by R. Linda
Nate walked over to me. “She good?”
Yeah, man, she was exquisite. “Yeah, she’s fine.”
“Good. I don’t know what happened earlier, but whatever you said, she looks happy again.”
“She and Jack broke up.” I tried to hide my elation. I didn’t know why I told him that. Maybe to gauge his reaction.
“Good. They weren’t right for each other, anyway.” He nodded and walked off.
Joining the table, I noticed Indie was talking with her parents, so I interrupted briefly to apologise for the scene we caused earlier, but they reassured me everything was fine—they were used to our outbursts. We did tend to fight a lot, but in hindsight, it was most likely more out of frustration at bottling up our feelings. At least, on my part it was.
I pulled out a chair and sat with Ryder and Brody, pouring myself a drink. Jack was sitting across from me with a curious expression on his face. His eyes kept drifting from me to Indie and back again. I knew he caught me staring at her more than once because, frankly, I couldn’t take my eyes off her now. And I didn’t want to.
“Dance with me?” Bailey suddenly asked Ryder.
“You know I don’t dance, baby.” He shook his head, eyes narrowed and lip ring pulled into his mouth. I’d come to realise that was pretty much his look all the time. Happy. Pissed off. It was always the same.
“Come on, Jones. Practice for tomorrow night.” Bailey pouted and fluttered her eyelids. Damn, she was good. I was about to offer to dance with her.
Ryder groaned. “You know I can’t say no to that face.”
“I know.” She jumped up and grabbed his hands and pulled him onto the empty dance floor.
I couldn’t help but laugh, because I knew I’d be the exact same with Indie as Ryder was with Bailey.
Whipped.
But I didn’t care, and I had a feeling he didn’t care in the slightest, either.
“Kenz, another practice run?” Nate asked, leaning on the back of my chair.
“Got nothing better to do. Just keep your hands off my ass.” She tapped his ass and followed him to the middle of the room.
“Ahh jeez. It’s my turn, isn’t it?” Brody sighed and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling.
“Looks like it.” I laughed and leaned back in my chair.
“Indie—” Brody called.
“Indie is dancing with me.” I cut him off, earning a chuckle from him and Jack. “We need to practice for tomorrow,” I said, hoping they’d believe it, but I knew they wouldn’t. Brody had figured out my feelings for Indie somewhere along the way. Hell, even Jack had figured it out, and that was before I’d met him, so I had no doubt they knew something was going on with Indie and me now. I could only hope neither of them was stupid enough to tell anyone yet.
“In?” I called down the table.
“Sure.” She kissed her parents on the cheeks and headed my way. “Keep it classy, yeah?”
“Of course. I am nothing but class.” I took her hand and led her onto the dance floor. I knew I’d be trying to find any excuse to touch her in some way from now on. But that was okay; I liked a challenge.
It was only a matter of minutes before Brody and Harper joined us, and that only left Jack sitting at the table alone. I felt bad for him. He looked bored and maybe a little down. It was hard to tell. He’d been so loud and annoying these last few days that I couldn’t tell what was really good acting or what was him.
“You should go and talk to him,” I said softly in Indie’s ear, nodding in Jack’s direction.
“Yeah, I know, but…”
“But?”
“I kind of want to stay here with you.”
My heart swelled, filling my chest. I smiled and turned her away before leaning in and whispering I’d be back in the room waiting for her. I wasn’t going to sit awkwardly and watch everyone else. I was going back to the room alone to wait for her to join me. “Go.” I gave her a gentle shove then went to say goodnight to Leanne and Steve, who said they were leaving as well.
Shouting a goodbye to everyone else, I left the ballroom and took the lift to the eighth floor.
I had a shower to freshen up and make sure I smelled good when Indie returned. I wanted to impress her.
She called me “stupid ass.”
I ordered a bottle of wine because my nerves were getting the best of me, and I didn’t know how to handle that. I’d never been nervous around her before.
She loved me.
I sat on the balcony, the fresh air calming me down a little and clearing my mind. There was nothing to be nervous about.
I was in love with her.
I paced the room restlessly. I didn’t like waiting. What if she was having second thoughts?
No, she was in love with me.
I checked Indie’s room.
Where was she?
I lay on the bed.
She was coming back, right?
I went back into her room, grabbed her suitcase and all the things from her bathroom, and brought them back into my room.
She had to come back.
And then there was a knock at the door.
She was back.
I rushed over, smoothed my hands over my hair, adjusted my pants, and opened the door, expecting to see Indie. I frowned. It was Jack.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
“Sure, I guess.” I stepped aside to let him in.
He gripped the neck of my t-shirt, twisting it between his fingers, and shoved me against the wall. What the hell was his problem?
“I’m going to say this once, and only once,” he seethed in my face.
I nodded. I believed he was serious and knew I would have done the same thing had the roles been reversed. Hell, I had done the same thing. Numerous times over the years.
“You hurt her, and I’ll cut your balls off and use them for golf practice,” he said. “Understand?”
“Understood.” I nodded.
