23
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Lynx was holding his breath.
Not only because Reagan’s soft, warm hand was gliding up and down his rigid erection, either.
No, he was holding his breath because the woman had just located the tattoo of her name on his body. He’d gotten it years ago. And it hadn’t been an accident.
In fact, none of his tattoos had been an accident. He hadn’t gotten any of them during a drunken bender. He’d been sober and lucid for every single one, drawing most of them out himself beforehand. Many of them inked directly from his sketches. All of them having meaning to him in some way.
His breath locked deeper inside him when Reagan leaned forward and kissed his chest, her little tongue gliding over his skin. It was an erotic sight, one he’d fantasized about plenty of times over the years.
When her head continued to move south, his stomach muscles tightened. As she traced the muscles that arrowed down between his legs, he finally sucked air into his lungs. But the moment those sweet lips wrapped around the head of his cock, Lynx’s entire body jerked from the heat of her mouth.
Yet he watched, loving the way she laved him with her tongue, the gentle squeeze of her hand around the base of his shaft. She moved her hand in tandem with her mouth, stroking, sucking, driving him absolutely crazy. His cock should’ve been in desperate need of rest after their marathon sex from earlier, but no. It seemed that that part of him was as eager to have this woman’s attention as the rest of him was.
Reagan moaned and electricity sparked through every one of Lynx’s nerve endings, the vibration causing his dick to twitch.
For several minutes, he watched her, loving the way she teased, not quite sending him over the edge, although he was definitely grasping it by his fingernails. He was close. So fucking close.
Then she did something wicked with her tongue, her fingers lightly grazing his balls.
“Ah, girl,” he groaned. “You’re gonna make me come.”
She moaned, and more vibrations shot through his shaft, his balls tightening against his body.
“I’m gonna come in your mouth, Reagan,” he warned.
Another moan.
He inched closer to his inevitable climax.
“Fuck…” he hissed, his legs tensing when she applied the perfect amount of suction to make his eyes cross. “Reagan…” Reaching for her, Lynx twined his fingers in her hair, pumping his hips gently, not wanting to take control but desperately chasing his release now.
When her hand tightened, her tongue swiping over the head before she sucked him as deep as she could, his control snapped.
He roared as his release barreled down on him, stealing his breath as he came, spurting into her mouth. Lynx didn’t close his eyes, wanting to watch as she swallowed him down. It was so hot he couldn’t seem to stop the damn thing from twitching.
While he attempted to recover, Reagan crawled up his body, her tits grazing his stomach, his chest, until her mouth was hovering above his. Didn’t matter that he could hardly breathe, Lynx grabbed her, crushing his lips to hers, darting his tongue into her mouth roughly.
She chuckled and pulled back before he could deepen the kiss.
“I think we should probably get out of this bed for a bit.”
His stomach rumbled as though that was the best suggestion he’d ever heard.
Reagan laughed. “And maybe we should eat somethin’ while we’re at it.”
“I know what I wanna eat,” he told her, grinning.
“Down, boy.”
Sage advice, sure. But Lynx was finding it nearly impossible to do with Reagan around.
Not that he couldn’t get used to walking around with a perpetual hard-on.
He could. Especially if she was going to do those wicked things with her tongue again.
But for now, he could rein it in, give her a breather.
For a little while anyway.
Half an hour later, Lynx dished up fried bologna sandwiches and chips. He’d been shocked when Reagan suggested them, considering that was one of his favorite meals. He wasn’t a complicated man by any means. He wasn’t a gourmet chef, either, but he knew his way around a kitchen. Hell, he was twenty-eight years old. If he didn’t know how to cook at this point, he’d be pretty well doomed.
They were eating at the small table in his kitchen when his phone rang.
After glancing at the screen, he peered over at Reagan, then answered.
“What’s up?”
“We got the entire lot cleared,” Ed told him. “The dumpsters were hauled away, so we’re ready for whatever comes next. Wanna meet up tomorrow mornin’?”
Lynx kept his eyes on Reagan. “Yeah. How ’bout you come over to the shop around nine. I’ll have Reagan there with me. She can tell us what comes next.”
“Sounds like a plan. See ya then.”
Reagan was eyeing him suspiciously when Lynx set his phone on the table.
“Why will I be at the shop tomorrow?” she asked, gripping her iced tea glass.
Lynx held up one finger, signaling her to hold on. He got up from his chair, then headed out to his truck. He grabbed the spiral sketchbook he’d been using, then went back in.
“Now, don’t think I’m tryin’ to take over,” he began. “I was just messin’ around and came up with this. Obviously, you can do whatever you—”
Reagan held up a hand, smiling. “Just show it to me, Lynx.”
He flipped open the notebook and pushed it toward her.
Once again, his breath was lodged somewhere in his chest as he watched Reagan study the rough sketch. Her eyes popped up to meet his, then dropped back to the notebook.
“You drew this?”
He nodded.
“Wow. This is…”
When she looked up at him again, Lynx noticed tears in her eyes, and he instantly wanted to kick himself. Tears weren’t his thing. He didn’t handle them well at all. And to see Reagan cry … that was his worst fucking fear.
