Quinn murmured her name into her mouth, sounding desperate. Breathless. He cupped her ass and boosted her against him, moaning as she clutched his back and tried to climb higher. To center that hard length where she needed it. He adjusted her in his arms and she sank against him, unable to control her moan when he brushed her center.
She yanked his shirt out of his pants and pressed her hands against the hot skin of his back, feeling his muscles ripple beneath her fingers. His breathing was short and choppy, almost panting, and she knew it matched her own. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth, soothed it with his tongue, then set her back on the floor. "Hey." He cupped her face in both hands. "Not that I don't love the welcome, but what was that about?"
She'd been an idiot to let her imagination loose. She held his gaze while she pressed a kiss into his palm. Quinn turned her against the wall and held her there with his body. His hard angles and planes burned against her, as if he had a fire inside and it was trying to ignite her, too. "Tessa?"
"I was just happy to see you?" she said, stroking her cheek over his wide palm.
"Tessa. What was going on in your head?"
She nuzzled him again and sighed. "You were so quiet. I didn't hear a thing." She focused on his blue eyes, which were filled with confusion. "I have a...vivid imagination. I thought someone was in my apartment, they'd hurt you, and I didn't know whether to stay out here or go rushing in. Then you came out and I was so happy to see you alive, and in one piece, that I didn't think."
He crowded her closer to the wall. "That's quite an imagination you have," he murmured. Pressing his mouth against the side of her neck, he inhaled deeply, then sucked lightly on the tendon. She shivered against his mouth and tried to bite back the gasp that wanted to escape.
"As much as I enjoyed it, maybe we should go into your apartment," he said. Vibrations from his mouth strummed through her, and when he stepped away, she whimpered.
Lacing his fingers with hers, he tugged her across the threshold. When he locked the door behind them, she dropped onto the couch, pulling him with her. "I feel like an idiot."
"Because you kissed me? Ouch."
She couldn't stop the tiny grin. "Didn't mean it that way."
"How did you mean it?"
"I let my imagination run away with me. Leapt to a stupid conclusion." She smoothed the front of his shirt, which she'd crumpled in her fist. "Got you all wrinkled."
"Yeah." He glanced down at his shirt, nodded. "Never going to forgive that one."
Alone in her apartment, the door closed, electricity arced between them. His chest rose and fell a little too fast, and she knew she was breathing heavily, too. Her mouth tingled from the kisses they'd shared. Other parts of her tingled, as well, and she sat on her hands to keep from reaching for him. "I'll order a pizza." She somehow managed to keep her voice even. "Anything you don't want on it?"
"No anchovies. No mushrooms." He cleared his throat. "Otherwise, I'm good."
"No mushrooms?" The air was humming with electricity and pheromones, and she needed to lighten the vibe. "Hmm. I may have to re-think this friendship."
His eyes flickered at the word friendship, but he said, equally lightly, "You actually like eating fungus?"
"Love it. But I'll be a good hostess. How about pepperoni and black olives?"
"Sounds great."
Her cell phone almost slipped out of her hand, but she managed to dial and order. Then, setting the phone down, she said brightly, "How about a beer?"
"I'd love one."
Tessa hurried into the kitchen, pulled two bottles of 312 out of the refrigerator. It took two tries to retrieve her bottle opener from the drawer, and she took her time opening the beers. Her heart was racing and her hands shook. The bottle caps clattered to the floor, and she bent to retrieve them.
"Next time, I'm letting you go up the stairs first."
Quinn's voice was close, and she straightened and spun around. His eyes were black as they stared at her ass, and a dark flush stained his cheekbones. "Knew it would be a great view."
Heat built inside her, and when he dragged his gaze up to hers, she saw the fire in his eyes, as well. "We're in trouble, aren't we?" she whispered.
"Depends on your definition of trouble." His voice was rough. "Me? I think what's going on is pretty fu...freaking awesome." He took the beers from her hand and set them on the counter. "I felt a connection the moment we met. Even though it was under horrible circumstances. And I want to find out what that connection means. How deep it runs."
