The Unlucky Ones, page 16
“Hey, Nat, I gotta go. Just wanted to wish you a happy holiday. Probably see you tomorrow.”
“You too, girl. Glad you’re back.”
I hung up, already zipping my boots. Scribbling a note for Amelia, I pulled on my jacket and headed out into the cold, clear night, my determination overshadowing my nerves. The need to see him drew me to the bar like fish to bait. I could see the hook and line, but I still couldn’t stop myself from chomping down on it.
Here’s to more stupid decisions.
The warmth of the saloon burned my cold ears and nose as I soon as I stepped in, my pulse pounding in my ears.
The place was decorated with twinkly lights and glittery garland, giving the space an even cozier feel. A few people were nestled in the sofa area, and a handful sat at the bar, the TV playing Die Hard. Some people consider it a holiday movie. Rick and Kyle were in their usual seats, Kyle wearing a Hanukkah T-shirt, saying “Oy, to the World.”
But they were all background as my gaze landed on the man behind the bar. My stomach tripped and stumbled like a drunk trying to stand on a merry-go-round.
“Holy shit,” I muttered under my breath. In the last three weeks how did I forget how unbelievably attractive he was?
He stood with his profile to me, one large hand and powerful arm propped on the bar, his head glancing at the TV. He wore his usual black T-shirt and dark jeans, fitting every muscle just right, spreading need throughout my body.
I came here to see if I could find another face in his, of another guy I had once encountered. All I saw was Lincoln. All six-foot-four of him with muscles you could only get if you spent your days at a gym with nothing else to do. Yet I knew he spent most of his time here.
I was trying to put all the pieces together, but I really didn’t give a shit.
“Devon! You’re back!” Rick held up his beer to me. “L’chaim!”
Every particle of my body felt Lincoln react. His head snapped around and his gaze took me prisoner, robbing me of breath. I was so in trouble. Poker-faced, his regard pinned me to the floor, his jaw ticking back and forth. And all I could do was stare back, my chest heaving in and out.
He moved deliberately, coming out from behind the bar, prowling a few feet away from me before he stopped. He was so close I could smell him, feel his form over my personal space. Blood pounded in my ears, and my skin itched with the need to feel him against me.
Slowly, I lifted my lashes, staring straight into his eyes, meeting his intimidating stance with a raised chin.
He watched me, his eyes roaming over my body.
“Lincoln, I—”
He lunged forward, his hands cupping my face, and gripped the back of my head roughly. Pulling me to him, his mouth crashed down on mine, stealing the rest of my sentence, swallowing me whole.
The moment his lips touched mine, fire tore through my insides, detonating the desire I had been feeling. He pressed into me, warm and taut. I felt every inch of him and moaned softly.
His fingers dug deeper into my scalp, his lips parting my mouth with hunger, deepening the kiss. He growled when I nipped his bottom lip, his tongue sweeping into my mouth, devouring me in the flames.
The kiss consumed. Took. Gave. Incinerated.
And I knew without a doubt…I had kissed him before.
He had ruined me already, and now I would stay that way.
“Whoo-wee!” Rick hollered, followed by a whistle. Lincoln’s lips parted from mine, his hands still tangled in my hair, his mouth barely a sliver away.
“Damn. That’s how you kiss a girl.” Rick’s exclamation made Lincoln and me snort.
“Like you would know,” Kyle retorted.
“Maybe not with girls.”
“Or me!”
“I did too.”
“When? Name one time you kissed me like that.”
Huh…I didn’t realize Rick and Kyle were an item. They were so unassuming. I’d just thought they were best friends.
“Right, we aren’t alone.” Lincoln’s mouth brushed against mine with a slow smile, his hands dropping away from my head, stepping back. I felt the loss of him instantly, wanting to yank him back in, claim his mouth again. “I think I completely broke my promise.”
“That’s…it’s o-kay,” I stuttered. He had completely broken my brain. I stared at him, feeling dizzy.
“Welcome back, Devon,” he rumbled in his deep voice that made me crave him. Need him.
