All of You (25 page)

“Can’t argue with that. I would have gone
broke,” Lincoln admitted, and I thumped him on the chest while we
all laughed.

Chapter Seventeen

Lincoln and I sat at Lincoln’s dinning table,
eating a meal Margie had sent with us when we left Lincoln’s
parents’ house. She had insisted on sending Lincoln home with what
must have been a week’s worth of food. And all of it was gourmet.
Tonight we decided to try Margie’s roasted ham with a red cherry
glaze and her twice-baked potatoes. Everything was mouthwatering,
and I cleaned my plate and ate until I was stuffed.

After dinner, I called Rebecca to inform her
of what happened. Turns out Lincoln had told Kennedy to stop at my
house before meeting us at his parents’ house to get an overnight
bag with clothes for me. I was apparently spending the night again,
although Lincoln hadn’t actually asked me. If he wanted me here,
though, I wasn’t going to complain. My only worry was that I did
have to work the next day, and my car was still in the lab’s
parking lot, so Lincoln was going to have to drive me to work
bright and early. I wondered if Lincoln had thought of that.

When I got off the phone with my sister, I
found Lincoln in his man cave texting on his phone. He looked up as
I entered the room and held his arms out for me to sit in his lap.
Smiling, I sat down and cuddled into his chest. “Would it be
intrusive of me to ask who you were texting?”

“Carter,” he answered simply.

Before we left his parents’ house, Lincoln
had informed Kennedy and me the judge signed the injunction barring
the tabloid reporter and his employer from publishing my picture.
But Carter had said, it was only temporary. They needed me to press
charges against Mackenzie. If these pictures were used in the
commission of a crime, they were not only evidence, but it also
made it illegal for Mackenzie to make any profit from her
crime.

And if that wasn’t enough, because I was
naked in the pictures, they could be considered pornographic in
nature, which made it a crime for Mackenzie to distribute them
without my written consent. Something about a “revenge-porn”
law.

I had to admit—Carter was good. I told
Lincoln I would go along with whatever Carter needed me to do, even
though I still feared Mackenzie would win this. But I had Lincoln
now. I would trust he would take care of everything.

“Everything okay?” I asked in reply to his
simple answer.

Lincoln rubbed his forehead. “Yeah. He was
just hoping you were under eighteen when the picture was taken so
he could add child pornography or child endangerment or something
else to the charges.”

“Oh. Well, no. I was eighteen.”

“That’s what I told him.”

“Hey,” I said, running my hand over the side
of his face. “You okay?” His voice had seemed stressed and despite
his insistence on carrying this burden for me, he seemed
overwhelmed.

He turned his head and kissed my palm. “Yeah,
Princess. I’m fine. I just don’t want you to worry.”

I nodded and kissed him quickly. “I have an
idea,” I stood up and Lincoln looked at me quizzically. “Take your
shirt off,” I demanded.

He immediately pulled his shirt over his head
and flung it on the floor. “Don’t have to tell me twice,” he
said.

“Lay down,” I said and pointed to the end of
the couch.

His eyebrows shot up. “Definitely don’t have
to tell me that twice.” He lay down on his back and crossed his
arms behind his head.

God, he was sexy. His muscles were etched in
all the right spots. His jeans hung low enough I could see his
six-pack and the delicious V that dipped into the waistline of his
pants. His shoulders were broad, and his nipples jutted out,
drawing my attention.

I felt myself blush slightly, and I kicked
myself mentally for getting embarrassed at seeing him with his
shirt off. But he looked so mouthwatering lying there.

He cocked an eyebrow and smiled at me
wickedly. “Like what you see?” he asked.

I nodded and bit my lip. But instead of
running my hands over his chest like I wanted to, I made a circle
in the air with my finger. “Roll over,” I said, softly.

Lincoln’s face returned to confusion but he
complied and rolled over until he was lying on his stomach, his
head resting on his forearms. I took a minute to appreciate his
back and shoulders—just as muscular and attractive as his
front—before placing my hands on his lower back. I threw one leg
over him and straddled his hips before sitting back on his
butt.

“What are you doing, baby?” he said as he
turned his head to the side to look back at me.

