Two words is all he’ll give me. “We’re leaving.” After a moment he adds, “Did you drive?”
“No. I rode with Abby.”
I hear Abby and Emily call after us, but Lincoln keeps walking until we’re at his truck. He opens the door, settles me in the passenger seat, and buckles me in without saying a word. His movements are rushed and jerky as he shuts the door and walks around the front of his truck to climb in.
Did I embarrass him? That’s the only explanation for the way he’s acting right now.
“I’m sorry,” I say, turning in my seat so I can look at him.
Lincoln puts his truck in drive and pulls out the parking lot. “What the fuck are you sorry for?”
I flinch at the hard tone of his voice. “For embarrassing you.”
“Embarrassing me?” Lincoln glances between me and the road. “You didn’t embarrass me.”
“Then why are you acting like this?”
“Like what?” he says, stepping on the gas as we race down the highway.
“This,” I say, motioning toward the road. “Grumpy and in a hurry.”
This time when Lincoln looks at me, he laughs. “I’m not grumpy or embarrassed.”
“You’re not?”
“Fuck no. You just exploded in my arms in a room full of people—I’m horny. I hauled your ass out of there because I’m seconds from blowing a load in my pants like a goddamn teenager.”
My eyes drop to his cock, which is straining against the zipper of his jeans, and I remember how it felt rubbing against my ass—growing each time I rocked against him.
I reach across the seat and flick the button on Lincoln’s jeans. I lower the zipper and his swollen cock falls into my hand.
“Adley, don’t. I’m not going to last long.”
“Please, let me.”
Lincoln is hanging on by a thread, and there’s nothing I want more than to watch him let go.
He glances down at my hand stroking his cock and nods.
I’m on him a second later, sucking and licking, taking him to the back of my throat.
“Shit,” he hisses, burying a hand in my hair. “Harder.”
I tighten my lips, sink down, and suck as hard as I can. Lincoln groans and thrusts his hips until he finds his release. I keep sucking, swallowing everything he has to give, and when his dick starts to soften in my mouth, I sit up.
Lincoln’s eyes have gone from hard to soft, and he looks at me tenderly as I tuck him back into his pants.
“Now what?” I ask.
With one hand on the wheel, he reaches for me and pulls me to his side. “Now we go home. I’ll feed us, and then I’ll show you what a real buck feels like.”
17
Adley
“When are you going to tell me about last night?”
I shut my biology book and look at Abby. We’ve been at the library for six hours, and my brain is fried. “Is it possible to study too much for a test?”
“Yes. Nice deflection.”
“I’m not deflecting,” I say, looking around. The place is empty, but still, you never know if someone’s lurking in the stacks. “We’re in a library.”
Abby leans in close and lowers her voice. “We were in a bar full of people last night, and that didn’t stop you from practically humping Lincoln on a mechanical bull.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re being dramatic. I didn’t practically hump him.”
“Uh, yeah, ya did. We all saw it. And the way he hauled you out of the bar afterward…” Abby’s words trail off, and she fans her face. “Hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“It was pretty hot, wasn’t it?”
She nods, and I smile.
“I take it things are going well between you two?”
“They are,” I say, hoping I’m not jinxing anything. “We haven’t told my family, but the opportunity hasn’t exactly presented itself.”
“You need to tell them. Rhett and Lincoln are good friends. If Rhett finds out from someone else, he’s going to be pissed. He needs to hear it from you.”
“I know. I was thinking maybe Lincoln and I would go to their next family dinner together and tell everyone.”
“That’s a solid plan. What about his family? Do they know?”
I nod and pull a bottle of water from my bag. “His sister, Chloe, knows. I finally met her. But I don’t know about his dad. He doesn’t talk about him much.”
Frowning, I pick at the label on the water bottle. “He’s so sweet and attentive, but there’s a part of himself he still keeps hidden.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he doesn’t talk about his childhood or his parents, and I’m not allowed to go to The Barn and visit him.”
“Why not?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. When we first started seeing each other, I asked if I could go with him to work one day to see where he spends so much time and meet Roy, but he blew me off. He says it’s not a place for women or some shit.” I wave my hand dismissively. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It is a big deal. He’s your boyfriend. You deserve to know where he works and who he’s hanging out with.”
“You think?”
“Yes.” She nods and grabs the water bottle so I’ll stop picking at it. “Maybe it was just because you two were fuck buddies. Maybe he didn’t want to introduce you to everyone because he wasn’t sure how long you were going to be around.”
“But we’re not fuck buddies anymore.”
“Exactly. Which means The Barn should be fair game.” Abby looks at her watch. “You should grab dinner and take it to him.”
“I don’t know,” I say, wondering how he would feel about that.
Abby and I usually study until eight or nine o’clock, and it’s only seven. Lincoln told me he was going to stay at The Barn late since I wouldn’t be home. If I know him, he hasn’t eaten.
She tucks her books into her bag, and I do the same. “Your call. We still on for tomorrow?”
“I’ll be here. Same place, same time.”
Abby swings her bag over her shoulder, and I follow her out. She stops before she gets to her car.
