Based: A Stepbrother Romance (Extreme Sports Alphas)

by Hamel, B. B.

  “That he died,” I said flatly.

  “Oh yes, you know, crazy stuff. So him showing up at the event was a big deal.”

  I hadn’t realized that Lincoln wasn’t doing public appearances, but it made complete sense. He wasn’t the type of guy to let people see him at his most vulnerable, which made the whole documentary thing seem a little off. But it made sense that he was only doing it to keep my dad off his back. So why show up at the event?

  True, I had cashed in my favor, but he could have easily just said no. It wasn’t like I had some real binding contract or something.

  “Anyway, I’m off to work out. Have a good day, dear.”

  “Okay, sure. Enjoy.”

  She walked quickly out of the kitchen, probably so that I didn’t have time to change my mind. Which was a real possibility.

  I sighed, finishing my breakfast, and looked around the kitchen. I checked the time again and realized that I had spaced out, thinking about what I was going to do with Lincoln. He would be finishing PT soon, and I needed to get out of the kitchen.

  In a hurry, I put my bowl in the dishwasher and moved out into the hall. As I turned the corner, I almost smashed headfirst into a totally surprised human. As I stumbled to one side, Lincoln’s cameraman, Brent, gave me a bashful smile.

  “You’re in a hurry,” he said.

  “Shit, sorry about that.”

  “It’s fine. Take it easy.” He turned to keep heading toward the front door.

  “Hey,” I said, and he turned back. “Are you guys on a break?”

  “Yep. Boss gives us a few minutes every day to ourselves.”

  “Must be nice,” I mumbled.

  “Seems to work so far.”

  “Do you know where Lincoln is?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. I lose track of him as soon as the camera is off.”

  “Sick of staring at him?”

  “Yeah, but it’s nothing personal. You film the same thing over and over all day long, you’re bound to get tired of it.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

  “Anyway, want me to tell him you’re looking for him?”

  “Okay, sure. Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  I turned and left, though I could feel his eyes linger on me for a second. As I made my way upstairs, I realized that I barely knew the camera crew, despite them being around all the time.

  Brent was probably a few years older than I was, and he seemed like he was the leader of the crew. Jess was the director, but he was the guy that people seemed to turn to, or at least from what I had seen of them. Although we were all in the same house all the time, that was the most I had ever spoken with him.

  Then again, I was working pretty hard at avoiding them. So it wasn’t really a surprise that I didn’t know Brent very well. It wasn’t his fault.

  I stood at the top of the landing and sighed. I hadn’t told Brent where I’d be all afternoon, so I decided to go to the one place where I was reasonably certain Lincoln would check for me: the music room.

  I stopped in my bedroom, grabbed a book, and then sat with my back against the wall in the music room. It was warm and comfortable, sunlight drifting in through the lace-covered curtains.

  Five days and I hadn’t said a word to him. Five days was a long time when you had something as huge as our kiss lingering in the air. I had no clue what it was going to be like, if he was going to be weird or not. But I couldn’t just keep pretending like he didn’t exist. Helping Jules with her event was as good an excuse as any to try to move past whatever was happening between us.

  Although I wasn’t sure I wanted to move past it. That was the whole problem.

  I didn’t get much reading done. I hadn’t really planned on it. After maybe half of a chapter, I heard the door push open. I looked up to see Lincoln standing there grinning at me.

  “I heard you were looking for me,” he said.

  “I might have been.”

  He took a few steps inside and crossed his arms. He was still slightly damp from the morning’s workout, and I had to admit that he looked pretty damn sexy. Between the muscles, the sweat, and the cocky grin, I suddenly was pretty sure I was making a mistake.

  “What’s up, Brie baby?”

  I closed my book and sat up. He crossed the room and sat down on the piano’s bench.

  “Quit calling me that. Makes me sound like a little kid.”

  “I was going for sexy adult, but whatever.”

  I refused to let him bait me. “Your mom wanted me to ask you something.”

  “Oh yeah? Why isn’t she asking herself?”

  “She thinks you’ll listen to me.”

  He laughed. “Why would she think that?”

  “Apparently, you made a big splash at the last charity event.”

  He paused. “Is that so?”

  “She wants you to help out with her upcoming charity auction.”

  He frowned. “I only went to the last one because I owed you.”

  “I know. But I couldn’t exactly tell her that.”

  “What does she need?”

  “I’m not totally sure. Some memorabilia, I guess. You’ll sign some stuff. Probably just make an appearance.”

  He looked thoughtful. “What’s in it for me?”

  I sighed. “The feeling that you’ve made your mother happy.”

  “Almost tempting. But she’s not the woman I want to please.”

  I looked away. “Stop doing that.”

  “Stop doing what, Brie baby?”

  “You know what.”

  I looked back and he was grinning at me. “I let you avoid me for days now, and suddenly I can’t even tease you?”

  “I haven’t been avoiding you.”

  He laughed. “You haven’t? So you aren’t timing your schedule around my PT?”

  I paused. “No. Not exactly.”

  “Right. Okay. We can play it that way if you want.”

  “Look, I’m just the messenger here. Okay?”

