by Ryan Michele
Conner escorted me to his silver Porsche and drove us to Tinderbox Kitchen. I felt slightly overdressed but loved the more intimate setting of the dining room.
Warm golden walls and tables adorned with white tablecloths topped with mini cactus as the centerpieces were around the room. A long leather bench made up the seating along one side of the walls. That was where the hostess sat us.
Nestled close to Conner, his hand rested on my thigh, the pad of his thumb brushing back and forth where the slit of my dress ended. The musky scent of his cologne penetrated my senses, and I couldn’t get enough of him. Everything inside of me wanted more of him. More of everything that was Conner.
It was hard to stay mad at a man who looked and smelled like Conner when he was going above and beyond to be sweet and attentive. This would be a huge test of my willpower, but I got this.
I ordered wine, and Conner drank beer.
He fed me an appetizer of Fontina stuffed meatballs, popping one between my lips with his fork. The flavor of tangy cheese and garlic exploded in my mouth. It was unbelievable, and I tried really hard not to moan in delight but didn’t quite succeed.
To cover, I asked, “How was Japan?”
“Lonely.” He lifted his fork, adding another meatball.
This caught me off guard. “They have a population of like a hundred million or something.”
“True, but they didn’t have you.” My heart fluttered, and my breath caught in my chest. The meatball in my mouth seemed to get lodged, and it was difficult to swallow down. It took me a moment before it went.
“You’re smooth, but I’m not convinced you missed me,” I responded. “Not even a text, Conner. Nothing for weeks. Then you happen to see me again, and here we are. It’s not plausible.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “Because the things I want to do and say to you require us meeting in person. Texting is impersonal, and I can’t touch you through a phone call, babe.” He moved in to kiss me for like the fifth time of the night, and I leaned away, avoiding those pretty blue eyes that held the power to make me do anything. That wasn’t good enough.
“Dinner isn’t over, and I’m a good girl. I don’t kiss on the first date.” I shoved another meatball in my mouth and downed my wine. I knew I couldn’t keep denying him, and deep down it was torture doing so. “Plus, that’s a bunch of bullshit, Conner. If you wanted to get in touch with me, you would’ve. That’s the bottom line.”
“I’m sorry, and you’re right. My focus has always been my work. One client after the other trying to make a go of what I’ve built. I realize now that the business is great, but carving out time for me to be happy needs to be a priority. You. You, Quinn, need to be my priority.”
“I don’t have to be the top priority, Conner, but I do need to be part of your life, where we talk and communicate. Where we spend time together. What I can’t be is someone you call when you need sex. That’s not me.”
His brows pinched. “Of course not. I know that’s not you. Never for one moment thought it was. It was all on me, Quinn. Now that my head is straight, I know exactly what I want.”
My heart felt like it was going to burst from my chest. Fire licked my entire body, and I ached to touch him. Hold him. Tell him that everything was going to be okay.
There was no reason to doubt what he’d said, and judging from his face it was honest and true. A well of emotions threatened to take over, and I felt the tears prick the backs of my eyes.
“Quinn…” he started, brushing my hair away from my ear as he spoke. “I’m going to kiss you here.” Conner nibbled my neck, tongue dragging along my collarbone under the cloak of my hair. “And here.” Hand sliding up under the slit of my dress, his thumb brushed the crotch of my panties. My lips parted, and I stifled a moan. His gaze captured mine. “You can’t stay mad at me forever. Please forgive me?”
Without a thought, the words, “Check please,” burst from my lips.
He chuckled and promptly requested the rest of our meal to-go.
The second Conner opened the front door, he yanked me through. Conner owned a newer build one-story home with four bedrooms and a two-car garage. I hadn’t been here since he had a barbecue a few years back to celebrate moving in. The house was fabulous from what I could remember, and the neighborhood was even better.
Placing our takeout on the table just inside the front entrance, he kicked the door shut and came at me like an animal about to pounce its prey. Jaw tightening, fingers biting into my hips, his soft, kissable lips claimed mine with my back pressed to the wall by the hall closet.
