Burned

by Unknown

  Nick rejoiced in having the ability to do that with her. Certain women he entertained were easy to draw under his spell, but he never thought Lincoln Hathaway would be one of those women.

  Life indeed had a strange way of turning around at the drop of a hat. He was finally looking towards the future. Not long ago, he was happy with his life as a playboy. He would have lived that way until he was too old to care about women. Now he looked forward to his days off and having Lincoln as the only woman to share his space.

  He dipped the brush in the paint again. His happy walk down life’s road did have a glitch. The glitch was Anthony, who was determined to ruin what he and Lincoln were building. He’d thought about going to Melanie to let her know what Anthony was doing. Only Melanie was quick to jump ship, and that would leave Anthony available to pursue Lincoln aggressively.

  Brian McKnight’s “Love of My Life” drifted from the speakers. It took Nick back to their official first date. That was the turning point for him. He knew from that night that he would do anything and everything to please her. Those lyrics hit home for him.

  His cell phone rang and jarred him. “Hello.”

  “Hey, what are you doing?”

  The sound of Lincoln’s voice filled his ears and heart with joy. “I’m painting and thinking about you. How is your day going?”

  “To be honest, I’m having a hard time concentrating at work.”

  “Is everything okay?” He asked.

  “Yes, I’m jealous you’re home and I’m here slaving away. I should be helping you paint my apartment.”

  He grinned into the phone. “Do you think that would be wise? I’m shirtless and got a little sweat going on. I don’t think you’d be able to resist having your way with me.”

  “Nick, what am I going to do with you?”

  “Nothing, but love me and let me worry about the rest.”

  “You make it easy for me to love you. However, if you are worrying about me, don’t. I’ve been thinking, Nick.”

  He leaned his shoulder against the wall and paused before asking her what about. When a woman says she’d been thinking, that could be mean danger. “What are you thinking about?”

  “First you have to promise me you won’t fly off the handle. I need you to keep your head.”

  Her voice didn’t carry any accusation or incrimination of anything he might have done, only soft compassion and concern. “Okay, I promise. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

  “Baby, I think it was Anthony outside my window. Nick, watch your back as far as he goes. He has snapped and is not the same person anymore.”

  He pumped his fist happy that burden had lifted. “I came to the conclusion it was him too. But, I’m not worried about him, and I don’t want us to lose any sleep over him. I will take care of Anthony once and for all.”

  “No. That is exactly what I don’t want you to do. Nick, I’m going to take care of this. He should hear it from me that it is over.”

  “You’ve done that already, Lincoln.”

  “He’s seen me cry and I even smacked the hell out of him. What he doesn’t know is how important you are to me. He’ll hear the words come from me that I’m in love with you and he can hate me for the rest of his life.”

  He sighed. “I don’t like that idea, Lincoln. But I know you’re going to do it no matter how I feel. Just promise me, you’ll confront Anthony at the firehouse. At least there, Jon and the other guys will be around if he flips out.”

  “That wasn’t where I wanted to do it, but I will. Don’t forget to pick me up at quitting time since I don’t have my car.”

  He chuckled. “I would never forget you.”

  “Well, I have a bone to pick with you, too.”

  “Uh-oh, what did I do?”

  “Regan said you dropped out of the wedding. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. You are not going to let Anthony win, baby. So stop by her house and get your tuxedo before you get me.”

  “Man, Orlando has a big mouth,” he groaned. “Okay, I’ll get the tux.”

  “Thank you, baby. I have to get back to work. I love you.”

  “I love you too, sweetheart.” He clicked off the phone wondering how it was possible to be this happy and not burst.

  *****

  Lincoln decided to call Anthony while she had a few minutes of her lunch hour left. Despise for him tingled in her spine as she dialed his number. She hadn’t spoken to him since Nick’s arrest.

  “Hello.”

  She cringed, and bile rose in her throat when he answered the phone.

