Between the Lines

by Renee Harless

  I watch in fascination as Izzy stops mid-sentence and turns her attention to us. Vic simply chuckles and takes a sip of water while Izzy’s eyes narrow in anger but then they soften as she believes Quinn’s lie.

  “Trevor,” Izzy admonishes until I shake my head.

  “She said she was tired. I guess I could take her home.”

  “We were going to take an Uber since we were drinking. You have been too.”

  “I’ll call a car for all of us.”

  “That’s okay,” Vic says. “I haven’t had but the two beers and water, but I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

  “All right, see ya, Vic.”

  I check to see what kind of vehicle will be arriving for us and relay the information.

  “Izzy, I’ll take care of the check and Quinn if you can go wait for the car? I’m sure Vic wouldn’t mind waiting with you.”

  Their attention never wavers, but Izzy says, “Sure, I can do that,” as Vic helps her from her seat.

  The breath against my neck remains slow and steady, and for a moment I think Quinn really has fallen asleep. But as if she has a sixth sense that Izzy and Vic have left, her eyes fly open and she straightens in her seat.

  “Are they gone?”

  Without waiting for a response, she brings both of her slender hands to my face and seals our lips together.

  It’s a small kiss, merely a peck, but she pours herself into it, and I can’t help but take everything offered.

  “Fuck, I thought you really had fallen asleep.”

  “And that, my friend, is why I am an award-winning actress.”

  And in a moment of unbridled fear, I begin to wonder if she’s acting with me. But she couldn’t be, not my Quinn.

  As if she can hear my thoughts, she presses another soft kiss to my lips. “Never with you, Trevor. Never with you.”

  The sincerity floating in her eyes warms me, reminds me of what we can never have. No feelings. This is just sex. Getting rid of the desire for someone you’ve wanted since you were a teenager.

  Tossing a few twenties on the table, I escort her outside where the Uber is waiting. Of course, I don’t mention to Izzy that we catch her lip-locked with my friend. That’s a blackmail for another day.

  Back at the girls’ house, we exit the car. I hadn’t been able to steal any more moments with Quinn since Izzy told me to ride shotgun.

  “We’ll, um, see you tomorrow,” Quinn explains as she follows Izzy into the house. For a moment I consider running in after them, since I do have a copy of the key, but I know it would be a risk for Quinn. Izzy would definitely find out. Instead, I find myself sulking back to my house, where I plop down on the couch in the blackness. Simply staring out the window, I lull myself into a haze of nothingness but the ticking clock on the wall.

  “Fuck,” I shout as I realize I’m craving her.

  Hopping from the couch, I dash out the front door and back to my sister’s house. Figuring that Quinn is in the back-facing guest room, I head in that direction. A lamp shines in the window, and then I see Quinn’s shadow against the wall. The window sits up a little bit higher on this end of the house, so I glance around the backyard for something to stand on.

  Jackpot. Grabbing the small gardening stool by the back door and praying it holds my weight, I move it under the window and steady myself before tugging at the window, surprised that it moves. As the window reaches its stopping point, I place my hands on the sill just as Quinn walks back into the room.

  “Don’t scream,” I whisper just as Quinn lets out a yelp before covering her mouth.

  She glances out into the hall and then promptly closes the door before she makes her way over to me.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I struggle to get my large body through the window, and as I make it about halfway, I realize my mistake. I’m now stuck and in an awkward position.

  I look up at Quinn and find her giggling behind her hand before I sullenly ask her for a little help. She tugs me forward until I clumsily drop onto the floor, both silent for a moment as we hear Izzy’s footsteps approaching.

  “Are you all right in there, Quinn?”

  “Yes, sorry. I tripped over my bag but I’m fine.”

  “Oh, okay. Good night.”

  “Night,” Quinn replies before she rushes over to help me off the floor. “What are you doing here, Trevor?”

  “I… I don’t know. I just wanted to see you.”

  “Well, you could’ve just video messaged me, silly.”

  She’s right, but I needed to see her in person.

