Page 16 of Believe In Us

My traitorous body made a decision entirely without my input. Next thing I knew, my hand was sliding down over my belly, past the soft stretchy waistband, to delve between my thighs.

I was slippery wet, drenched with need. For him. My clit was swollen and aching. This did not happen to me. Not that I’d never had an orgasm, but every single prior sexual experience for me had been, at best, a disappointment. Lincoln had turned me on with just a kiss. Within moments, I was crying his name in a breathy gasp, alone in my bedroom, as I came in a shuddering rush.

I lay there stunned for a moment. I supposed that was the theme with him—stunned.

“Oh, my God,” I whispered to myself.

I finally fell asleep. Because after an orgasm like that, well, it takes it out of a person.

Chapter Eight

Chloe

Force field

The next few days, every time I saw Lincoln—every day, multiple times a day—our kiss flashed through my mind and I got hot all over. All of those recollections followed instantly by what happened after that by merely thinking about him. “So, he’s a great kisser. I’m sure that anything more than just a kiss would be disappointing,” I said to myself one afternoon in my office.

“What are you even talking about?” Elsa said as she came walking through my office door.

I cleared my throat. “Nothing.”

“Well, you’re talking about something. If you were talking about nothing, you wouldn’t have been saying anything,” she pointed out, practical woman that she was.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Really, Elsa?”

“Okay.” She held both hands up in surrender. “I will not be nosy.”

“Well, you can be nosy, but I’m not going to offer anything else.”

“All right.” She plunked down in the chair across from my desk.

“What’s on your face?” I asked after a moment, studying her and noting a steak of red on her cheek. “Is that blood?”

“Oh, God. It’s fish blood.” She sighed.

I snorted. “Really?”

“Yes. I was busy today.”

“Well, you’re a biologist. You do seem busy around here. Why exactly do you have fish blood on your face?”

“We had some kids come to one of the fishery sites and part of the tour was showing them how to clean and gut a fish. Clearly, I got blood on my face. I washed my hands, but we were outside so no mirror for me to notice. I’ll wash it off in a minute. I was just coming in to say hi. So, what were you talking about?” she pressed again.

I rolled my eyes. “I stand by my first answer. Anyway,” I said, keeping my voice bright and chipper, “do you need anything?”

She shook her head. “Not a thing. I was just walking by and you’re my friend and I like you, so I wanted to say hi. Now I’m grateful you told me I had fish blood on my face because I’ll wash it off before dinner.”

We giggled together. “Plan,” I said firmly.

She stood up, pausing. “I’m really glad you’re here, by the way.”

I straightened my shoulders, feeling an uncertain smile curl the corners of my lips. “Well, I’m really glad to be here. Why do you say that?”

“Aside from the obvious that I mean it, there’s a lot of men around here, you know. I love Haven and all the brothers. But I just like knowing that you’re here.”

“I’m glad to be here. I love this job,” I replied, meaning it down to my toes.

“I know. And you’re perfect for it. Maggie doesn’t ever want you to go anywhere.”