by Amy Brent
“Uh huh.” Lily said after a moment, and I was sure she was about to say something else but instead clapped her hands together sharply startling everybody, “Well, are we going to get to work or just stand around talking all day? This place won’t clean itself.”
I let out a sigh of relief, sharing a look with Leo before grabbing a pair of gloves and jumping back in. Lily was right about one thing. The house sure as hell wasn’t going to clean itself.
***
Leo
I took a grateful sip of the cold beer as I glanced around the room. We'd made better progress this afternoon than I expected, aided mostly by Quinn's crew of friends. At some point, as the heat grew more stifling as the day went on, one of the Brewer boys, I still wasn't sure which one, went and grabbed a case of beer from the liquor store down the street and it tasted damn good after the mouthful of plaster dust that still seemed to linger.
The sound of laughter drew my attention and I found myself staring as Quinn joked with her friend. What was her name? A flower of some type. Rose? No, that wasn’t right. Lily. That was it. Lily.
She was nice, in a quiet sort of way, chatting with Quinn mostly until she offered to read my chakra and set me up with some sort of crystal thing to, what did she call it? Deepen my spiritual connection to the natural world. Uh huh. I’d politely told her no thank you, but she’d gone on anyways, telling me which chakras were cloudy or some shit. The whole-time Quinn had been standing there, hiding her laughter behind a hand as she watched me squirm in discomfort.
The noise drew my attention again and I watched the smile curve Quinn’s perfectly kissable lips, charmed despite my best intentions. In any normal situation, I knew I’d already be long gone and on to the next girl that caught my eye by now, but something about Quinn was different.
It was like she was a new drug I’d never tasted before and now I was addicted. I couldn’t get enough of her. She was in my veins. In my bloodstream and I couldn’t get her out. Hell, I didn’t even fucking want to.
I was already drooling for another taste of her, dreaming of different ways to get her alone before I went insane with wanting her.
I shook my head at myself, trying to banish the thoughts but they remained, lodged in my head and no matter what I did I couldn’t extricate them. Worry shot through me and I took another sip of the beer, trying to wash it away. Damn if that didn’t help one bit either.
That worry ate at me though, as we continued to work. Quinn was getting under my skin in a way that no woman had in a hell of a long time. Maybe ever. It should have terrified me. It should have had me running for the hills, or at the very least packing my bag and running on to the next town, the next slew of willing women.
I’m getting in too deep. The thought echoed through my mind and for a moment I gave it credence. For the hundredth time thinking about how I should just cut things off between us.
It would be better for both of us. No more sneaking around. No more hiding whatever this was from her brother, from my best friend.
Quinn’s sweet laughter drew my attention once more and I found myself wanting to grin along with the sound of it.
I’m just having fun. That’s all. It’s just fun. Now, I just had to find a way to convince myself of that.
Chapter 12
Leo
“Come on, you son of a bitch. You don’t stand a chance against me.” I growled the words, my muscles straining as my grip tightened, “You might as well just give up now. You’re mine.”
Sweat was dripping down my brow and soaking the back of my shirt but I didn’t stop until I felt the rusty bolt start to give.
"Ah Hah! One down, twenty more to go!" I crowed victoriously as I dropped the rusty piece of metal into the bucket in front of me. The door hinges may be stubborn, but they were no match for me.
It seemed like every door in the whole damned place was rusted almost beyond use and I was starting the process of taking them all down. Half of the door jambs themselves would have to be replaced but this one seemed salvageable.
Over the past few weeks, the construction on the property had gone better than anyone had first anticipated, especially me. I’d been sure it was a lost cause from the beginning but something had begun to happen, working on me as time passed.
Quinn. It’s Quinn working on you.
That’s ridiculous, I scoffed to myself, clamping the top bolt in the mouth of the wrench I was using.
Is it?
I put all my weight into moving the rusted bolt but it didn't budge. It was stuck even worse than the last one and bent at an odd angle that would make it even more difficult to get out.
It’s just this project, that’s all. Seeing something that seemed so hopeless starting to take shape through hard work and sweat. That’s all. That’s what I told myself silently as my muscled strained once more.
Riiiight. You're just here to work on the project. Sure you're not here almost every free moment you have because of the pretty green-eyed, blond haired woman that means so much to you?
I shook off the thought. What the hell else have I got to do, anyway? Why not help out a friend.
Oh, friend? Is that what Quinn is, now? A friend?
I was saved from having to answer myself by a whistle sounding behind me. I tossed a glance back over my shoulder and saw the demon of my thoughts standing there, looking sexy as hell in her short denim shorts and a tank top that clung to her body like sin. I can’t believe it, I huffed to myself in frustration, I’m jealous of a god damned tank top.
“Hey Quinn,” I forced out the words as I turned back to the rusty rod of metal and the wrench that wasn’t doing any bit of good. “How’s it going in the kitchen?”
They’d made it through the front room, repairing the hallway and what they could of the bathroom and the back room that Quinn was going to convert into an office before finally moving on to the most intimidating of the damage.
