Learning Curves (9 page)

His heart thumped as she closed the distance, and he pushed off the building and stepped in front of her.

“Linc,” she said, her voice coming out on a breathless whisper. “What are you doing here?”

“What kind of guy would I be to let you attend this engagement party alone?”

Her eyes narrowed, and she took a measured step back. “How did you know where I’d be?”

He shrugged and tapped his phone in his pocket. “Connections.”

“I—” He bent and pressed his lips to hers, and her words died on her tongue. He deepened the kiss and pulled her body against his. Their hips meshed, and her moans roused his hunger. He was two second away from dragging her back to his place and showing her how much he missed her when a car horn sounded.

“What was that for?” she asked when he’d broken the kiss.

He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “That was for me. I needed it.”

Her eyes widened. “Linc, look…”

Before she could finish, someone called out her name. “Lauren,” a man said, arms open as he stepped outside to greet them. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

She went up on her toes and hugged the guy, who Linc could only assume was her cousin. “Gabe, this is Linc. He’s my—”

“Fiancé,” Linc said. That one word, and the way it so effortlessly slipped through his lips, surprised him as much as it had Lauren.
What the fuck possessed me to go from weekend lover to fake fiancé?

Because he felt so fucking possessive of her. Couldn’t stand the thought of some other man with his hands on her. And something else, something he really wasn’t ready to admit. Something that had happened pretty much the first time he’d seen her.

Fuck.

He held his hand out, and Gabe gave it a firm shake, his eyes going wide. “Matthew told me you were seeing someone, but I had no idea you were engaged.”

She smiled and snapped her fingers. “When it comes to Linc, things happen fast.”

Gabe ushered them into the club and waved to a woman calling to him from across the room. Linc bent, put his mouth near her ear, and whispered, “Just go with it.”

Gabe turned back to them, his curious gaze bobbing back and forth between the two as they exchanged a secret look. “Why don’t you guys grab a drink and mingle.” He winked at Linc. “Looks like the old ball and chain needs me.”

“Ball and chain?” Lauren whacked him playfully. “Andrea is the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

He put his finger to his lips and said, “I know, but don’t tell her that.”

Gabe left, and Linc captured Lauren’s hand. Dark eyes met his, and her brow arched as she planted her free hand on her hip. “Fiancé? What were you thinking?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Sorry. Not sure why that fell out of my mouth that way. It just happened.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know, Gabe is my cousin, and this is going to get back to my parents in New York.”

A server walked by with a tray of champagne. He grabbed two glasses and handed one to Lauren. “What did you want me to say?”

She went quiet for a moment and looked into her champagne glass. “Boyfriend? That might have worked.”

Maybe. But he wanted to make sure that asshole Matthew knew she was taken. And no, it didn’t make fucking sense, but there it was.

“I wasn’t thinking.”

She pressed the flute to her lips and took a drink. Her nose crinkled, and she said, “I guess that’s better than telling him I was your weekend fling because you won me in a bet.”

Shit, was that what she thought?

She couldn’t be more wrong. Maybe it was time he was honest with himself. He’d fallen for her, long ago. That’s why sex was so good. His stupid heart was involved.

His fucking heart was involved
.

Christ, he had been half in love with her before he ever took her to the Keys, and now… Well, now he was all the way in. Which was why he was acting like a possessive dickhead. But maybe she didn’t feel the same things he did. For all he knew she was still in love with Matthew. Hell, maybe she’d even been using the bet to learn how to be a better lover to win her ex back.
Damn.
They needed to talk.

“I have to make a trip to the ladies’ room.” She handed him the flute. “I’ll meet you at the bar.”

He nodded and made his way across the lounge, keeping one eye on Lauren. He took another sip of champagne to wash away the dryness in his throat. She was everything he’d ever wanted, and never in his life would he find in another what he’d found in her. He shouldn’t have fucking waited so long to tell her that.

But what if she doesn’t feel the same?

