by Noelle Adams
He chuckled as he lowered his hands to her hips. “You think this marriage hasn’t been good to me? You think finding sex this good is easy?”
Oh. That was what he was talking about.
She quickly convinced herself there was nothing to be disappointed about, so she was able to reply in a matching teasing tone. “I thought you were some sort of sex god who had sex like this all the time.”
“Not all the time.” He pulled her back down into a kiss and murmured against her lips. “Almost never.”
She smiled since that was nice to hear. And it was safer than that uproar of emotion she’d almost indulged. The kiss deepened until they were both urgent and grinding against each other.
They broke the kiss so he could pull her gown off over her head. Then he took her breasts in his hands and fondled them until she was arching back and moaning uninhibitedly.
When he finally dropped his hands, she was so aroused she couldn’t wait any longer. She lifted up so she could tug down his pants. He raised his hips to help her, and it didn’t take long for her to yank them over his feet and drop them onto the floor.
She took his full erection in her hands and stroked the length of him until he couldn’t keep his hips still. His hot green eyes were moving hungrily between her face and bare breasts as she caressed him. She massaged his balls and then lowered her face to his groin, licking a line up the underside of his shaft before taking him full in her mouth.
He choked on an exclamation and closed his eyes, tossing his head a couple of times in naked pleasure.
It was hard not to let that go to her head.
She sucked him off for a minute, but she was too aroused to take him all the way to orgasm at the moment. Letting him slip from her mouth, she rearranged her body so she was astride him.
He opened his eyes and moved a hand down to hold himself in position as she sheathed him with her body.
They’d stopped using condoms earlier in the week because they were both healthy, they weren’t sleeping with anyone else, and she was on birth control.
“Oh fuck, Summer,” he breathed thickly. His fingers were gripping the soft flesh of her ass. “Oh fuck.”
She adjusted positions, trying to find the angle that felt the best and made it easiest for her to move. She wasn’t normally an on-top person, but Lincoln made every position easy and sexy. She had no idea how he did it. But any position that made his face look like that was something she wanted to try.
When she got comfortable, she started to lever up with her hips so she could ride him. She moved slow and steady at first, enjoying the stimulation and the look in Lincoln’s eyes as he watched her move above him. He would sometimes play with her nipples. And sometimes rub her clit. And sometimes hold on to her neck with a possessive touch that was incredibly sexy.
When an orgasm tightened inside her, she picked up her speed, bouncing over him urgently so her breasts shook and thighs burned. She knew she was making a lot of embarrassing sounds of effort and pleasure, but she didn’t even care.
She needed this. Needed it. And she was almost there.
“That’s right, baby,” Lincoln muttered, his eyes still devouring her. “Fuck me hard. Take it all. Don’t hold anything back.”
She wasn’t holding anything back, and she’d never known she was capable of it before. She choked and sobbed out her pleasure as the climax finally peaked. She shook through the spasms, and Lincoln gave a muffled shout as her inner walls clamped down around him.
She was panting and grinning like a fool, enjoying the shudders of her orgasm, when Lincoln flipped them back over. He lifted one of her knees and pushed it up toward her shoulder before he started to fuck her the way she’d been fucking him. Just as hard and fast and vigorous. Just as uninhibitedly.
She moaned because it felt so good. The rough friction inside her. The sight of Lincoln’s damp, ardent face above her. The rawness of what they were doing together. She wasn’t expecting to come again, but she did, crying out as the pleasure rose up unexpectedly.
Then he was coming too with a loud bellow, his features twisting dramatically in a way that showed palpably how good he was feeling.
He collapsed on top of her when he’d ridden out the last of his spasms, ducking his head in the crook of her neck and gasping for air.
She held on to him with her arms and her legs. She wasn’t about to let him go.
“You’re incredible, baby,” he mumbled against her throat.
She giggled. She couldn’t help it. “You too.” She stroked his messy hair. It was thick and soft and felt so good against her palms. “Of course now I’m exhausted, and we haven’t even gotten out of bed yet.”
“Well, there’s no hurry, is there? It’s Saturday morning. Do you have any plans today?” He lifted his head.
She smiled at him rather sappily. “I’ve got no plans at all today.”
“Good.” He rolled them over onto their sides so he could wrap his arms around her. “So let’s stay in bed as long as we can.”
She had no objections to that plan, but she was a bit worried at how she was feeling. Way too soft. Way too possessive. Way too much like their relationship could be something other than it was.
And so far, despite some fond looks and sweet comments, the only specific things said about their relationship was that what they had was nothing but sex.
That was fine. She wasn’t going to turn down something so good.
But she also didn’t want to come out of this marriage, yearning for a man she couldn’t have.
So, with a bone-deep instinct of self-preservation, she pulled herself out of his embrace. “I’ve got to clean up a bit before we go back to sleep. I’m all spermy.” She found her gown and pulled it over her head before she stood up.
“Spermy?” He rolled over with a look of mock indignation. “You’re calling it spermy?”