  “My original question still stands: what’s in it for me?”

  I clenched my jaw. He could be so stubborn and selfish sometimes. “I don’t know, Lincoln. It’s a chance to do something nice for once.”

  “I do plenty of nice things. Not interested.”

  I sighed, exasperated. “What do you want?”

  He raised an eyebrow and got that mischievous look again. “Now we’re talking. There is something that I want.”

  I blushed. “That’s not on the table.”

  He paused and then laughed out loud. “Come on, Brie. You think I’d blackmail you into fucking me?”

  “Not sure what you’re capable of.”

  He got serious for a second. “If I’m going to fuck you, you’re going to beg for it first.”

  I blinked, feeling the heat spread between my legs at the intense look he was giving me. For half a second, I believed him.

  “Uh, okay. What do you want then?” I managed to say.

  “Actually, it’s something you’ve already agreed to. I need another interview.”

  I let out a breath. “Is that it?”

  “Turns out, filming me working out all day long isn’t exactly compelling stuff. Jess is pushing me to go outside my usual comfort zone. I’m hoping another interview with you will get her off my back.”

  “And if I do this, you promise you’ll do whatever your mom wants for this charity thing?”

  “Fine. I’ll do whatever you want.”

  I ignored that. “Okay. You have a deal.”

  He grinned and then stood up and walked over to me, his hand held out. I paused. Then I reached out and shook, his hand firm in mine, his face a playful grin. His touch lingered for a second, and I thought he might try to pull me to my feet, but instead he let my hand drop and he stepped away.

  “Pleasure doing business with you, Brie baby.”

  “Wish I could say the same.”

  He walked over toward the door. “Interv
iew is tomorrow, around noon. Dress nice.”

  “I always dress nice,” I shot back.

  “Perfect. Bring that fire and wit, too.”

  I rolled my eyes as he left the room. I watched him go, my heart racing in my chest.

  I kept putting myself through this, kept pushing him away only to get drawn back in. And as much as I hated it, I also couldn’t get enough.

  It was only an interview. We’d be in a room full of people. It would be too dangerous for him to try anything or to say anything about what had happened.

  So why was I already nervous?

  Chapter Twelve: Lincoln

  Interview #2

  I shouldn’t have been nervous. I adjusted myself on the uncomfortable stool and cursed under my breath. I had a theory that Jess chose the most awful seats possible for the interviews just to make sure that people could never get their balance.

  Which wasn’t helping my nerves. Jess had agreed that the interview would be a good thing, another check mark in the “helpful Lincoln” category. Hopefully it would keep her and Cliff off my back for another week or two.

  But I was still nervous for some insane reason. I had already done this with Brie, had already sat in these seats and pushed her buttons for fun. For some reason, though, things were different. I didn’t know what to expect.

  All because of that kiss. That perfect fucking cock-stiffening kiss.

  “How you feeling?” I asked Brie under my breath as the team bustled around us, setting up the lights.

  “Fine. Nervous.”

  “Don’t be nervous. I’ll be good this time.”

  She gave me a look. “You better be. I’m doing this as a favor.”

  I grinned. “You’re doing this to get me to help my mother out.”

  “Yeah, okay. That too.”

  Jess came over and began to clip a mic onto Brie. When she was finished, she came over to me, but I held my hand out for it instead. She handed it over, walking back to her chair. I clipped the thing on myself.

  “We almost set?” she asked the crew.

  “Lights, camera, action,” Brent said. Brie laughed and he smiled at her.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” Jess replied.

  “Yeah. Just need to check the mics.”

  “Test test test. Fuck me sideways with a telephone pole. Susan sells porno down by the seashore.”

  “Got it,” Brent said. “Aubrie?”

  “Testing testing. One two three four.”

  “Boring,” I mumbled.

  “All good,” Brent replied.

  “Okay,” Jess said, leaning back in her chair. “Let’s do this thing. Cameras up?”

  “Cameras running,” Brent called out.

  “You two ready?”

  We both nodded.

  Brent walked out, snapped the clapper, and then returned to his spot behind the camera. He wasn’t the head camera guy, but he sure was getting a lot of attention lately.

  “Okay then. First question is for you, Aubrie. How is your relationship with your father?”

  I glanced at Brie. Jess really wasn’t fucking around if she was going right for the parental jugular. But Aubrie just smiled.

  “Things are good. Me and Dad have always been close, especially since Mom died.”

  “Tell me about that.”

  “She got cancer when I was pretty young. I can’t say that I remember much of it, thankfully. I remember her when she wasn’t sick yet, playing with me by the ocean. And I remember her funeral. Other than that, I don’t remember much.”

  “How was your dad after she passed?”

  “Upset, obviously. But he didn’t show it. His first breakthrough documentary happened about a year after she was gone, and I think he threw himself into work around then.”

  “Does he work a lot, your dad?”

  “Yeah, he does. I mean, his job demands a lot of work, you know? He travels all the time.”

  “Did you ever wish he was around more often?”

  She shook her head. I gave Jess a look, not sure where she was going with this.

  “Dad was around a lot more when I was still living in the house.”