Slick and wet, thrusting his tongue deep into my mouth, he dominated me. The man kissed me stupid, and I never wanted him to stop. “Fuck, Quinn, I’ve wanted to get you out of this dress since you opened your front door.”
“Then what’s stopping you?” I reached down to unfasten the clasps of my shoes.
Conner thwarted me. “Keep them on.” Hand circling my wrist, his touch set me on fire as he led me further into the house. We passed three doors before he yanked me through the one for the master suite.
The two of us were a flurry of hands and tongues. Touching and tasting one another anywhere and everywhere. Fingers tugging on the straps of my dress with so much force I thought he would break them, he demanded, “How the hell do you get this thing off?”
I took a step back from him. “Like this.” Grasping the sides, I lifted, and in one step he was back in front of me.
“Allow me.” The sleek satin slid up my body and over my head, leaving me in my heels and undergarments. “So damn sexy, Q.” Conner grabbed a possessive handful of my ass and gave me a squeeze. “You always wear sexy shit like this under your clothes?” Lips to my neck, he sucked hard enough to leave a bruise.
“That’s for you to find out if you play your cards right.”
Giving me a playful slap, he barked, “Get on the bed.”
Doing as I was told, I strutted past him swaying my hips because I knew his eyes were on me, and he liked what he saw. I sat on the edge of the king-sized bed, sinking into the cool dark blue covers.
Conner undid the buttons on his shirt, slow and methodical. I wanted to be the one to do it, but I could damn sure appreciate the view too.
Tossing the shirt onto a nearby high-backed chair, he moved onto his shoes and pants.
The room was dark, but enough moonlight was spilling into the room through the French doors that opened to his back patio to see him clearly, highlighting the hard-chiseled ridges of his chest and deep V that led to his happy trail like a spotlight.
I wanted him so damn badly.
Down to his black boxer briefs, he knelt on the floor to worship my pussy, spreading my legs wide apart. “Beautiful,” he murmured, caressing the tops of my thighs as though I was a gift he was about to unwrap on Christmas morning.
Tugging the right cup of my bra down, he palmed my breast and tweaked the nipple, rolling the tender skin back and forth until it hardened to a point.
Killing me softly with the anticipation of what he’d do next, Conner teased me with feather light touches over my clit. Thumb brushing over the pulsing nerves in a circular motion, he drove me wild. I was hanging on by a very fine thread.
Turning his attention to my other breast, he continued the foreplay. Wet kisses trailed along my belly, leaving a blaze of fire in their wake.
Working his fingers in a come here motion, those thick digits nearly fucked me into a coma. Eyes rolling back in my head, sated bliss was close.
Replacing his talented fingers with his magical tongue, Conner ate me like he would die of starvation. With my fingers threaded in his hair, I tugged him closer, urging him to give me more.
Playing with my clit, there was no mercy to be found. Conner came at me harder and stronger, licking me in deep strokes. The stems of my heels dug into his back.
My walls and muscles tightened as an orgasm quaked through my body. Hands sliding down my legs, he grabbed my ankles and undid the straps.
Thud. They dropped to the floor, and I scooted up toward the headboard ready for more. I would always want more of this man.
18
Conner
Bitch, you’re just like Monday, nobody likes you.
Looking up at Quinn, I’d found heaven on earth and tasted paradise. Slick with sweat, arching her back, she found her rhythm. Dark hair hanging down her back in silken waves I loved to run my fingers though, the tips dusted my thighs and tickled me with each flex and thrust of her pelvis.
Her sweet pussy hugged my cock, muscles clenching me so damn tight it took every ounce of strength I held not to come too quick.
The moment she sank her velvety warmth down on me and started to ride I was a goner. Hot and needy, her greedy pussy curved to my dick like a perfect fit.
Quinn Landis was made for fucking me. There’d never been anything more beautiful or satisfying than our bodies moving together. The way her tits swayed with each roll of her hips nearly hypnotized me. Muddy rose nipples that were made to be sucked and teased by me.