His voice was one of things which had stopped me from thinking Lincoln was Finn. It was not the timbre I remembered. Finn’s had been deep, but not like this, where every word rolled through sand then jumped into a pool of whiskey. Rough, but it made your body melt.
“Thank you.” I waggled my head, trying to get my feet on solid ground. “I had come to see if I could get my job back, but I think that was better.”
“I told you your job would be waiting for you.” He put his hands on his hips, peering down at me. We were close, but far enough away that his body taunted me. A smirk curved his mouth, and he took a step closer, as if he could read my thoughts. “You came down here, on a bus I’m guessing, late Christmas night, to see if you still had a job? Really?”
“It’s what I told myself anyway.”
The side of his mouth hitched higher, his eyes bright. Crap, he was totally distracting me from the reason I came here.
“Are you going to stay?” He lifted an eyebrow, the question traveling deeper than it seemed, asking me if I was going to stay until he closed. “I mean, you came all the way down here, so at least I can get you a drink.”
“A drink sounds great.” I grinned back. “It is Christmas after all.”
He journeyed back to the bar, my gaze locked on his firm ass and broad back.
“Everything good back home?” He rounded into the bar.
I nodded, slipping off my jacket. “Yeah, he’s doing well. He was ready for me leave and get off his ass.”
A roguish grin cut across his face again. “Well, if you need another one to get on.”
My cheeks burned, sizzling down my neck. He chuckled, my skin not hiding my reaction.
“What would you like, Dev?”
“Feeling I’d like the good tequila tonight.” I put my jacket on the chair, thumbing over my shoulder. “I’m gonna run to the bathroom first.”
He gave me a nod, reaching for the top-shelf liquor.
I scampered down the dim hallway, glancing over at my shoulder. Two guests had come back up to the bar to order, taking Lincoln’s attention off me.
My heart reverberated in my head, sweat inching down my back. Damn. I can’t believe I’m doing this. But I wanted to know. No. I had to know.
Another glance down the empty hall, and I slipped into the office. Turning on the light, I crept to the desk, even though I knew I was crossing a line. I hoped I could get back without getting caught, and it would give me the proof I needed.
Pushing on the magnet, the edge of the desk cracked open. Adrenaline pumped through me, my chest contracted and my breath came in short pants, making me feel I was about to pass out. Tugging out the slim drawer, my hand clutched the manila envelope, which I opened.
With a shaky breath and quick glance to the closed door, I returned to the packet, peering down. An old leather wallet sat at the bottom and I reached in, pulling it out. The leather creaked in my hands as I opened it.
It was mostly empty, but where you put your money lay a white plastic wristband, like ones you got at events or concerts. Or a hospital.
The name was worn so bad you couldn’t make it out, leaving a barcode and a date of birth. Born April 12th, but the year confused me. It was two years older than Mia.
Puzzled, I moved to the other item in the wallet. A picture. A man and a little blonde, blue-eyed girl.
I gasped. The man staring back at me…steel-blue eyes, blondish-brown hair, a cocky smile.
“Oh my god.”
Finn Montgomery.
My fingers roamed over the picture; my mouth parted in shock. I was right. My gut had been trying to tell me, waiting for my brain to catch up.
Touching the writing on the back, I flipped over the picture. In cursive handwriting: Finn & Kessley.
Kessley?
Kessler.
I shook my head back and forth as my brain tried to absorb all the pieces. “What the hell?”
“I think that’s my line.” An icy voice came from the door.
With a cry, I jumped, my head snapping up to see Lincoln standing in the doorway, his arms folded, rage burning through his hard expression.
“Found my hiding spot, huh?” He stepped into the room, filling it with his large build. “You being a cop’s daughter and cop’s niece, I should have seen this coming.” He shut the door behind him, trapping me in.
Terror dripped through me like an IV of ice water, taking in his aloof, detached demeanor. The guy who had kissed me was gone. This man, with his folded massive muscled arms and brutally set jaw, seemed ready to kill me without a thought.