  “Tell me about his relationship with Lincoln’s mother.”

  She laughed. “What’s there to say? They hit it off right when I was about to leave for school. Came a little out of nowhere though.”

  “How well do you know her?”

  “Pretty well. She’s a really lovely person.”

  “Did your dad tell you about her before they announced the marriage?”

  Aubrie paused, and I saw something pass across her face. Did Jess just hit a nerve? I thought, but Brie composed herself quickly.

  “No, he didn’t. I think he was afraid of how I’d react.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. He probably thought I would be upset that he was moving on from Mom.”

  “Were you?”

  “Not at all. I was a teenager, but I wasn’t stupid. It had been years since Mom passed. Dad had every right to move on.”

  Jess nodded and shuffled through her notes. “Tell me more about Jules.”

  Aubrie laughed. “I don’t know. She’s gorgeous and sweet and seems to really care about everyone around her.”

  “You haven’t lived in the same house as her, though, have you?”

  “No. I’ve been away at school.”

  “Why haven’t you come home before?”

  Aubrie didn’t answer right away, and I saw that same expression cross her face. Jess was definitely hitting some kind of nerve, though I wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

  “Same reason I didn’t,” I cut in, trying to give Aubrie a second to compose herself. “Some people don’t want to rely on their parents.”

  Jess smiled tightly at me and then looked back at Aubrie. “Is that true?”

  “Not exactly,” she said slowly. “It’s hard to explain.”

  “Try. Take as long as you need.” Jess gave her a smile that was probably meant to be comforting, but she looked more like a jackal grinning at its dinner.

  “It’s like, I don’t know,” she said slowly. “It’s like my dad didn’t need me anymore, you know? He had Jules and his films. I had a new life out there at school. I had something else.”

  Jess looked at me. “Why did you stay away?”

  I blinked at her. “I thought this was Brie’s interview.”

  “Don’t dodge. Why did you move away and never come home?”

  I looked at Aubrie and she cocked her head. I wanted to say, I left because of you. I left because if I stayed I would have done something stupid. Instead, I gave my usual answer.

  “Europe had what I wanted.”

  “What did you want?”

  “To feel alive. BASE jumping gave me that.”

  She glanced down at her notes and then back at me. “There are rumors about girls.”

  “Is that a question?”

  “Okay, let me restate that. Are the rumors about you and all the women you slept with true?”

  I laughed. I knew what rumors she was referring to. Nothing bad or crazy, just that I had slept with a ton of women while I moved around Europe.

  “True, more or less. A lot of it is exaggerated.” I avoided looking at Brie.

  “Why?”

  I frowned at her. “What do you mean, why?”

  “Why did you sleep around?”

  “Because it felt good. Because it was better than the alternative.”

  “And what’s the alternative?”

  Jerking off to thoughts of my stepsister, I thought.

  “Not sleeping around, I guess.”

  Aubrie made a noise, but I ignored it.

  “Why did you need to go to Europe for all of this?”

  “They have some of the best jumpers in the world. The sport just wasn’t big enough in the States at the time.”

  “Aubrie, did you ever see Lincoln during this time?”

  She shook her head. “Like I sa
id before, we didn’t see each other at all until I came home this summer.”

  “Why?”

  “He was busy jumping off stuff and doing commercials. And I was busy going to school.”

  “Brie is a model student,” I said, nodding.

  “Why do you say that?” Jess pressed.

  “You should see all the awards she wins.”

  “You seem jealous.”

  I paused. Shit, I need to be more careful. “No, not at all. She’s just a big nerd, that’s all.”

  Brie snorted. “Better a nerd than a meathead.”

  “Meathead?” I said, laughing. “Hardly a meathead.”

  “Fine. Jock then. Conceited asshole.”

  “Conceited? That’s funny, coming from the world’s most perfect person.”

  I could see Jess smile slightly and sit back in her chair. I knew it was stupid to be fighting with Brie on camera, but sometimes she pissed me off to no end. She was acting as if I were the one at fault, as if I were the enemy. She didn’t realize that the only person we should be worried about was the one with the cameras.

  “Oh, good one. I’m not perfect, but at least I’m not an asshole.”

  I grinned, trying to let it blow over. “You wound me, sis.”

  She made a face. “Whatever.” She looked over at Jess, visibly composing herself. “Are we almost finished?”

  “I have a few more questions.”

  “Okay, fine.”

  “This one is for you, Aubrie. What’s something about Lincoln that the world may not know?”

  She paused. “He loves the Power Rangers.”

  I burst out laughing and she grinned at me. All of the tension between us evaporated in an instant, and I grinned at Jess, who just looked confused.

  “The Power Rangers? Like, the kid’s show?”

  “That’s the one,” I said.

  “Explain that.”

  “What’s to explain? Some badass teens with cool powers and sick robots fight evil villains. That’s the definition of awesome.”

  Aubrie grinned at me. “He’d be the pink ranger.”

  “You’d be the robot.”

  “I’d rather be the robot, at least he was cool.”

  “Hey, don’t knock the pink ranger. She was just as badass as all the others.”

  “Is this some kind of inside joke?” Jess cut in.