I couldn’t get enough. Couldn’t stop touching and tasting her. All I wanted was to hear those soft moans she made forever. I knew I was addicted to her touch, kiss, tropical scent that smelled like an ocean breeze and sunshine; everything she embodied and more.
Fingers biting into her hips, I slowed her pace. “Gimme that mouth, babe.” Leaning forward, her plump, swollen lips from kissing met mine and tasted of Pinot Noir. Earthy and slightly floral. I drank her in, taking everything she was giving me.
Her movements slowed, and I took control. Shoving her back gently, blanketing her body with mine, I lined up with her pretty tight pink hole and slid right into her liquid fire.
My hardness melted into her soft curves that set my blood on fire. Fuck me, Quinn’s back bowed up off the mattress, hips rubbing against mine, those muscles clenching and squeezing around me. The headboard knocked against the wall like it was beating the gates to heaven.
Long deep strokes. I repeated the motion over and over again, driving into her body and chasing the release I had been denying myself.
Unable to hold back, I pumped my release into her. Lips tipping into a smile, her breath fanned over my lips. I tucked her hair back from her face and held her gaze. “You still holding a grudge?” I teased, rolling off her.
Pinching her fingers, she held them up an inch apart and eyed me between them, scrunching her face up. “Like this much.”
“Then I had better cook you breakfast.”
“Who said I’m sleeping over?” Her eyes fluttered as she spoke.
“And how do you plan on getting home?”
“I can get a Lyft or whatever.” She yawned wide, snuggling deeper into the bed, eyes shut.
“Right. I’m gonna hit the head.”
Giving me a slight nod, I knew she’d be out.
By the time I returned from the bathroom, Quinn was fast asleep. Like a gentleman, I wiped down her inner thighs, tempted to rouse her from her sleep for round two, but I resisted. I slid in beside her, tucking her body into mine, feeling as though she was exactly where she was meant to be.
Safe in my arms. Her head on my chest, one leg draped over mine, I could feel the drumming beat of her heart against my side.
I’d never been a fan of sleepovers or cuddling after sex, but Quinn wasn’t any woman.
With Quinn, I felt whole, like she was meant to belong to me. Mine. All mine.
I strummed my fingers through her dark hair, listening to her breathe, feeling the beat of her heart. The sounds and sensations created the perfect lullaby to lull me to sleep.
Knock. Knock. “You awake?” Drew’s voice echoed through my house. Damn, I forgot he had a key.
I’d just cracked the eggs over the bowl for Quinn’s omelet. “In the kitchen,” I called out, hoping all the shouting wouldn’t wake my sleeping beauty.
Not that I wanted to hide Quinn from Drew. He knew how I felt about her. She just needed her sleep for the next round.
Sprinkling the cheddar cheese into the yolky mixture, I returned to chopping the onions and crumbling the sausage up to add in.
Drew entered the kitchen, plopping down on a stool at the breakfast bar. Brows knitted, he smoothed a palm over his face. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, and his usually neat hair had a disheveled appearance sticking up every which way. Smelling of cigar smoke and liquor, he needed something to cure his hangover.
“What the hell are you doing here so early?” I went to the sink and filled a glass of water then nabbed some pain relievers from the cabinet over the fridge. “Take two. Doctor’s order.” I grinned at him. It’d been a while since I’d seen him look so damn rough. He was always very well put together; this, not so much. “You need to shave, man.” His five o’clock shadow was patchy, making him look like a two-yea-old cutting up Chewbacca.
“Thanks.” He palmed the white pills and tossed them down his throat, chasing them with water. “Why are you cooking a fancy breakfast?” No sooner than the words passed his lips, Quinn stumbled into the room rubbing her eyes, wearing nothing but one of my tees. Her long legs were on dynamic display.
I loved the sight of the white cotton hitting her knees. Drew took one look at her and snorted. “Seriously?”
Quinn went to the coffee pot and poured us all a mug. “Morning to you too, brother.” Her gaze cut to her brother as she placed a cup in front of him. “What’s wrong? Trouble in paradise already?”
“I don’t know… Yeah. Maybe. Fuck.”