“Y-you’re supposed to be in jail.”
“Am I?” He tilted his head, his tone condescending, as if he were batting me around like a toy, playing with me.
“I know who you are.” I rolled my shoulders back, pretending I wasn’t terrified.
“Since you recently had your tongue down my throat, that’s good.”
The bridge of my nose wrinkled, his words throwing me off. “You know what I mean.”
“And why would you think I was supposed to be in jail?” He moved in closer, still blocking the exit.
“Because.”
“Say it, Devon. I want to hear it.” With another step, he came around the desk.
Unconsciously I stepped back, knocking into the desk chair, halting my retreat. I licked my lips, my breath catching in my lungs. Still, I held my ground, staring right into his fake brown eyes. “Because I may have helped put you there. You stayed at the diner partly because of me.”
“There it is.” With a derisive huff, he stepped closer, his boots knocking into mine. “I’ve been waiting awhile for that.”
“You knew.” It wasn’t a question, ire cloaking my fear. “This whole time, you knew exactly who I was?”
“The girl I fucked in a diner bathroom five years ago?” His bluntness forced me to suck in, unwanted desire jolting my system. “Yeah. I knew who you were the moment I saw you.” He tipped forward, his face close to mine. My brain said to run, but my body wouldn’t move, wanting him to do whatever he wanted with it. “You think I could forget someone like you?”
My mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out.
“It’s why I tried to fire you. Get you far away from me…” Fury mixed with humor in his throat. “But see, I’m a sick fuck. Any smart man would have forced you out. Made it certain you never stepped foot in here again.” He moved in even closer, pushing me against the desk. “Tell me, Devon, what kind of fool, who might be recognized by the girl who helped put him in the slammer the first time, allows her to keep working here? Answer me that.”
“I don’t know,” I whispered, my voice having deserted me.
“Fuck. Fate really wanted to screw with me. Of all places…you walk into mine.”
Frustration vibrated through his shoulders as he placed his hands on either side of me.
“I want to hate you so much. You helped fuck up my life.” He sneered, the proximity of his mouth shifting the air between us. “The things in jail I fantasized about doing to you gave me focus. Drive.”
Every muscle trembled, engulfed with lust and dread. “What are you going to do to me?” I whispered.
There was a beat, a moment, as his mouth arched into a wolfish grin, before his hands grabbed my hips and tossed me up onto the desk.
Neither of us hesitated, hungry and demanding. Our mouths collided together almost painfully, only turning me on more. My thighs clenched his waist, my nails skated through his short hair, wrenching him against me, opening my mouth deeper.
The kiss earlier had been passionate; this one was feral.
Desperate. Turbulent. Annihilating.
Lust burned away the hate, anger, and fear, using it as fuel.
His hands skimmed beneath my shirt, skating up my bare skin, lighting every nerve ending. Ripping it over my head, his mouth returned to mine with a deep growl. The sound melted my insides, pooling at my thighs.
I tugged at his shirt, pulling it over his head, my palms running down his muscular torso.
“Holy shit! You’re gorgeous.” I gaped, my eyes and hands greedily taking him in. My tongue wanted to lick every one of his ripped abs.
“Had a lot of time to work out.” He bit my ear, and I dropped my head back. He nipped down my neck. “And a lot of time imagining you naked, screaming my name.”
“You thought about me like that?” I gasped as his fingers moved beneath my bra.
“Far more often than the days I wanted to track you down and make you pay.” He unhooked my bra, letting it drop to the floor.
“Are you going to force me pay now?” I grabbed the top button of his jeans.
“Most definitely.” He winked, a wicked glimmer in his eyes. He bent forward, his warm tongue wrapping over one breast. With a loud groan, he tipped me back on the desk, his body following mine. I tore at the buttons of his pants, shoving them over his hips.
Not one part of me didn’t want this or wasn’t willing to second-guess it. He had been my fantasy for more than five years. I was tired of pretending. I wanted the real thing.