"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you," she confessed. Not since that morning. The image was burned into her brain. "It's kind of scary, actually."
"Scary good, I hope." He trailed one finger down her cheek, and she trembled.
"Just scary." She kept her gaze on him. "I don't know what to do about it. My rational side tells me to run. Run as far and as fast as I can."
"Because I'm a cop?"
She nodded slowly. She'd tried not to think about his job. Because if she did, the panic started. "That's part of it."
"What's the rest of it?"
"Too intense. Too fast. Too...too much."
"Yeah." He stepped closer to her, crowded her against the counter. "I think about you, Tessa, and I get hard. I couldn't concentrate at work today, knowing I was going to see you tonight. And that's dangerous – for me and the other detectives."
Was that what had happened with Brian? Had he been thinking about that afternoon? Their fight? The lovemaking that preceded it? The thought made her heart contract. "I don't...I don't want to worry about you," she whispered.
"You won't need to. I'm good at compartmentalizing. When I'm working a case, that's what I focus on. But no bodies dropped today, so I spent it thinking about you. I counted the minutes until I could leave the precinct."
"I was watching the clock at work, too." Even though she wouldn't get involved on more than a superficial level with Quinn, it was impossible not to compare all the men she worked with to the detective. "I was wrecked when I thought you hadn't waited."
"I would have waited there all night."
"What are we going to do?" she whispered. "I don't want this." Yes, she did, even though she knew she shouldn't. "I don't want to get tangled up with you."
"Too late for me," he whispered, edging closer. His thighs brushed against hers, and he put his hands on the counter, trapping her between it and his body. "It was too late for me the moment I saw you."
Chapter 8
It had been too late for Tessa the moment she'd seen him through her window.
It was shallow. Superficial. But there'd been something about Quinn that drew her. His confidence. His comfort with his body. And, yeah, that body of his. She'd seen her share of naked men. None of them had inspired the instant lust she'd felt for Quinn. And now that she'd met him? She wanted him even more fiercely.
Danger signs flashed madly all around him. He's a cop He could bleed out in front of you, just like Brian did.
Her rational self knew she was being ridiculous. The chances of that happening twice were slim. But it was possible, her bruised heart whispered. Cops got shot all the time. Especially cops doing dangerous jobs, like investigating murders.
"Maybe...could we agree that we're keeping this light? You said you weren't interested in a relationship, and I'm not, either. But I like you, Quinn, and I'd like to spend time with you." She'd like to get naked with him is what she meant, and from the way Quinn's eyes darkened, he wanted the same thing.
"Whatever you want, Tessa." He brushed his mouth over hers once, twice. "I know this has been a horrible couple of days for you, and it sounds selfish and callous, but I'm really glad I answered that call last night."
"I am, too," she said. "You made me feel safe. You took my mind off what had happened, about what that guy did in my apartment."
"I'm glad." He cupped her face with one hand, tugged her closer with the other. "If I were into that woo-woo stuff, I'd say it was
fate that I was right next door when you made the 911 call. Like we were meant to meet."
It felt like that to Tessa, too. Which was why she was scared. "Not sure about fate," she said, too quickly. "Maybe just lucky."
Quinn smiled, that devastating curl of his lips and flash of his dimple that made everything inside her clench. Want. "Whatever it is, fate, luck, I'll take it."
"Me, too," she whispered.
His hand tightened on her waist, his fingers pressing into her hip and drawing her closer. He bent his head and his mouth hovered over hers. His breath feathered over her lips, and she put a hand on his chest. His heart thundered beneath her fingers. The same way her heart was racing.
"When you kissed me out in the hall," he said, his voice guttural. "Hottest kiss I've ever had." He brushed his mouth over hers. "I need to taste you again."
She needed to taste him, too. She needed far more than a taste, but they'd start with that. Friends, she'd said. They were just friends.
But whatever this was between them burned hotter than a flame. She'd never felt this way about a man she'd dated. She could keep it on a friendly level, though. She knew better than to let herself fall in love with a cop again. She could keep her heart protected.
