Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) (12 page)

“God, what are you wearing?” He whispered, touching her dress.

“A dress,” She replied stupidly, seeing the appreciation on his gorgeous face. Knowing that he liked what he saw was a balm to her soul and she began to feel giddy.

Lincoln cupped her ass as they walked up the stairs and his possessiveness made her nervous but also caused an odd warmth to spread through her. From time to time his hand would slide on her behind and it was such a sexy caress that she felt herself becoming wet before they’d even reached her door.

This can’t be normal.

Her throat was very dry when she took out her keys. She unlocked the door and walked into the apartment. She turned on the lights and spotted the folded piece of paper on the floor immediately.

“Can you sit this on the coffee table?” She asked Lincoln, giving him her bag of snacks.

“Sure.” When he turned and walked to the table she hurriedly bent and picked up the note. She shoved it into her coat pocket before removing her coat.

She told herself that it wasn’t a big deal. She told herself that Marley would eventually get tired and leave her alone. But it didn’t matter what she told herself. The situation was becoming scary because it felt out of her control.

She’d always felt like she had some control because she’d assumed that once she spoke to Marley, he’d back off. But she’d spoken to him and he still wouldn’t go away. She was so tired of looking over her shoulder and getting his stupid notes and texts.

“Are you okay?” Lincoln asked as he took off his own coat.

“I’m good,” She said, hanging up her purse and stepping out of her heels. The cool floor felt so good on her sore feet. She bent down to pick up the shoes and when she stood up, Lincoln was so close to her that her head bumped his legs.

“Do you have any idea how good you look right now?” He whispered.

“I’m glad you like it,” She said, already breathless because she could see in his eyes how much he wanted her.

“I
love
it,” He corrected, backing her up against the door. His hands were already on her. He lifted the dress until it was above her hips.

She squirmed when he pulled her stockings down to her ankles. He bent down in front of her and placed one hand on each of her legs. She closed her eyes as she felt his hands slide over her ankles, up her shins and up her thighs. She struggled to get the stockings off of her feet and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. Brazen as ever, she spread her legs and swallowed several times, her quick breaths keeping her throat dry.

He ran his hands down to her ankles and then up again, going even slower than he had the first time.

“Lincoln!” She complained through gritted teeth.

He stood up and leaned his head towards hers. She yanked him against her and put everything she had into the kiss, her tongue invading every inch of his mouth. He reached between their bodies and slid one finger into her.

She mewled against his mouth as she thrust against his finger. It just wasn’t enough and she wanted more of him.

He grunted and broke the kiss. He stepped back and she cried out again, the ache so fierce and so intense that it was almost painful.

“I have to have you,” She demanded breathlessly, looking into his eyes, “
Now
.”

“I know, baby,” He said, breathing heavily too. He removed his belt and then unbuttoned his slacks. As soon as his pants were unzipped and he began pulling his zipper down, she was on him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

He pressed her against the door and positioned himself at her entrance but didn’t enter her.

“Lincoln,” She protested again, pushing her hips against him. She was dripping wet and he wanted to draw this out?

“Fuck,” He whispered. “Baby, let me get the rubber.”

Her head fell back against the door and he gently set her down before going to his wallet. She closed her eyes, in awe over the mistake they’d almost made but so hot that she couldn’t muster up enough common sense to be upset with herself.

That was the second time they’d almost slipped up. She knew it wasn’t smart but her only excuse was that he took over her mind and common sense went out the window.

He finally returned to her and picked her up. He was inside her in one swift thrust. She wound her arms around his neck and her hips around his waist then held on as if her life depended on it.

He didn’t want to leave her. He finally admitted that the cause of the tension in chest was because he didn’t want to leave. It was nearly five in the morning and he wondered if he could get away with staying. It was Saturday. They were both off. But they hadn’t yet discussed spending the night and he wouldn’t cross that line until they’d at least talked about it.

He nudged her but she didn’t stir. She had to be as exhausted as he was. He’d never had so much sex in one night, in his life. And still he wanted her.

After the last time they’d made love he’d allowed himself to start dozing but he’d gotten out of the bed knowing that once he fell asleep, he’d be out for hours.

Already dressed, he stood near her bed watching her for several moments. He really didn’t want to leave. Her voluptuous body spread out in the bed was so tempting, beyond inviting and sexy as hell.

He forced himself to walk away from the bed so he could call a taxi. If he didn’t get the call over with he just might give in to the strong urge to stay and deal with the consequences later. The call was quick and she didn’t move at all.

He poured himself a cup of juice, drank it and washed the cup he’d used. He was starved too but knowing he was going straight to bed once he got home, he didn’t eat anything. He sat on the couch and wasted time checking his email on his phone. He’d often glance in the direction of her bed but the entire area was surrounded by thick curtains to create some semblance of privacy, and he couldn’t see her.

Checking his watch, he jumped up and put his coat on. He went to her bed and shook her.

“Hmm.” She didn’t open her eyes and didn’t move an inch.

“I’m leaving, Em,” He whispered. He kissed her forehead and let himself out. “Come lock the door.”

“Hmm.”

He wondered if he should try to wake her. There were three locks on her door. Two could be locked before the door was closed but the other lock had to be locked after the door was closed. He figured she’d be safe with two out of three locks being used. But he still felt uneasy knowing that someone had tagged her door and slashed her tires.

