“I’m glad I just turned down a flight home from my dad.”
“What about the job offer?”
She rubbed her temple and looked away with a tired sigh. “You said yourself that we have to do whatever it takes. I told him about the television idea for Perry, and he immediately assumed I was blowing my money on a shitty investment.”
Lincoln hummed sympathetically as he settled beside her. “Reminds me of how my parents reacted when I told them I wanted to go to Hollywood.”
“I’m scared,” Nadia admitted. “Without my dad’s support, I’ll go broke before I can do anything substantial to help Perry. I was honestly counting on him to lend his support.”
“He’ll come around,” said Lincoln. “And, if he doesn’t, don’t worry about it. We have a plan. We know this isn’t a bad investment. Prove it to your father and remember, you’re not alone in this.”
“Thanks for the reminder. I needed it.” She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug and inhaled the scent of his cologne, comforted by his words. “Now, come on. We have to prepare for this bad weather. The last time I ignored a storm warning, I ended up stranded in a category three hurricane.”
“I wonder when Perry will make it back,” Lincoln mused aloud.
While they waited for him, they took stock of what was in the kitchen pantry. There was a modest supply of nonperishables, but not enough to last more than a few days. It made Lincoln nervous, but he tried to hide the fact.
“Well, there’s a gas range, at least…in case the power goes out,” Nadia noted.
“You want to look around and see if you can find oil lamps or candles? We don’t want to be stuck in the cold and dark when the lights go out.”
“God, I hope it doesn’t get that bad,” Nadia murmured.
“I’ll go make sure there’s enough firewood,” he called out.
The temperature had already begun dropping and the wind was picking up. The sky was a shade of mottled grey that promised heavy snow. Lincoln noticed a neat stack of logs against the side of the cabin and another pile that needed splitting. He grabbed the ax and got to work, but his mind was on Perry’s whereabouts.
The Jeep was still in the garage, he noticed. Perry could not have gone to town. Lincoln glanced at the kitchen window where he saw Nadia refilling a rustic old lamp from a bottle of lamp oil. He decided not to tell her about his growing concerns regarding their instructor.
Lincoln shaded his eyes and gazed up the mountainside. Don’t tell me he went back up to pick a fight with Rick. He swung the ax again. The sharp blade connected with a thwack, and two roughly equal halves of wood tumbled to the cold, hard ground. He pushed himself to work faster.
About an hour later, a light drizzle started up, and Lincoln’s uneasiness skyrocketed. Perry still was not back. Nadia was in the cabin with limited food and resources, and he had a sprained ankle. The situation was getting serious fast.
Perry entered the cabin followed by a blustery gust of snow. The blazing fire sputtered in the fireplace as icy wind ripped through the room. Perry slammed the door behind him.
“Fuck!” he swore, shivering. When he turned around, Lincoln hugged him like he had been gone a thousand years. Perry’s eyes widened in surprised pleasure, and he slowly wrapped his arms around him. “Nice to see you, too.”
“Where the hell have you been?” Lincoln countered, pushing away. “We were worried sick! I thought you were stuck in the goddamned blizzard. I even called nine-one-one, but they told me first responders were only coming out for emergencies.”
“I was, uh…” Perry shrugged out of his coat and eased the gloves from his fingers, face burning from the cold. “I was with the park rangers.” He ambled to the fireplace to work the chill out of his bones. Nadia trailed him, clasping his hands in hers.
“You’re damn near frozen,” she whispered. Her warm touch delivered comfort as she traced his cold palms. she ushered him to the loveseat. Lincoln settled beside him, while she took the armrest.
Perry studied them, realizing they both looked like the strain of trying to figure out where he had gone had taken a toll on them. He regretted leaving without telling them. He simply had not expected things to go the way they had gone.
“We were worried you went after Rick,” Lincoln said.
“I was halfway there,” Perry admitted. “Then, one of the park rangers spotted me and told me about the snow storm. Rick had broken camp already. We had no way to hear about the changing conditions since he stole our gear, but he knew the weather was about to take a turn for the worse.
