Page 58 of 40 and (No Longer) Fighting It
He took her mouth, and Claire opened to him immediately. His cock kicked against her belly.
Claire laughed against his lips.
“Please say I can take you upstairs,” he whispered, fully prepared to throw her over his shoulder whether she said yes or no.
Beautiful brown eyes glowed up at him. “You can take me upstairs, Lincoln.”
He let out a whoop as he bent his knees and pulled Claire onto his shoulder.
“Lincoln!”
Laughter surrounded them, calls of encouragement, claims of knowing it all along. As Lincoln turned, he came face-to-face with Lanelle, and the woman’s hesitant look told him she and her daughter had spoken. He’d ask Claire if she wanted to share later, but for now, he didn’t hesitate, simply walked from the café into the bakery and behind the counter. Layla stood at the register.
“Got everything covered?” he asked as they passed.
“Maybe I should be asking y’all that?” the older woman said, but amusement laced her words. “Don’t worry about anything down here.”
“We won’t!” he called over Claire’s attempt to assure Layla she could contact her if needed. A glance over his free shoulder told him Layla was shaking her head at that one. She knew as well as he did that Claire wouldn’t be thinking about anything for the next hour—maybe two or three—but him.
In the kitchen, Joey and Sadie worked at different stations, both handling individual orders of pastries.
“Joey, y’all call if you need anything.” Claire tried to sound commanding, but hanging upside down with her face at his ass didn’t help much.
Linc pinned Joey with a look. “Don’t call. There’s nothing coming in that you can’t handle.”
The corner of Joey’s mouth hitched. “Aye, aye, captain.”
“‘Aye aye’?” Claire sounded outraged, screeching as the back door slid to a close. “Why the heck is he saying ‘aye aye’ to you, for goodness’ sake?” A smack landed on his ass cheek. Thank fuck she couldn’t get any leverage at that angle.
“Because he knows exactly who’s in charge right now.” The stairs creaked as he climbed. “And that’s definitely not you.”
“Not me?” Another smack. “Who do you think you are?”
He opened the door to Claire’s apartment, walked inside, and locked up behind them. “The man who’s about to fuck you until you can’t stand up anymore, much less run down those stairs to”—he slid Claire over his shoulder until her feet touched the floor, then made air quotes as she wavered in front of him—“take charge.”
Shock and something very like desire lit her eyes. “You’re going to what?”
“You heard me.” He began a slow stalk toward Claire as she retreated step by step toward the bedroom. “If you don’t want it, now’s the time to say.”
Claire’s eyelids lowered to half-mast. “I never said that.”
His grin had her eyes widening. “Good.”
Claire stumbled into the doorjamb, righted herself, and continued backing across the bedroom until her legs hit the mattress. Anticipation hummed through Linc’s veins as he tracked her progress, heating him up, tightening his cock until the zipper of his jeans bit into the head. As he crossed the last few feet between them, he reached over his shoulder, grabbed the back of his T-shirt, and yanked. The cloth cleared his head and then his arms, and Claire’s gaze zeroed in on his pecs.
“Lincoln.”
The husky tone sent a zing down his spine—anticipation. Prowling forward, he moved straight into Claire’s space, brushed his lips gently across hers, once, twice…then pushed her carefully onto the bed.
Claire gasped as her back hit the mattress.
Linc eyed her body splayed out before him and couldn’t hold back a growl as she squirmed under his scrutiny. “That’s what I want.”
Claire’s smile was half love, half siren. “Is it?”
“Well”—he slid his gaze down her body to the pants covering her lower half—“not all I want.”
The offending cloth was gone in seconds, along with Claire’s socks and shoes. That left Linc staring at a pink lace thong, the sight of which jerked his cock behind his zipper once again. Grimacing, he lowered the metal, giving himself some space, and cupped his aching cock right then and there, trying to squeeze the urge to come away.
