Bastard SEAL: A Bad Boy Forbidden Baby Romance (Contains bonus book Based!) (29 page)

H
is lips were
soft but hard against mine, and his taste was exactly what I had always pictured it would be. Sweet and clean and gruff and more.

The truth was, I should’ve ignored everything about it. I should’ve pretended like it never happened, like he hadn’t taken me in his arms and kissed me deeply, kissed me the way I had imagined it would be a hundred times. I should’ve pretended like it didn’t make me soaking wet to imagine his lips and his body near mine.

Instead, I lay in my bed early in the morning, running my fingers over my swollen clit, thinking about him. I couldn’t stop myself, couldn’t help it. He was everywhere in my mind, from the way his muscles flexed when he moved to his cocky grin and confidence to the way he carefully kept any signs of pain away from his expression.

I wanted to feel his skin against mine. I wanted to feel his dick slip inside me. I wanted to hear him grunt and groan as he fucked me deep and hard.

Instead, I settled for my own hand slowly rubbing my clit in careful circles. Pleasure wracked through my body as I pictured him holding my hands up above my head and kissing down my neck.

I wanted to ride him until I couldn’t breathe.

I wanted every inch of him inside me until there was nothing left but him and only him.

I wanted to watch his face as he came, sweat dripping off our bodies, our hips moving in rhythm together, pleasure destroying everything and rebuilding it better.

As I pictured his strong arms grabbing my hips, I came, my back arching and my legs kicking slightly.

I came to the thought of fucking Lincoln.

As it slowly subsided, I pulled my hand out of my underwear, frowning. I wasn’t satisfied, not even close, but it was better than nothing. I couldn’t let myself get too close to him. It was way too dangerous, especially with his level of fame and the cameras around him all the time. Frankly, I was afraid of him.

I was afraid of how I felt about him. I was afraid of what that meant, both for him and for me.

Finally, I climbed out of bed, washed my hands, brushed my teeth, and got dressed. I checked the time, making sure that Lincoln would be busy with PT, and went downstairs to have some breakfast.

Carefully, I stayed away from the room where he was working out. I didn’t want to risk hearing him grunt with exertion; I knew from experience that it would lead to me fantasizing about him all afternoon, and I really didn’t want to do that again.

I poured myself some cereal and sat at the island. As I began to dig in, I heard a noise and looked up.

“Morning, Aubrie,” Jules said.

“Good morning, Jules.”

She swept into the kitchen, all frilly clothes and flowing skirts, and grabbed a yogurt from the refrigerator. She leaned up against the island and smiled at me.

“How’s it going?”

“Fine, I guess. A little bored.”

She laughed. “That’s perfect.”

Inwardly, I sighed. “Why is my boredom perfect?”

“I have a job for you.”

I had been waiting for this. It was unlike Jules to go longer than a day without giving me some task, let alone five days. Those five days were probably my gift for working on the first event.

“Okay, let’s hear it.”

She smiled sheepishly. “I don’t think you’ll like it.”

“What, do I have to kill someone?”

She laughed. “No, nothing like that. Not exactly anyway.”

“Okay, you’re freaking me out. What’s the job?”

“I need you to convince Lincoln to donate some signed memorabilia and to attend a charity auction.”

I blinked at her. “Why do you need me to do that?”

“You two seem to be getting pretty close. Everyone remarked at the last event how good of friends you two seemed.”

I struggled to keep my expression neutral. “I guess we’ve been talking more, yeah.”

“Well, he doesn’t listen to me, so I thought maybe you could help.”

“He doesn’t exactly listen to me, either, Jules.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t. But could you try anyway?”

She had no clue what she was asking of me. If she did, she’d probably scream and go running for the hills. Or at least she would shun me for being such a weirdo.

“Okay, fine,” I said reluctantly. “I’ll try. But no promises.”

“Great!” she said, perking up. “It’s going to be so good for the cause. He made such a splash at the last one.”

