28 Days: a romantic suspense

by Lexi Buchanan

  Saige glanced up at him. “They’re just going to forget everything that has happened?”

  Coulter offered a wry smile. “No, they aren’t going to forget. It would appear that a lot was kept hidden in regards to Quinten’s case and the governor has asked for a formal inquest to be done. He is up for reelection, but this makes the law look like idiots, so he wants answers. As do I.”

  Saige frowned as she watched Alex slip from the room.

  “I’ll pick you up around one-thirty in the morning,” Coulter whispered as he gave her one last hug. “Be strong.”

  Saige nodded and smiled through her tears when Christina wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  Quinten would be free, but where could she take him? His house had been sold years ago by Alex, and she sure as hell didn’t want to bring him to her father’s house.

  Which meant that she really needed her own car. She didn’t want to rely on Coulter to drive them around. “I need to borrow a car,” she blurted.

  Christina hugged her closer before she let go. “You can have mine for as long as you need.”

  “What? You hate anyone driving your car,” her father reminded Christina.

  “Dad, I’ll soon have Quinten back, so please don’t get annoyed at Christina for helping me out. I’d have thought that you’d like the fact that we’re getting along.”

  Anger flashed in her father’s eyes and his jaw tightened before he visibly tried to relax his features. She felt, rather than saw, Christina backing away from her.

  “I’ll see you later,” Christina said, and disappeared out of the room.

  Saige moved to stand in front of her father, tears in her eyes. “I love you, Dad.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him. Minutes later, she finally felt his arms hold her just as tight.

  “I’m sorry, honey.” He kissed her on the top of her head. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Please be happy for me.”

  He hesitated. “I’ll try...now I have to go out.”

  Her father pushed away and quickly left. Not five minutes later, she heard his engine rev before he tore out of the front drive.

  * * *

  10:45pm

  * * *

  “Are you okay?”

  Alex turned and held his hand out to Christina and, with a tug, she was in his lap and his arms held her tightly against him. “I am now.” He breathed against the side of her head, his chin rested on her shoulder and he felt more content than he had in a very long time. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too.” Christina turned and met his lips. “Talk to me, Alex. How are you really feeling now that Quinten’s going to be released?”

  “Shocked, surprised, damn glad...worried.” Alex held her closer. “Nervous.”

  Christina watched him closely and he knew she could see through him. “I’m damn happy that I’m going to get my brother back, but I’m worried as well. What does he have to come out to? Everyone knows who he is, so he’ll struggle for work. God”—he dropped his forehead to Christina’s—“I sound ungrateful that his life has been saved. I’m not. I love him and never wanted to see him in jail.”

  “You don’t sound ungrateful.” Christina cupped his face. “He’s your younger brother and you’re worried about him. What you’re forgetting though is that he loves Saige and she him. They’re going to be together and something tells me, regardless of Quinten’s situation, they’ll make it work...just like we will.”

  Alex paused and felt his heart turn over in his chest. “Does that mean what I think it means?” He grinned.

  “I’m coming to Tampa with you,” Christina confirmed, and gasped when Alex took them into the water.

  Alex cupped Christina’s face and dived in for the first taste of her beautiful lips as his woman. Her long legs wrapped around his waist, her sex rubbing against his erection. Alex slipped his hands up her soaked, clinging dress, to get to her naked bottom.

  He moaned and all thoughts of getting them dry left his mind, as he lost himself in her arms and the pleasure between them.

  Day 17

  3:50am

  * * *

  Quinten stood on legs like Jell-O while he waited for the official paperwork to be signed. His eyes kept straying to the door that led to freedom, knowing that his brother was on the other side. Would Saige be with him? It had been a constant thought through the night…a night where he laid awake waiting for the minute of his release. He loved Alex but, deep in his heart, it was Saige he wanted waiting behind that door. It was Saige he wanted to wrap in his arms and hold on to.

  As much as he’d dreamed of freedom, he’d never expected it. Even now that the warden had appeared, Quinten still thought he’d be stopped from leaving and told that it all had been a sick joke.

  “Quinten?” Warden Roscoe stood before him, looking exhausted, as though he hadn’t been to bed yet. “I’m glad it’s you that this is happening to. You’ve never belonged in here.” The warden held his hand out.

  Quinten hesitated and then shook the offered hand. “Thank you.”

  “Here is your copy of the release. Keep it safe.” The warden stepped to the door. “You ready?”

  Was he ready? He’d been incarcerated for eight years. A lot could happen in eight years, and what about Saige? She’d have a life that didn’t include him. What the hell was he going to do out there? His business had disintegrated when he’d been charged.

  “Quinten, we need to do this.”

  Quinten nodded. “I’m ready.”

  Roscoe laughed. “I’m not sure about that.”

  Signaling to the guard, the door slid open with a final clang and the warden walked through. Quinten took a step, the absence of shackles causing him to falter…it had been so long. His head dipped to his chest and he closed his eyes. Taking in a deep breath, he forced his foot to move forward…and then the next one. He felt, rather than saw, the moment he walked out of the jail and he came to a stop, his eyes still closed. He was terrified of who he would or wouldn’t see when he looked up.

