by Sosie Frost
I stemmed the bleeding on my knee with a dab of toilet paper then tackled a far more delicate area with the razor. Maybe I was putting the cart before the horse—the condom on before the erection?—but it was better to be presumptuous than naïve while scaping that particular region. What better way to take charge of my life and sexuality than by doing something wild and sexy?
And hopefully, this moment of rebellion wouldn’t result in stitches.
I knew all the preparations were silly. The makeup. The music. The chilling wine. But maybe finally giving in to those animalistic, wild urges would end this ridiculous crush and allow me to move on with my life. After tonight, I could blame my every foolish feeling on a summer fling. A momentary hookup. A night of fun.
No reason to feel guilty when I had a perfect fantasy to gain and nothing to lose…
Except my virginity.
But maybe the gateway to happiness was a more modern sort of courtship. Less flowers and picnics, more fornication and prophylactics. But I wouldn’t know until I took that plunge. Until I shaved every inch of me silken smooth, smiled with teeth so white it would blind the poor man, and finished my makeup with a sultry crimson lipstick so sexy, so tempting, it could only have come from one place.
Regent’s purse.
The color had never failed her, and I would be sure to return it to her in the morning, none-the-wiser.
All that remained was choosing the appropriate thing to wear. Or maybe something inappropriate would’ve been better. While the tub was steamy enough to fog my glasses, I had nothing in my wardrobe that seemed slinky enough for this sort of night.
Was a girl supposed to shop for seduction? Like all respectable Barlow girls, my closet filled with sensible blouses, knee-length skirts, and only the occasional open-toed shoes.
So, I chose the sexiest thing I owned. A spaghetti strap T-shirt that just barely covered the waistband to my lacy black thong.
But I covered it with a fluffy robe that was a bygone bubblegum pink that had lost its luster years ago in the washer.
And who knew? Maybe tonight would give me the confidence to strap on a set of heels, button up into a corset, and whirl around some nipple tassels.
Or…I could buy a teddy like a reasonable woman.
I’d brushed my teeth for the second time when the pebble struck my bedroom window.
I frowned and peeked out of the bathroom, searching into the night. A second pebble struck the glass. Then a third. I spat out the toothpaste and armed myself with the toothbrush, bundling the robe around me as I slunk into my bedroom.
One step. Two steps.
A shadow obscured the moonlight. I held my breath and braced to run.
The window flew up. I squealed, falling backwards and landing on my butt. The robe fell open just as Quint pushed himself free of the giant oak tree that wound its way alongside of Grandma’s guest house. He leapt into the room and batted dead leaves from his shoulders.
What was it about this man that made him so damned attractive in the darkest, most secretive hours of the night?
His gaze consumed me, and the devilish dimples peeked from his cheeks. He surveyed the room—the candles, the music, the bottle of wine meticulously chilling. But Quint wasn’t a romantic man. The atmosphere didn’t intrigue him nearly as much as me, sprawled on the ground, robe open, exposing my bare legs and low-cut shirt.
For a man who always smiled, this scene especially delighted him.
“Am I interrupting something?” Quint asked.
I struggled with my robe, but he offered me his hand. I rose to my feet and almost crashed into his chest. The pink, fluffy material couldn’t hide me from his amused glance. He held me close, taking the toothbrush from my hands so he could tangle his palm against mine.
He was here.
He was gorgeous.
He held me in his arms.
And I really wished I had rinsed my mouth of all the toothpaste.
My words broke with a surprised tremor. “Did you…just come through my window?”
Quint snickered. “Yep. Good thing too. Looks like I’m the third wheel.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve got a hot date.”
“…A date?”
I searched the bedroom. It wasn’t that Grandma’s guest house wasn’t a lovely place for me to stay for a few weeks in the summer. She’d offered me privacy, a little independence, and a sanctuary from the insanity that was my brothers and the market.
But Grandma hadn’t redecorated since she first built the guesthouse. The paisley bedspreads, shag carpeting, and half a dozen portraits of Jesus didn’t make the space a palace of seduction.
Quint sniffed the air. “Do you need some help getting ready? Smells like…Christmas in a funeral parlor.”
So much for my romantic candles.
I didn’t have anything sensual and sexy, but I had found a half dozen Yankee candles of various fragrances. Lesson learned. Frosted gingerbread, pine, and macintosh apple were not a way into this man’s pants.
Especially when he started sneezing.
“Sorry!” I darted to the candles positioned strategically about the room, blowing them out in a quick puff. “All gone.”
He sneezed again. “No. Candles don’t bother me. It’s pollen.”
Pollen?
Oh God.
I rushed to the bed, flipping over the bedspread to hide the dozens and dozens of rose petals I’d snagged from Grandma’s garden.
“Just…trying to make things pretty.” I nearly cursed as I stabbed myself with a thorn. Good thing we weren’t rolling on Grandma’s fifty-year-old quilt turned mulch bed. “Trying to keep it girly.”
“I know exactly what you’re doing, Ladybug.” Quint’s wolfish grin destroyed me. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
Was I that bad at seduction that he didn’t realize the man I wanted was him?
