Chapter 18

Faye

My nails graze along his warm skin and my fingers thread through his short hair. I can’t help but grip it and pull just enough so he knows I want this. Maybe it’s the drinks from tonight or the dance we can’t seem to resist between us, but being around him clouds every judgment. It muddles memories and practically erases every and any control I might have had over this. The way he licks at my tongue and holds me tightly against him pulls a needy moan from my throat.

He smiles against my lips in response. “Feel what you’re doing to me?” he whispers.

I hum, feeling exactly what I’m doing as I roll my hips again.

He brushes his thumb along my lower lip. “Such a perfect mouth,” he says as he releases an audible breath.

I dart my tongue out and wet his finger.

And he doesn’t miss a beat. He rubs the wetness around my lips before he drags it down my chin. My body buzzes at every single small move this man makes.

“Foxx,” I breathe out and lean forward, rolling my hips again.

“That’s it,” he praises. Those two words hit me right in the panties, core fluttering with anticipation.

I fumble with his sweatshirt, trying to pry it off him. Along with it comes his t-shirt, and I’m rewarded with a thick chest with short trimmed hair and decorated with dark tattoos expanding from his right pec up to his shoulder. A twisting of words along the edge of what looks like three window panes on the inside of his bicep, only two filled in with colored ink. Cursive letters run down his side and disappear into the waistband of his pants. His skin is warm as I drag my fingers across his stomach, dipping them into the waistband. “You’re pretty, Foxx.”

He snorts. “How drunk are you right now, Peach?”

Meeting his eyes, I smile. “I’m just appreciating the view.” I look out beyond where we are. Not a single glow other than from the moon and the dimmed lights near the door. But even in the dark, I know what I’m doing. “If you’re looking for consent. You have it.”

A small laugh escapes his lips. “Is that so?” He licks his bottom lip as he toys with the hem of my sweater, running his fingers along its edge and leaving goosebumps in his wake. “I’ve wanted to touch and taste you for so long...” Dragging his fingertips up the curve of my breast, over the sweater, he pulls it down enough to see the cleavage emphasized by my bra. His touch feels like he’s cataloging curves and learning what he likes. My chest rises and falls more quickly. Hell, I need more.

I stretch the neckline down and pull at the top of my satin bra, letting my breasts pour out of it.

He rubs his hand down his face and over his mouth. “Fuck, you’re beautiful.” And the approving words, ones I already know about myself, feel like a drug. I want more. He leans forward, capturing my breast in his mouth. My belly spirals and pussy tingles at the way his mouth works me over. Dragging his tongue along my nipple, he moans as if they’re the kind of dessert he’s been patiently waiting for.

My mouth opens to plead for more, more, more, but the only thing to escape is a quiet, “Please.”

His approval rumbles deep in his chest.

I grind my hips down onto him, his cock nestled against my center and hitting my clit with satisfying precision. And while dry humping Lincoln Foxx wasn’t on my agenda tonight, I roll my hips again.

“Oh, fuck,” I exhale. It feels too good.

He sits back, his teeth sink into his lower lip as he watches me work myself over him. I shamelessly pull my pussy back and thrust it forward along the length of his cock, his thin cotton bottoms are the only thing separating us. Dammit, I want him. The hiss he sucks in through his teeth is enough of a reaction to urge me to do it again.

“Do you like that?” I lean forward and whisper along his lips.

He nips at my lower lip. “More than you know.” He pushes my body against his harder.

I pull my hips back again to repeat the same movement.

Grabbing both of my wrists, he holds my hands behind my back. “Look at you, so needy right now.”

I smile at his teasing tone and the way he holds my wrists with one hand behind me, the other on my hip guiding me. I arch my back and work over the thick length of him—back and forth, giving into the pressure and pace that I’m craving. I let out a gasping moan. The sight of us must be filthy and I smile thinking of it. If I wasn’t on the cusp of an orgasm, I’d want to watch him lick and savor my pebbled skin all over. I roll my hips again. The tingle that runs through my clit has my breath catching and pressure building as the feeling wraps around my limbs. A tiny vibration that starts along my edges, seeping into my skin.

His teeth drag along my neck, sparking another sensation. The sounds of his heavy exhales and the hitch of my breath are the only warnings before I’m moaning so loudly that his hand moves over my mouth, and I come so hard that my thighs quiver against his. My stomach muscles clench, pussy pulsing as my body is rewarded with the most decadent current of warmth. I’m whimpering as I tremble over his lap and wring out the last of my release, until every part of me relaxes in a daze.