  “I know this is you, Lincoln. If you’re doing a crank call, block your number.”

  Her throat closed, and she had to force the words past the blockage. “I’m not making a crank call.”

  “So, why are you calling? I’m sure it’s not to inquire about my health.”

  “You are so right about that. We need to talk. When are you available to meet with me and alone?”

  “Not now. I’m at work.”

  “I didn’t say now. If you’d been listening, I said when you are available.” The harsh words flew from her mouth unprovoked.

  “Tomorrow will work for me. I’ll meet you at the pier at noon.”

  She clicked her tongue and scoffed, “There is no way in hell I’d meet you at the lake.”

  “Honestly, Lincoln, you think I’m going to push you in the lake? That’d be too easy.”

  She heard the sarcasm in his voice. “No, I don’t think you would intentionally push me in. However, you would tell the police that I slipped and fell in the lake. That’s how the story would go right?”

  “I don’t have time for bullshit, Lincoln.”

  “Funny you don’t have time for bullshit but you have a lot of time to stalk my apartment at night.”

  “You’re crazy. That’s probably one of Nick’s jilted lovers stalking his ass. God knows he has numerous of them to choose from and now you’re sleeping with his nasty ass.”

  She released a snide remark. “I was thinking the same about you when your ass butt-dialed me while you were screwing Melanie. Anyhow, we don’t need to meet after all. Stay the hell away from me and my apartment. I don’t want you, and there is nothing left to salvage if Melanie walks out on you again.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself, Lincoln. Melanie and I are doing just fine together. In fact, we’re looking at a pretty bright future together.”

  Anthony was an asshole, and if Lincoln weren’t at work, she would let him have it with both barrels. Calmly she said, “I’m happy for you. You have what you’ve always wanted, and now I have what I want.”

  “If you’re referring to Nick being what you want, then you need to keep looking.”

  Her voice took on the tone of a woman with her head stuck in the clouds. And with Anthony finally out of the picture, she would allow herself to float freely on cloud nine as well. “Nick is not only what I want but what I need. I finally have a man that loves me unconditionally. He doesn’t hide any secrets from me, and he has proven his past is just that…his past. See, Anthony, the difference between you and Nick is he is honest. I know I’m the only woman in his life.”

  “Stop acting like a girl with a schoolboy crush, Lincoln. You’re an idiot if you stay with him.”

  “Why don’t you stop whining like a bitch and accept that you’ve been replaced in my life! Dog Nick and call him a racist all you want. It won’t change that I love him. Just admit that is what is eating at you. You hate that not only am I with Nick, but that I’m sleeping with him. And I must say the sex is, slap ya momma, damn fantastic!” She chuckled into the phone anticipating he was enraged by now. “Nick is so good in bed, that I don’t even remember what it was like with you. So, be with Melanie and fill your life with memories and more kids, I don’t care anymore.”

  Lincoln disconnected the call without giving him a chance to respond. Her steps felt light as she walked back to her office. The sincere smiles she gave to co-workers that she passed in the
hallway were not contrived. Her smiles were real again as joy filled her heart.

  At the end of the work day, Lincoln waited outside for Nick. She waved to him as he pulled his red pickup truck to the curb. She hopped in throwing her stuff in the back of the cab. “I’m glad this day is over. How was your day, baby?”

  Nick raised a brow. “You’re in a good mood. Did you get a raise?”

  She tilted her head and looked at him. “I work for the government, remember. Besides, I’m in a good mood because life is good.”

  He pulled away from the curb. “Yeah, life is good. So where are we headed? Do you want to grab some take-out or dine-in?”

  “I’ll cook for us. I want to spend a quiet evening at home with you.”

  “What’s going on, Lincoln?”

  She saw the reflection of her change in attitude written across his face. “I decided to call Anthony instead of meeting with him. I laid it out and didn’t hold back.”

  “You told him everything.”

