by Dee J. Adams
Quinn chuckled and tipped his head in Ashley’s direction. “I like the way she thinks.”
“You would,” Ellie murmured. Time for damage control. Quinn’s motives didn’t matter anyway. “Fine. When we’re done eating, you can see my foot.” Maybe by then she could distract them with something so they’d forget about it. She included Quinn and Ashley in her precise gaze. “Will that make everyone happy?”
“Everyone but you, apparently,” Ashley muttered, but she was still smiling and Ellie wanted to flick her arm. Really hard.
It didn’t take long for the burgers and half the pizza to evaporate. Ellie saw some strenuous workouts in her future to offset the calorie intake. But every bite was worth it. Watching Quinn demolish two burgers and three slices of pizza wasn’t a hardship either. The man ate with gusto. Inhaled, actually. No doubt he approached seducing a woman the same way. With amazing intensity.
Dumb thing to think about.
“Looks like you were hungry,” Ellie said, sitting back in her chair and draining the last of her water.
Quinn nodded. “I was.” He sat back too, and patted his flat stomach. “I had a tough workout this afternoon. I was starving.” His gaze still looked hungry, but for something other than food. A flash of heat sizzled through Ellie’s center.
Ashley looked from Ellie to Quinn and back to Ellie. “Well…I’ll just take these plates into the kitchen,” she said, excusing herself. She loaded the dishwasher in ten seconds flat and came back to the table. “Okay, let’s see it and then I’ll be going to the market.”
Ellie shook her head and sighed. Damn. “You guys are being way too serious about this.” From Ashley’s expectant smile to Quinn’s lifted eyebrows it was obvious she’d lost this battle. Reluctantly, she moved to the sofa, set her foot on the edge and gingerly unraveled the Ace bandage she’d put on earlier.
“Is this going to be as bad as when you broke your nose?” Ashley asked, her face wrinkling into a pucker. She glanced at Quinn. “That was really gross.”
Shooting her best friend a laser look, Ellie clenched her jaw. Ashley had better not bring up that story or she’d…she’d…shake every one of her Dr Peppers until they were useless cans of foam.
Quinn’s dark brows pulled together, concern in his eyes. “How’d you break your nose?”
“She turned a corner on a set and someone slammed her in the face with a shoulder,” Ashley said. The woman was cruising for hurt.
“Do you mind?” Exasperated, Ellie turned to Quinn and gave him a benign smile. “It’s really not that interesting.”
“Of course it is,” Ashley insisted. “One of the biggest stars in Hollywood broke your nose.” She turned to Quinn and demonstrated with her hand. “It was basically on the wrong side of her face.”
Ellie took a steadying breath before she did something radical. “Thanks for the picture, Ash. I’m sure Quinn really wanted that.”
But Quinn was smiling, his eyes sparkling so bright that Ellie’s heart pounded harder. “Who broke your nose?”
“She can’t say. She had to sign a confidentiality agreement.”
Ellie’s shoulders sagged. There was no way around Ashley. She was a runaway train, a motormouth extraordinaire. “Why don’t you just tell him my whole life while you’re at it?”
“How about you tell me?” Quinn said to her. Suddenly the room got very quiet. Another flash of heat rocketed through her. His intense gaze sent her pulse racing.
How about they went back to what they were doing… What were they doing? Her foot. Right. Her foot. Ellie continued unraveling. Before the complete unveiling, she glanced up sternly. “Now, don’t freak out. It looks worse than it is.” On a frustrated sigh she stripped off the last layer and watched their faces.
Horror. Two sets of eyes widened and two mouths dropped open.
A red welt tracked where the seat belt had stretched across her foot. The bruising and pretty colors were worse near her ankle. But the other edge was an oozing bloody line under her toes.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I told you it’s not as bad as it looks.”
Quinn sat next to her and ran a tender finger along the side of her foot. Chills shimmied up her leg, made the hair stand up on her arms. “Jesus,” he murmured. “You honestly don’t think that a doctor needs to see this?”
“No. I don’t. There’s nothing to be stitched up.”
