by Harper Sloan
Her shoulders relax and she closes her eyes and drops her forehead to my chest, mumbling something I can't quite hear.
"What's that, Grease?"
She does it again and I smile.
"You're gonna have to speak to me and not my chest, darlin'."
When she looks up, the anxiety that hasn't left her since we landed four hours ago is gone and she finally looks like my Quinn again. I lift my hand and push her loose hair behind her ear, resting my hand against her neck, and I smile down at her. Her eyes drop to my mouth and I get the first grin beaming from her since last night.
Her luminous green eyes jump back to mine. "I love you."
My fucking God.
It's the first time she's initiated it, said it out loud, clear as day. She's mouthed it. She's hinted at it. But this is the first time I've gotten from her those words I've ached so long to hear.
"I love you more than ever. I owe you for makin' me realize what really matters."
"God, Quinn." I exhale. "I love you too, darlin'. You ready?"
"Yeah, Tate . . . I think I am."
I press a kiss against her lips and wait for her to open the door. She takes a fortifying breath, turns the knob, and walks inside.
I'm not sure what I expected to see when I saw her mama for the first time. Medically, I knew she wouldn't look good, but seeing a woman that looks so much like Quinn on her deathbed knocks me for a loop so hard I struggle to breathe.
"Jesus Jones," Quinn whispers, her eyes not leaving the woman who's staring at the door.
I can see the alarm in the older woman's eyes--the bright green eyes that mirror those of the woman I love. Her raven-black hair that appears to be as thick and lustrous as Quinn's, only streaked with tiny hints of gray.
"She looks just like me." Quinn steps forward and I let the door shut behind us, not willing to stay far from her. "In all the years I imagined what she would look like, it was never like me."
Her mama starts to shake her head, the heart monitor showing an increase in speed. I don't want to rush Quinn, but if her mama continues to get agitated, I don't think Quinn is going to be allowed to come back anytime soon.
"You know who I am," Quinn tells her mama in a clear, halting voice. "I used to dream about you, you know. I would conjure up these beautiful stories where you would speed back into town and grab your children in a warm hug and tell us how much you missed us, but you had somethin' so important to do and you got back as soon as you could. Spent years and years dreamin' that, thinkin' I needed you to be complete." She stops talking and points over her shoulder. Her mama's eyes follow her movement. I don't relax the expression of harsh judgment on my face and she flinches. "That man filled me right up and completed every single jagged piece your abandonment created inside me. One day I'm gonna beg him to marry me, then I'm gonna give him babies, and then, Mama, I'm gonna love him and those babies until the day I die and there won't be a soul on earth that could tear me away from them. I forgive you for being selfish enough to love yourself more than your family, and I even thank you for runnin' off, since your actions gave Clay and me our brother. Even with a mama that only loved herself, my brothers and me know how to love others, and we definitely can't thank you for that."
Done with her speech, Quinn turns and looks up at me with shining eyes. I look away to see her mama wide-eyed and starting to get even more upset. I glance at the screen showing her vital signs before looking back down at Quinn.
"You got everything you need to say out?" I mutter to her.
"I did." She nods and takes a breath. "It's over."
"Make sure you got nothin' left, baby."
She looks back at her mama, seein' the distress in the woman's face. "I hope you find the peace you need, even if it isn't until after you've left this earth. Good-bye, Mama."
I watch the monitors while Quinn talks, and the second she finishes speaking, I reach up and press the red button the nurse told us to hit when we were done. We're out of the room and down the hall before the nursing staff has even left their station to settle Mrs. Davis.
"You okay?" I ask Quinn, pulling her under my arm and tight to my side.
She glances up, nods, and finally smiles back at me. "I'm perfect."
26
QUINN
"Circles" by Jana Kramer
- -
"Do you want to call your brothers?"
I turn from the window I've been gazing out of since we got back, focusing on nothing, just staring down at the busy street below us while my mind wandered, and look at Tate. He's sitting up in the middle of the bed, pillows all around him, looking like some sort of sex god.