***
Quinn saw the flicker of uneasiness in Tessa's eyes and wondered what had caused it. Why didn't she want to get involved with a cop? What had happened to her?
He hoped she hadn't had a run-in with one of the jerks. Or maybe she'd dated one of them. There were jerks in every profession, cops included. The ones who were cops, though, tended to be controlling, overbearing bullies. He hoped Tessa hadn't gotten tangled up with one of those guys.
He didn't want to think about Tessa with another man, so he brushed his mouth over hers. All his muscles tensed and his hands trembled. One touch. That was all it took for him to almost lose control. God! This had never happened with another woman.
And he barely knew Tessa.
Maybe it was the way she'd looked that day he'd watched her, all long legs and pale skin and busy hands. Maybe it was the way she'd moaned, so intense, so aroused. Or maybe it was the way she'd looked at him tonight, the way her eyes darkened when she glanced at him, as if she wanted him as bad as he wanted her.
Maybe he was right – maybe it was fate. Maybe she was The One.
If she was, he was in trouble. She didn't want to get involved with a cop. If he knew why, maybe he could fix it. He just had to know what he was up against.
She moved against him, and all rational thought vanished. Fire raced through his veins and settled low in his gut, making his cock thicken. Lengthen. Ache for Tessa.
She pressed her mouth to his, and he nibbled her lower lip, sliding his tongue over the silky skin on the inside. She shuddered against him and wound her arms around his neck. Her fingers clutched at his head, as if she'd never let him go.
He stroked her tongue, tangled it with his, and she moaned. The sound vibrated through his mouth, making him shiver. Making his cock throb. One kiss, and he was undone. One kiss, and he was teetering on the edge of control. What would happen if they were actually skin to skin? If she was touching him with those long fingers, stroking him the way she'd been caressing herself that night?
He would explode. He would embarrass himself the way he hadn't since his first time in high school, when the feel of fingers other than his own on his cock made him lose control in about ten seconds.
He'd learned a lot since then, but he was afraid he'd forget it all if...no, when, he was naked with Tessa. Her skin would taste like honey, sweet and subtle. She would be soft everywhere he was hard.
Her skin would be smooth. And the more intimate parts of her... His hand trembled with the need to slip beneath her shirt and touch her back, her sides, her abdomen. He needed to know what she felt like. What she tasted like.
He needed to know what made her moan. What made her cry out. And he had to know what made her tremble. Lose control. Because he wanted to watch her when she did. He wanted to stare into her eyes as she fell off the edge. And he wanted to hold her as she floated back to earth.
He moved his mouth over hers, trying to get every last nuance of her flavor. He clutched her waist, holding her hard against him. His cock was pressed into the juncture of her thighs, and as she rocked against him, she moaned into his mouth.
God! Both of them were on the edge. From a kiss.
He loosened his grip on her waist and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. Her breasts flattened against his chest, and their pebbled tips burned into him, even through her shirt and his. He needed to see her. He wanted to know what color her nipples were. How the weight of her breasts would feel in his hands. He wanted to watch her as he tasted them, sucked them into his mouth.
He wanted to make her tremble with need. He wanted her begging for him. He wanted her completely undone, completely wild for him.
The way she undid him. The way he was wild for her. The way he would die if he didn't touch her.
He slid his hand up her back, searching the clasp of her bra, but found nothing but smooth muscle. She wasn't wearing a bra. He gripped the fabric of her shirt in his fist as his breath stuttered and his balls tightened even more. He'd tried to avoid staring at her chest, so he hadn't noticed. But she was bare beneath the thin scrub shirt.
"Tessa," he groaned. "Are you trying to make me crazy?" He slid his hand from her back and covered her breast.
She froze in his arms and all of her muscles tensed. As if she was going to push him away. Had he gone too far, too fast?
Instead, after a moment, she pressed herself into him. Tore her mouth away from his and whispered, "Yes, as crazy as you're making me. Quinn, please. I need you to touch me. I need...I need..."