“Really?”

“Oh, sure. Lincoln hasn’t exactly been out in public much since his injury. I think there are rumors that he had died or something silly.”

“That he died,” I said flatly.

“Oh yes, you know, crazy stuff. So him showing up at the event was a big deal.”

I hadn’t realized that Lincoln wasn’t doing public appearances, but it made complete sense. He wasn’t the type of guy to let people see him at his most vulnerable, which made the whole documentary thing seem a little off. But it made sense that he was only doing it to keep my dad off his back. So why show up at the event?

True, I had cashed in my favor, but he could have easily just said no. It wasn’t like I had some real binding contract or something.

“Anyway, I’m off to work out. Have a good day, dear.”

“Okay, sure. Enjoy.”

She walked quickly out of the kitchen, probably so that I didn’t have time to change my mind. Which was a real possibility.

I sighed, finishing my breakfast, and looked around the kitchen. I checked the time again and realized that I had spaced out, thinking about what I was going to do with Lincoln. He would be finishing PT soon, and I needed to get out of the kitchen.

In a hurry, I put my bowl in the dishwasher and moved out into the hall. As I turned the corner, I almost smashed headfirst into a totally surprised human. As I stumbled to one side, Lincoln’s cameraman, Brent, gave me a bashful smile.

“You’re in a hurry,” he said.

“Shit, sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. Take it easy.” He turned to keep heading toward the front door.

“Hey,” I said, and he turned back. “Are you guys on a break?”

“Yep. Boss gives us a few minutes every day to ourselves.”

“Must be nice,” I mumbled.

“Seems to work so far.”

“Do you know where Lincoln is?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I lose track of him as soon as the camera is off.”

“Sick of staring at him?”

“Yeah, but it’s nothing personal. You film the same thing over and over all day long, you’re bound to get tired of it.”

I laughed. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Anyway, want me to tell him you’re looking for him?”

“Okay, sure. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

I turned and left, though I could feel his eyes linger on me for a second. As I made my way upstairs, I realized that I barely knew the camera crew, despite them being around all the time.

Brent was probably a few years older than I was, and he seemed like he was the leader of the crew. Jess was the director, but he was the guy that people seemed to turn to, or at least from what I had seen of them. Although we were all in the same house all the time, that was the most I had ever spoken with him.

Then again, I was working pretty hard at avoiding them. So it wasn’t really a surprise that I didn’t know Brent very well. It wasn’t his fault.

I stood at the top of the landing and sighed. I hadn’t told Brent where I’d be all afternoon, so I decided to go to the one place where I was reasonably certain Lincoln would check for me: the music room.

I stopped in my bedroom, grabbed a book, and then sat with my back against the wall in the music room. It was warm and comfortable, sunlight drifting in through the lace-covered curtains.

Five days and I hadn’t said a word to him. Five days was a long time when you had something as huge as our kiss lingering in the air. I had no clue what it was going to be like, if he was going to be weird or not. But I couldn’t just keep pretending like he didn’t exist. Helping Jules with her event was as good an excuse as any to try to move past whatever was happening between us.

Although I wasn’t sure I wanted to move past it. That was the whole problem.

I didn’t get much reading done. I hadn’t really planned on it. After maybe half of a chapter, I heard the door push open. I looked up to see Lincoln standing there grinning at me.

“I heard you were looking for me,” he said.

“I might have been.”

He took a few steps inside and crossed his arms. He was still slightly damp from the morning’s workout, and I had to admit that he looked pretty damn sexy. Between the muscles, the sweat, and the cocky grin, I suddenly was pretty sure I was making a mistake.

“What’s up, Brie baby?”

I closed my book and sat up. He crossed the room and sat down on the piano’s bench.

“Quit calling me that. Makes me sound like a little kid.”

“I was going for sexy adult, but whatever.”

I refused to let him bait me. “Your mom wanted me to ask you something.”

