Rush (Eligible Receivers #3)

Chapter Sixteen

“You’re not going to get me to change my mind.” Nora plastered on an exasperated expression and hoped this time her words would sink in.

She’d been having the same discussion with Linc about Colt’s charity event for three straight days. Nora wasn’t sure if he was just that stubbornly persistent in wanting to get his way or if he thought relentless badgering would change her mind.

FYI, it wouldn’t.

He started listing his usual arguments. “It’ll be fun.”

Standing on a stage performing in front of hundreds of people did not sound like fun. She walked over to the refrigerator, throwing over her shoulder, “No it won’t,” before opening it.

“It’s for a good cause.”

That was true but she had a sound argument so would stick with that. “And the people are paying to see you and your teammates, not me. The charity will make money whether I’m there or not.” She buried her head in the crisper, pulling out lettuce, tomatoes, and a cucumber.

“Sophie will be upset if you don’t do it.”

She closed the see-through drawer with her toe then nudged the fridge door shut with her hip. That one was his weakest defense and had Nora rolling her eyes. “She couldn’t care less.” She dumped her load on the counter and reached for the cutting board.

“That’s not true. Just this morning I told her you didn’t want to do the act with me and she started crying.”

She tore her gaze away from the lettuce she was shredding into a bowl to look over at Linc who stood leaning against the counter in his usual stance. Man, he looked sexy with his arms crossed over his chest making his muscles bulge and pulling his tee shirt tight with his legs kicked out in front of him and crossed at the ankle. She mentally slapped herself out of her daydream and got back on topic. “She did not.”

“It’s true. Big crocodile tears.”

Lips pursed, she eyed him. He wasn’t above stretching the truth to get his way. Unfortunately for him, he had a tell. But fortunately for her, she knew what it was. She dropped her gaze. Yep, his index finger was tapping. A sure sign.

Her lips tipped into a small smirk. “Liar.”

She turned back to the counter, her smirk turning into a smile at his heavy sigh and picked up a tomato to dice.

His arms came around her waist, pulling her against his hard length and his head dipped close as he whispered in her ear. “If you agree, I’ll do that thing with my tongue you like so much.” His voice shifted into a low growl. “Every night for a whole week.”

She stilled, the knife falling from her slack fingers, clattering as it hit the hard-plastic cutting board. That was a new tactic. And a low blow. Her whole body heated just thinking about it, and she responded, voice throaty, “Make it two and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

A deep chuckle vibrated in her ear. “Agree.” She spun in his arms catching his eyes gleaming with mischief and his small grin. “You’re a tough negotiator.”

She reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’re just used to getting away with murder.”

His lips came within a fraction of hers. “I guess I better start getting used to being putty in your hands.”

Then he was kissing her and, little did he know, for that, she would have done anything he asked in that moment, no bargains made.

***

The next afternoon, Nora was already regretting her agreement when Linc came home after his workout carrying a large box.

“What’s that?” she asked, following him into the living room.

He set the box on the coffee table and started ripping open the top. “Karaoke machine. I thought we could use it to practice our act.”

He looked like a kid at Christmas as he pulled a large speaker, decorated with a bunch of high-tech looking buttons, and two microphones out of the box.

“I thought we were lip syncing?” She didn’t sound nearly as panicked as she was actually feeling at the thought of singing in front of a large crowd. She’d need to work on that.

“We are,” he said distractedly while thumbing through the user’s manual. “But this will help us memorize the song.” He looked up with a grin. “Make it look truly authentic.”

Nora glanced over at Sophie who was sitting on the couch watching Linc with rapped interest while he hooked the machine up.

“What song are we going to sing?” Nora asked, inching closer, curious in spite of herself.

“I was thinking Eye of the Tiger. I want something upbeat and inspirational for the kids.”

Nora nodded. “That’s a good choice and most everyone knows it.”

Linc nodded back. “That was my thought too.”

She inched a little closer and pointed to the lyric screen. “Does it have the song on there?”

“It should. This sucker is preprogramed with over twenty-five thousand songs, but if not, I can download it from the app.”

He handed her a microphone. “Ready to give it a try?”

Linc cued up the song. “I’ll sing the first verse and chorus and you can come in on the second.”

“Okay.” She threw Sophie an apprehensive smile and a thumbs up on the down low, making the little girl giggle.

The music started and as soon as words flashed on the screen, Linc started to sing. “Risin’ up, back on the street…”

Linc had a pretty decent voice and was able to hold a tune. And what he lacked in actual technique, he made up for in enthusiasm. A true entertainer. Sophie was getting into it too, clapping along.

