Lincoln grinned as his buddy filled the screen. Mitch was at an awards ceremony that Lincoln had missed, but he would be there next year. “Best Actor…Imagine that,” he whispered to himself.
“Mr. Trepan, we know you just finished working on Vengeance with a Vengeance, but can you tell us what’s coming next?” asked the reporter.
Mitch smiled and nodded at the camera. “Get ready for action like you wouldn’t believe! That’s all I can tell you.” He laughed.
“That’s your signature,” the reporter laughed along. “We know you deliver great action, great heroes. Any ideas for your next film? Give us something. Give us anything!”
“Landon Ashville, who wrote Well-worn Suicide Note for me, has delivered a tremendous new script. We’ll begin work on it very, very soon.”
“Any hints on who we might see in the new picture?” The reporter jabbed the microphone at Mitch again, and the director chuckled good-naturedly.
“Lincoln Easley and I have talked about the role. He did fantastic in Vengeance with a Vengeance,” said Mitch.
Lincoln warmed with pleasure at the shout out. No matter how many years he had been in the industry, it always felt good to be recognized for his hard work. But what Mitch said next cooled his happy glow.
“I’ve also talked to Jasper Kent. He’s younger, newer to the scene, but he’s a committed rising star. It’s too soon to tell. We just don’t know yet.”
Lincoln snatched the remote from the side table and tried to rewind the segment. He threw the remote when he realized the TV was not equipped to do that. He thought he had heard Mitch announce he was also considering Jasper Kent.
Lincoln grabbed the hotel phone to call his agent. As soon as Dominic answered, Lincoln launched into questions. “Did you know Mitch was considering someone else for this new picture? Am I out here at this godforsaken survival training camp for no damn reason? Because I can hop the next plane and come home right now, if that’s the case!”
“Lincoln, baby! I was hoping I’d be on vacation before you heard the news,” Dominic chuckled dryly. “Look, nothing is set in stone yet. I spoke with Mitch and, from what he told me, he’s considering only the best of the best. You’re at the top of the list!”
“That’s an LA Maybe, which we both know means bullshit. I’m losing work out here, Dominic.”
“No, you’re not. You needed the break. You’re in overdrive, and what comes after that? Burnout.”
“I won’t get burnt out,” Lincoln grumbled. He rubbed his eyes, feeling tiredness hit him, in contrast to his statement.
“Going to that camp makes you the best actor for the gig. This is great for your image. I already have several reputable entertainment journalists on stand-by who want exclusive interviews when you get back. You’ll get the role in Mitch’s new film, and you’ll get big publicity from this.”
“I hope you’re right. Otherwise, this is all in vain.” Not entirely in vain, a voice in his head whispered. Lincoln ended the call with his agent and lounged against the pillows at the head of the bed. He was stuck with two very attractive people. He wondered if he would enjoy getting to know them.
Perry was tall, muscular and demanding—a combination that was Lincoln’s kryptonite. The minute he had seen the instructor, he had felt a lurch in his core that he knew meant trouble. Likewise, Nadia was a striking woman in every sense of the word. And Lincoln had been so busy lately that sex and titillation had been off-limits. What would happen in the woods with those two?
If for no other reason than to take the break he was being offered, Lincoln needed to stay. He gritted his teeth as he folded his hands behind his head and thought about Jasper Kent being considered for a role that was “perfect” for him.
As rude and untenable as Perry had been thus far, Lincoln could not leave. He had to prove to Mitch Trepan that he was the only person who could play that character. His attraction to his companions be damned.
Chapter 2
“Wait, what did you say?” Perry lurched forward in the driver’s seat of his truck and pressed the phone closer to his ear.
“Clyde’s been hurt!” his neighbor, Mr. Dougal, yelled again. “He fell trying to fix the damned rafters of the barn. The stubborn fool acts like he’s pushing thirty not ninety. They think he broke his hip.”
“Goddamn it! I told him I would fix the barn! I’m on my way.”
“The ambulance come and got him already. We’re at the hospital. You might as well meet us here.”
