Before Nathan can even attempt to help, Linc grabs my arm and spins me around so that my back is facing him. I feel his fingers brush against mine as he grabs the straps of my bra and quickly hooks them back together.
"They aren"t here yet, but a friend of mine at the police station just sent me a text warning me that the neighbors called in a complaint, because of the noise coming from our house. So give or take a few minutes, the police will be on our doorstep telling everyone to get out."
"Okay. At least that gives us a few minutes to get people out of here." I feel like I"m going to be sick. If my mother finds out we threw a party and had the cops called on us, she"s going to blow a gasket.
"Now hurry, so we can get this situation handled," Linc says as he runs his fingers over the center of my back, tracing the b.u.mps of my spine. My skin feels like it"s on fire where his fingers just touched me, and I am suddenly finding it hard to catch my breath. I don"t know if it"s because of Linc or the fact that the police are on their way to bust up my party.
I convince myself it"s because of the police and quickly grab my top and slip it back on, while Nathan stands beside me, re-buckling his belt. I give him a sympathetic smile before turning around and following Linc out of the room.
I stumble over my feet as I try to make my way towards the staircase and brace myself against the hallway wall to steady myself. Letting out a deep groan of frustration, Linc walks beside me, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me flush against his side. "Let me help you down the stairs. The last thing we need is you falling and breaking your d.a.m.n neck. Your mother would kill me."
My head is swimming as I lean into Linc and find myself breathing his cologne in deeply. Before I know what I"m saying, I blurt out, "You smell good." When I drink, I have word vomit. Pretty much any thought that pops into my head ends up flying out of my mouth.
Fantastic.
With laughter in his voice, Linc tells me, "Thanks, I guess. As soon as we get everyone out of here, I"m making you a cup of coffee to sober your a.s.s up."
I wave my hand in the air at him before gripping the railing. "I"m fine."
Shaking his head, he helps me down the stairs. "Says the girl who can"t walk down a flight of stairs without a.s.sistance. How much did you drink anyways?" he asks, turning to look at me for a moment before bringing his eyes back to the bodies of people on the stairs we"re maneuvering around. Before I can answer, he"s yelling at everyone within shouting distance that the party is over and to get out. Even going as far as poking a few people with his feet, who are pa.s.sed out on the stairs.
He notices one of his friends and yells to him, "Tell the DJ to cut the music and get outta here. The cops are on their way."
The word cops being shouted across the room gets people up and moving quickly. Suddenly, there"s a flood of people scrambling to exit my house. Not even caring that they"re b.u.mping into gla.s.s vases and knocking them off of my mother"s end tables. Thankfully, they land on the thick carpeting and don"t break.
It"s complete and total chaos as everyone pushes their way out.
"Does everyone have DDs? Or a cab to bring them home?" I ask, suddenly feeling my brain become less foggy as the reality of what"s going on starts to sober me up slightly.
Linc gives my side a light squeeze. "Yeah, we made sure before anyone entered the party they had a DD. If they didn"t, they"re on the list for cabs. I called a cab service already, had them send over a few minivans to bring people home. Mac and Scott are outside now, making sure through all this craziness everyone gets home safely.
I feel the panic that was building inside of me begin to subside as Linc"s words sink in. He handled everything. I"m suddenly finding myself grateful to have him here.
In record time, the house is cleared out, and the last few people are leaving in a cab as the police pull up. I stay in the kitchen since Linc told me I"m too drunk to have an intelligent conversation with the cops, so I"m snacking on chips with Tessa, while he handles everything with the police.
"So Forbidden interrupted your romp with Nathan? That sucks. All that hard work all night and then to have the cops called. What did he say when he walked in on you two?" Tessa asks as she steals the bag of chips from me and pulls out a fistful.
Turning to face her, I lean in close and talk low so I"ll know for certain Linc doesn"t overhear. "I was two seconds away from whipping my d.a.m.n t.i.ts out when Linc came barreling through the door. He looked livid when he saw me straddling Nathan with nothing but my jeans and bra on. I swear, for a moment, I thought he came up to pummel Nathan."
"Wow! That is very interesting...mmhmm. What if Forbidden has a thing for you? You gotta admit you guys have some crazy s.e.xual tension going on. You two, I think, need to have one good hard f.u.c.k, and then all will be right in the Casa De Brooks."
Am I hearing her right?
"Okay-what? s.e.xual tension? There is no s.e.xual tension between us. It"s simple. We don"t like each other. Never have and never will. His dad is with my mom, so the idea of having s.e.x with him is beyond weird, Tessa!"
