Chapter Forty Three

Raleigh

“You,” I rasp, having decided on the way over here that I was ready.
“Baby, you’re killing me,” he groans, pulling back to stare down at me. “I want you. Fuck, do I want you, but only when *you’re* ready. Me and Rosie take care of business just fine. You don’t have to have sex with me to prove anything to me or anyone else. I’m yours and I’m not planning on going anywhere.”
And *that* right there is how I know that he’s the right person for me to give my virginity to.
Sliding down his body, I take both of his hands in mine and bring them to my lips to place a chaste kiss against the back of each one, before I look back up at him. With a deep breath, I look him in the eyes and breathe out the words that have been on the tip of my tongue so many times over the last few weeks, words that I’ve been holding back because it seemed too soon. But, I don’t want to hold them back any longer.
My heart is beating rapidly against my ribcage, my entire body shaking with fear. I open my mouth but I can’t seem to get the words out, so instead I just stand there looking like a guppy.
Reaching out with one of his large hands, he places the side of his index finger on the bottom side of my chin to close my mouth, then slides his hand along my jaw until his palm is cupping my cheek, his eyes looking at me as though he adores me as he says, “I’ll wait as long as you need me to—”
“I love you,” I interrupt, finally managing to get the words out.
Lincoln inhales a deep breath, his hand falls away and he takes a step back as if I’ve struck him.
*Fuck!* I can’t help but think, *I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.*
“What did you say?” He whispers, unable to take his eyes off of me.
Wringing my hands together, I avert my gaze, unable to look at him, his reaction to the first time I said those words to anyone who wasn’t family, or like family, stinging more than I ever could have imagined.
“N-nothing… never mind,” I murmur, shaking my head back and forth, folding my arms across my chest until I’m hugging myself, so much regret at putting myself out there filling me. *So stupid!* I internally chastise as tears fill my eyes and I find myself wanting nothing more than to turn around and run back to my car and away from the huge mistake that I just made.
“No,” he says softly, taking a step closer. Reaching out with both hands, he places them on my shoulders and pulls me into him, my folded arms trapped between our bodies as he wraps his arms around me. “You said—”
“Nothing, it was a mistake,” I mumble my words, barely holding back my tears as his hand smooths up and down my back.
Pulling back just enough to look down at me, he uses the hand that had been gliding up and down my back to lift my chin. When I still refuse to look at him, he gently murmurs, “Please look at me.”
When I finally manage to bring my gaze back to his, it’s not anger or disgust at my words staring back at me, but happiness and dare I say *love.*
“I love you, too,” he says after a moment, his eyes shifting between mine as if waiting to see what *my* reaction to his declaration will be.
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, barely believing the words that he’d just said, even if I had just said them myself.
“I love you, too,” he repeats, a slight smile tugging up the left side of his mouth.
“You do?” I ask, still not believing that I heard him correctly.
“Yeah, I do,” he says, leaning down to capture my lips in a kiss. But before he makes contact, I rush to say those three words once more, “I—I love you…Lincoln.”
His mouth spreads into a full-blown smile, but only momentarily, because in the next second, they’re claiming mine in a kiss so hot that it lights my panties on fire.
“Can we go somewhere? Back to your place?” I ask, wanting—no, needing—to show him just how much I mean those three words.
“And you’re sure?” He asks, his expression torn. “Like completely sure?”
Grinning, I reach up to pull his face back to mine and whisper against his lips, “Yes,” before briefly kissing him one last time.
As soon as we pull apart, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip, I take off running down the metal walkway and out towards the parking lot where my car is parked.
As soon as I get to the driver's side door, strong arms wrap around me, pulling me back into his hard body, his teeth nipping at my ear, before in a low tone husking, “You can run, baby, but I’ll always catch you.”
Making it to his house and inside the door, I release a low moan as I make my way up the stairs, Lincoln right behind me with his hands trailing up and down from my breasts to my hips as he pulls my backside into his groin, showing me how much he wants me while nipping up my neck and teasing the lobe of my ear with his wet tongue.
As soon as we get into his room, Lincoln presses my back to the door with his body, his mouth lowering to mine as his tongue seeks entry. In no time at all, I’m a panting mess and he’s done nothing other than kiss me and run his hands over my body, leaving goosebumps in the wake of his skilled fingers as he teases and torments me with his scalding touch.
“I want you,” I moan as he begins trailing kisses along my jaw until he reaches my ear.
“You have me,” he husks, his hot breath against my skin making my nipples pebble as my back arches away from the door. “I’m yours.”
“Show me,” I plead, needing to feel his touch, to feel his body pressed against mine. Dying to know what it feels like to be completely filled, consumed, by the man that I’ve fallen in love with.
“Patience.” The single word falling from his lips with such reverence as he worships my body with his hands and mouth causes my core to throb and a whimper to build in my throat, as I realize that I have absolutely zero patience when it comes to my desire, my *need*, for him.
Slowly lowering to his knees, Lincoln nips a trail from my neck, across my collarbone, and over the swell of my left breast, his other hand coming up to palm my right as he runs his tongue along my cloth-covered nipple, then begins dragging his teeth over the taught bud before pulling it into his mouth, causing a deep moan to fall from my lips as my knees try to give out on me to the point that I have to grab ahold of the door frame for support.
“More!” I demand, my breath coming out in harsh pants as my chest heaves.
“What do you need, Baby girl?”
“I need to cum,” I tell him, my clit throbbing with the need for release. “Please, make me cum.”
He releases a low groan as the hand that had been massaging my breast lowers, skimming along my stomach before lowering to cup my pussy, causing an audible gasp to escape me at the action. “Do you want to come on my tongue?” he asks, his tongue darting out to lick at my nipple once more. “My fingers?” As he says this, his fingers push into me, his thumb pressing against my jean-covered clit. “Or my cock?” At this, he removes his hand, grasping ahold of said appendage and stroking it through his dark jeans.
“Yes,” I reply, my pussy dripping at the mere thought of getting to experience all three.
“Which one, Baby girl? Say it,” Lincoln demands, his fingers sneaking up the inside of my thigh at my shorts until they reach the hem of my thong before dipping beneath, finding out just how wet I already am for him.
“You’re fucking drenched,” he states as he thrusts a finger inside of me, causing a whimper to fall from my lips as my head falls back against the door. “Is this what you want, Baby girl?” He growls the words as he drags his finger in and out of me a few times, before adding a second finger. “Do you want me to finger fuck you?”
“Please,” I cry, widening my stance to give him better access. “Please, Lincoln.”
“You have to say it,” He demands again as pulls his fingers from inside of me and brings them to his mouth, slipping them inside one digit at a time as he licks my arousal off of each one. “Fucking delicious.”
Feeling brave, I grasp ahold of the front of his shirt and pull, indicating that I want him to stand. When he’s back to his full height, I place my hands against his broad chest and shove him away from me. At his bewildered look, I take a step forward and push him again, and again until the back of his knees hit the edge of his bed, making him fall back onto it.
Placing first one knee on the bed next to his thighs, and then the other until I’m straddling him, I slowly crawl up his body, my pussy directly above his crotch as I sink down over him, grinding against him as I say, “I want it all. Fuck me, Lincoln.” Then with another shift of my hips, I lower my upper body until I’m pressed against his chest, my entire pelvis and torso now grinding against him as I bring my mouth to his ear and husk, “Make love to me. Show me that you’re mine.”