I grinned watching her look backwards and forwards down the street for me.
Looking for my truck...
I tapped on the horn and she finally noticed me.
I jumped out, rounded the front and swung open the passenger door to my classic black Ford Mustang for her.
“Are you serious?” Quinn gaped, dipping her head into the door to take a look. “This is your car?"
I smirked. “Yes, Ma’am.”
She slid in and ran her hand over the black leather. “I’ll give you ten points for this one, Hunt. This car is hot.”
I barked out a laugh as I shut her door and jogged around to my side of the car.
She had a massive grin on her face as I hopped in. “I’ve always wanted to have sex in the back of one of these bad boys.”
I growled, leaning across and pulling her seatbelt free for her. “Noted.”
She laughed, and I stole a kiss from her soft lips, catching her by surprise.
She sighed and touched where my mouth had been.
Damn...
I stared at her lips. “It makes me want to do it again when you do that,” I confessed.
She smiled knowingly. “I know.”
Of course she knows.
She shrugged, brushing it off. “So... you got me here. Where are we going?”
I adjusted myself back into my seat and started the engine.
Where are we going again?
Shit, just being around her had my head all in a jumble.
“Well, I had a plan, but now I can’t think about anything other than screwing you in the back seat of my baby.”
She threw her head back and laughed, sending vibrations through my whole body.
The plan, Hunt. Back to the plan.
“You’re coming with me for the weekend.”
“I most certainly am not.” She smiled at me like I was crazy.
Ignoring her, I pulled out into traffic. “We’re heading down the coast.”
She opened her mouth to argue.
“I’ve got a little house not too far from here, overlooking the water.”
“Har—”
“It’s simple but it’s beautiful there.”
“Harris—”
“I’ll bring you back Sunday evening,” I interrupted her again.
“Harrison!” she yelled.
“Yeah?” I asked innocently.
“I can’t go with you for the whole weekend. All I have with me is a gym bag for God’s sake!” She pointed toward her feet at the small duffle bag that sat next to them.
“Shit. You’re right,” I feigned agreement.
She shook her head in what I could only assume was disbelief. “Have you been talking to Lawson? He pulled this stunt on El you know.”
I do know.
I chuckled. “Did he?”
She narrowed her eyes at me and pointed one finger. “Ellerslie,” she hissed.
I laughed. She wasn’t wrong. Ellerslie had been more than happy to tell me all about the weekend Lawson and her friends had surprised her with not long after they’d met. She told me they’d fallen in love that weekend. I’d decided to run with the idea. The only difference was I wanted Quinn all to myself.
I pulled over and parked outside one of those convenience stores that sells absolutely everything.
We were doing this my way.
“Out you get,” I stated, smiling at her.
She looked out the window and frowned. “Last time I checked, this isn’t where I live.” She crossed her arms and gave me a defiant look.
I sighed as I pushed my door open and swung my legs out. I moved around the car and opened her door for her, half dragging her stubborn ass from the car.
“C’mon.”
She rolled her eyes and pushed past me and walked into the store, her hips swaying.
“Now what?” she demanded, standing with her back to me, her hands on her hips.
I stepped in behind her, my body pressed against hers and rested my hands on her shoulders.
Her hands dropped from her hips and she leaned back slightly, relaxing into my touch. Her head tipped to the side, exposing her bare neck. I could feel her heart beating against my chest.
Shit.
I couldn’t resist. I gently kissed her soft skin before leaning in closer to her ear.
“Get what you need, Quinn, because mark my words, you are mine for every minute of this weekend.” My voice was husky.
She moaned quietly, and I felt my dick jump.
I needed space before I lost it and took her right there against a stand of breakfast cereal.
Stepping away, I grabbed a basket and handed it to her.
“Please.” I smiled sweetly.
She rolled her eyes again but took the basket from me. “Fine...” She strolled down the aisle. “But you’re paying.”
Well that was a hell of a lot easier than I thought.
***
She bit into a Mars bar and looked over at me again. I’d never seen a woman demolish so much junk food in my life. I couldn’t figure out where the hell she was putting it all, she’d probably eaten her body weight in the shit already.
“I’ll go with you if you answer me one question.”
I smirked. She was already going with me. We were only about fifteen minutes away at this point, but hell, I could humor her. Her questions intrigued me.
“Go for it,” I encouraged.
“How’d you get so beat up?”
I froze.
She dropped her eyes from me and started to fiddle with the wrapper in her hands.
Get it together.
She’d caught me completely off guard. She hadn’t asked a thing about my accident, she’d never even questioned me about all my scars, and I’d convinced myself she wasn’t ever going to. I should have known better.
Lies or the truth?
A part of me, a huge part of me for that matter, wanted to tell her the truth... every last detail about that secret part of my life.
She’ll leave and never look back.
The rational part of my brain told me I needed to shut the hell up. I was a monster. A woman like Quinn wouldn’t want a man like me. Not if she knew the real me.