“It’s looking pretty good.” Quinn finally answered, a sweet huskiness in her voice that had my body responding instantly. How the hell did she do that? “But not nearly as good as it looks up here.”
“You better be careful. Distract me and I might fall down this ladder and then where would that leave us?” I said the words in jest, but a part of me was serious. She had a way of stealing all my focus and this rickety ladder was already pretty unstable, before throwing a potent Quinn into the mix.
“Hm. If you fall and hurt yourself, you might be bedridden.” She chuckled darkly to herself and the sound danced down my spine, “I could get used to the idea of you stuck in a bed. It would give us an excuse to actually use one.”
"It's not my fault you drive me so crazy I can't wait to make it to the bedroom," I growled, carefully climbing down the ladder until my feet were firmly on the ground again. Only then did I turn towards her, drinking in the sight of her delicious curves. Even dirty and sweat-soaked from working she sent my system into overdrive. She knew what she wanted and she was willing to work hard for it. I wonder what else she’d work hard for?
The thought had barely crossed my mind before I was distracted by her hands curling around my waist and slipping under the hem of my t-shirt to caress the skin of my back. There was no more room for sultry questions.
My mouth dipped low, nibbling on her lips like a pair of juicy fruit and I was dying for a deeper taste. I wanted more of her. No, damn it, I wanted all of her. I deepened the kiss, angling my mouth so I could dip my tongue inside, teasing hers with small, sliding movements.
My fingers fisted in her hair, holding her even closer and her mouth parted even wider on a moan of need that nearly drove me to my knees. She was like the most potent liquor, smooth and sweet and hot, burning all the way through me with every taste but I still wanted more.
The fingers of my hand trailed down her body, sweeping over every curve before grabbing the bottom of that damned tank top. I was about to rip all her clothes off and show her just how good
it could be when a sound reached us, barely registering through the lust induced haze.
“Quinn? Hey, Quinn you up here?”
“Fuck.” I jumped apart from Quinn, barely reaching the second rung of the ladder before the rest of Jonah turned the corner, following his voice. I glanced at everything except for Quinn, trying desperately to hide the evidence of my desire by hunching slightly as Jonah spoke again.
“Quinn, there you are– Oh, hey, Leo. I didn’t know you were here.” Jonah gave him a friendly wave that Leo returned, forcing a smile to his lips.
“Hey, man. Just helping out with, um, doors.”
“Doors, huh. Fun.” Jonah turned back to Quinn and tried desperately to calm my racing heartbeat. That was way too damn close. “Quinn, I have a bunch of old beams from the job site. They were just going to throw them away, but I thought maybe you could use them.”
“Thanks, Jonah! That’s amazing! Really, really amazing!” Quinn sounded overly cheerful and I winced, sure in that moment that the gig was up. There was no way Jonah wouldn’t be able to feel the tension in the air between us.
But somehow, he remained unaware. He turned towards me, slapping me good-natured on the back.
“Leo, I haven’t seen you around Lucky’s as much these past couple of weeks. We’ve been missing you. And so have the eligible ladies of Coral Springs.” Jonah said, ribbing me and I just forced another grin.
“I’ve been busy lately, you know. Work and stuff.”
“Dude, you work at the bar.”
"Stella's been cracking down on me pretty hard," I said hastily, making it up as I went along. The truth was, I'd been spending every free moment here, helping Quinn but I couldn't tell Jonah that. It was sure to raise his suspicions.
“I’m heading over there now to grab a drink after work. Why don’t you come with me? You’re missing out on some prime female catch.”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, man. You’d rather hang out here with my sister and fix doors?” Jonah gave me a dubious look and I knew then and there that I didn’t have a choice. “What do you say, brews and broads?”
Reluctantly, I nodded my head. “Sure, yeah. You know what, that sounds like fun. I just gotta clean up.”
Jonah nodded and I nearly sighed in relief. He bought it. But before I could get the breath out I looked over his head and I caught sight of Quinn's face. It was obvious that she'd heard every word her brother had said and had believed me when I said it sounded like fun.
"Well, you boys enjoy your…fun," Quinn said, her voice sharp and I had to bite back a curse as she turned to walk angrily from the room. Damn it. When did my life get so complicated?
I looked down at Jonah, who was still standing there, oblivious. I let out a deep breath.
“Well, let’s go get drunk.” Maybe that would help. I prayed it would.
Chapter 13
Quinn
I didn't know what to do, so I did what I had always done when I had gotten in a fight with Jonah or had a problem that I couldn't talk to him about. I went to Lily's. I knew the way to the small cozy cottage that I'd spent much of my teenage years in like the back of my hand. My thoughts were raging furiously as I pulled into the brick paved driveway and slammed my foot on the braked before throwing the truck into park.
I barely knocked before pushing open the door and barreling inside.
“Lily! Lily, you in here?”
"Still breaking and entering I see," Lily shouted back and I followed the direction of her voice to small, quaint kitchen with its painted white cabinets with their teapot cutouts.
