A key was taped to the back, along with another note.

 

H is for heart, the one you captured when we were teens.

ASH, the other day, you offered me a precious piece of you (besides your sweet ass), your trust. Here and now, I offer you my heart, my trust, (my ass if you want it) and your own key to this house that is so obviously a part of your heart.

Love, Linc

 

Unshed tears burned Ashley’s throat as the note swam before her eyes. He was giving her the key to this house? And more importantly…his heart? She blinked her vision clear and glanced up to find his heart was in his eyes, along with two things she’d never seen there before.

Uncertainty and fear. 

“Linc,” she choked out as a few tears dropped down her cheek. She let them speak what she was unable to say.

It was all too much. And perfect. And scary…and perfect.

He stepped close to take the hearts and set them on the dresser behind her, before grasping her hands. “I know this is a bit rushed, but with you leaving soon, I had to take the chance.”

“It’s amazing. You’re amazing.”

Some of the light faded from his eyes as he held her gaze. “But?”

She blew out a breath and sought the right words. “I…you can’t give me the key to your house.”

Not exactly the right ones, but it was a start. She was still in shock over it all.

“Why not?”

She didn’t have an answer to that. None she wanted to say, anyway.

“If it’s because you’ll be in California, I’d like to talk to you that,” he said, squeezing her hands. “I still want to see you.”

Her heart leapt. “You do?”

“Yes. I’ll commute if I have to. I don’t know. We’ll work it out. Bottom line, I don’t want to give you up.”

The man who didn’t do relationships wanted one—with her.

Her chest swelled as pure joy funneled through. He was saying everything she wanted to hear. Quelling her fears. Making her feel wonderful and strong, and so happy she was ready to burst.

She smiled and squeezed his hand. “I don’t want to give you up, either. I was going to try to figure out how to tell you that today.”

“You just did.” He released her hands to cup her face. “We can take it slow. You set the pace. Last thing I want to do is rush you or smother you.”

She ran her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders. “I like your pace.”

His lips twitched as he lowered them to brush hers. Once. Twice. Then full-on as he kissed her slow and deep and thorough, making her heart race and toes curl. It was different than any she’d had in her life. Different than any they’d ever shared. Just as hot, but…more, demanding everything from her, all she had. It was soul-searching and intense.

Perfect.

***

If it wasn’t for the fact he needed air, Linc never would’ve broken the most incredible kiss of his life. He banded his arms around her as they both worked to catch their breath. He was lucky, blessed. He didn’t have to let her go. Couldn’t believe she agreed to continue to see him. To work out some kind of long distance thing.

She moved, pressing her warm, curvy body against him, making his heart beat hard against his ribs. Then she brushed her mouth to his ear. “Linc?”

He let out a shaky breath. “Yeah?”

“It’s time to give you your present.”

He drew back to meet her gaze. “You already did. And you look amazing.”

Her eyes were soft, warm, growing wicked as she gently propelled him backward until he felt one of the armchairs at the back of his legs and sat down. “There’s more.” She threw his words back at him as she stepped back, reached for the tie at her hip and tugged to reveal the sexiest damn sight he’d ever seen.

Linc sucked in a breath, and would’ve told her how he loved his present, but the blood whistled through his ears as it drained out of his useless, dehydrated brain. She let the dress slip off her shoulders and fall to the floor in a pile around a sinful pair of shoes responsible for the boner he’d sprung the moment she’d walked in, like something straight out of his fantasies.

“You like?” she asked, stopping his heart in the process when he caught a glimpse of her cheeks as she twirled around in a red negligee with strategically placed ribbons he wanted to tug with his teeth.

“Fuck, Ash,” he replied, his voice sounding low and rough with the need coursing through his body.

“That’s the idea.”

He choked on a laugh as she smiled sinfully and sauntered closer, which was good, considering he was too hard to move without bursting the seams of his pants.

