The Right Choice

Chapter 5

Stephanie

What the fudge knuckle was Lincoln doing to me? I agreed to this arrangement to help him out. That doesn’t mean I’m going to be his sex buddy. I just don’t understand what happened. What changed? Sure, we have playful banter and teasing, but we have never, and I mean, never crossed that invisible line. Even in the old days when we just met when it was clear he wanted in my panties. Sure, we were close, and people asked if we were dating all the time.

But I was having nothing of it. I was on a full scholarship, and I needed to maintain my good grades to keep it. Without academic funding, all my dreams would have died. So, I made a pact with myself to not date or mess around unless I was almost done with my studies. Cue Gary...what a god-awful mess that turned out to be. Maybe Linc is just in withdrawals?

Can you be in withdrawals after a week? I don’t know. I’ve gone months without sex and even then, the times with Gary were becoming sparse. Now I know why, but whatever.
I have to admit he looked incredibly dapper in his suit, and I may have had a little bit of wet panty action going on, but I would never act on it. Can you blame me when a gorgeous man is dressed up to the nines? I don’t think so! 

But his reaction to seeing my dress was very flattering. It certainly didn’t feel platonic when his eyes roamed up and down my body. I kind of liked the attention, actually, which surprised me. It’s been a hot minute since a man openly appreciated my body the way he did. I felt every movement of his eyes like a gentle caress of my skin. Thank goodness I was wearing my nipple pasties so he couldn’t see my reaction to his gaze. That would have been embarrassing and only been a cause for him to tease me more.

Once we reached the venue, he stuck by my side and listened attentively as I did my job, no complaint or hesitation on his part. Gary would have been whining within the first thirty minutes or camping by the bar if he even bothered to come at all.
When I introduced him to Bethany Cummings, the artist whom we were here to celebrate, I noticed how quickly her eyes devoured him. I didn’t even have a chance to get annoyed because Linc stepped in and wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my temple.

My body thrumming from that subtle touch. A series of heatwaves streaming through my body. All I could do was blink. When he told me he was mine and I was his, I visibly shuddered. I liked the idea of that. Why did I like that? Throughout the evening, my body was on high alert, and it only got worse once we walked through the different artwork. He was teasing me or something...he had to be right? Right?

I could control myself, and I thought I was doing rather well until he pressed his erection into my behind. Firetruck!!! My body vibrated with need. The combination of his firmness and his breath along my neck was driving me crazy. I fell back into his hard body as my knees got weaker. His naughty words enslaving my body to his command.

Voices got louder and permeated my lust fog, and I was able to tear myself away from Lincoln. I had to get away as fast as I could. He followed me but kept his distance after I got angry at him. I was mad. So mad. Not just at him, at myself. At my reaction, I couldn’t control myself. But also, I was incredibly aroused, and I didn’t know how to deal with that. So, I did what I do best, push people away to protect myself. When you’ve seen the depths of depravity people can sink to like I have, it becomes a defence mechanism.

Like kill or be killed but not quite at that crazy level. Just protect yourself before someone can have the ability to come in and shatter your soul. I can’t let anyone in again, not like that. Gary had seemed so safe, so unassuming, and I had no idea he was capable of deceiving me the way he did. If I can’t trust my instincts with him, then I certainly couldn’t trust them now.

I felt guilty. I did. Linc looked like a scolded puppy for the rest of the night, not that anyone who didn’t know him as well as I did would notice. His hand remained on my waist for the remainder of the evening and never ventured anywhere else, which I was grateful for.

Linc was nothing if not respectful, a true gentleman. The ride home was awkward, and as soon as we arrived home, I rushed off to my room. Closing my door, I lent against it and sighed. What a night! On the business end of things, I secured a few enquiries that would hopefully lead to more clients. Plus, Bethany was thrilled with how everything went and even managed to sell a few artworks. The evening ended up being a resounding success.