“Sure. That was…”
“Wild?”
Boy, was it wild and desperate… “And good.” I hadn’t gotten off like that in… I couldn’t even remember how long.
An awkward silence settled now that we’d come down from the height of sexual bliss.
Lincoln cleared his throat lightly. “Are we going to talk?—”
“Let’s not talk about anything right now.”
“Not even the fact that we had sex without protection?” he asked.
“You have nothing to worry about.” I glanced at him, wondering if he’d take my word for it.
He sighed softly and said nothing.
The room got quiet again.
To my surprise, Lincoln pushed an arm under my shoulder and pulled me closer. What was more surprising was that I let him. I fell asleep, nestled in his arms, feeling warm and secure like I used to. I decided not to think about anything other than being cuddled because I hadn’t been in a long time.
18
LINCOLN
Leaning against the kitchen counter, coffee in hand, I stared at her. Ava sat at the island, cross-legged, one foot bobbing as she listened to Alex. She had abandoned her tea to listen intently. I tried to pay attention to what Alex was telling her, but I was too distracted by her presence.
She was here, in my home. I never thought this would happen. I took a slow sip of coffee, watching her tuck her hair behind her ear and nod to something Alex said. She still got that glint in her eyes when she was listening to something intriguing.
I foundherutterly captivating. My gaze dipped to her cute nose, which wrinkled when Alex mentioned something about not getting anything on someone yet. I used to kiss the dusting of freckles across the bridge every time she said she hated them. God, we were good together back then. We’d be good together now…
Alex rambled on about encrypted messages and something about geotagged photos. All my brain could process was that Ava was inmykitchen, barefoot, and comfortable.
We hadn’t gotten around to talking about our passionate night. Was it a one-time thing? I certainly hoped not. She spentthe night in my arms. Did that mean I had a chance with her? It was hard to tell right now. I apologized for the way I ended things years ago, but she never said the wordsI forgive you.
Should I apologize again?
Would she stop fighting the chemistry that was clearly still between us?
I felt like I was still treading dangerous ground. Should I try to broach the subject?
Jesus. So many questions.
Inhaling sharply, I scrubbed my face. I had to stop mentally torturing myself like this.
At least there was a sliver of hope for us. She hadn’t looked at me with skepticism since we slept together. That was two nights ago. Progress.
“Your gut was right, Ava.” Alex’s words finally cemented in my brain. “That girl is more than just a rising pop star. She’s caught up in something dark. No one is simply friends with Dorian Vauxhall.”
I snapped back into focus, the haze from my thoughts about Ava evaporating like steam. I walked around to look at Alex on the laptop screen.
“Phoenix is friends withwho?”
Alex lifted an eyebrow at the urgency in my tone.
“Not Phoenix,” Ava clarified. “Her manager is acquainted with this Vauxhall character. But someone is missing from the chain. The manager controls Phoenix, but who controls the manager? He’s the major link to Vauxhall, who seems to be the head of the snake.”
“Vauxhall isn’t listed on any official documents, but he’s always hovering around the edges,” Alex continued. “Private jets, closed-door meetings, untraceable wire transfers… You know, all the shady stuff.”