“I bought this with you and your talents in mind.” She straddled him on the chair and slowly unbuttoned his snowy white shirt, her fingers grazing his skin in feather light touches that drove him mad.

Forcing himself to behave, he set his hands on her hips. “I can see that. Thank you.” He was letting her call the shots, to see what she had planned for him.

When she finally finished with the shirt, she pushed it off his shoulders in the same fashion as her dress, but her hands remained on him, sliding down his body, brushing slowly over his abs. “Mmm…you’re so hot,” she murmured in response to the feel of him, like maybe she couldn’t get enough of him. As if to prove it, she bent low and licked his nipple, and before his hissed breath finished echoing through the room, she straightened and gently touched her lips to his.

“Ash—” He tightened his grip on her hips as his entire body reacted to that light, sweet kiss.

“I know.” She outlined his lips with her tongue and he groaned, sucking it into his mouth, unable to remain immobile any longer.

God, he loved the taste of her, the feel of her. He’d never get enough. Running his hands up her sides, brushing her breasts spilling out of his present on the way to shove a hand in her hair, while he ran his other down the back of her to cup a handful of her sweet, sweet ass.

“I want you,” she whispered against his lips.

God, he wanted her too. He made a noise deep in his throat and kissed her long and deep. He needed more. Needed to touch her. With his mouth still on hers, he ran both his hands up and down her body, and felt her every inhale and tremor…felt her heart rock, they were so close, so in tune.

His rocked too.

“Ash.” He released her mouth to kiss a path down her jaw and throat to her shoulder where he tugged the first ribbon loose with his teeth, while he untied the other side with his hand. Next, he dipped down and nipped at her collarbone, then soothed it with his tongue before making his way to her cleavage and the bow keeping her curves intact. He took an end in his mouth, then met her dark, heated gaze as he slowly untied bow.

The rapid rise and fall of her chest helped his plight when he loosened the crisscrossing ribbons and freed her breasts. She moaned before his mouth even covered her tight peak, and he smiled against her skin. So responsive.

She had her hands in his hair, and body arched in a sweet offering he gladly accepted, teasing one nipple with his mouth and tongue, while he caught the other between his forefinger and thumb.

Her moan washed over him, while her rocking nearly did him in. He saw stars as she continued to rain sweet torture on his tense body. He wasn’t the only one on edge. Still nuzzling her chest, he slid both hands down her rocking body, tugged the small scrap of satin aside and gently slipped a finger between her spread legs, and found her wet.

She half gasped, half moaned, so he stroked her again. “Don’t stop.”

Not an option. He was too addicted. “I won’t.” He loved to please her. Loved her reactions, and stroked and brushed, different spots, different angles, watching her face while she gripped the arms of the chair and leaned back while arching into his touch.

“Oh, God, there—” She rocked harder.

Completely lost in her beauty and the way she took pleasure in him, he thrilled in her little mewls and the sexy sounds he ripped from her throat. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Tension coiled in her tight. She was ready to snap.

Wanting to give her what she needed, he upped his strokes, and added the brush of his thumb while he leaned forward to capture a bouncing nipple in his mouth. Then he grazed the tight peak with teeth.

He felt her low, throaty moan to his very core as she shattered and nearly took him with her.

Bringing her down slowly, he eventually removed his hands, and she immediately slumped against him. Running a hand up her back and into her hair, he tipped her face so he could kiss her quick.

“Please tell me you have a condom,” she begged, her breathing still unstable while he finished unwrapping his present, watching the negligee slip off her curves.

He nodded. “My pocket.” Then he set her aside and stood to fish it out of his pants before he shucked the rest of his clothes.

Swiping the packet from his hands, she pushed him back down into the chair, standing before him in nothing but those sexy damn shoes. He was a dead man.

And he nearly did expire when she opened the packet and insisted on sheathing him, leaving him out of breath and sweating.

He throbbed in her hand and swallowed a curse, trying desperately to hold on. “Ashley—”

“I need you in me.”

