Dare To Resist (Dare Nation Book 1)

by Carly Phillips

  She smelled of musk and woman, and her scent aroused him. He licked, sucked, and teased her into oblivion, her body thrashing and her back arching up from the bed as he tormented her with his tongue. He swiped back and forth over her clit, the trembling in her limbs telling him she was close. He took her as high as he could and then nipped lightly with his tongue.

  “Oh, God, Austin. So good. It feels so good.” She pressed and rocked against his mouth, and he licked and laved her sex until the shaking slowed and she came down from her climax.

  Then he slid off the bed and grabbed a condom from his carry-on and slid it on as he returned to the bed. Her hazy gaze met his, a warm smile on her face.

  “You ready for another one, beautiful?”

  “Let’s see what you’ve got.” She grinned and he bent down, kissing that smirk off her face.

  He poised himself at her entrance and slid into her, her body easily adjusting to accommodate him as he filled her completely. He felt every ripple and warm squeeze of her inner walls around his cock and groaned.

  And then he made her his, rocking into her, allowing his body to say the things he couldn’t let himself speak. Instead of a hard pounding, he slid in and out slowly, his pubic bone grinding against her clit.

  Soft moans escaped from the back of her throat.

  Her arms locked around his neck.

  Her lower body arched into him, holding on for dear life as she gripped him inside her.

  “I want you to come again,” he said, urging her to fall apart in his arms.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know if I can.”

  He slid a hand between them, slipping his finger over her clit. “I know you can.” He pressed harder and made circles around and around until she was arching her back and clenching around him.

  “Yes. I’m coming.” She cried out, and as she spiraled, he began to thrust harder, deeper, until she pulled him over with her.

  Afterwards, they lay wrapped up in each other in silence, Austin not wanting to bring up the subject of his mother’s return to health, whether Damon would need her at home, or if she’d help out with Jenny. And of course, there was Amy, who had things well under control during the day and some evenings, buying Austin time until she went back to school in September.

  There was no reason for Quinn to stay once they returned home, and he had a hunch she knew it. He also thought she didn’t want to admit that a part of her wanted to remain with him. And Jenny? That he didn’t know, but she checked on the baby as often if not more than Austin did.

  Quinn sighed and snuggled back against him, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her. “Mmm,” she muttered.

  He agreed. She felt good. So good that, when his cock hardened, he adjusted his position and slid into her, finding her so wet for him she accepted him easily.

  God, he loved her. He closed his eyes as her bare walls fluttered around him … and he stilled. “I forgot a condom.”

  She stiffened but then he felt her relax. “It should be okay. Not the right time for me to get pregnant,” she murmured.

  Thank God. More complications were the last thing either one of them needed right now.

  “You said it had been a long time for you?” she asked.

  He nodded against her cheek. “I’ve been tested for insurance for the firm.”

  “And I had my yearly exam last month. We’re fine. Now move,” she said, arching against him.

  Chuckling, he rocked into her, back and forth, over and over, until she stiffened, coming undone with his body curled around hers. One more thrust forward and he released himself inside her, recognizing he was in so fucking deep, and he didn’t just mean literally.

  * * *

  The next morning, Quinn dressed to head back to the hospital. Austin sipped coffee in the main area of the hotel room, watching her intently, an intent look on his face. For the first time in a long time, she couldn’t read him. She only knew he had something serious on his mind.

  If it had anything to do with the way he’d slowly, reverently entered her last night, she was afraid to know. She’d never felt so cherished before, so cared for … so loved. She had a lump in her throat she was afraid would never go away.

  “I’m going to check on Jenny,” she called out to Austin, needing a distraction.

  Pulling out her phone, she dialed her cousin. “Hi, Ames.”

  “Hi! How is Mr. Prescott’s brother?” Amy asked.

  “In pain last night. We’ll see when we get to the hospital this morning. What’s going on there? Is Jenny okay?”