“Oh yeah? Why isn’t she asking herself?”

“She thinks you’ll listen to me.”

He laughed. “Why would she think that?”

“Apparently, you made a big splash at the last charity event.”

He paused. “Is that so?”

“She wants you to help out with her upcoming charity auction.”

He frowned. “I only went to the last one because I owed you.”

“I know. But I couldn’t exactly tell her that.”

“What does she need?”

“I’m not totally sure. Some memorabilia, I guess. You’ll sign some stuff. Probably just make an appearance.”

He looked thoughtful. “What’s in it for me?”

I sighed. “The feeling that you’ve made your mother happy.”

“Almost tempting. But she’s not the woman I want to please.”

I looked away. “Stop doing that.”

“Stop doing what, Brie baby?”

“You know what.”

I looked back and he was grinning at me. “I let you avoid me for days now, and suddenly I can’t even tease you?”

“I haven’t been avoiding you.”

He laughed. “You haven’t? So you aren’t timing your schedule around my PT?”

I paused. “No. Not exactly.”

“Right. Okay. We can play it that way if you want.”

“Look, I’m just the messenger here. Okay?”

“My original question still stands: what’s in it for me?”

I clenched my jaw. He could be so stubborn and selfish sometimes. “I don’t know, Lincoln. It’s a chance to do something nice for once.”

“I do plenty of nice things. Not interested.”

I sighed, exasperated. “What do you want?”

He raised an eyebrow and got that mischievous look again. “Now we’re talking. There is something that I want.”

I blushed. “That’s not on the table.”

He paused and then laughed out loud. “Come on, Brie. You think I’d blackmail you into fucking me?”

“Not sure what you’re capable of.”

He got serious for a second. “If I’m going to fuck you, you’re going to beg for it first.”

I blinked, feeling the heat spread between my legs at the intense look he was giving me. For half a second, I believed him.

“Uh, okay. What do you want then?” I managed to say.

“Actually, it’s something you’ve already agreed to. I need another interview.”

I let out a breath. “Is that it?”

“Turns out, filming me working out all day long isn’t exactly compelling stuff. Jess is pushing me to go outside my usual comfort zone. I’m hoping another interview with you will get her off my back.”

“And if I do this, you promise you’ll do whatever your mom wants for this charity thing?”

“Fine. I’ll do whatever you want.”

I ignored that. “Okay. You have a deal.”

He grinned and then stood up and walked over to me, his hand held out. I paused. Then I reached out and shook, his hand firm in mine, his face a playful grin. His touch lingered for a second, and I thought he might try to pull me to my feet, but instead he let my hand drop and he stepped away.

“Pleasure doing business with you, Brie baby.”

“Wish I could say the same.”

He walked over toward the door. “Interview is tomorrow, around noon. Dress nice.”

“I always dress nice,” I shot back.

“Perfect. Bring that fire and wit, too.”

I rolled my eyes as he left the room. I watched him go, my heart racing in my chest.

I kept putting myself through this, kept pushing him away only to get drawn back in. And as much as I hated it, I also couldn’t get enough.

It was only an interview. We’d be in a room full of people. It would be too dangerous for him to try anything or to say anything about what had happened.

So why was I already nervous?

I
shouldn’t have been
nervous. I adjusted myself on the uncomfortable stool and cursed under my breath. I had a theory that Jess chose the most awful seats possible for the interviews just to make sure that people could never get their balance.

Which wasn’t helping my nerves. Jess had agreed that the interview would be a good thing, another check mark in the “helpful Lincoln” category. Hopefully it would keep her and Cliff off my back for another week or two.

But I was still nervous for some insane reason. I had already done this with Brie, had already sat in these seats and pushed her buttons for fun. For some reason, though, things were different. I didn’t know what to expect.

All because of that kiss. That perfect fucking cock-stiffening kiss.