“I’ve never been in a relationship, so I can’t pretend to know how they work or what you should do, but I do know that communication is key. If he’s holding back and it’s bothering you, you should talk to him. He can’t fix it if he doesn’t know it’s broken.”
“What if he knows it’s broken but keeps ignoring it because he doesn’t want to put the time into it?”
Abby shrugs. “I guess that’s a possibility. But there’s only one way to find out.”
I watch Abby get in her car and pull away before I pop my trunk and dump my bag in. Once I’m settled in the front seat, I pull up Lincoln’s number and hit call.
The phone rings several times before going to voicemail, and I hang up without leaving a message. Mind made up, I drive across town to a diner and pick up several different types of sandwiches, fries, onion rings, and a dozen chocolate chip cookies.
If Lincoln hasn’t eaten, I’ll bet just about anything that the other guys in the gym haven’t eaten. And Mom always says the way to a man’s heart is food. I guess we’re about to find out if that’s true.
I pull up The Barn’s address on my phone and plug it into my GPS. Traffic is a little thick through town, and what should’ve been a fifteen-minute drive ends up taking closer to thirty. I eventually have to roll my windows down because the smell of onions is overwhelming.
My stomach knots at the strong odor, but feels better by the time I make it to The Barn.
This can’t be the right place.
I glance at my GPS again, double-check the address, and look around.
When Lincoln told me The Barn was worn down, he wasn’t kidding. The paint is chipped, the sidewalk worn, and there’s nothing more than a cracked flower pot and overgrown bushes out front. There’s no sign. No house number. No lighting. If there weren’t a slew of cars in the parking lot, I�
��d swear this place was abandoned.
With a gentle tug, I pull my keys out of the ignition, stuff them in my purse, and grab the food bags. When I turn around, I run into a hard chest and gasp.
Two warm hands reach out to steady me. The sun is setting, and it’s nearly dark, but I’m able to recognize the guy as one of Lincoln’s friends I met the night he and I first hooked up. I think his name is Deacon.
“Adley, right?” he asks, eyeing up the bags of food. “I’m Deacon. We met at The Broken Boot several months ago.”
“I remember,” I say, adjusting the bags in my arms when one tries to slip free.
“Here, let me help.” Deacon takes a few bags from my hands and nods toward the front door.
“You here to see Linc?”
“I am. I figured I’d bring him some dinner. Here, let me,” I say, stepping around him to get the front door.
A bell chimes when we walk in, but its sound is swallowed by the beat of music. People are milling about everywhere, and I don’t know a single one. Except for Deacon, of course.
Lincoln has kept me at arm’s length, but I didn’t realize until now exactly what that meant. This is the other half of his life. These are his co-workers, his family, his friends—the people he’s with when he isn’t with me. This is a huge part of his life that I am clearly not a part of.
“All this is for Lincoln?” he asks.
“Not all of it. I brought enough to feed a few extra people.”
Deacon looks at the bags in his hands and laughs. “You brought enough to feed a small army. The guys are going to love you. Hell, I love you. Why don’t I take all of this into the office for everyone while you go find Linc?”
“Okay.”
He starts to walk away, and I stop him when I notice I have the wrong bag in my hand.
“Wait.”
I shuffle the various bags until I find the one with an X. I had the guy at the diner mark it so I’d know which bag was for us and which ones are for the guys.
I swap bags with Deacon, and he disappears through a side door before I have a chance to ask him where Lincoln is.
“Well, aren’t you a pretty little thing?”
I look up and up into the glossy eyes of a stranger. He sways to the left, catching himself on the wall before toppling over, and I hold my purse and the food tight to my chest.
“I’m looking for Lincoln Bennett.”
He scrunches his nose up. “Why?”
“Because he’s my boyfriend,” I say, squaring my shoulders.
The stranger smiles, revealing two rows of bright white teeth. “Is that so?”
What is he getting at? I nod.
“Does Rose know that?”
“Rose?”
“Rose.” He repeats her name and turns around, pointing across the room. After a few seconds he says, “Well, she was just there a second ago.”
“Who was there a second ago?”
“Rose and Lincoln.” The guy scans the crowd, and he shrugs. “Not sure. They were there a second ago. Maybe they slipped into the locker room.”
Why on Earth would he slip into a locker room with another woman?
“Can you point me in the direction you think they might be?” I ask, trying my hardest to keep my voice calm and even.
“See that black door in the back? Go through there and hang a left.”
“Thank you.” I take a step and turn around. “What did you say your name was.”
He smiles. “I didn’t.”
18
Adley
I shudder as I watch him walk away, and then I turn and shove my way through the small crowd. Lincoln talked like there aren’t usually a lot of people here, but there’s easily twenty or thirty guys and a few women.
Some are working out, others are sitting at a table in the back playing poker, but mostly they’re standing around talking. The smell of sweat, stale beer, and cigarette smoke hangs heavy in the air, and when I bump into a woman, she turns and glares.
“Sorry,” I whisper, holding up my full hands so she knows I’m not a threat.