There was a hockey game playing on the TV behind the bar. He tried to hear the commentary, but kept his gaze on the hallway, anxious for Lauren to return. Jesus, he needed to hold her and kiss her—to touch her all over and tell her how he really felt.

And that scares the hell out of me because I’ve never needed anyone
.

When she finally emerged, his heart squeezed.

She looked at him from across the room and smoothed her hand over that sexy bun on the top of her head. Jesus, he was so completely lost in her. A little shaky, and a whole lot unstable, he pushed off his stool. He wanted her. All of her. In his arms, his bed, his life. It was time to tell her, and he hoped like hell she wanted the same. Otherwise…well, he didn’t want to think about the alternative.

And she was going to think he was nuts, because they’d spent exactly one weekend together. But he felt like he’d known her forever.

He was about to go to her, but Matthew came out of nowhere. Linc’s blood ran cold when Matthew braced one hand on the wall above her head and leaned into her. What the fuck? Linc fisted his hands and drove them into his pockets as anger and possessiveness ripped through him. He drew a quick breath to center himself. Now was not the time to throat punch the bastard and cause a commotion. When the party was over however…

“She’s all he talked about this weekend.”

Linc turned and found a pouting Jessica slipping onto the stool beside him. “I think he was jealous when he found out she was with you. It made him want her again.” She leaned forward to showcase her cleavage. There was a time when he would have looked, but there was only one woman he was interested in now—and she was staring into the eyes of her fucking ex. Christ. How could he have been such a dumbass? Playing the part of her lover, her fiancé, to shut down Matthew’s condescending comments had backfired, and now the douche was interested in her again. Fuck him. He didn’t deserve a woman like Lauren.

But what did Lauren want?

Jessica touched him, her palm going to his chest just as Lauren turned his way. She stared for a moment then tore her glance away. His heart crashed against his chest. Jesus, after the weekend they’d had, did she think he’d want anyone but her? Then again, he never told her how he felt, and he did have a reputation…

He removed Jessica’s hand from his body. “What are you doing?”

“I figure if those two are going to play, then maybe we can too,” she cooed. She made a noise, a little snorting sound. “I don’t know what he’s all of a sudden seeing in her again anyway.”

“I do.”

Matthew touched a strand of Lauren’s hair, and Linc shoved away from the bar, the vision of those two in bed together had him seeing red. She was his, and he had every intention of proving it to Matthew and to Lauren. He cut across the room, slid his arm around her waist, and in a show of possession, pulled her tight. He dipped his head, his mouth inches from hers. She stiffened at first, but then her body relaxed against his as she fixed her attention on him.

“Linc,” she said, breathlessly.

“I need to talk to you.”

“If you’ll excuse us, we were in the middle of a conversation,” Matthew said.

“Lauren,” Linc said, without sparing Matthew a glance. As he put the puck in her hands, praying she wanted to play in his end, he sucked in a sharp breath.

“If you’ll excuse us, Matthew.”

A measure of relief moved through Linc, and Matthew grumbled under his breath and slunk away.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “What are you really doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the Keys getting your special delivery?”

His head reared back. “What are you talking about?”

“I overheard you and the pretty blonde at the airport, Linc.”

“Shit.”

A noise escaped in her throat. “Yeah, shit.”

He shook his head. “Lauren, you’ve got it all wrong. She runs a charter company and does special deliveries to those in the Keys—as in groceries, supplies, things like that.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “And she enjoys the view from your deck after she delivers them.”

He scrubbed his hand through his hair, needing her to believe him. “Yeah, well, she’s pushy. When I told you I didn’t bring girls to the Keys, I wasn’t lying.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “We can call her company. I’ll prove it to you. She’s not my girl, never has been. You however…”

Her face softened. “What about me?”

She believed him.
Thank fuck.

Instead of answering, he gestured to the TV behind the bar. “Your team is playing.”

“You mean the Miami Rays?” she said, placing her hands on his chest. The warmth of her fingers seeped under his shirt. Jesus, he loved being touched by her.