I slump against his chest, his fingers drag away from my mouth and glide along my back, soothing the small tremors that follow. I’m panting. My hair is stuck along my neck and across my forehead, but I’m too wrung out to swipe it away.

“That’s twice now,” I whisper. “I’ve come twice with you, and you haven’t...”

“I very much enjoy watching you lose control,” he says with a hint of a smile in his voice as he runs his fingers down the center of my back. I nuzzle into him. I fit here so nicely that it’s hard to want to move. It’s far too intimate, but neither of us stops it from happening. Everything feels quiet after that as I sink into this for just a little longer.

It’s not until I wake up with the sound of pop rocks and arguing whispers that I realize I fell asleep on him. And he’s still here.

“I can see his feet. I know he’s there,” one of the girls says from a foot or two away.

The blanket is pulled up over us, his arms wrapped around me and our legs intertwined. Lincoln shifts back so I can see his face when he whispers, “Maybe they’ll leave if we stay very still.” He smiles and then closes his eyes.

“I don’t have pants on,” I say as quietly as possible.

“Are we going to get a peep show if we pull this blanket off you two?” Griz says loudly. Oh god, there’s an actual audience out here.

“What’s a peep show?” Lily asks him. I’m praying he doesn’t answer her.

I hear Lark rush out, “I don’t think it’s the marshmallow kind, let’s put it that way.”

“Alright,” Lincoln says, sitting up and pulling the plush blanket down to keep me covered up. “No peep show.” He glares at Griz. “Just fell asleep out here.”

I squint at the brightness of the day and rub my eyes, guaranteeing that the make-up I had on is a blackout mess. Lily stares at us from the floor as she scratches under Kit’s neck, while Griz sips on a coffee, smiling and waiting for one of us to say something else. But it’s Lark who glares at me first and then says, “We went home, and you weren’t there. And then somehow Kit sniffed you out and, well...” she pauses as she crosses her arms, “here you are.” O h, she’s not my biggest fan right now. I hate that feeling of disappointment.

“Dad, you’re not wearing a shirt,” Lily says.

Oh god.

But he doesn’t even sound nervous when he says, “Fell asleep. Faye runs hot. Ditched my sweatshirt.” Reaching for his glasses from the window’s ledge, he puts them on like none of this is a big deal.

“Dad, it’s winter,” Lily says.

“A mild one,” he says as he scoots out and stands. “I need some coffee.”

“Only brought this one,” Griz says, holding up his cup.

“Thoughtful,” Lincoln mutters as he stretches his arms above his head.

“Breakfast?” he asks me as he grabs his phone from the ground somewhere and starts typing away. I can’t help the surprised look I’m sure I’m giving him. He wants to bring me to breakfast? It’s unexpected. Maybe even more so than being woken up by his grandfather and daughters, all studying exactly what it is we were doing out here.

I feel like I’m still asleep. Definitely a bit hungover, but entirely unready to face two kids and the reality of this morning.

The front door swings open. “Are we having a party out here?” Maggie says with an unusually bright demeanor. “Faye, Linc, what are you two doing out here on the porch? I thought I heard the two of you last night, but?—”

I cut her off, looking at Lincoln. “I’m okay. Not hungry right now.”

He smiles back at me. It’s a knowing exchange that feels...good.

I look at Lily, who’s still petting Kit who is chewing on her leash. “Thank you for taking care of her last night.”

My attention moves to the brown and black fluffball making growling sounds. “Kit.”

She stops what she’s doing and looks up at me, her tongue sticking out as she opens her mouth.

“Were you on your best behavior last night?” I ask her.

Lily answers, “She was very good. She slept on the floor right next to me. And then this morning, she had her puppy vitamins, and we went for a walk to the stables. I think she likes other animals.”

Now might be a good time to offer the girls some assistance with this dog situation. I glance at Lincoln before I ask Lily, “Would you want to help me with her? Maybe she can stay with you on the nights I work late?”

Lily’s eyes widen, and then she gives me a knowing nod. “What a good idea, Faye,” she says, her voice a pinch louder, as if this was a line we practiced. “Dad, can we? I’ll make sure she gets walked and fed. It would be like a job, but I only get paid in puppy time?”

