Reaching For Risks
Page 21
Tears filled her eyes again but she blinked them away, with a smile. “I will, Quinn. I will.”
He slipped the ring on her finger—a little big but close—and kissed her fingers, her palms, her wrists. This was right, completely right.
Darby raised her hands to his face. “I love you Quinn, with everything I am.”
This time, their lovemaking was slow, trading kisses and touches until both their bodies trembled with desire. Still, they held back, letting the desire build with not only heat but with warmth that reached down to his soul and filled him as he’d never known he could be filled.
Passion fired as they moved together, built up together and tumbled over the edge together.
Nothing had ever felt so right.
DARBY studied her ring where her hand rested on Quinn’s chest. She’d never been happier. Never imagined being this happy.
All because she’d learned to take a few risks.
She’d have to bake a huge batch of gingerbread cookies and ship them out to the Nosy Trinity as a thank you.
Quinn’s stomach growled making her laugh. It wasn’t even noon but neither of them had slept the night before and while they’d been in bed for a few hours, they’d yet to sleep.
Darby kissed Quinn’s chest then lifted up to look at him. “Hungry?”
One of those wicked smiles lit his face before he even opened his eyes. The hand he’d wrapped around her ran lightly down her back to her butt, sending shivers everywhere. “And I could use some food, too.” She laughed and started to press up but he trapped her hands and pulled her back down. “I think we forgot an item on your list.”
Confused at the change of topic, Darby went through the Reno List in her head. The wedding was only days away, they better not have forgotten something. “No, I think it’s all done.”
He smiled again. “Nope. I know for sure you didn’t check one item off.”
What had she missed? “We painted pretty much every room, the banister, ripped out the two old carpets, replaced two toilets and fixed the deck. I think we’ve got it all covered.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
In one of those moves that made her head spin, Quinn reversed their positions so he was pressing her into the bed. His wicked grin had tingles starting all over again. “So am I and I know you missed something. I found a clue.”
Laughing, Darby stroked his scruffy jaw, enjoying the textures. “A clue? What kind of clue?”
“You always buy fresh, wholesome food. Local products. No preservatives, everything made from scratch.”
Confused again, she patted his cheek. “I haven’t had enough sleep for you to keep changing topics on me, Quinn. Are we back to eating lunch?”
A quick kiss. “Try to keep up honey, we’re talking about completing your list.” Then he gently tugged her arms until they rested on the pillow above her head. “Keep those there.”
Then he shifted again, moved to her side and yanked the sheet away, leaving her exposed. She started to shift but he leaned in to kiss her. “Stick with me, honey. Stay there.”
His eyes skimmed over her with approval and desire and she managed to stay but she still didn’t have a clue what he was up to.
“So, here’s a woman—a beautiful, sexy woman—who can out-bake Betty Crocker, yet I find something in her fridge with more preservatives in it than the rest of her kitchen put together. Kind of makes me wonder.”
Darby’s skin flushed as his eyes ran over her again. Had he?
Quinn smirked. “This sexy woman wouldn’t serve this to her guests, wouldn’t use it for actual cooking so why would she have a preservative-laden spray-from-the-can whipped cream on hand.” As he spoke, he reached behind him and grabbed the can that he’d obviously laid on the floor with her ring.
Darby stretched out to grab the can but he held it out of her reach and pressed her back down. “Honey, there’s things in here I can’t even pronounce. You wouldn’t serve this to your worst enemy. So you must have had another idea in mind when you bought it.”
Laughing, she tried again for the can but he evaded her easily. “Which brings me back to the only item you haven’t crossed off on that list of yours.”
And it clicked. “You read my Risk List. You peeked.”
He waggled his eyebrows and let his eyes roam over her again. “I like to peek when it involves you.” He shook the can. “I know how you hate not finishing things so I thought we should put all of our attention to that poor last unchecked item.”
“I crossed it out.”
Quinn straddled her without putting any of his weight on her and with one hand raised her hands over her head again. “Only because you weren’t aiming high enough, darling.” He squirted some of the cream onto her breast and leaned down to lick it off, sending waves of pleasure through her. “Aim high, Darby, always aim high.”
When he sucked her breast into his mouth, Darby snatched the can out of his hands and shoved him until he was on his back then straddled him. He grinned at her, eyes full of love and fun. “Pretty brave for a woman who didn’t own any decent lingerie two weeks ago.”
He was right and it made her smile with delight. And power. Taking a few risks had certainly paid off. Sliding down Quinn’s body, she shook the can. Time for the payoff.
About Jemi
Thanks so much for reading!
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Next up in the Bloo Moose Romance series will be Rayce and Kami. Check out REACHING FOR EVERYTHING at your favourite retailer!
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Jemi’s nonfiction book Dancing With Dementia: Recognizing and Coping With The Early Stages of Dementia is available now. You can find tips for coping with dementia on her YouTube channel Dancing With Dementia: Quick Tips and her blog Dancing With Dementia. Find details on the website.
Copyright
ISBN 13 978-1-9991258-8-2
Copyright @ 2020 Jemi Fraser
Self-published
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover design by JB and Jemi Fraser
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About the Author
Jemi Fraser writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her nonfiction work focuses on the ways that dementia has impacted her family. Her fiction work varies from contemporary romance to suspense and flash fiction. Years as a teacher have taught Jemi that life is short and that happy endings are a must.
Jemi lives in Northern Ontario, Canada where snow is always a topic of conversation and the autumn leaves make everything better.
Read more at Jemi Fraser’s site.
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