“This is…” She exhaled roughly. “Amazing.”
“Really?” That wasn’t what he’d expected her to say.
“Yeah.” A smile formed, then grew bigger. “This is my bar,” she said in a soft whisper.
“Of course it is,” he assured her.
“No.” Her eyes met his. “What I mean is this is me. This is my style. It’s… Holy shit, Lynx. This is incredible.”
Probably for the first time since he’d drawn the damn thing, Lynx felt the pressure on his chest release. He’d figured it could go one of two ways. She’d like it or she’d hate it.
This, of course, was what he’d hoped for.
But not at all what he’d expected.
Reagan felt as though she was in some sort of alternate universe.
And once again, Lynx Caine had rocked her already unstable world with his kindness.
Turned out, the bad boy of Embers Ridge had the biggest heart of anyone she knew.
And to think, she had wasted all this time running from him.
As she stared at the sketch — the really good sketch — of what his vision was for her new bar, Reagan couldn’t help but think this man really knew her.
“The old bar,” she explained, “it wasn’t really mine, you know?”
She looked up to see him watching her.
“I mean, it was mine according to the piece of paper I have showing it is. However, it never really felt like mine. But this…” Reagan glanced down at the notebook again. “This is incredible.”
“It’s a rough draft,” he said, his voice soft.
“No, it’s perfect, Lynx. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.” Reagan frowned. “But I don’t know when the insurance company’ll be able to pay out.”
“We’re not worried about that right now,” he said.
Her gaze snapped to his. “Of course we are. I can’t build this when I don’t have the money to do so.”
“Like I said, Reagan, we’re not worried about that right now. There’re a lot of people willing to help, plenty of donations coming in.”
Reagan shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. I will not take handouts.”
Lynx sighed heavily. “Jesus Christ, girl. It ain’t a handout. Do you realize how many people come into your bar on a weekly basis? Hell, half this town stops in at least once a week. Some damn near every day.”
“I get that,” she countered. “But that doesn’t mean they have to help me rebuild.” Reagan shook her head again and got to her feet, but not before Lynx was on his.
When he pulled her toward him, she started to push him away, but resisting him was impossible.
“What happened to you that night … it happened to the whole town, Reagan.” He lifted her chin with his finger. “Don’t offend them by refusing their help.”
“You don’t get it,” she argued. “I don’t have the money to do any of it. Shit, I’m lucky I even have a place to live right now.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’ve got everything you need. Just ask.”
This time she did push him away. “No. No way.” Reagan turned and walked to the opposite side of the room. “I am not askin’ you for help, Lynx. Certainly not when it pertains to money. No fuckin’ way.”
Reagan prided herself on being able to take care of herself. Sure, she had lived with Billy all those years, but she had paid the bills herself. Half the time, Billy’s paycheck was spent before he ever made it back home from a job, and he certainly hadn’t spent it on her. She’d learned to live with that. And yes, they had argued every damn day about money, but in the end, Reagan had accepted the fact that she had to take care of herself.
“I need to go home,” she insisted.
She needed some distance, some time to herself.
Reagan needed to think long and hard about all of this. About what she wanted, what she didn’t want. She’d just gotten out of a long-term relationship. She wasn’t sure she was ready for another. Even if it was with Lynx, a man she loved despite herself.
However, love was one thing. Money was something else entirely. And she damn sure wasn’t going to be indebted to Lynx.
No way. No how.
That was the fastest way to ruin a good thing.
When she met Lynx’s gaze, she realized he was holding out his truck keys. However, when she reached for them, he didn’t hand them over.
Instead, Lynx cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.” He was smiling as he said this. “But I already knew that about you. So, do what you need to do, Reagan. But just know, I’m gonna do what I need to do.”
“What does that mean?” she countered hotly.
He dropped his hand from her chin, then pulled her against him. Reagan flattened her palms against his hard chest.
“It means I’m gonna take care of you, whether you like it or not.” His green eyes narrowed. “And like I told you. I’m not lookin’ for a one-time thing from you. So, you can be scared and you can be ornery, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna back down.”
He pulled her tighter against him and her heart melted in her chest. This man knew all the right things to say.
“You knew what you were in for when you came to the shop this mornin’,” he stated firmly. “Yet you showed up there anyway.”
“I came to talk to you,” she said, although it was a lie.
“Right.” His smirk was both sexy and irritating. “I told you before that you couldn’t handle what I want from you,” he continued. “But you still came to me.”
“I came for sex,” she said, another lie. Good Lord, she probably shouldn’t go outside if there were any clouds.
Lynx chuckled. “Oh, girl. You’re gonna get that and more. Every fuckin’ day for the rest of my life.”
Reagan’s eyes widened at his words. She wasn’t even sure he knew what he’d just said, but it sounded a hell of a lot like commitment.
“Yeah,” he said softly, leaning down and pressing his lips gently against hers. “And I mean that exactly as it sounds.”
She felt him press the keys into her hand, but Reagan had a difficult time moving from where she stood, still leaning against him. She searched his eyes, trying to figure out what the hell was really going on here.
But in her heart, she already knew.
The question was whether or not she was strong enough to handle him.
For some reason, she seriously doubted she was.