Hunted (Love like Yours Series Book 3)
Page 6
“Harrison?” I called out cautiously.
“Fuck off.” Came the squawky voice again.
Jesus, please don’t have a woman waiting here.
“Harrison?” I called again, more loudly. I could hear that he had turned on the T.V – he probably couldn’t hear me.
I walked cautiously towards the door and slowly peered around the doorframe and looked down the hallway.
“Hello?”
Silence. There was nobody there.
“Harrison!” I called towards the living room. I turned to walk back into the kitchen when I heard it again.
“Fuck off.”
I grabbed a frying pan from the holder and held it up in the air. I took two slow steps into the hallway.
“Who’s there?” I called.
Silence.
What is going on in this house?
“What the hell are you doing?”
I leapt about three feet in the air.
Clutching my chest, I looked behind me. Harrison was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching me with amusement.
“Christ.” I hissed at him. “I heard something.”
He gave me a look that let me know he thought I was crazy.
“You heard something did you?”
“Someone.” I insisted. “They told me to fuck off.”
His face broke out into a huge grin. “Ahh. I see.”
He rummaged around in a box on the counter top. “Does Binky want a cracker.” He called loudly.
Does who want a what now?
A flurry of noise came at me from behind my head and I threw myself to the ground.
“What the fuck!” I shrieked as I frantically looked around and eventually back up at him. Harrison hadn’t moved an inch. The only difference was the bird sitting on his shoulder.
“Well fuck me dead.” I stated as I slowly got back to my feet.
“Rawwwk. Fuck me dead.” The bird repeated.
“Well that’s a new one.” Harrison mused as he scratched the birds head.
“You’ve got a parrot.” I stated dumbly.
He nodded. “He’s actually a parakeet.”
“Of course he is.” I agreed, even though I didn’t have the slightest clue what the difference was.
“And he’s not mine. He’s my brother Mitchell’s. He may as well be mine though, he’s been here long enough.”
I eyed the bird warily as I brushed off my jeans.
“He won’t bite.” He reassured me. I could see he was holding back a laugh.
“I’m not convinced.” Narrowing my eyes, I stepped towards him. “He did just tell me to fuck off you know.” I replied with a touch of humor.
“He’s kind of an asshole.”
I reached out slowly for the bird and stroked his back gently.
“Who’s a pretty boy?” He squawked.
“Oh and modest too?” I joked.
I had to admit, once the surprise was over, the bird was actually pretty cool.
“Does he just hang out in the house all the time?”
“I’ve got his cage out back. My neighbor has been taking care of him, they must have brought him inside when I let them know I’d be coming home.” He explained. “He drives me crazy, but I actually missed him. It’ll be weird around here when Mitch gets back.”
I stared at him in wonder, bird on his shoulder. He looked like a hot, modern day pirate.
I wouldn’t mind walking his plank.
“I should go.” I said quickly, suddenly aware that I was standing in the kitchen of a man I didn’t really know, but was insanely attracted to.
“Wait. Just let me put him in his cage.” He walked slowly towards the door. “Wait okay?” He told me carefully, as though he thought I might bolt.
I nodded.
I watched as he moved cautiously towards the door. I could see how much better he’d got in the last three weeks – his arm was still in a cast, but I was willing to bet it’d be due to come off any day now, and his ribs were obviously still sore, but other than that, he looked in pretty good shape. From what I could see, his bruises were faded and gone.
He emerged back inside and I held back a sigh at the sight of him.
“He wasn’t happy.” He chuckled. “He called me a prick.”
I spat out a very unladylike laugh. “And I wonder who taught him that?”
He flashed me a cheeky grin that had my insides melting.
God he is just so good looking.
“I should go.” I said again.
He ignored me. “You never told me you know… what you were doing in my hospital room.”
I shrugged. “I was reading to you.”
“Why?” He pressed.
“I have no idea.” I answered him honestly. “I can’t explain what made me come and visit you in the first place, or what kept me coming back.”
He moved closer to me, his eyes fixed on mine.
“What’s going on here Quinn?” He moved even closer, stopping only a few inches from me.
“I don’t know.” I whispered, looking down at my feet.
His hand rose slowly to my chin, lifting it up with one finger so I was looking into his eyes.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve never thought about a woman as much as I’ve thought about you.”
My heart raced at his words. I’d convinced myself it was all one sided on my part.
“You feel it too?”
“Fuck yes I feel it too.” He growled.
He opened his palm and cupped the side of my face, I instinctively leaned into his touch, I’d been craving it for so long.
“Quinn.” He breathed.
My eyes shut and I soaked up the magic feeling of his skin on mine.
I knew he was going to kiss me – and I wanted it, god did I want it. But I knew it wasn’t right. Not until he’d talked to his brother. His lips moved so close I could feel his warm breath fanning my face.