  He no longer wore chains or the horrid blue pants and orange shirt that had been required. The guard had passed him a new pair of dark grey jeans and a pale blue T-shirt, along with new underwear and boots. They fit him fine, but he wondered where they came from because they weren’t the clothes he’d been wearing when he was sentenced.

  His thoughts scattered when he felt the soft touch against his fisted hand at his side. He looked down and then followed the arm up until he met the swimming eyes of the woman he loved.

  She’d come for him.

  He pulled her into his arms and held her close. So close that he was afraid of hurting her so he loosened his grip slightly.

  “No,” Saige protested and tried to get closer.

  He buried his face in the curve of her neck and held on, his own tears running down his face and getting lost in his beard. He’d dreamt of this day for so long that, now that it was here, and she was in his arms, he couldn’t think of what to say to her.

  Time had no meaning as they clung to each other, but eventually the coolness of the early morning started to register and so did the silence.

  Cupping one side of Saige’s face, he wiped away her remaining tears, placed a tender kiss to her lips, and smiled. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and finally looked at the others.

  The warden and guards had left them, but Detective Robinson and his brother stood to the side watching.

  Slipping his hand down to Saige’s, and intertwining their fingers, he moved over to Alex and pulled his brother against him for a one-armed hug.

  Tears threatened again as he felt his brother’s embrace. “I never thought this would happen.” Alex kissed him on the side of his head. “It’s such a damn relief to not have you inside anymore.”

  “Yeah, it is.” Quinten let his brother step back, and turned to the other man. “Detective Robinson.” He held his hand out. “Thank you...for everything.” He glanced at Saige and back to the detec
tive.

  “You’re welcome.” Robinson cleared his throat. “We better get moving before the press starts showing up.”

  Quinten tightened his hold on Saige’s hand because he wasn’t going anywhere that didn’t include Saige being with him.

  She smiled and snuggled against his chest, kissing his hand that held hers.

  “I’m driving back to Port Jude with Alex,” the detective informed him, “and you’re going with Saige for a few days.”

  Her arm pressed against his back at the detective’s words. She looked up and smiled. “I’ll tell you where we’re going in the car.”

  Inhaling and slowly exhaling, she tugged him toward the two vehicles while he shivered in the early morning freshness.

  “I have a sweater in the car for you.” She smiled. “I meant to send it in with your clothes but I was so nervous, I’m afraid I forgot.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind being cold. It’s good to be walking in the fresh air without the prison walls surrounding me, and it’s an added bonus to have you with me. To share my first minutes of freedom.”

  Saige nodded and came to a stop beside a large, black SUV.

  “Take care Quinten, and I’ll see you when Saige decides to bring you back,” Alex smirked, but Quinten could see the turmoil in his brother’s eyes.

  He bent low to Saige’s ear. “Give me a minute.”

  She nodded and caressed his back. “I’ll be here.”

  Quinten moved over to his brother and pulled him fully into his arms and held him tightly. “I love you,” he admitted gruffly. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for always believing in me, for never giving up on me. I love you, bro.” Quinten kissed him on his forehead and grinned.

  “Go get your girl,” Alex said.

  * * *

  6:20am

  * * *

  It had taken Saige two hours of driving to get them to the beach house that Coulter owned, but it was certainly worth it, and no one knew where they were.

  Most of the trip had been done in awkward silence, but nothing had felt awkward about the way she’d touched him. She hadn’t removed her hand from him since they left the prison, and wherever she’d touched had set him on fire for more. She’d always been able to do that to him and he realized that some things never changed.

  Saige was still the woman he’d fallen in love with so long ago, and just being with her now was a dream come true. He thought he’d never see her again. They both wore physical and mental scars from the past, and Quinten wasn’t that blind that he didn’t see that, but he believed together they could get past them and start to live again.

  A rustling noise behind him drew his attention and when he turned, he caught Saige watching him as he sat on the steps that led down to the beach with a mug of coffee in his hands. His hair was windblown, which made him wonder why he’d bothered leaving it slightly longer on top—it constantly got in his eyes as well. But Saige’s shiny auburn hair had been pulled back into a tie, looking neat and tidy.

  At first, he held her gaze, but then she smiled and butterflies took flight in his stomach. Placing his mug down, he held his hand out to her. She hesitated before she slipped her hand into his and straddled his lap.

  Quinten gasped, not only in surprise, but at the feel of her being so close to him, and the growing bulge behind his zipper, which he had no chance of controlling. So when she nuzzled into his neck, he did the most natural thing in the world and held her close.

  He tried to fight the tears, he really did, but holding the woman he’d missed like crazy over the years had them streaming from beneath his closed eyelids. They made their way down his cheeks and into his beard as more followed. She was finally in his arms and he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to release her.

  “I’ve missed you,” she whispered, the sound of tears in her voice. “I know how that sounds, considering I couldn’t remember you until recently...but I always felt that there was someone there in the background...someone who needed me, except I had no way of finding him—you.” Saige met his gaze, her own eyes as red as his. She offered him a gentle smile and pulled some tissue from her pocket. “They’re clean. I figured I’d need them.” She shrugged and dabbed at his face before seeing to herself.

