Page 62 of Crash
Violet
Lincoln and I snuck around for a week, stealing little moments at work together.
He’d duck into the office when he had a break, and we’d kiss like teenagers, then we’d go get lunch together…you know, out in the world. My eyes were opening, and as long as he was by my side, I felt like I could take on anything.Even the scariest demons that lived underneath my bed.
It was the most perfect week of my entire life. It didn’t take much to claim the spot, but it was pretty bloody special.
Ash kept his distance, but one eye was always on us, watching like a hawk. I was sure he was waiting for Lincoln to slip up so he had an excuse to have another punch on, but so far, the Twin hadn’t put one foot wrong.
Every other night we spent at my place. He’d cook, or I’d try to, and then we’d go upstairs and talk. We went through all the superhero movies he hadn’t seen.Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengersand my current favorite,Guardians of The Galaxy.It was nice and all, but it wasn’t the stuff of romance novels. Our story wasn’t turning out to be passionate. It was turning out to be a box office flop.
One certain thing was always hovering at the edges. We’d end up ditching the movie halfway through and kiss. Slow at first, then deeper and more desperate. All too soon, it got to the point where clothes would usually be discarded and other things would begin to happen. I wanted it to, I could feel my body coming alive and ache with want for him, but every time his hands moved from my waist or my face, I froze.
The fear that I thought was dispelled was still lingering in the shadows.
Another night, another movie and yet again, his wandering touch had pulled me out of the moment and back into the past. Lincoln held my face in his hands, his thumbs stroking my cheeks lightly as I took deep breaths. Frustrating had nothing on it.
“Okay?” he asked.
I pulled back, rolled off the bed and stood, feeling dirty to the point I almost bolted into the shower. I knew it’d be hard, but facing the reality of it was another thing entirely.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m trying.”
I heard the covers rustle, then his footsteps on the carpet. He stood beside me and placed a kiss on top of my lowered head.
“We need to do something,” he murmured. “There’s a difference between thinking and doing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sometimes you’ve justgottado.”
This was it. He was going to break it off. I cast my gaze to the floor, my hands beginning to shake.
“Vee, look at me.”
I glanced back up, and he pulled off his T-shirt, tossing it onto the floor by the bed. I’d seen him fight before, and he’d stripped the other night, so it wasn’t anything new seeing his naked chest, but it still got me. He was beautiful.
“What are you doing?” I asked, shifting my gaze to the floor again.
“I’m doing what I know how to do,” he replied simply.
My eyes met his. “And what’s that?”
“Fight.” Reaching for the fly on his jeans he said, “Ash got you justice, but I’m going to help you live again.”
My heart rate began to soar as he dropped his jeans and kicked out of them. “By getting naked?”
He laughed, peeling off his socks and adding them to the pile. “Almost naked.”
“Don’t want to scare me off?”
“Vee, you’re wicked.”
I curled my arms around my middle. “Hardly.”
Lincoln shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed, placing his palms on either side of his well-defined body. He was just sitting there in his boxer briefs, and they didn’t leave much to the imagination, not that it was a stretch.
“Come here,” he murmured, his eyes beginning to sparkle with heat.
