Rush (Eligible Receivers #3)

Chapter Seven

Linc lay in the quiet darkness of his hotel room unable to turn his thoughts off knowing Nora was asleep in the next room with an unlocked, connecting door the only thing separating them.

But fuck, he needed some sleep. He had to be up early in the morning to head to the studio and was already running on fumes from their late travels.

Remembering the flight home from Texas with Sophie and her bad temper, Linc had purposely booked an evening flight with the hope she’d sleep through most of it. She hadn’t, but this time she also hadn’t been crabby thanks to Nora’s smart thinking. She occupied the fussy flyer with stories and games she had downloaded just for Sophie on her phone. She’d even come prepared with snacks, something Linc—not even in a million years—would have thought to do. The taxi ride from the airport to their hotel had been a bit rockier. Beyond tired, Sophie had fussed and whined until she’d finally fallen asleep in the cradle of Nora’s arm. He’d like to say he hadn’t been envious of his niece with her head pillowed against Nora’s chest, but if he did, it would be a lie. Nora had great tits.

That visual was a road he did not want to go down right now—not if he wanted any shut-eye.

Linc reached for his phone, checked the time, and sighed. If he fell asleep right now, he’d get a solid five hours.

He huffed out a grunt, punching his pillow, before settling on his side.

That didn’t stop his thoughts from focusing back on the unlocked connecting door and wondering what Nora was doing right then. Was she thinking of him too? Doubtful. Why would she be? Though always happy and full of smiles, he’d never gotten the sense they were directed only at him. More likely she was thinking about Jay Cooper if she was thinking of anyone at all.

Linc gritted his teeth. Fucking Jay Cooper.

Oz had casually dropped that juicy piece of gossip as they’d waited for Nora when he’d come to pick her up for the airport. His jaw clenched, picturing Nora, all beautiful smiles and sexy-as-fuck laughter, with Jay in a dark nightclub. The two of them dancing, bodies pressed together, his hand on the low of her back, hers cupping the back of his neck with her fingers playing through the strands of his hair. He’d whisper something in her ear. She’d smile up at him. With his eyes locked on her lips, his head would dip….

Fuck!

Linc slammed his lids closed and forced himself to think about something else. Anything else. Football stats would do. That thought led to Oz—which was a boner killer if there ever was one—and that the woman Linc was lusting over was his sister. Bro code demanded he keep his hands off her, but the more time he spent with Nora, he couldn’t help but feel that the code mattered less and less. Nora was an adult and her own person. It should be up to her to decide what she wanted. If that happened to be him, then code be damned because, he was finding, for the first time in his life, he was attracted to a woman for more than just her looks. He liked her. Really liked her. She was funny as hell, compassionate, easy-going, and always in a good mood, making him feel good just from being around her. He liked every facet of her—mind and body. Not that it hurt that her body was really fucking bangin’.

God damn. There went his dick again. Fucking perfect. He was never going to get to fucking sleep.

***

“Sophie, get back here!”

Nora’s shout had Linc’s head turning in time to see the connecting door to his room swing open and a little whirlwind fly in.

“I’m sorry. I tried to stop—” Nora’s words came to an abrupt halt as her eyes went wide and her cheeks flamed pink. “Sorry!” she apologized again as she quickly spun on her heel, giving him her back.

Linc didn’t even try to keep the grin off his face as he slipped into his jeans keeping the towel wrapped around his waist for cover and threw a t-shirt over his head. “It’s safe to look now,” he said, tossing the towel to the side.

She peeked over her shoulder as though verifying his truthfulness before fully turning to face him.

He wished she hadn’t because now he was getting his first good look at her.

Fresh from bed, her pillow-tousled hair framed her face and fell over her shoulders doing nothing to hide the swells of her breasts revealed by the snug camisole top she wore. The matching shorts were so short they showed off all of her exceptionally fine legs. He’d tell her to turn back around but was afraid the rear view wouldn’t help the situation developing in his pants any better.

“We didn’t mean to barge in like that. Well, Sophie did, but I didn’t.” She nervously chuckled as her eyes landed on said room invader who was currently parked cross legged in the middle of his bed, TV remote in hand, and looking bright eyed and bushy tailed. A total contradiction to how Linc felt after his restless night sleep.