“We’re talking a storm of the century. Last time we got weather like this, the power went out region-wide, roads were closed for days, and people died. Apparently, deputies are going door-to-door, telling people in isolated pockets like this one to evacuate.”
“It sounds like you’re saying that heartless bastard Rick Feldman tried to get us killed,” Lincoln said.
Perry furrowed his brow, having considered the same thought. “I say we refrain from speculating about Rick’s motives. The bottom line is, I called the sheriff and told him what Rick did to us. We’ll let the authorities deal with that problem. Now, we have a new problem. It’s too late for the three of us to leave here by Jeep. The snow is coming, and it’s dark. We have to ride out the storm.”
“We checked the pantry. I don’t think we have enough food for a long stay,” Lincoln murmured.
“We have at least enough for a week,” Perry pointed out.
Nadia waved her hands and marched over to the house phone. “I can have a helicopter get us out of here.”
“No one will fly in this weather.” The phone fell into the cradle with an ominous click, and Nadia crossed her arms and gnawed on her plush bottom lip fearfully. Perry was unnerved, too, but they could handle this.
He gravitated to the patio door and peered out, noting that someone had transferred the firewood from outdoors to indoors. Perry was grateful one of them had taken the initiative. Nadia’s mouth straightened in a firm, resolute line as she stepped up beside him.
“Tell me one thing, and be straight with me,” she said. “How worried should we be?”
“If it was up to me, I’d get you two out of here fast as lightning, but it’s not up to me. We’re in it for the long haul. So, we’ll run the heater while we have power and conserve the firewood as much as possible. We’ll go easy on our food and water.” Perry managed a rueful half-smile. “But we’ll be fine. I promised I’d teach you how to survive anything. We can survive this.”
“Then, what’s the game plan?” she asked.
Perry turned away from the storm raging beyond the frosted glass and led his charges to the kitchen. “We continue with business as usual,” he said. “Our last week of coursework centers on self-defense training. We’ll start that tomorrow. Tonight, we take a break. I think we could all use some down time. Who’s up for a dinner of something other than coon, rabbit or squirrel?”
Some of Nadia’s fearfulness faded away as he took charge of the situation. The art of distraction was working. Perry helped Lincoln get dinner started while Nadia searched the pantry for hot cocoa. When she was out of earshot, Lincoln leaned close and whispered, “How long do you think we’ll be stuck here?”
“Once the snow stops, I have a snowmobile in the barn to take you guys back to town. I say we enjoy this little time to ourselves.” They locked eyes, and Perry saw the spark ignite. Lincoln knew exactly what he was talking about. Hot chocolate and even hotter nights in a cabin in the snow-blanketed woods. It sounded like bliss.
Chapter 16
The wind howled and shrieked, and the sky was lost in a grey-white haze, but the heater blew full-blast. A small fire burned in the fireplace. Inside the cozy cabin, Perry used the enforced confinement to take Nadia and Lincoln through some jujitsu moves.
“Again,” he said. Nadia stepped out and brought her arms over her head. Perry tapped her stomach to encourage her to tighten her core. He moved to Lincoln and ran
a hand down his thigh, bending his knees some. “Very good.”
They practiced take-downs for another few hours. As a cool draft swept along the floor, Perry reveled in the feel of his lovers’ bodies against his. What should have been exclusively self-defense training also turned into intimate caress-and-fondling training.
It was late noon when they stopped, but the raging storm made it seem closer to midnight. Perry finally collapsed beneath Lincoln’s lithe frame and chuckled softly as his lover stole a kiss. Giggling, Nadia dropped on Lincoln’s back, and both men groaned as if her slight weight was unbearable.
“When do you think the snow will stop?” she asked, rolling away.
Perry rested his face on the palm of his hand. “I have no idea. Want some lunch?”
“I have a taste for something,” Lincoln murmured, “but it’s not food.”
“Get your mind out of the gutter. We need to eat. Can you toss another log on the fire?” Perry tapped his chest and rose to his feet.
