The gentle rays of light were just starting to make their way into the room when Charity stretched and rolled over, snuggling against Lincoln, who was still naked beside her.
He opened his eyes and smiled, kissing her on the forehead and hugging her tight.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly with sleep.
“I slept better than I have in a long time.”
“Good sex will do that,” he teased.
“Feeling safe in your arms did that.”
The smile slid from his face for a moment, and she was afraid she’d said something wrong. But when he nodded and kissed her again, she knew it was more than that. He’d bared his soul to her, sharing the pain of growing up with his own controlling father, with his honesty helping her tear down her own walls in the process. Connecting with someone on that level had left her speechless many times over the past few days, and it looked like she wasn’t the only one feeling all the feels.
“I get you,” she said, kissing him before rolling out of bed and strutting across the room naked on her way to the shower.
She turned on the faucet, surprised when the water fell from the ceiling like a heavy rain. The shower was huge, at least three times the size of her tub and shower combination in her apartment, and the entire ceiling rained down ensuring that, whether she stood in the middle or sat on the tile bench, she would be drenched.
“I need to get me one of these,” she muttered under her breath, adjusting the temperature with the touchscreen outside the stall.
The water was just starting to warm when the door opened and Lincoln joined her in the large glass enclosure.
“This is a nice surprise,” she said, wrapping her arms around him.
“I thought you’d enjoy it,” he said, grabbing her ass and pulling her closer as they kissed.
She wrapped her legs around his hips and he guided her onto his already rigid shaft. She rode him hard and fast, the water cooler than the heat radiating from their intertwined bodies.
Her body responded to him so quickly it was dizzying. Within minutes, she felt the familiar flood of heat fill her entire body, and then the orgasm crashed over her. She thrust harder and faster, her voice echoing off the frosted glass, her body drenched from the deluge that rained down on them unrelenting.
When he grunted and buried his face in her neck, she held onto him even tighter, riding the waves of pleasure with him until he sighed and lowered her onto her own two feet.
Her legs felt shaky as she stood there, but Lincoln was right there to steady her. She leaned against his broad, bare chest and for the longest time they stood there, swaying in each other’s arms as the water trickled over every inch of their bodies.
“This place is spectacular,” she said, still standing in his arms. “I’ve never seen a shower like this, and they literally thought of everything, right down to fresh shower poufs instead of washcloths.”
“It is a luxury hotel,” he said, his tone light and teasing.
“I’ve never been anywhere like this. I could definitely get used to living this way.”
He pulled away, smiling at her and reaching past her to grab the shower pouf she’d opened the night before and a bottle of lotion-rich shower gel. Lincoln squeezed a large amount of creamy bodywash into the pouf and worked it in his hand until it had a nice, rich lather.
Washing her from head to toe, he lingered over every curve and every dip, all but worshipping her body with each pass of the delicate mesh in his hand. She waited patiently until he was through, his touch setting her body on fire again. She was sore, and her muscles were tired, but she was already thinking about being in his arms again. So much had changed in one night. She was glad she’d taken a leap of faith and told him how she felt.
When he was done, she gave him the same treatment. She laughed when he moaned appreciatively under her rough touch across his back and shoulders.
“That feels amazing,” he said. “Keep that up and we’re never leaving this shower.”
He chuckled at his own joke, the deep, sexy sound sending butterflies soaring in her stomach. Did he know how amazing he was? He was masculine, strong, and forceful, but everything about him was effortless. He didn’t have to bend people to his will because they wanted to make him happy. And though he was the typical alpha male, he was kind to a fault and completely self-assured.
He was everything a man should be without trying to be.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he said, touching her cheek with aching tenderness that almost undid her.
“I was just thinking about you.”
He laughed nervously.
“But I’m right here,” he said.
“I know.”
She smiled then impulsively kissed him before stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel. She tossed him a towel from the clean stack in the linen closet and watched him while she scrunched her hair dry.
“My cabin is done,” he said without preamble. “The only thing left to do is have the furniture delivered, which will happen this morning.”
“I thought it was pretty remote,” she said.
She took the plush robe he handed her and cinched it tightly around the waist, then followed him into the room. He picked up his phone while he talked, holding it in one hand while he gathered his clothes from where they’d landed on the floor.
“It is remote, but I convinced the construction crew that built the place to do it for me. They’re assembling it as we speak, according to their text.”
He was scrolling through the texts as if to show her, then his brow furrowed, and he hastily dropped his phone in his pocket.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just have more notifications than I expected. Nothing important.”
“I’m always most popular when I’m busy,” Charity offered, still wondering at his sudden change of mood, but brushing it off.
