“Is my girl alright?” I hear Lincoln ask.
Kissing my hair again, Gage responds. “Yes…Do you need to arrest me?”
“Did he try to rape her?” Lincoln with an overly concerned tone asks.
“Yes, Roni found them. I saw Lex go back to the bathroom and never came back. I didn’t think a thing about it. Roni must have, because she went lookin’ for her, broke his nose before I got my hands on him. If you want to arrest me, do it. But do it after I hold her a little while longer.” He pulls me tighter and kisses my head. “Then I’ll come, you can even put me in the back of the cruiser and read me my Miranda Rights.”
I can’t believe he’s willing to go to jail for me.
“Naw, way I see it, he got what he deserved and then some. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t sue ya though. You got a good lawyer?” Lincoln chuckles and Gage joins in.
“Yes, I’m sure I can come up with something. How bad is he?”
“He’ll live, but I’m sure some serious reconstructive surgery will be in order. His cheeks were hallowed when I saw him, his eyes are black and blue and the paramedics couldn’t wake him. My guess is he’s got a serious concussion. Must not of punched him in the mouth, I see he’s got all his teeth.”
“I learned my lesson long ago, don’t punch in the mouth. You’ll get your knuckles busted all to hell. It’s not worth it.”
And here I thought he was just letting loose on him. Apparently, I was wrong. Gage hit him just where he intended to, with complete control. That’s scary and kind of sexy, even though it shouldn’t be.
“Lex?” Lincoln is speaking to me.
“Yeah?”
“You alright here with Gage? Or do you want me to take you home? I…”
Gage cuts him off. “I’ll take her home. I’m sober. Only had a single glass of wine.”
“Is that alright, sweetheart?” Lincoln questions.
My heart blooms at his sweetness. Lincoln is the kindest man and the best police officer. He needs a wife to share all that love with. Maybe I can find him a girlfriend.
Nodding into Gage’s chest, I answer. “Yes, he or Roni can take me home.”
“I heard my name.” I feel Roni’s hand softly land on my shoulder, supportively patting it a few times. “What’s up, Linc?”
“Not much, Roni, hear you kicked some ass tonight. I’m going to make my report and make sure I get Corey’s statement. I’ll need you three to write one up for me. But I won’t keep ya. Lex needs to get home. Make sure you tuck her in tight for me. I’ll drop by tomorrow to check on her.” Lincoln rattles off to Roni and Gage.
“And Lex, you’ve got my number if you need anything. I’m working all night. But I don’t care if it’s ten in the morning and I’m sleeping, I’ll wake up and come over so we can eat ice-cream and watch a movie.”
Awe! I need to give him a hug.
Releasing my arms from around Gage, I try to pull away but he won’t let me go.
“I want to hug him.” I whisper, gazing up into his majestic blue green eyes.
Cupping my cheeks in his hands, Gage holds eye contact and my heart reaches out to him. Even now, all dirty, he’s sexier than any man I’ve ever imagined.
“Okay,” he nods, closes his eyes and leans forward, sweetly kissing my forehead.
My heart physically aches walking away from Gage and into Lincoln’s outstretched arms. I melt into and he too kisses the top of my head. It must be a hot guy thing. Except he couldn’t kiss my forehead as easily, Lincoln stands about three to four inches taller than Gage and my head hits him mid chest. He’s a massive man.
“Love you Lex, call or text me tomorrow. Let me know how you are. I’ll stop by on my way to shift about nine tomorrow night.” Kissing me one more time, he lets me go and leaves to go do his job, and Gage doesn’t wait another second to have me back into his protective arms, where I strangely feel like I belong, even though I shouldn’t. I know I should probably force myself to stop liking it this much. But I can’t. It feels too good, too comforting, too perfect to let go of. I can go back to disliking him tomorrow. Tonight I’m going to relish in this comforting connection.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” Roni asks standing in the doorway of my bedroom. Concern etched in the lines of her face.
“I’m fine. I promise. Nothing actually happened. He didn’t feel lady, so it’s alright.”
I’m being honest with her. After spending another hour at the bar with Gage, Roni and Bob, I feel much better. Gage insisted on driving me home. But I insisted right back that he’d already done more than enough. Which left Roni to drive me home in my car; she rode with Bob tonight, so it worked out perfectly.