  “I told him everything. He knows you are the love of my life, Nick. Anthony is no longer important to me.”

  He took her hand and held it. “Baby, I’m proud of you. That took guts to stand up to him.”

  “No, it didn’t. I had to do it before I lost you.”

  He frowned. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Not now, but you would eventually if I didn’t step up and let Anthony know where I stand with him. The arguing back and forth only led him to believe I still cared about him, and that’s not true, I’m ready to start our journey, Nick.”

  He squeezed her hand. “I’ve been ready for that for a long time, baby.”

  Nick had finished cleaning the kitchen and was lying across the bed watching television when Lincoln came into the bedroom. She wore nothing but a towel wrapped around her body.

  She crawled on the bed and kissed him on the cheek. “What are you watching?”

  He turned his head to receive her light kiss. “Rerun highlights from an old football game. You smell great.”

  “You like my new fragrance?”

  “Yeah, it’s sexy, just like you.”

  She pushed him over on the bed, so he was on his back with her on top of him. She straddled him, feeling his hardness rubbing between her thighs. Nick moaned as her soft hands caressed his face. Lincoln let her fingers seductively outlined the sexy shape of his full lips.

  “What are you doing? You can’t get the motor started and then stop it,” he grinned.

  “Who’s trying to stop it?” Her hands moved from his face to his chest. Pushing up his shirt, she continued to trace every detail of his defined chest. Nick sucked in a deep breath as her tongue flicked lightly across his right nipple. He attempted to touch her, but she held down his hands.

  She let him up long enough to take off his shirt. Her moist tongue circled his nipples gently sucking each one. He moaned letting her continue to devour his body as she moved down placing soft kisses to his stomach. She felt him twitch as her fingers unzipped the fly of his jeans, and her hand reach inside to close around his aroused manhood.

  “Take off your pants,” she ordered. She helped him tug his pants and jockeys down his legs.

  She knelt on the floor between his legs and admired his size and girth in her hand. She said, “You’re so beautiful.” And slowly and methodically, she took him inside her mouth. Her eyes shut as he grew larger once her mouth closed around him. She pulled back so she wouldn’t choke.

  Nick clenched his teeth, his head thrown back and his eyes squeezed shut. “Jesus,” he growled louder through clenched teeth.

  She looked up at him. Nick lifted on his elbows and in a raspy voice said, “You don’t know what that does to me.”

  Lincoln released him from her mouth and stood up. The towel dropped from around her body as she straddled his lap. Her mouth covered his, letting her tongue search and find his to play. The seductive hip dance started. She let her hips grind against his pelvis but refused him entry as he pressed back against her.

  Nick reached for her breasts, cupping them fully in his large hands. She broke the kiss and dropped her head back. He kissed down her chest using his fingers to pinch her nipples before his mouth sucked gently on each sensitive nipple.

  He slipped a hand between them to concentrate on her womanhood. His fingers sought entry into her wet folds. She moaned as he massaged her pulsating center. Her breathing became rapid the more his fingers maneuvered and manipulated between the layers.

  She couldn’t control her body from quivering. Seconds later an earth-shaking orgasm shattered her to pieces. Nick removed his fingers and adjusted his hardness to ease only slightly inside of her. Lincoln’s tight canal eagerly awaited him, as he inched inside, slowly. Her throat let loose another moan as he gave her time to adjust his size. He held her by the hips so she couldn’t move.

  He had taken control of the situation. She wanted the seduction to be about him but lost her control, and she didn’t fight to get it back. He was a master at lovemaking, and she was his at his command when it came to him getting what he wanted.

  Lincoln rested her head on his forehead. Their bodies covered with a light sweat. She was ready for more of him, but he held still. She could only assume he was keeping his orgasm from arriving too soon. She tempted him by flexing her inner muscles around the portion of his erection that had penetrated her body. Nick’s breathing was heavy, but his voice was certain when he said, “Baby, you’re mine.”

