“Put me down.”
“No. I know a shortcut, and those little legs of yours are not going to be able to keep up. Hold tight, Sunny-girl.”
So, I did.
His room was dim and quiet. He lit a candle on his small dresser then turned to me, his chest moving with his rapid breaths, his eyes dark with lust.
“Are you sure?”
I gripped the bottom of my shirt and yanked it over my head, then pushed down my shorts before I could get cold feet. I stood before him in the lacy bra and underwear I had bought the day before. They were pink and sheer, and I found them on sale, so I could afford them. I wanted to look pretty for this. For him.
He stepped forward, tracing a finger over the lace, my nipple hardening under his touch.
“This is pretty.” He glanced up. “But nowhere near as beautiful as the girl wearing it.”
I launched myself at him. In seconds, we were on his bed, all tongues, fingers, and lips. His mouth licked and bit at my skin as his hands roamed everywhere. Touching, stroking, caressing me until I was nothing but a mass of need. I yanked off his shirt, pushing his shorts down his hips with my feet. He had my pretty lingerie on the floor in seconds, his mouth on my breasts, lapping and sucking until I thought I would go mad.
Skin to skin with him, I relished the way our bodies fit together. He felt like a protective blanket draped over me, holding his weight on his elbows as he kissed me. We explored each other. I discovered he was ticklish and whimpered every time I stroked the sensitive skin of his pelvis. He learned every time he brushed his fingers up my thigh, I shivered. He held my feet, kissing the arch, then slowly making his way up my leg. I grabbed his shoulder as he reached my apex, nerves once again kicking in, and I tried to shut my legs.
“I’ve never… No one has ever…” My voice trailed off at his gentle gaze.
“Me either, but I want to try. Please?”
I relaxed, letting him in. He trailed his fingers over me, teasing my clit with his finger. I shut my eyes at the wave of pleasure. I felt his tongue slide along my folds, and I cried out at the intense sensation. He met my eyes, his gaze narrowed.
“Tell me it’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay,” I gasped.
“Good. Because I think it’s fucking awesome.” He lowered his head, learning and finding what I liked. What he liked. My legs began to tremble, an orgasm close.
“Lincoln,” I begged. “Oh god, Linc.”
My body tensed and I came, whimpering his name and gripping the thick blanket on his bed with one hand, my other buried in his hair, never wanting him to stop.
He pulled back, a satisfied smirk on his face. He kissed the inside of my leg, resting his hands on my thighs, stroking them gently. “Okay, Sunny?”
I cupped his face, loving how he nuzzled into my hand. He was always so affectionate, and the thought that he’d had to go so long without any made me hold him tighter. “Yeah. More than okay.”
He winked, his eyes growing round as I grabbed a condom off the small table beside his bed.
“Are you sure?”
I slipped the package into his hand.
“Yes.”
The rest of the evening was a blur. Fragments of memories I held close after he walked me back to my cabin late into the night, kissing me long and sweet before I slipped inside.
The feel of him on top of me. The sensation of him carefully pressing inside me. Sinking in inch by inch until we were flush—our bodies so tightly meshed together, it was as if we were one. He kissed away my tears at the pinch of pain, waiting until I nodded before he started to move. We were awkward and unsure, then we found our rhythm. His movements became smoother, his body flowing into mine. He didn’t last long, but it didn’t matter. I was already sated, and the feel of him inside me was incredible.
“I’ll do better next time,” he promised.
I kissed him. We kissed for hours, it seemed. Until he was hard and inside me again. This time, we both found our release, and he lay beside me, a proud smile making him adorable and irresistible.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I murmured against his mouth.
“It is tomorrow. Come back with me now.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want one of the girls reporting I was out all night. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
He pouted but kissed and released me. He traced a finger over the necklace and smiled.
“See you soon.”
He waited until I walked in, then disappeared into the darkness.
Unable to sleep, no matter how hard I tried, I made my way to his room as the sun was rising. The door to the office was ajar, and I frowned as I entered the dim space.
“Linc?”
There was no answer, and I headed to his door down the hall. I froze in the doorway, confused.
His bed was made, his duffel bag gone. The entire room was empty aside from the one glass candle that sat on the top of the dresser. I picked it up and held it in my hand. The curled end of the wick was the only thing that assured me last night was real.
For some reason, I investigated the small bathroom. His toothbrush and shaving stuff had disappeared.
In fact, it looked as if Linc had disappeared.
A noise behind me made me spin around. “Linc, I was…” My voice trailed off at the sight of Gerry in the doorway.
“Where is he?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“He left a couple of hours ago. His father came to get him. He said it was an emergency.”
“Did he-did he leave anything?”
He handed me an envelope. “I found all this. Sorry, Sunny.”
I couldn’t speak, holding the thick envelope to my chest. Gerry left and I stumbled to the bed, tearing at the flap, knowing the explanation Linc left me inside of it would help calm the anxiety I was feeling.
Three things fell from the envelope. The cell phone that matched mine dropped into my lap, smashed to pieces, and my unease grew. A strip of the leather cuff I had given him followed next. I held up the frayed piece, confused. It had obviously been yanked off, and I wondered where the rest of it was. The last thing was an uneven, crumpled, torn piece of notepaper with Linc’s writing, dark and deeply imprinted into the fibers.
I’m sorry.
forget about me.
Linc
Ten years later
I adjusted my tie, frowning in the mirror as my hands shook. It was ridiculous to be nervous. Today was the last item to be checked off the list, and then my past would be locked away where it should be. The past.
I sat down at the island in my kitchen and picked up my coffee.
“Can I get you anything, Lincoln? A bagel or perhaps something more substantial?”
“No thanks, Mrs. Ellis. Coffee is fine.” I smiled at my housekeeper. She was still new and getting to know the place and me. “I rarely eat breakfast.”
She clucked, wiping down the counter. “At least you eat the meals I leave you—sometimes.”
I chuckled and held out my cup for a refill, then headed into my office. I looked out the window at the city below me, a strange ache in my chest pushing at me.
I glanced at my watch, knowing I had to go, and dreading it.
But it was time.