“I don’t think you should kiss me.” I whispered.
“I should definitely kiss you.” He murmured back.
He was so close now it would be nothing, just the tiniest of movements to make our lips meet.
He smelt so good, I nearly caved.
We can’t.
I released the breath I was holding and pulled away slightly.
He huffed out a breath of his own and leaned forward, resting his head on my shoulder.
“I know.” He grumbled. “I need to talk to him first.”
I nodded. “You do. I’m sorry.”
“I’d say don’t be.” He straightened up and looked at me. “But honest truth?”
“Honest truth.” I confirmed.
“It drives me fucking crazy. Knowing he’s touched you, kissed you, been inside you.” He flinched as he spoke the last words. “It makes me crazy.”
His words made me feel guilty and elated at the same time.
“I’m sorry.” I said again.
I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.
When did my life become such a mess?
It felt like, no matter what I did now, I would be hurting someone. I was always saying sorry to somebody.
This is all my fault…
15. Harrison
I picked up the phone. This was going to be a shit conversation and I knew it.
Straight to voicemail. Straight to voicemail…
He picked up after the second ring.
Dammit.
“Hey, did you get home all good?”
More than all good.
“Yeah, I’m home now.”
“Good… so… what’s up?”
I leaned back against my couch and sighed. “Reeve double booked, so Quinn did him a favor and brought me home.”
The silence stretched.
“Right.” He finally said. “Is she there with you now?”
“Nah. She left a while back.”
Silence again.
“Can we meet up and talk?” I eventually asked
him.
He huffed out a breath. “Just say it now.”
“I’d rather do it in person.”
“Well I’d rather never do it.” He shot back.
“Don’t make this harder than it already is man.”
“Me?” His voice rose. “You’re trying to tell me that you want to screw my ex, and I’m the one who’s making it hard?”
I felt my temper flare.
“I don’t know what I’ve got going on with her man, but it sure as hell isn’t just me wanting a fuck.” I took a deep breath; I needed to keep my cool. “I just wanted to talk to you about it before anything happened between us.”
“Fuck you Harrison.”
Shit.
“Colt, I just want to –”
It was too late. He’d hung up.
“Fuck.” I muttered. That had gone worse than I’d thought it would. I slammed the phone down on the couch.
I wasn’t advised to drive for at least another few days, but fuck it, I’d tried to give him the heads up and he wasn’t going to listen to me over the phone.
We were having a face to face, and we were having it now.
***
I found him in the back storage room of the bar. He had to look twice when he caught sight of me; it was pretty obvious he hadn’t been expecting me to turn up here.
We stood in silence for a moment, staring at one another, both of us waiting for the other to make the first move.
I approached him and he mimicked my actions until we were only an arm’s length apart.
“I want her.” I told him, my voice full of authority. “She’s mine now.”
If this wasn’t a display of dominance, I’d eat my fucking hat. All that was left was to strip off my shirt and beat my chest at him.
He took a step closer, getting right up in my face, and I had to admit, I was impressed. I didn’t think he had it in him to challenge me like this.
“That woman doesn’t belong to anyone. You’d do well to remember that.” He chuckled darkly, thinking he’d one upped me.
“That’s where you’re wrong little brother.” I smirked down at him. “And maybe one day you’ll meet the one that belongs to you.”
His staunch act faltered. “You’re really gonna do this? You’re just gonna cut my lunch?”
“Fuck.” I muttered. I preferred it when he was at least acting tough.
I stepped away from him and sat down on a crate.
“Colt…” I shook my head. “I don’t have a choice man. I can’t even explain it to you, because you’ve never experienced it. Just trust me when I say that one day you’ll understand.”
“I love her.” He insisted.
I shook my head at him. “You think you love her.” He tried to interrupt me, but I cut him off. “I saw you the other day when we went for lunch, checking out the ass on that blondie, I saw the look you gave her.”
He shrugged and sat down on a box opposite me. “So?”
“So?” I blanched. “Are you kidding me? You think a woman like Quinn deserves to have her man looking like that at other chicks?”
He rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t look if we were together.”
“See.” I pointed at him. “That’s the god damn problem right there.”
He frowned, not understanding.
“If she were as important to you as you say she is, it wouldn’t matter if you were together or not, you’d be too consumed to even see anyone else.”
He hung his head down.
“I know you don’t owe me any favors.” I told him quietly. “But I’m going to ask for one anyway. I don’t want this to come between us, but like I said, I don’t have a choice anymore. I’m going after her… can you try and be okay with that?”
He huffed out a breath and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what I say does it?”
He stared at me as the silence stretched between us.
He nodded in acceptance of my non-answer.
“I don’t want to lose you Colt.” I told him sincerely.
