Beyond The Music (The Rock Gods Book 7) (20 page)

Jesus, what I wouldn’t give to hear Aaron scream my name when he came all over me!

Lincoln shifted under the blankets and carefully tried to extricate himself from Aaron’s embrace without waking him. Although Aaron was still fully clothed Lincoln could still feel his morning wood pressed against Lincoln’s hip.
Lucky bastard,
Lincoln thought as he slid out of bed. The lift in the mattress made Aaron stir. He came up on an elbow and studied Lincoln as he rose to a standing position, doing it slow like Aaron had showed him when they’d started working together.

“You okay?” Aaron asked and rubbed at his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “I gotta take a piss.”

Aaron turned on to his back for a moment before he stood and stretched beside the bed. After adjusting his cock in his sleep pants, he walked to the doorway of the bathroom where Lincoln was now brushing his teeth. Lincoln glanced over his shoulder and noticed Aaron’s gaze burning trails over his naked form. It was near torture to have this gorgeous man standing in his bedroom with a semi-hard cock and not being able to do a fucking thing about it.

“Must be nice,” Lincoln mumbled around his toothbrush.

“What’s nice?” Aaron asked and finger combed his hair into place.

“Waking up with a hard-on,” Lincoln said. “I can’t remember the last time that happened for me.” Aaron leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms over his chest. A smile started to form on Aaron’s face but Lincoln watched it fade before it had fully appeared. Aaron’s mannerisms had also changed from loose and comfortable to tight and awkward. Lincoln briefly wondered what that was all about. He hoped Aaron wasn’t already rethinking his personal involvement with him. If that were the case, it would shatter the tiny glimmer of hope Lincoln held inside him.

“I’ll go wash-up and then make something for us to eat for breakfast,” Aaron said.

“If you try to feed me tofu again I’ll puke it back up on the plate,” Lincoln called after him. “That fucking shit tastes like dog crap.”

Aaron laughed and whatever tension there seemed to be between them five minutes ago was now gone.

After breakfast, Aaron set-up a video game they could play together, claiming it was good exercise for Lincoln’s hand-eye coordination. Lincoln wasn’t sure he believed that, but he wasn’t about to argue with Aaron, especially if it kept him on the couch instead of sweating his ass off in the gym or doing laps in the fucking pool.

“Grand Theft Auto okay with you today?” Aaron asked Lincoln as he sat down beside him on the couch.

Lincoln found himself distracted by the way Aaron’s firm thigh pressed against his. It took a few seconds before Lincoln’s eyes lifted to meet Aaron’s questioning gaze. “I’m really good at this one, so you better prepare to get your ass beaten.”

“I’m not afraid.” Aaron grinned.

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Lincoln had won all three games when Dagger walked into the house. Aaron jumped off the couch as if to save Lincoln from an intruder, then seemed shocked to see it was Dagger that had let himself in.

“What are you doing here?” Lincoln asked and tossed the hand controller onto the coffee table in front of his knees.

“Does he always just walk in here like that?” Aaron asked quietly.

Dagger lifted one brow. “Yeah, I’ve been known to pop in from time to time and until now, it’s never been a problem,” Dagger said.

“It’s not a problem now,” Lincoln said and stood up to offer Dagger a hug. They briefly bumped chests before Lincoln stepped away. “Everything is cool. Do you feel like a beer or something?”

“I guess that’d be okay,” Dagger answered Lincoln and followed him into the kitchen.

Lincoln opened the refrigerator and pulled out three beers. “Aaron, do you want a beer?” Lincoln hollered into the living room.

“No, I’m good,” Aaron replied. “I’ll leave you guys to talk and do a quick work-out in the gym.”

Lincoln passed one of the beer bottles to Dagger and quickly stepped into the other room to stop Aaron. “Hey, you don’t have to leave,” he said with his hand gripping Aaron’s bicep.

“It’s cool,” Aaron answered. “Just don’t do anything crazy while I’m gone, like fall on your face.”

