Linc (3 page)

She could see him watching her through the reflection in her window. He carried himself with a posture that screamed arrogance and self-confidence. Not like some men, who made it offensive—no, with him it was…old-world charm.

Yes, that’s what it was. Like a man who’d come from money and expected people to treat him in a certain way. It didn’t matter that he stood behind her in jeans, shirt and a leather jacket, with black boots on his feet—she imagined his manner would still be the same if he wore a tuxedo.

Lowering her gaze from his reflection, she opened the door and tossed her purse in. The warmth at her back told her he’d moved. She clenched one hand to keep from reaching behind her to touch him.

Touch me. I’d like that. So would you.
The silvered words, laced with endless promises of passion, floated through her mind.

Her throat was so dry that she had to swallow a few times before she turned towards him and stared up at his face, hoping he couldn’t read her nervousness. “Is there something I can do for you, Mr Dixon?” she asked.

Slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, he reached out with one arm and braced his gloved palm on the frame of her open door. Blocking her in. She stared at his lashes as he blinked. Long, thick and curved, they gave him an air of sensuality she’d never encountered before.

“Linc.”

It was her turn to blink. “Beg pardon?”

He leaned closer. “You smell like a bouquet of flowers.” She shivered as he inhaled along her neck, making her internal temperature skyrocket. “Acacia. I’ve not smelt this since the time it used to grow in abundance along the Nile.”

His words threw her for a moment. It was a scent she had to order, since it wasn’t all that common. But when had he been to Africa and seen the acacia trees growing along the Nile?

“You’ve been to Africa?”

His eyes glinted in the dome light. “Yes.”

She smiled wistfully. “I’d like to go there someday.”

“We will.”

We?

She didn’t voice her question, preferring not to think about why he would be speaking for them both. Hell, there wasn’t even a ‘them’. She’d just made a mistake and slept with her son’s coach.

‘Not a mistake, Chaya.’

She stumbled back, hitting the seat. “I… I have to go,” she babbled.

I’m losing it.

She managed to climb into her seat, but he stopped her from shutting the door. Her hand was on the handle, but unless she could somehow pull it hard enough to evaporate the man in its way, he wasn’t going anywhere. And neither was she. She trembled as she started the engine.

“Why are you running?”

Dragging her gaze from his, she focused out the windshield and buckled her seatbelt.

“I barely know you, Mr Dixon. If you will excuse me, I need to get home.”

“Linc.” This time his voice had an edge to it.

So, Mr Cool n’ Calm does have a breaking point.

She released the door and tugged on the edge of her shirt, squared her shoulders, and met his eyes. “Mr Dixon.”

He lifted one masculine brow, but held her gaze.

‘
You shouldn’t challenge me, I will win.’

Chaya ignored the voice in her head. After all, it had to have been her imagination. Right?

“I have things to do, so if you don’t mind…” She trailed off, expecting him to get the message and move his fine ass out of her way so she could leave.

He captured her chin in two of his fingers, holding her immobile. “You will cease running from me and you will call me Linc.” His words flowed like heated cordial and gave her the same tingle as if she’d drunk some, warming her from the inside out.

Even so, she shook her head and batted his hand away. “I’m not yours to order around, Mr Dixon. Regardless of how it looks to you, I just got off work and would like to get home.”

He took her hand and kissed each fingertip, never relinquishing his visual hold on her. When he reached her thumb, he nipped the tip and she almost whimpered with longing.

“Good night, Chaya,” he said, stepping back and closing the door for her.

Her clit throbbed and she fought not to shift on the seat. Without looking back, she drove away, knowing if she stayed there would be a repeat of this morning. She still wasn’t sure it hadn’t been a figment of her imagination.

‘That was not your imagination. If you like I can show you again.’
That same deep voice spoke in her mind.

It caused much the same reaction that being in Linc’s presence did; heightened sexual awareness—of him and her own body. She forced it out of her mind. If she accepted it, then she would have to face the fact that she was losing her sanity.

