Page 53 of What's Left of Us

Gently, I lower her leg down until she’s securely on the floor. When she’s cleaned off with a kitchen towel, I stand her up and kiss her again. Once. Twice. Leaning my forehead against hers, I find myself smiling as I tug her into my body.

“Don’t worry,” I promise, lips trailing over her jawline. “We’re not done yet. I owe you at least two orgasms. And I know how I’m going to deliver the first one.”

She gasps when I lower to my knees and remind myself exactly how she got her nickname.

My sweet Georgia Peach.

“And when we’re done, we’re going to go online and buy you a vibrator so you can get yourself off when I’m gone,” I purr, right before I reacquaint my mouth with one of my favorite parts of her.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Georgia/ Seven Years Ago

There’s sweat stickingto a very naked, very muscular torso that I’ve become well acquainted with over the past two months. Two whole months of…that. Tall. Lean. Tan. How can somebody be that tan when it’s not even July yet? It’s not fair.

If Millie were still my friend, she’d say I’m dickstruck. In my defense, she would be too if she saw Lincoln shirtless and mowing his lawn. But she’s not around. And based on the light online stalking I did using the account with a fake name that she helped me set up years ago, Millie isn’t exactly torn up over our ended friendship. She’s out partying with college girls who are the exact opposite of me. Does she even wonder how I’m doing? This is the longest we haven’t spoken, and the pictures and videos of her dancing and laughing don’t make it seem like she’s as hurt by that as I am.

My father never liked her from the day they met at the country club, complaining to Leani as soon as we got into our car to leave that her parents didn’t discipline her enough.“A girl like that will be nothing but trouble.”

Maybe he was onto something.

Forcing the thought of my former best friend out of my head, I focus back on the muscles of Lincoln’s arms flexing as he pushes the mower along the small section of grass in front of the building. His abs look fake, but I know firsthand they’re not. I’ve touched them. Maybe even licked them. Once.

Or twice.

The man outside has been coming home looking exhausted every weekend but still seeing family and friend and making time for me. He stays up to watch shows I know he hates, takes me out to dinner, and covers the bill without a second thought. I haven’t figured out if the motive has to do with what happens between us behind closed doors, but I’m not mad at it.

Lincoln is attractive. I’d thought so from the moment he sat down next to me at the bar. I could feel his eyes on me leading up to him making a move, and I tried not to notice that he was beautiful in a rugged kind of way. Manly. Unapologetically so. But the time he’s spent training at the academy has made him leaner, his muscles more defined, and his features sharper.

I shouldn’t be staring.

Nope.

I step back from the curtain I’ve been peeking out, biting my lip. How could somebody who looks like that not have been scooped up by now? He said he never struggled to find interested women, so why me?

The train of thought leads me to heated memories of the past few weeks. I never knew how good somebody could make me feel. Or how good I could makemyselffeel on the days Lincoln is gone. He’d stuck to his word and bought me a black vibrator, showing me how to use it. I’ve never liked being woken up before, but I’ve learned not to mind when Lincoln turns it on and presses it between my legs in the middle of the night.

It’s no wonder my father drilled abstinence into my head for so many years. If I’d knownthisis what I was missing out on, I would have left a long time ago. Millie told me about sex, but I never quite believed the hype whenever she’d go into details about her own personal experiences.

Despite all the good things I’ve gotten to experience, I still miss my family. I miss the security I felt in my routine, no matter how uptight it might have been. My days spent here are full ofjob hunting that goes nowhere because the second my last name is read on applications, no matter how entry-level the job is, I get passed on.

I can only assume it’s another way my father keeps one foot in the door, always there, always ensuring I never stray too far. Everything he’s done is to remind me that he’ll always be around—that I need him. But how could I forget?

No matter the obstacles, I’ve always found a way through. Mostly thanks to the sweaty Adonis doing landscaping outside. It didn’t hurt that I sold a few pieces of my designer clothing online either. It gave me enough money for groceries and a little to set aside. For what, I wasn’t sure. An apartment of my own wasn’t obtainable, but I knew staying here forever wouldn’t be an option either. Eventually, Lincoln would want to move on with his life, and I wouldn’t blame him.

When the door cracks open, I turn to see the man in the forefront of my mind wiping himself off with the shirt he’d started out wearing when he went outside. “If it’s already this hot now, it’s going to be a brutal summer,” he says, tossing the damp shirt onto the couch. “Maybe they were right about global warming.”

My eyes wander down the front of him, appreciating the view and not giving thought to his comment on the current state of climate change.

His stomach moves, and I realize he’s laughing. “Peaches?”

I clear my throat, forcing my eyes up. “It’s very…sunny out.”

Amusement lifts the corners of his lips at my distracted response. “Like what you see?”

My cheeks heat as I look away.

But he won’t let me.

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