  “She is. I think she’s a little warm, so I’ll take her temperature and give her baby Tylenol if she has fever. Don’t worry. I can handle it.”

  “I know but if anything changes, and I mean anything, you call me.” Quinn’s heart picked up speed, worry consuming her. She knew babies got sick but this was Jenny.

  “Okay. Oh! First thing this morning an overnight envelope came. I had to sign for them to leave it.”

  “Who is it from?” she asked so she could tell Austin.

  “Michaelson Labs.”

  Quinn blew out a breath. The paternity results. “Thanks, Amy. I’ll let you know when we’ll be back. I should know something in a few hours.”

  “Bye.” She disconnected the call and walked over to Austin, who had just put his coffee cup down.

  “What’s going on?”

  Quinn swallowed hard. “Well, the paternity results were delivered this morning. Amy signed for them.”

  He closed his eyes and groaned, his fingers curling into fists.

  “Hey.” She pried open his fingers and slid her hand against his. “Every instinct I have says she’s yours.”

  “And if she’s not?” he asked, and she could swear his eyes were watery.

  She treated him to a soft smile. “If not, you fight. Something tells me the star wide receiver and ace agent knows how to win.”

  He squeezed her hand tight. “I appreciate your faith.”

  “You’ve earned it. There’s one more thing. Jenny has a slight fever.”

  His eyes opened wide. “We need to go home.”

  She loved his parental instincts. He was going to be a great father. “She might have a little cold. We’ll see. Amy will call if anything changes and she knows how to give baby Tylenol. Let’s go check on Damon and then make a decision.”

  He blew out a breath and sighed. “You’re right. I need to see my brother. Then we can talk about leaving … unless Jenny gets sicker.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.”

  He nodded. “Let’s go.” As he curled his hand around hers, they each grabbed a bag and he led her out of the hotel room.

  * * *

  Austin and Quinn returned to Miami along with Bri. His mother stayed in New York to help Damon travel back to Florida and get settled at home, which meant Ian’s jet was getting quite the workout, flying back and forth to ferry the family where they needed to go.

  Austin and Quinn arrived at his house to find Amy had just put the baby into bed for the night.

  “How’s she feeling?” he asked. “Temperature?”

  “Normal. I’m sorry if I overreacted. I just thought she felt warm, and the first time I took her temp it was ninety-nine.” Amy shuffled her feet, obviously worried.

  “I’d rather you be proactive than say nothing. Besides, ninety-nine is something to watch. I’ll keep an eye on her. Maybe bring her to the pediatrician tomorrow.”

  “I’ll walk Amy out,” Quinn said.

  She’d been quiet on the way home, looking out the window more than she’d talked. He wondered what was going on in her head and almost didn’t want to ask. But his gut told him they were coming to a point where she would have to make a choice and he wouldn’t like the one she picked.

  He sighed, left the luggage by the stairs, and walked into the kitchen. The envelope Amy had signed for waited for him on the counter, and he was drawn to it like a beacon. Inside was the answer he’d been waiting
for, but in his heart, his decision had been made.

  “Are you going to open it?” Quinn asked.

  He leaned against the counter, staring at the white rectangular paper. “You know it doesn’t matter, right? I mean, of course it matters, but the answer is going to make it easier or harder for me to fight and win.”

  She smiled and nodded but her heart wasn’t in it, which meant his hurt knowing they were reaching the end.

  “Open it,” she murmured. “At least you’ll know.”

  To his shock, his hand shook as he reached for the envelope. He picked it up and held it in his hand. A little over two weeks ago, he’d been a bachelor and content with his life. The thought of raising a baby had given him hives. Now the thought of turning Jenny over to anyone else made him physically ill.

  He tore into the envelope and looked at the information on the page. He read through and his knees buckled. Quinn was there to grab him and wrap her arms around him as she peered around to see for herself.

  “She’s mine.” His voice broke as the words came out. “Jenny’s my baby.”

  “I’m so happy for you.” She squeezed him tight, and he felt in her voice how much she meant the words.