Pursing her lips, she rolls her eyes before shoving the bag of chips back at me. "You are seriously blind as a bat. I see the way he looks at you. I"ve noticed a few times tonight that you were looking at him the same way, but you were also with Nate all night, so I never brought it up. And who cares if his dad is seeing your mom? Are they married? Engaged? No. So I say go for it. Bang his brains out before you can"t, because right now, you are nothing but two gorgeous single adults who happen to live under the same roof. The guy"s a G.o.d in the sack! I"d give my left t.i.t for a night with him."
Sighing, I chew on my chip and stir the words around in my mind. She has a point; our parents aren"t engaged yet. From the way my mother"s talking, it"s only a matter of time before that changes. He is downright gorgeous. Possibly the hottest guy on the entire West Coast, who by the Grace of G.o.d was blessed with an amazing p.e.n.i.s.
"Okay. So say I"m on board with this idea, hypothetically speaking. I highly doubt that he is. I think you are imagining him looking at me with even the slightest interest. He has his choice of every girl in the Bay area. Why would he want me?"
Tessa smacks me hard in the arm, catching me off guard and making me yelp out in pain as I rub the spot she just hit. "You"re f.u.c.king beautiful, girly. Don"t ever for a second think you"re not pretty enough. It should be Forbidden saying "how the h.e.l.l am I going to get a girl like you into my bed", not the other way around."
I shake my head as I feel a nervous knot form in my stomach. "I don"t know about this, Tessa. It seems wrong for so many reasons."
Reaching in front of me, she grabs an unopened beer sitting in a bucket of ice on the counter and twists the top off. Tossing the cap onto the countertop, she takes a long pull from the beer before setting it down in front of me and turning to stare me in the eyes.
"I"m going old school on your a.s.s right now, and there"s no way I"m going to let you back out. Remember our bet we made senior year?"
Even though I"m still kind of drunk, I"m able to think back to our senior year. A guy moved to town our last year of school. He was smoking hot, and every girl in school wanted him. I knew Tessa liked him, but she was too chicken s.h.i.t to ask him out. So I gave her the little push she needed to go after him. I had a boyfriend at the time, so I had zero interest in him, but if I were single, I would"ve been all over him like a bee to honey. We made a bet that if she could seduce him, spending at least one night with him going all the way, I"d buy her coffee for the rest of the school year. She hit it out of the park, winning the bet in a matter of two weeks.
"Yes. I remember the bet. So what"s the wager, Tessa?"
Tapping her chin, she raises her eyes toward the ceiling to think. "Hmm-I got it! If you can seduce Forbidden before you return to Long Beach, I"ll get you a Starbucks gift card that"ll keep you stocked with coffee until the end of the school year. It"s only fair, since you did it for me. Sure, I didn"t have as much as luck as you, seeing as Ben had a p.e.n.i.s the size of my pinky...such a shame. That face and body ended up with that," she says, shaking her head and losing focus momentarily.
Laughing, I say, "I was just having this same conversation with myself last night! But, Tessa, focus! Linc will be in here any minute. Let"s make it official." I hold my pinky in the air, waiting for her to hook hers with mine.
She loops her pinky around mine, and we lean in, kissing our hands and making the bet official. We"ve done this our entire lives for bets, promises, anything. We never break them. I feel kind of silly making a bet about something like this, now that I"m twenty-one years old, but without that nudge, I"d probably chicken out.
Linc may be a p.r.i.c.k, but I don"t have to get along with him to f.u.c.k him. Plus, who knows the next time we all get together? It"ll probably be for our parents" wedding, the way things are going. I don"t give them a year before they split, but that doesn"t mean my mother can"t make a catastrophic misjudgment and marry his dad in the meantime. For now, like Tessa said, we"re single. Not legally stepsiblings. I"m h.o.r.n.y; I know he has to be, because he"s a manwh.o.r.e. It"ll be fun trying to seduce him.
"Now, that"s settled. What do you say we snoop and see how Linc"s doing with the cops?" Tessa asks, grabbing my hand and pulling me off of the bar stool.
We tiptoe to the doorway leading to the hallway and glance down, spotting Linc standing in the doorway, speaking with two officers. I can"t help but stare at his a.s.s, which is perfection in his relaxed jeans.
I can overhear the entire conversation as Linc speaks with the two officers. Thankfully, because my mother and his father are so well-known in the area, they let us off with a warning to keep the noise down when we have friends over next time.
