Linc (A Cocky Cage Fighter Novel Book 3) (15 page)

"Was I?" I mutter, still somewhat frozen in shock.

Thinkin’ it over, I start from the very beginnin’ and try to work my way forward. The shy, awkwardness that first night we met at the club. Her blatant innocence. Tellin’ me she wouldn't take the money for herself, but her sister could use it. The painting. Her sayin’ she's not who I think she is... It's been Claire the whole fuckin’ time! "But why didn’t she tell me the truth, and why did she con me into recordin’ us together?” I ask Mace. “If she had just asked me, I would've given her the money." Yeah, embarrassment was at the top of the list of how shitty this is, but now that I know it was Claire...the girl who could barely get through a lap dance, well, she must’ve been freakin’ out about havin’ sex with me on camera.

Mace raises a single dark eyebrow, one with a fresh gash and dried blood coverin’ it. "Claire said you paid fifteen grand to do the porno with
Eve
. For some fucked up reason I guess
she
decided to do it because she—I think she wanted to be with you and didn't think anyone would know the difference. But of course they did! The difference is night and fucking day if you actually know both of them."

"I didn't pay
anyone
fifteen thousand, and I sure as fuck never signed up for a goddamn porno," I snap at him.

"Then it sounds like both of you got played. If I had to guess-"

"Slick Rick. That son of a bitch," I mutter when it hits me like a knee to my balls. He was there the night it all went down. In fact, he came up to me and asked me about payin’ her, then she disappeared even after her friend came back. It had to have been that shady asshole tellin’ her bullshit to convince her to go through with it for what would've been a huge chunk of cash for her and an enormous payday for him and Vito's company.

"I assume you're referring to James, Mandy's manager?" Mason asks.

"James. Yeah. Where can I find that fucker?"

"Believe me, I would
love
to pound his ass into the ground, but you don't want to fuck with any of Vito's men. Bad shit happens to anyone who lays a finger on them." 

"Fuck Vito," I say.

"Are you nuts!?!" Mace exclaims then quickly glances around us. "Don’t fucking say things like that out in public! He's got people
everywhere
."

"I'm gonna be on his shitlist as soon as he finds out I'm about to take his ass to court. And if his man James thinks he's untouchable, he's got another thing comin’. Now where can I find him?" I ask again.

He stares at me silently for several seconds, chewin’ on his thumbnail in thought. "I'm sorry Linc, and trust me, it takes all of my restraint not to kick his ass every time I see his annoying fucking face. But there's no way I'm telling you
anything
that might end up bringing down the wrath of Vito on my sisters. Mandy's in enough shit with him as it is, and Claire and I are trying our damnedest to get her out of it. So just let it go."

Of course I can't help but respect that. I didn't even think about the consequences to the girls if I go after the asshole. "Fine," I agree. "You're right. But if I ever see him in a dark alley I'll beat him so bad he won't even remember his own name."

"If so, call me so I can get in some licks," he says with a small smile.

"Deal," I agree, and after another fist bump, I head home to make a few depressin’ phone calls and then wallow in my own self-pity. Confused. Angry. I don't even know what's worse. Probably the sinkin’ feeling in my chest since even knowin’ the truth doesn't change the fact that the girl I'm head over heels for never actually wanted me.        

Claire

Bumping down the long gravel driveway, I wonder for the millionth time if I'm making a mistake by just showing up. When Mason called and gave me Linc's explanation it made perfect sense, why he left pissed the other night. He hadn't paid me, or Mandy, to have sex with him, and never intended to. So I wrote down his address Mason managed to get from one of the guys at the gym, and got into my beater to head over here and apologize.

Out of the darkness, the lights from the interior of a house finally come into view. There are no streetlights in the rural area, only my headlights guiding the way down the rocky, narrow road. I recognize Linc's big, lime green truck in the driveway from when he followed us to Vito's the other night, but there's also a small, silver car parked next to him. It's definitely a woman's car, no doubt about it. The thought sends a boulder plunging into the pit of my stomach. Before I can turn around and leave, hoping to go unseen, the front porch light comes on. I watch as Linc and a woman step out onto the wrap around porch of the beautiful two-story house. Both of them look in my direction since there's no hiding out here with my headlights beaming. He then walks her to the girly little sports car. Now closer, I can tell she's almost his height, wearing a cute, knee length dress with tall boots. I'm not able to really see her face, only noticing she has long, blonde hair and a perfect figure before she hugs Linc and climbs inside the car, pulling away.

Oh God. I shouldn't have come, and now I've made a huge fool of myself in front of a woman who is probably his girlfriend. But shouldn’t she be pissed he was in a porno with me? She didn’t really seem upset...   

I try to pull my shaking self together when he approaches my car. Lowering the window, I figure there's nothing to do but talk to him and get this embarrassment over with so I can leave. Without a word, Linc leans down and rests his forearms on the opening. Only the lights on my dashboard and the front porch illuminate his gorgeous profile, so it's hard to make out his expression. I just wish he'd say something!