  Knowing he was choked up, he changed the subject somewhat. “Feel like going baby room shopping?”

  She froze and he realized this was it. The moment he’d been dreading.

  “I think I should go home,” she said.

  He stepped out of her embrace and turned to face her. “Why?” He’d already decided he wasn’t going to make it easy for her to leave him. If she was going to walk away, she’d have to admit it was because of the baby.

  Facing him, she drew a deep breath. Her eyes were rimmed red, and he knew this hurt her as much as it did him.

  “You don’t need me to care for Jenny anymore and we both know it. You’ve taken and passed the master class.” She forced a grin but he didn’t smile back.

  “Anything I learned, it was from you. And I’ve seen you with the baby. Maybe you didn’t go into this wanting kids, but can you deny how you feel about her now?” he asked, as if he could will her to admit her feelings.

  “Of course I love her!” she blurted out.

  His heart beat heavily in his chest. “Then stay.”

  She grasped on to the back of a kitchen chair, her fingers curling around the leather. “This was always a temporary arrangement.”

  Because they weren’t a couple, and later he’d discovered she didn’t want children of her own. But all that was before them. Before they’d come together in an explosion of passion, desire, and deep caring. For him it was love, but as he stared into her eyes, he remembered her telling him no one in her life cared about what she wanted. No one ever gave her the chance to make her own decisions. Which meant if he loved her, he needed to allow her that freedom.

  He reached out, took her hand, and clasped it in his. “Jenny adores you. And I … care about you, Quinn.” He wouldn’t admit that he loved her and use it as blackmail to make her stay. “And I know you care about me and Jenny.”

  She sniffed, as she nodded. “I do.”

  “Well, I believe we have a shot at something great, but you have to be ready. You have to want the same thing I do. And most importantly, it has to be your choice.” He brushed his knuckles down her cheek. “So if you need to go, I understand.”

  * * *

  A couple of hours later, Quinn found herself in her apartment. She’d only been gone a short time, but the entire place felt foreign to her, as if she hadn’t slept there in months. With a sigh, she tried to remember her old routines but nothing came to her. Nothing but sadness as she recalled walking out of Austin’s home, but she’d felt like she had no alternative.

  For the last however many years, she’d bemoaned the fact that she’d raised her siblings and cousins, that she’d done her duty and didn’t want kids. She’d ended her engagement to Daniel for that very reason. So faced with Austin, a man she cared for in a way she’d never felt for her ex-fiancé, and a baby she absolutely loved, she found herself looking at the life she’d claimed she did not want. And she’d run scared.

  She was still scared.

  Focusing on her apartment for now, she used Instacart to order food and, while she waited for the delivery, got to work cleaning out the old stuff in the fridge she’d forgotten about in her rush to go over to Austin’s and help him with whatever problem he’d deemed urgent.

  That issue had turned out to be a baby. One who had captured her heart. Never mind the baby’s father. What had started as a way to get him out of her system had quickly turned into so much more. He wasn’t the playboy she’d pegged him for. Instead he was a man to admire. One to fall in love with. God, what had she done?

  Her doorbell rang and she went to open it, checking through the peephole first, surprised to see not her food order but Evie on the other side. She opened the door and let her friend in. “What are you doing here?”

  Evie, wearing a pair of baggy sweats, an oversized tee shirt and leather jacket, along with flip-flops, with a brown bag in hand, frowned. “You texted me that you were on your way home from Austin’s for good, and you didn’t expect your best friend to show up with pints of ice cream and an ear to hear why you left Mr. Wonderful and his adorable baby?”

  Quinn blinked and tears fell from her eyes. “Come in here and give me the ice cream. You better have gotten one cookie dough for me.”

  “Of course I did. And a chocolate fudge brownie for me.”

  Before Quinn could close the door, the Instacart delivery woman arrived and Quinn accepted the bags. “Thank you,” she murmured.