When she entered her home and closed the door behind her, she was assaulted by a warm brush against her back and her nose was filled with the same rich, earthy musk she got from Linc. That alone was enough to set her back on high alert and almost make her give in to the lust clouding her.

With a round of curses she never would have said if her son had been at home, she headed to the shower and hopefully some relief.

* * * *

Linc prowled through her house as she showered. The draw to her was stronger than he’d imagined it would be. His mind filled with visions of her standing under the pulsing water, the droplets streaming over her bare skin. Her nipples would be beaded.

He licked his lips, longing to draw those tips into his hungry mouth. His palms itched to cup her breasts’ heavy weight. He wanted to back her up against the shower wall and impale her on his thick cock. Thrust deep and unload inside her.

“Shit,” he bit off, rubbing his straining and aching shaft.

Hands back in his pockets, he perused her small living room. The colours were cool, blues and greens—it reminded him of the sea and offered comfort. He moved to a shelf and stared at the photos propped there. Mainly of her and Danny.

There weren’t many knick-knacks, but the place had a homey feel to it. One he liked. On silent feet, he strode back down the short hall of her ranch house and found her bedroom. He stood inside the lit room.

Earth tones. His gaze locked onto the queen-sized platform bed with its patchwork comforter in browns and creams.

The shower shut off and he half turned towards the door. It took him less than a second to cloak his presence.

His body reacted almost violently when she emerged from the steamy bathroom clad in nothing but a short silk robe. The deep pink colour offset the mocha hue of her skin to amazing effect.

His cock stirred again and he almost materialised before her and carried her to the bed. Instead, he remained rooted to the spot as she sat on her bed and began to rub lotion onto her legs. The fragrance was the same as that he’d smelt on her previously. Acacia.

The scent brought back memories of times long past, when pharaohs had been rowed up and down the Nile. Sitting next to Ra as they watched the pristine waters ripple past the barge. He remembered the throngs of people worshipping the other gods or partaking in celebrations. The powerful scents of the incenses as they burned along with visions of the other offerings.

He watched her run her hands over her smooth calves, rubbing the lotion into her skin. Skin he knew was as soft as rose petals.

She moved her hands up and down, her short unpolished nails shining from the cream as she massaged up over each thigh. Each pass of her palms seemed to hit him in his groin. He wanted her touch on him. The recollection of those legs wrapped around his waist made him groan.

Her head snapped up and her eyes focused on the spot where he stood. Could she see him? In all his years, he’d never been seen when hiding in plain sight as he was now. But something told him she knew she was no longer alone.

He held his breath as Chaya rose from the bed and approached his corner. Her hips swayed seductively beneath the burnished silk.

“Christ, I’m going insane,” Chaya muttered.

She paced back and forth before him, tantalising him. With each step she took the short skirt of the robe moved, exposing the firm globes of her ass. She shoved a hand over her short damp hair, spiking it up in parts. It made her look entirely adorable…and fuckable.

Chaya lifted her arms over her head, the robe rising even higher.

Yes. Definitely fuckable.

He barely contained the next growl, which raced up his throat when her robe slid down to pool in a pile of pink silk around her ankles. She strode, naked, to her chest of drawers and pulled out a pair of lacy boy shorts.

Who would have guessed that prim Chaya liked lacy undergarments? He watched her draw the panties up her legs. The pale purple material hugged her ass. A pair of pale blue lounge pants and a grey tank top followed.

Need, powerful and raw, coursed through him and he left before he took her. As badly as he wanted her, he could see how exhausted she was. This feeling emerging within him gave him pause. It was strong and intense.

Unnerving.

He materialised at his own home and strode through to the sunken tub. Once submerged, he sighed and allowed his thoughts to drift back to his woman.

Yes, his.

He who was considered ‘father of the gods’. One of the eight who constituted the Ogdoad. A deity without temples, he had mainly had existed in anonymity. Which was fine, but the fact that Chaya seemed content to ignore the link between them was not.

Chaya.

