Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
She moistens her lips with the tip of her tongue and I let my mind roam for just a second, imagining myself lunging toward her to kiss her and press her down against the mattress.
She’s twenty-six and if only two people have seen her naked, I imagine they were both sexual partners. I already know her well enough to know she’s uptight in bed. Fuck, how I’d love to bring her to the brink over and over with edging, making her tell me what she wants in order to finally get it.
“I’m ready, Linc,” she says softly.
“Right.” I shake myself out of the daydream, hoping she can’t see my erection.
At least I’ve got jeans on instead of the damned long underwear. I sleep with my back to her every night, so I don’t have to worry about her waking up and finding my hard dick poking the bedcovers into the air. Or worse, touching her when I’m on my side facing her.
“Okay, we’re going to inhale for one...two...three.” I keep my hand on hers to make sure her chest is rising and falling. “Hold for one...two. Now a long exhale. One...two...three...four.”
She closes her eyes as I count and she breathes. It’s a heady sensation, having her trust me with the knowledge she has anxiety and being allowed to help her manage it. When we were thrown together in this situation, she was forced to rely on me, but now she’s choosing to.
I’m past the locked gate she puts up to protect herself, and it makes me want to throw my own gate open and let her see me, too.
Dalton’s face appears in my mind, and I imagine myself having to tell him the team captain and friend he trusts like a brother fucked his younger sister when she was in a vulnerable place.
Many times. Because it definitely wouldn’t just be once.
I can’t do it. I mean, I could, but I won’t. I’m a better man than that.
I’ll just have to find a way to resist my primal urges toward Trinity while we’re trapped together in a one-room cabin. With one bed. And a bathtub she likes to soak naked in.
Fuck.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Trinity
Linc gives me an approving look as I finish eating the bowl of oatmeal he made me for breakfast.
“Feeling better?” he asks.
“Yes. I felt like I was about thirty percent myself for the past few days, and today, it’s more like sixty. My headache is almost gone.”
“Good.”
“The brown sugar and raisins in that oatmeal were really good.”
“The only thing that was missing was some really good butter. When we make it back home, I’ll make you a bowl with butter, too, and you’ll see.”
I smile, thinking about home and how much I miss it. “Home’s two different places for us, though.”
He cringes. “You must hate living in Chicago.”
“Not at all, I love it there.”
“It’s a fun city to visit, but it’s too much for me. Traffic’s crazy.”
“Yeah, I have a car but I don’t really drive it except for weekends.”
He leans back against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms over his chest. I try not to look too thirsty as I check out his arms, the definition of his muscles showing through the gray thermal shirt he’s wearing.
“What’s your place like?” he asks me.
“My apartment?” I laugh lightly. “It’s tiny. I live downtown and apartments are stupid expensive there. It’s a one-bedroom and my bed is lofted to make room for my desk beneath it. My living room and kitchen are small and overflowing with plants. Karma has a cat hammock in the living room window where she lies all day and passes judgment on everyone who walks by.”
“What color is Karma?”
“She’s the most beautiful shade of gray.” I walk over to the sink with my breakfast bowl and spoon. “What about you? Do you live in a brothel?”
He grins. “Not even close, smart-ass. I have a house on the outskirts of Minneapolis.”
“Is it furnished, or are you one of those bed, big screen and recliner guys?”
“Fully furnished. I’ve even got two guest rooms.”
I arch my brows, impressed. “Look at you, hosting people. Do you leave clean towels stacked on the bed and a chocolate on their pillows?”
“Fuck no. My housekeeper makes the beds and all that.”
I use snow water to rinse my dishes in the sink. “Dalton refuses to stay the night with me when he’s in Chicago because I only have a love seat and one chair in my living room. My mom is so short she can fit on the love seat just fine.”
“Dalton’s a puss about that stuff.”
“Tell me about it.”
I grab a towel to dry the dishes, our eyes locking for a second. When I’m standing this close to him, our height difference seems more pronounced. I’ve never been with a man as tall as him or as in shape.