  Placing his hands under her buttocks to steady her, he positioned her to receive his forward thrust. She pushed down on him to get more, and he gave her more and aggressively. She rode Nick hard until he grunted, and his head went back on the pillows with his eyes tightly shut.

  He bucked and pounded her with a surge of power she’d never felt him use before. Lincoln exploded again as her hips slapped hard on his thighs, the pleasure outweighing the pain that shot through her body with each of his demanding thrusts.

  Nick released a loud growl, and his arms fell to his side. Lincoln rested on his chest, their hearts beating fast, and in the same rhythm. They were truly one person at that moment.

  Lincoln rolled off him and sat up on the side of the bed. She looked at Nick and grinned. “What’s the matter, I know you aren't worn out?”

  Nick didn’t open his eyes but smiled. “Baby, I never thought I would ever say these words.”

  She ran her hand teasingly up his body. Her fingernails combed through the fine black hair covering his legs. “Tell me.”

  He cracked his eyes opened. “You have worn my ass out. I actually need a nap.”

  She picked the towel up from the floor and got off the bed. Leaning down to kiss him, she said, “You take a nap. I’m going to take another shower.”

  He seemed to fall asleep instantly as she looked over her shoulder at him lying crooked on the rumpled bed. She shook her head let a heartwarming smile spread across her face. She closed the bedroom behind her so the water running in the bathroom wouldn’t disturb him.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Lincoln barely made it to the bathroom before her stomach emptied last night’s dinner in the toilet bowl. Her stomach felt a little sick yesterday, but it passed after she took two Alka-Seltzer tablets. Evelyn had come to work sick and sneezed all over the work area they shared. Lincoln begged her most of the morning to go home. She couldn’t afford to take any more time off before Regan’s wedding. Evelyn finally went, but it was too late, her germs had already spread.

  She turned on the water in the sink. The sound of the rushing water got her stomach rumbling again. The saliva in her mouth increased as she dashed over to the toilet to throw up again. She gripped the towel rack knowing this was not going to be a good day.

  Lincoln managed to finish her shower and get dressed. Thank goodness Nick had returned to work and wasn’t home to see her suffering or he’d insist she get back in bed. She poured a glass of orange juice and took a sip. The acid hit her stomach
and it started to churn. She immediately dumped the juice down the drain.

  Her cell phone rang. It was lying on the coffee table. Her head felt so light she didn’t think she would make it that far without passing out. “Hello.” Her voice was rasp.

  “Lincoln, what’s wrong with you, girl?”

  “Good morning, Mom. I think I’m catching a cold. My co-worker has been sick all week.”

  “Aw, baby, is there anything I can do for you? I’m still your mother and can take care of you.”

  Lincoln managed to grin through the sick stomach that teetered on emptying again. She imagined she would throw up organs since no food was left. “A pot of your chicken soup would be good, but I have to go to work.”

  “You can’t go to work sick. Are you running a fever? If you are, you need to stay home in bed.”

  “I’ll be okay, Mom. What are you doing today?” She had to change the subject or her mother would be at her apartment with a stockpot full of chicken soup ready to nurse her back to health.

  “We were going out to dinner tonight and wanted you to join us but if you are sick, that’s okay.”

  “No, I want to come. I’ll be okay once my day gets going.”

  “Honey, if you are sure. I’ll call you before you get off work tonight.”

  “Bye, Mom.”

  She got her purse and keys from the table and suddenly her body ached all over. She stood in the middle of her apartment and closed her eyes. The urge to flop on the sofa crossed her mind. She dragged her aching body to the door and forced it open.

  What stood on the other side of it would have made death more welcoming. Lincoln stared in the amber eyes of Melanie. She looked attractive and healthy at 6:30 in the morning. She wore a pastel pink and purple dress with matching handbag, and the sweet scent of an expensive perfume drifted from her overpowering the less expensive fragrance of Lincoln’s floral body spray.