“I do have a bar full of people out there,” he said, but his hands were working the buttons to my jeans. “And I don’t have protection.”
“I have an IUD and I’m clean.”
“Me too. Prison doctors make sure.” He unzipped my pants. “But I still left the bar unattended.”
“Then I guess we skip the foreplay.” I sat up, my hand pushing him back, peering at him. Wow. It wasn’t just his build that seemed to get bigger. I yanked his boxer briefs down, desperate to touch him. “It’s not as if we don’t have experience with quickies in public places.”
He groaned, riled up by my words as my thumb worked over the tip of his cock, moving down. “Fuck,” he spit between his teeth. Grabbing my hips, he turned me around, wrenching down my pants and underwear, bending me over the desk.
My breasts pressed against cool files, I gripped the lip of the desk, quaking as he dragged himself over me.
“Fuck.” He hissed, coiling my hair around his fist. “How many times I thought about fucking you just like this.”
“Me too.”
“Don’t tell me that.” He moaned.
“You think you were the only one fantasizing about that night? You’ve been all I’ve gotten off on for five years.”
He swore again, parting my legs, dragging his fingers through me.
“Now. Lincoln. Please.”
He pulled his fingers out, slapping my ass, drawing pain and pleasure from me. Then he thrust into me, filling me entirely, my mouth parting in a cry as he groaned loudly.
Oh god. I stopped breathing as he pulled out, then pushed in deeper. My fingers clenched the desk as bliss gripped my body. I shoved back against him.
“Fuck!” He drove in, hitting my G-spot, his fingers digging into my hips, sending bursts of pleasure through my nerves.
“Oh god…harder!” I wanted more, to be closer. For him to destroy me.
He leaned over, nipping the back of my neck, his hips shoving forward. “Remember, I want to hear you scream, but do you want them to?”
“I don’t care.” I bent over farther. I didn’t anymore. The bar down the street could hear us for all I cared, my embarrassment from before was long gone.
“Damn, you turn me on, Freckles.”
His pet name for me only sent me more into a frenzy. I had heard it so many times in my head, wishing I wasn’t alone in the bathtub.
Our rhythm grew desperate. Raw. The sound of us fucking volleyed off the walls, our moans and jilted breaths climbing higher.
I could feel the orgasm start as a swirl around my spine, compelling me to chase it with a ferocity. His hand reached around, finding my core. He seemed to be an expert at making my body explode. Ecstasy tore through me, clenching around him in pulses, taking him with me in a roar. I loved the intense sensation of him releasing deep inside me.
I knew I cried out. Loudly. But I felt no shame or embarrassment. Bliss sent me out into the atmosphere until slowly I fell back down, scattered in pieces.
Limply, my bones sagged onto the desk, my lungs trying to catch up. The feel of Lincoln still inside me sent tingles through my limbs. It was un-fucking-believable.
“Fuuuck.” His chest pressed against my sweaty back, trying to hold himself up on his elbows, sucking in deep gulps of air.
I laughed. “You could say that.”
“Next time,” he kissed my shoulder, “I want to take my time with you.”
“Next time?” I teased over my shoulder.
“Yeah.” He grabbed my chin. “I’m gonna make you pay. For every day I was in jail, tenfold.” He lifted off me, pulling me up with him, turning me around to face him, kissing me deeply. “Now this time, when I leave, I hope I won’t find police waiting for me.”
“It had nothing to do with me.”
“You were frickin’ seventeen, which could have put me in jail.” He shook his head. “About had a heart attack the other night when I learned that.”
“No one knew. And you weren’t arrested because I was a few weeks from legal screwing age.”
“No.” He grabbed his briefs from his ankles, tugging them on. “But you were definitely the reason I got caught.”
“What are you talking about?” I got redressed, pulling up my jeans, though all I wanted was to stay naked and go again.
“I would have been far away by the time they came, but instead…I ran into you.”
“Are you blaming me?”
“Like I could have walked away from you.” He stared down at me. “A breathtaking girl offering up hot sex in a bathroom. You were the perfect trap.”
