by Susan Stoker
Corrie felt Quint’s hand on her cheek. “You’re normal, Corrie. As normal as anyone else. Just because you can’t see doesn’t mean you’re anal or ‘exhausting.’ You’re just you. You deserve love as much as anyone else.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Corrie told him honestly after digesting his words.
“That’s a first.”
Corrie huffed out a laugh, then got serious again. “Can I touch you?”
“Touch me?” Quint’s voice deepened as he said the words.
Corrie laughed nervously. “I didn’t mean that…exactly. I don’t know what you look like. I mean, Emily described you a little to me tonight, but I’d like to see for myself. I know what you smell like, how tall you are, that you have this wonderful, deep growly voice and that you’re muscular, but I have no idea what you look like.”
“Is this a deal breaker?”
“Are you nervous?” Corrie couldn’t believe Quint could be sensitive about his looks.
“A little. I mean, you’re gorgeous. I’m not in your league at all. You might take one look at my crooked nose and kick me to the curb.”
Corrie giggled. “As if. Emily told me you were freaking hot.”
“I bet she didn’t say ‘freaking.’”
Corrie laughed then inhaled sharply as Quint rolled, careful to keep a firm grasp on her waist so she didn’t fall off the couch. He held her to him until he’d switched their positions. He lay under her and Corrie straddled his hips. There was no way he could hide his erection from her, as she was currently perched right on top of it, but he didn’t think she’d mind. At least he hoped not. He stretched his arms up and put them under his head. “Have at it, sweetheart.”
Chapter 8
Corrie didn’t hesitate in case Quint changed his mind. She loved getting to know people this way, but didn’t often get the chance. It wasn’t like she could put her hands all over people when they first met.
She put her hands on Quint’s chest and ran them down to his waistline, then back up to his neck. She splayed her fingers and did it again. She then ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms, gripping his muscles as she explored.
“You’re very muscular.”
“Um-hummm.”
Corrie didn’t pause in her perusal, but noted his lack of response vaguely. She squeezed his biceps and barely held back a groan. His arms were huge…and immensely sexy.
“Emily told me you have a tattoo. What’s it of?”
“It’s not that exciting.”
Corrie smiled and teased, “A naked woman? A naked man? A giant octopus wrapping its tentacles around your arm and down your back?”
Quint laughed and Corrie could feel his chest rumbling under her hands. “It’s an American Flag with writing on it.”
“There has to be more to it than that,” Corrie groused. “I’ll never be able to see it. Please describe it for me. I want to picture it in my head.”
“It’s big, about six inches long. It goes from the top of my arm to the middle of my bicep. Some of it can be seen when I wear a short-sleeve shirt, like right now. On the red stripes, I had the artist add in cursive a phrase I wrote when I graduated from the police academy: Honor those who have fallen. Protect those who are weak. Serve those who need help. Always remember those less fortunate.”
Corrie pictured it in her head. It was probably sexy as all get out…patriotic and hot at the same time. She was sorry she’d never see it. “You said you wrote that? It’s beautiful. Does it have a deeper meaning?”
“Deeper meaning?”
“Yeah, I mean, I get that it’s about your service to our country and all…but I have a feeling there’s more to it.”
Quint brought his hands down from his head and rested them on her hips. He ran his thumbs over the skin under the hem of her top as he spoke. “I told you that I’d always wanted to be a cop. From the time I was a little boy until I decided to major in Criminal Justice in college, it was the only thing I ever wanted to do. Graduating from the police academy was one of the most monumental things I’d ever done in my life. I felt like my true life was just starting. I wanted to commemorate it, to wear ink that would always remind me of why I’m in this profession. I doodled those words on a napkin one night and they stuck with me. It’s my mantra, so to speak.”
His words gave Corrie goose bumps. She’d never felt that strongly about anything before. She was impressed and honored Quint had shared the story behind his tattoo with her. “I love it. I bet it’s beautiful.” She rubbed up and down his biceps, enjoying the feel of his muscles flexing under his shirt below her hands.