Jack smiled, released his grip on my shirt, and patted me on the chest. “He’s all yours, baby cakes,” he called over his shoulder.
Indie walked into the room with a nervous expression on her face. “Thanks.”
“Anything for you.” He kissed her on the cheeks and fluffed her hair before turning to me. “Oh, and one more thing.”
“What?” I was unsure if I really wanted to know.
“How do you rate her kisses?”
“Jack!” Indie groaned.
“Rate her kisses?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Yes, from an A-plus to an F. Like school,” He grinned excitedly.
Indie covered her face with her hands and sank to the floor.
I didn’t know where he was going with that question and why she looked so mortified, but I intended to answer truthfully.
“Because I gave her a solid C,” he declared. “What about you?”
He gave her a C? A C? He couldn’t be serious. Indie’s kisses were so much more than a C. They made my knees weak and my pulse race. They had me wishing I could kiss her forever. Indie’s kisses were definitely an “A-fucking-plus. Her kisses are ace.”
Indie’s head shot up, and she stared at me wide-eyed.
“Wow, she’s really improved. Just remember, I taught her everything she knows.” Jack grinned widely and walked into the hallway. My fists clenched, and I may have growled. “You can thank me later,” he sang as he walked down the hall.
“He didn’t teach me. I swear we only kissed those few times that you saw. That’s all.” Indie jumped to her feet in an effort to explain.
“Shut up,” I said and kicked the door closed.
“Linc?” Her eyes were wide, fearful.
She shouldn’t be afraid. For every step I took forward, she moved back one, until she hit the wall.
“I want to know every single place he kissed you. I want to know every part of your body he touched. I want to know everything.” I placed my hands on the wall beside her head.
“Li
nc?” Her pout drew into a frown.
“You’re mine. I’m going to kiss you until Jack’s kisses are nothing more than a black hole in your memory. I’m going to feel you, caress you, whisper across your skin until Jack’s touch is erased from your body entirely. Do you understand?” I kept my tone even, letting my lips graze her ear, relishing the fact she shivered from my words alone.
“Y-y-yes.”
Chapter
Twenty-One
Indie
Fuck.
He wasn’t lying. Not by a longshot. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. It was torture. Pure torture. And it was divine.
Linc pulled me into his chest and kissed me until I could no longer stand before sweeping me into his arms and carrying me to the bed, where he proceeded to remove my dress at an incredibly relaxed pace. He stood back and pulled his shirt over his head, exposing his toned abs. What I wouldn’t do to trace my tongue around each and every defined muscle on his body. My mouth watered just thinking about it.
He stood in front of me, unbuckled his belt, and slipped his pants down, kicking them to the side. And there we were, standing face to face in nothing but our underwear. I wanted to wrap a blanket around me, but it was definitely not the time to get self-conscious. He’d seen me dressed like this more than once over the last few days. But something in his eyes made me nervous.
“You’re beautiful, Indie.” He walked around and came to a stop behind me. He twisted my hair to the side and placed a kiss on the top my shoulder, dragging his lips across my skin and up the side of my neck to my ear, flicking my earlobe with his tongue, and my eyes rolled back in my head. His breath was hot on my neck. His hands caressed my arms, my stomach, my back. I felt him everywhere. His presence was such a force that I was surrounded by him. His scent, his touch, his warmth, his body.
“Did he touch you here?” Linc skimmed his hands across my stomach.
“N-no,” I barely managed to choke out. His fingers ignited a fire in my belly.
“Here?” My ribs.
“No,” I breathed.
He moved his hands to my back, over my shoulder blades, down my spine to the top of my underwear. Gliding his hands across my lower back, he asked again, and this time I nodded. Linc dropped to his knees behind me. I stiffened immediately. What was he doing? But one kiss on my lower back from his soft lips, and all thoughts left my head. His mouth torched my skin, his teeth grazing as he kissed the width of my back.
He was killing me. Painfully. Slowly.
His hands dropped lower, tracing the edge of my underwear, skimming over the fabric and the curve of my ass. “Here?”
“Y-yes.” I didn’t know what he was going to do. My stomach rolled with nerves and anticipation. Everything was so intense and full on. I was on high alert.
He gripped the waistband of my lace briefs and lowered them about an inch before placing one light kiss on the top of each cheek. Dragging his hands down my legs to my feet, he pulled them back up at a leisurely pace. He was taking his time, exploring my body and setting my nerve endings alight.
“Have I missed anywhere else?” he asked softly, pulling himself to his feet behind me. I expected him to move back in front of me, but he didn’t.
I shook my head. It was a lie. But I wasn’t sure I could handle any more of his touch, his kisses, and his close inspection of my body.
“Are you lying?”
Damn him for knowing me so well. He could always tell, growing up, when I wasn’t telling the truth.
The bed creaked, then his fingers dug into my hips and spun me to face him. He was sitting on the edge of the mattress.
“Are you lying?” He pulled me forward until I was sitting on his legs, my knees on either side of him, my hands on his shoulders for balance.
