“Who said I was after her?” I teased.
She laughed softly and shook her head at me.
“Who am I kidding... I’m after her like a dog with a bone,” I confessed.
She propped her elbow up on the back of the couch and rested her chin in her hand.
“I want to kiss her. Do you think I should go for it?”
She pretended to ponder my question. “Hmmm, I’m not sure... how many dates have you been on?”
My laugh came out loud and low. I’d jumped at the chance to ask her out on a second date, only I’d insisted it be today. We parted ways after lunch and I’d picked her up only a few hours later from her house... and here we were. She’d argued that a second date couldn’t be on the same day as the first and I’d proceeded to inform her that all the rules went out the window the minute she agreed to a date with a guy like me.
That had shut her up for a few minutes.
“Two. I told her it didn’t count – same day and all, but she insisted it was two.” I grinned.
She threw her head back and laughed at me.
“Does she seem interested?”
“Hell yes, she’s practically throwing herself at me,” I said with a smirk.
She smacked me lightly on the leg, a huge smile on her face. “I am not.”
“Hypothetical situation, remember?” I chuckled.
“Right.” She nodded, slipping back into our game. “Well, if she’s as keen as you say she is, maybe you should put her out of her misery.”
I reached out and ran my hand slowly down her arm, her smile faded, and her eyes watched my fingers.
“She doesn’t look miserable,” I murmured as our eyes locked.
I pushed up to my feet and faced her. I rested my hands on the back of the couch on either side of her shoulders, caging her in.
Her breath caught in her throat as I lowered my face closer to hers.
I teased her, not quite coming close enough to kiss her, but close enough that I could feel her breath.
An image of her and Colt together flashed through my mind and I forced it back down.
It doesn’t matter now.
“She looks flustered,” I said quietly.
Her tongue darted out and moistened her lips and I smirked.
“Tease,” she murmured before reaching out for my neck and pulling my lips down towards hers.
***
She caught me looking at her and grinned.
Now, I didn’t want to go sounding like a pussy, but it was like a little part of me shattered every time she smiled.
It wasn’t only that... her touch had me instantly hard, and that kiss she’d unleashed on me earlier was proof that I was exactly where I was meant to be.
It’s official. You’re a pussy.
Fucked if I care.
I’d never had a kiss like that before. A woman that kisses like that... shit... there has to be fireworks in the bedroom. And damn if it didn’t take all my self-control not to strip her naked and take her right there on the couch.
But I couldn’t.
Not her.
There was just something about her that called to my inner gentleman and told me I needed to take it slow.
One touch, one kiss... one time with her was never going to be enough... it wasn’t even close to what I wanted. If I wanted to keep a woman like Quinn, I was going to have to up my game.
“Come lay with me for hours so we can talk thousands of nothings while it means millions of somethings.”
- Author unknown
18. Quinn
“I know I sound about fifteen, but oh my god it was the most amazing kiss of my life,” I swooned into the phone.
“Eeeeek!” El squealed. “I can’t believe you saw him twice in one day!” she cried, her voice sounding too high.
“Are you taking the piss?”
“Little bit.” She laughed loudly. “But I’m actually so happy for you, Quinn. Was it more?”
I nodded to myself. “It was definitely more.”
She sighed in a dreamy way.
“Exactly,” I breathed. I knew I had a goofy grin back in place on my face. I wasn’t sure if it had ever really left.
“It was electric. I can still feel it now.”
“One, two, brother combo, coming right up,” she teased, laughing again.
I rolled my eyes.
“Ellerslie!” I heard Lawson’s voice boom in the background. “What the hell is a one, two, brother combo?”
“Oh shit.” She groaned, still in fits of laughter. “Gotta go!”
I hung up giggling like an idiot.
Good luck explaining that one El.
***
“Is it too soon to ask when I can see you again? I don’t really know 1st/2nd date etiquette, I wouldn’t want to scare you off – H.”
It was ridiculous how giddy I felt reading his words on the screen of my phone.
I needed to get my emotions together – grown women should not be this easy to get tied up in knots.
I’d typed out four replies and deleted each one.
Too lame... too cheesy... too smartass...
So I was surprised to see his name appear on my screen again.
“Can I ask your advice? There’s this woman I’m dating... I know she’s really into me, but I sent her a text 17 minutes and 43 seconds ago asking to see her again and I haven’t heard back. Should I be worried? – H.”
I burst out laughing at what had become our little way of communicating, of breaking the ice.
I easily found the words.
“How smart is she?”
“Could rule the world smart,” he replied quickly.
“She’s probably packing her bags and planning an escape...”
I couldn’t help the silly grin on my face.
“Ugh I’m wounded. On second thought... I think she’s about 80% smart, 20% brutal.”
Big girl pants...
“I bet she hasn’t stopped thinking about you since you drove away from her door.”
I was seriously as bad as a teenager right now. I couldn’t help but check my phone every three seconds, waiting for him to reply. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait long.
