More than a Fling: A Romance Collection
Page 1
More than a Fling
A Romance Collection
Jillian Quinn
Contents
Also by Jillian Quinn
Copyright
More than a Fling
More than Roommates
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Epilogue
More than Friends
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Epilogue
What’s Next?
Also by Jillian Quinn
About the Author
Also by Jillian Quinn
FACE-OFF LEGACY SERIES
Pucking Parker
Keeping Kane
Teaching Tucker
Jocking Jameson
Kissing Killian
FACE-OFF SERIES
Parker
Kane
Donovan
Jameson
MORE THAN SERIES
More Than Friends
More Than Roommates
LOVE IN THE END ZONE SERIES
Out of Bounds
In the Zone
STRICK U SERIES
More than a Enemy
More than a Player
For more information, visit JillianQuinnBooks.com.
Copyright © 2019 by Jillian Quinn
All rights reserved.
Visit my website at JillianQuinnBooks.com
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
MORE THAN A FLING
I wasn’t supposed to fall for my best friend….
Kat was the one girl I could talk to without thinking of sex. The one person I could trust. Until one night changed everything.
One mistake created a divide that lasted for months. She kept a secret from me that could bring us back together. Her secret is also what had torn us apart. I just didn’t know it. Until now.
* * *
Falling for my best friend’s little sister wasn’t part of the plan…
Mia was the last person I ever wanted for a roommate. But when the apartment I shared with her older brother flooded, we needed a place to crash.
Being so close to Mia stirred up old feelings that neither of us could deny. Our living situation changed everything. A stolen kiss when her brother wasn’t looking was only the beginning.
We both knew what we were doing was wrong. But our forbidden romance felt too good to stop.
From best friends romance to dating his best friend’s sister, this romance collection from international bestselling author Jillian Quinn includes More than Friends and More than Roommates, two full-length steamy romances for you to enjoy.
More than Roommates
Chapter One
Ethan
My body aches from practice, the pain settling into my skin and burrowing deep inside my bones. Every time it hurts, I try to ignore the throbbing sensation that spreads down my thigh. But the darkness always wins out, and I never fight it. Because I like the high I get from the adrenaline that courses through my veins.
I need the reminder that I’m still alive, even though I feel like I died a long time ago. I should have died. It should have been me. Now, I’m left with the guilt and the pain and a constant reminder of how much I fucked up. The scar above my left eyebrow—another reminder. Every time I look in the mirror, I have to confront my past. If only I could embrace it before it conquers me, eats me alive from the inside out.
By the time I pull into my driveway, it’s dark outside, with nothing more than a sliver of moonlight illuminating the front of my house. My parents didn’t even bother to leave the light on.
I blink a few times to clear my vision and get out of the Mustang, a late sixties Fastback my grandfather had left to me in his will. I was born into a family with old money, the car being one of the many toys I’d inherited from Grandpa Joe along with a sizable trust fund. They say money can’t buy happiness. I know that more than anyone. Because even money can’t erase the parts of my life I want to forget.
Leaning against the door, I stare up at the old Colonial I moved into last year with my parents. After what had happened back in Boston, they forced me to leave my friends and relocate to Lower Merion Township, an upscale area just outside Philadelphia.
My best friend and teammate, Will Roman, and his far too tempting little sister, Mia, help me get through the days. She’s my precious little lamb. The one girl who sees all the darkness in me and welcomes it. She doesn’t judge me. And I never have to hide from her.
For once, the light isn’t on in my father’s office, yet he’s home. That’s a first. He must have drank himself to sleep. I can only hope. When the house is still, I like to sneak in through the back door to avoid my dad. He hates me for all the trouble I have caused. I know he wishes I had taken Erik’s place.
I have trouble keeping my eyes open, the weight of my day and everything that came along with it hitting me at once. As I cut through the hole in the bushes and into my backyard, I glance over at the Roman’s house. It has the same brick front and painted shutters as mine, only a little more worn down. I look up at the top floor to find Mia sitting on her windowsill. She smiles down at me, her mouth open so wide it reaches up to her pretty blue eyes.
