Page 162 of Hate Mates

“Good, I’d be worried if I didn’t.”

For a moment, the world tilts as the years of verbal sparring, stolen glances, and unspoken tension finally boil over. I’m tired, I’m stressed, and Lincoln Caldwell is driving me crazy.

Before I can even think about what I’m doing, I close the space between us and press my lips to his in a kiss that’s as heated as it is inevitable.

This was always going to happen from the day I first met him and saw the way he looked at me as I stood up to Councilman Hayes.

It’s not a gentle kiss.

There’s too much frustration. Too much history for that.

Lincoln’s on his feet and returning the kiss in seconds. His hands find my waist, pulling me against his body with a force so strong I instantly feel his hardness. My fingers tangle in his tousled hair, tugging hard enough to make him groan against my mouth. His breath is warm and intoxicating.

He lifts me onto the desk without breaking the kiss, scattering the papers he just gave me onto the floor. The sharp edges of the wood dig into my thighs, but I don’t care. All I can think about is the heat of his hands as they trace up and down my body and under the hem of the skirt I’m wearing.

His lips move against mine. Every inch of him feels like a challenge I’m determined to meet head-on.

I need this.

I have to have this.

I can’t stop this.

“Fuck,”he hisses as I nibble at the edge of his lips.

His fingers move my panties aside, finding my core. Stroking. Caressing. For a brief moment, everything else fades away—the campaign, the corruption, the precariousness of the position we’ve put ourselves in.

It’s just us. Trapped in a blaze of passion we’ve been unwilling to admit and have been fighting since we first met.

My breath quickens as the heat between us cascades through my body, flooding all my senses. The orgasm hits me out of nowhere, and I ride Lincoln’s fingers, taking everything.

Making it all mine.

Taking from him, for once.

Then reality crashes in. Hard, fast, and shocking.

Lincoln Caldwell has his fingers in my pussy.

I break the kiss, pulling back just enough to catch my breath and firmly remove his hand.

My chest rises and falls as I stare up at him, my lips tingling and my body still on fire. One of his hands lingers at my waist, and the expression on his face, which is inches from mine, is unreadable. He brings the fingers that were inside me up to his lips and swirls his tongue around them.

Tasting me.

Savoring my orgasm.

“This doesn’t change anything,” I manage to get the words out as I take in deep, shuddering breaths.

“No,” he agrees. “But it complicates everything.”

I slide off the desk and smooth down my skirt before grabbing up the evidence lying scattered over the floor.

“We’re done here,” I tell him firmly.

“For now,” he replies with a knowing smile.

As he leaves, I glance toward the doorway. Beth is standing there, and her expression holds something I can’t quite decipher. I suspect she can tell what just happened.

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