He dragged his eyes from Nora’s pink-tipped toes and concentrated on her left ear, thinking that should be safe. It wasn’t. Her ear was delicate and perfectly formed with a silky looking lobe he was dying to suck on.

He decided it was best not to look at her at all. He turned his attention to scouring the floor to hunt for his shoes. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I was trying to be quiet, hoping you guys would get a little more sleep.”

“It was Sophie who woke me. For someone so quiet, she’s quite persistent.”

His eyes flicked to her and he flashed a smile. “Ain’t that the truth.” Then he had a thought. “Seeing as you’re up, do you want to come with me to the studio and watch what goes on behind the scenes while making a commercial?”

He glanced up from tying his shoe in time to see her look over at Sophie, a thoughtful expression tugging her lips. “I’d love to but I don’t know how interested Sophie would be. Maybe I should find something more kid friendly for us to do.”

He loved how she always put Sophie first. A direct contrast to any of his previous nannies. “How about this. Come with me and if Sophie gets bored, you can leave.”

A smile lit her face, telling him she liked that idea. “Deal. Give us a few minutes to get ready.”

A limo from the studio was waiting for them as they exited the hotel lobby. Linc had been expecting transport, but nothing quite so elaborate. Even if the studio was trying to impress, the stretch Town Car was a bit overkill.

After driving a while, he noticed Nora was unusually quiet, especially sitting next to the animated Sophie who was busying herself playing with all the buttons on the remote to the snack bar and accompanying entertainment system. At first, he’d chalked up her silence to their first-class ride—the luxurious interior could be a bit overwhelming especially if she’d never ridden in a limo before—but as the miles ticked by and her silence remained, he grew concerned.

“Everything okay?”

“What?” She blinked a few times, her eyes clearing.

“You’re quiet. Is everything okay?”

“Oh!” She laughed but it wasn’t her usual sexy, throaty one. This one sounded forced. “Sorry. I was just lost in thought.”

“About?” They were sitting on bench seats across from each other so it wasn’t hard for him to notice her fingers tugging at the hem of her t-shirt. She wasn’t usually a fidgeter.

She also wasn’t a sigher which she did just before saying, “I guess it’s just finally hit me.”

Confusion joined his concern. “What has?”

“That you’re rich and famous.” She threw her arms out dramatically and he glanced over at Sophie, who having grown bored with the remote, now had her head buried in Nora’s phone, playing a game and not paying attention to either of them. “You’re a big deal.”

“Nora, I’m the same guy I was a few hours ago.”

“Logically, I know that. But look…” She flung her arm out again, this time indicating the elaborate entertainment system. “There’s more tech here than in a Best Buy.”

Knowing she wasn’t trying to be funny and that it would probably upset her more, Linc hid his smile at her exaggeration, and instead pointed out, “It’s the studio’s limo, not mine.”

“Precisely. The studio. Where you’re about to shoot a commercial that will be on TV for millions of people to see.”

“I don’t see how that changes anything.”

Her gaze went to the window and stayed there for a good thirty seconds before turning back to him. “You’re right. It doesn’t. Forget I said anything.”

He studied her face and could tell the smile she was giving him was fake. But before he could call her out on it, she changed the subject, pointing at things outside the window and chatting away, pretending everything was back to normal. She put on a good show but something still bothered her. Her mood had shifted, putting a distance between them that hadn’t been there before. He didn’t like it but fuck if he knew what to do about it.

***

“I wasn’t expecting so much equipment and so many people.” Nora craned her neck this way and that, an awed expression on her face while keeping a tight grip on Sophie’s hand.

Cameras and the film crew were set up outside on a large greenbelt that was staged to look like a football field.

Not his first time on set and therefore not interested in the goings on, Linc only had eyes for Nora. “It takes just as many people to shoot a commercial as it does a sit-com.”

“I had no idea.”

A woman wearing a lanyard around her neck and holding a clipboard walked up to them. “Mr. Scott, wardrobe and makeup are ready for you now.”

He hated leaving his girls.

His girls?

His thoughts came to a screeching halt. Where had that come from? Not that he didn’t like the sound of it. In fact, he liked the sound of it so much, he repeated it in his head one more time.

His girls.

The woman with the clipboard misinterpreted his hesitation. “I’ll show your family where they can sit and watch.”

His family. Fuck if he didn’t like the sound of that just as much.