We returned to the hotel about thirty minutes ago, and the first thing both of us did was kick off our boots. He went a step further and yanked off the button-down he was wearing, leaving him in just a plain white undershirt and his dark denim jeans. His crossed legs were the only thing I could see reflected in the window and before he spoke, I was trying to figure out why I thought his feet were so damn sexy.
"I can think of a million other things I would rather do right now than call them."
"They're gonna worry about you, darlin'. They know what time we were goin' to be there for our appointment, and they're not gonna wait much longer for you to let them know you're okay."
I roll my eyes, but I know he's right. I'm shocked that they actually haven't called yet, to be honest. "Do you know where my phone is?"
He nods and points to the other side of our suite, where the small living room area is. I walk over, see my phone, and nab it off the coffee table, dialing Clay quickly before I can let myself avoid making the call any longer. It isn't that I don't want to call them--I'm just still processing everything. But Tate's right; knowing my brothers, it's taking everything in them not to hop a plane right now and come after me as it is, so I owe them an update.
"Are you okay?" Clay says rapidly in lieu of a greeting, the phone not even ringing once before I hear him coming through the line.
"Hello, Clayton, how are you?" I smile, glancing at Tate with a roll of my eyes.
"Quinn, fuckin' swear to God," he fumes under his breath, his worrying getting the best of his normally calm and cool demeanor.
"Chill, Clay. I'm okay, big brother. More than okay, actually. I feel like a rock I didn't know was attached to my leg, weighin' me down with each step, has finally been cut off."
A loud exhale comes through the line. Hearing that noise, I realize how wound up he's been about all this and I'm glad that Tate pressed me to call sooner than later.
"One day, when you're ready, you'll come for yourself and see what I mean, Clay."
Clay's tone hardens. "That day'll never come, Quinny. Don't set your heart on that shit. I don't need that and I never will. You'll only end up disappointed if you're waiting for it to happen."
"Clay--"
"Not now, sugar. A fight for another day, okay? I won't bend, but you're welcome to go at it until you're blue in the face if it makes you feel better. You promise me, Quinny, you're really okay?"
I continue to hold Tate's gaze across the suite, him still watching me intently, and smile. "I'm not feelin' like I'm missin' her anymore, Clay. I've got everything I've ever wanted right here in front of me. I've moved on from the fantasy of her I held onto, and I've got my heart back. I'm a little sad, but I've let somethin' go today that needed to be let go so I can finally move on with my life and get nothin' except beauty for the rest of my days."
Clay clicks his tongue before humming a low sound of agreement.
"I'm gonna call Mav now and tell him the same thing, big brother."
"He's right here, sugar, so not necessary. He's probably breathin' a whole helluva lot easier now that he's finally heard your voice, though."
"When I get home, we'll sit down and talk so you guys can see for yourselves that I'm fine, but right now, I've got a doctor that needs a checkup."
I hear two groans coming from the other end of the line, and
I feel my smile amp up a few more notches closer to insane happy levels. They make it too easy.
"I love you guys," I tell them, putting them out of their misery, still smiling like a loon.
"Love you back, Quinny," they say in unison.
"I'll come over when we get home tomorrow, okay?"
They agree, and we disconnect without any more fanfare. I can talk to them about Mama when I get back, but I wasn't kidding when I said that right now, I would rather decompress with my man and not my brothers.
I toss the phone onto the couch and walk toward Tate. He drops the room-service menu he was reading before I've even taken a few steps and uncrosses his legs, giving me silent confirmation that he knows what I'm after.
"You want somethin', Grease?" he asks with a knowing smirk as I start to climb onto the bed.
From my position, legs spread, with my knees digging into the mattress, hands on either side of his hips and my face directly above his crotch--I give him a sly smile and arch one brow without speaking. He laughs deeply, his chest rumbling with a titillating sound that shoots through my body in one delicious wave.
"Pretty sure you know what I want," I answer in a hushed tone.
"That so?"
He leans farther back into the pillows and lifts his arms to rest his hands behind his head. I feel his legs shift, the top of his knee whispering against the material covering my crotch.
