Love At Last

by Cooper, Sharon C.

  “You ready to do this?” she asked.

  Lincoln chuckled. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “I’m sure you’re going to do just fine.”

  He looped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. “Maybe this will inspire me.”

  His lips gently touched hers at first but quickly turned heated and a spark of awareness shot through her system. Besides the physical attraction, there was some serious chemistry between them that just couldn’t be ignored. Carolyn kissed him back with just as much passion. Any inhibitions she’d felt about dating again fell away. Instead, a ball of energy enveloped her and she glided her hands up the front of his body, fisting the material of his Henley.

  Don’t stop. Don’t stop. The words swirled in her head while their tongues tangled. As if reading her mind, he held her closer against his hard body and deepened the kiss. Carolyn’s heart rate kicked up another notch. She couldn’t care less that they were surrounded by other bowlers. The people and sounds around them faded into the background while she and Lincoln explored the inner recesses of each other’s mouth, leaving no area untouched.

  Like the first time at the bistro, his kiss ignited something deep inside of her. Carolyn had been with enough men to know that his kisses were different. Special. It was like being transported on a soft, fluffy cloud to a place so serene, a peace settled over her. This was what she needed. This was what she yearned for. This was how she wanted to feel all the time with a man.

  She didn’t know how long they stood molded together, but she moaned when Lincoln slowly lifted his head, leaving her mouth burning with desire. He touched his forehead to hers, their uneven breaths mingling.

  “Now that I’ve tasted your enticing lips again, I’m going to bowl a three hundred.”

  Laughing, Carolyn pushed away. “Yeah, right. We’ll see.”

  Thirty minutes later, she leapt into the air and did a fist pump. “Yes! Four strikes in a row!”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’ve proven that you’re the queen of the lanes.” Lincoln kissed her on the lips. He’d given her a kiss each time she bowled a strike, making that six kisses this game, and she craved more.

  Glancing at the overhead monitor displaying their scores, Carolyn smiled. She hadn’t held back, but hadn’t expected to do this well since she hadn’t bowled in a while.

  “Okay, you’re up. I have a feeling you’re going to knock down all the pins this time and break a hundred.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see.” Lincoln lifted the bowling ball as if it weighed nothing. Standing in front of the pins, his height and broad shoulders were on full display making him appear even taller than his six-foot-plus stature. Though she felt bad that he wasn’t bowling well and at times seemed frustrated, she hadn’t had this much fun in a long time.

  Lincoln moved forward and released the ball. The power behind his roll and the sound of the pins slamming together was like a roar of thunder shaking the building. Even after all of that, only five pins fell.

  Carolyn burst out laughing.

  “It’s not that funny.”

  “Yes, it is. You roll that ball so hard, it’s a wonder all the pins in the building didn’t fall.”

  He ran a hand over his head and again frustration showed on his face. “Any tips?”

  “Maybe don’t roll the ball so hard. You’re confusing the pins. They’re bumping into each other unsure of what to do. Instead of falling they spin and wobble but remain standing.”

  His brows dip. “You’re not serious. Confusing them? They’re damn pins. You’re talking like they have a mind or something.”

  Carolyn laughed again, unable to help herself. She moved closer. Her hands gripped his thick biceps and she dropped her voice to almost a whisper and her mouth brushed against his ear. “Treat those pins like you would treat me if you were trying to bring me pleasure. I imagine you would take your time kissing and touching every inch of my body with your big, strong, powerful hands. Stroking … caressing … loving on me with authority, but also with a gentleness that would have me whimpering your name and begging for more.”

  A tingle crept up Carolyn’s inner thighs as her words evoked erotic thoughts of what it would feel like to have Lincoln buried deep inside of her. Her heart pounded hard against her chest as she held onto him tighter, struggling to press down the desire suddenly raging within her. The last thing she should be thinking about was getting intimate with him while hanging out in a bowling alley, but if they ever made love, no doubt it would be deliciously intense.

  His hand moved to her hip and he pulled her against his body, staring down at her lips. He lowered his head, excruciatingly slow, causing her to pant for what she knew was coming. His mouth, only a breath from hers, suddenly stopped. “You might be on to something.”

  Carolyn tsked when his hand slipped from her body, immediately missing the heat from his touch. He grabbed his bowling ball like a man on a mission. She watched each measured step he took. It was as if a different person was bowling. The ball glided smoothly down the alley, picking off each pin one by one, giving him a spare. Since it was the tenth frame, he bowled again and got his first strike of the night.

  Carolyn jumped up and cheered, “Yes! Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

  Lincoln walked back to her with purpose and didn’t stop until he had her wrapped in his arms. “You should’ve given me that sexy-ass tip nine frames ago.” His mouth devoured hers, again. She succumbed to the forceful domination of his lips, neither caring that they drew attention from the other bowlers as he aroused a passion rivaling their earlier kiss.

  When he finally let her up for air she said, “Well, hell. If I knew you’d kiss me like that, I would’ve.”