I can’t... I don’t want to lose her.
“Oh, ah... I got jumped.”
She looked back up at me.
“Have I not told you?”
She shook her head. An expression on her face I couldn’t read.
Disappointment?
Does she know I’m lying?
“I was out for New Year’s Eve and I got separated from my group.”
Not a total lie... I was out... just not for New Year’s... or with a group.
“It was just bad timing. I’m not sure if they were robbing me or just giving me the beat down.”
I was caught off guard again by her reaching for my hand.
“That’s horrible. How many were there?”
Guilt ripped through me. I didn’t deserve her sympathy.
“I’m not sure. I don’t remember too much.”
It was a lie, and the truth. I remembered more than I ever intended to repeat, but there were also so many blanks from that night.
“I hope they find them.”
I hope they don’t.
I wanted to settle the score with those bastards myself.
I just smiled at her and flipped my hand in hers. I couldn’t bring myself to lie to her again.
I turned onto the narrow road that led to my little place.
“Here we are,” I announced, pulling into the drive. “Home sweet home.”
20. Quinn
I wasn’t going to admit it to him, but this was exactly what I needed. Time away from everything... everything except him.
His place was so cute. It was homely and small, but the views... they were to die for. The coast stretched out in front of us, and there was private access onto the jagged waterfront. It was like living in a postcard.
“
Can we come back here?” I asked as I sipped from my beer bottle.
His answering smile was blinding. “Yeah... yeah, we can,” he replied still grinning like a fool.
“What?” I asked him when he didn’t stop staring.
He shook his head and laughed. “Nothing. I just can’t get over being here, with you.”
I could feel my cheeks turning pink under his gaze.
It was surreal. I looked out at the stunning sunset and sighed. “It’s so beautiful.”
“It’s almost the most beautiful thing here.”
I just about spat out my mouthful of beer. “Oh god you didn’t,” I choked out through my laughter. “What a line.”
“Oh I did.” He laughed loudly.
“That was so corny.” I nudged his knee with mine.
“Still got you, didn’t I?” He nudged me back.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Should I be worried about what’s in the water?”
He just laughed and turned his gaze back to the sunset.
I watched him sitting there, the sun making his golden skin glow.
“Can I ask you something?”
He took a sip of his beer and flicked his head around to face me.
“You’re full of questions tonight,” he stated.
I shrugged, taking another sip of my own drink.
“What do you wanna know?”
I’d been building up the nerve to ask him this since we first slept together. I took a deep breath. “Does me having been with your brother bother you?”
His eyes narrowed slightly and the arm lifting his beer to his mouth froze.
Shit.
“It bothers me,” he said finally.
My heart sank. Things were going so well between us, but this elephant in the room needed to be addressed.
“But, surprisingly, it bothers me no more than the thought of you with any other man,” he added.
“I don’t get it,” I acknowledged.
“The thought of you with anyone but me is enough to make me crazy. It doesn’t matter if it’s my brother, the mail man, or some punk-ass kid in high school... it bothers me. But it’s not getting in the way of us,” he explained.
I shuddered at the possessiveness in his voice.
“Now, if he were to go throwing it in my face... then yeah, we’d have problems. But for now... we’re good.”
Sounds fair.
It was more than fair. He was being incredibly understanding about an awkward situation.
“What if he asked you to stop seeing me?” I asked quietly.
I must have shown my vulnerability at that moment because he reached out and took my hand.
“He wouldn’t.”
“You don’t know that,” I insisted, lacing my fingers in his.
“I do. I made it very clear to him that I was going after you, with or without his approval. He isn’t stupid. He knows what the outcome would be.”
My jaw dropped.
He did what?
“You chose pursuing me, a woman you didn’t even know, over your relationship with your brother?” I asked, disbelief evident in my tone.
“I guess I did.” He smirked.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“That’s a hell of a lot of pressure,” I whispered.
“I knew he’d get over it,” he stated. “Another girl will come along, and he’ll be back in his usual loved-up state.”
I should have been at least a little insulted by his comment, but he was right, Colt jumped in too fast, too often. Truth was, I couldn’t wait for him to move on, and I was hoping I’d feel less guilty about Harrison when he did.
“And the pressure’s on me,” he added quietly.
“What? Why?”
He rested his head back on the sun lounger and turned to look right at me.
“I know I want you. Hell, I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you, and I took you... even though it was probably a shitty thing to do.” He smirked and carried on. “If I stuff things up – make you run... then I’m the fool.”
My heart raced at his explanation.
“What makes you think I’d run?” I asked.
He shrugged. “You’ll see. I’m actually an asshole.”
His shit-eating grin made me smile, but there was a hint of fear in his caramel eyes that I couldn’t explain.
“Oh, I know,” I teased. “It could be worse. Once I had this asshole take me away for a weekend alone together, treat me, pleasure me... made me feel special. Now he was a total asshole.”