“How you feeling?” I asked Brie under my breath as the team bustled around us, setting up the lights.

“Fine. Nervous.”

“Don’t be nervous. I’ll be good this time.”

She gave me a look. “You better be. I’m doing this as a favor.”

I grinned. “You’re doing this to get me to help my mother out.”

“Yeah, okay. That too.”

Jess came over and began to clip a mic onto Brie. When she was finished, she came over to me, but I held my hand out for it instead. She handed it over, walking back to her chair. I clipped the thing on myself.

“We almost set?” she asked the crew.

“Lights, camera, action,” Brent said. Brie laughed and he smiled at her.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jess replied.

“Yeah. Just need to check the mics.”

“Test test test. Fuck me sideways with a telephone pole. Susan sells porno down by the seashore.”

“Got it,” Brent said. “Aubrie?”

“Testing testing. One two three four.”

“Boring,” I mumbled.

“All good,” Brent replied.

“Okay,” Jess said, leaning back in her chair. “Let’s do this thing. Cameras up?”

“Cameras running,” Brent called out.

“You two ready?”

We both nodded.

Brent walked out, snapped the clapper, and then returned to his spot behind the camera. He wasn’t the head camera guy, but he sure was getting a lot of attention lately.

“Okay then. First question is for you, Aubrie. How is your relationship with your father?”

I glanced at Brie. Jess really wasn’t fucking around if she was going right for the parental jugular. But Aubrie just smiled.

“Things are good. Me and Dad have always been close, especially since Mom died.”

“Tell me about that.”

“She got cancer when I was pretty young. I can’t say that I remember much of it, thankfully. I remember her when she wasn’t sick yet, playing with me by the ocean. And I remember her funeral. Other than that, I don’t remember much.”

“How was your dad after she passed?”

“Upset, obviously. But he didn’t show it. His first breakthrough documentary happened about a year after she was gone, and I think he threw himself into work around then.”

“Does he work a lot, your dad?”

“Yeah, he does. I mean, his job demands a lot of work, you know? He travels all the time.”

“Did you ever wish he was around more often?”

She shook her head. I gave Jess a look, not sure where she was going with this.

“Dad was around a lot more when I was still living in the house.”

“Tell me about his relationship with Lincoln’s mother.”

She laughed. “What’s there to say? They hit it off right when I was about to leave for school. Came a little out of nowhere though.”

“How well do you know her?”

“Pretty well. She’s a really lovely person.”

“Did your dad tell you about her before they announced the marriage?”

Aubrie paused, and I saw something pass across her face.
Did Jess just hit a nerve?
I thought, but Brie composed herself quickly.

“No, he didn’t. I think he was afraid of how I’d react.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. He probably thought I would be upset that he was moving on from Mom.”

“Were you?”

“Not at all. I was a teenager, but I wasn’t stupid. It had been years since Mom passed. Dad had every right to move on.”

Jess nodded and shuffled through her notes. “Tell me more about Jules.”

Aubrie laughed. “I don’t know. She’s gorgeous and sweet and seems to really care about everyone around her.”

“You haven’t lived in the same house as her, though, have you?”

“No. I’ve been away at school.”

“Why haven’t you come home before?”

Aubrie didn’t answer right away, and I saw that same expression cross her face. Jess was definitely hitting some kind of nerve, though I wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

“Same reason I didn’t,” I cut in, trying to give Aubrie a second to compose herself. “Some people don’t want to rely on their parents.”

Jess smiled tightly at me and then looked back at Aubrie. “Is that true?”

“Not exactly,” she said slowly. “It’s hard to explain.”

“Try. Take as long as you need.” Jess gave her a smile that was probably meant to be comforting, but she looked more like a jackal grinning at its dinner.

“It’s like, I don’t know,” she said slowly. “It’s like my dad didn’t need me anymore, you know? He had Jules and his films. I had a new life out there at school. I had something else.”

Jess looked at me. “Why did you stay away?”

