by Hart, Lane
His breath blows my hair before he answers. “We spent some time together last week, went to a football game at our old high school, and she came here and we talked on my porch. I’ve texted and called her, but only as friends, askin’ about her chemo.”
“So you haven’t…”
“I haven’t done anything more than hug her. She initiated that and was cryin’. I didn’t pull away because I felt bad knowin’ she’s scared and all, facin’ cancer.”
“You wanted to marry her?” I ask him.
“Yeah, but we were young. She said no because she was just startin’ college,” he tells me, rubbing his hands up and down my back. “Then she got pregnant and had the miscarriage. That was the end of us, too. I thought she cheated on me but maybe I overreacted.”
“Do you still…do you still love her?” I ask softly, and hold my breath as I wait for his response.
“I loved her then,” he answers. “A lot. But now, if I still love her or care about her it’s only as a friend. I don’t want to lose her to cancer now that she’s back in my life, but I don’t want to be with her either.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely,” he says placing a kiss on the top of my head. “You don’t have anything to worry about, baby, so what do you say we go soak away the stressful day in the hot tub?" he asks.
"Sounds great," I agree, trusting that he’s been nothing but honest with me. "But I didn't bring a swimsuit."
"That's a good thing," he says, pulling back with a grin. Taking my hand in his, he leads me off the porch and around to the back of the house. "There's a strict skinny dippin’ only policy around here."
I laugh. "Of course there is."
When we get to the huge, circular spa, Linc lifts the lid off of it, setting it on the deck and reaches in to turn it on. The tub roars to life, creating white, foamy bubbles. Multicolored lights illuminate it from the bottom.
"Very nice," I say, definitely impressed.
Standing in front of me again, Linc reaches for the top button of my white dress shirt and slowly undoes each one until the fabric slides down my arms, quickly followed by my bra. From there he undoes the button and zipper on my black uniform pants. I toe off my shoes and kick them out of the way so he can finish getting me undressed.
The cool, September air whips around me, making me shiver for a second before Linc picks me up and sits me down into the steaming water. "Oh, wow," I close my eyes and sigh as the warmth instantly relaxes all the tight, tense muscles in my body. When I'm able to open them again, Linc's submerging his six feet of perfect, chiseled nakedness down into the water across from me. "I could really get used to this. Every. Single. Night."
"I could too," he replies, and I know by the warmth in his expression that he means me being here, since he does have this wonderful machine every day.
"Now you may never get rid of me," I tease.
"Good. We’ll never leave the hot tub."
"Deal." Since he doesn't make a move toward me, I go to him. Straddling his lap, I wrap my arms around his neck at the same time his hands on my back pull me flush against his chest. His hard cock is very noticeable between my legs, and while I want to be intimate with him, I don’t grind on him, and he doesn’t press me down. Both of us are just content to be in each other’s arms for now.
"You're it for me, Claire," he says into my hair, breaking the silence. "For three years I thought Abby was the one, but it was never this...right, or this easy. That's why she didn’t want to marry me, because she knew. We were just young and stupid. Maybe I still am, because you and I have only known each other a few days and I'm already fallin' head over heels for you. I think I have been since the second you stepped into that room."
His words instantly make me think about that first time I saw him, sitting on that couch in the strip club. He looked at me, standing there practically naked, not lewdly, but like heaven sent me specifically to him from above. I have a feeling that was the exact same expression probably reflected on my face. There I was, a nervous wreck, shaking in fear because of the embarrassing, demeaning thing I was about to do - dance slutty and naked in front of a complete stranger. And then I saw Linc. All those nerves vanished in the blink of an eye. Not just because he was gorgeous, but because he didn't look at me or treat me like I was some random woman or exotic porn star. No, he treated me like I was his. I felt more cherished and cared for sitting vulnerable and naked on his lap than I ever had in my life.
"Claire?" Linc asks and I have no idea how long I've been lost inside my thoughts. He places a soft kiss on neck. "Can you give me some sort of response, baby?"
