by Bella Andre
God, she was honest. And strong.
Smitten didn’t begin to describe what he felt for her.
“I don’t want to run from you, Shell.” He lowered his lips to hers as he said, “That’s the last thing I want.”
Their mouths collided, and his fingers tangled in her hair as more crackles and booms sounded in the distance. Quinn scooped her into his arms and carried her to the blanket a few feet away, lowered her onto her back, and followed her down, her body soft beneath him.
And as he gazed into her eyes, he gave her more of himself than he’d ever given anyone.
He gave her his heart.
WITH QUINN LEVERED above her, looking into her eyes, Shelley knew he was finally letting his guard down. Completely. He was opening up to her and letting her in, and in that unguarded state, she saw all of him. Not just the businessman or the brother, or the suitor or the guy who had shown up a little late with his heart on his sleeve for their date. She saw the whole of him from the inside out. She saw his big heart, his playful side—and his fierce desire to be the man she deserved.
As his lips met hers again, she closed her eyes and slid her hands beneath his shirt, desperate to feel the hard planes of his back and the warmth of his skin. His kisses were all-consuming, as if he wanted to climb into her skin and possess her.
She wanted to possess him, too. Her body pulsed with desire as his tongue trailed along her collarbone, then lower, to the arc of her breast, along the neckline of her dress. She pulled at his shirt, fighting for more of him, to feel his skin against hers.
Shelley wanted so much in that moment. She wanted everything. The heat of his skin against hers. His heartbeat pounding into hers. His lungs swallowing her gasps of pleasure. His groans vibrating all the way through to her soul. Hands grasping, blood rushing, mouths roaming. His talented mouth loving every inch of her body.
Only Quinn made her heart race this fast.
Only Quinn made her rib cage feel too tight to keep her heart inside.
Only Quinn made her want to leap into his arms and never let go.
An explosion of lights high in the sky brought Quinn’s eyes to hers. A smile danced across his lips, but it was the liquid heat in his eyes that had her reaching for the button of his jeans. He’d bared his soul to her, and now she wanted the rest of him bared, too, so that she could pleasure him as he’d pleasured her the other night.
“Shelley…”
He slid his hand up her thigh, kissing her deeply, the heat of his hand searing into her skin. She pressed her hips to his, her anticipation mounting and a moan of need escaping her lungs. It had been a long time since she’d lost herself in a man, but that was exactly what was happening with Quinn. She had no control, couldn’t stop her feelings for him if she wanted to. And she didn’t want to. Didn’t want to hold back any part of herself when she was with him. Not anymore. Never again.
She tugged at his shirt again, and he rose, eyes as black as night, tearing off his shirt with one strong arm. My God, he was beautiful. Masculine and perfectly formed.
She couldn’t slow her roving hands as they played over his muscles. She flicked her tongue over his nipple. His skin was hot and salty, his muscles taut, and when she licked him again, the groan that came from deep within his throat made heat coil inside her. She teased him with her tongue as his hands sought her breasts, and—Good Lord—the man knew just how to touch her to make her whole body hum. His hands moved from her breasts to her belly and finally to her panties.
When they were out on the boat in the moonlight, Quinn had undressed her with not just his hands, but his mouth, dropping kisses on every bare patch of skin he’d revealed. But she didn’t have the patience for that kind of teasing tonight, so she quickly wiggled out of her clothes. Thankfully, he moved just as swiftly, pulling off his own clothes as the fireworks display illuminated their bodies in quick bursts of colorful lights.
When they were both naked, Shelley pushed him onto his back, empowered by the cool night air and the heat in his gaze. She never broke their connection as she ran kisses down the length of his body, earning another groan from him as he fisted his hands in the blanket. His jaw clenched and his hips rose off the blanket as she loved him with her mouth.
“Shell—”
She ignored his plea, stroking him with her hand and teasing him with her tongue.
“Shell. I need to have you. All of you.” Reaching for her with both hands, he swept her beneath him again. “I can’t wait another second,” he said in a voice thick with desire.
As their mouths crashed together, she rocked against him, craving him, needing to feel him inside her. Needing him to complete her with his body the same way he had with his soul.
Her legs locked around his waist, and his hands came up to cup her hips as he pulled her even closer. So much closer than she’d ever been with anyone else. So much closer than she’d ever wanted to be with anyone else.
“Please,” she begged. “I need you too, Quinn. Now.”
He reached for his jeans and dug protection out of his wallet, and was fully sheathed by the time he went up on his knees, looking so magnificently virile Shelley’s mouth went dry. Had there ever been a man this sexy? This beautiful?
And all hers.
He brushed her lower lip with his thumb, and the simple touch sent waves of excitement through her. “Are you sure?”
His need to protect her only made her want him more.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”
That was all the invitation he needed, and then he was threading his fingers through hers and leaning forward over her so that they were only a breath apart. But even that was too far for her tonight. His gaze was dark and intense with need—and with so much emotion she nearly came apart right then and there from nothing but looking into his eyes—as he slowly began to move into her. Deeper, and then deeper still, until she was utterly lost to everything but the wonder of it all.