“Want me to take off my shirt?” Quint tried to change the topic…and get to the good stuff.
“Yeah, but I thought it might be weird if I asked this soon. I mean, we just had our first date tonight.”
“We might’ve had our first date tonight, but we’ve been talking a lot before that.”
“You wouldn’t mind, then?”
“Hell no, sweetheart. I wouldn’t mind.”
Corrie felt Quint shift under her as he removed his T-shirt and then she felt his warm, muscular skin under her hands. “How are you always warm?” She’d asked it as a rhetorical question, but he answered her anyway.
“My body temperature has always run a bit warmer than ninety-eight point six.”
“Interesting, mine has always run a bit cold.”
“We’re a good match.”
“Maybe so.” Corrie was fascinated with the ridges and muscles of Quint’s chest. She ran her hands over his pectoral muscles again and grinned when his nipples peaked under her fingers. “You like that.” It wasn’t a question.
“Sweetheart, having your hands on me is beyond exciting. I feel I should warn you…if you keep that up you might bite off more than you can chew here.”
“Sorry,” Corrie said, not meaning it at all. She couldn’t hold back the smile on her face. She felt the back of Quint’s finger trail down her cheek.
“I like to see you smile.”
“It’s you. You make me smile.”
“Good.”
Corrie scooted forward a bit until she was straddling Quint’s lower stomach instead of his hips, so she could more easily reach his face. She brought her hands up to where she thought his head was and paused.
“Don’t stop now, Corrie. Go one. See me.”
She did as Quint requested. Her fingertips feathered over his cheekbones, then up to his eyebrows. She felt him close his eyes and she learned the shape of them. She brought her fingers down to his nose and felt the bump he’d mentioned earlier. “It’s not so bad…I’m sure it makes you look…rugged or something.”
Corrie felt his lips curl up into a smile, but he didn’t say anything. She continued her exploration at his lips. She traced his upper, then his lower lip with the tip of her finger, laughing when he pretended to bite at her. Bringing both hands back into play, she brought them up each side of his face and traced both ears, then ran them though the hair on his head.
Finally, after she’d explored and traced every inch of his face and head, he drawled, “So…do I pass inspection?”
“Yeah, you’re cute.”
“Cute?” he mock grumbled, bringing his hands up from her hips and tickling her sides. She screeched and tried to buck off him, but Quint had a tight hold on her. Finally he stopped torturing her and they both lay on the couch smiling.
“Can I massage your back?”
“Huh?” That wasn’t what Quint expected Corrie to say at all.
“Can I give you a massage?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You know I’m a chiropractor, I’m good at it. I promise.”
“Sweetheart, anytime you want to rub my back, I’ll be all for it.”
“Good, we need to get on the floor though. The sofa is too soft.”
Corrie stood up, giving Quint room to get up as well.
“I’m going to move the coffee table up against the wall, givi
ng us more room. It’ll be about four feet farther back than where it is now. You okay with that?”
Corrie smiled at Quint, loving how he tried to keep her safe from hurting herself. “That’s great. Thanks.”
Corrie heard Quint move the table, then lie on the ground. “I’ll be right back, okay? I’m going to go get some lotion.”
“Sure, I’ll be riiiiight here where you left me.”
Corrie giggled, knowing she sounded like a silly schoolgirl. She rushed off toward her bedroom and grabbed her vanilla lotion, knowing it was the least girly smelling stuff she had. She came back to the living room and to Quint’s side. She popped open the top of the bottle. “You ready for this?”
“Give it your best shot.”
Corrie grinned and got to work.
Thirty minutes and two sore hands later, Quint was a pile of goo under her. She’d worked his back muscles, massaging out all the kinks and knots she could find. She was glad she could help ease some of his pain, but if she was being honest with herself, she enjoyed having her hands all over him just as much.