  *

  Lincoln readjusted in the small seat, glad they were in the tenth frame of their last game. He’d been semi-hard from the moment he picked up Carolyn from home, finding her looking hotter than the last time they were together. Now observing her as she prepared to bowl, his gaze drifted down to the way her tight jeans hugged her perfectly shaped butt. All night he suffered through watching the way her fitted, red, V-neck shirt rode up each time she bowled. The garment molded to her body and showed off full breasts, a flat stomach, and a tiny waist. Throughout the evening, he struggled to keep his hands off her, and the stolen kisses made him want her that much more.

  Lincoln sat up straight and braced himself for his favorite part of bowling with Carolyn. She stood on the approach, the part of the lane that was behind the foul line, with the ball held high just below her eyes. She studied the pins and did a little wiggle until her slow, measured steps carried her forward.

  Left. Right. Left …

  The hypnotic rock of her hips and her sexy ass walk had him gripping the arms of his seat tighter. No doubt she’d been the secret weapon for her team when she bowled on a league. Her progression down the lane was such a distraction, men on nearby lanes took notice. Every step she took toward the foul line was magnificently choreographed down to the …

  Carolyn released the ball. It spiraled straight down the lane and the moment it made contact, the pins slammed into each other before crashing down, giving her yet another strike. Chuckling, Lincoln shook his head. Magnificent. It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman and everything about this one turned him on.

  She turned on tiptoes like a ballerina and did a fist pump in the air and his chest tightened. Her shirt lifted just enough to give him another peek of smooth, caramel skin.

  “We need to get the hell out of here,” he mumbled to himself. No way he could take much more of that.

  *

  Two hours later, Carolyn seductively licked Graeter’s pumpkin ice cream off her spoon as she stared across her small kitchen table into Lincoln’s eyes. He narrowed his gaze and she smiled.

  He stood and moved to the counter. “You’re playing with fire. But you know that, right?”

  Carolyn chuckled, knowing she shouldn’t tease him, but she was having too
much fun. The sexual tension raging between them at the bowling alley and then again at the restaurant exploded off the charts. The ice cream was meant to cool them both off.

  Lincoln grabbed the coffee pot and refilled their mugs. Her gaze followed him as he moved around the small kitchen. His large body making the space seem even smaller. “I have to be honest with you. When you suggested having dessert at your place, I had something else in mind.”

  Carolyn’s brow lifted, teasingly. “Oh really. What did you have in mind, Mr. Richwood?”

  She would have seduced him right into her bed after leaving the bowling alley. But that was the old Carolyn. She loved the way she had changed. No more meaningless sex with meaningless men. Going forward, she planned to keep her skirt down and her legs closed … until she found the man worth spending the rest of her life with. And that might just be Lincoln.

  After bowling, they stopped at Gold Star Chili, satisfying her taste for a cheese coney, something Lincoln had never tried before. The hot dog with chili, onions, and a heaping mound of shredded cheddar cheese, was one of her favorites. Now they were sharing a huge bowl of ice cream and conversation. It amazed her how their discussions flowed effortlessly as if they’d been friends for years.

  Lincoln leaned his back against the counter, his arms folded across his wide chest. “I’m sure you know what I had in mind. First you set my body on fire with those kisses and then you sent my imagination spiraling into a different stratosphere with that amorous bowling tip. And don’t even get me started on that sexy-ass approach you used each time you bowled. Have you always bowled like that?”

  Grinning, Carolyn shook her head. “One night, back in high school, some friends and I went bowling. There was this lady there bowling strike after strike. She had the coolest technique. It was all in her approach, how she swayed down the lane before releasing her ball. She caught everyone’s attention, including mine. After that, I worked on perfecting my moves. What you saw tonight was developed from years of practice.” She shrugged. “It works.”

  Lincoln reclaimed his seat. They continued eating ice cream while discussing their favorite desserts and then the conversation changed to relationships.

  “You’ve talked about your ex-husbands, but you haven’t mentioned Martina’s father. Was he someone you went to school with?”

  Carolyn gripped her spoon tighter before setting it down next to the bowl. Several emotions battled within her. Sadness. Anger. Disappointment. Hate. Maybe not hate, but a strong dislike for Rodrick Lachey raged within her, a sentiment she still had trouble shaking loose.

  “Hey,” Lincoln covered her hand and squeezed, “if this is a touchy subject, we don’t have to discuss it. I was just—”

  “He was the first man I’d ever loved. Actually, he might’ve been the only man I’ve ever truly loved, including my ex-husbands. What I felt for Rodrick was so powerful, it touched the inner most part of my soul. I lived and breathed that man.”

  Lincoln remained silent, his gaze steady on her as he caressed the back of her hand. Rarely did Carolyn discuss that time in her life, but she wanted full disclosure with Lincoln. She liked him more than she probably should right now, and if their time together was any indication, she could definitely see a future with him. But what would he think of her once he heard her story?

  Carolyn’s chest tightened. She stood abruptly, finding it hard to stay seated. Pacing near the table, she rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if that would help her tell him about the worst time of her life.

  “I met him at a book store my first year of college. He was tall, dark, and handsome … like you. He was funny, charming, and swept me off my feet within a week of meeting him. Six years older, he was established, had a good job, a car, and his own apartment. I couldn’t believe he was interested in me. That made me feel so grown up whenever we were together. When in reality I was just a kid.