"Yes."
"Yes?" he repeats. "Yes, you can give a response or yes is your response?"
"Yes," I say again. "I could marry you tonight, Linc Abrams, and I know without a doubt, that I would never have a single second of regret."
"Really?" he asks, and I can hear the smile in his voice before he pushes back to look at me and I see it on his face.
"Yes," I say again meeting his beautiful navy blue eyes. "You're right, I think you are the easiest decision of my life. No maybes, ifs, ands, or buts, just Yes with a capital Y."
"Exactly." He laughs before brushing his lips over mine, then exhales a deep breath. "I was afraid you'd go runnin’ for that restraining order."
"Definitely not running," I assure him. "Just so we're clear, there are no other exes who could pop back up in your life, right?"
"No. I swear. And don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad Abby came back last week. She helped me realize that what she and I were missin’ all along, you and I aren't. There was never any…I don't know, cohesion with us. We were tryin’ to go in different directions at every turn. Instead of endin’ things, one of us would give up or give in, and force it to work out," he says then pauses, liftin’ the charm of his necklace, a light blue heart, angel wings and a tear drop with “Thomas” and a date inscribed. "Like the baby."
"You wanted a family and she didn't?" I ask, assuming that’s what happened since he said she didn't want to marry him. Idiot woman. But I guess I should thank her for not snatching him up when she had the chance.
"Yep. I didn't know that was somethin’ I even wanted until the day she told me she was pregnant. And even at nineteen I knew I was ready for the responsibility and the commitment. She wasn't. Her plans didn't include settlin’ down or givin’ up her independence to have a family, especially not with me."
"I can't imagine how difficult it would be to become a mother so young," I say. "It definitely wasn't easy for my mom to be a single mother. The hours she worked...I practically raised my sister and brother, taking care of them after we got home from school. Sometimes it was one meal at a time, and our cabinets were empty. I would worry about where the next one would come from. But our mom never let us down. She made sacrifices, and did everything she could for the three of us. We got through the tough times together and had a lot more good times than bad, before she died. So I've always wanted my own children, as selfish as it would be to raise them the same way. But like our mom, I think I could love them enough to make up for the insignificant material things they may always want but never have."
"I could easily give them both," Linc says with a contagious smile.
"I know you would, even if you started over with absolutely nothing tomorrow. Because you're the type of guy that takes care of what's his."
"Damn right," he growls bringing my mouth down to his. "And I'm gonna spend the rest of the night and the rest of my life takin’ care of you.”
With the simple sweep of his tongue against mine, a frenzy ignites between us. Even though I’m still straddling him, our bodies pressed flush against each other, we can’t seem to get close enough.
“I need you. Right…fuckin’…now,” Linc tells me between pants. His fingers delve between us and thrust inside my pussy to ready me, but I’m already there.
“Now,” I agree, reaching for his cock to replace his hand. I ease
down his thick length with no resistance and start to ride him slowly, savoring every inch that’s stroking me where I’m desperate for him.
“God, yes, baby,” Linc groans against my mouth. “You feel so damn good.”
We stay connected by our mouths and lower bodies for what feels like hours, not racing toward a climax but simply needing to be joined, melded together like this.
“Move in with me,” Linc says with his forehead against mine after we start to come back down.
“What?” I ask, pulling back to look at his face in the glow of the jacuzzi lights.
“I want to see you every day and every night,” he says, cupping the side of my face gently in his palm when I hang my head. “I want you to live with me.”
Inside I’m torn. There’s nothing I’d rather have than this with Linc, the sweet and naughty breakfasts, the nights spent talking about anything and everything about our days. Kissing him goodnight and having him hold me until I wake up in his arms with the sunrise. Too bad, that’s just not something I can do right now.
“I wish I could,” I tell him. “I really do. But I can’t leave Mandy alone.”