To the wonder of Quinn.
Oh God...There were no words for this much pleasure. For bliss that she could feel all the way down to the tips of her toes. No way to do anything but try to take it all in, the way their bodies fit so perfectly together even as emotions wrapped around them like a blanket.
“Beautiful.” He moved his hands to tangle one in her hair, while the other on her hip brought them even closer together. “You’re so damn beautiful, Shell.”
The raw emotions—and desperate need—in his voice swamped her. She moved urgently beneath him, craving more friction. More heat.
More soul-deep pleasure.
He grinned, as if he held a secret she wasn’t privy to, then took her mouth in a slow, sensual kiss.
“Quinn. Please.” The desperation in her voice was nothing compared to the need swelling inside her.
“In a rush, sweetheart?” His voice was staggeringly rough, his kisses painfully soft.
“No. Yes. You’re torturing me.”
But he just kept moving in slow, controlled movements. Slow, sweet torture over and over again, which stole the few brain cells Shelley was relying on to remain coherent.
And when he slid both hands beneath her hips so she could take him gloriously deeper, her toes curled as every thrust hit just the right spot to make her gasp time and time again.
“Quinn…” Another plea.
“Patience,” he whispered against her mouth. “It always pays off.” One hand slid from her hips to the center of her arousal, while his hips began to move faster and faster, taking her right up to the edge before he slowed again, driving her out of her mind. “More. I just want more time with you.”
No one had ever said anything so sweet—or so sexy—to her before, and his words, along with the feel of all of his hard heat over and inside of her, brought her right to the edge of a release that promised to swallow her whole.
A beat later, Quinn’s entire body was corded tight as he finally gave her exactly what she needed to climb even higher an
d then higher still. When her insides shattered, he was right behind her, whispering her name over and over.
They lay with their bodies braided together for a long while as their jagged breathing returned to normal. Shelley reveled in the feel of Quinn’s heart beating against hers. The sounds of the waves and the leaves rustling on the trees brought the world back into focus as she opened her eyes to stare up at the stars.
That first night at the cove before she’d gotten too tipsy, she’d looked up and found the brightest star to make a wish on. It was the same wish she’d made since she was a child. Give me a guiding light. Lead me to my forever home. Now she felt as if someone up there must have been looking out for her, because she’d found the place she wanted to put down roots.
Nestled in the safety of Quinn’s arms, Shelley knew that she was finally right where she was supposed to be.
Home.
Chapter Nineteen
QUINN LAY AWAKE in Shelley’s bed as dawn sneaked in through the curtains. Her cheek rested against his chest, each breath whispering across his skin.
Quinn couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted to spend the entire night with a woman. And yet here he was with Shelley, hoping never to wake up alone again—even though he knew that it was inevitable since he was going to be heading back to Maryland soon.
He had been working through logistics for the past hour, thoughts of returning to the island to see Shelley in clear focus. He figured he could probably make it happen at least once every few weeks, sneak a day in here or there between meetings. The thought of returning to his empty house in Annapolis made him feel as lonely as he had in his resort suite the night he’d screwed up and Shelley had enjoyed the bonfire by herself.
His gaze moved around the room. In the span of a few short days, she’d made the cottage feel warm and homey. She’d moved the candles from the mantel and bookshelves to the windows. She’d even moved the chair that had been in the corner of the room that first night he’d met her to beneath the window, and a paperback novel sat on the cushion with a throw blanket covering one wooden arm. He wondered what Shelley’s house looked like, but could easily guess at all the simple touches that would make her house feel like home.
Shelley stirred beside him and pressed her lips to his chest. “How can you look so deep in thought this early in the morning?”
He shifted her beneath him, and she smiled up through sleepy eyes. “Because of you, Shell. You’ve jumbled my business-oriented brain and turned it into something else altogether.”
She rocked her hips against his arousal. “Mm. Something naughty, perhaps?”
“Always,” he said. And the truth was that it would be so easy—and so damn good—just to lose himself in making love with her again. But he didn’t feel right about keeping anything from her. Not when she needed to know. “Shell, Chandler accepted our terms yesterday. We’re taking over the resort. So the good news is that I’ll be here pretty often.”
“Of course I’m thrilled that you’ll be here more, but I’m sure it’s going to be really difficult to run your business and be tied to the resort at the same time.” Her eyes widened as she said, “Wait… Didn’t you say you were going to leave as soon as you hashed out the resort stuff? But you’re still here.”
He looked at her for a long moment, trying to figure out how such an easygoing person could make him feel so intensely. “I do have to head back to Annapolis, but I wanted more time with you, so I’m staying until we sign the papers.”
“Quinn,” she whispered. “I don’t want to come between you and the work you need to get done. You’ll resent me.”
“No, I’ll never resent you. But I do need to leave soon because there are things going on with the merger and one of our key employees that require my attention.” He stroked her soft skin as he told her, “I really didn’t want to disappoint you last night and cancel our date, and now I want to help you get settled in the cottage.”
“But I know how much you have to—”
He pressed his lips to hers, silencing her in the most delicious way.