“Well? What else do you want me to call it? That you’ve graciously endowed me with your precious seed?”
He laughed warmly, his eyes caressing her even though her cheeks were blazing hot, her hair was a mess, and her gown was wrinkled and still hiked up on her hips. “I think we can do better than spermy.”
Despite her attempt at emotional distance, she giggled at that. “You work on a better term while I go and clean up from all the sperminess.”
She heard him chuckling from the bed as she made her way to the bathroom. She stayed in there longer than she needed.
Emotional distance was getting harder and harder.
THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON, Summer found Carter in the media room. That was what they called the mansion’s windowless room with the huge TV.
He was watching a sports network, but a quick glance proved it was just commentary and not the exciting part of a game, so she came in and flopped down beside him.
She’d seen him fairly regularly since they were living in the same house, but it felt like she hadn’t really talked to him all week.
She missed him.
He didn’t feel as much like her best friend anymore, and she wanted that to change.
Change back to what it used to be.
He glanced over at her with raised eyebrows.
“Just wanted to hang out,” she explained to his unspoken question. “I’m bored.”
“You’re never bored.”
He was right. She wasn’t the kind of person who ever got bored. She was always able to find something to do to amuse herself—even if it was just reading or binge-watching TV. “Well, I’m restless or something, and I wanted to hang out with you. Is something wrong with that?”
“No. You just don’t do it as much anymore.” He didn’t look angry or bitter or even sad. Just vaguely resigned.
“Well, whose fault is that? You’re the one who withdrew, Carter. Don’t act like I’m the one who’s done it.”
For a moment she thought he might get annoyed and just leave, but he didn’t. He slumped back against the couch and muttered, “Yeah. I guess. I’m s
orry.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“What’s to talk about? Something has changed. You know it has.”
“Yes, but why can’t it change back? If you’d just let me know what’s been bothering you, I’m sure we can deal with it. We’ve always dealt with stuff before.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her over so she was leaning against him. It was an affectionate, companionable gesture that made her throat ache.
She snuggled against him happily. “So what is it?” she asked. “What’s been bothering you, Carter? I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” he murmured, nuzzling her hair in a way that surprised her. It was like he was smelling her hair.
She tilted her face up to check his expression, but she didn’t get the chance. A sound from the doorway surprised them.
Lincoln was standing in the doorway, watching them. He was wearing his running clothes, and he’d obviously just finished his run. It was in the forties outside, but he was sweating and windblown. He looked strange. Stiff. Weirdly frozen.
Summer’s stomach twisted, although she didn’t know why. “Hey. Did you have a good run?”
“Yeah. It was fine.” He sounded just as strange as he looked.
Summer wanted to pull away from Carter—out of his arm—but there was no reason for her to feel that way. She’d been friends with Carter a lot longer than she’d been anything to Lincoln, and she wasn’t going to hurt his feelings by suddenly withdrawing. “I guess you’ve got to go into work soon.” She was trying to sound as natural as possible. At least she was trying, which was more than either of the men were doing.
“Yeah. I do.” He waited for another several seconds, staring as if he were expecting something.
She didn’t know what to do, so she didn’t do anything.
He turned around and left.
When he was well away from the room, Summer said softly, “Well, that was weird.”
“No, it wasn’t.” It was the first thing Carter had said since Lincoln appeared.
“What do you mean it wasn’t weird? Didn’t you see him?”
“Of course I saw him. I’m just saying it wasn’t weird. Perfectly natural, really.”
“What does that mean?” She gazed up at Carter with wide eyes, both confused and wary about what he was about to say.
“You can’t be that blind, Summer. He didn’t like seeing us sitting this way.”
“What? Why would he care—?”
“He’s into you, Summer. You’ve got to see it too. He’s into you.”
Ridiculously, her heart burst into excited flutters. The feeling spread up into her throat and then up far enough to warm her cheeks. “He’s not—”
“Yes, he is. He’s not even trying to hide it. He’s never been one to keep his feelings to himself. He’s into you. Don’t tell me he hasn’t tried to do something about it. It’s not like him to hold back.”
She gulped, trying to figure out what to say. “It’s... it’s not like that between us.”
“If that’s true, then it’s because of you and not because of him. He’s definitely into you. If you want to know what’s come between us, all you need to do is look in his direction.”
Summer straightened up. “That’s not fair, Carter. Lincoln has done nothing but try to help you. I know things are strained between you from the past, but he hasn’t done anything wrong since your father’s will was read. Everything he’s doing is to help you—because you asked him to. You can’t blame him.”
Carter leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I know. It would be nice to blame him, but I can’t. I’m the one to blame. I brought this on myself.”
“What did you bring on yourself, Carter? Please talk to me. Everything is going like you planned it, isn’t it?”
“No. Not at all.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” She reached over to touch his sleeve.