I took a hearty sip of my coffee, enjoying the fact that Quinn knew how I took it with cream and sugar. “Good morning.” I kissed her temple and let her go. She gave me a timid smile, but I knew it wasn’t directed at me, though, rather at her brother. She could also tell something was seriously wrong with him.
“Listen. I’ve been nice and held back as long as I could, but the truth is—your woman is a mega bitch. She’s awful, Drew. And I’m scared that if you marry her, she’s going to cut you off from us completely.” Quinn took a seat next to her brother.
“You think I don’t know that?” he fired back surprisingly.
“Question is what are you prepared to do about it? You gotta man up. She wouldn’t allow your best friend to be in your wedding.”
He physically jerked, a wince crossing his lips. “Hell, sis. I don’t know. I loved Rebecca, but she’s changed. Our relationship is different now. It’s like she’s more in love with the idea of her fantasy wedding than me.” My stomach sunk to my feet. I hated seeing my best friend so damn torn, but on the flip side I was happy he was seeing this with his own eyes.
“Do you still want to marry her?” I asked the question Quinn didn’t.
His head shook as he ran his fingers through his hair. I returned to cooking breakfast. “I don’t know. I thought she was the one. The day I bought her ring, I knew I was prepared to promise her forever, but now I don’t know.”
“Maybe you just need to push the date back,” Quinn suggested, though, I knew she wanted to tell him to call it off. It didn’t matter what we thought about Rebecca. What counted the most was how Drew felt and what he wanted.
“Maybe. She’d probably get in a snit and throw a shit fit if I suggested it.” Drew lifted the coffee mug to his lips, taking a sip.
“You want an omelet, man?” I slid the first one off the spatula and onto a plate.
“I can’t eat right now, but thanks.”
I passed the plate to Quinn and went to the fridge to grab the hot sauce right as she opened her mouth to ask for it. “Thank you, honey.”
“Ick. You two are disgusting,” Drew groaned, but a hint of a smile tugged on the corners of his mouth.
“What are you even doing here?” Quinn side-eyed her brother. ‘Don’t you normally have brunch with her folks on Saturdays?”
“I told her that I had a work thing.”
Quinn’s gaze softened. “You shouldn’t have to lie to spend time with your best friend.” She shoved a forkful
of cheesy egg into her mouth. “Oh, this is good. You sure you don’t want any?” The fork waved in front of Drew’s face under his nose, and he shot back off the stool and ran for the bathroom. Quinn lost her smile.
“Don’t worry about him. He’ll figure his shit out. Right now, he’s hungover.”
“Maybe. I just hate seeing him unhappy.”
“I know. He needs to sleep today, and then we’ll help him figure everything out.”
“Yeah,” she said, quietly hurting for her brother. I hated that for her, but it was impossible. Therefore, I changed gears.
“What are your plans today?” I finished up my omelet and took the stool Drew vacated.
“I have lots of laundry to catch up on.”
“Laundry, huh?” I chuckled. “I can think of better ways to spend your day.” I squeezed her thigh, inching my fingers further up, and her cheeks heated to a bright pink shade just as Drew entered the room once more.
“Oh shit, I think I’m going to be sick again,” Drew complained, but deep down I knew he accepted this thing with Quinn was just getting started.
“Shut up. You know we’ve always had a connection.”
“Yeah. You’re right. I knew when we were kids, but I tried to separate you two. It never really worked, though, did it? Just treat my sister right, and we won’t have any problems.”
“Drew,” Quinn hissed, but he gave her the stern fatherly look her dad always gave her when she was in trouble.
“I’d never do her wrong.” Never again. That was for damn sure. That was a vow.
“I know. You don’t want me to kick your ass.” Finally, a full smile played over his features. “You mind if I borrow your shower and crash in the guest room? I’m not ready to go home and face Rebecca yet. I need to clear my head.”
“Stay as long as you need. Quinn and I are going to go by her place to get a change of clothes, then we’ll hit the store. We’ll do popcorn and movies, like old times. You have any request?”