“Shh… relax.” I ran my hands up his back
before leaning forward and squeezing his shoulders. I worked his
tight muscles with my fingers and thumbs and when I found a knot, I
focused my attention on it until he groaned with pleasure. I smiled
to myself, and I could feel him relax beneath me as I continued to
massage his back and shoulders.

I worked his hard muscles from his shoulders
to his neck and down his spine. When I found an area that produced
a groan or moan from Lincoln, I would pause there and concentrate
on making him shudder.

Finally, when I felt I had relaxed him
sufficiently, I leaned forward and placed a light kiss on his
shoulder before laying down next him and resting my head on his arm
that was tucked under his forehead.

He turned to face me, eyes closed, but he
didn’t say anything. He simply pushed his lips out seeking mine. I
tipped my head closer to his and kissed him sweetly.

We lay like that for a long while. The
massage had not only relaxed him but me as well. Lincoln might have
dozed off, but I had napped earlier in the library, and I was
content to just lie there staring at the handsome, half-naked man I
loved.

Lincoln finally opened his eyes a while
later. “Hey…” I whispered to him with a smile and ran my fingers
through his hair.

“Mm… hey,” he replied and rolled slowly to
his side so I ended up on my side wedged between him and the back
of the couch, our chests touching.

He was still shirtless, and I couldn’t help
but stare.

“Do you like the way I look, Princess?” he
asked me as he snaked his arms around me, pulling me close.

I looked up at him and nodded.

“Do you want to touch me?” I nodded again and
moved my hand to the side of his neck and placed my other hand on
his chest over his heart.

He closed his eyes and shifted back slightly
to give me more room to explore. I slid my hand down from his neck
to his pectoral and curled my hand around his well-defined muscle.
I slowly ran my hands up to his shoulders and down his arms before
moving to his ribs and running my fingertips over the muscles
there. I felt him shudder, and I twisted my wrist so my thumb could
skate over his nipple.

I had never affected a man like this before
Lincoln. “Does that feel good?” I whispered as I lightly brushed
his nipple with my thumb.

“Mmhmm…” he mumbled with his head back and
eyes closed. “Everything you do feels good.”

I rubbed his nipple again and brought my
mouth down to his other nipple, taking it in my lips and sucking
softly. I didn’t know what I was doing or if Lincoln would like
this, but when he gasped loudly, I figured he was enjoying it. I
smiled against his chest and placed a light kiss over his heart
before sliding my hand down from his ribs to his abdominal
muscles.

I was tracing his ridges there with my
fingertips when he reached down and squeezed my hands with his,
effectively stopping me from touching him. I looked up at him with
confusion.

“Come here,” he told me, and I pulled myself
up to his eye level. He pushed some hair back behind my ear and
kissed me tenderly. “I love it when you touch me, but someday I
want to explore you too.”

I looked down with shame as images of my
hideous scars flooded my mind. I buried my head against his neck. I
was afraid that would never be possible, but I remembered what he
had told me earlier in the day. I was his. Despite how unfathomable
I thought it was, he wanted me. Lincoln rubbed my back trying to
comfort me.