Another log clunked into the fireplace, sending up sparks. Lincoln dusted his hands and followed Perry to the kitchen while Nadia stayed in the living room. “We’re gonna run out of firewood,” Lincoln observed.
“We’ll make a move when the snow lets up. I’ll be glad when I can get you two safely out of here.”
Lincoln wrapped his arms around him from behind. “And after that?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” Perry opened a can of tomato soup and upended it over a pot as Lincoln massaged his shoulders.
“After we leave. Will you let Nadia and I make you a celebrity?”
Perry shrugged away from him and grabbed a loaf of bread, cracked the fridge a fraction and retrieved the cheese. “You two have to give up this notion of saving me. If my business tanks, I’ll find something to do. Maybe go work at, say the supermarket or the post office. This little town has things to do.”
Lincoln tucked a finger under his chin and forced him to meet his gaze. “Nadia stood up to her dad for you.” There was silence as they both absorbed what that meant, but Perry shook his head and went back to fixing lunch.
“It doesn’t matter because her father will never support her doing anything other than what he tells her to do.”
Nadia stepped into the kitchen. “Luckily, I learned I don’t need my father’s permission to go after what I want. What about you? What’s holding you back?”
Perry smiled wryly as he buttered the skillet and dropped slices of bread into the fragrant oil to make grilled cheese sandwiches. “The operative word in your statement is ‘want.’ I don’t want to be famous. I can’t fathom what it must be like to be the two of you—your lives are not your own.” He blew out a breath.
When he turned around, two sets of eyes filled with disappointment stared at him. Nadia crossed her arms and was the first to look away. “Perry, this reality show will give us an excuse to be together a while longer to see if this works.” She turned back to face him, her eyes full of challenge. “Or, maybe that’s what you don’t want?”
The knife he was holding clattered to the countertop as he turned back to the kitchen peninsula and dropped his head. “I know you’re both all wrong for me,” he said, almost to himself. “You’re too cultured and coddled. If you had asked me two weeks ago if I wanted to be with someone like the two of you, the answer would have been no.
“But you’ve made me stare down wolves,” he continued with quiet intensity. “I’ve chased you through the woods, and I’ve never chased a soul in my life. You make me wonder how the hell I can survive anything without you. So, don’t pretend you don’t know. I want to be with you.”
“Then, get out of your comfort zone.” Lincoln slipped between him and the kitchen countertop. “Do it for us. We’ll help you make the transition. Besides, you won’t get famous overnight,” he chuckled. “You’ll have plenty of time to adapt.”
“I talked to my assistant,” said Nadia. “Everything is all lined up. Next week, weather permitting, I can fly you out to Houston to meet a brand specialist. I’d love for you to meet my best friend Maria, as well. Both of you. She’s read quite a bit about you.”
“I knew you were writing about us,” Lincoln stated.
Perry laughed and ran a hand over his face. “Alright, fine. I’ll fly out to see you. I’ll meet with your PR team and your best friend, and we’ll pretend television producers are lining up around the corner to make another survivor show, which they aren’t,” he pointed out.
“They may not be, but I have a secret weapon,” Lincoln confided. He threw an arm around each of them and pulled them closer. “I happen to know the daughter of one of reality TV’s most powerful super-producers.”
Nadia smiled conspiratorially. “This could work, guys. I can feel it. Who is she?”
“I met her on the set of Vengeance with a Vengeance, although she got her start in reality TV, too. Now she works for my agent, so I have a direct line to her. It’s Carmen Wilde, the daughter of Herschel Wilde.”
Nadia’s face dropped. “I am not working with her!” She marched, fuming, to her bedroom.
The icy anger running through her veins rivaled the cold outside, and Nadia climbed into bed and drew the covers over her face. In her mind’s eye, she saw Carmen—the smiling starlet on Jason Stratham’s arm. She saw the tabloid headlines, the cameras and mics in her face.
She heard the snide questions she could not answer. Did she know he was cheating? How did it feel being replaced by a reality TV star? What did her father think about her Wall Street fiancé leaving her for another woman? The hurt and shame descended like an anvil, again.