Christ, the urgency and hunger in her tone didn’t help.

“Now, Linc.” Demanding and sure of herself—about the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. Then she grasped him with one hand, lifted up a little, and took him in deep.

“Son-of-a…Ash,” he muttered through clenched teeth.

Her chuckle vibrated around him.

Fuck.

He closed his eyes and talked himself back from the edge. Then she bent over him and nipped at his neck. In a swift move, he wrapped an arm around her and pushed to his feet, still buried deep inside her lush heat as he carried her to the bed. She lost her shoes along the way, but he didn’t care. He was more concerned with keeping himself inside her.

“God, Linc…” Now she hissed out a breath, then moaned when they made it to the mattress.

Holding her smoldering gaze, he reached for her hands and brought their entwined fingers up by her head. Then he began to move. Slow and long, pulling nearly all the way out, then pushing in deep, until his eyes wanted to cross.

“God, you feel so good.” He felt her everywhere, from head to toe, not a speck of air between them.

“So do you,” she murmured softly, rocking up to meet his thrusts. “So good.”

Too good. The need and hunger took over. He upped the pace. Faster. Harder. Spurred on by her whimpers and moans, he gave her everything he had, let her see everything he felt. And he felt a hell of a lot. Lost, falling, saved, and could see the very same crazy, consuming emotions in her eyes. She was as gone as he. As completely undone, and the knowledge he was making her feel those things too made him feel like the luckiest man alive.

Luckier than dodging a bullet.

“Linc,” she breathed, lifting her head to brush her lips over his.

He took over the kiss, taking everything, giving more.

She bucked and made sweet noises in her throat, and when she squeezed his hands and broke the kiss to cry out his name while tightening around him, he joined her in a release so powerful fireworks burst behind his eyes in a rainbow of colors.

And as he came with the amazing, beautiful, giving woman beneath him, he understood. He got it. He finally got it. He understood just what a soulmate meant. What he’d been missing his whole life, and what he could never live without again.

He was so damn glad he didn’t have to.

***

Two days later Ashley was at Chloe and Logan’s, sitting next to Linc, having dinner with them and Stef, trying to keep her mind on the conversation, but it was damn hard with Linc’s hand caressing her thigh under the table.

Cripes. She practically had sex with the guy every day, sometimes twice a day, and yet, she still couldn’t get enough. It was crazy.

Crazy good.

She squeezed his hand and trailed hers over to his leg…and in between.

He stiffened, and muttered under his breath while Logan talked about something one of the McCoy brothers had done for his wife on Valentine’s Day.

No way could it have topped Linc.

She moved her hand back to his thigh and patted his leg. Her chest swelled from all the happiness he brought into her life. It was going to be so very hard to leave him at the end of next week. An odd ache centered over her heart. How could she hurt and feel good at the same time?

You wouldn’t hurt if you didn’t leave…

She knew this, but couldn’t leave her partner high and dry, no matter how much she wanted to stay at Amity.

“Leave it to a McCoy,” Stef remarked between bites.

Linc smirked in agreement, as he helped himself to more of the pot roast she’d cooked in the crock pot while they’d finished tiling his main bathroom today.

“Yeah.” Logan nodded, adding more roast to his plate, too. “Never a dull moment with that bunch.”

Chloe laughed. “Same could be said for a McCall, right, Ashley?”

“Yes.” She squeezed Linc’s thigh. “Absolutely.”

An amused twinkle entered his eyes, and he opened his mouth to respond when a knock sounded at the door. He glanced at his brother. “Expecting anyone?”

“No.” Logan got up to open the door. “Joseph, Cady, what brings you here?”

Ashley felt Linc stiffen next to her, and exchanged a worried look with Stef and Chloe, who were now also standing. She’d been at Amity long enough to know unexpected visits from Cady usually meant the gifted woman had a vision.

“Mac?” Linc rose to his feet.