“Of course there is,” Ashley said, sitting on her other side. She pointed to the slash of red running underneath all five toes. “You don’t see that bloody line across your foot?”
“It’s not stitchable, Ash. It’s more of a big paper cut.”
“A really thick, gigantic paper cut,” Quinn added. He tested the swelling on the other side and Ellie held her breath. “Hurt?” he asked, his gaze meeting hers.
Shaking her head, no, Ellie remembered to exhale. Their eyes stayed locked. His thumb skimmed the bruise over her ankle and the touch sent sparks zipping up her leg along with a wave of tingles across her body. He didn’t look away as he kept up the gentle stroke. Mesmerized by his light eyes, Ellie nearly melted into a puddle on her sofa.
“Well,” Ashley said, rising from the sofa. “I’ll just be…” She eased toward the front door, “uh… running to the market now. Bye, kids.”
Ellie heard the clatter of keys, and the door closed.
Alone with Quinn.
Her heart pounded harder and she focused on wrapping her foot. “Time for more ice,” she said, reaching for the ice bag on the coffee table where she’d left it before dinner. But her voice barely had any sound.
Quinn picked it up first. “I’ll get you a refill.”
“I can do it.” She reached for the bag again, but he held it away from her.
“Let me do this, Elle.” He took her hand, rubbed her knuckles with his thumb before pinning her with his intense gaze. “You really freaked me out today,” he said quietly. “It’s been a while since I’ve been that scared.” He was serious. She saw it in his eyes, heard it in his voice. This big hunk of a man had been scared. For her. When was the last time any man—besides her coworkers—had really been scared or worried for her?
With a last intense frown, Quinn went to the kitchen and dug into the freezer, banging around like an explorer in the Arctic. The Billion Dollar Man was now getting her ice. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell Ashley about Quinn. Not that it would’ve made a difference either way. Ashley had pegged him as the One from the minute she saw him. There was just no way he was the one for her.
Ellie sighed, frustrated. She hadn’t planned on sitting on her ass all night while people waited on her. Even if that “people” was as gorgeous and generous as Quinn Reynolds. As if contradicting her thoughts, her foot throbbed. “Oh, no,” she mumbled, “you are not going to hurt. Not if I can help it.” She limped to the table for her empty glass then went into the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” Quinn said, his voice full of wonder and maybe a bit of exasperation. He was probably more used to people obeying his orders. He wasn’t going to find any of that here. Not with her.
“I’m getting water so I can take some Advil,” Ellie said.
“I could’ve brought it to you.”
“But you don’t have to because I’m here. Besides, it’s not easy to find.” Ellie opened the cabinet in the upper corner and spun the lazy Susan until she found the new bottle. Except, she was too short to reach it. She’d finished off the old bottle this afternoon. “Can you give me a refill on the water?” She handed her glass to Quinn because she needed to distract him. As he filled the cup with filtered water from the sink, she hopped up on the counter and snagged the bottle. “See, not a problem,” she said, smiling sweetly at him since his narrow-eyed gaze was all but tossing daggers in her direction. She opened the top, took off the protective shield, and tapped two pills into her palm. She eased the glass out of Quinn’s hand and tossed the pills back with her water.
Quinn continued
to stare, his face a mask of disbelief.
“What?” she asked after she finished her drink and set the glass down. He moved next to her. Close. Maybe jumping up on the counter hadn’t been such a good idea. It put her more on his level. His lip level.
“You, is what,” Quinn whispered, and he stroked her cheek softly with his thumb. The touch caught her off guard, sent the hair on her nape standing at attention. Instinctively, she licked her dry lips. Quinn’s gaze riveted to her mouth then moved back to her eyes. “This is going to sound stupid,” he said.
“What is?”
“The question I’m about to ask you.”
“Why don’t you let me decide what’s stupid?”
Smiling, his gaze drifted back to her lips. “I, uh, I want to kiss you again. Make sure you’re okay.”
Her heart thumped along quicker. “So, me sitting here and telling you I’m okay isn’t enough?” The fact that they’d had dinner and laughed and talked and joked for the past forty minutes hadn’t been enough?
