Chapter 20

Ever

Wyoming takes my breath away. Linc takes my breath away. I’m surprised I haven’t suffocated to death between the two.

We’ve been in the car all day driving. We headed north from the cabin and traveled through the Teton National Forest, before heading into Yellowstone. We came in through the south entrance and headed west so I could get my first look at Old Faithful. When it erupted, shooting a plume of water over a hundred feet into the air, I know I should have been humbled by the spectacle. Instead, all I could think about was how good Linc’s arms felt wrapped around me as we both watched the geyser.

I will have to admit, I was finally able to put my lustful thoughts of Linc aside when we traveled through the Hayden Valley. We pulled over on the side of the road and watched a herd of probably two hundred buffalo graze on the open plains. The beasts were enormous and they are quite dangerous, but we maintained a respectful distance. I did have a slight panic attack when we had to stop our car in the road while two buffalo crossed in front of us. They were as large as our car and if they wanted to ram us, we would have been in a world of hurt. As it turned out, nothing happened other than I snapped off some amazing photographs as they walked within two feet of the front of the car.

We are now lying on a blanket in the soft grass near a picnic area. We had stopped in Jackson before heading out this morning and picked up some deli sandwiches and drinks. Our hunger satisfied, we are both content to lie beside each other and watch the fluffy clouds roll across the azure sky.

“How did you know you wanted to be a reporter,” Linc asks.

“A fortuitous stint on my high school’s newspaper. I found that I loved digging for facts and telling stories. It just seemed natural to me.”

Linc picks up a lock of my hair and twirls it between his fingers. I flip on my side and rest my head on my hand so I can look at him. “How about you? How did hockey become your calling?”

“Kind of the same thing. It just felt natural. Dad worked a lot of hours at the shipyard so Nix and I could play hockey. It’s not an inexpensive sport. Luckily I excelled at it.”

“Nix played hockey?”

Linc grins. “Yeah, but he’s wasn’t very good.”

I laugh. “Nope. I guess everyone has their own thing they are good at, right?”

Linc is solemn when he says, “Yeah...Nix was a great soldier. He’s a hero.”

“Emily told me he fought in Afghanistan and was injured, but I didn’t push for any details. It seemed sort of private.”

Linc is quiet then he rolls toward me and wraps his arms around my waist. “It’s not a secret or anything. Nix got pretty banged up saving some of his fellow Marines. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions.”

“You’re kidding? That’s an amazing honor.”

“I know. There is no finer man than my brother in all the world. I wish I had half the courage and bravery he does.”

“You love him a lot.”

“That I do. Even when he is being a pain in the ass.”

I giggle at that thought. “Well, remind me to give him a hug next time I see him...to thank him for his sacrifices.”

“How about we just stick with you giving him a nice handshake. The only man you should be hugging is me.”

Looping my arms around Linc’s neck, I say, “Is that so?”

Linc tilts his head and nuzzles along my jaw. “Absolutely. I’m feeling very proprietary toward you right now.”

I want to laugh at his statement but then his lips touch my jaw and I forget all about laughing. But I still have the presence of mind to murmur, “Sounds like jealousy to me.”

Linc continues to kiss from my jaw up to my ear. When his lips reach their target, he whispers, “I admit...I’d be jealous of any man that touched you. In fact, I think I’d do them severe bodily harm.”

His words warm me but they also tickle me. I never thought Linc would be the jealous type. “Does that include kicking your brother’s ass if I hugged him?” I tease.

“That would give me great pleasure, actually. Make up for all the times he beat me up when we were kids.”

I try to think of a snappy comeback but then Linc’s mouth is on mine and my mind goes blank as glass. He plunders softly while his hands move up and down my back. I can’t help but move my hips in toward his and when we make contact, I can feel how hard he is for me.

We kiss for a few more minutes but then I pull away. As much as I would love nothing more than to strip us out of our clothes and let Linc bury himself in me, I still have barely enough presence of mind to remember we are in a public, national park.

We both let out mutual sighs when the kiss breaks.

“I could make a full time job out of kissing you,” I tell him.

“If you can figure a way for us to get paid doing that, I’ll gladly quit the NHL.”

I smile at his words and close my eyes. Linc continues to stroke his hand up and down my hip and it’s a bit frightening to me how much I cherish his touch.

When we had finally both given into this mutual lust we were harboring, I never thought of this as anything more than having a fantastically good time with a man I was becoming to admire quite a bit.

But when he does something so simple as stroke my hip, and I want to just sigh into the touch and feel, it worries me a bit. I don’t want to enjoy something so much that I will miss it when it’s gone. And I know there will be a day when this is gone.

“What’s your favorite color?” he asks. My eyes fly open at the absurdly simple question.

“Yellow. Why?”

He grins at me. “Just trying to get to know you better. Now ask me something.”

“What’s your favorite junk food?”

Linc sighs. “Ahhh. Nothing like Barbeque Fritos.”

I wrinkle my nose. “That’s gross.”

“Favorite movie?” he continues.

“Titanic. Who was the first girl you kissed?”

“Karmen Villachez...second grade. No tongue was involved though. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?”

“Besides watching The Walking Dead with you? Hmmm...I rode The Lochness Monster at Busch Gardens when I was ten and peed my pants. And no comments about that please. Favorite song?”

Linc snickers but answers me quickly. “Man In The Box...Alice in Chains. Favorite childhood memory...preferably one that doesn’t involve wetting yourself?”

I tense up slightly because my favorite memory had actually once involved my dad. It was when he brought me a huge bouquet of roses for one of my dance recitals. He was supposed to be out of town on business, but he didn’t go and surprised me instead. But I refuse to let that be a favorite memory now.

“Um...I can’t think of one off the top of my head. What’s your favorite sexual position?”

Linc chokes. “What? How did we get from colors and songs to sexual positions?”

My devious plan worked. I really wanted to get his attention away from my childhood memories, but now that we are talking about it, the idea has merit.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be shy. Tell me,” I egg him on.

Linc’s eyes get dark. He brings his hand up from my hip and grips my jaw, forcing my eyes to his. “My favorite position is any time I’m buried balls deep inside of you.”

I cannot help the shudder than runs through my body. I sure hope no one is looking because I bring my hand down and cup him. He lets out a groan as I flex my hand over his hardness. Heat flares through me and I am overwhelmed by desire for him.

Linc leans toward me and runs his tongue over the seam in my lips. “What’s your favorite position?”

“I like you on top of me. I like you in control. I like it when you possess me.”

Linc presses his forehead to mine and takes a deep, stuttering breath. “God, Ever. You are going to be the death of me. Have you seen about all of Yellowstone you want?”

I nod my head. He leans in and gives me a swift kiss, then jumps to his feet, pulling me up behind him. “Good...let’s go. I can have you naked and underneath me in less than an hour.”