Ashley did the same, entwining her fingers with his while she watched the woman approach.

“The Equalizers are not going to find him.”

“Shit,” Logan muttered, gathering Chloe at his side, his face going pale.

“But it is okay. He will find his way here,” Cady assured with a hand on each of the brother’s shoulders. Then the woman set a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “It will all be okay.”

Alarm raced down Ashley’s spine, despite the comforting words. Did the visit have something to do with her? God, she hoped not. She couldn’t handle any drama. She’d barely taken off the training wheels where life was concerned.

Joseph stepped forward. “Sorry to interrupt you dinner. Cady had one of her urges.”

The woman nodded, glancing at each of them. “Yes. And I’ve learned not to ignore them.”

“What kind of urge?” Linc asked, his gaze cautious.

“That I needed to be here,” Cady replied, setting her hand on Chloe’s arm. “Although, I do not yet know why.” Then she moved to touch Stef.

At this, her eyebrow arched slightly.

“Okay.” Stef cocked her head and raised her own brow. “See any dangerous, mysterious men in my future?”

“Depends on your definition,” Cady replied.

“Oooh.” Stef’s eyes lit up. “So, maybe there is one. Cool. But, I’d much rather know tomorrow’s lottery numbers. Chloe and I would love to branch out. Mr. McCall, not AJ, but Alex, he said we should consider down near the Gulf, by him. There are a lot of businesses who would be interested in hiring a graphic artists, especially if they had a brick and mortar business to visit.”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, surprisingly, we get a lot of walk-in customers.”

“Yeah.” Stef waved her fork around. “And I wouldn’t mind using some lottery cash to buy a place of my own. The apartment above our business came with a renter, and, no offense.” She pointed the utensil at Logan and Linc. “But I don’t like to share space with flying rodents.”

Yeah, that was not fun. She shuddered and Linc squeezed her hand.

“There’s still bats there?” Chloe flinched.

Stef shook her head. “No, but I would rather not stick around for the next unexpected visitor.” Her gaze shot to the new arrivals. “Not you two, of course. Especially if you have those winning numbers.”

Joseph laughed as he set his arm around his wife and drew her back against him. “I’ve been trying to get them out of her for years.”

“Since you’re here, why don’t you join us for some of Ashley’s incredible pot roast before these two guys eat it all?” Chloe motioned toward the table, then grabbed two more place settings when the couple accepted.

“So, are you saying Mac is okay?” Logan asked, after everyone took their seats.

Cady lifted a shoulder, her gaze apologetic. “I am sorry, Logan. I cannot see that, and I don’t know where he is. I only know he will not be found. He is going to make it back here on his own.”

Linc glanced up from his plate. “Any idea when?”

Cady shook her head, her gaze traveling to Stef before meeting Linc’s. “No. But, soon.”

Ashley could feel the relief easing through his tight body. Once again, she set her hand on his thigh and squeezed. She understood the not knowing where a loved one was and the hell it caused, something she’d gone through as a child when her father had disappeared. Turned out to be of his own choosing. But, whatever. Those first few days had been a nightmare.

The conversation turned back to winning the lottery.

“If anyone should buy a ticket, it’s Linc,” Logan said. “Jesus, you’re the luckiest damn man I know. Twice you cheated death while we were deployed.”

Everything inside Ashley seized up tight. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. She just sat there, trying not to make an ass out of herself and pass out.

“What do you mean?” Joseph frowned, along with the others at the table.

Ashley had no clue what expression was on her face, but her whole body hurt from the strain of fighting a rush of panic. There was a consistent ringing in her ears and she was seriously fighting to breathe.

“Nothing,” Linc grumbled, his hand rubbing her leg.

And still she couldn’t move. Couldn’t meet his gaze.

“It wasn’t nothing,” Logan continued, his voice gruff. “That last one still gives me nightmares.”

Chloe turned to her husband and set a hand on his arm. “Is that why you wake up out of a deep sleep some nights?”