Holy shit. My heart is racing, but I feel a sliver of relief when I make it to the black door. It swings inward, and I step into a dark hallway. I follow the directions, push open the first door on the left, and stop short at the sight in front of me.
A petite woman with long blond hair is sitting on a bench. Her leg is stretched in front of her, resting on Lincoln’s lap, and she’s smiling at him as if he hung the moon. My blood runs cold when she reaches out and touches his arm.
It’s a soft touch.
A familiar touch.
“Do you think it’s broke?” she asks.
Lincoln is angled away from me, so I can’t really see what he’s doing.
“I don’t think so, but it’s going to hurt like a bitch tomorrow. That was one hell of a fall. Your ankle already looks like a damn softball.”
Lincoln does something to cause the woman to wince. “Maybe I should go the hospital and get an x-ray.”
“If you want. Or maybe give it a day or two. You’ve got a lot of swelling, and it’s already starting to bruise, but your range of motion is still pretty good.”
“I’m such a klutz.”
“You always have been.” He laughs and lifts his face, and I’d give anything to see how he’s looking at her. “You’re the only person I know who can trip over air.”
She slaps playfully at his shoulder and laughs, the sound cutting straight through me. “I’m not that bad.”
“Yeah, you are. Do you remember that time you tripped getting on the escalator at the mall?”
The woman snorts and covers her mouth. “Don’t remind me.”
“You plowed into three people trying to get up and ended up knocking over a little old lady.”
“She cussed me out.”
The easiness of their conversation makes me sick, and when Lincoln laughs warmly, I fight the urge to puke. Who is this woman, and why does she get to be here with him and I can’t?
“I know; I remember. And what about that time we were walking through Wal-Mart and you tripped and fell against the ball pit.”
“Hundreds of balls went flying.”
“That’s the only time I’ve been kicked out of a store.”
“But you’ve got to admit it was funny.”
He nods. “Hilarious.”
It’s obvious they’ve known each other for quite some time—and outside of here no less. The thought of them spending time together outside of The Barn causes my heart to race. I hate that they have this intimacy. I hate it even more that she gets to see this gentle side of him.
Lincoln fiddles with her foot and when their eyes meet, she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “So, does this Saturday still work for you?”
“I’ll be there,” he answers. “Thank you for planning this. It means a lot to me.”
Damn it, there she goes, touching his arm again. “Like I told you before, it’s my pleasure, and I’m always here for you.”
I can’t take any more. Clearing my throat, I step farther into the room. “Am I interrupting?”
The woman’s head snaps up, her bright blue eyes wide.
Lincoln swirls around and stands, causing the woman’s foot to fall from his lap. She winces, and I fight the urge to do a little victory dance when he doesn’t pay her any further attention.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, moving toward me.
“I brought you dinner, thought you might be hungry,” I say, holding up the bag of food. “But if you’re busy, I can just leave the food and meet you at home.”
Lincoln shakes his head and reaches for me. His hand curls around my hip, and he leans in to kiss my cheek. “I’m not busy. Just a little surprised to see you.”
My eyes drift to the woman over his shoulder. She’s watching us carefully. I might be jealous that she gets to be here with him when I don’t, but I still have manners. Handing the bag to Lincoln, I step around him an
d hold out my hand.
“Hi, I’m Adley.”
The girl swallows. She looks a little nervous, but she takes my hand. “Rose.”
The handshake is awkward and long, and I eventually pull away. I give Lincoln my best fake smile.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve called first. I’ll head back to your place. It’s been a long day, and I could use a hot shower.”
Lincoln’s eyes widen, and he takes a step forward, blocking me from leaving. “Stay.” He looks to Rose. “Can you walk? Or I can have one of the guys come help you?”
“Oh. Umm…” Rose looks at her swollen ankle and tries to stand. She’s a little wobbly at first, but takes a few steps with relative ease. “I’m good. It’s sore and stiff, but I can make it.”
“Rest, ice, compress, and elevate,” he tells her as she hobbles past.
“Yeah, yeah.” She waves him off. “This isn’t my first rodeo, and it won’t be my last.”
Neither one of says as a word as Rose walks out of the locker room. Finally, I turn toward Lincoln, but he doesn’t look at me.
Instead he nods toward the door. “Let’s get out of the locker room.”
I follow him down the hall to a back room that looks like someone’s office. Boxes and papers are stacked up in the corner, but other than the clutter, the place is clean.
Lincoln puts the food—which I’m sure is cold by now—on the desk and sits down. He blows out a breath and rubs his hands over his face. “You know I don’t want you here.”
“Because of her?”
“No,” he scoffs. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Really? I’m being ridiculous? You go all caveman when I have a study group with some of the guys in my class, but I walk in on you and Rose alone in the locker room, and I’m ridiculous? Her foot was in your lap. You were touching her and laughing with her.”
“She twisted her ankle.” He sighs. “I was the only one she trusted to look at it.”
“Oh, I’m sure that was her excuse.”
“Stop it, Adley. You’re making a big deal out of nothing. Are you really going to get mad at me for helping someone out? Should I have left her on the floor?”
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