A girl this sweet should not go anywhere near a monster like me. If I were her brother, I would keep me as far away from Mia as possible. But Will has no idea how much Mia means to me. He never will.
I stop dead in my tracks, my vision slightly blurry as I look at her. She gives me a tiny wave, which I return, before she tilts her head toward the shed in the backyard. Most nights, I meet Mia on the swing set on the opposite side of the shed. It’s sort of our own little retreat from the world. If only I had the nerve to tell her e
verything. But I fear she will grow to hate me, just like everyone else does, and I can’t have that.
I nod in acknowledgment to communicate that I will meet her later. She has to wait until Will falls asleep before she can sneak out. I wave one more time, with the promise to see her, and remove my cell phone from my pocket. Using the light from the screen, I jam my key inside the lock and push my shoulder into the door. The damn thing sticks when it’s hot outside, making it harder to avoid my parents.
Luckily, the lights are off in the kitchen, so I creep through the darkness and head toward the stairs. I left my hockey bag in the trunk to avoid making any unnecessary noise. Drawing attention to myself in this house only gets me in a world full of trouble. For the most part, my dad is harmless. He mostly yells and screams, taking out his frustration over the past on me. I allow him to dig into me. Because I deserve every bit of his anger.
I climb the steps, thankful to make it to the third floor without getting hassled. But my small victory is short-lived. When I push I open my bedroom door, my dad is sitting on my bed with a wooden box in his hand. Carved by hand, from bark my grandfather had at his cabin, the box holds all my secrets. Memories of Grandpa Joe and Erik, old family photos of happier times, and the one thing I never wanted him to find.
Hidden deep beneath the velvet lining is my biggest secret, one that my father now knows. Why else would he be here?
My dad sighs when he hears my footsteps, slowly glancing up at me with tears in his eyes. His face looks puffy, as if he’s been crying for a while.
“So, this is the reason?” He holds the box out for me to take, and I do, stealing it away from him in a hurry.
I flip open the top and sift through the contents. “Give it back,” I yell.
He shakes his head. “You’re leaving. I want you out of my house and out of my life.”
Reeking of bourbon and cigars, he gets up from the mattress and stands in front of me. Even with my height and build, he still has age and power over me. Sometimes, I fight him. Other times, I let him take out his aggression on me. Because I deserve it. All of it. Every last drop he has left to give.
My lip curls upward in anger. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Yes, you are, Ethan. I don’t want to hear another word. Your grandmother is expecting you. So is Whitmore.”
The mention of Whitmore makes me cringe. I’m not fucking going there.
“I’m eighteen now. You can’t make me do anything.”
He tilts his head back and laughs. “Oh, yes I can. Your grandfather put a provision in your trust. I’m in charge of it until you’re twenty-one. I’d like to see how far you get without a cent from me.”
I shrug. “Then, I’ll ask Grams.”
“Think again. She won’t budge and neither will I.”
“Then I’ll get a job.” I come face-to-face with him, so close that our noses are almost touching. “I don’t need you or your money.”
“Maybe not, but you need my connections. One phone call is all it would take to ruin your professional career. Do you want that? Because I can take away everything you’ve ever wanted in the blink of an eye.”
He doesn’t need to say it aloud, because I know what he’s thinking.
Just like I took everything from him.
“No,” I mutter, the word a whisper on my lips.
No matter how smart I think I am, he’s always one step ahead of me. He knows better.
“I’m supposed to go to Strickland with Will. Coach is waiting for us to start in the fall.”
He shoves his hands in his pockets and steps back so that he can look into my eyes. “Not anymore. I called the school and declined your acceptance. Your coach was disappointed you’re not joining Will, but you have more important things to worry about. Get some help, Ethan. You need it.”
I do need help. But I hate to admit my father is right. For once, he’s calm, instead of the usual belligerent mess I have grown accustomed to over the last two years. All my bad qualities I get from him. We’re alike in so many ways, yet we act though we have nothing in common. I’m not Erik. I never will be. That’s all that matters to him.
