by Parker, Ali
Quinn giggled. “I’ll call her from the cab, then.”
I offered her my hand, and she took it and then slid off the stool. Her boots thudded on the hardwood floors, and we turned away from the bar and made our way out of Angie’s place.
It was later than I thought. Probably close to ten or eleven o’clock at night. It was cold as hell out, and both Quinn and I drew our jackets closed. I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into my side.
She fit against me perfectly. Like always.
Our steps fell in sync as we crossed the parking lot and went out to the street where I perched on the edge of the curb and waved to hail down a cab. The third one that passed pulled over for us, and I opened the back door for Quinn. She slid all the way to the opposite side of the car, and I ducked in after her.
The driver looked back at us. She was a plump woman in her mid-fifties, with dyed black hair, pencilled-on eyebrows, and purple lipstick. She gave us a bright smile. “Hey, kids. Where to this evening?”
I gave her my address, and she pulled away from the curb. Quinn pulled out her phone and lifted it to her ear as it started ringing. I heard Nancy’s tinny voice through the speakers. “Hey. Where are you?”
Quinn glanced at me as I put my hand on her thigh. “I met up with Rhys. I just wanted to let you know I won’t be back at the hotel for a couple hours yet. Are you alright on your own?”
“I have three plates of room service in front of me and I’m watching a movie. I’ll be fine,” Nancy said. She paused. “Don’t have too much fun.”
Quinn bit her bottom lip and smiled at me. “No promises.”
After Quinn hung up the phone our driver told us her name was Margaret, but she preferred Maggie. She then proceeded to tell us her life story, which was unfortunate because all I wanted to do was turn to the woman beside me and devour her.
Quinn’s hand on my crotch was evidence that she wanted the same thing.
Chapter 8
Quinn
Margaret, also known as Maggie, pulled over in front of a row of narrow homes separated by about four feet on either side. They were red brick, with white trim around the windows, and had a set of stairs that led up the side of the house from the sidewalk to the front doors. The garage was on the bottom level and the entrance on the second.
Rhys’s house was on the end. It was well kept on the outside, which didn’t surprise me because Rhys had always been a good home keeper. He took my hand, and we walked up the stairs. I swayed at the top and realized I was a little intoxicated.
Going inside might be a big mistake. It might make everything harder. It had been a little over eight months since I knew his touch, and letting myself fall victim to him again was just going to make it hurt more when I went back to my life in Chicago and he stayed here.
But damn it, I wanted him. My whole body seemed to ache with every heartbeat. I could feel my pulse in my fingertips and at my throat. I was thrumming with excitement, and there was an ache below my belly that I hadn’t felt in some time.
I needed him.
Rhys unlocked the front door and went inside. I followed him and closed the door behind me. “Nice place,” I muttered as I kicked off my boots.
Rhys shrugged out of his leather jacket, and I took mine off, too. He took it from me and hung it in the closet in his entranceway.
There were no lights on, but I could see that the place was just like his old house in Chicago: clean, simple, and not cluttered with stuff. Rhys wasn’t a wasteful consumer and only bought things he really needed. He didn’t have shelves because he never bought junk to put on them. He had the basics, and that was enough for him.
“Do you want a drink?” he asked as we walked down the hall and emerged in the living area. Half of the room was his living room and the other half the kitchen. The walls were a cool gray and so were the floors. They were separated by crisp white baseboards that matched the white cupboards in the kitchen.
“Uh, sure,” I said as I turned to face him. He went into the kitchen and opened the freezer. He withdrew a bottle of spiced rum, poured it over two glasses filled with ice, and then threw in a splash of cola.
He brought mine over to me where I stood on the other side of his kitchen island. “Cheers.”
“Cheers,” I said.
We watched each other over the rim of our glasses as we took our first sip. It was strong. Just how I liked it—how I liked most things.
I put my glass down. So did he.
Then I licked my lips.
