Guilty As Sin (Sin Trilogy#2)

“Are those horses?” I point, and Lincoln slides his right arm around my shoulders and leans over me to look. My entire body buzzes to life as soon as his skin touches mine.

“Wild horses.”

“Oh my God!” Cricket squeals and practically climbs over Hunter to see. “That’s amazing!”



For the rest of our flight, Lincoln’s arm stays around me, and I’m hyperaware of every shift of his body and flex of his muscles. It’s the way I’ve always been around him. That’s never gone away, and part of me is starting to believe that it never will.

Which only works if Lincoln is right and this never ends.

I’m still not ready to believe that yet. It’s too big and scary with massive potential for gut-wrenching disappointment. Even now, my stomach twists at the thought of losing him.

Because I’m failing at not falling for him again.

Before I can consider the implications of that thought, the ocean comes into view beyond massive cliffs. Rock formations dot the coastline, interspersed with small stretches of sand. It’s absolutely incredible.

“Wow.” I whisper the word, but of course, with the boom of the microphone near my mouth, everyone hears me, including Lincoln.

His hand closes around my arm. “Never gets old, does it?”

I shake my head, chancing a glance over my shoulder. My lips are only inches from his, and if my cousin wasn’t clapping and squealing a foot away from me, I’d take the kiss they’re offering.

“It never will,” I say instead, and Lincoln’s hazel gaze flares with heat. He understands what I’m saying.

His hand curls around mine as the chopper turns and flies along the cliffs for a few minutes until I spot a wider stretch of beach up ahead. A white tent is in the distance, probably our destination. But where the hell are we going to touch down?

I look around for some kind of cement pad, but there’s nothing but cliffs and wooden stairs leading down to the beach.

“Where is he going to land?” I ask.

“You’ll see,” Lincoln says as he squeezes my hand.

Cricket’s eyes are as wide as I’ve ever seen them as the chopper starts to descend.

“Here?”

Lincoln nods as the pilot speaks in what sounds like code and gets the okay for landing.

My eyes widen as the chopper descends, and I realize it’s not a regular beach we’re landing on. We touch down on what looks like a million colored jewels—not sand. The pilot cuts the engine and the rotors wind down.

“Where are we?”

“A glass beach. It’s not well known like some of the others, which is why the glass is still here. They dumped trash over the cliffs all along here in the early 1900s. Thousands of glass bottles were tossed over, and the waves took care of the rest.”

My mouth hangs open in wonder. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

Lincoln squeezes my hand. “A friend of a friend owns this stretch and agreed to let us land here and have dinner.”

Cricket whips off her headset. “Can we get out? Is it safe? I’ve got to see this up close.”

“Go for it.”

Hunter opens the door of the helicopter, and Cricket is on the ground before I can even reach the buckle on my harness. Hunter follows her out but pauses in the doorway. “Thank you, man. This is incredible.”

“He’s right. This is absolutely incredible.” I drag my gaze back to Lincoln’s face and stare at him with just as much wonder as I did at the beach. “I can’t believe you did this all for us.”

“Eventually, you’re going to realize there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

Lincoln’s eyes are soft and filled with emotion I’m afraid to name. Warmth builds in my chest, and my grip on his hand tightens.

“Thank you for doing this,” I whisper as I release his hand so we can both unbuckle our harnesses.

“No thanks necessary. I do have a question for you, though.”

My entire body tenses. “What kind of question?”

“An easy one, I hope.” Lincoln holds out his hand again. “Ms. Gable, would you do me the honor of walking on the beach with me before dinner?”

A smile stretches across my lips. “Yes, Mr. Riscoff. I would love to walk with you on the beach.”

I reach out and slide my fingers into his.





40





LINCOLN





JUST SITTING next to her during the flight made my night. But as soon as we’re out of the chopper and on the ground, the look of wonder on Whitney’s face is everything I’ve ever wanted to see there.

As soon as her sandals touch the beach, she whispers, “This is unreal.”

I reach down and pick up a handful of colored glass that’s been battered by the ocean and rocks until the edges are smooth and the glass is frosted.

“Hold out your hand.” She does, and I drop the rainbow of sea glass into it. “So, what do you think?”

Whitney’s chin jerks up toward me. “This is amazing. And absolutely nothing like what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

She laughs. “I probably shouldn’t tell you . . .”

“Come on . . .”

“As soon as I saw the chopper, I figured we’d be going to a swanky restaurant with a helipad on top that you bought out for the night so no one could bother us.”

“I thought about it.”

She stands, clutching what looks like a fistful of gems. “Why didn’t you?”

“I figured you saw the inside of plenty of restaurants while you were seeing hotels and venues. I wanted to give you something different. An experience. I was betting you hadn’t seen anything like this before.”

Her lips press together and she closes her eyes for a beat. When she opens them again, her blue eyes shine. “You’re right. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. Ever. This . . . this is special.”

When she sniffles, I hope like hell I didn’t make her cry.

Whitney turns away and drops my hand to gather up scoops of glass. “It’s magical,” she says as she lets the pieces slip through her fingers.

I want to tell her that anywhere she is would be magical, but I don’t. “I’m glad you like it.”

Her smile turns lopsided.

“Like it? We love it,” Cricket yells as she trots down the beach. “This is fucking awesome!” She jumps into Hunter’s arms, and he swings her around.

Whitney’s smile grows bigger as she watches her cousin. After a few beats, she steps closer to me. “Thank you for letting me share this with her. It makes it even more special.”

She lifts her mouth to mine and presses a kiss against my lips. It’s brief and soft, but from Whitney, it’s everything.

My goals in life shift as another one is added to the list.

Get her to kiss me like that again.





41





WHITNEY





LINCOLN and I walk the beach, exploring and marveling at the smooth sea glass where there would usually be sand. I lose track of time as I soak up every moment of this experience . . . including the sense of peace that has settled over me.

It’s the greatest gift anyone has ever given me.

What could have been twenty minutes or two hours later, my stomach rumbles.

“Would you like to have dinner now?” Lincoln asks. “It’s ready and waiting for us anytime we want.”

He hasn’t left my side since we touched down on this incredible place, and since Cricket and Hunter went the other way down the beach, we’ve had complete privacy.



I glance in their direction and see both Cricket and Hunter holding drinks near the white tent as she points down and grabs another piece of glass from the beach.

“I could be talked into dinner.”

He holds out his hand, which I’ve held on and off all evening, and sliding mine into it feels so right. Like this is the hand that was meant to hold mine.

It’s been so long since anything in my life flowed easily without having to maneuver around a million obstacles, but tonight has been effortless. I could get used to this so easily. The thought doesn’t even scare me as much as it did when we landed.

“I hope you like shish kebabs. I decided to keep it simple, but hopefully delicious.”