“Why not?” he asks softly. “She’s a grown woman-”
“She’s an addict,” I tell him honestly. “It’s bad enough trying to keep her clean with us under the same roof, but if I left her…it’ll only get worse. I’m trying to convince her to enter another inpatient rehab facility. She went once before. It helped for a few weeks but then…”
“Let me help,” Linc says, smoothing his thumb over my lip where I’m absently chewing on it.
“No, you’ve done enough and it’ll take forever to pay you back the money she owed Vito.”
“You know you don’t have to pay me back.”
I start shaking my head before he finishes his sentence. “No. I want to be with you, but not because of your money. And if I take it, I’ll feel guilty, like I do now, owing you twelve thousand. It’s too much, too soon. Just let me take care of it, okay?”
“Fine,” he agrees with a sigh. “Get her clean and then get your ass over here with me, permanently.”
“Deal,” I reply with a smile. Leaning down I brush my lips over his, picking things up where we left off, before all the serious talk. “There’s no rush,” I tell him. “We’ve got all the time in the world, right?”
Chapter Fifteen
Linc
After she gathers her things, I walk Claire out to her car. It’s a gray, cloudy mornin’, and too early to be awake and have her leavin’ me so soon. We kiss, my body plastered against hers on the driver’s side door until she pushes at my chest, insistin’ she has to leave.
“Fine,” I grumble with one last kiss, not ready to let her go. “Come over again tonight?”
“Okay,” she says with a stunnin’ smile before openin’ the car door and climbin’ in. “But just one more night, and then I need to stop running out on Mandy.”
I nod my agreement, even though I’ll miss her. When I’m halfway to my porch I hear the asthmatic cough of her engine followed by silence. Turnin’ back around it only takes a second to realize her POS isn’t gonna start.
Even after I hook up my truck to try and jump her off, the ancient car can’t be revived. “Might be the alternator,” I tell her when I remove the jumper cables from under her hood and slam it shut. “But we’ll have to get it towed in to town to let a mechanic look at it.”
“Fuck,” she groans, rubbin’ the sides of her temple in annoyance. “I have to be at work in an hour!”
“Come on,” I tell her. “Let me take you to work and then I’ll make the arrangements to get your car fixed when I get back.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, chewin’ on her lip hesitantly.
“Yes,” I respond, kissin’ that lip until her teeth release it.
“Thank you,” she says softly. “If you’ll just take me back to my apartment I can probably drive Mandy’s car to work.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
On the drive to Durham Claire is quiet in my truck’s passenger seat, her eyes focused on some point outside the window, watchin’ the scenery go by. “You all right?” I ask, reachin’ over to squeeze her thigh.
“It’s always something,” she says on an exhale with the shake of her head. “Just when you think you’ve solved one problem another one always pops up.”
"We'll get your car fixed," I tell her, omittin’ the fact that if it's too far gone, I'm gonna buy her a new one. "If there are any other problems you're worried about, just tell me. You know I'd be glad to help."
"You've done enough, dealing with Vito. I'm sorry you got drug into my family's mess."
"I'm really glad to be in your family's mess," I joke.
She shakes her head but gives me a small smile. "The next right and we're in the third building on the left."
At first glance, the apartment complex looks rundown. A few broken windows have been replaced with wood instead of glass, and gang style graffiti is spray-painted on several of the brick walls. Broken furniture and trash litter the grassy areas. It’s definitely not the best part of town. I wouldn't let my sister, Hailey, live here alone, but since Claire and Mandy share an apartment, maybe it isn't so bad. I'd feel better if Mace lived with them. Hell, I'd prefer it if she lived with me, but I know that's not somethin’ she’s willin’ to do yet.
"It's the best we can do for now," Claire says, readin’ my thoughts.
"I know," I reply as I pull into a parkin’ spot. "Mace comes over and watches out for you both, right?"
"Yeah, several times a week. We're fine," she assures me as she reaches for the door handle. I lean over and cup the side of her face with my palm, titlin’ her head toward me so that I can kiss her goodbye. At first she's tense, probably because she’s in a hurry, but after a couple of seconds she loosens up and let's my tongue mingle with hers, makin’ it even harder to leave her.