He leans into me as he scratches his chin and then smiles. One of those dimples puckers in as he says, “You’re good. I’ll give you that.”

I rest my chin in my hand and try to keep from smiling. He knows exactly what’s happened here—he just got swindled.

“Yeah, Lily. We can take her home now. And then you’re going to tell me how you managed to adopt a dog without a grown-up.”

“Oh my gosh, Dad, really?!” Lark shouts, at the same time that Lily squeals. It’s all very loud with a lingering hangover headache, but it’s hard not to admire and appreciate. The way they are together is endearing.

“Did you hear that, Kit?” Lily says as the dog barks, seeming just as excited as the girls.

“How about you both thank Faye for fostering Kit for you.”

Lily sing-songs, “Thank you, Faye.”

Lark gives me a short smile when she adds, “Thanks.”

Lincoln kneels in front of me. “I have something to ask you,” he says as he ties his shoe.

My smile falters from the chaos that just erupted about Kit.

Lincoln stands up and asks, “How do you take your coffee?”

“Why?” I ask, curiously watching him.

“Something my brother said to me once. Stuck with me. Wanted to know.”

I sit up a little taller, very aware of how his girls are petting Kit, but they’re watching our exchange. “Depends. Some days, I just want to wake up and have strong black coffee. Other days, I want to sip on something sweet and iced.”

He smiles at the answer.

“Are you going to bring me coffee, Foxx?” I smile curiously.

The corner of his mouth ticks up to one side, flashing his dimple, before he says, “Maybe next time.”

Oh hell, I want to kiss him again. Feel him again. This isn’t what I came to town for—late night hookups and morning flirting with Lincoln fucking Foxx. So why does it feel so good? So effortless?

He claps his hands out in the most dad-like move and says, “Alright, let’s go, girls. Who wants to get pancakes at Hooch’s?”

“Me!” Lily shouts with a little jump that Kit matches. “We already had breakfast, though.”

Lincoln smiles, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “Brunch, then?” he asks as they walk down the porch steps and meet Griz at the bottom.

Looking over his shoulder, he gives me a wink before he calls out for Lark, “Lark, come on, kiddo, I’m hungry!”

“I saw you, ya know,” Lark says to me, standing at the top step.

My stomach sinks because I have no clue about where she might mean.

“In the stables at Uncle Ace’s. You were going to kiss my dad.”

I swallow, and even though I don’t want to, I answer her truthfully. “I was.”

“Lark, you coming?” Lincoln calls out from down the driveway.

“He’s the greatest dad in the world,” she says, tilting her chin up, but I see the way it wobbles just a little. “We don’t need anybody else.”

It’s easy to be swept up in this attraction that I have for him and forget he has a whole life that’s centered around these two girls who depend on him. I never had the courage to say this to any of the men who came into my mother’s life. But I felt that way too. How threatening it was for them to take any part of her away. So I ignore the way my eyes water the slightest bit and say the only thing I can. “Okay.” I nod, hoping she can see I mean it.

She doesn’t say anything else as she turns on her heel and walks away.

Releasing a heavy breath, I lift the blanket to stand and am quickly reminded I’m sans pants. Fuck! It’s freezing.

My phone buzzes from somewhere under the blankets. I feel around for it. Where the hell is it? When I finally find it, I have to push my hair out of my face with a huff.

FOXX

They cramped my style. I wanted to kiss you goodbye.

I’m smiling at the message without even realizing it until I hear, “So you’re slamming Lincoln Foxx?” Maggie startles me as she leans against the front doorway.

Fuck my life. I tilt my head back, puff out my cheeks, and groan internally. It’s not even worth lying about this. She was clearly home. “Technically, no.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Sounded like trash pandas being attacked out here.”

I flip her off.

“Slamming? No. Dry humping and making out with? Yes.” I leave out the public finger-bang. I don’t think she needs that little detail.

She barks out a laugh. And I can’t help but glance at her and crack a smile from hearing it. “Is it something?” I search for what she might be asking. “With Lincoln. Is it something?”

“Feels like it.”

She holds her cup of tea between both hands and looks out to the cornfield, letting what I just admitted linger in the cold for a few beats. “Just be careful. Everyone who falls for one of those men usually ends up...”

“Ends up what, Maggie?” I say with an uncomfortable laugh.

“Just some townie gossip, that’s all.” She turns back into the house just as she adds, “Never mind, it doesn’t apply to tourists.”