  “I needed to come over, Quinn,” I declare as I step closer to her, sliding my hands under her oversized shirt and placing them on her hips.

  “Why?” she chokes out on a whisper as our bodies come flush against one another.

  “So I could do this.”

  I skim a hand up her back as I lean forward, capturing her lips. Her taste is sweet and minty, reminding me of a cool breeze along the boardwalk at the beach.

  “Trevor,” she whispers against my mouth as she reaches out for my shirt, tugging it from my pants. “I need you.”

  Our bodies pull apart, each of us dropping our hands to hang loosely.

  “Can you keep quiet, Quinn?” I ask, and she nods enthusiastically. “Good,” I reach behind me to gather the material of my shirt in my fists and yank it over my head, tossing it to the side.

  Her eyebrows rise on her forehead, giving her a doe-eyed expression as she stares at my naked chest. It’s as if she’s seeing it for the first time, and for some reason that makes me feel good. Because I know that once I have her naked and underneath me, it’ll be as if it’s the first time for me too.

  “Tit for tat, sweetheart.” I wave toward her shirt.

  Her pearly straight teeth bite down on her peach-colored lip as her gaze drops to the floor.

  “I want you to do it,” she says barely above a whisper. If I hadn’t been listening closely, I would’ve missed it.

  “Anything for you, sweetheart.”

  Stepping closer to her again, I clutch the soft material of her shirt in my fingers, watching in rapture as she raises her arms and I remove the material. Each peak of her breasts hardens under my gaze as I place my hands on her back and stroke her soft skin up and down.

  “Mmm, that feels good,” she assures as her eyes close and her head falls back in bliss.

  Licking a trail from the base of her neck up to her ear. I smile against her skin as her body shivers.

  “I bet I know how to make you feel even better.”

  “Mmm,” she moans, reaching out to grasp my waist.

  Moving so my mouth hovers over her lips, I whisper her name until her eyes shoot open.

  “There you are. I want you looking at me when I make you come apart, sweetheart.”

  After pressing a kiss to her lips, I drop to the floor and rest my knees on the soft material of the rug and run my hands up and down Quinn’s toned legs, swirling my hand toward her center whenever I approach that point. I can easily feel the heat exuding from her body with every pass, and it has my mouth watering. Unable to control my desire, I reach up and yank her panties down her legs, bringing me face-to-face with one of my favorite parts of her body.

  Leaning forward, I run my nose across the front of her mound, taking in the sweet smell of her juice. A groan escapes my chest as she grips my hair. When I slide my finger through her folds, that grip tightens almost painfully, but I welcome it. The pain will keep me grounded, because I seriously run the risk of losing myself to Quinn indefinitely.

  After spreading her legs farther apart, my fingers and tongue explore her center. Her legs begin to shake and I find myself smiling against her clit as I suck it into my mouth.

  “Trevor.” Her voice quivers as she presses my head further toward her center, where I lave at her folds in time with the thrusting of my fingers.

  My cock grows excruciatingly hard in my pants, but I ignore the agony. My goal is to make
Quinn fall apart, and I won’t quit until she does. My pleasure is secondary to hers.

  It doesn’t take long for her body to convulse around my fingers as her knees practically give out beneath her. I scoop her into my chest and carry her to the bed. She leans forward and tugs on my earlobe with her teeth, sending a spark of electricity straight to my cock.

  “Are you ready for me?” I ask as I remove my shoes and socks, then tug down my pants and underwear in one swoop.

  “Yes. I need you, Trevor.”

  I waste no time aligning my cock with her entrance, sliding the stiff erection through her soaked folds. It feels heavenly and warm, and it’s then that I remember that I’m missing something.

  “Shit, condom,” I complain as I move away from her body, but a gentle hand on my arm freezes my movements.

  “I’m clean and on the pill, Trevor.”

  Tilting forward, I rest my head on her chest as relief floods through me.

  “I’m clean too,” I explain.

  “I want this with you, Trevor. Only with you.”