We hear him telling the policemen goodbye, so we scurry back over to the island and jump back up onto the stools.
As soon as we hear the front door close, we sigh in relief that we aren"t in any serious trouble. We hear Linc"s flip-flops smacking on the hardwood floor as he walks toward the kitchen. I twist my hands nervously as what I just agreed to do sinks in. There"s no backing out now.
The second he steps foot into the kitchen he stares straight at me and points his finger from me to the Keurig. "I"m making you coffee." His voice is stern but has a hint of humor in it.
""I"m really not that drunk anymore," I tell him, slapping my hands down on the marble countertop.
When I"m drunk, I"m a tad bit dramatic.
Ignoring me, he gets to work popping a K-Cup into the Keurig and brewing me a gla.s.s of my favorite Caramel Vanilla Cream.
"Mmm...that smells so good. Maybe I do want some coffee after all I notice Linc glance at me from the corner of his eye and adjust himself through his jeans as I moan. I nibble on my bottom lip as I attempt to hide the grin trying to spread across my lips.
Tessa leans into me and whispers in my ear, "I know what else you want. Some sinfully delicious Forbidden fruit."
I elbow her in the ribs to shut her up and feel my cheeks flush with heat.
"Ouch!" Tessa hisses under her breath before laughing lightly and grabbing her bottle of beer, downing the remaining contents.
"Why you"re at it, why don"t ya make Miss Giggles here a cup too."
Linc eyes us for a moment, and I"m nervous he overheard her drunken rambling, even if she attempted to whisper it to me.
"Two cups of coffee coming right up," he says, reaching above his head into the cupboard, grabbing another cup for Tessa.
I find myself practically drooling all over myself as I watch him move around the kitchen. He is seriously too hot for his own good. That voice of his, I swear, sounds like s.e.x. Dirty, hot, and delicious s.e.x.
First thing tomorrow, Mission: Seduce Forbidden will kick into high gear. Thank G.o.d I"ll be flying back home in a few days so that we can avoid any awkwardness. Hopefully, by the time we see each other again, the memory of our hook-up will be long gone. But judging from the stories I heard, I doubt I"ll be able to forget f.u.c.king Linc, no matter how hard I try.
Not long after Tessa and I finished our coffees, we all headed upstairs to bed. Tessa stayed down the hall in the other spare guest room while Linc and I headed into our rooms. I laid in my bed for almost twenty minutes staring at the wall diving our bedrooms trying to play every scenario through my head for how I was going to pull this bet off. So many times I wanted to just climb out of bed and go to him. I could claim I was still drunk and come onto him. But I knew that wouldn"t work. He"d probably attempt to be a gentleman for the first time in his life and turn me away because of our parents.
That alone is going to make this task difficult.
I hear the shower turn on, and the water begins to run through the pipes as Linc takes a shower next door in his ensuite. Now all I can picture is Linc stripping down to absolutely nothing and climbing into the shower to wash that walking o.r.g.a.s.m of a body. Images of me in the shower with him flash through my mind as I picture myself washing every inch of him with soap before help him wash away the suds in the shower.
I feel that all too familiar ache returning between my thighs. What I wouldn"t give to be blessed with an o.r.g.a.s.m or two right about now. Tonight has been a whirlwind of emotions between everything with Nathan to now this d.a.m.n bet and crazy feelings arising inside of me for Linc. I finally give in and dig my ever trusty vibrator out of my bedside stand. I never travel without it because sometimes you just need to take that edge off yourself. A good o.r.g.a.s.m always helps me sleep.
I flick it on feeling that familiar vibration against my hand and the slight humming sound as I slip it under the blankets. With my free hand, I lift the elastic waist of my panties and slide my hand into my underwear before pressing the tiny vibrator against my throbbing c.l.i.t.
I let out a soft moan and curl my toes as the vibrating hums perfectly against my bud. I close my eyes and picture myself once again in the shower with Linc.
I lace my fingers around his neck and jump into his arms as he effortless lifts me and pins me against the tile wall. Within seconds, he"s diving inside of me and f.u.c.king me fiercely against the wall as he whispers dirty thoughts into my ear and flutters hot kisses along my neck.
My o.r.g.a.s.m is so close. I begin grinding my mound against the vibration chasing the rush of ecstasy I"m craving. I feel my breathing increase and my body tingle from my head to my toes as my body explodes with an o.r.g.a.s.m. I try to hold back my cries of pleasure, but the images of Linc f.u.c.king me are so vivid I find myself getting lost momentarily and forgetting he"s only on the other side of a very thin wall.