“I wasn’t expecting anyone else,” I said.
“Really? Looks like you’re pulling out all the stops.” He surveyed the room, pausing over the wine glass with only a few drops left in the bottom. “Hope you pull out some Benadryl for the lucky guy too.”
“There’s no lucky guy,” I said. “I mean…he might get lucky, but if this is any indication, I think we’re both gonna be unsatisfied.”
“You don’t gotta tell me twice, Lady.” Quint jerked his thumb towards the window. “I can climb down the tree just as quick as I came up.”
Oh, dear God. I was a terrible flirt, and Quint was a dumbass. I should’ve known this would be a disaster.
“Listen to me,” I said. “I was waiting for you.”
He grinned only because he didn’t realize I was serious. “That so?”
“Oh, forget it.”
He would not.
Probably ever.
“Gotta say…” he said. “I’m relieved.”
I was afraid to ask. “Why?”
“I didn’t want someone else to get to that yum yum before me.”
I knotted my robe’s belt and contemplated remaining a virgin for the rest of my life. At the very least, I’d be in another country full of complete strangers in two weeks. Maybe then I would have the courage to buy myself a vibrator.
I tried the direct approach. “Quint, what did you think was going to happen tonight?”
He smirked. “I should ask you the same question. Horrible candles. Weeds in your bed. Pretentious wine. It’s a good thing I got here when I did. Stopped you from making a terrible mistake.”
Well, he wasn’t wrong. “Why did you come up the tree? Grandma sleeps in the main house. She went to bed hours ago. You could’ve knocked on the front door.”
Quint took a swig directly from the bottle of wine. “This is more exciting.”
“And infinitely more frustrating.”
“I got a feeling you’ve never had a man sneak into your room before.”
“No one’s ever been that stupid.”
He shrugged. “Can I hel
p it if I’m a romantic kind of guy?”
I moved him aside and glanced out the window. It must’ve been a fifteen-foot drop to the ground. He could’ve gotten hurt. Then again, a guy like Quint probably bounced, whereas a girl like me would make one mighty fine crater.
“Where’s your car?” I asked.
“Didn’t take it.” Quint helped me shut the old window. “I rode the quad over.”
“The quad?”
“One of our farms four wheelers. We use them to get around the fields. When we were kids, we rode them through the back woods into town. Did you know we could make it from our barn, through the woods, and to your family’s house in under ten minutes without anyone seeing?”
I had not known that information, but it didn’t surprise me. How many times had my family been toilet papered, egged, and humiliated? The Paynes had tormented us throughout our teenage years. Anything from panties decorating our ornamental fruit trees to a flock of Mayor Desmond’s peacocks released onto our lawn.
Of course, my brothers had pulled the same sorts of tricks. Difference was, we were a little more discreet. Less underwear and domesticated animals, more changing grades in teachers’ record books and compromising social media pictures.
“We don’t need to be this clandestine,” I said. “We’re allowed to talk to each other.”
“Are you sure?”
I looked away. “Absolutely.”
“What would your brothers say?”
“What would yours?” I nibbled on my lip. “Screw them.”
He smirked. “Strong words.”
“It’s the truth.” I sighed. This was tough. I never thought being honest would be so terrifying. “Quint, I’ve been waiting for you tonight. I really hoped you would come.”
“Oh, yeah?”
My words trembled. “I couldn’t stop thinking about this today. What you said. How you wanted to…talk with me tonight.”
Quint stepped closer, his smile dark and dangerous. “But this goes beyond casual chat, doesn’t it, Lady? After all, here we are. Meeting under cover of night.”
His words tickled every delicate, underappreciated part of me.
I’d never make it to the bed.
“Very mysterious,” I agreed.
“Lots of things happen in the dark that couldn’t happen in the light.”
The robe clung to my sweaty skin and tangled me within the thick padding.
Was this happening too fast? I hadn’t expected to see him at the market, let alone sneak away to an afternoon of skinny-dipping. For so long I’d only imagined how wonderful it’d feel to press my body against his. Now that I’d felt his heat, clung to his strength, and delighted myself with the hardness of his arms, chest, abs…
Was it so wrong to want more?
“Well, now you’ve got me.” Was I whispering? I couldn’t tell. “All alone.”
He liked that. “All to myself.”
“Are your intentions honorable?”
“Are they ever?”
All the better. “I’m starting to think that’s impossible.”
Quint couldn’t help himself. “Maybe I can offer you something dishonorable but very exciting.”
“That depends on what your definition of exciting is.”
“Doesn’t take a good imagination.”
“What about a lawyer and some money for bail?”
“Good thing the Barlows have a lot of money.”
I swallowed. “Good thing the Paynes know their way around the jailhouse.”
He stood before me, but Quint had an amazing presence. He didn’t need oppression or dominance to lure a woman. It was his smile, his mischievous eyes, the promise in his voice that drew her near and kept her close and encouraged her to make all the mistakes that would change everything.
This man was as mouthwatering fully clothed as he was naked in the pond. Only this time, I knew what was missing. Even though the t-shirt stretched taut over his hardened muscles, I imagined every detail of his chest, his abs, and that farm-built strength.