“I can’t get her out of my head either. If I came over there right now, do you think she’d be waiting up for me?”
He can’t be serious...
I was ninety percent sure he wasn’t going to turn up on my doorstep. But that ten percent of uncertainty had me mentally calculating when I last got a wax and had me peeking under the covers to see if my bra matched my underwear.
“Three times in one day? She’ll be sick of your mug by now.”
“Nah she wants me bad. I could see it in her eyes. I’ll find my keys.”
Panic laced with excitement shot through me.
“You’re not seriously coming over here, are you?”
I could picture his grin.
“I’ve got the key in the ignition... should I take it back out?”
I debated internally with myself... on the one hand, I’d already spent a lot of time with him today... and inviting him over here at this time of night was probably being pretty damn suggestive. But on the other hand...
Who gives a fuck.
I’d been dying to see him again since the moment he left my sight.
“I’ll see you in 15.” I grinned as I hit send.
“10.”
“But it takes 15 to get here?”
“Not if you’re already on the way...”
My heart sped up into over drive. I threw off the covers and flew across the room to find my robe – the sexy silk one with lace trim. I slipped it on and headed for the door.
He’s coming here...
I looked down at what I was wearing again, as though it might have somehow changed in the last two seconds.
Wine... we need wine.
It was official... I was freaking out.
My phone dinged as I was halfway out the door and I ran back to
check it.
“There’s no pressure, Quinn. Not from me.”
Just breathe...
“Wine,” I thought aloud and dashed down the stairs.
***
“And you thought the best place for us to hang out was your room then?” He chuckled deeply.
I’d just finished spilling my guts about how nervous I was when he announced he was coming over here. A few glasses of liquid courage later and I was far more relaxed.
I shrugged and sipped my wine. “I didn’t really think about it.”
“Bullshit, woman. There’s no way you overlooked the fact that you were bringing me into a room with alcohol, a bed, and you half dressed.”
I made eyes at him over the rim of my glass. “Maybe I did... maybe I didn’t. Guess you’ll never know,” I told him deviously.
He just grinned and shook his head at me.
“This wine isn’t so bad after half the bottle,” he mused as he took another swig.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
He’d insisted he couldn’t drink out of a wine glass – it just wasn’t manly enough for Harrison Hunt. ‘More of a beer man’ he’d told me.
I’d told him that I’d take care of it, and when I’d emerged from downstairs carrying a stem-less glass, not a beer, holding it out and grinning, he’d taken it like a trooper and poured himself a glass.
We’d spent the last few hours talking non-stop, filling each other in on our lives.
There were no awkward pauses or silences. Any gaps in the conversation were filled with heat and lust-filled tension. It had taken every ounce of self control I had not to jump him.
He’d told me about his family, how he didn’t have an overly close relationship with either of his parents, that his brother Mitch was in the army, and he told me stories about how he and his brothers were growing up. I hoped to God I didn’t end up having three sons one day – they sounded like little hell raisers.
I’d only spent a few hours with him and I already knew more about him than any other man I’d ever been with.
“You’re surprising me.” The truthful words fell from my mouth.
He grinned triumphantly. “Because I’m drinking wine?” He chuckled.
“Because you’re different than I thought you’d be.”
His laughter died, but his smile remained.
“Good different?”
I nodded. “Really good. I never thought you’d ask me on three dates in one day,” I told him honestly.
“I never thought you’d say yes.”
We sat like that, looking at one another and smiling, me sitting up against the head of the bed, him laying back, his head at the foot of the bed, his head resting on two of my pillows. He looked one hundred percent at home there, and I had no doubt I’d ever look at my bed the same way again.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked, his expression serious.
“You can ask me anything... but there’s no guarantee I’ll answer.”
He shook his head and laughed, exasperated. “Will you answer me something?”
I laughed. “Yeah, yeah... okay. Hit me with it.”
“How did you end up in my hospital room?”
I’d been waiting for him to ask about this again. He was far too curious of a man to just let it go.
“I told you—”
“You told me you were reading to me, but you didn’t know what made you come back,” he interrupted me. “How did you know where I was? What made you come the first time? I don’t get it.”
I sighed.
Time to spill it.
“The first time I saw you, you were unconscious. It was New Year’s Eve and you hadn’t been in hospital long.”
“Why were you there?”
“It was Ellerslie and Lawson’s wedding reception. Colt and I were there together. I came with him, Reeve and Lisa after they got the call saying you were badly hurt.”
His lip twitched at the mention of Colt and I together, but I ignored it.
“ICU only lets in family,” he stated, turning on his side, his weight resting on one elbow.
“And family can open the blind on the window if they like.”
He grinned at me. “You’re a sneaky little thing, aren’t you?”
I held up my hands in defense. “I swear, I wasn’t even going to look. Colt went back in to sit with you, so he opened the blind for Reeve. He and Lisa were looking through the window, and when I went to say goodbye to them, you just... sort of... caught my eye.”