The sun was already low in the sky. Perry started the truck and floored the accelerator, glad he had opted to sleep in the parking lot rather than one of the costly hotel rooms.
Clyde MacAskill was all he had left. When his grandparents died, Clyde took him in and raised him as his own. Now that he was getting up in age himself, Perry often worried what he would do when he lost him.
They ran the business together. Perry taught the classes while Clyde handled bookings and manned the radio. It was easier on his rheumatoid arthritis than the work he was doing before. But, if Clyde was hurt, Perry would have to cancel this class.
Could Survive Anything handle another fallow month?
Perry raced the last few blocks to the medical center and rushed into the building. He was greeted by a familiar face at the front desk, a girl he had gone to high school with. “How are you? I’m looking for Clyde MacAskill.”
“Doctor’s with him. Once he’s out, you’ll be able to see him.” She smiled politely and gestured to the waiting area.
“Thanks,” Perry murmured. He made his way to the beat-up plastic chairs where Mr. Dougal sat. Perry shook his hand in appreciation. “How’s he doing, Mr. Dougal?”
“None the worse for wear, other than he’s mad at himself for slipping. He said you were bringing a class out tomorrow. He don’t want you to have to cancel.”
“He shouldn’t beat himself up. I wouldn’t be able to focus on the training course with him hurt, anyway,” Perry tried to picture the two bumbling urbanites in the wilderness without Clyde at the cabin to provide a link to civilization. He shivered involuntarily at the nightmarish thought. “Especially not with this set of students,” he added.
A nurse stepped through a set of double doors and beckoned Perry. He recognized her, too. Someone else he had gone to school with. “You’re here for Mr. McCaskill, right? He’s asking for you.”
Perry nodded and clasped Mr. Dougal’s hand one more time. “Thanks for being a good neighbor, Mr. Dougal. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Yeah, Sue wants me off the road before it gets dark. Cataracts.”
“A wise woman,” Perry chuckled. “Drive safely.”
He watched his stoop-shouldered neighbor trudge out of the building. Then, he squared his shoulders and braced himself to deal with his stubborn old best friend. He already knew what Clyde would say about a cancelation: Don’t do it.
Still, Perry would sooner watch his dreams for Survive Anything go down the toilet than neglect someone he loved.
Nadia stood at the hotel window and stared at the full moon rising over the mountains in the distance. Beautiful, she thought. By tomorrow, she would be somewhere in the dense woodlands covering the mountainside, getting up close and personal with nature. Hopefully, I’ll still see the beauty in it. But with a guide like Perry Evans, that seemed unlikely.
She started at the knock on her door, and then opened it to see her disgruntled instructor. “I had some trouble finding you,” Perry muttered. Her eyes skimmed him from head to toe. She ignored the butterflies in her stomach and the spicy scent of his cologne that wafted up her nostrils. He smelled like pine groves and clean mountain air.
Why was he at her room? Her mind exploded with erotic possibilities in that question—images of the sexy instructor throwing her against the wall in a passionate kiss—but the melodramatic thought was so farfetched that she nearly laughed aloud. Never mind her body tingling with misplaced desire. Nadia bit back a smile. “Can I help you?” she
asked.
“I need to see you down at the bar in the next thirty minutes. Is that doable?”
“Um, is something wrong?”
“A change of plans. We’ll discuss it at the bar. I’m about to let Lincoln know now.”
“Okay. I’ll be right down.” Nadia closed the door and took a deep breath. “Well, what new fuckery is this?” she whispered to herself.
She took a refreshing shower and changed into a black pencil skirt from the carry-on bag she had smuggled past Perry. She buttoned a ruffled blouse over her voluptuous breasts, and she applied lip gloss and mascara, the only make-up in her purse. Everything else was in the luggage she had sent home.
With a toss of her hair, Nadia checked the time and decided to head downstairs early. She ran into Lincoln as she strolled to the elevators. He had changed into red leather pants and a designer shirt. “You kept a bag, too?” she asked.
