Unclaimed (11 page)

“Are you kicking me out?” she asked.

“No, I just thought, you’d want to go, you know after hearing all my shit,” I told her.  She rolled her eyes and tugged on my shoulder forcing me to turn back around, pulling me back against her chest with more force then I thought she was capable of.

“A little baggage isn’t going to send me running for the hills,” she said
softly against my ear.  “Nobody’s family is perfect.  We all have some sort of family drama.”  She took a deep breath.  “I haven’t seen or spoken to my parents since Christmas,” she started.

“Wait, you just had
a birthday,” I reminded her.  They should have at least called on her birthday.  Her fingers were brushing through my hair again.  I loved when she did that.

“Yes, but they didn’t call. 
I only see them on major holidays and that only because they need me to make an appearance with them.  To say we have a strained relationship is an understatement.  I think it would be more accurate to say that we have no real relationship.”

I chuckled, not that her family issues are funny, I
just never would have guessed.  Nothing about her screamed issues.  She was a well-put together, well-off college student.

“I guess we all have our issues,” I said quietly.

“You planning on sending me packing?” she asked.  It was a little playful.

I turned in her arms and started to press against her so she had
to lay back against the towel.  “Not unless it’s for you to pack another bag to stay the night,” I tell her as I started trailing kisses along her neck as her arms wrapped around me and she moaned.

I think I’ll keep her. 
This perfect, wonderful girl.  Who didn’t care that I was the unacknowledged bastard son of a rock star.  Who didn’t let me use my family drama to let her run away.  Who listens before she reacted.  Who fit perfectly in my arms, put up with my friends, and was going home with me tonight.

Chapter 9

Lincoln

She answered on the second ring.

“Hello,” she cooed
into her phone. I was instantly horny just by the sound of her voice.

“
Ahh, my lovely little fairy,” I cooed right back.  “What are you doing?”  She was hard to pin down.  The girl was always moving.  She had school or was teaching, or at study group, or something.  She wasn’t always able to answer but she always called me back.

We have been going strong for a few week
s now and nothing has changed.  Well, that was not entirely true.  I was able to openly talk to her about my crazy family and she shared about hers.  I even took her out to meet my mother.  They hit it off wonderfully.  I hadn’t introduced my mom to a girl I was dating since high school.

I was pretty sure I loved
her even if it was way too soon but so far I had kept that to myself.  I didn’t want to put it out there until I was sure that I really meant it.  It had only been four weeks since I first met her and took her home with me with the intention of having only a drunken one night stand and here I was, completely lost in her.

“I am at the mall with your lon
g lost sister,” she teased me.  I had never told anyone I dated about all my family shit but I was glad I told Pru.  It made my life so much easier.  I didn’t always have to worry what would happen if she found out.  I liked the idea that she knew.  It made things so simple between us, no secrets.

“Well, what are you doing afte
r your mall adventure?” I asked.  Whatever it was I wanted it to be with me.

“Well that de
pends.”  Her voice was light and flirty.

“On?”

“The offers.”

“Wel
l, let me get my bid in early.  Come see me.  I’m at the shop.”  The words I miss you, I need you are on the edge of my tongue but I held them back.

“Hmmm…” she said
like she is really considering it.  “I think I can do that.  It happens to be the best offer so far.  I got you something anyway,” she said.

“Oh yeah?  What?  Can you wear it? 
Will I enjoy taking it off you or licking it off you?”

“Slow down
there big boy.  I said I got it for you.”  I could hear the smile in her voice.  I was sure she was blushing too.

“I can think of many things that you could get for me that
I would like to lick off you.”  She laughed.  I was being so honest.

“No it’s really for you.  Don’t get too excited. 
It’s just a shirt.”

“Cool,” not as fun as where my dirty mind first went but I like
d the idea that she was out and thought about me.  “So come by,” I begged.  I knew hanging out with me at work wasn’t exactly any girl’s dream date but I just wanted her around, near me, in my space, all of it, including work.

“Okay, I’ll have Sky drop me. 
Can you give me a ride later?” she asked.

“Sure.” 
Sometime much later.  Tomorrow probably or later if I could manage it.