Lincoln chuckled, then gave Aaron a gentle shove. “Don’t you worry about me, I only do stupid shit like that for your amusement.”

That comment earned Lincoln a smile from Aaron. “Well, you are quite entertaining.”

Lincoln watched Aaron walk down the hall toward the basement stairs and sighed to himself. When he finally turned around Dagger was watching him with great interest.

“Is he living here now?” Dagger asked and sipped from his beer.

Lincoln took a moment to think about that. “Yeah, I guess he is,” Lincoln commented.

“Sounds serious,” Dagger replied.

“Why do you say that?” Lincoln asked. He took a seat back on the couch and Dagger took the spot at the opposite end.

“In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you with someone more than once and I’ve certainly never known you to share space with a lover.”

Lover? If Dagger only knew the real reason Aaron was living with him and that they weren’t even sharing Lincoln’s bed . . . except for last night. Jesus, last night was so fucking perfect and there hadn’t been any sex. How was it possible to feel that good sharing a bed with someone for no other purpose than to sleep?

“Hey, I’m still here,” Dagger reminded Lincoln with a slap to his arm.

“I didn’t know you were coming over.” Lincoln cleared his throat and tried to focus on Dagger again. “You usually send me a text first before just busting in here.”

“I
did
send you a text,” Dagger admonished. “But, now that I’m here, I can see how fucking distracted you are with your new roomie.”

Lincoln ignored Dagger’s comment and reached for his phone on the coffee table. He punched a few buttons and saw the missed text message from Dagger. “Yeah, I see it now. Sorry about that.”

“No worries.” Dagger took another drink from his beer bottle. “I came over to see how you were. I’m gonna be honest with you, Linc. We’ve all had our concerns with your behavior over the last few months. You’ve been stumbling around and falling down like you’re drunk and your playing is definitely off from what you typically give us. That leads me to wonder if this is from some kind of substance abuse because you haven’t been yourself for a while now.”

“You know I’m not into drugs beyond smoking a little dope,” Lincoln responded curtly.

“Yeah, I know about the pot,” Dagger replied. “We’ve all been known to smoke a little of that from time to time, but I’m worried about you, as are Dante and Ashton. If there’s something else going on, then we need to know about it before we head out for the tour. I’ve done my best to keep my nose out of it, but you’re like a brother to me and I can no longer do that. Too much rides on you being able to perform.”

Lincoln met Dagger’s deep brown eyes. The guy could always drag shit out of him with nothing more than a burning look, but not today. No way in fucking hell Lincoln was spilling what was really going on with him. He couldn’t. Not yet.

“Are you sick or something?” Dagger asked.

Lincoln’s eyes widened at Dagger’s observation. “Why the fuck would you think that?”

Dagger shrugged and finished his beer. “I don’t know, but watching you falling on your ass isn’t normal for you.”

Lincoln gaze went to his lap. He couldn’t look at Dagger and continue to lie to his face and a large part of him felt bad about doing that. “I guess my mind has been elsewhere instead of where I’m walking.”

“Is that because of Aaron?” Dagger asked. “If that’s the case, then that presents another problem. We can’t have you play on stage in Europe to sold-out crowds like you played for us yesterday. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Are you threatening to replace me?” Lincoln’s back went straight.

“You know me better than that, Linc. I’m here to see if I can offer my help, but since you keep denying there is a problem, I guess there isn’t anything here for me to help fix.” Dagger set his empty beer bottle onto the table before he stood up from the couch and faced Lincoln. “I suggest you spend a little less time playing house with Aaron and put some more time into practicing for your job.”

Dagger removed his car keys from his front pocket and started toward the front door. “Spumoni told me you’ve got a situation with a stalker on your property,” Dagger stated. “I guess that explains the graffiti sprayed all over your front gate.”

“The what?” Lincoln asked.

“You’ve got shit spray painted across your gate,” Dagger explained. “How long has that been there?”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, Dagger,” Lincoln answered.