Pulling my hand out of my panties I turn off the vibrator and climb out of bed. My legs are still shaky and my hands too as I attempt to walk to my bathroom. After washing my vibrator I head back to bed and drop it back into my night side table and climb back underneath the blankets and only after a few minutes find myself slipping off into a deep, restful sleep filled with very graphic dreams about Linc and me.
It"s almost noon when I finally roll out of bed and stumbled down the stairs. I"m bracing myself for a disaster of a house but instead I discover a spotless from top to bottom house.
Neither Linc nor Tessa is anywhere to be found as I head into the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. As soon I walk over to the Keurig to brew my coffee I spot a note lying on the counter top along with a bottle of aspirin.
I don"t know why but this one small gesture of having the mess made from the party I threw last night suddenly makes me warm up to Linc. The more I"m around him this week without our parents hanging around the more I see he"s not the a.s.shole I thought he was. Sure he can be an arrogant jerk who pushes my b.u.t.tons but underneath that there"s actually a halfway decent person.
Grabbing the bottle I twist the top off and pour two tablets into the palm of my hand and after retrieving a water bottle from the fridge I wash them down. As my coffee brews, I decide to try and drink as much of the bottled water as possible to help with the pounding in my head. I definitely drank way too much last night. Almost the entire evening is a big giant blur. I remember everything that happened but it"s like a letter that"s gotten rain droplets on it making some of the words run. That"s what my brain feels like this morning as I try to wrap my head around all of the craziness that went on throughout the night.
After adding some cream and sugar to my coffee, I head into the living room and sit in the oversized chair by the large picture window that overlooks the backyard. While taking a cautious sip from my cup, I scroll through the notifications on my phone. I have one message from Tessa telling me that she had to go home to shower and have lunch with her mom and sister. But said we"d get together tonight for dinner, and then proceeded to send multiple dirty MEMES with references to the bet we made.
I"m tagged in a gazillion photos and videos from last night. I cringe when I hit play on one and see it"s the cannonball contest that transpired last night, with a bunch of drunken idiots taking turns jumping into the pool off of my pool house roof.
I"m suddenly very grateful my mother never got on the Facebook kick like so many of my friends" parents have. Because I already know I would"ve woken up to a million voicemails from a frantic Vivian, freaking out on me for allowing intoxicated strangers into our house and letting them jump into our pool from a roof.
It makes me smile a little as I think about the panic attack she would have if she only knew the craziness that transpired here last night.
After ten minutes of scrolling through Facebook to kill time, I"m about to turn my phone off and get in the shower, when I notice a picture from Cabo with my friend and roommate, Dallas, in the photo. It"s of her, a few other friends of ours who went on the trip, and then my ex, Heath, along with some leggy brunette that"s wrapped up in his arms.
The pain that pierces my heart at that moment is indescribable. It hurt enough having him break up with me before he left. I spent the entire weekend before flying here locked up in my apartment drinking far too much wine and stuffing my face with as much chocolate and ice cream as my body could handle.
I vowed after my pity party weekend that I wouldn"t shed one more tear over him because he wasn"t worth it. But now, as I sit here and look at the man I thought I was in love with and would possibly spend the rest of my life with, holding another woman in his arms, who compared to my average, plain Jane body, looks like a freaking Victoria"s Secret runway model, I choke on my grief.
My eyes sting as tears threaten to fall, but I blink them away, determined to not allow myself to cry over him again. Turning my phone off, I toss it on the coffee table and head into the kitchen to make myself an egg white omelet. As soon as I finish eating, I run back upstairs and throw on some running clothes and sneakers. I need a good run to clear my mind. I haven"t been to the gym since break started, and I know if I keep slacking, I"ll pay for it when I get back to school.
Strapping my iPod to my arm, I grab my water bottle, and after doing a few stretches in the driveway I set off on a run around my block. An hour and four miles later, I"m jogging up the sidewalk with my legs feeling like Jell-O, my body glistening with sweat, and my lungs burning as I inhale and exhale with every step I take. As I approach the front of my house, I spot Linc"s Range Rover, once again parked in the driveway in front of the house, along with his friend Mac"s BMW convertible beside it.