"You did that on purpose," I accuse with a shiver of awareness.
His brow quirks. "Did what?"
I narrow my eyes. Well, if that's how he wants to play it.
Leaning back, I sit my ass on his legs and reach forward to his belt. Some of the cocky arrogance falls from his face when he sees my intention. He might think he can't make me drunk off the need I feel for him--which probably isn't too far off the mark--but after today, I feel like I could take on the world and win . . . starting with Tate Montgomery. He won't gain the upper hand in the bedroom this evening.
The sound of his belt releasing echoes around the room. I give a tug, indicating for him to lift without words and the second his ass is off the bed I give the belt a yank, pulling it from the loops on his jeans. It hits the floor, the sound a loud thwack! in the silence, and I jump, so completely lost in him that I can't focus on my task, my fumbling hands undoing the fastenings on his pants. The whole time, my eyes don't leave his, so I'm rewarded with witnessing the color of his arousal as it heats his cheeks. I tap his hips at the sides and he lifts again, giving me enough room to pull his jeans down far enough that I can get to what I want with nothing hindering me.
I place my palm on top of his erection as I roll my body forward, the heat from him radiating through his black briefs as I lean over him, stroking him. When my face gets level to his, I turn before giving his lips the kiss they're after and press my lips against his chin. I pepper kisses slowly, along his jaw, to the spot under his ear that drives him insane. Then I lean back slightly to take his earlobe between my lips, giving him a nip with my teeth.
He grunts, and then an animalistic vibration shoots from his mouth in a low rumble, making me throb between my legs. I suck in a harsh breath as I shift my body back down, my jeans rubbing against me again, the pull of air carrying a strong scent of his cologne. They work together to create a dizzying feeling that rushes through all my senses. My head spins as I feel instantly drunk off him.
No longer able to wait, I reach into the gap in his briefs and pull out his long, thick erection. He hisses, and as much as I would love to see his face, I'm a girl on a mission. The wet drop of his arousal beading at the tip of his cock calls to me, the pull so strong that I moan before opening my mouth, bending over, and enveloping him in my mouth.
I feel him move until his abs are touching the top of my head, and out of the corner of my eyes I see him fisting the comforter on both sides of his body. In my head, I picture his face contorted in pleasure as he hunches over me, overcome by the feelings my mouth on his cock brings forth. As much as I love seeing his expression when he's this close to losing control, I'm not stopping now. My cheeks pull inward as I suck even harder, the sound of my suction vibrating through the gap on the side of my mouth where the air pulls through against his cock. My mouth waters when I feel a tiny burst of his come escape. Somehow, he still holds himself back, but that small taste is all it takes for me to become mad with need.
"Fuckin' Christ," he hisses when my hand reaches down between us and rolls his balls gently, the cotton of his briefs holding the hot skin from my touch, but not hindering the pleasure I know he feels from this.
I could spend hours moving my mouth on his steely length, but I know he's close to snapping when he releases his fists holding the bedding and gathers my loose hair into a ponytail before he starts feeding me his cock--his hold on my hair moving me down while his hips lift up off the mattress--taking control over how much and how fast I suck him. I breathe through my nose and relax the back of my throat the best I can, taking him so deep I gag on him.
That sound, me gagging on his huge cock, seems to be enough to make the hold he has over his control shatter. I squeal when suddenly, his cock isn't in my mouth anymore and I'm the one lying against the mattress with him now kneeling between my spread legs. His chest is heaving, his wet cock pressed against his cotton-covered stomach looking almost painfully hard. No words are spoken between us as he lifts both my legs at the same time, his hands on my ankles, and puts each against one of his thick shoulders. His hands go to my waist to undo the denim, his deft fingers moving quickly; then he hooks his hands in the waistband and yanks my jeans and panties down. He drags the material upward until it's bunched at the ankles resting against his shoulders, then pauses.