A woman who touched the basest part of him. With a groan of surrender to the craving that had been hounding him ever since he’d sampled the delicacy of Chaya. The quickie in his office hadn’t even begun to touch the amount of time he wanted to spend on her. With her. Inside her.

With a curse, he rose from the heated pool and strode, naked, to his bed. Sinking down upon the massive mattress, he curved his hand around his erect cock. He closed his eyes and fantasised that it was Chaya gripping his shaft. That it was her slender fingers holding him and stroking him.

He moved his hand up and down, his grip tight, almost as it had been when he’d sunk deep inside her. The air filled with the fragrance of Acacia, identical to the scent Chaya wore. Fisting faster, he pinched the head of his cock lightly before releasing it and moaning with pleasure. He took short breaths, never relenting in his strokes.

Closer and closer he came to his release, only to back off and build it up again, until he couldn’t hold back any longer and, with a low roar, he came, his cock jerking in his hand.

Exhausted, he relaxed into the mattress and closed his eyes. He didn’t require sleep, yet it seemed like the thing to do. The immense chamber was silent expect for his deep, methodical breaths. It hadn’t been nearly as fulfilling as it had been with Chaya but it would hold him for the moment.

A moment that turned into a week.

Seven days, and by the end of them he found himself annoyed. Yes, so he’d assumed she would come to him. Not only had she proven him wrong on that count, she’d also kept their interactions to the barest of minimums. He scowled as he left his office and headed for the rink. The practice today was later than normal.

The moment he stepped onto the ice, he knew she wasn’t in the building but at work because of the later house. He spied Danny and returned the boy’s wave even as he searched for her. There would be ample time later to see her. And he’d be sure to insist upon it.

After practice, he returned home and as he strode through his bedchamber, he paused at the sight of the half-naked woman reclining on her side by the steaming pool of water. She wore only a sea green, gauzy chiffon skirt, knotted to her full hips. There were three rows of gold beads and coins, which he knew would jingle when she walked. The material stopped just below the juncture of her thighs, exposing long, brown legs. A gold snake coiled around her upper left arm. Both items looked good against her dark skin. She trailed one hand through the warm liquid, appearing idle and uncaring.

“Hello, Nun.” Her voice was as he remembered—a low alto.

“I go by Linc now, Naunet,” he replied as he changed his own clothes with a wave of his hand and put himself in a pair of off-white, loose silk pants. “What are you doing here?”

She turned eyes heavy with kohl to him. “Do I need a reason to come?”

He lowered himself into a large chair and reached for a goblet of rich wine. While he drank, he stared at her. “No, I suppose not, but that doesn’t explain why you are here.”

“There are rumours you have become enamoured with a human woman.”

Another drink. “And you came to see if it was true.”

Naunet shrugged and rolled into the water. When she surfaced, her long hair fell over her shoulders and she walked towards him through the water. She was as alluring as she always appeared, yet he felt nothing. Turning his gaze away, he yawned and gestured in her direction.

“This human is mine, Naunet. Her and her boy.”

“A boy?”

“She has a son.”

She conjured up a chair and sat opposite him, her body now covered by a fur-edged robe. It was in the same green colour but covered her to her ankles. “A son?” She lifted one elegant eyebrow. “But you hate kids.”

“I coach his hockey team.”

“You? You’re coaching children?” The disbelief in her voice was palpable.

“I am,” he announced arrogantly. “Danny is really good.”

Naunet didn’t laugh as he’d expected her to. Instead, she stared at him. Her eyes matched her robe. “Does she know who you are?”

“No. Not yet.” It galled him to say those words.

Now a teasing glint appeared in her expression. “Why not? Scared of a human?”

He stared down his nose at her until she laughed and rose from her seat. “All these years and you still haven’t learnt that I’m not scared of you, Nun.” He grunted and she amended, “Linc.”

With a flash of light, she vanished. He sank back in his chair and shook his head.

‘Tell her before someone else does, Linc.’

The warning danced through his mind and he growled low at the thought of someone daring to approach his woman. He was hit with the need to see her and so, without any rumination, he flashed to where she was.