Page 40 of Believe In Us

“Of course. I wouldn’t want you to not be honest.”

He took another slow breath in, his lips pursing slightly as he let it out. “I didn’t expect you, Chloe. I didn’t expect this.” He gestured between us before resting his palm over mine on his chest. “It’s a lot more than I expected.”

“Yeah,” I said softly, feeling uncertainty slide through me, spinning into that deep vein of insecurity and doubt about myself.

“I need you to know this isn’t casual for me. I’m not sure what I meant it to be. It’s all just sort of happened, but I don’t want you to think I’m using you just for sex.”

I blinked rapidly, my eyes stinging with tears as I nodded. He murmured softly, his hand squeezing mine before he lifted it to palm my cheek. “You okay?”

“Uh-huh.” I had to clear my throat. “I didn’t expect any of this either. I don’t know what I think, Lincoln,” I said, feeling almost dismayed because I was so overwhelmed.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“So have you,” I pointed out.

He tipped his head to the side, nodding. “So what if we just say we’re in this together, okay? I don’t want this to stop.”

“Are we, uh, telling anyone about us?” I asked.

He was quiet for a beat. “It’s kind of up to you. I’m fine with it, but I want to respect how you feel about it.”

I paused, chewing the inside of my cheek. “Can I think about it?”

“Of course. You tell me when you’re ready. I don’t need to keep this a secret. I’m all in. Maybe I didn’t plan on it, but I know what I feel and I know what I want.” He held my gaze. “You.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chloe

Pink socks

I came awake in the darkness, feeling warm and deeply safe and aroused, very aroused. Lincoln was spooned behind me, his palm resting on the curve of my belly, and I felt my lips curling into a smile. We’d talked about whether he needed to walk across the hallway to the suite he shared with his brothers, and I’d startled myself by admitting I didn’t want him to leave.

There was something so intrinsically lonely about sleeping alone after the betrayal I’d experienced. I’d never considered myself to be one of those people who relied on someone being there all the time. And yet, the faith I had placed in my ex had shaken my world. I’d been emotionally reeling after what happened with my baby. Layered on top of that, the shared betrayal of my best friend. Life handed me a crash course in solitude, like being dumped in the icy cold ocean in winter and having to find my way to shore through the choppy waves of grief and betrayal on my own. I’d finally reached a point where I could sort of manage the loneliness of sleeping alone. And yet, as evidenced by how this whole thing with Lincoln had started, I didn’t sleep well. Not usually.

Tonight, though, I’d fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep, and instead of waking up restless with my mind churning with anxiety and worry all on its own, I felt enveloped in Lincoln’s strength and his quiet, solid presence. I blinked my eyes open, searching out the clock on the nightstand. Around four thirty. I was just wondering what to do when I felt Lincoln come awake behind me. His arousal was nestled against my bottom.

“Lincoln,” I whispered into the darkness.

“Hey, sweet Chloe,” he murmured, and I felt the motion of his lips against my neck with his words. Every cell in my body was attuned to him, his big palm on the curve of my belly, the subtle prickle from the stubble on his jaw against my shoulder as he shifted a little.

“Apologies,” he murmured.

“For what?” I asked, still smiling.

He replied by rocking his hips slightly against my bottom. A giggle slipped out, because what else was there to do?

“It’s okay,” I whispered.

“Is it, though?” he whispered.

I pressed my bottom back against him. We were both naked, except I still had on my pink fuzzy socks. I slid one socked foot up and down the front of his calf and savored the sound of his chuckle and the feel of it reverberating through me from the rumble and vibration.

“Those socks are the sexiest thing ever,” he said, pressing a kiss right where my neck curved into my shoulder, and I shivered all over.

“Good, because I have lots of them.”

“All pink?”