Page 55 of Crash
“I am.”Because it was my cave, my escape from the world.It was full of the things I distracted myself with.Dreams, fantasies and happy endings.
Turning to the bookshelves, he ran his finger along the spines like he had the night he first came over to catch the spider above my bed. “What are they about?”
“Romances,” I replied sheepishly.
Smiling, he didn’t take his gaze off the books. “Nothin’ wrong with that. You like ‘em?”
“I guess.”
He glanced at me. “You guess?”
“I like them,” I said with a sigh.
“Don’t be ashamed of liking something,” he said, turning toward me. “If you like it, I want to know about it.”
I stood before him, back in that awkward place. The one where I didn’t know what to do next, but Lincoln was all over it. He reached up and cupped my face in his hand, stroking his thumb across my lips. A split second later, he kissed me.
I opened up to him instantly, our tongues meeting, and I could taste the pesto from dinner. Pressing forward, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. It didn’t feel awkward anymore. I was beginning to crave his touch now that it was becoming familiar. To my surprise, I realized that I trusted him. He wasn’t out to hurt me. He was trying to help me…just like he’d promised.
Lincoln broke the kiss first, separating our bodies, and I sighed in frustration, wanting more.
“If we’re doing this,” he murmured, “then you have to get used to me.”
“Get used to you?”
Reaching over his shoulder, he tugged at his T-shirt and pulled it up over his head, revealing his hard, muscled chest…and his abs.Shit, where should I look?Then he dropped his jeans, kicking out of them. Flustered, I shrunk back a step, and he shook his head.
“Not that far, Vee,” he whispered. “Not yet.”
“I—”
He smiled and turned to the bed, pulling back the covers. He climbed onto the mattress and lay on his back with his arm out. What was I meant to do now? I stared down at him,kindashell-shocked.
“Here,” he said, patting his chest. “Lie down beside me, and put your head here.”
Biting my bottom lip, I shoved my hands underneath my shirt and undid my bra, getting rid of it. Then I shimmied out of my jeans, all the while he watched me with darkening eyes.
I lay next to him, my legs touching his and my head resting against his chest. Drawing the covers over us, he sighed, and my head rose and fell along with his breath.
“Like this,” he whispered. Curling his fingers around my wrist, he tugged my arm over his stomach, and then he reached down and coaxed my leg up and over his thighs, so I was wrapped around him. He became one giant pillow.
The whole length of my body was pressed against his.My cheek, my breasts, my stomach…down there.I could feel the hard lines of his body, and I began to tremble.
“You cold?” he asked, reaching for the extra blanket with his free hand. He drew it over us, and I buried against him, not for warmth, but for his touch. It felt good.More than good, actually.It felt amazing.
Opening my eyes, I peered at his nipple and grimaced.
“What?” he asked, his jaw moving against the top of my head.
“I can see your nipple.”
He laughed, his chest rumbling beneath me.
“It’s right there…” I trailed off and beginning to feel daring, I edged forward and licked him.
“Fuck, Violet,” he hissed, his body shuddering. “You’re not cold are you?”
“Not really.”