He flashed a superstar smile that shot sparks. “Apparently great minds think alike. Looking good, Ms. Marson,” he murmured. Lincoln put a hand to the base of her spine as he ushered her into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby.
Oh, he’s one of those, Nadia thought. The open doors and pull out chairs type. “So, what do you think this sudden change of plans is about?” She moved away from his warm fingertips, sizing him up from the other side of the elevator.
“Who knows? Maybe he’s checking to see if we’ve decided to leave yet. I was this close, but I changed my mind,” Lincoln said with a laugh.
“Same here. I have my reasons for staying, as I’m sure you do, too,” she replied, not bothering to go any deeper. She did not want to give the impression she was interested, although her eyes roamed his body again.
The elevator dinged and bounced slightly as it settled on the ground floor. “After you,” Lincoln murmured. He gestured for her to step out.
Nadia smiled in appreciation and strutted across the lobby to the bar where Perry was waiting for them. She was aware that Lincoln’s gaze followed the sway of her hips. “Reporting for duty,” she announced.
“Is this a do-over of our meet-and-greet? Because I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Lincoln grinned and sat beside her.
Perry held up paperwork, saying, “Actually, I called you here for this. These are cancellation and reimbursement forms.”
“What! We’re both committed to sticking this out, right, Mr. Easley?” Nadia nodded at Lincoln as Perry eyed them both with an apologetic grimace.
“Unfortunately, it’s not up to you. I rely on a friend to help out at base camp while we’re in the wilderness, and he suffered a fall earlier today that will prevent him from doing that.”
“Is he okay?”
“He will be, but if weather conditions get bad or someone gets injured, we don’t have a reliable way to call for help. So, I’m canceling this course. You guys should reschedule.”
“This is the only time I have available,” said Nadia, “and this is important to me. I paid for a unique travel experience. I’ve been through a hurricane, so I’m okay with bad weather.”
“You paid for a unique travel experience and, I suppose, a concierge that bends to your every whim—”
“That’s not exactly what I said,” Nadia clarified.
Perry spoke over her, “—But this isn’t a vacation. It’s serious training. If we proceed under these conditions, you do so at your own risk, and you’ll have to sign off on that.”
“Well, hand over the proper paperwork,” Lincoln said gamely. “Finishing Survive Anything is vital to my career, and like Nadia, this is the only downtime in my schedule. It’s now or never.”
Perry looked disconcerted by their willingness to forge ahead, despite his warnings. Nadia watched his facial expressions transition from annoyance to resolve, but he tried one last time. “Look, no one knows these woods better than me. Based on your level of readiness, I’m not comfortable taking you into the wilderness alone.”
“You can’t change our minds on this,” Nadia stated matter-of-factly.
Perry sighed and pulled out a different set of forms from his battered satchel. “Then, I’ll need you to sign these, and you can get back to your rooms.” He called for the bartender as he handed them the forms. Nadia already felt a tad bit tipsy, but what could one last hurrah with her sexy new travel companions hurt?
Lincoln got that he was not the kick-ass action star he played in movies. He was a geeky drama kid at heart and he was fully aware that he was biting off way more than he could chew. Perry’s warning rang clear in his ears. But, if Nadia was willing to face the risks, Lincoln had to be bold enough to do so, too. “Another round of drinks!” he shouted gaily, ignoring his own uneasiness.
“Sign the documents first,” Perry chuckled, “while you’re still clearheaded.”
He handed Lincoln a pen, and their hands touched. Lincoln felt warmth spread over his face, but he pretended not to notice the brief skin contact. A holdover from growing up in a small town. Old habits die hard, he thought ruefully. As attracted as he was to the domineering military vet, he could not acknowledge the obvious chemistry.
Lincoln maintained a reputation as an All-American manly man, even along the liberal west coast. He ate fast food in public. He drank beers—not the artisanal shit but real American beer with real American names. His style was eye-catching but never androgynous, and his sexuality was never in question.
He had never acted on his urges.