Nadia had dated Jason for two years before discovering his final treachery. An entire two years of suspecting he was a cheater, but sticking around anyway. What hurt most after the breakup was the fact he was exactly the kind of man her father wanted her to marry—all front, business acumen, and conservative values.
His affair made Nadia feel like she had somehow failed at a game she never even wanted to play, let alone win.
She shook her head at the memories. She wanted to invest in Perry’s future in television, but she wished she had known Lincoln’s insider was the same woman who had landed her in the tabloids six months ago. And what would you have done if you’d known? Would that have stopped you from trying to help Perry? Nadia sighed.
The door to her bedroom opened quietly. She kept the covers over her face, but she felt the mattress depress. “You want to talk about it?” Perry asked quietly. She shook her head, sniffed. “Same girl, huh?” She nodded. He gently tugged down the blanket.
“I’m sorry I overreacted. It just caught me off guard,” she replied. He swept a tear from her cheek, and she cupped a hand over his. Lincoln stepped into view.
“It’s my fault,” he said. “If I had only known.”
“Enough about the show,” said Perry, softly and tenderly. “Making sure Nadia is okay is more important to me.”
“I’m fine.” Nadia sat up. “Honestly, I am. I feel nothing for Jason, and if I let my anger toward Carmen get in the way of us getting you a show, that means I’m letting what he did to me control me. I’m done letting anything or anyone control how I live my life.”
Perry smiled. “Atta girl.”
“Just make sure I never have to see her or talk to her.”
Lincoln nodded, serious and earnest. “I’ll do my best, promise.”
“I’m kidding!” Nadia rolled her eyes at him. “But, seriously, I’m wondering if you guys really want to date a damaged billionaire,” she quipped.
Lincoln laughed out loud, and Perry replied, “You’re not damaged, honey. Someone broke your heart, and you built a wall, thinking that could stop you from getting hurt again. I did the same thing, and look where that got us.”
“In a position,” said Lincoln, “to learn it takes someone having your back when the pressure’s on.”
“What do you mean, Lincoln?” Nadia asked.
“I think he’s
trying to tell you we’re not Jason,” Perry stated. “You can trust us. Now, let’s go grab a bite to eat while the food is still warm. No telling how long the electric will stay on, so don’t count on the microwave. Come on.”
Perry led them back into the main room of the house, and Nadia slowly walked over to the patio door. She pulled back the heavy drapes and she scrubbed away at the frost on the glass.
“Guys, the snow is halfway up the side of the cabin. How many feet is that? About three or four?”
“Mm-hmm. Do you like chives in your tomato soup?” Perry called out. It was then that the lights flickered several times before finally dying.
The trio made a fort near the fire in the living room as it was the only source of heat. Perry and Lincoln chatted quietly on a pallet of blankets and quilts. Nadia curled on the sofa with her notebook on her knees. Lincoln ambled over to her and clutched her knees, peeling her legs apart. She fell back to the throw pillows invitingly.
“Writing more juicy stories about us?” he asked playfully. He kissed his way up her inner thighs to the happy place between her legs while she squirmed in pleasure.
“I’m not. I was simply writing to let Maria know how much she means to me.”
He pulled a face.
“In case we don’t make it out of this,” she said soberly.
Perry and Lincoln shared a look, and Perry moved to the sofa to sit beside her. “Hey, what happened to believing we can survive anything?”
“I still believe that,” she whispered.
Her voice held a tremor, despite her smile. They were all wearing their brave faces. Snow days were usually for vegging out with junk food while binge-watching TV, but supplies were too low for gratuitous eating and there was no TV. The snow was still falling, the power was out, and the firewood Lincoln and Perry had brought into the house would only last a few more days.
“I think it’s time we tuck this princess in bed so she can stop worrying.” Lincoln tugged her nightshirt over her head and removed it. She half-turned toward him, pale, satiny skin exposed.
Survival for Three: MMF Bisexual Romance Page 15