We got off the phone and my client came
back in from his smoke break.  I put my glasses back on and went back to work with a smile on my face.

“Holy shit,” the guy in my chair said under his breath as he looked beyond me.  I was still with the same guy, working on his back.  He was laying on his stomach so he could see the front door.  My back was to it.

“What?” I
asked not looking away from him.  Then the lovely comments started.  Pru just walked in.  I understood the guy’s reaction.  She had that effect on people.

“Yes,
I’ve had a lovely day,” she said in answer to someone question.  I stopped working and spun around on my stool as I heard her heels walking across the tiled floor.  She was in a short dress and heels, like always.  Her legs looked amazing.

“Hey
Lovely,” I said.  She leaned down and gently kisses my lips.  I wanted more. I wanted to pull her into my lap and ravish her but I was working and I was sure that would have embarrass her.

“Hey,” she
said as she smiled down at me.  I loved that smile.  In all our time together I had never seen anyone else receive that smile.  It was mine.  Just mine.  She had a few bags in her hands.

“Why don’t you go put your bags in the back and then pull up
a chair,” I suggested.  She nodded and headed off towards the back.  I let my head fall to the side as I enjoyed the view of her walking away.  She had an amazing backside.

I turn back to my client, some young guy, an
d noticed he was doing the same.  He was admiring Pru’s backside.

“Hey,” I snap
ped and flicked his arm drawing his attention.  “No.”  I scolded him.  I didn’t like the idea of him or anyone staring at her ass.  It was mine.

“What?” he asked with a shrug. 
“She’s hot.”

“Mine,” was all I said.  I was
in full on caveman mode now.

“Jeez, I was just lo
oking,” he clarified with big eyes.  I was clearly scaring the kid.

“Well, don’t,” I snapped. 
I had officially gone over the deep end.  I was not the possessive type, well I hadn’t been but I guess things change.

Prudence

I hung out with Lincoln while he worked.  He finished his appointment.  Some guy who was getting a lion on his back.  I thought it looked silly.  The work was wonderful.  It was Lincoln’s after all, but the placement just seemed random, but to each their own I guess.

I love
d watching Lincoln work.  He was so focused no matter what the piece was.  He truly loved what he did.  His silver eyes were so intense behind his too large glasses when he worked.  I loved it.  I could watch him work all day.  He takes care with everything he did.  I loved that about him.

The idea of hanging out a
t a tattoo parlor while he worked should have seemed dull or like a last resort but it wasn’t.  It was a nice place to hang out, the employees were great and the atmosphere easy.

Lincoln was
usually calm and relaxed while he worked even when he was deep in concentration but he was snarlier than usual with the guy he was working on.  I didn’t know what the guy did to piss him off but Lincoln was less than tolerant with him.

I kne
w I was in trouble.  I loved so much about him.  I was in love with Lincoln.  The way he ran his fingers through his hair.  The way he called me by my full name.  His smirk.  His smile.  His playful teasing.  The way he drew all the time and had mountains of sketchpads full of beautiful art.  He probably really could pursue selling his art if he wanted.

I want
ed to tell him how I felt but I was scared to, once it’s out there I couldn’t take it back.  Those three little words would either make us or break us.  What if he didn’t want that serious of a commitment?  What if he didn’t love me back?  I have never told anyone I loved them before but I knew I love him.  I just hope he felts the same.

After work Lincoln and I swun
g by the grocery store and picked up a few things.  We were going to go back to his place to cook dinner together.  Everyone else was going out so it would be quiet.  We’d have the whole place to ourselves.  His place was starting to feel like home.  I spend more nights in his bed then my own.

The moment we walk in
the door I kicked off my shoes.  My feet were killing me.  I made the mistake of wearing new shoes while going to the mall and I was paying for it.  I would have taken them off at the shop but I was sure it goes against sanitation rules or hygiene codes or something.

“Okay so I have to be honest my lovely fairy,” I love
d it when he called me his fairy.  It was just so original.  It was always Lovely or my fairy, like they were just for me.  “I don’t actually know how to cook,” he confessed as he eyed the box of noodles in his hands.

