"Fuck, Brie," he said again as his orgasm passed.
His thrusts slowed and then stopped, and I couldn't help but giggle. I lay on top of him, our sweating body pressed against each other, catching my breath.
"That was-" I said.
"Amazing," he finished.
"Yeah." I kissed his neck and breathed his smell.
His hands moved to my ass and he held me there.
"That's what I want," I said.
"I want it too. I want it every single day for as long as I can fuck."
I laughed. "What about after?"
"There won't be an after. I'll always be able to fuck."
He grinned at me and I kissed his lips.
"No more pretending," I said.
"I want this."
"I want this too."
He looked at me for a second and then pulled my face back against his and kissed me deep.
I knew it was there. What I felt for him had always been there, hidden away, deep in every inch of me. At first, it was too much, too blinding.
But I wasn't denying it anymore. I wasn't hiding it. I was his and I couldn't help it. Nothing we said or did would change that fact.
I was embracing it. I was relaxing and going with the flow.
It was love. That's what he called it.
I either went with it or I drowned.
I'd always go with Lincoln.
Chapter Twenty-One: Lincoln
When I told Jess that I wasn't feeling well and was going to skip afternoon PT, she didn't complain. Nobody seemed to mind. Tracey laughed and said not to make it a habit.
Brie and I didn't get out of bed once after that. We alternated between watching Netflix and talking and intense, sweaty sex.
And I could have stayed in that bed for years. I could have lay there next to her and done nothing but eat and fuck and watch TV because she made me feel more together than I had ever felt before.
Even falling from a building, the cool air whipping through my hair, didn't stand up to how I felt around Brie. It was like something had broken in me years earlier, and that something was suddenly put back together. I was my best version around her.
I felt whole. No more pretending. I didn't need to say it out loud, not yet at least. She knew that I was deeply fucking in love with her.
But then the sun began to rise and we hadn't slept a wink. I didn't want to risk falling asleep, not when we had so recently decided we weren't stopping ourselves anymore.
I sighed and stretched as the next episode of Friends
began to play automatically.
I hated Friends
. But she seemed to like it, and that was good enough for me.
"I need to get up," I grumbled.
She looked at me with those beautiful, wide eyes. "Why?"
"I have something to do."
"Skip it. Forget about PT. You can go tomorrow."
I laughed. "I respect your dedication."
She snuggled against me and kissed my bare chest. "My dedication to your dick."
I grinned. "That's what I like to hear."
"I know." She bit my nipple.
I laughed. "Easy there."
She smiled up at me. "Sure you have to go?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll be fast, though."
She pouted. "Fine."
I kissed her quick and then slipped out of bed before I had the chance to change my mind. I went into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and came back to get dressed.
"Clean?" she asked me.
"Clean enough."
"Where are you going?"
I paused. No more secrets,
I thought.
"I'm going to talk to your dad."
She looked at me for a second. "Oh."
"I'll be back soon. Promise. And I'll skip one more day of PT."
"Okay. Be careful."
"Yeah." I grabbed my laptop and the thumb drive and walked out into the hall.
As I walked toward the room Cliff spent his mornings in, I couldn't help but reflect on how much had changed. Almost no time at all had passed, and yet everything was different.
The last time we spoke, I had nothing. He had all the cards and there was nothing that I could do.
I smiled to myself as I pushed the door open and looked in at his piece-of-shit smug face reading the newspaper.
"Morning, Lincoln," he said, not bothering to look up.
"We need to talk," I said.
He sighed. "Not this morning. I have a long day ahead of me."
I walked in and set my laptop down on the table, flipping the lid open. He watched as I put the password in.
"I said, I'm not in the mood, Lincoln," he said more forcefully.
I smiled at him. "Shut up, Cliff. I have something you need to see."
He raised an eyebrow. "Don't talk to me that way."
I plugged in the thumb drive, ignoring him, and pulled up the video file. I double clicked and it began to play.