Rhys’s eyes followed my tongue and then moved up to meet my gaze.
I practically threw myself at him. He caught me, engulfed me with his thick arms, and held me to him as I practically climbed him like a tree to kiss him. He tasted like rum and beer and smelled like rainwater and pine. I drew in a deep breath as our mouths crashed together. His teeth nipped at my bottom lip, and I whimpered into his mouth as he gathered me up in his arms and lifted me off the floor. I hooked my legs around his waist, and he set me down on the kitchen island.
All thoughts of what was good for me and what wasn’t went out the window as he pulled my black tee over my head and tossed it on the floor. His shirt came off next, and I traced every line of his body out of memory as we kissed with our eyes closed. I followed the cut of his hips up to his navel and then worked my way outward, trailing every ridge of his abs up to his chest. Then I worked my way over his shoulders and down his arms until I found something new. Something unfamiliar.
I paused and ran my thumb over hardened skin. I broke our kiss. “What’s this?” I asked.
Rhys planted his hands on either side of me against the counter and kissed the side of my neck up to my ear. “Nothing, baby.”
I narrowed my eyes to try to see better in the darkness and ran my thumb over it again. “A scar?”
He pinched my earlobe between his teeth.
“Rhys,” I half moaned, half sighed.
He kissed my earlobe as if in apology and then moved to look me in the eyes. His hands were still on either side of me. His shoulders and arms were taut. Every muscle was outlined in the darkness. “Yes, baby. It’s a scar.”
“It’s new,” I said.
He nodded.
I frowned. It was almost perfectly circular. “Did you get shot?”
The corner of his mouth twitched, and he nodded again.
“Who?”
“Reed.”
“Oh,” I breathed.
He closed his hand over mine to make me stop tracing the scar. “It was six months ago.”
“I should have been there,” I whispered.
He shook his head. “No.”
“I could have helped. I could have—”
“Quinn,” he said roughly as he took my chin in one hand. His grip was firm. Hard enough to make it impossible to seal my lips. “Enough. I’m glad you weren’t there. I never wanted you anywhere near that animal. And now he’s gone. We never have to worry about him again.”
Then why haven’t you come back to me?
I wanted to ask him so badly, but I just nodded and whispered, “Okay.”
“Okay.” He released my chin.
I grabbed his belt, pulled him to me, and kissed him as I undid the buckle. He found the hair tie in my ponytail and pulled it out. It cascaded down my back as I popped open the button of his fly and then tugged the zipper down. I pushed his jeans down his hips, and he worked them down the rest of the way.
Rhys’s tongue plunged into my mouth while he undid my jeans. I pushed myself up on my hands, lifting my ass off the counter so he could pull my pants off, and then he settled me back down. I gasped. The counter was cold on my bare ass.
Rhys chuckled and ran his thumb beneath the waistband of my black thong. It matched my black lace bralette. I flinched when he grazed the sensitive spot on my lower stomach by my right hip. “You’re so damn beautiful, Quinn.”
I took my panties off, and he watched as I spread my legs. He ran his hands down my thighs
to my hips and then went down to his knees.
It had been some time since I saw him between my legs, and it sent a jolt of desire through me. He licked his lips before he ran his tongue along my pussy. He took his time, tasting me in slow laps and rolling his tongue over my swollen clit, then pausing to draw it between his lips and suck it until I was a breathless, moaning mess above him.
Then, right before I came, he would stop and repeat the process.
It was maddening. And delicious. And everything I’d been craving for eight fucking months.
I arched my back and leaned back on my hands as I lifted my face to the ceiling. Rhys plunged his tongue inside me, came back out, and lapped at my juices. I bit down hard on my bottom lip when he slipped a finger in me.
“Yes,” I breathed. I looked back down at him.
He was smiling as he ate me out. He enjoyed it almost more than I did. Almost.
When he slipped another finger inside me and sucked hard on my clit, I let out a shriek of ecstasy and threw my head back. I came, coating his fingers with my slick juices, and rolled my hips and ass on the counter as he continued flicking his fingers inside me.