Whatever it was, it was probably none of her business. She wasn’t about to let the paranoia and fear that had defined her relationship with George to creep in on her now. She had enough going on without borrowing trouble.
Lincoln sat down on the edge of the bed, patting the area beside him with an inviting smile.
She sat down, turned facing him.
“I was thinking. What if we spent some time at the cabin? I know it’s not a luxury hotel, but it’s beautiful, and it’s way out of town. It’s near Lake Kachess.”
“Isn’t that a little close to Mount Rainier?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“Even as the crow flies, it’s over an hour away.”
“What about the hotel?”
“I’ll keep it for a while longer.” He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. “There will come a time when he is found or something else happens, and you’ll be called in for questioning.”
“Or he could never be found.”
“That too,” Lincoln said. “In fact, that would be ideal.”
“It’s been over a week since his mother called me,” she said hopefully. “Maybe they’ll follow another lead.”
“And maybe they won’t,” he said.
Her face fell and she nodded. She knew that it was inevitable, and the waiting had her on edge.
He cupped her cheek and tilted her head gently so that she looked at him.
“I have the lawyer covered already, and remember, they have to call you in. Which means that you can’t just be broadsided and brought in without having time to prepare.”
“What if they call and want me there immediately?”
He smiled.
“That’s not how it works now,” he said. “And that’s the beauty of the cabin. Set an away message on your website and your social media. Nothing revealing. Just let people know that you’ll be unplugging for a few weeks and feel free to leave a message or an email and you’ll get back to them when you return.”
“And you think that will work?”
He shrugged.
“It’s something very common for people who are plugged in twenty-four-seven to do, and you’re already known to be an avid hiker and nature lover. Checking out of the rat race for a week or two is reasonable.”
“Well, it does when you say it like that, but I have bills to pay.”
“I’ll pay them,” he said, matter-of-factly. “That’s not an issue.”
“I can’t let you pay my bills,” she said quietly.
He sighed.
“Listen, I wasn’t going to tell you, but I guess the only way to convince you to do things my way is to tell you everything.”
Her stomach dropped. Nothing good ever happened after an intro like that.
“Alright, so tell me.”
“Remember that guy we met on the way to my truck?”
“Yes.”
“I was posting my videos last night before you had your dream, and I saw that he was asking for people that had been at Mount Rainier Labor Day Week to tag him in their pictures or send him a direct message.”
“Oh no,” she said, stomach in knots. “But it could be a coincidence, right?”
“That’s what I was hoping, but then I got a message from him this morning.”
He handed her the phone and pointed at the message. Her mouth went dry when she read it, and panic began to well up inside her.
“That’s not good,” she said. “Oh my gosh, Lincoln, they’re going to find out.”
“Deep breaths,” he said. “It’s still not definitive, and I don’t think he knows anything because if he did, he would have asked your name.”
Charity was still struggling to calm herself.
“So, do you see why I think we need to hang out at the cabin for a while?”
“I do. But what if Mr. Wittman sees that I’ve left and thinks that I’m running?”
“He won’t, because if you don’t put dates on the message, he won’t have any way of knowing when you decided to leave. I’m going to keep the hotel room indefinitely, so we have somewhere to go and prepare if they call us, but we can’t just sit here, holed up like caged animals, waiting for the shit to hit the fan.”
She hesitated for a moment, going through all her options and discarding them just as quickly as they came up. Then she finally gave in because she knew that he was right.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“You didn’t bring much, so we’ll pack up your stuff and I’ll take what I need. We’ll leave the rest here.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll need a list of the bills you have.”
“I really don’t want to owe you anything more than I already do.”
“You don’t owe me a thing.”
“I owe you my life,” she said.
“And I’m still trying to save it. Let me, please, Charity. Trust me.”
“I will,” she said. “But this is hard for me.”
“I know it is. Let me try to make this right so you can move on with your life and forget everything he did to you. You deserve that and more, Charity. Let me take care of you.”
When she finally nodded, he hugged her tight and kissed her soundly on the lips. She was reeling when he let her go, but he was already in motion.
“You get packed and I’ll get breakfast started after I make some calls. If we leave after breakfast, we should be there by lunch.”
Before she could say anything, he had left the room, and she was left to pack or get left behind. She laughed, shaking her head. As crazy as everything was, Lincoln being there made it all better. She just hoped that he wouldn’t bounce when this was all over.
She’d guarded her heart for a long time, but somehow, Lincoln had found his way through her carefully constructed defenses. She didn’t know when it had happened, but she’d fallen in love with Lincoln, and she knew better than most that falling in love could complicate things.