I could do this. I could invite this man to stay the night. All it took was a little courage, a wiggle of my hips as I shimmied out of my robe, and a lot of trust in a man who would uncover all the mysteries of my body.
Yes, it would be meaningless, dirty, and thoroughly wicked.
But I was willing to sacrifice my heart for a clear head and thoroughly satisfied body.
“Quint…” My fingertips teased the belt around my waist. “I’ve thought about this for a long time, and—”
He surprised me, placing two fingers upon my lips. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m thinking the same thing. This is wrong. It’s a bad idea. What will everyone say?”
My heart slingshotted through my chest, ricocheting off what was left of my common sense and virtue.
I nodded. “It might complicate everything.”
Quint’s fingers drifted from my lips over my neck and across my shoulders. He gently rubbed the back of his hand over the soft robe.
“There’s nothing complicated about this,” he said. “Nothing we couldn’t work through together.”
I swallowed, hard. “I’m ready.”
“You’re not scared?”
Wasn’t everybody the first time? “Only a little. This is a pretty big, life-changing event.”
He nodded. “Are you worried about your family?”
I wasn’t until he said it. “I was hoping they wouldn’t have to know.”
He laughed. “Of course, they’re going to know. Everyone in town will find out.”
Our sexual encounter was a little more information than I had planned to share with the community.
I hesitated. “Can’t we keep this to ourselves?”
Quint frowned. “You know this isn’t just about you and me.”
Wasn’t it a bit early to start swinging? “…How many other people did you plan on inviting?”
“As many as it takes to get a happy ending.”
“That’s…pretty adventurous of you.”
Quint grinned. “I like to live on the edge.”
Of what? Sodom and Gomorrah?
I reached for the knot in my robe, hooking my fingers within the cotton. “I wanted this to be just you and me tonight. I…hoped it’d be special.”
Quint licked his bottom lip. “Don’t you worry about that. I’m gonna change your world. Once you and I get moving, I know we can end the stupid feud.”
He was putting a lot of expectation on one night of passion fueled sex, but if he figured it’d be that monumental, I was all for it.
“You’ll need to take the lead…” I twisted my hands in the robe. “I get the fundamentals, but I’m a little inexperienced.”
“So am I.”
I frowned. “That’s not true. You’re always out getting in trouble.”
“Yeah, but Cassi is the mediator of the family.”
Was I that much of a virgin that I didn’t know we needed a mediator? Was this like a prenup before marriage?
“If you’re that concerned, maybe we should talk about it some more.” I bit my lip and gestured towards the wine. “Take it nice and slow. Get comfortable. Then see what happens.”
Quint shook his head. “Nothing to talk about. I’d rather get in and out.”
“Oh.”
“We’ll make it quick.”
“Not…too quick, I hope.”
“Well, I know you have a plane to catch in two weeks.”
“Oh…” My eyes widened. “That’s more than enough time.”
“You think?”
“Well, if we can’t get it done in two weeks, I’d say we shouldn’t have done it at all.”
“Perfect!” Quint kicked off his shoes and hopped onto my bed, stretching out with his arms behind his head. “Don’t worry about a thing, Ladybug. We’ll have our fun, and everyone will be so glad we did this.”
“Maybe not everyone.”
“Once they see how hard I’m gonna work?
Hell, Butterpond will give me a medal.”
I huffed. “I hope I’m not that much of a chore…”
“Oh, you’re not a chore.” Quint grinned. “I’m thinking this is more like…charity.”
“What?”
“Are you ready?”
I gripped my robe so tight I nearly choked on the material. Good thing too, I wasn’t sure what the hell I’d say to that man.
“Quint Payne, I don’t know what you’re playing at—”
He yawned, snuggling deeper into my pillow. “Just what we talked about earlier. You and me are gonna find a way to fix our families and bring this town together.”
Suddenly, I was very aware that I wore a thong.
My robe closed tighter than my throat.
Oh no.
No, no, no.
“You mean…”
I swallowed my words, and they collided with my rising, humiliated squeal. Fortunately, they silenced each other before I could make a bigger fool out of myself.
Quint was excited.
The wrong sort of excited.
He grinned at me, as thrilled as a wiggling puppy dog. “I think if you and I make a pact, we can talk some sense into our siblings and end this stupid feud before it causes any more catastrophe in Butterpond.”
This wasn’t a seduction at all.
I wasn’t some sensual, ravishing vixen, irresistible to this man.
I was just an idiot.
An idiot wearing a robe with very little underneath.
I flinched away, damning the candles and music and half a dozen different lotions set up beside the bed because, in my lust-addled mind, anything from cocoa butter to Neutrogena had seemed sexy.
God, what was I thinking?
So much for using sex to end this ridiculous crush. I covered my face with my hands, but Quint paid no attention, lounging on my bed with his feet crossed and arms behind his head.
“I knew I could count on you,” he said. “You’re a rare type of girl, Lady Barlow.”
I collapsed into the wingback chair near the window, ensuring the robe covered every bit of me that would remain regretfully untouched for the night.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “You’re one-of-a-kind too. And that’s probably a good thing.”