I blinked at her. “I thought this was Brie’s interview.”

“Don’t dodge. Why did you move away and never come home?”

I looked at Aubrie and she cocked her head. I wanted to say,
I left because of you. I left because if I stayed I would have done something stupid.
Instead, I gave my usual answer.

“Europe had what I wanted.”

“What did you want?”

“To feel alive. BASE jumping gave me that.”

She glanced down at her notes and then back at me. “There are rumors about girls.”

“Is that a question?”

“Okay, let me restate that. Are the rumors about you and all the women you slept with true?”

I laughed. I knew what rumors she was referring to. Nothing bad or crazy, just that I had slept with a ton of women while I moved around Europe.

“True, more or less. A lot of it is exaggerated.” I avoided looking at Brie.

“Why?”

I frowned at her. “What do you mean, why?”

“Why did you sleep around?”

“Because it felt good. Because it was better than the alternative.”

“And what’s the alternative?”

Jerking off to thoughts of my stepsister, I thought.

“Not sleeping around, I guess.”

Aubrie made a noise, but I ignored it.

“Why did you need to go to Europe for all of this?”

“They have some of the best jumpers in the world. The sport just wasn’t big enough in the States at the time.”

“Aubrie, did you ever see Lincoln during this time?”

She shook her head. “Like I said before, we didn’t see each other at all until I came home this summer.”

“Why?”

“He was busy jumping off stuff and doing commercials. And I was busy going to school.”

“Brie is a model student,” I said, nodding.

“Why do you say that?” Jess pressed.

“You should see all the awards she wins.”

“You seem jealous.”

I paused.
Shit, I need to be more careful.
“No, not at all. She’s just a big nerd, that’s all.”

Brie snorted. “Better a nerd than a meathead.”

“Meathead?” I said, laughing. “Hardly a meathead.”

“Fine. Jock then. Conceited asshole.”

“Conceited? That’s funny, coming from the world’s most perfect person.”

I could see Jess smile slightly and sit back in her chair. I knew it was stupid to be fighting with Brie on camera, but sometimes she pissed me off to no end. She was acting as if I were the one at fault, as if I were the enemy. She didn’t realize that the only person we should be worried about was the one with the cameras.

“Oh, good one. I’m not perfect, but at least I’m not an asshole.”

I grinned, trying to let it blow over. “You wound me, sis.”

She made a face. “Whatever.” She looked over at Jess, visibly composing herself. “Are we almost finished?”

“I have a few more questions.”

“Okay, fine.”

“This one is for you, Aubrie. What’s something about Lincoln that the world may not know?”

She paused. “He loves the
Power Rangers
.”

I burst out laughing and she grinned at me. All of the tension between us evaporated in an instant, and I grinned at Jess, who just looked confused.

“The
Power Rangers
? Like, the kid’s show?”

“That’s the one,” I said.

“Explain that.”

“What’s to explain? Some badass teens with cool powers and sick robots fight evil villains. That’s the definition of awesome.”

Aubrie grinned at me. “He’d be the pink ranger.”

“You’d be the robot.”

“I’d rather be the robot, at least he was cool.”

“Hey, don’t knock the pink ranger. She was just as badass as all the others.”

“Is this some kind of inside joke?” Jess cut in.

“Not really. I asked him one time what his favorite TV show was and he said the
Power Rangers
.”

“This was when we first met,” I said.

“I assume it’s still true?” Aubrie asked.

“Of course. Like I said, they’re the definition of awesome.”

We laughed together and Jess smiled.

“Okay, Aubrie, I might as well ask. What’s your favorite show?”

“
Hannah Montana
,” I said immediately.

She laughed. “No, not even close.”

“Pete and Pete?”

“Getting there.”

“Are You Afraid of the Dark?”

“What’s with the vintage Nickelodeon shows?”

“That was the peak of TV programming.”

“Well, you’re on the right track.”