“It’s not breaking and entering when the door’s unlocked.”
“Pretty sure that’s not true,” Lily said, rolling her eyes in my direction as she stirred something particularly pungent on the stovetop. An old looking book was opened on the kitchen counter next to the over and Lily carefully tipped in a handful of…something. I couldn’t tell what it was and walked closer. But one deep inhale and I immediately regretted it.
“Whoa! Jesus, what the hell is that Lily?” I pinched my nose with one hand but it was too late, the oddly sweet and bitter smell was lodged in there.
"It's, um, tea," Lily said, shooting me a bashful shrug.
“Tea? There’s no way that’s tea. More like castor oil mixed with a gallon of syrup. What are you making?” I gave her an accusing glare, “Is this another one of your concoctions?”
Lily grabbed the book, hastily carrying it over to the small kitchen table and plopping it open again in front of me, pointing to a page yellowed with age.
My eyes widened as I read the title scrawled along the top of the page in a flowing script font.
“A love potion?” I choked out the words, “Are you serious, Lily? This is a new weird, even for you.”
"I found it at the library." She shrugged, taking the pot off the stove and wafting away the steam to help cool it. After a moment, she poured it into two tiny porcelain teacups and brought it back to the table, placing them on the surface with a soft rattle.
Lily looked over at me then. “What harm could it do?”
I glanced into the cup, grimacing at the dark greenish-brown liquid. "Why is it so thick?"
“Oh, come on Quinn. You’re supposed to be the brave one.”
“How do you know it’s not poisonous?”
"There are only natural ingredients in there. Nothing bad for you."
“Are you sure? Because it looks like death.” I leaned closer and nearly gagged, “and smells even worse.”
"Come on Quinn. Are you really going to be a chicken?" Lily baited, knowing it was exactly the right thing to have me reaching out and taking hold of the ridiculously delicate teacup.
“Can we just get this over with?” I muttered. Knowing Lily, I wouldn’t get anywhere until this ‘love potion’ was digested. I held it to my lips, squeezing my eyes shut and trying not to inhale.
“Wait. Wait. Wait.” Lily shouted, making me nearly drop the damned thing.
“What?” I growled, shooting her an annoyed glare.
“For the potion to work, you have to close your eyes and think about the person you want the spell to work on, got it?”
“Yeah. Got it. Hocus pocus and all that.”
Lily rolled her eyes at my words but then grew serious as she closed her own eyes and breathed deep and even. I cast one more look at the vile stuff. Lily was lucky I loved her like a sister. I wouldn’t do this kind of stuff for anyone else.
“Well, bottom’s up.” I murmured the words between clenched teeth before closing my eyes and tilting the liquid into my mouth. Liquid was being polite. It was more like trying to drink cinnamon and motor oil flavored paste.
We both let out a choking gasp and I put the cup back on the table, shoving it as far away as I could for good measure.
“Jesus, that stuff is terrible. Even worse than when you tried to make a potion that could make us invisible.”
"It wasn't so bad." Lily grimaced, trying to put a brave face on it but really, it was that bad. It was worse. After a moment, Lily popped to her feet, grabbing a bottle from a shelf and two more teacups before bringing them back to the table.
"Here, this should help." She poured a shot of tequila into each of the teacups and handed one to me. She shot me a grin, "Bottom's up."
I threw back the shot, grinning back at her with a rueful shake of my head. “I need to get you some shot glasses.”
"A vessel is a vessel," Lily said sagely as she poured us both another and re-took her seat across from me. "So, what's up? It's obvious something's bothering you."
“I’ll tell you, but…I need you to keep it between us.”
Lily gasped in affront, “You know I’m the best secret keeper there is. Jonah still doesn’t know about that night you snuck out to go to the lake with Matt Lockney.”
"And it better stay that way." I took another sip of the liquor for fortification before
continuing. "This is a little bit different."
“Different how? I’m assuming it’s something you don’t want Jonah to find out about.”
I toasted her with the tequila-filled teacup, "You assume correctly." After a deep breath, I opened my mouth and the whole story came falling out.
“When I got back into town I ran into someone, literally,” I gave a slight laugh as I remembered how we had collided on the sidewalk in front of Lucky’s, “We’ve been…seeing each other.”
“Quinn Moore? Dating someone? I do declare.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it dating,” I said with a shrug, “More like we tear each other’s clothes off and go at it like animals whenever we’re in the same room together. Can you call that dating?”
“Listen, you and Leo can call it whatever you like, but–.”
“Wait a minute, you know about us?” I looked across the table at Lily in shock but she just gave me a knowing look.
“Quinn, I’ve seen the way he looks at you when he drops by the Mayhew place, which is suspiciously often. And, I’ve seen the way you look at him too. You liiiiike him.” Lily drew out the word like a playground taunt but this hit the mark.
“That’s the problem, Lily. I do like him. And I don’t know what the hell to do about it.” I shook my head in despair, my temper boiling as I remembered the earlier scene when Jonah had nearly walked in on us.