“Yes. Watching a bullet head for my brother and miss him by a hair to take out the guy next to him…and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about? Yeah, it keeps me up. I’m telling you, Linc, you must’ve had a guardian angel watching over you. First, the IUD. Then the bullet.”

Oh, God…

The walls were closing in as her mind visualized the horrific scene.

“Ashley? Ash?”

She could hear the frantic call of her name, and tried to respond, but nothing was going in or out of her mouth. But her mind? Oh, that was rampant with thoughts of Linc dying on her. Of her doorbell ringing to find some nice people from the Army there with their condolences.

No. God, no, she couldn’t. Not again.

Vaguely aware of Linc trying desperately to get through to her, his hands on her arms, rubbing, squeezing, shaking, she fought to hold onto the feel of his touch, to clutch that connection while darkness approached.

If she didn’t get her shit together, she was in danger of suffocation from a damn panic attack, and had no idea how to stop it.

Then she felt another touch. It was warm, and grew hotter and hotter as air somehow found its way to her lungs. The more she breathed in, the more the ringing in her ears began to fade and the room started to come back into focus. When she finally got her wits about her, she realized she was on the couch, with Linc by her side, holding her hand while Cady’s palm remained on her forehead, while everyone else gathered close, concern dark in their eyes.

“Just keep breathing,” the woman urged in a soothing tone. “It will all be okay.”

Exactly the words Cady told her when she’d first arrived.

Had she seen this?

Is this why she was here?

“Thank you.” She covered the woman’s hand still pressed to her forehead. She’d heard the stories about Cady’s healing hands, and now she’d experienced it.

“You are most welcome.”

Linc moved closer to kiss her temple. “I’m sorry.”

So was Ashley, because if she learned anything from this incident, it was that she couldn’t handle even the thought of him getting hurt. How the hell was she supposed to stay in a relationship with him after knowing that?

“It’s not your fault.” She sat up, getting her bearings, her whole body aching, and chest still tight, knowing what she had to do, but hating that she was about the hurt the best person she’d ever met.

He pulled her to her feet and held her tight, and she let him, knowing he needed to confirm to himself that she was okay. But when a minute turned into two, and her heart broke more and more the longer he held her, she pushed from him and took a few steps back.

She had to end it, and end it now.

“I’m sorry, too,” Logan said, pulling her in for a hug. “I didn’t realize. I’m an ass.”

Swallowing past her hot throat, she patted his back. “It wasn’t your fault, either.” Then she repeated the process with the girls, until finally, she stepped free and faced them. “I’m sorry. That has never happened before.” Not to that extent.

Whenever she’d felt the onset, it was usually from a roomful of people with pity in their eyes and condolences on their lips. Exactly why she’d escaped to Amity.

Now, she didn’t even have that to help her find peace.

“Ash.” Linc reached for her hand, but she pulled it away.

“Don’t. I…I can’t do this,” she forced the words, hating herself to her very soul for the pain tightening his face.

His gaze was narrow as it searched hers. “What do you mean?”

“I…” Damn, it was hard. Her eyes and throat burned, and her chest was so tight... She cleared her throat and lifted her chin. “I was wrong. I don’t know if it was too soon, or if I was just stupid to think I could have a relationship—”

“Hey, we can slow down. I’m okay with that. Whatever you need.” He touched her arm, his gaze dark and wild with fear.

“God, Linc, you deserve someone so much better than me. I’m so sorry. I’m just not strong enough. I thought I was, but I’m not. Maybe if I hadn’t already lost someone, I could.” Tears spilled down her face as she worked to get the words out. “But, I can’t go through it again. I just can’t. Especially with you.” She swiped the tears from her face and met everyone else’s gazes. “I’m sorry.”

That was all she was able to get out before her throat closed. She glanced at Linc one last time, the confusion and pain darkening his eyes to a deep charcoal. “Good-bye,” she choked out before pivoting around and rushing from the house.