“Then do a better one.”
The hungry look on his face intensified, became ferocious. Then he drew his cock out of her, so achingly slowly, making her writhe. “Tell me you want me.” His voice was so deep, echoing inside her. “Tell me this this where you always wanted to end up, Lily Hammond. Naked and under me. My cock in your pretty little cunt.” And as if to punctuate his point, he shoved back in. Hard.
Lily groaned, not wanting to give in, not yet. “Arrogant son of a bitch.”
“Tell me.” And he did it again, another long, slow glide, before a hard thrust.
“You’re always wanting me to tell you things.” She scored him with her nails, even as she tried to meet his thrusts with her hips. “Why can’t you just screw me instead?”
Quinn drew back once more, before driving deep into her. “Because you’re a delicious little bitch who needs a fucking lesson.”
“B-Bastard.” The feel of him on top her, inside her, driving deep into her, was dizzying. “You’re the one who needs a lesson.”
“Yeah, and I’ve been learning. Believe me.” His cock dragged out of her so achingly slowly that she shook, before he shoved himself back in, making her gasp in delight. “Come on, woman. Give me what I want and I’ll make you scream.”
Oh, she had no doubt he would. And part of her was afraid of how easily he could do that to her. But she was starting not to want to hold out. Starting not to want to fight him, only to give in to the pleasure that was tearing her apart.
“Yes,” she moaned as he slid out again. “Yes, I wanted you, Quinn Redmond. You know I did.”
A pure spark of emerald lit in his gaze. He liked hearing that, clearly, and for some inexplicable reason, that made her pleased, too. “And the rest,” he ordered. “Give me all of it.”
She wanted to protest, to fight some more, tease him and push him, but she’d gotten beyond that. She knew what he wanted and so she gave it to him. “Yes, I always wanted to end up naked and under you,” she panted. “Your cock in my pretty cunt.”
The emerald spark in his gaze turned into a flame. “Good girl,” he murmured. “Now you can have your reward.”
And he began to move, harder, faster. Watching her as the rhythm intensified, the sound of his flesh meeting hers combining with their panting breaths to become an erotic soundtrack she was going to hear in her dreams.
It was so good she almost couldn’t stand it.
“Lily,” he murmured in his deep, rough voice. “Lily…”
‘Duchess’ her father used to call her, because she was so proud, and that had stuck. Mason, though, hadn’t liked Duchess. He’d called her Lily and she’d hated it when he did, because it had always sounded so weak and fragile in his mouth.
But the way Quinn said her name didn’t make it sound weak or fragile. Instead it sounded soft and tender, yet with an undeniable power.
The power to make this tough, strong man tremble.
She couldn’t remember, now, why she had to be so cool and locked down. Why she’d been so afraid of her attraction to him. So afraid to reach out and take some pleasure for herself. Because this wasn’t scary. This was…amazing.
She stared up into his face, unable to look away, unable to hide what he was doing to her.
The pleasure began to coil tighter and tighter, a hard knot inside her that had her shifting restlessly beneath him, desperate for release and yet also half-afraid of what was going to happen. Because it felt too large, too big to contain.
She dug her nails into his chest, moving with him, gasping as the edge came closer and closer. God, she was going go over and the fall was going to devastate her, she knew it.
He let go of the couch, his fingers curling around her wrist and pulling her hand down between them, right down to where they were joined. He didn’t speak, just held her hand there so she could feel the slick skin of his cock and the stretch of herself around him.
She trembled, shuddering as he moved her hand a little higher, pressing her fingers against her clit as he changed his angle, and suddenly everything became a thousand times more desperate and hot, and she was gasping, the edge crumbling under her feet.
“Quinn…Quinn…” Her own voice was ragged and torn, and then his hand was pressing down harder on hers. He gave one deep thrust, and suddenly the edge was gone and she was falling.
Lily cried out, tumbling end over end into the most intense pleasure she’d ever experienced in her entire life. Her eyes filled with helpless tears as it washed over her, engulfing her, swamping her completely until there was no more cries in her throat, only sobs.
But Quinn was there, his muscled body pinning her in place, anchoring her in the storm, his arms around her, keeping her safe. And in the end she had to turn her face into his throat, burying her cries against his chest, feeling his body begin to gather itself in the race to find his own release.
She was barely aware of his hard, deep thrusts, wild at first then getting wilder, then the roar of of her name as he came, his grip on her so hard she was sure he was going to leave bruises. And part of her was thrilled by that idea. Evidence of how she’d managed to get this powerful man to shake and fall apart, calling her name.
For a long while afterward, she lay there half-stunned, a strange, electric feeling humming in her blood. She couldn’t believe what had happened between them, the power of it echoing through her along with the physical aftershocks.
Sex had never been like that for her. Never ever. It had never made her cry. And she had no idea whether that was a good thing or not, but Quinn’s powerful body was heavy on hers and she liked the weight of it. And even though it was hot already, she liked his heat too, and the heady scent of sex along with his own very specific male musk.
She could hear the beat of his heart, rapid but slowing, and she had to smile, because she was betting there weren’t many things that made Quinn Redmond’s heart beat faster. Apparently, though, sex with her was one of those things.