  And fuck if I don’t want the same.

  Turning my head to the side, I press a kiss to one breast and then the other before I rear back onto my knees, spreading her bent legs wide. I stare at her pretty pink pussy as I glide my cock up and down the folds, coating it in its wetness, and all I can think is Mine.

  Quinn’s eyes grow heavy as I continue to tease her body, stroking my cock against her center and only putting an inch into her core before sliding right back out. I can tell it’s driving her crazy, but I want her crazed. I want the uninhibited version of Quinn that she keeps hidden away.

  “Please, Trevor,” she begs, her fingers clawing at the duvet as she rocks her hips against me, trying to slide my cock farther into her channel.

  Her begging is my undoing and I thrust myself deep into her sheath, the tightness almost mind-blowing with the way it hugs my cock so strongly.

  “Shit, baby, you’re so tight,” I growl as I pull back and slide back in again. “I’m not going to last long. You feel too good.”

  Quinn doesn’t respond, just grips my thighs as she meets each of my thrusts until we’re pounding against each other, our skin slickened with sweat. She greedily reaches down and places her fingers on her mound, rubbing her clit.

  “You’re fucking gorgeous like this.” I grip her legs, pushing them toward her shoulders, then lean forward and suck a nipple into my mouth, earning a lustful gasp from Quinn as she begins to tighten.

  Her eyes squeeze tightly shut and I smack a hand against her ass as I demand, “Open your eyes. I want to watch you when you come.” She follows my command just as the waves of her pussy milk my cock.

  “Fuck,” I cry out as my release explodes into her core, thrusting a few more times, wanting to savor the feel of her body convulsing against mine.

  Collapsing on top of her, I press a kiss against her smiling lips before I ask, “Are you okay?”

  A dreamy sigh escapes her as I sink my hand into her wild hair, my cock still lodged deep within her body.

  “That was amazing. I never knew.”

  “Never knew what, sweetheart?”

  “That sex could be so wild and carefree.”

  My heart stops for a second while I consider her words.

  “You’re right,” I remark as I remove myself from her hold, watching her confused eyes as she takes in my retreat. Without a word, I step out into the hall after making sure the coast is clear. In the bathroom, I wet a cloth with warm water and bring it back into the bedroom. My chest hurts when I see Quinn sitting up in her naked state but with her brows furrowed.

  “Lie back,” I say. “Let me clean you up.”

  She complies, and once I’ve finished removing my marking from her body, I pull back the covers and tuck her underneath.

  Just as I’m tugging my shirt over my head, I hear the pained whisper coming from the bed.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  And the ache in my chest almost cripples me as it intensifies. The look on her face could crush the mighty Zeus himself.

  Shit.

  Running my hands through my hair, I walk over to the bed and kneel beside her, running my knuckles across the smooth skin of her cheek. She practically purrs under my touch.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m afraid if I stay I’ll never leave, and we don’t want Izzy to find us in bed together.”

  “Izzy!” she whispers with shock-filled eyes. “I almost forgot all about her. You don’t think she heard anything, do you?”

  “Naw, she’d be down here kicking my ass if she did. Chicks before dicks and all that mess.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. Sorry, I had a moment. It must’ve been the orgasm making my head all loopy.”

  Laughing under my breath, I assure, “It’s fine. I should probably head back to my house anyway.” Pressing my lips against hers once more, I let my mouth linger for an extra second, memorizing the feel of her lips and the flavor of her taste. “I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” she says as she yawns into the back of her hand, shimmying farther under the covers. Just as I hop up onto the window sill, I hear her say my name.

  “Trevor, I wish you could stay tonight.”

  “Me too, sweetheart. Me too.”

  I plunge into the blackness of the night, wondering what kind of mess I just got myself into.

  Chapter Nine

  Quinn

  LAST NIGHT WAS LIKE a dream come true, every one of my childhood fantasies come to life. Watching Trevor climb and then flounder through my window, I was a little bit lost and a lot full of lust and desire. He had taken me to heights of passion I had never known, never experienced, and now all I can do is stand under the warmth of the shower and revel in the feel of the droplets on my sensitive skin.

