Page 22 of On Thin Ice (Calgary Mounties #1)
Chapter Twenty-One
I WANTED YOU TO STAY
Adele
Once we say goodbye to Seth a few hours later, we stop at my apartment on the way back to Lincoln’s downtown condo.
Lincoln insists on staying in the car with his mother and sister, so I can’t even ask him what the hell is going on.
Once I’ve hastily thrown some stuff in my backpack, it’s back in the car and we’re on our way.
Claire insisted on sitting in the back seat this time, giving me the chance to glare at Lincoln when she’s not looking. Of course, it has no effect on him at all, except for the cheeky little grins he keeps giving me.
When we get inside his condo, Lincoln turns to look at me. “I need to take Milo out for his walk. Coming?”
With a nod, I follow him back out into the hall, leaving Claire and Diana to get settled in the spare room, and we head for the elevator once again.
“Okay, explain yourself, O’Malley,” I say, as soon as we’re alone.
“I don’t know. I just thought it would cause more suspicion if you didn’t stay.” He rubs the back of his neck, not quite meeting my gaze .
I lean against the wall of the elevator and cross my arms. “You’re being really weird. You know that, right?”
He sighs, dropping his head back to look up at the ceiling. “Yeah.”
The doors open into the lobby, and Milo tugs on the lead, doing a little dance while he waits for us to follow. Clearly, someone needs the bathroom.
We take him outside and he sniffs around for a moment before doing his business, a look of relief on his little doggy face.
“What’s going on, Linc?” I ask.
He’s quiet for a moment, before finally looking at me properly. “I guess… I wanted you to stay,” he murmurs.
I search his face, trying to work out if he’s serious. I keep waiting for him to tell me this is all an elaborate prank, to see how far he can push this before I crack and admit that I’ve developed feelings for him.
Instead, his expression shifts, and I can see behind the overconfident mask he spends so much of his time hiding behind. The vulnerable look in his eyes is enough to make me question everything.
Stepping forward, I thread my fingers through his and squeeze his hand gently. “What are we doing here?”
He looks down at our hands for a few moments, and I can practically see the wheels in his mind turning.
“I don’t know. I just know I like spending time with you…
And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that night together in Tahiti.
Maybe I’m crazy, but I keep thinking… Maybe we can scratch an itch for each other while we’re doing this whole fake dating thing?
I mean, we can’t really see other people in case someone notices… ”
Considering his words carefully, I bite my lip while I think.
His words make sense. Between his fear of commitment and my own hang ups, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to just take this fake dating thing a little further.
Friends with benefits wouldn’t be so bad.
And maybe, once we’ve given in to the ridiculous sexual tension between us, we’ll finally be able to put it behind us and get back to tolerating each other only.
“Okay… so what are you proposing?” I ask after a moment.
He grins, tugging me in towards him and wraps his arms around my waist. “Well, I wouldn’t say no to a repeat of that night in Tahiti minus the copious amount of alcohol and deep regret the next day.”
I place my hand on his chest and flutter my eyelashes at him. “Yeah? You want to fuck me senseless again?”
His eyes flare while the muscle in his jaw tenses. “I want to make you scream my name again.”
“Yeah?” I lean in close to his ear. “How badly do you want it, O’Malley?”
His grip on my waist tightens. “Pretty fucking bad.”
“Well…” I let a small smile play across my lips, biting my lower lip again when his gaze lowers to stare at them hungrily. “You’re just going to have to keep wanting it… Because there’s no way I’m sleeping with you while your mother and sister are in that apartment.”
He chokes on a laugh. “That’s cold, Addie.”
I pat his cheek with a grin. “Maybe if you’re a good boy, I’ll let you cop a feel in bed.”
He leans down, bringing his lips to my ear. “Don’t act like you don’t want this as much as I do, Addie. You know you’ve been imagining how a repeat would go, just as much as I have.”
I shiver, my traitorous body giving me away. “Oh, I want this. But not enough for me to let this go any further when we have an audience. If we do this, it’s just sex… We can’t fall in love with each other, O’Malley.” I lean back to fix him with a pointed look.
He regards me for a moment, the jovial attitude dropping away. “Why are you looking at me like that? I don’t fall in love, remember?”
I shake my head. “There’s always a first time for everything.”
He sighs, dropping his head back to look up at the sky for a moment, before tilting his face back to mine. “I solemnly swear not to fall in love with you, Adele Wilson.”
I nod. “Good.” I step out of his arms, and he raises an eyebrow. “I’m going to make you work for this, O’Malley.”
He snorts, shaking his head. “Whatever you say, Wilson.”
After we spend another hour chatting with Claire and Diana over hot chocolates, we all say goodnight once Diana yawns and almost falls asleep at the table. Milo leads the way into Lincoln’s room, flopping down in his bed at the foot of Lincoln’s California king bed.
I’ve never been in his room before, and I look around, taking it all in. His taste leans towards dark colours and timber furnishings, but it’s the wall decoration that catches my eye.
“Are those your jerseys from when you played as a kid?” I ask, nodding towards the huge glass frame covering the wall opposite the bed.
Inside, someone has sewed together multiple jerseys, showing the team logos with the name O’Malley emblazoned above each one.
He comes to stand behind me, sliding his arms around my waist. “Yeah. Mom surprised me a few years ago by having every jersey I’ve ever had made into a blanket. But I preferred it hanging on the wall where I can see it all the time, so I had it framed instead.”
I lean my head back against his chest. “That’s so sweet.”
“Yeah. She’s sentimental about that sort of thing.” He kisses the top of my head and steps back. “Come on, you can put your stuff in the ensuite while I build our pillow fort.”
I laugh, turning to face him. “Still fixating on the pillow fort idea, huh? Cause it worked so well for us in Tahiti.”
He nods, his expression serious. “If we’re keeping this G rated, I’m going to need a pillow fort.”
I shake my head. “Do you really think we need it? What if I want to cuddle?”
He sighs, acting as though I’m asking too much of him. “Fine. I guess we can cuddle.”
I pat his cheek. “So hard done by.” Grinning, I take my toiletries into the ensuite, and he follows behind.
It’s bigger than my entire bedroom, with a shower large enough to fit a small family - including dual shower heads - and twin sinks on the bench that runs across the wall beneath a large mirror.
He cleans his teeth next to me while I do the same, and it all feels very domesticated, especially when he smacks me on the butt when he walks past me, making me jump and squeal.
After he heads back into the bedroom, I wash my face before changing into my pyjamas.
Stepping back out, I find Lincoln already in bed, shirtless, with the blanket up to his hips. I do my best not to check out his abs which are on full display. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was testing my determination to keep our hands to ourselves.
“Cute pjs,” he says, taking in my favourite dog themed sleep shorts and matching tank top.
His gaze stops as he stares at my bra-less chest, my nipples hardening beneath the thin cotton, and I smirk when he swallows hard.
“Eyes up here, Romeo.” I use my pointer and middle fingers to point at his eyes before pointing at my own.
He grins, sliding his arm behind his head and making his abs ripple. “Oh, I’m well aware where your eyes are, Addie. I just got a little distracted. And I could say the same to you,” he replies, running his hand over his chest.
Ripping my eyes upwards, I lift the blanket on my side and slide underneath. “Oh, I’ll bet you did. And I wasn’t checking you out.”
He scoffs and holds his other arm out. I scoot closer to rest my head on his shoulder as he tucks me into his side.
This shouldn’t feel so right. I should be nervous.
But instead, when he turns the light off and presses a kiss to my temple, all I feel is safe and protected.