“No,” he said. And he looked in her eyes. Totally serious. “It’s not. I want to taste it.”
Zing. Just that fast, her insides melted. Okay, so she was a sap, a sucker, a complete weenie. She was actually buying this line. But why shouldn’t she? The solemn look in his eyes was no act. She’d worked with good actors before and Quinn wasn’t that good. Or was he?
“I know we said last night was it. A first and a last kiss, but…” He shook his head, his gaze so sincere it took her breath away. “I need to kiss you again. Need to know you’re really okay.”
Ellie forced oxygen into her lungs and considered his words. As long as that was all he wanted, she didn’t see a reason to turn him down. It was just a kiss. It wasn’t like she’d changed her mind since last night. It wasn’t as if one kiss now would end up with them naked in her bed… Right?
“I don’t think a kiss would be a problem,” she told him. “Just a kiss, though. What I said last night still stands.”
“Absolutely,” he vowed with a quick nod. “Just a kiss.”
“Okay, then.” Nope, she didn’t see a problem with kissing him at all.
Chapter Eleven
Quinn nodded and smiled, his relief rushed out in a sigh. “Good, good, because I didn’t want it to be a problem.” He wanted her to know up front that he was going to kiss her. He couldn’t not kiss her. Actually, he’d been sure that she’d call him on it. Tell him he was full of shit and order him out of her apartment, but he’d had to take the chance.
Maybe he’d lost his mind. Why else would he feel this way about a woman he’d just met? Why did he have to kiss her to know if she was all right or not? He didn’t really know the answer to that and…well…that kind of freaked him out.
But he wouldn’t let it stop him either.
Cupping her face in his hands, he tilted her head toward him since he was standing to the side of her legs. Her eyes fluttered closed just before his lips brushed against hers.
Oh, Christ, her lips were so smooth. So he kissed her tenderly, softly. The same way he’d kissed her last night. Long and slow. But he wanted a better angle so he moved in front of her, placed his hands on her knees and opened her legs to stand between them, to get even closer to her spectacular mouth.
She didn’t stop him, didn’t pull back and smack him. In fact, her hands brushed along his shoulders and circled his neck, brought him more tightly against her.
Hello, yes, yes, yes. That’s what he wanted. Her tongue in his mouth, her legs tightening around his hips. She tasted faintly of salt from the fries and Tabasco sauce she’d poured onto her pizza. Hot, spicy. Delicious. He kept his hands on her skin and there was so much to touch. No jeans and T-shirt this time, no way. Wearing those miniscule shorts, she left him a whole lot of soft skin to explore. He palmed her calves and kept a steady stroke of his hands as he started back on the outside of her legs and up her thighs. His fingers grazed her soft skin. Up, up, up all the way to the tops of her outrageously short shorts, his thumb caressing the edge of that line, so near the vee of her long legs.
She arched her back and made a noise in her throat. A purr. Jesus, he thought his insides might catch fire. He was so hot for her. There was nothing he wanted more than to divest her of the skimpy clothes and push inside of her. His dick had never been this hard before. Okay, maybe it had, but not in a long time. And never like this.
But he still didn’t touch any part of her where clothes covered skin. Just like the time in her trailer, he kept his fingers only on skin he could touch. Those long legs, her strong arms, that graceful neck and her soft hair. She was an absolute work of art. A work of art melting against him with every touch of his hand, every stroke of his tongue.
He wanted to pull her closer to the edge of the counter. Wanted her to feel exactly what she did to him. But what if knowing exactly how freakin’ hard he was for her sent her running? He couldn’t risk it. Not when he wanted to keep kissing her. And kissing her and kissing her…
Sweat beaded his brow as her fingers alternately ran through his hair and stroked his chest, sending fire blazing in his blood. He could only imagine how she’d feel underneath him, all soft and strong at the same time, making the same sexy sounds that were turning him upside down.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but a click and turn at the front door signaled Ashley’s return from the grocery store. Quinn reluctantly pulled away from Ellie, rested his forehead against hers.
“Jesus, you sure know how to make a guy sweat,” he murmured.