“Well, you might not want to leave ‘cock sucker’ painted on your gate like it’s your last name,” Dagger said.

“Jesus!” Lincoln grit out. “What the hell is going on with these asshole stalkers? I’ll have to give my property manager a call and get it cleaned up. Pisses me off, though, that I have to deal with this crap. This shit is becoming a daily thing and a full time job to take care of.”

Dagger nodded then dragged his fingers through his long hair to tuck behind his ears. “I know what you’re saying, but we have to stay on top of it before it gets out of control. It’s why we’ve all got extra security on our asses until this threat is eliminated.”

“I fucking thought this bullshit was over when they caught the guy who attacked Ashton,” Lincoln remarked. “Besides my graffiti, has something else happened?”

“Nothing as specific as your front gate artwork,” Dagger commented. “Ryan said he’s had someone following him a few times downtown and I’ve had a few stalkers over at my house, too. I called the police about that, and I know from what Spumoni says you’ve had at least one dude roaming around out in front of your house. He’s probably the artist that worked on your gate.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Lincoln shrugged.

Dagger tipped his head in confusion. “You should be more concerned about this than you are, Linc. We all saw what Ashton looked like after his attack and I wouldn’t wish that on any of us.”

“Well, then it’s good we’ve got more security,” Lincoln added. He saw the worried look on Dagger’s face and forced a reassuring smile on his face. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get the paint cleaned up this week.”

Dagger studied Lincoln for a moment. “I’ve already got a personal detail following Ryan and myself,” he said. “Plus, we’re hiring a whole new security team to watch us when we tour. They’ll be playing shadows to each of us, so I don’t want to hear any complaining about the entourage we’ll now be traveling with.”

“I’m okay with it.” Lincoln nodded. “I think it’s a good idea.”

Silence fell between them, while Dagger studied Lincoln with intent. “You’re different,” Dagger commented.

“What’d you mean?”

Dagger shook his head. “I can’t put my finger on it, but something feels off with you. Are you pissed off at me for something?”

“Fuck, no,” Lincoln scoffed. “Why would I be mad at you?”

“I have no fucking clue, but I’m grasping at straws here,” Dagger said. He opened up the door and stepped out onto the front step. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

“Of course, but I’m good, Dagger. I promise.”

Dagger tugged Lincoln in for one last hug before he stepped off the stairs and walked to his black Porsche. Lincoln waved at the back of Dagger’s car one last time before he went inside, locked the door and engaged the security system.

Now Lincoln needed to see Aaron because for some reason being with him made Lincoln feel better about everything. Funny how an attachment for Aaron had developed in such a short period of time. It made Lincoln wonder what might grow between them if time were allowed to factor into it. Jesus, that excited him as much as he feared the entire thing.

Lincoln heard Aaron’s grunts before he reached the door to his in-home gym. The sound rang in his ears and sent a shiver through him. It sounded too much like sex and Lincoln’s heart began to pump harder inside his chest. He stood in the doorway and looked across the room to where Aaron was lying on his back with his thighs straddling a bench as he lifted an impressive amount of weight off the bar above his head. Aaron was wearing a pair of gym shorts with loose legs that allowed Lincoln a peek at the prize concealed beneath the thin nylon fabric. A thin sheen of sweat was beaded up all over Aaron’s bare chest and muscled arms that made his skin shimmer under the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. The sight of Aaron made Lincoln’s throat go dry. The man was beautiful to watch exercising and by standing in the doorway like he was made Lincoln feel a little bit like a creeper.

Lincoln stepped further into the room and when Aaron saw him approach, he set the weight bar back into place above his head and sat up on the bench. Sweat dripped from Aaron’s forehead and Lincoln had the sudden urge to lick the salty rivulets from the man’s skin to taste him. Aaron twisted to his side and used his discarded t-shirt to wipe off his face and chest. The grin on Aaron nearly melted Lincoln’s bones.

“Suit up and we’ll get to work,” Aaron teased.