His eyes sparkled. “Pleasured you, huh?”
I smacked his arm playfully. “I knew that’d be the only bit of information you’d retain.”
He chuckled and I couldn’t help but laugh along with him. His laugh was contagious.
My phone rang from inside.
“Saved by the bell!” I yelled as I ran inside to catch it before I missed it.
I nearly squealed with excitement when I saw who was calling. It’d been way too long since I’d talked to Lexie.
“Lexie!” I half squealed into the phone.
“Hey, girl!” she cried back.
I didn’t get to talk to her anywhere near as much as I liked anymore; she was so busy. She worked on a cruise ship as a singer, performing every night and teaching children’s and adults’ singing lessons during the day.
She was amazing. I’d never heard a voice as beautiful as Lexie’s. She’d been offered numerous recording deals, but she’d turned them all down. She was only twenty-two and didn’t want to ruin her life by thrusting it into the spotlight. Working on a cruise ship had always been her dream. I’d found that out the first day we’d met at the dancing class we used to take. Lexie, El and I had been close ever since.
“God I’ve missed you,” I replied, flopping myself down on the couch.
“Me too.” She sighed. “Work’s been crazy. I was meant to have the last shift off, but when we got back into port, the other girl was a no show, so I worked back-to-back, and then it was my original shift again, so it was actually back-to-back-to-back.”
“Shit, Lex, you can say no, you know that, right?”
“It’s all good. You know I love it.”
She did love it. But that was a whole lot of work. Most of the cruises were between nine and eighteen days, so she’d probably been working well over a month straight.
“Just take care of yourself, you work too hard.”
“Whatever, Mom,” she teased. “I didn’t call for a lecture. I called to find out what the hell has been going on with you? I’m so behind on all the goss.”
“Well, I’m away for the weekend right now,” I gushed.
“Ooo la la. With the man?”
“With the man,” I confirmed.
“Colt, right?” she questioned, and I winced.
Oh shit. She really is out of the loop.
“Ummm, no.”
“Whhhaaat?” she cried dramatically.
“Yeah.” I nodded to myself. “I’m seeing someone new.”
“Who?” she demanded.
“His name’s Harrison.”
“Is it serious?” she grilled.
“It could be,” I confessed. “It’s still pretty new.” I could feel my face blush as I spoke.
“You really like him, don’t you?” I could hear the smile in her voice.
“How’d you know?”
“I can feel you blushing from here.” She laughed. “And your voice goes all breathy when you talk about him.”
“Shut up. It does not.”
“Whatever you say, sister.” She giggled.
Damn her. Lexie was always right on the mark.
“How’d you meet him?”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Ummm...”
“Quinn...?” she warned.
“He’s... Colt’s... brother.”
The line went silent and I had to check the screen to see if she’d hung up on me.
“Lex?”
/>
“Holy. Fucking. Shit!” she yelled down the phone. “Is that even legal?”
“He’s not my bloody brother. Of course it’s legal,” I snapped.
She exploded into laughter.
“He’d know. He’s a lawyer,” I added, trying not to laugh yet again, at the disaster that was my love life.
“How’s Colt taking it?” she asked when she calmed herself down.
Lexie hadn’t met Colt. She hadn’t been able to get off work for our girls’ weekend or Law and El’s wedding reception. She’d actually only met Lawson once, when we’d all gone to Jemma’s we-got-married-in-Vegas party, but I knew she thought the world of him already.
“Not so good.” I sighed, feeling guilty again. “But he’s said he won’t stand in our way at all.”
“Huh,” she mused. “That’s really mature of him... I’m impressed.”
I was impressed too, if I was being honest. He didn’t have to be as good about this as he was, but then Colt always had been a good guy, just not the right guy for me.
“Yeah... it’s really big of him,” I agreed.
“I want to meet him,” she announced.
“Who? Colt?”
I must have sounded shocked because she laughed at me.
“No, you silly bitch, your boyfriend.”
“I’m not sure he’s my boyfriend yet...”
“He took you for a dirty weekend away, didn’t he?” she asked. “Trust me, he’s your boyfriend.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fly down for a week when you get a shift off,” I suggested, liking the idea already. “It’d be so fun. We can party and relax and hang out... we haven’t hung out in forever.”
“That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard in a long time.”
Hell yes!
“Oh, you can meet Stella!”
I was buzzing with excitement about this and it wasn’t even official.
“I’ll book a flight in the next couple of months,” she promised.
“I’m so excited,” I gushed.
“Me too, Q.” I heard voices in the background. “Gotta go, hun, I’m up next.”
“Love you, Lex.”
“Love you too.”
I missed that girl like crazy. Having her around for a week would be a blast.
“He watched her take off her makeup and wondered why she ever put it on.”
- Author unknown
21. Harrison
“Who was on the phone, babe?” I asked as she strolled into the bathroom, a massive grin on her face.
Love like Yours Series Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 55