Thoughts and fantasies were easy to ignore when he was busy with work, but this downtime his agent was encouraging him to take with Perry and Nadia opened a Pandora’s box of desires he was trying his best to ignore. Adding to the dilemma, Nadia was exactly the type of woman Lincoln liked to have draped on his arm. She was classy, attractive and intelligent. What was not to like?
He signed the paperwork with a flourish, agreeing to this three-week torture, and handed the pen off to Nadia. Within minutes, the deed was done. The dark-haired stunner in the pencil skirt smiled seductively as she slid her drink closer. He watched her pink lips wrap around the straw, and his core tightened with arousal.
“So, since we’re stuck with each other,” she said, “at least for the next few weeks, I think we should get to know one another. Tell me about yourselves.”
“You first,” Lincoln suggested. They probably already knew the carefully parsed out personal details handled by his PR team, like where he attended college and how he broke into acting. Very few people knew he had grown up an ostracized, shy young man in a Midwestern town where homogeneity was celebrated and differences were feared and despised.
Nadia took another slow sip which drew his attention to her delectable mouth. With a toss of her hair, she pinned him with her almond-shaped, chocolate eyes, making Lincoln wonder if she was flirting with him. He could never tell. Again, he felt like his old high school self and not a successful actor.
“What do you want to know?”
“Where you from? What do you do?” he prompted with a shrug.
“Born and raised in Texas, studied at Harvard, doctorate in chemical engineering. There’s not much else to me.”
“She’s being modest. You think you’re something, Hollywood?” Perry murmured. Lincoln looked at him in askance. “Ever heard of Marson Oil and Gas? Meet the heiress, Ms. Nadia Marson. You’re sitting beside a bona-fide billionaire.”
Lincoln’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Well, this sounds interesting! How does a billionaire end up in a place like this with guys like us? Why sign up for a survival training course when you can just buy your way out of danger?”
“As I told you,” Nadia said coolly, “I had first-hand experience with a hurricane. Unfortunately, Death can’t be bribed. So, if there’s something I can learn that will increase my odds of getting out of a dangerous situation alive, then I’ll pay to learn it. And thank you, Perry, for bringing to light something you had no business mentioning.”
“Survival requires trust, Ms. Marson. If
you need Mr. Evans, here, to ward off the bears while you take a bathroom break, imagine how much more attentive he’ll be to the job, knowing your father has money.” Perry wore a cheeky half-smile as he swirled his drink around.
“I’m kind of a big deal, too,” Lincoln joked. “Just…on a much smaller scale.” He beckoned for a refill. The alcohol was already loosening his inhibitions, which was probably a good thing. It was not every day he sat next to a billionaire and a decorated military vet. They were effectively making him feel like the lesser being at the table and the only one with something to prove.
“And, what do you do, Lincoln?” Nadia asked.
He blinked in surprise that she did not already know. “You’re pulling my leg. You’ve never heard of Vengeance with a Vengeance? Well-worn Suicide Note?” She shook her head, her expression drawing a blank. “Wow! Watch out for my deflated ego as it whizzes by.” He whistled like a balloon losing air as she pulled a face and laughed apologetically.
“Well, I’m sorry! I don’t watch many movies. I have a love-hate relationship with celebrity culture.”
“Lincoln Easley is our generation’s Tom Cruise, minus the creepy Scientology stuff,” Perry teased Lincoln, who just rolled his eyes. “High-impact action movies. Lots of explosions, running aimlessly and posing with gun. Minimal dialogue.”
“Oh! I knew you looked familiar!” Nadia gushed.
“Liar,” Lincoln grumbled.
She giggled. “Okay, you got me, but I’ll be sure to check out your work when I get the chance. Is that why you’re here?”
“As a matter of fact, it is. I’m preparing for a new role in a man versus nature flick. Once I’m done here, Survive Anything will be a household name.”
Perry raised his glass to that. Nadia crossed her legs and turned her attention to him. “And you were a Navy SEAL, a walking lethal weapon. What’s that like?” Her voice held a smoky quality that tugged at Lincoln’s libido, but she seemed drawn to their instructor. Something they had in common.
Survival for Three: MMF Bisexual Romance Page 3