“Feel good?”
“I might never move again. I’ll just take up residence here on your floor and you can throw me a hotdog every now and then to keep me alive.”
“I take it you enjoyed it.”
Quint turned suddenly until he was on his back and Corrie was straddling his hips again. She felt his hard erection under her and gasped.
“As you can tell, I enjoyed it. Probably too much.” He brought one of Corrie’s hands up to his face and nuzzled into it. “I’d like to thank you properly.”
Corrie’s heart leapt as if she’d just run a two-mile race. She wasn’t sure what he had in mind, but whatever it was…she wanted it.
She nodded, figuring he’d see her. She felt his hands cup her cheeks and draw her down onto him. She caught herself with her hands on the floor by his shoulders and eagerly leaned down.
Quint looked at the beautiful woman over him. Her blond hair had partly come out of the clip that was holding it back and her face was flushed. He could smell the vanilla lotion she’d used on him. It permeated the air around them.
He gripped the sides of her neck with his hands and brought her slowly down toward him. He didn’t want to rush her if she wasn’t ready, but when she came down to him eagerly, he smiled. Thank God.
“I’m going to kiss you, Corrie. In light of our conversation the other night at your door, I wanted to make sure I didn’t surprise you.”
“Please, Quint."
His lips settled on hers and he heard a small gasp leave her mouth. Quint took advantage and plunged his tongue between her lips. He licked and sucked and learned her taste. Needing some air, he paused to take a breath. Corrie began to pull back, probably thinking the kiss was over, but Quint knew he’d not had enough of her yet. He turned them until Corrie was under him. She didn’t stiffen in his embrace at all, but eagerly strained upward toward him.
Quint ran one hand down her neck, between her breasts and to her belly, then back up. He continued the dual assault, one hand on her body and his lips on her mouth, until she moaned under him. He lifted his mouth off hers. He needed to talk to her, or else he’d end up taking her right there on the floor…and he wanted more than that for both of them.
“Will you teach me to read Braille?”
“What?” Her confusion was adorable. Quint knew he’d lobbed that one at her out of left field, but he suddenly wanted to know everything about her. It probably wasn’t fair to break off the hottest kiss he’d had in a long time to blurt it out, but being around Corrie made him want to be a better person…for her. He wanted to belong in her world as much as he was beginning to feel as if she belonged in his.
“I want to learn to read Braille. I know I’ll never be as good at it as you are, but I want to do this with you.”
“No one has ever asked me that before,” she said with a hitch in her voice, obviously still lost in their kiss.
Quint waited until she’d worked though his request in her brain.
Finally she nodded, “Okay, if you really want to, I’ll teach you Grade 1 Braille.”
“What’s Grade 1? Is that like first-grade Braille for kids?” he asked, genuinely confused.
“You really want to talk about this now?”
Quint smiled at the frustration in her voice. It wasn’t the best time or place, but he felt the need to be as close to her as possible, and this was one way to do it. He ran his hand over her hair and tucked a piece behind her ear. “Humor me.”
“Grade 1 isn’t an elementary school grade; it’s where every letter of the alphabet is expressed in a Braille pattern. Like, one dot is an A, two is a B, and so on. But I have to warn you, there aren’t a lot of books or stuff written in Grade 1 because it’s kinda tedious. Grade 2 is when some cells of Braille are used individually or in combination with other cells to form words or phrases.”
“Can you give me an example?”
“It’s hard to tell you and not show you, but for example, the Grade 1 cell for the letter Y is also the word ‘you’ in Grade 2 Braille.”
“I get it. So it’s kinda shorthand. I can learn the individual letters, but in more advanced Braille, a letter might represent a full word in Grade 2. Cool.”
Corrie chuckled under him. “You say that now—”
Her words were cut off as Quint’s mouth came down on hers again. He didn’t warn her it was coming or tease this time, but tilted her face to what he deemed was a perfect angle and devoured her. Their tongues tangled together and he alternated thrusting in and out, and then drawing back and nipping and caressing her lips.