He opened his eyes, and she thought he was going to admit it at last. But once again, he pulled whatever it was back. “It’s fine, Summer. It’s all fine. Lincoln is doing what he said he would with the company. He keeps trying to give me advice when he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but he’s not pushing his way. It’s all fine.”
“What advice?”
“Oh, just stuff about our business strategy after the acquisition goes through. He thinks I’m being too aggressive, and he won’t shut up about it.”
“What does he want to do instead?”
“He wants to move more slowly. Test the market before we redo all the properties.”
She replied slowly, carefully, “Well, that doesn’t sound like a terrible idea.”
“It’s not a terrible idea, but it’s not the best idea. I’m the one who’s poured himself into this company for the past decade. He hasn’t done a thing. Just gotten the whole thing dropped into his lap last month. I think I might know a little more than him about our business and the hotel market.”
He sounded so hurt that she stroked his shoulder and arm. “Of course you do. I didn’t mean to question you. I just meant that Lincoln is probably trying to help. He’s trying to be involved. That’s not a bad thing, is it?”
“I guess. I’d feel better about it if I thought he was doing it because he cared about me.”
“Of course he cares about you. Why else would he be helping this way?”
Carter gave her a significant look.
“Oh, come on now, Carter. Don’t take it too far. He’s never even mentioned any of this to me. He’s not doing it because he’s trying to impress me or something.”
“I don’t think that’s what he’s doing.”
“Then what?”
Carter’s brown eyes were strained and sad. “He’s doing it because he’s trying to be better. Do better. And I guarantee this urge to better himself is not because of me.”
Summer’s cheeks burned even more. She raised her hand to her chest because the flutters were completely out of control. “I... I don’t think it’s...”
“Well, you’re wrong.” He shook his head and muttered, almost to himself, “It’s just like him. To come along and get involved at exactly the worst time.”
“Why is it the worst time?”
Carter didn’t answer. He wasn’t like Lincoln. He always kept his deepest feelings to himself.
THIRTY MINUTES LATER, Summer wandered upstairs to her room since Carter had gotten involved in the sports show and obviously wasn’t in the mood for talking anymore.
She walked over to the door that connected to Lincoln’s room. It was halfway open. They never shut it anymore.
Summer felt jittery after what Carter had said about Lincoln. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was right.
She tapped on the door and called out, “Lincoln?”
“Yeah.” His voice came from his closet.
She stepped into the room as he emerged wearing black trousers and carrying a long-sleeved gray shirt. He pulled it over his head as she watched.
“What’s up?” he asked, arching his dark eyebrows.
“Just checking on you.” The words sounded lame to her own ears, but she didn’t know what else to say.
“Why do I need to be checked on?” Then, defying his intentionally casual tone, he added, “You and Carter looked very cozy down there.”
“I was trying to be his friend. Something’s wrong with him, and he still won’t say what it is.”
“I’m beginning to suspect.” He sounded cool. A lot cooler than he’d been with her in a long time.
“What do you suspect?”
“It’s not really my thing to say.” He opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of black socks, sitting down on the edge of the bed to pull them on.
She went to sit next to him. “Why are you acting like this, Lincoln? I thought... I thought things were going well with us.”
He slanted her a look that was searching, urgent. She didn’t understand it.
“Weren’t
they?” she asked hoarsely. “Going well?”
“I thought so.”
“So what’s the matter? Aren’t I allowed to have this thing with you and also be Carter’s friend?”
The tension suddenly blew out of him like a popped balloon. He made a throaty sound and pulled her into a hug, right there as they sat on the edge of the bed. “Of course you are, baby.”
She hugged him back, more relieved than she should have been. She mumbled against his shoulder, “So then what’s the problem?”
“There is no problem. Just for a minute it looked like you might want to have a thing with Carter too, and I wouldn’t be okay with that.”
She pulled back and stared at him in astonishment. “You’re not serious?”
“About what?”
“Carter is my friend. Just my friend.”
“And not too long ago you wanted him for something more.”
“But that was before. I told you. I don’t feel that way anymore. I’ve long since outgrown it. I’m not going back.” She was telling him the truth as openly as she knew how to do. It made her scared and vulnerable, but it felt important to do so. “Don’t you believe me?”
There was a long moment as he scanned her face like he was looking desperately for the truth of her words. Then he nodded and kissed her hard and brief. “Yes. I believe you.”
Relaxing, she leaned against him. He kept his arms around her but more loosely this time.
“Carter suspects,” she said after a minute.
“What does he suspect?”
“About us. Well, actually, he suspects about you. He thinks you’re into me.”
He nuzzled her neck. It was the sweetest thing. “Well, he’s not wrong.”
“Should we tell him? I’m starting to feel kind of guilty about hiding this thing from him.”
“What would you tell him?”
She hesitated. “I don’t even know.”
“If you don’t know what you’d tell him, it’s probably best to wait until you do. But I’ll leave it with you.”
“So you don’t want to tell him?”
“I don’t know. I’m just not sure it’s worth hurting him if this thing is only going to last as long as our marriage.”
