Page 66 of Chasing Secrets

Intensely.

A weird, heavy energy seemed to make the air around us come alive.

“I’ll never get tired of that,” Lincoln said as he took a step closer to me.

That shiver stole through me again. Nerves, maybe? “What? That it tickles?” I asked in confusion.

Lincoln’s fingers closed around my hand. The same hand he’d been holding when we’d entered the sanctuary. He also kept closing the distance between us until our bodies were just inches apart. It felt like my whole body came alive and that weird fog I’d been walking around in over the last few days disintegrated. His eyes left mine and dropped to my mouth. My brain had finally caught up to my body by then, so I understood what was happening.

“That laugh,” Lincoln said softly. He seemed mesmerized by my mouth.

“What laugh?” I asked stupidly because I’d completely forgotten what we were talking about. I was too caught up in the realization that the man before me still wanted me.

Despite everything I’d told him, despite the warnings that he deserved more, he still wanted me.

At least physically, anyway.

And I finally got what my body had been trying to tell me for the past several seconds.

I wanted him too.

I wanted him to finish what he’d started. I wanted him to drop his mouth to mine. It hadn’t been very long since he’d kissed me for the first time, but I’d already come to accept that his kiss would be the last one I’d ever know.

Even if by some miracle there was a day where Icouldbe intimate with a man, I knew I wouldn’t let it happen. Ford had given me my first kiss but without a doubt, my last kiss would be Lincoln’s. Whether that was now, or it was the one when he’d kissed me for the first time, I never wanted to feel anyone else’s lips against mine except for his.

I saw the moment Lincoln caught himself and I knew I was about to lose what would likely be my only chance to taste him again, so I ignored the part of my brain that was telling me what I was about to do would be unfair to Lincoln and went with the part that was telling me I needed this.

Weneeded it.

“Lincoln,” I whispered before curling my hand around the back of his neck at the same time that I straightened to my full height and brushed my lips over his. He let out a soft moan and then his arms were wrapping around me. He opened his mouth in invitation and I didn’t hesitate to take him up on it. As soon as our tongues met, Lincoln took control of the kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled the hair tie free so I could tangle my fingers in his hair.

“Jesus,” he breathed against my mouth when we were forced to come up for air. “I’ve missed that too,” he added before kissing me again. My body felt like it was going to go up in flames. I could feel my dick hardening but I tried to ignore it because I needed to keep kissing Lincoln like I needed my next breath. But the second his hand covered my ass so he could pull me closer to him and I felt his hard dick rub against mine through the fabric of our jeans, I yanked myself free of his hold. I would have fallen on my ass if Lincoln hadn’t managed to grab my wrist as I lost my balance. He released me the second I was steady.

“I’m sorry,” I said with a shake of my head. My body hurt all over but there was something different about the feeling. I hadn’t felt the jolt of electricity, probably because I’d stopped the contact with Lincoln fast enough. My dick had already begun to soften, which was further proof that Ihadstopped the encounter in time. So then why did I stillache?

“No, it was my fault,” Lincoln said awkwardly. “Are you okay?” he asked. There was no missing the concern in his eyes.

I nodded. My breathing was returning to normal, and I didn’t feel as off balance as I had when he’d released me. But my chest hurt and it felt like my heart was pounding so fast it was going to beat itself right out of my body. “I’m okay,” I said. The lie tasted sour in my mouth for some reason, which made no sense because that was my catchphrase. Yeah, I’d told the truth the other day when Cam and Lincoln had both asked if I was okay and I’d told them I wasn’t, but how couldthathave made lying such a painful prospect all of a sudden?

“Do you… do you mind if we go back to the house?” I asked. I’d almost used the word home before remembering it wasn’t my home. The men who lived there weren’t my family. The man now standing several feet from me wasn’t mine.

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” Lincoln said. I felt like a piece of shit for ruining what had started off as a nice visit.

As we walked back to the car, I kept several feet between us so I wouldn’t be tempted to take his hand.

That lasted for all of fifteen seconds because as soon as we rounded the bend that led back to the parking lot, a huge white wolf appeared in our path.

“Oh God,” I whispered as I automatically moved back to Lincoln’s side and grabbed his hand.

“Theo, it’s okay—” Lincoln began to say before he was interrupted by a child yelling.

“Loki!”

The wolf turned its head in the direction of the sound which was coming from behind him. I watched in horror as a little boy who couldn’t have been more than five or six came running from the parking lot and headed straight for the wolf. I took a step forward in the hopes of distracting the wolf, but Lincoln suddenly grabbed me from behind and wrapped both arms around me to keep me from moving.

“Lincoln—!” I screamed in protest.

“Just watch, sweetheart,” Lincoln said right before the kid reached the wolf. I closed my eyes to shield myself from the horror of watching the child get mauled.

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