“Someday,” I repeated to him as I snuggled
into him. Not today, but someday I would have to swallow my fear
and show him my ugliness. I would have faith that he wouldn’t
abandon me.

~~~~~~~~

I realized I was seriously behind on my
schoolwork and spent the evening at Lincoln’s catching up on it. I
lazed on the couch in his man cave with my laptop and leaned
against Lincoln as he flipped through the sports channels on TV. It
was nice.

I yawned big, closed my laptop, and snuggled
into Lincoln. “All finished?” he asked and turned off the TV.

“For now.” I yawned again.

“Time for bed?”

I nodded and he kissed my forehead. It was
getting late, and I had to be up early. He stood and pulled me up,
leading me into his bedroom. “These are for you,” he told me as he
opened one of the top drawers in his dresser.

It was filled with girlie pajamas. I could
see bright colors, plaids, stripes, and lace. It looked like at
least six pairs, mostly tank tops and cotton pants. I ran my hand
over the top pair. “Oh, Lincoln. Thank you.”

“You can still wear mine if you want. Because
that’s damn sexy too,” he said, and I giggled and pulled him down
to kiss him lightly.

“I think Rebecca packed your toothbrush and
glasses and stuff in your bag if you want to use the bathroom,” he
said and I nodded. Lincoln walked into the bathroom and set my bag
on the vanity. “I’ll be right back.”

He headed into his man cave and went
upstairs. I grabbed the top set of pajamas out of the dresser,
walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and smiled to myself.
This day could have been horrible. I had wanted to drop out of
school and flee the city when I first heard about the photograph.
Yet here I was, happy and contented, all because of this wonderful
man I loved.

I brushed my teeth and did my nighttime
hygiene routine, but my smiled faded as I unfolded the pajamas
Lincoln bought me. They were not capris length as I had thought.
They were shorts. Very short shorts. They would show my scars on
the top of my thigh.

I threw them down and frantically dug through
the overnight bag Rebecca had packed me. Surely Rebecca would have
packed pajamas, right? I breathed a sigh of relief as I discovered
an old pair of Rebecca’s nursing pants that I used as pajamas.
Thank God. They were long pants and would cover my scars. She had
also packed an old T-shirt, and I quickly threw on my old pajamas,
leaving my new set lying on the counter.

I could hear Lincoln moving around in the
bedroom through the door. I tried to calm my heartbeat by taking a
few deep breaths before cracking the bathroom door and looking out
into the bedroom. Lincoln was in bed under the covers, propped up
against the headboard, looking at his phone. I turned off the
bathroom light and closed the door behind me, feeling shy for some
reason. “Hey… what happened to your new pajamas?” he asked when he
saw me.

I tugged at the bottom of my old shirt and
looked down. “Oh… they didn’t fit.”

Lincoln sat forward. “Didn’t fit?” I shook my
head. “Why not?”

“They were too short,” I said with shame.

Lincoln got out of bed and walked over to me,
stopping right in front of me and rubbing the tops of my arms.
“Shit. I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t think.” I looked up at him. He was
apologizing to me? “I just bought what I thought you would like.
I’ll get different ones tomorrow.”

I shook my head again. “No, I’m sorry,
Lincoln. Any normal girl would have been fine with them.”

He pulled me into a hug, and I rested my face
on his chest. “I don’t want you to be fine with them. I want you to
be happy with them. I’ll get different ones,” he said and then
pulled back to kiss me quick. He walked around the bed back to the
side he slept on last time I stayed over.

It was ridiculous how sexy he could make
pajamas look. He was wearing a tight white tank top and red flannel
pants that showed off his sexy behind. I could not believe I was
about to share a bed with this man again.

He had crawled under the covers and was lying
on his back watching me. “I’ll behave,” he said as I stood next to
my side of the bed. I smirked, pulled the covers back, and crawled
in, curling up at his side. He pulled the covers over me and
wrapped his arm around me. “Good-night, Princess,” he told me as he
moved to turn off the lamp that was sitting on his nightstand.

“Wait,” I told him, and he paused, looking
down at me. I shifted so I was partly lying on his chest and could
look down at his face. “I want to tell you something, Lincoln.” He
looked at me quizzically. I nervously made patterns with my
fingertips on his chest. “I wanted to thank you. Today could have
been the worst day. You could easily have washed your hands of me
and left me to deal with Mackenzie and the photograph by myself,
and I don’t know what I would have done if you had done that. My
worst fears could have come true, but they didn’t because of you. I
could have spent the day crying my eyes out in despair, but I
didn’t. I spent the day laughing and being happy. Something I would
never have thought possible after what happened today before
meeting you. I know you think I’m strong, but I cannot thank you
enough for not just being there for me, but for making everything
better.”

I wanted to tell him I loved him, but I
wasn’t sure he was ready for that. But what I had said was the
absolute truth. I was so grateful for him.

He cupped the side of my face and looked at
me with concern. “Jillian, I will do whatever you need to make you
happy.”

“You already have, and I’m so thankful for
you. I want you to know that. You make me feel so cherished.” I
wanted to say loved. He made me feel loved. But I didn’t want to
scare him off.