"Hey." I break the silence since it was killing me.

"Hi,
Claire
." I jump at the sound of my real name from his lips for the very first time, especially when he puts a heavy emphasis on it. "You here to record a sequel?"

Mason told me he'd explained the truth to Linc, but I can't tell if he's pissed or joking. Okay, of course he's pissed. I'm trying to figure out just how angry he really is, but I can't see his freaking face!

"No sequel," I finally respond with a shaky voice. "I didn’t mean to interrupt…just came to apologize. I had no idea...James said you wanted to...and it had to be that night...so either I-I could or Mandy would—"

"So, let me get this straight," he says interrupting my stammering. "You're apologizin’ to me for being a part of a sex tape that's gone viral, thinkin’ I'd not only agreed to do it but had paid actual money to star in, to which you agreed so I wouldn't end up fuckin’ your sister instead of you, all because she really needed the money to pay off her debt to Vito?"

"Yes," I say so softly he may not have heard it over the chirping crickets.

He stands up straight and raises his arms over his head, popping his back before returning his forearms to the window sill. "Nuh-uh. Try again."

"Wh-what?"

"That's not why I'm pissed or what you should be apologizin’ for."

"Oh. So you are pissed?"

"Uh-huh."

"So should I apologize for lying to you about who I was?" I ask, knowing that's all on me. I made the decision to pretend to be Mandy and could've told Linc the truth at any time, but I didn't.

"Nope, not that, either."

"No?" I repeat in surprise. How can he not be mad about that? He thought he was with a wild, crazy porn star and got me instead.    

"No," he answers stiffly. "I'm pissed because, for the life of me, I can't figure out if you want me, or if it was all an act for the money because you were tryin’ to help bail your sister out of trouble."

"Oh," I mutter. Of course I want him. What woman wouldn't?

"And after thinkin’ about it every second since your brother told me the truth, I realized that based on what I know, there's no way
Claire
would ever get naked and give a stranger a lap dance on her own. I'm also certain that
Claire
would never be caught dead fuckin’ a random guy on camera to make money for herself. Am I right?"

"Ah, yeah, pretty much," I admit, swallowing past the growing lump in my throat.

"Right. So I came to the conclusion that you,
Claire
, didn't want any-fuckin’-thing to do with me." My eyes start to water, not just because of his harsh tone, but because he's right. I'd never do those things on my own, and if it had been anyone else besides him, I'm not sure if I would've done either to help my sister. But it
was
him, and at the time I
did
want him. I wouldn't have been able to expose myself in such brutally humiliating ways if he hadn't been so...gentle and kind.

Now I'm thankful for the darkness out here in the middle of nowhere. At least he won't notice the tear that escapes and runs down my cheek.

"But then I heard a car pull up," he starts again, speaking more softly. "When I looked out the window and saw it was you, I told my sister, Hailey-"

"Your sister?" I blurt out the question in surprised relief that it was a relative, not someone he was dating.

"My sister," he confirms. "I told her, maybe I was wrong. So I started thinkin’ maybe
Claire
does give a shit about me, because that first night you kissed me when you didn't have to, and you never once flinched away from me when we fucked. In fact, I'm pretty sure you were pullin’ me closer. And even before I watched the video replay, I knew there wasn't anything fake about you comin’ while I was buried deep inside of you. Am I right?" he asks.

"Pretty much. I-I wanted to be with you for my own selfish reasons."

"Then get your ass out of the car, woman," he says, and gravel crunches under his feet when he steps back away from the window. Despite my shock at his forgiveness and request for me to stay, I somehow remember to roll my window back up in case it rains, and finally turn off the engine. Linc opens my car door, and embarrassingly enough, I don't get very far since I forget I still have my seat belt on when I try to stand up. 

Noticing my oversight, Linc leans inside and reaches over my lap to release the buckle for me, drowning me in his comforting and now familiar Christmas scent. As the belt retracts his lips softly and gently meet mine. That small, simple gesture pops the rubber stopper that had been containing my emotions of the day, and they all come gushing out in tearful sobs.

"Oh no. Please don't cry," Linc says before he scoops me up in his arms, muttering something to himself about tears and Kryptonite. I leak onto his shirt as he carries me for a while before lowering us to the ground. Grabbing my legs he situates me so that I'm facing him, straddling his lap when he sits down. His arms stay around me until my crying eventually eases up.

"Sorry," I say against his chest, now incredibly embarrassed by my outburst and the blubbery mess I made on him.

"It's okay," he says, his warm palms caressing up and down the back of my blouse. "This is by far the wettest lap dance I've ever had."

I laugh into his t-shirt, that I'm still clenching in both fists, too mortified to look at him even in the dark. We're outside, and I'm pretty sure he's sitting on the edge of a wooden dock.

"So why the tears?" he asks. "I mean, somethin’ in particular or is it just the whole clusterfuck that's going on?"