"I'm gonna be late," she says against my lips so I finally let her go.
"All right, go. See you tonight."
"Thanks, Linc." With her bags she gets out and heads for the first story apartment, the one behind the staircase of the unkempt building. I wait and watch until she slides her key in the lock and steps inside out of sight. My hand is on the gear shift, about to put the truck in reverse and drive away when the same door swings opens again. Only instead of Claire or Mandy, it's a man that comes out of the apartment. A familiar lookin’ man in a pair of slacks and wrinkled dress shirt. Slick Rick, that motherfucker. What's he doing inside their apartment? I don't like that at all, and I still hold him responsible for connivin’ my girl, my sweet, innocent girl, into havin’ sex with me on camera for millions of fuckers to see her naked, just so that he could make a few bucks.
Instead of leavin’, he pulls out his phone and lingers around the front so I sit right where I am waitin’ for Claire to come back out, which I know she will as soon as she changes. Sure enough, the asshole spins around and puts his phone away in his pocket when he hears her come out the door. She’s jugglin’ her purse, phone and keys, and doesn’t notice him until he’s next to her. He says somethin’ to Claire, but she keeps walkin’. Then he makes his first mistake, he grabs her arm to force her to stop. She yanks herself away from his grasp and keeps walkin’ to Mandy’s silver Nissan. He makes his last and final mistake when she’s tryin’ to unlock the door. The motherfucker walks up behind her, pressin’ the front of his body to the back of hers, until she’s effectively trapped between him and the side of the car.
The sudden onset of rage has the sleepin’ beast roarin’ to life. I'm out of the truck a half a second later. The adrenaline immediately starts pumpin’, and then I'm grabbin’ the back of his neck and slammin’ his face on the hood of the car so hard he groans.
With his head turned to the side, he finally sees me. "Oh shit," he grumbles. His nose is bleedin’ and his wide eyes look panicked, as they should be. "Vito will fucking ruin you if you so much as leave a bruise o
n me." He thinks he can threaten me while I’m holding him down? Fuck that. Now that the whole world has seen my cock, I don’t think there’s anything else he could do to ruin me. I'll no longer be known for being a world champion fighter. No, from now on I’ll be famous for fuckin’ a porn star. Or a woman who everyone thinks is a porn star.
Squeezin’ his throat tighter, I lean down and warn him, “If you go anywhere near her again I’ll do more than leave a bruise. I’ll break each and every bone in your fuckin’ body.”
“Linc, stop,” Claire says from behind. “I need to get to work.” Her tone is one of annoyance at being late for work, not concern for the fucker’s face planted on her car.
“Just a second, baby,” I tell her. Grabbin’ a handful of the back of his shirt I lift his upper body from her car and toss him over to the ground of an empty parking spot. “There. Now you can leave. But why the fuck was he in your apartment?” I can’t help but ask.
“He’s dating my sister,” Claire says, her eyes narrowed at the pile of asshole strewn on the concrete.
“Fuckin’ hell baby,” I groan and clench my fist, still wantin’ to pummel that fucker for layin’ a finger on her. Knowin’ he sometimes sleeps under the same roof? Hell no! “This is why I wish you’d move in with me. I don’t want you dealin’ with this sonofabitch when I’m not around!”
“Linc,” she starts with her head hangin’, her long hair shieldin’ her face. “Just let it go.”
“Let it go!” I exclaim and when the fucker tries to stand up I kick him in the gut so that he collapses again. My adrenaline is pumpin’ and now I’m ready to fuckin’ fight.
“Linc! Seriously, that’s enough. He’s not worth it, and I can’t stay here to babysit you two. I’m already late for work!”
“You deserve better than this shithole,” I tell her, gesturin’ with my arms to the decrepit apartment complex, “And you don’t have to keep goin’ back to that crappy ass job that barely pays peanuts!”
That was apparently the wrong thing to say since Claire shakes her head, climbs in her car without another word, and pulls away.