  “You’re welcome. Have a nice night!” The woman walked off.

  Quinn locked up behind her and headed to the kitchen, quickly putting the perishables away so she could return to Evie in the den and get started on her ice cream.

  By the time she joined her friend, Evie had the television on and an old episode of Friends playing on the screen, which was much smaller than the huge display in Austin’s family room. The thought made her sad, and she pulled the pint out of the brown paper bag, grabbing a spoon Evie had snagged from the kitchen.

  Because Quinn’s unpacking had taken a few minutes, the ice cream was a little soft, and she dug in, moaning at the delicious, creamy cookie taste.

  She’d eaten three huge bites when Evie said, “Okay that’s enough. Spill what happened tonight.”

  Caught mid-bite, Quinn met Evie’s gaze, finished the ice cream, and sighed. “We got home from New York and Austin looked at the paternity test results. He’s Jenny’s father.”

  Remembering how relieved he’d been, how he’d nearly collapsed and she’d stepped up to hug him and hold him while he processed the news, her heart twisted in her chest.

  “Is that good news or bad news?” Evie dug into her chocolate and shoved a huge spoonful into her mouth.

  Quinn managed to smile. “It’s the best news. He’d already decided to keep Jenny regardless. This just gives him a legal leg to stand on once he finds the mother.”

  “It’s crazy that she hasn’t surfaced yet. Do you think she just wanted to get rid of her kid?” Evie asked.

  Quinn shrugged. “Austin’s gut is telling him she’s going to want something in return for Jenny … eventually.” They’d talked about that late one night.

  Evie put her pint on a magazine on the cocktail table. “So why did you leave him then? Did he say he didn’t need you anymore?”

  Quinn shook her head. “He asked me to go shopping for baby furniture for Jenny’s room.” At the thought, her throat filled and her eyes welled up with tears.

  Evie raised her arms in the air. “I’m fucking lost. You’re going to have to spell it out for me, honey.”

  “Fine. We’ve been sleeping together, raising Jenny together, and creating a family together. In one short week, he demolished the walls I built, the feelings I had about not wanting children, and the preconceived notions I had about his willi
ngness to settle down.” After that rush of information, Quinn had to catch her breath.

  “Whoa. So essentially you love him.”

  “I do.” Quinn bobbed her head up and down, admitting it out loud for the first time. “He said he cares about me, and he thinks we can have something great if it’s what I want, too.” And God, she wanted that.

  “Then why in God’s name did you leave?” Evie asked.

  Quinn had been asking herself that over and over. “Because I love him and I’m scared it won’t work out. That he’ll realize he just needed me for Jenny’s sake. That his caring about me isn’t the same as loving me.” She rambled a list of excuses even she didn’t believe.

  Evie rolled her eyes. “For the love of God, for a smart woman, you’re an idiot.”

  “What? Why? I have issues! Who doesn’t? You’re the one who thinks you intimidate every man you come in contact with.”

  She shrugged. “I do. I can kick their ass and they know it. But we’re talking about you. And you walked away because you’re scared. You’re freaked out because the things you ran away from thanks to your family are now the same things you want. You think it’s wrong to desire a family now. And you’re scared to prove your mother right.” Evie shrugged. “But guess what? It doesn’t matter what your family thinks or wants. It only matters what you want.”

  Quinn nodded because Evie made sense. “I hate it when you’re right.”

  Her friend grinned. “The ice cream is melting and I’ll clean it in a second. But this is what you’re going to do. You’re going to take tonight and sleep in your apartment. You’re going to see that the life here waiting for you isn’t the one you want. And I’m going to sleep over because I’m opening a bottle of wine for us and I don’t want to drive my car back home. Then, tomorrow, you’re going to go to work and get your man.”

  Quinn smiled, her heart lighter than it had been since leaving Austin’s earlier. She would have said it was impossible to change her mind about her life, but she had every right to do so. Even if the future freaked her out and might be uncertain.

  Chapter Ten