“Who me?” She smiled and lifted questioning brows, a gesture so full of naïveté that he laughed. “I didn’t do anything.”
Yeah. And he wasn’t rock hard.
Her fingers moved firmly along his scalp, right over his ears and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head. Shit, that felt good. “I should go help Ash bring in the groceries,” she said softly.
His eyes snapped open. “The hell you will. I’ll help her.” Her dimple came out to play and Quinn’s heart rolled over a couple of times. “And don’t even think of smiling at me like that,” he told her, forcing himself to back away.
“Like what?” She shrugged innocently, but her dark green eyes sparkled with mischief. “I didn’t do anything.”
Nothing but wrap him around her frickin’ finger. Unsure of how much time he had before Ashley came back, he swiftly picked up the bags from inside the door where she’d left them and set his load on the counter next to Ellie. Turning to help Ashley with the remaining bags, he felt a tug on his shirt as Ellie snagged him and pulled him back to face her.
“I think you deserve a little something for carrying those bags,” she whispered.
This sounded too promising. No way to fight the grin that curved his lips. His hands moved over her bare thighs of their own volition. “Oh, yeah…?”
“Definitely.” The word seduction came to mind as Ellie tugged him closer and brought his mouth down to hers. Her warm tongue glided over his bottom lip and sent a fresh wave of lust crashing through him. “I think I could kiss you forever,” she murmured against his lips.
He didn’t honestly think he could do that, because this was killing him. Except no one told his mouth, which stayed connected to Ellie’s. In a most excellent way. Until someone—Ashley—cleared her throat behind them.
“I hate to break up your party, but, uh, I need to put the groceries away.”
Quinn literally had to hold Ellie’s head and drag his lips away from hers. Her green eyes were dark, full of heat and desire, and if Ashley hadn’t returned, his chances for more than a few hot kisses would’ve been much better than fifty-fifty.
Ellie’s fingers pressed against the base of his skull in a mini head massage and Quinn closed his eyes. Imagined those hands somewhere else on his body. Stroking, sliding, sending him into a frenzy. Which he’d be in very shortly unless he got the hell out of there.
“I should probably get going,” he whispered.
; After one last quick kiss, he took a step back—every cell in his body hating him for it. “Thanks for dinner,” he said to both women. But he looked right at Ellie. Couldn’t take his gaze off her. A hazy, dreaminess clouded her eyes, a look he put there. With his kiss. He wanted to see the same expression while he was inside her, taking her so high she’d never forget him.
But she blinked and the dreaminess faded. She grinned and that dimple came out and made his heart flip. “You brought dinner. We should thank you.” Her blond hair caught the overhead light and she all but glowed. “Really, that was very nice. Thank you.” Her voice was soft and inviting. Quinn would bet a million bucks she didn’t know how she sounded.
“You’re welcome.” Shit. Why was he leaning in like this? Why couldn’t he keep his lips to himself? Apparently he was into torture. His mouth connected with hers. All soft and sweet and perfect. Quinn took one quick taste of her. One sweep of his tongue past her teeth before stepping back. “I’ll see you on the set tomorrow.”
She nodded. “Okay. Drive safe.” This time she was breathless and Quinn loved the sound. Loved that he had her just as crazy as she had him.
Why was he doing this to himself? She’d been absolutely clear when she’d told him there was no chance for sex. Still, kissing her ranked almost as good as any sex he’d had with any woman before. There was just something about her.
The next day’s location took them to a hotel not far from the studio. In usual California style, the sun crawled into the sky, blazing heat, manufacturing sweat.
Mac had left a message for Quinn that they should talk. Hopefully big brother finally got it through his thick skull that things were going to change whether he wanted it or not. Good.
Quinn walked toward the set, the second floor of the hotel parking structure. The heat was heavier here in the enclosed space. After negotiating lights and cables, he found Mac and Trace talking to Julie between a silver Navigator and a beat up Honda. The Honda looked strangely familiar before recognition dawned on Quinn. That was Ashley’s Honda. He remembered the conversation between Ellie and the stunt guy yesterday and realized Ashley had Ellie’s Mustang.