He shakes his head at me one last time, disappointment and disgust registering most when he looks at the box in my hands. “You are going. End of discussion. Have your bags packed and ready. You leave right after your graduation party.”
I consider running away, but how far would I get without money? My car would run out of gas before I made it one state over. With my only real friends next door, I could live with the Romans. But I don’t want them to know about my old life. I keep that shit locked away, just like the secrets I bury in this box.
After my dad leaves my room, I sit on my bed and glance out the window. Mia’s bedroom faces mine. I remember the first time I saw her as if it were yesterday. She was singing into a hairbrush, wearing nothing more than a yellow bikini with white polka dots. She’s so innocent and pure, with her pale skin and blonde hair that’s almost white, hence why she’s my little lamb.
Now, I have to break her heart along with mine. I have to say goodbye.
Chapter Two
Mia
I’m dead. Or at least I tell myself that as I sneak out of the back door of my parents’ house. Will, my older brother, would kill me if he found out about me meeting his best friend at the swing set at the edge of our properties. I’ve been hanging out with Ethan Waters behind my brother’s back for months. We wait until after midnight, when our houses are silent, and then we drink soda and eat junk food while we rehash our days.
My heart speeds up knowing Ethan is waiting for me in the backyard. Every nerve ending in my body comes alive from the forbidden act I’m about to commit with Ethan. We both know what we are doing is wrong. But do we care? Not really. And it’s not like we ever crossed the line, despite the nagging desire to kiss Ethan every time he’s within twenty feet of me.
If Will ever finds out about our secret friendship, he would flip. Ever since Ethan moved from Boston to the suburbs of Philadelphia last year, we danced around the idea of us being together. The closer he gets to high school graduation the more nervous I am about our relationship. We have become friends, and some days, I need him a lot more than he needs me. I live for the nights when we have this special time to ourselves. With my brother always around, I can never get close to Ethan.
I shut the door behind me, doing my best not to make a sound. My parents turned off their light twenty minutes ago, forcing me to wait for Will. But he never sleeps. Once I heard his PlayStation turn on, and the sound of bombs penetrate the wall we share, I crept down the back stairwell. Almost every night I repeat the same routine.
A small part of me likes sneaking around with Ethan because of the risk involved. It’s exciting. Being with Ethan is unlike any other experience I have had with a boy. Well, he’s not a boy. Ethan is a man now, not even close to the awkward boys at my school.
What I like most about Ethan is that he never treats me like Will’s little sister. But my brother is protective of me. The first time he caught Ethan staring at my lips for longer than normal he went ballistic. Ethan never looked at me again that way. At least not in front of Will.
When I reach the swings, Ethan has his feet planted on the ground, staring down at his feet. My heart aches at the sight of him. He looks so depressed that I instinctively crouch down in front of him and wait for him to raise his head. Our eyes meet, the electric current flowing between us sending a chill down my spine.
“Hey,” he says under his breath. His eyes are red-rimmed and glassy.
“Hey yourself.” I grab his knees to stabilize myself, and Ethan clasps my wrists with his calloused hands. A brush of heat dances along my skin, making me dizzy from the connection between us.
I take in his manly scent, a hint of laundry detergent mixed with musk, and stare into his green eyes. A strand of shaggy brown hair falls over his forehead, giving him an unkempt look that I have come to appreciate. He’s the ho
ttest boy in the neighborhood. Hell, Ethan Waters is the hottest boy in the entire city. And he’s here with me, of all people.
“Why do you look so bummed?”
He shrugs, still holding onto me. “My dad. You know, the usual.” Ethan turns his head to the side, the moonlight hitting his tanned skin just right. Ethan releases his grip on me and touches the scar above his left eyebrow. He winces, something he does all the time, as if what gave him that scar still haunts him.
Ethan and his parents have issues, about what I have no idea. He likes to make jokes about bad situations, where I tend to shut down. Sometimes, my family can hear the Waters’ screaming at each other from the other side of the fence. Mr. Waters is an asshole to the highest degree. If Ethan as much as slacks off at hockey practice, loses a game or gets less than an A in school, he gets a lashing from his father. Anything less than perfect is unacceptable.