Cleo: I feel bad asking.
Lincoln: Fifteen.
The doorbell chimed twelve minutes later. She pulled the door open to an ashen Lincoln, who charged forward to wrap his arms around her. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Are you sick? Please don’t tell me you got sick from my favorite mac and cheese, I’m not sure who I’d choose.”
She laughed against his chest. He came for her. Just because she’d asked. And he was worried. She wasn’t quite sure how to unpack the emotion swelling in her chest. “It was some pretty good mac and cheese I’ll grant you. I can understand the difficulty with your decision.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing… I just wasn’t ready for our date to be over yet. I shouldn’t have let you leave.” She kept her head glued to his chest, afraid of what she’d find if she looked at his face.
His grip tightened around her waist and she buried her nose further into his chest, inhaling the scent of his leathers. “Okay, so here’s the thing.” He slipped a knuckle under her chin and ran his fingers into her hair.
“I don’t care if it’s that something happens and you need me, you miss me and want to see me, or you miss me and wanna fuck me senseless, I will always be there for you. Always. So please don’t hesitate, don’t second guess yourself, if you want to see me, just ask and I’ll move heaven and earth to make it happen.”
“Fuck. Me. Lincoln Scott who knew you were such a fucking romantic?” Molly’s voice came from the kitchen. “I can’t cope with the swooning. I am glad to hear you’re doing right by her though. I just replenished my Duct Tape and sheet plastic supply, so keep it up!”
Lincoln’s chest shook with a deep, rumbling chuckle against Cleo’s cheek. “Evening, Miss Morrison. I’d love to stay and chat, but your roomie wants to cuddle.”
“Yeah, cuddle your dick.”
Fuck.
Molly had outed her. How would he react to knowing the real reason she summoned him back to her? Cleo snorted, stepping back from his chest and covering her face with her palm.
He grabbed her hip and tugged her back against him. “Why, Miss Bennet… Is it possible you called me here for a… a…” He dropped his voice to a hushed stage whisper. “Booty call? Did you call my booty?”
Her thundering heart and aching desire shouted down her sensible brain, robbing her of rational thought. “Oh, God.”
“I mean, I’m totally here for it. In fact I’m pretty fucking thrilled. But I can’t deny that it’s unexpected.”
Cleo’s face burned, and she couldn’t make words come out around the wad of embarrassment crammed into her throat.
He stepped further into the apartment, kicking the door closed behind him. Plucking off his shoes, he tossed them next to the door before pulling his shirt over his head.
Was he stripping off in the shared living space? Did she care? She dragged her bottom lip between her teeth. She’d never get tired of the sight of his toned body. Cleo’s eyes widened and she had only a split second to react before bent and hauled her up over his shoulder. “Lincoln!” Her screeching was anything but ladylike. “Put me down! Lincoln!”
She swept hair out of her eyes and lifted her head as he strode through the kitchen where Molly sat eating ramen noodles. She dropped her fork onto the floor and her mouth dropped open. “Fuck, Linc. Are you Photoshopped or some shit?”
“Lincoln!” Cleo spanked his ass. He laughed, but didn’t stop. “I’m going to break your fucking spine!”
He burst into Cleo’s bedroom and tossed her on the bed.
She bounced on the mattress with a yelp. “Are you crazy?”
He didn’t answer. He shoved his jeans onto the floor and crawled up the bed, hovering over her and planting a kiss on her nose. “Please don’t worry about me hurting myself, Cleo. Not to get too jock-y on you, but I’m an athlete. I train hard and often and I know my limits. You’re not my limit.”
Her jaw dropped open once again as her brain short-circuited, and he took the opportunity to kiss her. “Do you want me to get mathy? Will that set your mind at ease? I feel like you’re not going to let this go and I have every intention of picking you up again – especially when you hit me up for a booty call. It’s hot as hell, Lizzy.” He kissed her neck. “But if you want math, I can math.”
“Math.” She sat up enough to pull her own shirt off and dropped back onto the mattress.
“Kinda looks like you’re hot for math here, Cleo. I’ll try not to let that go to my dick.” He winked at her before dotting kisses down her neck, chest and stomach. Her disloyal libido didn’t want to hear the details. She sucked in a breath as sparks of desire fizzed each time his lips met her skin. “I really don’t want to talk math with you. Can’t you just trust that I know my own body?” He tugged her yoga pants and underwear to her ankles and freed one foot before pushing her knees apart. Her clit throbbed with impatience. “Can’t you trust that I know what I’m doing and won’t drop you?”
She panted in anticipation. “You’re not playing fair, Mr. Darcy. I’m just concerned that you’ll get h—” His tongue swept over her clit and she gasped as ripples of pleasure stopped her higher brain function. “Fuck.”
“No more talk. Let’s get this booty call started!”
Chapter 21