He looked at it. "I'm not interested in your little bullshit movies."
"You're going to be interested in this one."
I tilted the screen toward him and stood back, arms crossed, to enjoy the show. I watched his face, puzzled at first, slowly slip into recognition.
"What the fuck is this?" he asked.
"Keep watching."
I could hardly contain the joy that tore through me as the color slowly drained from his face. I couldn't see the screen, but I knew exactly what he was seeing.
"Recognize that?" I asked.
"Where did you get this?" he asked quietly.
"Doesn't matter."
"That isn't what you think it is."
"Actually, it's exactly what I think it is."
He looked up at me. I shut the laptop lid and smiled at him.
"Have you showed your mother yet?"
"No, not yet."
He leaned back in his chair. "So, what is this? Blackmail?"
"Something like that."
"What the fuck do you want, Lincoln?"
"I want a few things. First, divorce my mom."
He said nothing, just shook his head.
"Second, back off this documentary thing. You can finish filming it, but no more fucking with me."
He was silent for a second. "And?"
"This last one isn't exactly a demand. I'm just letting you know up front: I'm in love with your daughter."
He was silent for a second, and then he slowly stood up. I gripped my cane tightly and held it up.
"Don't give me an excuse, Cliff. I'd love to break your fucking knees."
He practically growled. I could see the rage running through him. I wanted him to attack me, wanted it so fucking badly. I didn't care that he was about my size; I'd break him in two. And I'd have fun doing it. I couldn't imagine anything better in the world than smashing my cane down on Cliff's face.
Instead, slowly, he sat back down. He looked deflated, and for a second I was disappointed.
"What makes you think I'm going to do any of that?" he asked me.
"You know why."
"Why don't I send you back to jail, instead? That would keep you away from Aubrie."
"Because if you do that, my mom gets this video. And when she divorces your ass, she'll take everything you fucking have, and then some." I paused. "Not to mention the press. I'm sure they'd be interested in this."
That last part was a total bluff, but I figured his ego was large enough to believe he was worth something to the tabloids.
"Why haven't you given it to her yet?"
"Because I'm not stupid. I'd rather make a bargain with you. Divorce her and at least keep half your assets. Otherwise, she gets this, and you get fucked."
He was silent, stewing in his rage, and I watched him. It was such an incredibly perfect moment. For too long he'd had the upper hand in our relationship, always one half step ahead of me. Finally having something to hang over him felt pretty fucking good.
"Aubrie could never love someone like you," he said softly.
"You dumb asshole. You don't know me and you sure as hell don't know your daughter."
He met my gaze. "I divorce your mom and back off the documentary, and you destroy the video?"
"That's the deal."
"Fine."
"Oh, also, go back to L.A. tonight. Mom likes this house and isn't going to want you skulking around."
"I'll leave. But you shouldn't press your luck, Lincoln."
I smiled. "No hard feelings, Cliff. It's just business."
"You dumb asshole. Maybe you got away with this one, but I'm not going anywhere."
"Sure you are. You're going back to L.A. to be with whatever B-list slut you're currently fucking behind my mom's back."
He made a face. "Fuck off now. I'm busy."
I stood there a second longer, basking in my victory, and then I gathered my stuff and left.
I practically ran upstairs. I threw open the door, startling Brie, and crossed the room, dropping the laptop on the ground.
I gathered her up in my arms and hugged her tight.
She laughed. "What happened?"
"You and me? We're not going to be stepsiblings for too much longer."
There was a pause. "For real?"
"For real. It's done."
"Holy shit!" She kissed me hard.
"Exactly what I was thinking," I said once she pulled away.
She moved out of my arms and lay back on the bed. "Poor Jules though."
"Despite her idiot, supermodel exterior, she's pretty tough. She'll be fine."
"Still. She doesn't know yet, does she?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. Cliff will handle that, I'm sure."
"I still can't believe him."