"The whole clusterfuck," I reply. "I can't believe all those people have seen me...and you together, even if ninety-nine percent assume it's my sister. I know it’s me, and one percent of the population knows it's really me too."

"Oh believe me, I can relate to
exactly
how you feel."

"I'm sorry," I say, cringing again since his identity is so obvious in the whole mess.

"But there's nothin’ we can do about it now,” he tells me. “And I didn't have a single complaint during the recordin’ except that it ended too soon. Oh, and my agent and attorney are workin’ on demandin’ royalties from Vito's company for every copy sold. Whatever they get from him, I've told them I want it to all go to you. Dave's askin’ for ten percent but guessin’ they'll agree to only five which, just after today, would be about fifty thousand dollars. That enough to get your sister out from under that asshole’s debt?"

My lungs forget that they're supposed to be automatically functioning organs. Nothing goes in or out as I process this new piece of information. Fifty thousand dollars makes me feel a helluva lot better about being seen naked and fucking on camera. The money makes it seem like maybe my embarrassment and humiliation wasn't all for nothing. Linc isn't pissed at me, and we'll have enough money for Mandy to finally pay off her debt. And you can be damn sure she's going into rehab. I finally blow out a huge breath in relief.

"That's not a guarantee, but what they hope to work out," he says. "And I can go ahead and give you an advance on the money to pay him off so you won't have to wait."

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that, do any of this, but you did because you're the sweetest man I know." Linc stiffens, then scoffs unexpectedly after my compliment. “What?” I lean back and ask.

"I don't want to be sweet," he says with his lips brushing over my ear. "Sweet guys always get screwed over or stuck in the friendzone. Can I be somethin’ else to make sure I get into one of the more-than-friend zones?"

"Unfortunately, the sweet guys who get stuck in the friendzone usually aren't very attractive. So you don’t have to worry about going anywhere near that zone, even if you are incredibly sweet," I tell him, uncurling my fists from the front of his shirt to stretch my arms up and around his neck.

"Good," he says, and his unshaven chin scrapes gently over my collarbone as he kisses a spot just above the abrasion. The tingling combination of the coarseness and his moist lips shoot arousal right down between my legs. I may have even released a long, heavy sigh of delight as my body completely relaxes and melts in his arms. "So what zone
am
I in?" he asks, trailing kisses up the column of my neck, leaving goosebumps in his wake.

"The please-don't-stop zone."

"I think that might be my favorite zone," he replies. His fingers spear through my hair, tilting my head back and then his mouth is on mine. My body liquefies, trying to mold itself to every inch of his. There's no avoiding his growing hardness, pressed up against the perfect spot between my legs. I lower my hips, grinding the seam of my jeans against his thick bulging length. Linc's hands slid up my sides, underneath my blouse, and make their way to my satin bra, cupping my breasts while I keep rocking on his lap.

When he lifts my shirt, I don't hesitate to raise my arms over my head for him to remove it. The chilly autumn night air doesn’t even phase me, because my body is heating up like a freaking furnace. Linc reaches around and works the back clasp of my red, lacy bra and then it's sliding down my arms and...landing with a splash in the lake.

I pull away from our kiss, gasping in horror at the dark ripple in the water. “Hey! That was one of my favorites, and those things aren't cheap!”

"I'll buy you a hundred to replace it," Linc says. He laughs until his lips seal around my nipple, and his tongue lashes back and forth over it repeatedly. The move works as a really great distraction. My soggy bra is completely forgotten. Everything else in the world is forgotten while his mouth devours first one breast, and then moves over to lavish the same attention on the left breast. There's so much friction going on against the crotches of our jeans it's a wonder they don't catch fire. Probably because I'm too wet for it to ignite. "Stay with me tonight. All night," he says, kissing his way back up to my mouth.

"Okay." I easily agree, and then reach for the hem of his shirt to get it off of him. I'm careful
not
to throw it into the water.

"Jeans off," he orders, snapping the button and lowering my zipper. His hand plunges down inside the front of my satin panties, making me moan in pleasure when his fingers penetrate me. "God I love wet lap dances," I vaguely hear him mutter against my lips. I’m too preoccupied by the way he starts thrusting two long digits in and out of me, faster and faster until I can't take anymore.

I reach for his jeans to undo them, thankful there's no belt in the way. I have my hand dipping into his boxer briefs, wrapped around his hard cock in no time.

"Fuck," he groans. "Take your pants off while I get a condom on."

I'm so onboard with that plan that I quickly get to my feet. Holding onto his shoulder carefully with one hand so that I don't topple over into the lake, I yank my shoes and socks off with the other. When they’re out of the way I shimmy out of my panties and jeans.

Linc's efficient. His pants are shoved past his hips and he he has the latex rolled down his length by the time I'm straddling him again. This time I impale myself, slowly and deliciously down his long cock, both of us gasping at the incredible sensation of our bodies joining.