“Yeah, looking forward to getting out of the car and having a glass of wine, watching the sun come up. Sorry, I’m a bit all over the place.”
“Understandable,” he replies, using the tone with me he does when we talk on the phone, rendering me compliant—and gooey. “We’ll be there soon, and you can rest.”
Lincoln focuses on driving while Gabe focuses on flirting.
“Right or left side, you never said,” he asks as he swings around, not hiding the heated grin from his face. Gabe smiling is a sight to see.
Looks like I’ll be having some fun until the time comes for them to leave. Because, given half the chance, there is no way I’m not taking whatever it is Gabe is offering. It’s in my very nature to take, like it is in his very nature to give, kind of looks like a win-win situation.
“Here we are,” Lincoln interrupts, and I don’t miss the slight rise of his eyebrows as he holds my gaze for a moment before my attention is stolen by the sight before us. I can feel Lincoln watching me still, and his scent intensifies.
“A ferry? Where are you taking us?” I ask him, but in the distance you can see soft lights.
Lincoln waits at the ramp as one of the employees of the ferry directs our car to the front position. The drive is bumpy, and before he turns my Jeep off, you can already feel the sway of the water under us. Ares stands, I guess he already realises we’re getting out, because I’m not great with any sort of motion or movement except for driving. In the air, I need a sick bag before take-off. On water, I need fresh air blowing on my face. I know that it has to do with residual trauma from the Regalo project, but it doesn’t hold me back, not anymore. Stubbornly, I refuse to miss out on doing everyday things.
Within moments, Lincoln is holding my door open. Ares jumps out and waits until I join him. I make a point of walking over to the worker to let him know I have a permit. It really is easier to be the one to initiate the discussion about having a protection animal than answer questions. People get weird if they think you’re hiding something. And much like I expected, the attendant waves me off after the briefest conversation I think I’ve had in a while.
“Come on, dove, I’ve got permission to take you up to the front, there’s a small viewing platform.” Lincoln holds his arm out wide, showing the way.
Ares stays alert, but besides the crew of two, we’re the only passengers. And the way the man, who I assume is the captain, waves warmly at Lincoln, I’d say they’re on good terms.
The viewing platform is tiny, but I can stand on the raised dais and as we motor across the channel the brine and salt are refreshing and keep my travel sickness under control.
Lincoln stands next to me and doesn’t talk until we start slowing down. The outline of the ferry dock becoming more pronounced the closer we get.
“Welcome to Scarfe Island.”
Turning over my shoulder so he can hear me over the wind gale, I say, “I’ve never heard of it.”
He leans in closer, an unexpected roll of the vessel has me falling into him. His hands on my hips stop me stumbling, and I grab a hold of the banister in front as a couple of large waves make the boat bob up and down.
“Watch the horizon and breathe through your nose. It will help with the vertigo.”
He shuffles closer, caging me in. In any other situation, his action would have me clicking my fingers at Ares to save me, but instead of freaking the fuck out, I sink into the way Lincoln shelters. Besides, this is like one of my ultimate fantasies. Being in Lincoln’s arms has featured in lots and lots of my dreams. In fact, I’m sure I have had a Titanic inspired one involving that infamous pose, although mine has us naked and me impaled on Lincoln’s pole.
“We’re going over a rough patch. For some reason it’s always like that here; only a few minutes and then it will be like we’re sailing over glass.” Lincoln leans down to yell into my ear, the wind making it necessary. He doesn’t move away, if anything he curls around me and scents the air with his alpha infused perfume, which is like being snuggled up in a soft, sexy, amazing smelling blanket.
And I don’t fight it, admittedly instead of a million arguments running through my head, it’s like my mind keeps sighing in happiness. One of those delicious soul-soothing sighs too. Another rock of the boat and my head falls onto his shoulder, and once the rock and rolls of the hull eases, I don’t move an inch. Instead, I stand there, with Ares and Lincoln, and watch as the boat does a large turn before it reverses into position while my head is coming up with all these ways to change my Lincoln fantasy into a Lincoln reality.
“Next stop is home. I’ve got the perfect place for you and Ares to rest. In a bed of course, or maybe not.”
Jesus, it’s like he can hear my thoughts.
“After a shower,” I murmur, getting boneless in body and spineless in spirit as my interested scent starts to get stronger than the smell of the sea.
He chuckles, though I feel the rumble of his laughter through his chest rather than hear it over the machinery and attendants’ yells. Stepping away, he guides me back to our vehicle where Gabriel is already sitting, a dirty fucking smirk on his face.
“Lincoln’s coming at you like a dark horse. Careful, little one, you’ll end up with all of us in your bed. Or maybe that’s what you’ve been wanting all along.”
“Maybe it’s you who needs to be careful, Gabriel,” Lincoln offers, his voice not at all like the one he uses when he’s working. Tonight it’s a seductive purr. “Or you might not get the invitation you are so desperately after.”
The pooling slick in my panties is a clear sign that, given half the chance, I’ll jump in on some knot action. Gabe and Lincoln in bed… I can’t wait.
10
LENNON
Doctor’s orders prohibited me from walking through every room in Lincoln’s home. Noah got a growly edge to his voice which was meant to have me scurrying to my room to rest, but the reality was it had me all but sprinting to the shower, desperate to find a little bit of a release. Seriously, I had barely held the shower head to my pussy before I was dropping onto my knees and moaning down the drain. So ladylike.