“Okay, one last guess.” I gave her a long look. “
Rugrats
?”

She burst out laughing. “Yes!”

I gave her a triumphant grin. “I knew it.”

“So you both love old children’s shows?” Jess said.

Aubrie shook her head. “No. I mean, it’s not like I watch it anymore. But it’s the one show I can say definitely affected me.”

“Yeah, same here with the
Power Rangers
.”

“Okay, I get that. We’re almost finished here, so bear with me.”

“Bring it on,” I said, grinning at Aubrie.

“Lincoln, what do you think about your mother’s relationship with Aubrie’s dad?”

“I don’t think about it much, honestly. She seems happy.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“She likes Cliff. She really loves Aubrie.”

“She does?” Aubrie asked.

“Absolutely. You didn’t know that?”

“I mean, we get along. But I didn’t know . . .” she trailed off.

“You’re practically the daughter she never had and always wanted.”

“But I’m nothing like her.”

“Yeah, exactly. She always wanted a smart little nerdy kid to rear.” I paused and grinned at her. “Which is why she was disappointed when she got me.”

“I doubt she’s disappointed. You’re smart too.”

“Not in the way she wanted. Not like you.”

Aubrie looked thoughtful. “I guess now I feel bad that I hadn’t come home sooner.”

“Don’t worry about it. She was probably too busy feeling proud to care about that.”

Brie just nodded and stayed silent.

“What about Aubrie’s dad, Lincoln?” Jess asked.

“He’s fine. We get along.” I wasn’t interested in elaborating. Jess knew that I was lying, but that was okay with me.

“That’s it? He’s fine, end of story?”

“Like I said, I haven’t been around much.”

“And yet he’s done a lot for you lately.”

I glared at Jess. “Yes, he has.”

“And yet he’s just ‘fine’?”

I paused for a second to imagine all the different ways I wanted to smash the cameras.

“Cliff has done a lot for me lately. But I wouldn’t say we really know each other.”

“Why would he help you if you barely know each other?”

“I suspect my mom had something to do with it. Or maybe he can see the real good citizen inside me, hiding behind all these tattoos.”

Aubrie laughed softly but it didn’t seem to reach her eyes.

“What do you think, Aubrie?”

She looked at Jess. “About my dad helping Lincoln? I think he’s just doing what anybody would do. We all know Lincoln isn’t a bad guy, just jumped from a building he wasn’t supposed to and got unlucky on the landing.”

“He broke the law,” Jess pressed.

“Yeah, he broke the law”—Aubrie paused—“but breaking the law doesn’t make him a bad person.”

“Okay. I think we’re set.”

“Really?” Aubrie asked.

I unclipped my mic and stood up. Once the light indicated that the camera was off, I turned on Jess.

“What was that shit?” I asked her.

“Just trying to get something out of you.”

“By ambushing me?”

“You handled it well.”

“Fuck handling it well. You know the real answers to those questions.”

“Lincoln,” Aubrie said, standing.

I looked at her and then back at Jess, aware that the crew was staring.

“Keep pushing, Jess. I’ll go back to jail before I let you control me.”

She smiled innocently. “Wasn’t my intention, Based.”

I clenched my jaw and walked away. Aubrie said something to the crew, but I didn’t hear her, way too pissed off to think clearly. I kicked open the door and walked across the house, not stopping until I was in the game room surrounded by the pinball machines.

Aubrie wasn’t far behind me.

“What was that?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing. Just pissed about all this.”

“I’m sorry, Lincoln.”

I looked at her for a second and realized she was serious. “Why are you sorry?”

“I know my dad is forcing you into this. I guess Jess is using that to play off you. That’s probably why she wants me to be around, as an antagonist or something.”

I shook my head. “I know her game. I shouldn’t let it get to me.”

She perked up and smiled. “Despite that, I think it went pretty well.”

I laughed. “Oh yeah. We only bickered on camera once.”