“New York Storms.” He ran the backs of his fingers along her cheek, the things he felt for her making it difficult to breathe. “Care to make a bet on the outcome?”

“You want to make a bet?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“You once said you hated unfinished business?”

Dark lashed blinked over curious eyes. “And?”

He waved a finger back and forth between the two of them. “And that’s what we have.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You and me.” He splayed his hand on the small of her back. “Whatever this thing is between us, it’s far from finished.”

Her fingers curled against his shirt, and a smile lit her eyes as her mouth curved. “It is?”

“We’re not done. There is so much more I want with you.”

“So you’re thinking another bet?” The deeply intimate way she was looking at him fueled his need. “Another weekend?”

“No. I’m thinking about taking you home, stripping you naked, and making sweet fucking love to you.”

Her chest heaved, excitement dancing in her eyes. “Lovemaking, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“That sounds pretty…good.”

A rush of tenderness rolled through him. “So are
we
when we’re together, which is why I want to take you out of here right now and keep you all to myself.” He drew a fueling breath. “And I think I’m about to scare the hell out of you right now.”

“Why?” She frowned.

“I’m thinking I might like to make love to you for a long time. Like forever.”

Tension moved through her. She glanced down. “Oh.”

His gut clenched and he tipped her chin to see her expression. “Oh what?”

“I can’t go with you. I have some other unfinished business.” She looked across the room, and a wave of unease curled around him. Jesus Christ, if she was talking about Matthew, he was going to knock the guy out cold, drag her out of there caveman style, and tie her to his bed until she could see
he
was the right man for her.

But he wanted her happy, and if that asshole was the one who made her happy…
Fuck!

“Lauren…” He gripped his hair and tugged. “Is it Matthew? Do you still have feelings for him?”

She went up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. “Oh, hell no. Unlike us, Matthew and I don’t have any unfinished business. I just can’t leave my cousin’s engagement party before dinner.”

A huge wave of relief moved through him. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her clear off the ground. “Fine, but we leave the second dessert is finished.”

She shook her head. “No.”

Okay, she was seriously killing him here. “No?”

“We leave before it’s served.” She kissed him. “I have a much better idea for dessert.”

He swallowed hard as both his heart and his cock swelled. He set her back down on the floor, using her body to shield the tent in his pants. “Thanks for that. Now I’m going to be sporting a hard-on through dinner.” She chuckled, but the smile fell from his face, hoping she truly meant it when she said there was no unfinished between her and Matthew. He looked across the room and found Matthew watching them. “What did he want?”

“Me.”

“What did you tell him?”

A smile spread across her mouth. “That I was already engaged to someone else.”

His heart missed a beat. “Say it again.”

She gave him a perplexed look. “I told him I was already engaged to someone else. I know it’s not true, but it was worth it to see his face. He kept asking about the ring, so if he says something to you, it’s being sized.”

“Oh, there’s going to be a ring. A big one. Huge actually. As soon as the jewelry store opens, you’ll have it on your finger.” He put a possessive hand around her waist and hugged her to him. He bent and sank into her warm wet mouth, kissing her with all the love inside him. “When the news gets back to your parents, it won’t be a lie.”

She broke the kiss and inched back. “Linc, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“If you think I’m saying I want us to be engaged for real, then yes.”

Her eyes went wide. “That’s…that’s kind of fast.”

He grinned, gave her a wink, and said, “But it’s the good kind of fast.” She stood there blinking up at him. “Marry me, Lauren. You are the sweetest and sexiest woman I know, and I’m crazy about you.”

“I think you’re just crazy.” She put her hand on his face. “And just so you know, I think I’ve been crazy about you for a very long time now.”

“Same here. Say yes.”

A beat passed and then, “Yes.”

He squeezed her tight. She was his.

“But can we date for awhile before we get married?”

“If that’s the way you want it. But I’m not going anywhere.”

“Neither am I.” She glanced at the TV over the bar. “And I’ll take that bet.” She poked his chest. “If I win, you’re mine for the weekend. If you win, I’m yours.”