  Sighing, she settled back against him, and seconds turned into minutes as he closed his eyes and listened to the relaxing sound of the ocean—the first time in eight years that he’d heard it. It had been a daily occurrence in Port Jude—listening to the ocean—but until it had been taken away, he hadn’t realized just how much he’d taken it for granted.

  Opening his eyes, he kissed Saige on the top of her head and tugged the tie from her hair. She didn’t stir. His fingers caressed through the strands of silk, and he was surprised by how much he loved seeing her with auburn hair. She was still the woman he’d fallen in love with and nothing would change that, he just felt a profound sense of relief that she still felt the same way about him—he’d spent eight years thinking the opposite.

  He was finally home.

  * * *

  7:30am

  * * *

  For the first time since she’d woken up in the hospital, Saige felt safe, and she knew that it was all down to the man who currently held her. The gentle caresses through her hair were lulling her to sleep, but she didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to go and lie down with him in the large bed that she’d found in the master bedroom. She needed to be as close to him as two people possibly could be.

  She had missed something and as soon as her memories of Quinten had started to appear, she’d known it had been him that was missing from her life.

  His arms around her as they listened to the ocean felt so familiar, and she ached for more—the more that she’d only ever experienced in Quinten’s arms. She was nervous, because they hadn’t been together since before he’d been arrested, which made her think that maybe he was just as nervous.

  With nerves taking flight inside her belly, Saige kissed his cheek and nuzzled into his neck. She wiggled in his lap and smiled when she felt his reaction against her bottom. He gripped her hips and turned his face to meet hers as Saige reached up and gently sealed their lips together. The kiss stayed slow and sensuous as she wound her arms around his neck, the hard buds of her nipples pressed into his chest and arousal flooded her system. “Make love to me,” Saige asked, her breath tickling along his lips.

  Quinten’s body trembled in reaction to her words, his hands shook against her face, his thumbs caressing along her cheekbones. Starring into her eyes, all the love he felt for her was there for her to see. “Have you...” He gulped and looked away, which clued Saige in as to what he asked.

  She turned his face back to hers. “The only person to ever touch me in this way is you. You’re the only one to have ever been inside of me. I don’t know how else to say it.”

  “You said it just fine.” His hands shook. “I’m not sure I have the strength to move from here to the bedroom,” he said on a soft laugh. “I’m nervous,” he admitted.

  “So am I, but I need to be with you.”

  Quinten watched her while an internal battle seemed to be going on inside of him. “I need that as well, don’t ever doubt that. It’s been so long, Saige. I’m afraid I’m going to hurt you.”

  “You won’t hurt me.” Saige climbed from his lap and held her hand out to him. “I trust you.” She hauled him to his feet and smiled at the large bulge in his jeans.

  He offered her a nervous smile as they slowly walked to the bedroom. Once inside, Saige let go of his hand. She quickly removed all her clothes before standing before him, fighting hard not to cover herself. The look in his eyes as they roamed over her nude curves made her glad that she’d taken the initiative. He kept straying back to her breasts though, which made her smile—during their one night together, she discovered that he loved her breasts.

  Moving to stand directly in front of him, Saige watched as he swallowed and closed his eyes. She took the opportun
ity to look at his groin. She’d kept her eyes above his belt, but now all bets were off. She wanted to see him, and not while he was fastened away.

  Her hands flattened on his stomach, which trembled at her touch. It wasn’t the only part of his flesh to tremble. Grabbing hold of the bottom of his shirt, Saige commanded, “Lift your arms up.”

  He did as instructed and as the shirt went flying to the floor, his eyes snapped open. “I’m not sure I’m going to get through this without embarrassing myself.” He blushed. “It’s been eight years, Saige.”

  “I know,” she said softly.

  Saige sat on the bed behind her, and slowly unfastened his jeans. Spreading the opening apart, she slipped the denim and undershorts down his thighs, sighing when Quinten’s large, swollen penis appeared.

  The mushroom head was engorged with need, and his length throbbed before her eyes, leaking pearls of pre-ejaculate from the slit.

  “Saige,” he growled, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. “I feel as though I’m about to come from just having your eyes on me.”

  “Not yet,” Saige whispered, wanting just one taste.

  Before he could move away, Saige bent and swirled her tongue around the head of him. His body tensed and his hands flexed.

  Saige smiled and sucked him into her warm, wet mouth, relishing the salty taste of him. Her hand caressed his sack gently before it wrapped around his hard length.

  Quinten’s body shuddered, seconds before he pulled himself free. “I want to be wrapped around you…as close as I can get…I want to really love you, Saige.”

  She blinked back tears at his words and let him gently ease her down onto the bed while he kicked off his boots and jeans. When he lowered his body over hers, Saige couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips at the feel of him against her while fully aware of his hardness brushing against her thigh.

  He cupped her head with his hands and slowly lowered his mouth, his tongue tracing the soft fullness of her lips before she captured his mouth with her own. His tongue sent shivers of desire racing through her, and raising his mouth from hers, he gazed into her eyes. “I love you,” he whispered.