“Where else, Indie?” He wrapped his arms around my back.
I pointed to my neck, angling my head to the side. Linc’s lips descended and met with my overheated skin, kissing, nibbling, sucking until I couldn’t take any more, and I moaned. His lips were magical. They had to be.
“Is that it?” he asked, tucking my hair behind my ears, a look of adoration on his face. A look that was hard to believe was directed at me.
“No,” I sighed, biting my lip nervously.
“Where?” Linc held his hand out between us. His jaw was clenched, his eyes dark. I knew he wasn’t liking the fact Jack had touched me so often. “Show me.”
Taking a deep, calming breath, I brought a shaky hand to his wrist and lowered it until his hand was cupping one breast.
He raised an eyebrow in question, and my silence was all the answer he needed. A deep, low growl rumbled from his chest. “He’s a dead man.”
Soft and gentle, he explored my chest, cupping and squeezing and massaging, his eyes never leaving mine. My breath caught in my throat, and my head fell back. He kissed down the column of my throat, dragging his lips down my chest and tracing the swell of my breast with his tongue before doing the same to the other. My insides liquified. If it weren’t for his hand on my back, supporting my weight, I would have collapsed in a heap.
“Tell me again. Has Jack touched you anywhere else?” he demanded, his hands back on my hips, his stormy grey eyes penetrating mine.
“Jack who?” I mumbled, still able to feel his touch everywhere.
“Good girl.” He brought his mouth down on mine. Gripping my hips harder, he lifted and shifted me to the side, lowering me until I was lying back on the pillow, with him above me, never once breaking the kiss.
We were in an intimate position. A position I knew led to other things. Things I wanted with Linc but wasn’t sure I was ready for yet. Butterflies erupted in my stomach, and my hands trembled. He could still make me a nervous wreck, but it was Linc. I shouldn’t have been nervous.
“You’re shaking. Why are you shaking?” He broke our kiss and pulled back slightly, holding my trembling hands to his chest. “Are you cold?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Just nervous, I guess.”
“Why? There’s no need to be nervous.” He smiled and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. “I’ve got you.”
“Just…I’ve never—” I trailed off, embarrassed. I knew it wasn’t something to be ashamed of, being a virgin, but it didn’t stop the doubt creeping in. He had been engaged to a stripper, for goodness’ sake, and I’d only ever kissed two people, and one of them was gay.
“I know. And we’re not going to do that.”
“We’re not?” My eyes narrowed, and my mouth dropped. I didn’t even wonder how he knew. He didn’t know what I did while at uni. The door to my bedroom could have been revolving. All I focused on was he said no. He didn’t want me that way? Was something wrong with me?
“Oh, no! Ace, come on. We are definitely doing that. I can’t wait to do that with you. Forever. We’re just not doing it now. Tonight. I want to wait until after we’ve told everyone,” he clarified. Relief washed over me. I wasn’t un-wantable, after all. “Tonight, I just want to kiss you senseless. We have a lifetime of missed kisses to catch up on, and I’m starting now.” He lowered his face to mine and captured my lips with his again.
Pulling back, I smiled. “You called me Ace?”
“A-fucking-plus.” He kissed me again.
“I like it. Ace and stupid ass. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Though we could just shorten it to ass.” I laughed.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. “Can you shut up, so I can get back to kissing my girlfriend, please?”
My heart stopped, and my breath caught in my throat. “Girlfriend?”
“Well, yeah. You sure as hell aren’t my sister.”
“Thanks goodness for that. But I’m your girlfriend?” I wanted to hear him confirm it once more. This was the moment I had been waiting for my entire life. This was what had filled my dreams for as long as I could remember.
“Yes. I figured ‘happily ever after’ kind of implied that.” He traced a finger down the
bridge of my nose.
“So, what are you waiting for, boyfriend? Kiss me senseless.” I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around his neck, and puckered my lips, doing a great impression of a fish.
“Girlfriends are bossy. Maybe I need to rethink things.” He smiled against my lips.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Linc
The early morning sunlight filtered through the gap in the curtains, but we’d been awake for hours, lying in bed enjoying our time together. It was the day of the wedding, so we were making the most of being alone. The moment we stepped out of this room, we had to go back to pretending we were nothing more than friends.
I wasn’t sure I could do that. Looking back, I didn’t think we were ever just friends. And I didn’t want to pretend we were. Not now that I knew what it felt like to touch her and kiss her whenever I wanted. Not now that I knew what it felt like to hold her in my arms all night, knowing she loved me.
I never wanted to let go.
“Can I ask you something?” Indie lifted her head from my chest, her fingers dancing across my collarbone.
“Anything.” I twirled her hair between my fingers and focused on her eyes. Her emotions were on full display, and the seriousness in her tone had me worried.
“Can I lick your collarbone?” She grinned playfully.
“What?” I couldn’t contain my laughter. That was not what I was expecting her to ask.
She shrugged. “You have a really pretty collarbone.”
“Pretty?” I raised an eyebrow. There was nothing pretty about me. I was a man. And men weren’t pretty.