What I see in his face is nothing short of pure payback. My eyes widen at the same time one of his arms wraps around my bound legs--holding it even more captive than my jeans and panties are--before he bends slightly and reaches down. The dark glint of desire flaming brighter in his eyes is the only warning I get before he's filling me instantly with two thick fingers, the knuckles pressing against the wet entrance when he's gotten them as deep as possible.
"Tate!" My head thrashes back and forth, the pleasure mixing with the slight pain of him stretching me overwhelming my senses.
"You like teasin' me, darlin'?" he questions, pulling his fingers out before thrusting them deep and holding them there again. "Answer me."
I nod. "Love it." Swallowing the lump in my throat, I whimper when he twists his wrist and hooks his fingers in a come-hither motion. I swear, my eyes cross in that moment, him touching something deep inside of me that makes my heart start pounding violently in my chest.
"You drive me insane. It's maddening how much I crave this pussy." His nostrils flare, and again, I hear myself whine. "Fuck, Quinn, I'll never get enough of you."
He pulls his fingers from my body, sucking them deep in his mouth while his other hand finishes pulling my jeans and panties the rest of the way off. He moves and shuffles down the bed, dropping my legs with a bounce against the mattress as he pushes to stand, his jeans falling from his knees to the ground. I watch dizzily as he pulls his shirt off and steps out of his pants. When I see his toned, naked body, it sparks me into moving, and I lift up to yank my own shirt and bra off. His gaze goes right to my heavy, needy breasts when they fall free from my bra with a bounce.
I watch him as his eyes roam over my chest and shiver when he licks his lips. My boobs jiggle and he doesn't miss the movement, raising his glance to mine again. We stare at each other, both of us breathing heavy, chests heaving, each just as needy for the other.
The air around us seems to come alive the moment our eyes connect. The urgency dims and something changes what's driving us. A giant and beautiful sense of calm falls over me, something I see mirrored in his own expression. The frantic need we both felt just moments before is knocked to the side as I feel the love I have for him meeting the love he has for me in space and time, crashing between us and falling a
gainst our naked bodies with a sprinkling of goose bumps.
He doesn't rush.
I don't want him to.
He reaches his hands out and I immediately put mine in his. He tugs ever so softly and I follow his silent demand until I'm standing before him. His hands drop from mine and I shiver when he places both palms on my hips, dragging them painfully, slowly up until they've reached the sides of my breasts. His eyes never leave mine as he cups both heavy globes and thumbs my nipples, his fingers flexing against my flesh as I grow wetter between my legs.
Sensation shoots through my body and zaps my clit. I moan and shift on my feet. Not looking away, he lowers his head and ravishes each nipple with his flat tongue. One lick, and the wetness makes the cool air of the room feel like ice. I lose his hands when he straightens until he's grabbing me right under my ass and lifting my body into the air, pulling me against his. My legs wrap around his hips, hooking at the ankles, and my arms go around his neck.
Our mouths collide, slowly at first, but then he starts trusting his hardness against my pussy. I can smell the scent of my arousal as the motion pushes it up between us. I know he notices too when he pulls in a harsh breath and deepens the kiss.
His tongue rubs against mine and he lifts me away with the hold he has under my ass, my hands lifting to tangle in the hair at the back of his head. I feel the blunt tip of his cock tapping against my entrance twice before he slowly feeds himself into my body. Unable to handle the fullness of him going so deep, his hold on me opening my body in a way that I haven't experienced with him before, I gasp and pull from his mouth, my lips feeling swollen and bruised from our kiss. My nipples rub against his chest, his thrusts slow and so deep I know I'll feel him long after he's left my body.
It isn't the delicious feel of his thickness hitting me deeper than ever before that makes me inhale sharply, though. It's the love shining brighter than anything I've ever seen in his ocean-blue eyes. They're alight with feeling. He's open, completely and beautifully open, pushing his emotions forward so they're projected straight into my soul.
I hiccup, a soft sob rippling up and out of my throat.
He seats himself deep inside me and holds my body against him, his sweat-slicked forehead pressing against mine as he continues to gaze into the darkest parts of my soul.