He brushed his thumb over her nipple, barely touching the cloth of her shirt, and she cried out. Shuddered. From one barely-there caress.
She was the woman he'd been dreaming about every night since he'd watched her. But this time, she was real. This time, instead of just imagining, he could touch her. Taste her. And suddenly he couldn't wait another moment.
As he took his hand away from her breast, she made a needy sound and tried to draw him back. Instead, he gathered the hem of her scrub shirt in his hand and bunched it up until the back of his fingers brushed her warm skin. She made a tiny gasp and stilled against him.
He curled his hand around her waist, and he was right. Her skin was as soft as a late spring day. Smooth and warm. As his fingers moved over her, it was like caressing silk.
The muscles of her abdomen trembled as explored. As he traced the outline of a rib, her breath caught. Her fingers closed around his wrist, and he wasn't sure if it was to stop him or urge him on.
"Tessa?" he murmured.
She dragged her eyes open and stared at him. Her eyelids were heavy and her pupils were almost completely dilated, the irises reduced to a small rim of amber. Her lips were swollen and her mouth trembled.
He wanted to rip her clothes off and bury himself inside her.
"Tessa?" he said again. "Do you want me to stop?"
Her forehead creased in a tiny frown, like she didn't know what he was talking about. He nodded at her hand on his wrist. "Looks like you want me to stop."
She looked from her fingers around his wrist to where his hand was hidden beneath her shirt. "No. Yes. It's...it's almost too much, Quinn. Too intense. If you touch me, I'm afraid I'll...I'll..." Her already flushed face got even redder, and she sucked in a breath as his fingers brushed the bottom of her breast.
His cock leaped and made his jeans far too tight as he realized what she was about to say. "Tell me, Tessa," he whispered, pressing his mouth against her neck and sucking gently on the tendon there. "Tell me what might happen."
Her hand dropped away from his wrist and wrapped around his arm, as if she was having trouble standing. Her other hand held him against her. As he sucked gently, then tasted her again, she shuddered against him. "I'm afraid I'll come
." The last word had been barely more than a breath. "And that would be so embarrassing."
"Embarrassing?" He crowded into her, backing her into the counter, sliding his thigh between hers. "That would be the hottest thing I've ever seen. And now you've said that, I have to find out. May I touch you? Please, Tessa?"
He felt her struggling for control. She tried to ease her body away from his, tried to loosen her hands on his back. But she was pressing into his thigh, her chest was against his, and the tiny sounds she made weren't saying 'get away from me.'
He waited, nibbling on her ear, kissing the underside of her jaw, brushing his mouth over hers again. He stroked his index finger over her abdomen, and just that tiny movement made her gasp.
"Please," she moaned. "Please, Quinn."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." Her voice pleaded with him. She pressed her core against his thigh and a broken little sound came out of her throat. It was a good thing she wasn't close enough to his cock to touch him, because if she did, he'd embarrass himself, too.
He stroked his fingers over her ribs again, taking his time, loving the way her muscles quivered with every movement of his hand. When he reached her breast, he palmed its heavy weight, curling his finger around her curves. Being careful not to touch her nipple, he circled one finger around her and over to the other breast, held that one for a moment, as well.
"Quinn. Please." Her voice was ragged. Harsh, as if she had to force the words out of her throat.
"Is this what you want, Tessa?" Still holding her breast, he brushed his thumb lightly over one nipple. He barely touched her, but she collapsed against him, shaking.
"Quinn," she gasped.
He squeezed gently, and her head fell back, exposing her neck. Cradling her head in his hand, he sucked gently on her skin as he explored the tight nubbin of her nipple.
When she was shaking almost violently, he shoved the scrub shirt up past her breasts and drank in the sight. Her nipples were light brown, tightly pebbled against her pale skin. "Beautiful," he whispered. The way he surged against the zipper of his jeans, his cock would have a permanent imprint of the zipper.
Watch Me (The Donovan Family Book 2) Page 7