He pulled them out and licked them clean. “Good girl,” he purred.
I was breathless, sitting on his counter, and all I wanted was more. I didn’t want to wait.
Rhys took his boxers off. His cock sprang free. I hadn’t forgotten how big he was. I licked at my lips as he rummaged through pockets of his jeans for a condom. When he found one, he wasted little time tearing it open with his teeth, and then he rolled the rubber over his shaft, massaged his balls, and stepped between my legs.
I inched to the edge of the counter and lined my pussy up with his cock. Then I looked up at him. “I hope you still know how to use that thing.”
Rhys smirked. “Baby, my neighbors are gonna hear how good I can fuck your tight little pussy.”
I moaned at his words and stared down as he leaned into me, sliding his first two inches into my soaking wet pussy. I took him in desperately and closed my eyes as he worked his way slowly, deeper and deeper, until we were at six inches. Then he stopped.
I opened my eyes. I was already panting, and there was still plenty of him left. “What are you waiting for?” I asked.
Rhys clenched his teeth and gave me all of him in one deep thrust.
I gasped and clutched the edge of the counter. Rhys groaned and began working himself in and out of me. My muscles were tight and my whole body went rigid as I adjusted to his length and girth. When I managed to relax, the pleasure was incredible.
I sighed and watched him dip in and out. His shaft was coated in my juices, and the sloppy wet sounds it made when he buried himself all the way inside me made that ache below my belly begin to pulse.
He held himself deep inside and cupped the back of my neck to nip at my lips. I whimpered as he pinched my lower lip, and then he gave me sweet kisses. I moaned into his mouth, and he tightened his grip on the back of my neck. His tongue explored my mouth, and I opened up to him as he continued fucking me nice and slow.
I was getting wetter by the second.
“Fuck, I’ve missed this,” I whispered.
Rhys tightened his grip on my neck further still. “Me too.”
“Fuck me harder, baby. Please. I want to come all over your cock.”
Rhys’s whole body shuddered. He loved when I talked dirty.
I moved closer to the edge of the counter so he could get even deeper. “Come on, baby. You won’t hurt me. I promise.”
Rhys silenced me with a rough kiss and then started fucking me hard and fast. He had to hold me in place on the counter. Otherwise, I would have been forced backward. I moaned until I couldn’t contain my screams of pleasure as my second orgasm slammed into me. I was even wetter now, and I knew it was driving him crazy because his forehead was furrowed and he was watching my tightening pussy as he fucked me.
He started rubbing my clit. I lifted up to him. His other hand held me in place by the back of my neck, and I let my head fall back, giving him complete control of my body.
He groaned.
I told him to come.
“Fuck,” he growled.
And then he was holding on to me with such fierceness as he came that I could barely breathe. Air wasn’t important right then. As he blew his load, he bucked wildly against me, and I came again.
He released my neck, and I sucked in a breath of air and grabbed at him to pull him in for more kisses. It felt so damn good to be this close to him again, to have him inside me. I didn’t want to be empty again. I wanted to stay in this moment, with him inside me, sitting on his counter for as long as I could.
But after our kiss, he stepped away and went to clean himself up.
I hopped down off the counter, and my legs trembled. I had to hold myself up and wait for the feeling to return to them. Then I picked up my discarded clothes and started getting dressed.
I was jumping in place to get my jeans up over my ass when he came back into the kitchen and started getting dressed, too. He looked as disappointed as I felt.
“I’m sorry I have to go,” I said. “But Nancy…”
“She needs you. It’s all right. I’m just being greedy, and I want to keep you all to myself.” He moved to me and cupped my cheek in one hand. Then he realized the sudden intimacy of what he was doing and let his hand fall to his side.
“For what it’s worth, I wish I could stay.”
He smiled. “Can I see you tomorrow?”
