Page 95 of Chasing Lynda

Dodge tilts his head interrogatively. “Why not? You won it fair and square.”

She shakes her head. “There’s no way I can take it, knowing that you aren’t getting any money from the insurance. And before you say that that’s not my problem, you let me stay with you guys. You feed me and bought me a ton of clothes and makeup.”

Dodge’s eyes darken at her words and there’s a definite tightness in his square jaw, but his voice is soft when he speaks to her next. “We invited you to stay with us because we like you. You don’t owe us anything, Lynda. We just—” He pulls her down onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist. “We just take care of our own and you fit right in with us, just as well as Callie does.”

She still sounds unconvinced. “But Callie is your sister.”

I lower myself onto the seat next to Dodge’s and pull her onto my own lap by her small, delicate hand. She comes over without resisting. “Look,” I say to her, staring into her eyes to make sure to drive the message home. “Blood has very little to do with it. Callie and Dodge are the only siblings by blood but the four of us, we’re brothers. We chose each other a long time ago and I think the others will agree when I tell you that for some reason, we’ve also chosen you.”

My brothers all agree, there’s a nod from each of them around the table.

“Of course the fact that you’re smoking hot didn’t hurt at all,” Bennet says with a wink and none of us can resist the urge to rib him. “Seriously, Bennie-boy.” I chuckle, “I’ll never understand how the fuck you get all the pussy you get. If that’s the normal quality of your pick up lines ...”

Bennett laughs at my dig, flipping me off but there’s no heat in it; that’s how we show our brotherly love for each other. “I speak the truth, asshole, that’s how. And I have some fucking great moves on the dance floor. Come on GT, let’s see how you shake that perfect bootie of yours and hopefully this time we won’t be interrupted by any assholes thinking they’ve got the right to dance with you.”

He extends his hand to Lynda in an obvious invitation but I nip it in the bud. “Fuck, no. I’ve got Lynda in my arms and I call fucking dibs.” I set the money down on the low glass table in front of us. “You guys decide what you want to do with this money, since our beautiful girl doesn’t want it.”

I rise from my chair, pulling Lynda up with me. “Wanna dance?” I whisper in her ear, looking toward the opened patio door of the living room. Now that the beer pong game has come to an end, most people are either hanging out by the hot tub or are dancing in the dark living room.

Lynda twists her lips in that adorable way of hers when she’s trying to make a decision. “I’d love to dance with you, Carter. But I’m not great with crowds. It looks packed in there.”

Truth be told, I’m really over this party; it’s loud, crowded and aside from the guys, I haven’t seen anyone I’d particularly like to hang out with. “Let’s get out of here then.”

I guide Lynda away from the house through the backyard that slopes gently onto the private beach.

There’s a full moon tonight, pale but brighter than the eco-lights that illuminate the beach; everything looks softer and more romantic under its silver light, but what makes the scene perfect is the gorgeous, mysterious woman by my side.

We take our shoes off and walk holding hands on the cold sand and for a while neither of us needs to say anything.

Having her by my side feels right and peaceful, it quiets the usual turmoil in my head, filling my head with entirely different kinds of thoughts.

A wayward wave reaches us, lapping at our feet. “Oh my God!” Lynda shrieks, jumping closer to me. “The water’s freezing!”

I chuckle, mentally thanking the marine gods for being my perfect wingmen. I close my arms around her. “If you need someone to keep you warm, beautiful, I volunteer.”

It’s Lynda’s turn to laugh. “You sound like a tribute in The Hunger Games. And then you make fun of Bennett for his pick up lines.”

My smile widens; this is why I really like Lynda. She isn’t fake or high maintenance and I don’t feel the need to pretend I’m someone else around her. I don’t need to be cool or prove anything. “That wasn’t a pick up line, Lynda,” I say, stopping to trace the delicate line of her jaw with my fingers. “If you’re cold, I’ll take care of it.”

She places her small, soft hand on my chest, right over my heart, and I’m pretty sure she can feel how fast it’s beating right now. “That’s what you do, isn’t it?” she asks softly. “You always take care of other people and you do it quietly, without asking for anything in return. You just work in the background to solve all of our problems. You keep Dodge calm, you rein Bennett in and you make sure that Zane doesn’t go crazy trying to fix everything. You’re so sweet and understanding with Callie. I saw how she confides in you as much as she does Dodge.”

I pull her a little closer, surprised that in such a short amount of time, she’s noticed so many things.

Our noses are almost touching and I feel her soft breath on my lips. “You took care of me the first time we spoke, remember? You replaced my squashed croissant.”

I tuck a strand of her long, dark hair behind her ear, rubbing the soft skin there with the pads of my fingers. “I couldn’t have you starving, Lynda. Or eating food off the floor.”

Her eyes light up and her voice is sweet. Right now the usual tension I see in her shoulders seems totally gone. “I couldn’t have the prettiest girl I’ve seen in a while eating floor pastry.”

She sees through my attempt at self-deprecation and doesn’t let me get away with it. “But you didn’t even know me. And I’m pretty sure that you’d have helped me even if you hadn’t thought I was pretty.”

Fuck. She got me there. “Sure, you might be right. But hadn’t I thought you were pretty, I wouldn’t have asked you to have breakfast with me.”

“I’m glad you did.”

She touches her lips to mine and that’s all the encouragement I need to deepen the kiss. Her lips are soft and warm and I can’t resist the urge to nip at her bottom lip, drawing her soft flesh into my mouth straight after to soothe the sting I just caused with my bite.

Lynda’s hands are on the back of my head, as if to keep me from breaking the kiss. She opens her mouth to allow me in and I don’t hold back. I explore her mouth, tangling my tongue with hers, breathing her in as my lips massage hers and my hands press her soft body against mine.

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