He had loved it.
Cindy laughed behind me. “How is it you always know when the biscuits are ready?”
He sauntered in, his gait relaxed, his eyes lit with mischief. He had both hands behind his back as he approached, his smile getting bigger.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he denied, pulling his hands out in front of him and holding out two small bunches of wild flowers. “I happened to be walking by with flowers for my two favorite girls.”
Cindy scoffed. “Little rake, you are.” She nudged me. “Go on, then. Get your boy a biscuit and jam.” She accepted the flowers from Linc. “Make it two. He looks hungry.”
I chuckled and slipped two onto a plate, slicing them open and adding butter and jam. I handed Linc the plate, taking my bunch of flowers with a smile.
He winked and came closer forward. “I am hungry. For biscuits—” he glanced to make sure Cindy was out of earshot “—and you.” Then he took the plate and kissed me quickly, leaving me longing for more.
The biscuits disappeared in fast mouthfuls. He sighed. “Promise me you’ll make these for me every weekend for the rest of our lives.”
My heart stuttered at his words.
Our lives. I was going to get to spend my entire life with this boy.
“Yes.”
“Out of the kitchen now, you!” Cindy shooed him away. “We have lunch and dinner to get done.”
I laughed as she handed him another biscuit. “Be gone with you.”
He left, throwing me a wink and a kiss.
She smiled. “He’s got it bad for you, girl. I remember love like that. Young, passionate, and all-encompassing.” She chortled. “Then real life sets in. Enjoy it while you can.”
I couldn’t respond. I was too busy basking in it.
In him.
I didn’t go in for dinner. Instead, I ate in the kitchen and finished my tasks. I couldn’t go into the dining room. It was too loud, with too many people. I was sure anyone looking at me would know what was going to happen later. I couldn’t sit next to Linc and act casual. Every time I saw him today, I felt his stare. His intense gaze locked on me.
So, like a coward, I hid.
When I was done, I slipped out the back and went to my cabin, which was deserted. I had looked forward to sharing it with girls my age but found them standoffish. I was the new girl in their midst—and not welcome. I kept to myself, preferring to spend time with Linc or visit Emily and Hayley. My roommates never bothered to ask where I was, and we chose to respect one another’s boundaries.
I grabbed a fast shower, the cool water welcome on the heat of my skin. I shaved and shampooed, the whole time my stomach in knots.
Linc had told me he was a virgin as well. He’d promised he’d waited for me the same way I had waited for him and we’d discover it all together.
But what if I was awful at it?
What if it hurt as much as I had heard girls whisper in school? I had seen the size of his cock, and considering how small I was compared to him, I had no idea how I would fit that inside me.
I was still fretting when a soft knock on the cabin door made me look up. Linc was framed in the doorway, leaning on his shoulder, regarding me with a gentle expression.
“Hey.”
“May I come in?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Of course,” I babbled.
He stepped in. “I missed you at dinner.”
“Oh, well, ah, I had stuff. You know…I had to get ready, for, ah, later. Yeah, later.”
Wordlessly, he held out his hand. I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat and walked to him, placing my hand in his.
He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Later is whatever we want it to be, Sunny. No pressure. I just want you and me alone.” He dropped another kiss to my skin. “I’ll wait for you. I’ll always wait for you.”
My nerves dissipated with his quiet declaration. I had to laugh at myself. It was Linc. My Linc. He would never do anything to hurt me.
I glanced up, lifting my shoulder. “Sorry, I’m being silly.”
He shook his head. “No. You’re being you.” He smiled. “And I adore everything about you. Silly or not.”
Our gazes held and I relaxed, all my worries gone. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “How about a walk? We can sit by the fire with everyone if you want after?”
“The walk sounds nice.” I picked up the bag I carried with me. It was full this time. “Maybe we could drop this off first?”
With a tender look, he took it from my hand. “Yeah, Sunny. We can do that.”
We walked along the shore, hearing the campers around the fire in the distance. The water swirled around our feet. Linc had his hand wrapped around mine, protective and warm. We sat on the rocks, watching the sun begin its descent in the distance, casting burnished rays on the water.
Linc lifted a strand of my hair. “Sunsets remind me of your hair. The muted reds and gold.”
I laughed quietly. “Being romantic, Linc?”
He chuckled. “Trying.”
“Shut your eyes.”
He did as I asked, and I fastened the thick, black, woven leather cuff I had seen in a secondhand shop while waiting for him to get one of the orders we were picking up. I had polished the silver clasp and cleaned the leather. I thought he would like how it looked.
“Okay,” I whispered.
He opened his eyes, looking at his wrist. He turned and admired the clasp. “I fucking love it. I’ll always wear it.”
I grinned in delight at his reaction, cuss word and all.
He winked, then slipped a small box into my hand. “My turn.”
I opened the box, a delicate necklace cushioned on black velvet making me gasp.
“It’s not much,” he whispered. “But I bought it with my own money, not his. Someday, I’ll buy you something better. It says what I can’t, though.” He huffed out a long breath of air. “My heart is yours, Sunny.”
I traced the two hearts woven together, the silver catching the last of the light.
I looked up at him, tears glimmering in my eyes. “I don’t need something better, Linc. This is perfect.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I turned, lifting my hair. “Put it on me?”
He slipped it around my neck, making me giggle as he cursed, trying to get it to catch. Finally, he brushed a kiss to the juncture of my neck. “Done.”
I faced him and slipped my hands around his neck. “Thank you.”
He kissed me, his lips tender against mine. I pulled him closer, sliding my tongue along his bottom lip, loving how he groaned and opened for me, slanting his mouth, and moving his tongue with mine in lazy strokes. I whimpered as his hand slid up my rib cage, cupping my breast and circling my nipple. He loved breasts. My breasts in particular, he informed me, although he referred to them as tits. I loved him touching them.
The kiss intensified, becoming hot, wet, and passionate. He pulled me onto his lap, delving his hand under my shirt and stroking my back. I felt his erection pressing on me, and suddenly, I wasn’t scared anymore. There was only him. Me. Us. I wanted him.
“Your room,” I pleaded. “Now.”
He stood, taking me with him. I giggled as he began walking toward the trees.