Her part was coming up. Linc sang the last line of the chorus, stretching out the word tiger before pointing his mic at her, cuing her turn.

She stared at the screen, waiting for the next line to pop up and as soon as it did, she started singing. She was a bit choppy and hesitant at first but with only Linc and Sophie as her audience, by the chorus she was really getting into it. She belted out the lyrics and when she got to the end, she looked back at Linc, a smile on her face, expecting him to pick up the next line. He didn’t. The instrumental music played on while he just stood there, staring at her.

She frowned. “Everything okay?”

Shaking his head as though clearing his thoughts, he said, “New plan. Lip syncing is now in the trash. We’re picking a different song and you’ll be the lead singer.”

It took a few seconds for his words to sink in but when they did, she sputtered, “What!”

He just gave her a goofy grin, nodding.

“But it’s you who the people are paying to see, not me.”

“Believe me, after hearing your voice they’ll be happy I’m only singing backup.”

“Pretending to sing is one thing. I don’t know if I can sing for real in front of so many people.” She gnawed on her bottom lip. A bad habit she had when nervous or indecisive that her mother had never gotten her to break.

Linc stepped over to her, his thumb going straight to her lower lip and gently tugging it from her teeth. “You can.” He cupped her face, tilting her head back. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Then trust me on this. You’re gonna bring down the house.” He kissed the tip of her nose then wrapped an arm around her leading her closer to the karaoke machine. “We just need to pick the perfect song.”

An hour later, Nora belted out her rendition of Katy Perry’s Roar while Linc came in at the chorus, using his deep baritone to complement her higher pitched voice. The song was an excellent choice and fit the message Linc was trying to sell. It even had the phrase eye of the tiger in it which made him happy. And if Sophie was any indication—jumping around, clapping, and dancing along—the kids were going to love it.

“Where’d you learn to sing like that anyway?” Linc’s voice drifted through the dark to her as she lay, wrapped around him.

“Natural talent, I guess,” she mumbled.

His arm tightened a fraction at her back. “You’ve never had a lesson?”

“No. But my grandma on my mom’s side was a lounge singer.” She got up on an elbow. If they were going to have a conversation, she didn’t want to have it with his chest. “As the story goes, my grandfather went to the club every night just to hear her sing. He said she had the voice of an angel. It took him two months to finally work up the nerve to ask her for a date.”

“And she must have said yes because you’re here.”

Nora smiled. “She quit singing professionally after they got married, but I remember when I was a little girl we would sing together every time I visited. Grandpa loved for us to put on a show for him.”

“I’d love to see a picture of you when you were little so I can visualize it better.”

“Just imagine a girl who was a little short for her age with frizzy brown hair and fat cheeks.”

Linc chuckled. “I was all teeth and ears. It took until I was a teen to grow into both.”

“I bet you were adorable. Did you always want to be a football player?”

His fingers moved up and down her back and she arched into his touch like a cat.

“Always. From the time I could hold a football at the age of five, I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life. What about you? What did little Nora dream of being when she grew up?”

Arm getting sore, she rolled until she was more on Linc than not, using his body for support. “Like now, even when I was little I couldn’t make up my mind. There was a whole summer when I was seven when I wanted to be a ballet dancer and refused to wear anything but a leotard and tutu. Then when I was ten, I wanted to be a vet until I realized there was more to it than just playing with cute puppies and kittens.”

“And now?” The stroke on her back disappeared as his hand found her ass and stayed there.

“Like I said, I don’t know. I suppose I’ll go back to school and figure it out.”

“Back home?”

Her heart picked up speed to the point she was worried he’d feel it. Was he asking for a specific reason or was she reading too much into his question? “That was the plan.”

The hand that wasn’t currently on her ass came up to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. His voice lowered an octave and turned gravelly. “Was?”

Her thoughts scrambled. What could she say? Did she put her heart on the line and admit he could change her world, all he had to do was ask? Or did she keep her cards close to her chest? They were too new. The latter was a better choice.

“Oz suggested I stay and offered to help me pay for tuition since I lost my scholarship.” She shrugged. “I’m still thinking if I want to take him up on his offer.” Linc didn’t have to know that Oz had offered months ago when she’d first arrived or the fact that she’d never once thought about taking him up on it.

He rolled them until she was now on her back and he was above her supporting himself with his arms. “Would it be selfish of me to admit I like the idea of you staying?”

She swallowed hard. “Are you asking me to?”

His thumb traced along the underside of her jaw sending tingles down her spine. “Yeah, baby, I am. For as long as you’ll have me.”

Not a declaration of love, but pretty damn close.