“Let me worry about work. I don’t want you to worry, too.” He paused for a moment and looked into her beautiful eyes. “How would you feel about having a long-distance relationship with me?”
“Quinn Rockwell,” she said, her lips curving up at the corners, “are you asking me to go steady?”
“I know you said you didn’t want to talk about details last night, but I want to be with you when I’m here.”
“And know I’m not with anyone else when you’re not?” She kissed his chin.
“You make me sound possessive.” He caressed the curve of her bare hip. “Which I am. Especially when it comes to you, Shell. I don’t want anyone else to see you like this. To feel you like this. To kiss you like this.” Her mouth was warm and sweet beneath his.
“I want to be with you, too, Quinn. Only you, long distance or not.”
The passion in her kiss sent a shudder of desire to his core. His hands continued to play over her waist and hips as their mouths came together. He nipped at her lower lip, her jaw, her neck, then kissed his way to her breast, grazing her sensitive skin with his teeth.
“Mm. I like your possessive side,” she teased as she reached between them to touch him, too.
With a tormented groan, he drew back long enough to grab a condom from the bedside table.
“Hurry,” she whispered as he tore the packet open with his teeth.
Shelley held on to his biceps, her eyes bright with heady anticipation and need. Just like last night, he had to link their hands, had to hold her close and watch her expression of bliss as he moved inside of her, one slow, hard inch at a time.
Her head fell back and her hips arched as they found their rhythm. Her hips rose to meet his again and again in a heated dance of desire. Desire and deep emotion that pounded through him with every beat of his heart. Need for Shelley coiled deep inside him, spreading with every sexy moan, every heady breath that escaped her lips. And then a mischievous smile curved her lips as she moved her hips in a circular motion, nearly dragging him over the edge.
“Holy hell, Shelley…”
“You’re not the only one who can torture and tease.”
But when their mouths came together again, their impatient, savage desires took over. He pulled her knee up, holding it beneath his arm as he drove in deeper.
“Oh God...Quinn...”
She was every fantasy he’d ever had rolled into one extraordinary woman. As he reached between them to drive her even wilder, her mouth latched on to his neck, and she sucked just hard enough to blow his mind.
“I’m not going to last.” Heat rippled down his spine. He quickened his pace, chasing his mounting release.
A string of words fell from her mouth, words he wasn’t even sure she knew she was saying. Yes. Please. More. So good. Don’t stop.
But he couldn’t stop if his life depended on it. Tingling sensations stroked down his spine just as she gave a sharp cry of pleasure, then gasped out his name, her hips bucking off the mattress. She clawed at his back as he spiraled into his own intense release.
Quinn had never felt as in sync with anyone as he was with Shelley. And as they lay with their bodies intertwined, their hearts going a little crazy in the aftermath of their lovemaking, he knew he was right where he belonged.
SHELLEY COULDN’T STOP looking at the tall, dark, intense man standing on the porch of the cottage she hoped to rent.
Last night had changed everything. The closeness she felt to him in every kiss, every caress, had deepened after he’d admitted that he was falling for her. And then this morning he’d loved her fast and hard, like he couldn’t resist, as if she might run away, even though he was the one who would be leaving soon.
Quinn turned, catching her midstare. With a smile, he came through the glass doors, folded her into his arms, and lowered his mouth to hers, obviously not caring that the Realtor was standing a few feet away in the kitc
hen.
She loved his kisses and the way they filled her with not only such need, but also such a warm sensation of completeness. Even though she knew he was leaving soon, she could so easily imagine him walking through the door of this cottage at the end of a long workday and taking her in his arms. They would fall into bed together every night and then wake with their bodies tangled together every morning. If he were here, they would watch the waves roll in from the deck in the summer and share a mug of hot cider while watching the snow falling in the winter.
“My mom is having a family dinner Wednesday night. Will you come with me?”
“You want me to come to dinner at your parents’ house?” She knew they’d already talked about dating exclusively, but formally meeting his parents was a big deal—and that also meant that he planned to stay at least through Wednesday, which delighted her to no end.
“I’m going to be gone a lot, Shell. And I’ll feel better knowing you’ve got people who really know and care about you here on the island.”
People who care. She’d spent so many years feeling as though the only people who cared were her aunt and Taryn, and since her aunt passed away, there was only Taryn.
“You’ve already met most of my family,” he continued, “but dinner would be a great way for you to get to know everyone better.”
“You don’t have to convince me. I’d love to come.”
“My mom will be thrilled.” He took her hand and turned to look at the cottage again. “So, what do you think of the cottage? Still want to rent it?”
“I knew before I ever walked inside that it was right for me. But now that I’ve been inside?” She gave a little happy sigh as she took in the details of the beautiful, cozy cottage. “It’s perfect. And it even comes furnished.”
It smelled of fresh paint, which explained why the furniture was draped with tarps. The hardwood floors were scuffed and marred, which gave the cottage character. Shelley was toying with making the first-floor bedroom into an office. Across from the living room was an open kitchen, and between the kitchen and bedroom were the stairs leading up to the master bedroom.