  Izzy came to my room early this morning, fully intent on waking me up, but I beat her to it. Truthfully, I hadn’t slept. I couldn’t. My mind kept whizzing around with thoughts of Trevor’s engorged member between my legs, his hands on my skin, his lips on my neck.

  Even after one night, I was perilously close to losing it. Trevor is perfection—he knows it and I know it. Hell, the world knows it. He’s a good guy wrapped in a bad boy exterior, and I want as much of him as I can get. Which brings me to trouble. The butterflies in my belly grow every time I think about him. And if he simply looks my way, you’d think I poured a sweet nectar into my stomach with the way those flutters bounce around.

  But I can do this. I’m an actress, for God’s sake. I know how to keep feelings from sprouting roots. And Trevor’s just a man. A good-looking one at that, but he has two brains, one of which controls the majority of his actions. And I need to remember that, remember the way I had to watch him with his revolving door of girls throughout high school, remember the way he didn’t even say goodbye when I left.

  When the water begins to cool, I hastily turn off the faucet and grab the towel draped over the shower curtain rod. Snagging a second towel from the linen closet in the bathroom, I twist my hair into its folds and contain the mass on the top of my head. Securing the larger towel under my arms, I open the bathroom door and rush down the hall the air conditioning chilling my wet limbs—until I run directly into a large mass that’s blocking my path to the guest room.

  I look up, and up some more, and meet Trevor’s green-eyed gaze. Different chills travel down my limbs as he visually inspects every inch of my body.

  “Good morning, Quinn,” his deep and husky voice taunts, his finger stroking along the edge of the towel where the material meets my upper breast. “You look surprised to see me.”

  “I am. I mean, I didn’t expect you here so early, and with Izzy walking around.”

  He shrugs carelessly, as if the potential of Izzy discovering us together in the hall means little to him.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” I say as I try to brush by him, but he stands just as st
oically as ever. “I would like to get dressed, Trevor.”

  With one final push, I spin past him, but not before he snags the towel just as I enter the room. I gasp as my now-naked body is exposed to the coolness of the air, my nipples hardening even further, almost painfully.

  “Trevor!” I whisper, not wanting to draw his sister’s attention, and then I slam the door in his face with him still holding the towel.

  “Such a shame,” I hear him whisper, then listen as his footfalls take him down the hall and away from the room.

  Not sure what to wear to the assisted living facility, I try to think back to what Trevor was wearing—but let’s be honest, I saw right through his clothes and imagined how he looked while he was naked above me last night. Settling on a blue jersey dress, I slide it over my body and then quickly braid my hair to keep it off my face.

  A few minutes later, I stroll into the kitchen to find Trevor casually flipping something in a pan that smells like French toast and Izzy relaxing in her chair, knees bent and resting against the edge of the table.

  “Hey, Iz. Hey, Trevor.” I try to keep the redness off my cheeks as I think about the way he stripped me of the towel just moments ago.

  “I’m surprised you’re up so early. Don’t you want to sleep in during your vacation?” Trevor asks with a smirk on his lips.

  “Well, I had a hard time falling asleep last night. And when I work, I’m usually up before the sun rises, just FYI,” I remind him with a bit more attitude than was probably necessary.

  His eyes narrow as they make contact with mine, and then he lets them trail up and down my body as if inspecting produce for the ripest in the bunch. This time his gaze doesn’t make me feel that delicious heat between my legs; instead I feel slimy, almost degraded, as if I am nothing more than one of many.

  I quickly take a seat at the table and snag a banana from the basket in the center, my fingers shaking as I peel it.

  “I made you breakfast,” Trevor grumbles angrily as he sets a plate in front of Izzy and then me.

  I’m not sure what set him off, probably the way I didn’t take his crap a moment ago, but I don’t deserve to be spoken to as if I’m an insolent child.