I laughed. 
I stepped towards Lincoln so we were only inches away from each other, grabbing the box.  “This is going to be interesting then because I can’t claim to be a chef either but I’m sure the box has instructions.”  It did.  My cooking skills were limited.  I didn’t have time for extravagant meals that took all day to cook.  I was a college student.  I had eighteen units and I was student teaching.  I was lucky if I remembered to eat.

“Do you thi
nk we can microwave it?” he asked as he smiled down at me.  He was joking.  I hoped.

“No. 
I’m pretty sure noodles are non-microwaveable,” but still that was just a guess.  We decided to make spaghetti.  We got all the stuff.  Maggie made it all the time.  I’d helped.  How hard can it be?

“About the only thing I know how to reall
y cook is breakfast,” he informed me.

“
I make excellent coffee,” I threw in my only culinary skill, not sure if it even counted.

Lincoln tried
to look serious like he is deeply considering this while he nodded and fought back a smile.  I smiled up at him like a blazing idiot proud of my coffee making skills.

“Well it’s good to know that if teaching doesn’t work out for you, you can always have a successful
career as a barista,” he teased.

“Always good to have options.
” I was nodding pretending to be serious.  He smiled down at me before he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine pulling my bottom lip between his, sucking on it for a second before releasing it.

I step
ped away from him before we get too lost in each other.  We’d never get dinner done.

“You’ve shrunk,” he said after he freed my lips.  He looked
a little confused.

“That happens whe
n I take off my shoes,” I teased as I started searching through the cupboards for a pot to boil water in for the noodles.

“Why do you always wear heels? 
Not that I’m complaining,” he asked as we both started working towards dinner.

Lincoln and my relationship
was very open and honest.  He shared his secrets with me and I shared mine with him.  I had never talked to anyone about my parents outside of Maggie and Skyla but Lincoln knew.  It was nice that he did.  I didn’t have to pretend that I had some sort of wonderful childhood with the perfect family.

“Well, I managed to disappoint my parents in every possi
ble way, including my height.”  I never shared this with anyone.  “I can’t sing.  My Mandarin isn’t fluent.  I don’t like science.  They still don’t know that I changed school and majors.  Anyways, I got a recessive gene making me vertically challenged.  I don’t care that I’m short but everyone else does so I started wearing heels when I was about ten.  Well, my mother started forcing them on me.  God forbid I look short.  I’ve been wearing them ever since.”  I shrugged.  It was what it was.

“You’re parents aren’
t here, so why does it matter?  You could wear any shoes you want.”  True.  He started to ground up the meat while I got the water ready.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. 
That’s just why I started wearing them, now it’s just habit.  I like them so I wear them.”  I shrugged.  It was the truth.  They were just a part of me. My shoes were just as much a part of me as him running his fingers through his hair every time he got frustrated or annoyed.

“Well I think you lo
ok amazing with or without them.” I could see the honesty in his eyes at his cheesy line.  He could be so sweet sometimes.

“Thanks.”  I
leaned into him for another kiss.

“And the dresses? 
I don’t think I have ever seen you wear jeans.”

“Yes you have. 
I wore then the first day I got my tattoo.”

“Oh yeah,” his eyes got that far away look like he was seeing something else. 
Probably trying to remember me in those jeans.  “You look good in jeans.”  He was smiling at his memory still staring off in space.

I laugh
ed at him.  “I only wore them because Maggie made me.  I only have like three pairs.  She was afraid that I would end up flashing everyone in a dress or have to completely strip because of the tattoos location.  But my mom insisted I wear dresses growing up.  It was proper.  I didn’t even own a pair of pants until I moved out.  I like dresses.  Pants just feel so unnatural to me.  I’m just too used to skirts and dresses I guess.”  I poured the noodles in the simmering water.

“Well, I’ve go
t to say, I’m a fan.” He reached over, pulled me into his arms and started to inch my dress up over my thighs.  He finger grazed against the edge of my panties and I let my head fall back, my breath hitched knowing what was coming.

“Easy access,” he said as he slid
his finger under them to stroke my core.  “Already wet for me, Pru,” he teased.  He was smirking down at me with lust in his eyes.

“Always,” I said
between broken breaths.

And just like that dinner was
forgotten and the kitchen christened.