He didn’t say anything for a few beats. “You think she’s the one for you then?” There was pain in his voice that cut me deep.
I needed to be completely honest with him. This was a shit of a situation and he deserved the truth from me.
“I think she could be.”
He shook his head in defeat.
“All I know right now is that I want her. And I don’t just mean that I want to sleep with her. I just want to be around her. I want to figure out what she likes and doesn’t like… how she acts. I just want her. I’ve never felt like this about a woman before Colt, and as much as it’s killing you, it’s scaring the shit out of me.”
He stared directly at me as I spoke.
“And for what it’s worth, I’m so fucking sorry that I’ve finally found a woman I want to know, at your expense. I wish more than anything that it wasn’t the case.”
“Fine.” He replied quietly before I could say anything more.
“What?”
“I’m not saying I’m happy about it, I’m not even saying that I’m done being pissed off. But I’m not going to stand in the middle anymore. You’re both adults and you’ll do what you want regardless of what I say.”
My youngest brother had never impressed me more than he did right in that moment.
“I just want one thing from you.” He asked with wide eyes.
“Yeah man, anything, what is it?” I was willing to agree to whatever he wanted right now.
“At least for now, just keep it out of my face.”
***
I’d never felt so guilty and so relieved at the same time.
I wanted to call her right away and tell her it was done… that I could kiss her now.
I could picture the two of us in my kitchen. I knew the way I would hoist her up under her ass and rest her against the counter top, I could imagine the way her lips would feel, how she’d taste… I was driving myself crazy thinking about it.
The problem was, that image was vastly hindered by the cast on my arm and the fact that my ribs still screamed in protest when I moved the wrong way.
If I was going to kiss Quinn Pierce, I was going to do it right.
This cast was coming off one week from today, and I hoped like hell that my ribs would be improved by then too.
One week.
I could wait one week.
***
I was surprised how good it felt to be back. Sitting here, shooting the shit with my best mate was something I’d definitely missed. The giant pile of cases loaded up on my desk… not so much.
“What’s going on with you and Quinn?” Reeve asked me out of the blue.
“How do you mean?” I answered slyly.
Truth be told, I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was I wanted there to be something… anything… ‘Going on’.
“Cut the shit Harry. I saw her in here that day… heard you on the phone. So what’s the deal?” He had a shit eating grin on his face – bastard knew he had me.
“She’s... I’m… we’re… I dunno what we are.” I struggled to find the right words, a first for me.
“She’s a fucking keeper that’s what she is.” He told me, matter of fact. “And you’re an idiot if you haven’t asked her out yet.”
“I’m gonna swing by her office at lunch.”
He glanced at his calendar. “It’s Tuesday. Quinn always goes downstairs and buys lunch on a Tuesday.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
“Girls like a sister to me man.” He reminded me. “I see a lot of her and El.”
My brain ticked over. This could be good news for me… very good news.
I grinned at him.
“What other useful information you got for me you sly old dog?”
He grinned.
“Well… what you should do...” He said with enthusiasm, leaning over his desk towards me.
I couldn’t help but lean in slightly in anticipation.
I laughed loudly, falling back against the chair.
“Asshole.” I muttered as I jumped out of the seat and went to do that exact thing.
I could still hear him laughing as I booted up my computer two doors down.
“If you can’t stop thinking about it, it’s probably worth going after.”
- Author unknown
16. Quinn
It had been six days since I’d wanted to jump him in his kitchen.
Six long days.
I hadn’t heard a word from him. It’d taken me three days to realize he didn’t have my number any more than I had his, which explained why he hadn’t called. Day four, I’d realized he didn’t know where I lived, so that explained why he hadn’t turned up on my doorstep… but I was pretty confident he knew where I worked, so that offered no explanation as to why it was approaching a week with no contact from him.
I didn’t know if he’d talked to Colt yet, and my mind was going mad with the possibilities.
They might not have talked at all… or they might have talked and decided that they wouldn’t let a girl come between them… Harrison might have forgotten about the whole thing and be going about his life as per usual… Colt might have locked him in the walk in fridge at the bar and never spoke of him again…
The possibilities were endless, and growing slightly more morbid by the day.
I’m losing my mind.
I picked up my phone and text Ellerslie.
“He STILL hasn’t called me.”
“Maybe you gave him the crazy vibe that you’ve been giving me the past few days…”
“I am NOT crazy”
“Really??? Are you still taking notes on him?”
“I’m not even holding a penis”
“Umm… good to know?”
“OMG penis”
“Penis”
“SHIT!”
“P E N”
“Pen! I’m not even holding a PEN”
“Oh god!! I’m dying.”
“Jesus. I think my autocorrect must be on her period. She’s been such a raging bitch this week”
“You’re killing me Q. My face hurts from laughing”