“You must have seen my good side.”
I smiled at his teasing, but the thought of him lying there in that bed made me visibly shudder.
“That bad, huh?”
I looked into his eyes and shook my head. “Worse.”
He glanced down at his arm, now free of his cast and flexed his fingers.
“But I don’t regret seeing it. I can’t even explain it to you; it was like a feeling of familiarity washed over me. Like I knew you, or needed to know you... I don’t know. I just felt this inexplicable pull.”
“I get it.”
“You do?” I shuffled down the bed, wanting to be closer to him.
He nodded and moved so he was sitting right next to me. He took my hand in his. “When I opened my eyes and saw you sitting there, you were all I could think about.”
I squeezed his hand. “I know it doesn’t matter now, but I want you to know I was going to end things with Colt after the wedding. Properly this time too. I’d made a few half-ass attempts, but seeing my brother and El so happy made me realize how much I wanted that too.”
He leaned in closer to my face and my heart raced in my chest. “Are you happy, Quinn?”
“I’m happy right here with you,” I replied quietly.
I was losing focus; his mouth was so close, his smell invading my senses.
“Quinn,” he murmured.
“Yeah?” I breathed.
“If you don’t cover up those sexy legs, I’m not going to be able to keep myself together.”
A smile tugged on the corners of my lips. I could feel my robe around the sides of my thighs, wide open in the front. Another inch and he’d be seeing underwear.
I reached down and swept it open further.
His eyes darted down. “Fuck,” he growled before claiming my mouth.
I gasped as his hands pushed on my shoulders, pressing me down onto the mattress, his weight on top of me now.
His kiss was urgent, rough and frantic. I could barely keep up with him.
He was literally kissing the crap out of me.
“Harrison,” I panted as he broke free from my lips.
He moved his mouth to my neck, my jaw, kissing and biting gently into the soft skin, and then almost as fast as he’d pinned me down, he pulled away, dragging me back up with him.
Running his rough jaw against my ear, he whispered huskily, “I’m staying the night.”
I nodded, holding back a moan at his sweet torture.
“And even though this is our third date, I’m not having sex with you. I’m more of a ‘get to know you first’ kind of guy.” I could hear the smile in his voice.
I was disappointed and thrilled at the same time.
“First date,” I corrected him, my voice breathy.
“First... third...same thing,” he murmured in between trailing kisses down my neck.
Goosebumps covered my skin as he pulled back, giving me space to form thoughts again.
“I might have to tell that girl you’re dating that you’re awfully cocky.”
“Knock yourself out. While you’re at it, tell her she’s mine now.”
I leaned back against the headboard and slid my robe back together.
“You don’t own her.” I was trying to be serious, even though my expression was anything but.
He huffed out a laugh. “Like hell I don’t.”
“You’ve only gone out once, that’s a little presumptuous, don’t you think?”
“What makes you think I give a fuck?” His hair fell forwards, nearly into his eyes. His grin was boyish and sexy, and I knew I was fighting a losing battle.
“Tell her yourself.”
“Okay, I will then.” He stood up and pulled back the covers. He undid his jeans, sliding them down his legs as he toed off his socks. He left his shirt on.
I shrieked as he grabbed me by the ankles and yanked me downwards so I slid under the sheet.
He straddled me, his legs on either side of my thighs. His hands slid the robe off my arms, leaving it underneath my body.
“You’re mine now, Quinn.”
I couldn’t find words. The sight of his muscular legs in his Calvin’s, hovering above me was messing with my head.
His eyes raked hungrily over my body, now only covered by my underwear and a tank top.
“You’re mine. And right now, I’m having a hard time keeping my hands off what’s mine.”
He rolled off and lay next to me, both of us on our backs, looking at the ceiling.
He chuckled and pulled the blankets up over us.
I felt him turn his head to the side to look at me, and I did the same.
“Goodnight, Quinn.” He leaned in and softly pressed his lips to my cheek, the sweetness a total contradiction to his dominant display.
“Goodnight.” I reached out and flicked the light switch off.
We lay silent for a few minutes.
“Harrison?”
“Yeah?” he murmured, his voice sounding sleepy.
“You’re going to have to put in more than one day to claim me.”
I felt his body shake with laughter. “It was worth a shot.” He yawned and tugged on my arm until I was tucked into his side. “I’m coming for you, Quinn.”
I didn’t know whether to be excited or afraid.
I drifted off to sleep in his arms.
I’m coming for you...
***
I pulled two coffee cups from the shelf above my head and filled them both.
“So... stayed the night then, did he?”
His voice took me by surprise and I jumped, sloshing the coffee over the edge of the cup.
“Jesus, Logan,” I complained as I mopped up the mess with a towel. “You can’t sneak up on me this early.”
“It’s ten in the morning,” he replied with amusement.
I turned around to face him; he was regarding me with curiosity.
Love like Yours Series Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 53