I slow down to a fast walk, and squeezing my water bottle, shoot some water into my mouth and then over my head to cool myself down. After stretching out my muscles one more time, I enter the foyer. Following the sound of music to the opposite end of the house, I find Linc, a few of his friends, along with a couple of girls outside drinking beers at the outdoor patio set.
Popping my head out the door, I wave h.e.l.lo to Linc and his friends, and the girls they"re with barely acknowledge me, so I don"t bother saying h.e.l.lo to them. "Hey! I just wanted to tell you thanks for having Greta come by this morning to clean up. I appreciate it."
Running his fingers through his hair, he gives me a crooked smirk. "It was nothing. I didn"t want to clean up that mess, and I knew if I didn"t have her come by, you and Tessa would"ve wrangled me into it."
So his kind gesture wasn"t even a kind gesture at all. Just a way for him to get out of having to actually do something around here for once. To think I actually thought he was maybe not as big of a douchebag as I had first thought.
Narrowing my eyes, I let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, I"m going to take a shower then meet Tessa and a few friends for dinner. I"ll see ya around." I give him a weak smile before shutting the door and running upstairs to get cleaned up to meet everyone at Flaming Wu"s Sushi House in Chinatown.
Once again, I can"t wait to get out of here thanks to a.s.shole Linc resurfacing.
Plugging my iPod into the dock in my bathroom, I turn up Sunset Sons. They"re my newest obsession and help me chill when I feel like I"m becoming overwhelmed, especially with school. Right now, my one and only stressor is the jacka.s.s sitting outside on my f.u.c.king patio set with a couple of s.k.a.n.ks.
How does he manage to get under my skin and infuriate me with such little effort? It"s as if just the simple act of him breathing the same air as me p.i.s.ses me off beyond words. The craziest part is the more I hate him, the more I want him.
How f.u.c.ked up am I?
Stripping out of my yoga pants and racerback tank, I toss them into my clothes hamper and open the gla.s.s shower door to start the water. I"m aching all over and eager to get under the warm and welcoming spray to ease my sore muscles. Steam begins to engulf the bathroom as I set the temperature to as hot as I can physically stand it before stepping under the rain style showerhead. Rolling my neck, I stretch out my tense muscles before getting to work washing away the grimy feeling covering every inch of me from running four miles.
I"m shaving my legs when I hear a knock at my bathroom door. My breath hitches in my throat as I hear the sound of Linc"s voice.
"Raven?" he shouts through the door, knocking on it again.
Sliding the frosted gla.s.s door open a few inches, I pop my head out of the shower. "Linc?" I shout back with confusion in my voice. What is he doing in my bedroom? Let alone knocking on my bathroom door?
"...left your phone down..."
I cut him off because I can barely hear a word he"s saying between the music and the shower running. "Linc, open the d.a.m.n door. I can"t hear anything you"re saying."
The door slowly opens before Linc sticks half of his body through, peering into my large bathroom that looks like a bomb of cosmetics exploded all over it. "Wow. This place is a f.u.c.king mess," he says in awe as he takes in my double sink covered with makeup, lotions, and hair products. Tessa and I got ready for the party in here last night, and we dumped out everything I packed.
"It"s a girl"s bathroom, Linc. It"s a given that the place will be a fricking mess. Get to the point. What do you want?" I snap at him as my patience grows thin. The feeling of his eyes on me, as I stand here naked in the shower, has my blood pressure skyrocketing and my heart practically beating out of my chest.
Shaking his head as if he"s only now realizing where he is, Linc says, "Right. Sorry. You left your phone downstairs when you went for a run, and...well, I heard it going off a minute ago, so I checked, and it said unknown caller. And...well, I kinda answered it, since you were in the shower. I didn"t know if it was maybe a wrong number or something. Figured I"d save you the trouble of trying to call them back."
I give him a look, narrowing my eyes, silently asking him to get to the point.
"Anyway, it ended up being some guy named Heath? He sounded pretty f.u.c.king livid when I answered and not you. As soon as he said his name, I remembered it was the ex you mentioned a few times last night when you were drunk..."
"Wait. What? I talked about Heath last night? Hold on-grab me my towel, please. I"m freezing my t.i.ts off talking to you like this."
It feels like a freaking fan is blowing on me as I stand here sticking my wet body out of the d.a.m.n shower. Chattering teeth definitely isn"t an attractive trait when I"m trying to seduce Linc.
I don"t remember that part of the night. At all. How mortifying. I don"t know if I even want to find out what I said. I need to monitor my alcohol intake from now on.