door, slips on his Nikes and rushes over to give me a kiss.

“I’m pretty sure I just lost a couple years off my life. Not that I would care if Katie found out. I just don’t know if you’re ready for other people to know about us yet.”

The statement takes me by surprise.

Does he want other people to know about us?

I don’t have time to dissect that right now, and he needs to get out of here before his cousin walks through the door.

“No, it’s good she doesn’t know yet. You go enjoy time with your cousin, and I’ll call Sadie to come pick me up since she’s borrowing my car. I’ll see you at the rink this afternoon?”

He leans in and gives me another kiss.

This time he lingers and holds my mouth to his before giving me two more pecks and pulling back.

“Yeah, I’ll see you at the rink.”

Quickly, he rushes out the door, and I sink down onto the wooden stairs that lead up to his room.

The thought of his cousin walking in and seeing me had me ready to hide in the closet.

I’m not ashamed to be with Lincoln.

I just don’t know if I want the world to know yet.

They’ve been pretty cruel to me so far and I’m not sure I’m ready for them to burst our bubble.

Lord knows everyone will have a lot of nasty things to say, and what if we can’t survive it all?

Negative thoughts flood my brain that have me questioning everything we’re doing.

Before I go down that dark road, I sprint up the stairs to find my phone.

I need to get out of here and figure out what I want to do next.

Sadie picks up on the second ring.

“I need you. Can you come pick me up from Lincoln’s?”