  “God, I was so naïve.” Her fists balled at her sides. Anger ripped through her, latching on to her heart and squeezing, yanking on her heart strings. “I was a fool and no match for his charm. He got me pregnant during my first semester of college. I was excited and scared at the same time. When I told him the news, I honestly thought he would be happy. We’d get married and live happily ever after. Wrong. He accused me of sleeping around and insisted that it wasn’t his child. I was …” Carolyn blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall and swallowed hard. “I was … crushed.”

  Lincoln stood and pulled her to him, kissing the side of her head. “Aw, sweetheart.”

  “I was so stupid,” she mumbled against his chest, not feeling any solace despite his warm embrace and the gentleness of his hand rubbing her back.

  “Come on now. You’re being too hard on yourself. Besides, no one could ever accuse you of being stupid.”

  “He was married.”

  Lincoln stiffened. He didn’t move, nor did he speak, clearly shocked by her revelation. His arms went slack and Carolyn stepped back.

  “I didn’t know. Lincoln, I swear I didn’t know he was married. It wasn’t until my father hired a private investigator to hunt Rodrick down, did I find out he had a wife and two kids.”

  A sob slipped out and Carolyn covered her mouth with her hand, shutting her eyes to squash the emotions threatening to burst free. She refused to cry. She had shed enough tears during that situation to last a lifetime. No way would she allow another tear to fall.

  She took several slow breaths through her nose before reopening her eyes only to find Lincoln’s troubled gaze boring into her. Now that she had started telling him, she had to finish. Turning from him, she busied herself at the sink preparing dishwater.

  “I’ll never be able to erase the memory of my parents’ face when I told them I was pregnant. And then when my father found out Rodrick wanted nothing to do with me or the baby…” Anguish lodged into her windpipe, strangling the words she wanted to speak. She braced her sudsy hands on the edge of the sink. “My father ingrained in us the importance of carrying ourselves with respect and dignity. We were taught at a young age that everything we did or said reflected on him and my mother, as well as the family. And what did I do the minute I gained a little freedom? I screwed up. I let them down over and over again.”

  She trembled when Lincoln touched her shoulders. His arms went around her, pulling her back against him, bringing her a peace she wished she’d felt back then.

  “I have never seen my father that angry in all of my life. I honestly thought he was going to kill Rodrick when he found him.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I can’t imagine what that was like for you, but as a father …” Those last words were filled with such emotion. Carolyn knew he was thinking about his twenty-two-year-old daughter. “Your parents might’ve been disappointed, but I’m sure their main concern was that you were safe.”

  Carolyn dried her hands before turning in Lincoln’s arms. “The part that bothers me the most is that I didn’t know Rodrick was married. We always hung out at his apartment. I had no idea he had another home and a family. It’s like I have ‘I’m into married men’ stamped on my forehead that only they can see. You would be amazed at how many of them approach and flirt with me. It disgusts me,” she spat out.

  Lincoln shook his head. “Now I understand your reaction to me when I showed an interest in you while still wearing my wedding band. I’m sorry.”

  Carolyn swiped at her eyes. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I ruined our date.”

  “Sweetheart, you didn’t ruin anything. I have enjoyed every minute with you. As far as Martina’s father, he’s an asshole who intentionally misled you. Charming you, taking you to his apartment, pretending he was single, you didn’t miss the signs that he was married because he gave you the information he wanted you to know. But thank you for telling me this. I knew you were a remarkable woman, now I know you’re resilient, too. You didn’t let that situation make you bitter.”

  Carolyn let out a humorle
ss laugh. “Oh trust me, there was plenty of bitterness spewed, but the love my family showered on me during that time kept me lifted. The Jenkins family is strong. We support each other no matter what.”

  Lincoln nodded, feeling the same about his family. “I look forward to meeting them.” Cradling her face within his hands, he searched her eyes. Carolyn had no idea what he was thinking, but the compassion shining in his eyes almost brought her to tears. “In the meantime of meeting your family, I want you to meet some of the people in my life. Each year, one of the partners hosts a small holiday dinner party. It’s semi-formal and it’s in a couple of weeks. Will you be my date?”

  Carolyn covered his hand with hers. “I would love to be your date.”

  Chapter Eight

  Lincoln rocked back in his desk chair, tapping his pen against the open file folder in front of him. He’d been staring at the same document on his computer screen for the past thirty minutes and couldn’t tell anyone what he’d just read. Most Saturday mornings he went into the office, but today he had decided to work from home thinking he’d get more work done. Yet, all day his mind kept drifting to Carolyn. They’d spent every day together for the past two weeks and she had definitely worked her way into his heart. He couldn’t remember having as much fun with anyone, not even Vicky. And that bothered him.

  Dropping the pen on this desk, Lincoln rubbed his hand over his head and down the back of his neck. He missed Vicky and would always cherish the life they once had. But being with Carolyn, he felt more alive than he had in years. Her energy, love for life, sense of humor, and sweet disposition brightened the dark days he had come accustomed to. He liked everything about her … well, almost everything.