The cab came after he’d been outside for a couple of minutes and he hopped in quickly. His eyes felt dry and irritated from the lack of sleep. It was still dark outside and it was so quiet in the cab that soon he was struggling to keep his eyes open. When the cab pulled up outside of his apartment, he paid the driver and rushed out.

A few minutes later he entered his apartment and took off his coat and shoes, not bothering to remove anything else before climbing into his bed and pulling the blankets over himself. It took him only minutes to drift off to sleep, wishing that he was in Emerald’s bed with her instead of alone in his own.

Emerald woke groggily, hearing someone banging on her door. She sat up in her bed, feeling disoriented for a moment. The banging sounded again and she got out of the bed, completely nude. She threw on a long T-shirt and took her robe with her as she rushed to the door. She shrugged into her robe as fast as she could.

“Who is it?” She asked as she knotted the robe.

“Police!”

Her heart pumped into overdrive and she looked through her peep hole. Sure enough, two uniformed police officers stood outside of her door. Suddenly shaking, she opened her door.

“Is there a problem, officers?” She asked, her voice sounding squeaky and awkward.

“I’m Officer Reynolds,” The first officer said and gestured to his partner. “This is Officer Sanchez. Are you Emerald Felton?” If it wasn’t for his kind blue eyes, she might have been alarmed by his booming voice. He was tall and reed thin and he couldn’t stay still, as if he’d had too much coffee.

“Yes.”

“And you own a 2002 Jeep Liberty?”

“Y-yes,” Emerald said, her entire body trembling. “What happened?”

“There’s been an incident, ma’am,” The other officer, an older Hispanic man, spoke quietly. “May we come in?”

“What’s happened?” Emerald demanded, raising her voice.

“Your car was on fire,” The second officer, Sanchez, spoke again, looking sympathetic. “May we please come in, ma’am?”

Emerald stepped back and waved them in, her heart beating so hard that she struggled to absorb what had just been said. He’d used her car to get to her again. And it was apparently much worse this time. She slammed the door shut and tripped over her own feet, nearly falling onto the floor. She regained her balance and rushed to the couch.

She sat down and took in several deep breaths, trying to get herself together. Falling apart wouldn’t accomplish anything. She was too strong to give in. He’d been stalking her for almost a year and she’d taken it all in stride. No way would she give in now.

Still, she clasped her hands tightly on her lap and her heart refused to calm down. As she spoke with the officers she felt as if she was on the outside of the scene looking in.

“You’re here so I’m assuming that it’s…bad.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Officer Reynolds said. “Your car has been completely destroyed by the fire.”

She couldn’t hold back the gasp. It felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. She’d had the car for years, had saved faithfully to buy it. And now it was gone.

“The arson investigator is still at the scene,” Officer Sanchez told her. “He-”

“I’m being harassed,” Emerald blurted, her voice sounding weak to her own ears. “He slashed my tires last week. He…” Her voice trailed off and she was horrified to realize that couldn’t even talk.

She was vaguely aware of Reynolds going to her sink and turning on the faucet. Sanchez was talking to her but she had no idea what he said. She rubbed a hand over her forehead and inhaled deeply. Reynolds brought her a glass of water and placed the glass in her shaking hands.

“Are you okay, Miss Felton?” Sanchez was asking, getting closer and closer to her. “Do you need to lie down?”

She shook her head vehemently.

“I’m okay,” She managed to say. She took a sip of water.

Snap out of it! You’re better than this!

“You say you’re being harassed,” Sanchez said. “Who is harassing you?”

“His name is Evan Marley.” She sat the glass on the coffee table. “He’s been harassing me for almost a year now.”

“What is your connection to him? Old boyfriend?”

“My old boss.”

She told them about the written and text messages, and showed them the picture of her spray painted door. She explained how her tires had been slashed and how she’d spoken with two other officers about all the incidents. They took notes as she spoke and she felt herself growing calmer as time went on.

“He left a note last night!” She said, going to her coat and digging it out of her pocket. She had a couple others. She’d be sure to give those over too. “I didn’t bother reading it.”

She opened it and scanned it, expecting to read the usual insults. But what she read instantly jump started her heart once more.

I think I need to go bigger so I can really get your attention. Let me know what you think of the show. I’ll be around.

Linc left a message for the P.I. and hung up the phone. The guy had said he’d get back to Linc when he got some type of info and it had only been a few days, not to mention that Christmas had been the day before. Linc didn’t care. He was worried about Emerald. She had an enemy out there and he needed to know who the hell it was.

It was nearly noon. He wondered if she’d gotten up already. He just wanted to hear her voice and know that she was okay. He decided he’d wait a little while before he called her and went to his kitchen to make a sandwich for lunch.

He usually didn’t keep much food in his empty apartment. But since Emerald had been coming over, he’d decided he’d better keep something in the fridge and cabinets. So far it didn’t matter because they usually ordered something to eat.

His cell phone rang and he knew it was Emerald by the ringtone. He dropped the loaf of bread he’d picked up and went to his office where he’d left the phone. By the time he got there it had stopped ringing. He hurriedly called her back.

“Hey,” He said when she answered the phone. “How’d you sleep?”

“Great, thanks to you.” Her voice was so low that he could barely hear her. “I…need to ask you for a favor.”

That surprised him and pleased him. He knew that he had a moronic grin on his face but at least no one was around to see it.

“Sure,” He said eagerly. “Whatever you need, just name it.”

She let laughed quickly before going silent.

“You might change your mind when you hear about what I want to ask you.”

“I doubt that.” He grew concerned by the strain her heard in her voice. “What’s wrong, Emerald?”