I nodded. “I’d like that. My number is the same.”
“I’ll call you a cab.”
Chapter 9
Rhys
I woke up on Wednesday morning feeling more rested than I had since moving out to New York. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was because of my night with Quinn.
Quinn.
She’d shown up, and like always, I’d fallen victim to her. I couldn’t help it. She was everything I wanted and needed but couldn’t have, all packed into a beautiful body with a wickedly smart brain. Her telling me she needed help was like someone holding a gun to my head. Of course I’d help her.
It would be a cold day in Hell if I ever said no to Quinn Connolly when she needed me.
I rolled out of bed, showered, and got dressed in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. I didn’t bother with breakfast and, instead, went straight down to the garage after putting on my jacket and suited up to ride over to Ryder and Dani’s place.
Being a Lost Breed meant I couldn’t just pack up and leave if I had to. I needed to ask permission first.
It was a strange thought. Back in Chicago, I’d been the top dog. I was the person my boys had to run things by. Now that I was on the other side of things, it felt a little weird. I didn’t like it.
I took a cab back to the bar where I’d left my bike. Normally I’d never leave my bike parked in a lot over night, but Quinn was well worth the exception. I swung my leg over the seat and headed to Ryder and Dani’s place.
The driveway was empty except for his car and Dani’s black cruiser. Nobody had been hanging around their house much now that Dani was deep into her pregnancy and they were about to welcome their little one into the world. We were respecting their space.
I felt a bit guilty when I knocked on their front door.
It was opened about ten seconds later by a very round Dani, who opened the door up all the way and smiled at me as she leaned against the doorframe. “Morning, Rhys. How are you?”
“Morning, Dani. I’m all right. I hate to bother you, but I was wondering if Ryder was home?”
She nodded. “He’s in the nursery. Come on in. Can I get you anything? Coffee? I was just in the middle of whipping up some breakfast, and there’s plenty of food if you’re hungry.”
“You’re going to be a great mom.” I chuckled as I closed the front door behind me and followed her down the hall and into the kitchen.
She smiled over her shoulder at me and went to the s
tove where she was scrambling eggs. She pushed them around in the pan with a spatula. “Thanks.”
“Rhys,” Ryder’s voice came from behind me.
I turned around to find him in the doorway to the kitchen. He was sweaty and wearing dark jeans and a muscle shirt. I arched an eyebrow. “What does she have you working on in there?”
Ryder smiled. “Oh, you know. A little of this and a little of that.”
Dani clicked her tongue. “I suggested he call someone for help, but he’s a stubborn bastard.”
“I’ve got two hands,” I said.
Dani pointed her chin at the kitchen table. “You two sit, and once you’ve had some breakfast, you can help him. Deal?”
I walked through the kitchen and sat down at the table. “Deal.”
Ryder came and sat down across from me. He leaned on his elbows and clasped his hands together. “You good at putting together shitty furniture?”
I shrugged.
“It’s not shitty” Dani said defensively.
Ryder laughed. “Well, you’re not the one putting it together, kitten. I am. And I can assure you of one thing: it’s shitty.”
I watched and listened to them bicker for a minute before Ryder conceded and leaned back in his chair. Dani was smiling at the eggs as she slid them onto a plate, smug with her victory. I was sure this was how every argument went down in this house. Try as he might, the president couldn’t win against his first lady. No way in hell.
Dani waddled over to the table and set our plates down for us. I stood up to help her with the rest of the food, and she shook her head at me and pointed at my chair. “Sit. I’m pregnant, not dying. Moving around is good for me.”
Ryder hooked his thumb at her. “I’m starting to think I shouldn’t have let Axel step in for me. It’s been harder dealing with her the last two months than it was dealing with all you fuckers.”
I chuckled, and Dani planted her hands on her hips. “You want to say that again, honey?”
Ryder shook his head. “Nope. You’ve got that crazy pregnant lady hearing. You heard every word, I’m sure.”
