Page 68 of Bourbon and Secrets

“That it did.” I search his face for what this information might trigger.

He pushes my hair behind my shoulder and brushes his thumb along my chin as I sit up from his chest. “I’m not surprised to hear any of this. You’re fucking beautiful on that stage, but there were plenty of places you could have gone to dance. And instead, you chose Fiasco.”

“I knew it was going to be hard, but I underestimated...” I shake my head. “I underestimated what seeing you again would do.”

With a rough swallow, his Adam’s apple bobs. “I didn’t like seeing you on another man’s lap.”

My body warms at his admission, and I can’t hold back my smile. “Feeling a little jealous?”

He covers up his smile as his hand runs over his mouth, deciding what he wants to say. “Jealous isn’t strong enough of a word. I didn’t like Blackstone the first time I met him, but seeing him touching you, I wanted to break his hands first and then slit his throat when I started thinking what else he may have touched.”

“I find that oddly sexy.” Humming, I rest my chin on his chest and let those words settle around me. “What I do has people looking, sometimes touching, but that’s business. And I like what I do, Foxx. Private investigating lets me feel like I can still do what I had always wanted, but tweaked and on my own terms. Just like I love how burlesque makes me feel. That’s not something I’m willing to change.”

“Good. I don’t want you to change.” He pulls me closer and kisses the top of my head. “I just wanted some clarity so I didn’t end up killing a man for touching someone who’s starting to feel like mine.”

My eyes widen as my heart stutters. “Yours?”

He looks down his chest at me and lets out a lazy smile. “I can still taste you, Peach. My cock is fucking hard all over again just thinking about how well your pussy treated him. How I know exactly when to roll my hips so I can hit that spot just right...yeah...” He exhales. “You’re starting to feel like mine.”

I like how that sounds. How it feels, but I’m not brave enough to agree, so instead, I kiss his chest and let the truths we shared tonight settle around us. There’s something about telling him why I’m here that feels freeing. I shared more than Cortez would have wanted, but this is my life, and in Lincoln’s arms, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this right.

He looks up at the ceiling. With one arm folded behind his head, it’s the most mesmerizing view, seeing this part of him for the first time. Vulnerable, content, maybe even comfortable and not so quick to put on a show for the people around him. I knew what that looked like. I did it too.

Kissing his chest, I smile against his warm skin, enjoying this moment with him far more than I should be. “This was fun.”

I move to sit up, but he wraps his arms around me too quickly for me to get any further than my chest pressed against his.

“It was more than fun, and you know it.” His lips hover in front of mine, teasingly close. And I can’t stop myself from leaning into them.

When I pull back, I run my fingers along the scruff on his cheeks and chin. “Have a question for you,” he says. And just like last time, I feel nervous about what he could possibly be asking me. “How do you like your bourbon?”

I can’t help but bark out a laugh and then nip at his lip. “Any way you want to give it to me, Foxx.”

Chapter 24

Faye

Lincoln Foxx should have never beenpart of the equation. I came back to do a job. To bail out my sister. And now all of it feels like a lie. A half-truth that I told myself because vulnerability makes people weak. I could be a lot of things, buthiscouldn’t be one of them. Could it?

It’s been a week since the auction—and, coincidentally, the best sex of my life. And that’s all I keep replaying—his hands all over me, his mouth, his words. And how this would work. My phone vibrates in my pocket as I’m jamming the poker against the fresh log I just threw onto the fire. We’re in the midst of the forgotten part of winter, not cold enough for snow to stick and not warm enough to forget your jacket.

Hadley had asked if I’d stay around long enough for Valentine’s Day. I’m starting to feel settled, so I didn’t think too long about how to answer. It was an easy yes. I don’t have another job lined up, which is also out of character for me, but I suppose I’ve felt out of sorts since I arrived.

FOXX

When exactly am I going to see you again? Replaying you writhing underneath me is only making me want to see you more. And waiting until I run into you isn’t the way I like to go after what I want.

FAYE

And what is it you want?

FOXX

I thought that was obvious . . .

I stare at the orange and yellow flames dancing around the fireplace before they catch onto the new wood. A smile pulls at my lips, thinking about how to answer his question. It’s been a fair amount of texts about random things. My favorites are just the simple:Hi, Peach. I can hear him saying it as his lips press against mine and it does something to me that I can’t seem to explain.

Is it eager to tell him that I want to see himright fucking now?Our night together hasn’t left my mind, for multiple reasons. And it’s been long enough without a repeat.

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