Yeah, sex. You’ve just had sex with Quinn Redmond.
And it had been amazing sex. Phenomenal sex. Life changing sex even, though she was not intending to change her life in any way and certainly not just because she’d had sex with Quinn. No matter how hot he was. She wasn’t going to change anything else, either. Good sex, sure, but that was all it was.
Except he’s not going to let you have distance anymore.
Well, they would have to see about that. More sex she could handle, but less distance? That was another thing entirely. And besides, why should he get to dictate what happened between them? Because if he thought he could do that, he had another think coming.
Lily pushed at the muscular wall of hot male lying on top of her, wanting air all of a sudden.
Quinn shifted to the side, but not off of her entirely. Instead, he reached over the arm of the couch and light flooded the room, making her blink.
His rough, handsome features came into view, his green eyes fierce on hers. And her breath caught at the impact of him, the light outlining the broad width of his shoulders and the muscled planes of his chest, his tattoo springing into sharp focus against his olive skin.
Quinn Redmond, naked. And he was on top of her.
A deep, erotic shudder worked its way down her spine, her body already tightening again with desire at the feel of him against her. She slid her hands up his chest to his shoulders, and over them to stroke the warm, smooth skin and sleek muscle of his back.
He was still, staring down at her, studying her face as if it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen, and at another time, she might have found it uncomfortable. Might have felt like she was giving things away that she didn’t want to give. But for some reason, right now, the way he looked at her didn’t feel confronting or make her uncomfortable.
In fact, she liked it.
“See something interesting?” Her voice was husky and sex roughened, and she couldn’t keep her hands off him, his skin smooth and satiny beneath her fingers.
/> “Yeah,” he rumbled, his gaze intense on hers. “I do.”
She smiled. “Same.”
That hot spark in his eyes glittered in response, but he didn’t smile back. Instead there was another silence and then he said, “Stay here.” And he shifted off her, disappearing in the direction of the bathroom.
Sighing, Lily pushed herself up, taking a look around the room for the little pajama set she’d spent a quite a lot of money on. It was probably going to be ruined given how he’d ripped it off her, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel too badly about it.
Before she could find more than the top, though, Quinn was back, striding naked toward her and it wasn’t fair, just wasn’t fair. Because he had the advantage now the light was on him, showing him off in all his glory. Hard, cut muscle. Olive skin. Tattoos to make a woman’s mouth water. A powerful animal grace.
He was a god and she suspected he probably knew it.
“Hey,” she began, pushing herself to her feet. “I was just—”
But he didn’t let her finish. Before she could get any other words out, he’d picked her up in his arms and turned toward the bedroom, carrying her through the double doors and over to the huge bed.
“Quinn,” she muttered, irritated at his high-handedness. “Let me go.”
But his face was hard, his expression set. “I warned you. If you don’t want to have more sex tonight, then that’s fine. But you’re going to tell me a few things and you’re going to tell me now. And I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Then she was being laid on the bed and he was following her, his heavily muscled body coming down over hers, pushing between her thighs so that he was lying on her, pinning her to the mattress. He put his elbows on either side of her head, leaning on them so he was half raised but not giving her a hell of a lot of space either.
“Okay,” he said. “So, Lily Hammond. What exactly is that you’re hiding?”
She knew what he was talking about and he knew that she did, because within seconds of the words being out of his mouth, pink, flushed and smiling Lily began to recede from view, leaving his arms full of icy, distant, aggravating Duchess instead.
He had to hand it to her, even naked and under him, she managed to look cool and vaguely superior. Except that wasn’t going to work, not now. He knew who she was hiding underneath all that Duchess armor, and what’s more, he knew how to strip that armor away.
“Excuse me?” she asked, even managing an imperious eyebrow lift.
Holy fuck, but she was something. A strong woman. A fascinating woman. A complicated woman. And, he had a feeling, a woman who was hiding some deep vulnerability at the heart of her. Why else would she protect herself so fiercely? Hide her true nature so completely?
He was going to have to be careful with her. Because with a woman like her, you’d never know you’d dealt her a mortal blow until you saw the blood spots on the floor. Either that or you were dead on the floor along with them.
“No,” Quinn said, allowing a growl to creep into his voice. “Don’t fuck with me, baby. You give me Duchess again and there will be consequences.”
Her gaze narrowed. “What consequences?”
“I’m not going to tell you. Only that you might not like them.” He could think of a hundred different ways to punish her. Ways that she’d ultimately end up loving, of course, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. Wasn’t much of a threat otherwise.
“Well, forgive me but vague threats aren’t very convincing,” she sniffed, reading his mind.
Quinn slid one hand between her silky thighs, stroking his finger through her slick folds until he found her clit. Then he pressed lightly down on it.
The cool expression on her face wavered, a soft gasp escaping her.
“How is this then?” He circled her clit lightly, teasing it. “You like it?”
Color was flooding into her face, her lashes fluttering. “Oh, yes,” she breathed. “That’s a little more convincing.”
“Good.” He took his hand away.
