Link

Even though she knew I’d always catch her, she still had a bad habit of running. As fun as our little game was, I was getting tired of the chase. Especially when one night of combustible passion proved we found the reward we both deserved.

Once I finally had her right where I wanted, her world was tragically torn apart, and she needed me now more than ever. Honored to be the man to pick up the pieces, I didn’t realize putting her back together would come with a price. Because once she was whole again, she wasn’t the same woman I had fallen in love with.

As I was heading back, my arm was seized, and I was pulled into an alcove.

When I realized what was happening, I opened my mouth to scream, but a large hand covered it. “I hate nothing more than chicks who play games, Oakley. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I’ll tell you this.” Lincoln dropped his arm and almost immediately had his fingers at my waist, squeezing. The sheer panic that sliced through me began to fizzle out but was just as quickly replaced by shards of passion. His other hand moved from the wall to my hair, where he fisted the strands tight, causing a bite to my scalp. “I’m done. I’m done being the one to make a move, only to be shot down again and again. I’m done trying to ease you into it. I’m done chasing you every time you run. I’m too old for this back-and-forth shit, babe. You’re too old for this childish cat-and-mouse crap you’re pulling, and frankly, it’s disappointing as hell.”

“I’m not doing anything,” I protested, only to find his hands clenched even tighter in both places, and instead of it hurting, it did the opposite. My knees started to wobble, and my breathing became heavy, along with the weight of my breasts as they filled with aching need.

“You run whenever I say your name, you avoid me like the plague, you don’t give me a chance because you’re embarrassed about getting drunk and throwing yourself at me, thinking I rejected you because I didn’t want you when that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

My mouth formed an O, and I managed to whisper, “What?”

“Clue in, Oakley. I only rejected you because you were drunk, and there was no way I was going to risk you forgetting the first time I was inside you.”

“What?”

“I know you’re shy, and I know for whatever jacked-up reason I intimidate you, but I’m done trying to go gentle with you. So here’s the deal.” He tilted my head back and brought his lips to mine, just brushing, barely there, but it was so much that I could feel it in my toes. He released his grip from my hair and trailed his finger down my back, across my waist, and then I felt him pressing something into my hand. My fingers curled around a piece of plastic.

“Room 412. If you show up, you know what’s gonna happen.”

“Linc—”

He kissed away any words of protest, and I melted into him. His tongue demanded entry, which I easily granted, and then he dominated. I lost myself to him, to a single kiss, and the thought of what he just said made my eyes burn as I feared ruining what I thought was my only chance with him.
He pulled away and rested his forehead on mine. “But only if you want it, Oakley. You’re safe with me, you know that.”

He kissed my nose. “You also know where I’ll be.”

After making sure I was steady, he sauntered away, and I fell against the wall. I waited to catch my breath, and once that finally happened, I looked down at his room key in my shaky hand. It wasn’t just a key to his room, though, and I held on to that piece of plastic until my fingers burned as if it were the most rare and precious jewel in existence, and I was scared to drop it in fear that it would shatter along with my hopes and dreams.

When I began to lose feeling in my hand, I finally made a decision. I put one foot in front of the other until I was inside the banquet hall, and then I grabbed my purse from behind the bar before I found my sister. “I’m going to, um… I’m done for the night.”

She lifted her head from the gift pile she was reorganizing. “What?”

“Is that okay?”

“Where are you going, and how are you getting there? I picked you up, remember?” I shuffled on my feet, and she glanced down, her sight catching on the key in my hand. “Lincoln?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure? You seem nervous?”

I nodded. “I’m sure.”

“Okay, have fun. If you need me to come and get you at any time, just call me. And if you need me to bring Jay for reinforcements, let me know.”

“I won’t. I’ll be fine.”

I walked away before I changed my mind and took the elevator to the fourth floor. As I stood outside Lincoln’s door, my fingers shook so much that even if I wanted to, I couldn’t slide the card into the little slot.

But the choice was taken away from me when the door was swung open, and Lincoln stood there with his white shirt untucked and unbuttoned at the collar, his sleeves rolled up, and his tie loosened. So damn sexy. “What are you waiting for?”

“I don’t know.”

“Nothing will happen that you don’t want to.”

How did I tell him that I wanted everything to happen between us, but I wanted it for more than just that night? I wanted him to want me as badly as I did him, but I wasn’t sure he felt the same, and I didn’t know if once would be enough. Or was it too much?

“Baby, quit trying to talk yourself out of it.”

“I’m not.” I shook my head and clutched my purse to my chest. “I just… I don’t… I’m not sure this is smart.”

“It’ll be the best decision you make, but you’ll never know that until you come inside so I can show you how good it can be.”

The not funny part about it was I already knew it would be good. The best. But that wasn’t what worried me. What I was freaking out about was that it would be so good that it would break me… ruin me. It would destroy me, and I didn’t know how I’d go on after being crushed by Lincoln.

I didn’t know if I could.

So instead of taking a step toward him, I took one that put more distance between us.

He crossed his arms. “Don’t walk away from me, Oakley.”
“Don’t hurt me, Lincoln.”

He must have lost his patience because, in an instant, he closed the distance between us. He threw me over his shoulder and kicked the door shut behind him before I could blink. I was tossed onto the bed. My purse and the room key went flying, and he came down over me. My legs were trapped between his thick thighs, and he held my wrists together in one of his big hands over my head. The fingers of the other one wrapped gently around my throat, and he stared down at me. “Do you trust me?”