“Oh, I’m not—”

Linc threw an arm around Nora’s shoulders, shocking her into silence. He gave the woman a large smile. “Lead the way.”

At guest seating, he squatted down to Sophie’s level. “You be a good girl for Nora, okay?” When she agreed, he kissed her forehead and stood, giving Nora a wink at her still bewildered expression before sauntering off.

He was waylaid by the director on his way to wardrobe.

“Mr. Scott! Good to have you. You’re right on time.”

That was a lie, he was twenty minutes late, but he figured the guy didn’t think it a good idea to piss off the talent until after the commercial was made. Linc took the man’s hand, giving it a firm shake. “Happy to be here.”

“I know you were given a script last week, but do you have any questions before we start?”

The commercial was pretty straight forward. Suited up in his uniform, he was to run into the shot, rip off his helmet, and pick up the popular energy drink from the sideline bench before saying his line and then taking a long drink. “Nope, I’m good.”

“Great.” He gave Linc a smile and thumped him on the shoulder. “Go get changed and I’ll meet you on the field .” The dude actually used air quotes on the last bit.

Hours later, the filming had been far from straight forward. He wasn’t breathing heavy enough when first running on screen or he was panting too much while saying his line. He wasn’t taking a long enough drink or he was chugging too excessively. Hell, he even had to change the inflection of his tone six times and the director still wasn’t happy.

“Cut!Cut!”

Linc came to a stop giving the dude an exasperated look. What the fuck now?

“Linc, your shoe’s untied.”

Linc looked down and sure enough his lace had come loose. He tossed his helmet down—maybe a bit more aggressively than he’d intended—then knelt to tie his shoe before standing back up, hands on his hips.

“Maybe this would be a good time to take thirty for lunch,” the director said, eyeing Linc warily.

Halle-fuckin-lujah. Linc didn’t need to be told twice. Snagging his helmet from the ground, he made his way to where Nora and Sophie sat.

They both beamed at him as he approached, but it was, of course, Nora who spoke. “It’s very exciting to watch you work.”

He threw her a wry smile. “Liar.”

She burst out laughing. “Okay, you caught me,” she admitted after recovering herself. “It’s boring as hell.”

Linc ran a hand over his head pondering his moral dilemma. He hated to see them go but hated even more that they were bored. “You guys should head out and I’ll meet you back at the hotel.”

“I hate to desert you.”

He caught her forlorn glance toward the exit of the lot and laughed, “Go on. Get out of here. God only knows how much longer this is going to take. I’ll text the driver and tell him to take you wherever you want to go.”

She looked up at him with her beautiful, bright-green eyes, hesitating before saying, “Well, only if you’re sure.”

“Positive.”

With that reassurance she couldn’t stand from her chair fast enough.

Once Nora and Sophie headed off, Linc pulled his phone out to text the driver. It was then a fragment of conversation reached his ears.

“…fine ass.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind hittin’ that.”

“Too bad she’s got a kid with her.”

That grabbed Linc’s attention. He turned to see two guys a few yards away, watching Nora as she walked across the lot. Livid, he shoved his phone back into his pocket and strode over to them.

It was hard not to see him coming and they had no problem noticing him. The one guy nudged the other and they were all smiles when he arrived.

“Lincoln Scott! Man, it’s a pleasure—”

Linc ignored the guy’s protruding hand. “You like your eyes in their sockets?”

Their smiles instantly fell along with the guy’s hand which he left dangling at his side as mutual confusion clouded their features.

Linc helped them out, growling, “That’s my woman you’re eye-fucking.”

Both their Adam’s apples bobbed as they swallowed.

The shorter of the two bravely spoke up, “I’m sorry, man. No disrespect. We didn’t know.”

He eyed them each in turn. “You won’t be hitting that now or ever. Got it?”

They nodded in unison.

“Remember it.” He shot them one last meaningful look before giving them his back to head over to the craft table.

He stopped short when one said, “Is it possible to get your autograph?”

Not bothering to look back, he just kept walking. Fucking idiots.

He was still seething ten minutes later when he got called back onto the set, barely having a chance to inhale half a sandwich.

And fifteen minutes after that, the director was shouting, “Yes! That’s the energy I’ve been looking for! One more time from the top with that same passion.”

Turns out, the director wanted angry.

Who fucking knew!