She frowned. “Quinn—”
“If you don’t tell me right now, I’m going to tie you to the bed and spend the next two hours tasting every inch of you with my tongue until you’re begging for mercy.” He adjusted his position, letting his rapidly hardening cock take the place of his finger, pressing lightly against her slick flesh. “And then maybe I’ll spank you for good measure.”
She shuddered as dick ground against her. “You’re such a bastard.”
“We’ve already established that.” His muscles had tightened, his hunger for her starting to build again at the feel of her body against his, but he controlled it. This was too important. “Lily.” He stared down at her, letting her see that he wasn’t going to be moved on this. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me.”
An expression he couldn’t read rippled over her lovely face and she looked away, small white teeth sinking into her full bottom lip. The sight of it, made him even harder than he already was, but he ignored that, too.
After a moment, she sighed. Her hair was spread out all over the pillow, the light turning it to pure silver and her cheeks were pink. She was so beautiful like this. He liked Duchess a hell of a lot, but he was beginning to think he liked Lily even more.
“There’s a reason I don’t want to tell anyone,” she said at last, not meeting his eyes, but lifting her palms to his chest, spreading out her fingers as if she couldn’t stop herself from touching him. “A reason I don’t want anyone to know.”
He stared at her lovely face. “Yeah, I figured that. Is it something to do with the law? That file you didn’t want me to see?”
“Yes.”
“Something illegal?”
“Yes.” Her fingers pressed lightly against his pecs. “I could lose my business over it. And I…could go to jail.”
Well, that wasn’t a surprise. He’d already suspected something like that.
“What is it?” Quinn shifted yet again, pressing directly against her pussy, keeping the pressure on her clit as an incentive.
Her breath caught, more color sweeping over her skin, and her lashes flicked up, the blue of her eyes hitting once again, full-force. The color seemed less icy in this light, deeper, more intense, and he knew that was an image he was never going to get out of his head — Lily, with her skin like fresh cream and her mouth all red from his kisses. Her gilt hair all sleepy and mussed and her eyes the color of sapphires.
That’s all you. You did that to her.
Yeah, he had. And he fucking loved it.
“I shot Mason,” she said bluntly. “I shot him and he died.”
A brief sense of shock rippled through Quinn, followed by a burst of quiet satisfaction. Because he hadn’t been lying the day before when he’d told her that the prick had it coming. The prick had. And knowing Lily had been the cause didn’t change that one iota.
“So, not a robbery gone wrong then,” Quinn said.
“No. It wasn’t. It was me.”
The same defiance he’d seen the day before was in her gaze now, so he said, to preempt her, “If you’re expecting judgment you won’t get it from me.” After all, he was in no position to call anyone out. “Tell me what happened.”
Her gaze wavered slightly, but she didn’t hesitate. “It was after I’d left work one night. I had to get a couple of things from the store and so I pulled into the parking lot. I was coming back to my car when Mason just kind of appeared out of nowhere. He started going on about how he missed me and wanted us to get back together, and I told him that there was no way in hell that was happening, that he needed to leave me alone.” Her voice was very cool, Duchess back in control again. “So, he came at me and I knew he was going to hurt me again and I decided that I was done. I had a gun in my purse and I knew how to use it, so I pulled it out and told him that if he threatened me or Rose again, I’d blow his damn head off.”
Quinn nearly growled with approval at that, because that was Duchess, protecting the
people she cared about.
“So, he threatened you and you blew his damn head off?” Quinn said. “And before you say anything else, I wholeheartedly approve.”
Color had flushed her cheeks and her eyes had darkened. “Yes, well. He laughed and told me that I wouldn’t. That I didn’t have the guts. And then he said that I should while I had the chance, because I was never going to get rid of him any other way. He’d always be there watching me. Watching Rose.” A blue flame was glowing in her eyes now, lighting the dark. Rage. “So I shot him in the chest.”
Of course she had. Made total sense to him. The bastard had hurt her, had threatened her and her sister. So, she’d taken him out, like a soldier taking down the enemy.
Hell, it was what he would have done. And he had. Many times when he was on deployment.
And not on deployment, too.
Quinn shoved that aside. This wasn’t about him right now, this was about her.
“So he died?” Quinn asked.
Lily’s gaze didn’t waver. “Yes.”
“And that’s what you’re being blackmailed with?
“There was security footage. I don’t know how they got it, because I had the cameras wiped.” Again, that defiant glitter in her eyes. “I had to hide what I’d done. Rose was still only sixteen. She would have had to go into the foster system if I’d gone to prison and I couldn’t let that happen. That would make me no better than—” She stopped all of a sudden and for the first time, she glanced away. “Anyway, there was a friend of Dad’s who was a security expert and I called him. He deleted the camera footage for me. And no, I didn’t tell him why. He was an ‘ask no questions, tell no lies’ guy.”
“Of course you had to hide it,” Quinn said and he understood. She had Rose to take care of and even though going to jail for Mason’s death might have been justice, it would have been a cold kind of justice and he didn’t care for it. Anyway, he didn’t care that she’d wiped evidence of her crime, either. He was interested in something else. “But it would make you no better than who?”
Black Sheep Bounty Hunter Page 14