Between kisses, Corrie begged, “Close your eyes.”
“Why? I want to see you, you’re beautiful.” Quint hated the sadness that crossed her face for a split second before she blanked it. “Oh shit, that was insensitive of me. I’m sorry, Corrie.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m glad you like the way I look. I don’t want you to constantly watch what you say around me. I’ve been blind my whole life, Quint, I’m not going to get offended or burst into flames if you say ‘I see’ around me.”
Ignoring her words, Quint told her evenly, “My eyes are closed.”
“What?”
Quint brought her hand up to his face and drew it over his now closed eyes. “My eyes are closed. Talk to me.”
Corrie cleared her throat and tried to hold back the tears she claimed she never shed anymore. He was so sweet to humor her. “What do you smell?”
“You.”
“Be more specific.”
Quint leaned into her and buried his nose in her neck and inhaled loudly. He smiled when Corrie giggled. “I smell vanilla. The lotion you used to massage my back.”
“Anything else?”
“Lavender.”
“That’s my shampoo. Good job. Now kiss me.”
“Gladly.”
Quint kept his eyes shut and leaned down. He missed her lips the first time and they both giggled. He quickly righted his aim and kissed her hard again. It was different somehow this time. More intense. He’d certainly kissed women with his eyes closed before, but this time he actually thought about using his other senses while he did it. Without sight, everything seemed…more. He could taste the coffee she’d had after dinner, and the smell of the vanilla lotion filled his nose and made her even taste like vanilla, if that was possible. It was weird…and completely awesome.
He lifted his head and felt Corrie’s hand on his face.
“Your eyes are still closed,” she whispered, as if she’d expected him to cheat.
“Yeah.”
“So?”
“It was more intense. I had to use all my other senses to experience the kiss.”
“All those shows and books on BDSM know what they’re talking about when they discuss the use of blindfolds.”
Quint chuckled and finally opened his eyes. “I can’t say I’ve read many romances about BDSM, and while I do admi
t to watching some porn, that’s not really my thing. But it certainly makes for a more intense experience.”
They were quiet for a moment and Quint ran his fingers over Corrie’s face one more time. “We should get off the floor.”
“Probably.”
It was obvious Corrie wasn’t going to move, so Quint eased himself up until he was on his knees and grabbed her hands. He helped her sit, then moved them both up and back onto the couch. He pulled her into his arms, loving the feel of her against his bare chest, and held her tight.
“For the record, Corrie Madison, I like you.”
She smiled against his shoulder. “I like you too, Quint Axton.”
“Glad we have that covered.”
They sat in silence, until the automated voice from the clock in Corrie’s room announced it was eleven o’clock.
“I have to get going,” Quint said reluctantly.
“Do you want to stay?”
Quint almost groaned. Did he want to stay? Oh yeah, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to rush her. He was enjoying the dating game they were playing. He hadn’t played it since he was in high school. The one step forward, two steps backward dance they were doing was much more interesting and intense than most of the adult relationships he’d had. The women he’d been dating didn’t bother playing games, but instead told him outright they wanted to sleep with him. But the dating game with Corrie was fun, different. Besides that, she looked almost embarrassed she’d said the words, and the last thing he wanted was for her to regret anything they did together.
“Yes, I want to stay, but I’m not.”
“You’re not?” Corrie sat up against him.
“Retract your claws, woman,” he said with a laugh.
Corrie gasped and unclenched her hands, which had fisted into his chest when he’d said he wasn’t staying. “Sorry.”
Quint flattened his hand over hers and rubbed her with this thumb. “There’s nothing more that I want to do than take you to your bed, strip you naked, and taste you from your toes to your luscious lips…” He heard her inhale sharply, and he smiled. “But I don’t want to rush you.”
