He passed the same gas station for the second time. He was driving in a circle around his house. He didn’t even know if Kellie was there yet. Resigned to eating his guilt, he turned onto his street. He rolled up to the stop sign and peered at his house set at the end of the road. There was no car in the drive, and for a moment he felt some relief. These were a few more moments he could still call her his.
He parked in the drive and headed inside to grab a quick shower. He’d had a lucky break and got two of the A/C units replaced, but it had involved a lot of grunt work on his part. He didn’t mind, it had given him something to worry about besides Kellie. But in his bathroom, surrounded by little reminders of her she’d left over the last few weeks, like her toothbrush and a tube of lip balm, she was all he could think about. He went through his washing ritual in double time, keeping one ear open for the sounds of another person in the house, but when he got out of the shower he was still alone.
Did she know?
There was no telling what had happened in the few short hours since he’d talked to her last. He jerked on a clean pair of shorts and grabbed his phone.
No calls.
No messages.
Fuck it. He wanted to know where she was. He clicked call and lifted the phone to his ear. It rang and his heart thudded. It rang and he grit his teeth. It rang and he knew it was over.
“I’m headed your way.” Kellie’s voice lacked cheer, but neither did she sound angry.
“Just checking on you.” Everything inside him relaxed. He headed down the stairs and to the kitchen. Kellie hadn’t been eating unless he practically hand-fed her. He couldn’t do anything else for her, but he could at least ensure she ate. “Hungry?”
“I should be. Didn’t have lunch.”
“You said you were going to go eat something the last time I talked to you.”
“I was going to,” she snapped. “The social worker came by the house, so I had to drive home and twiddle my thumbs until she got there.”
“And?”
“And nothing. There were a few little things she didn’t like, but nothing was dangerous. She wouldn’t say anything, but I think they’re going to put this whole thing to bed in a day or two more and I can see her again.”
Relief flooded him. “Good. Real good. How long until you get here?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Will you stop and grab some more beer? I’m going to fire up the grill. How does steak sound to you?”
“Have I told you lately that I like you?”
He chuckled and opened the fridge to retrieve the cuts of meat. “I could stand to hear it again. See you when you get here?”
“Yeah, be there soon.”
They hung up and he set about prepping the meat and cutting up some vegetables to wrap in foil. He’d never really grilled until he moved to Texas, so maybe it wasn’t a terrible place to live. More than a few good things were rooted here.
With the food prepped, he headed out to the backyard to get the grill going, breathing a little easier. Maybe he would tell her what he’d said tomorrow, but for now he wanted to have one nice evening and that started with steak.
In a handful of minutes he had the whole meal going. It would have been perfect if he’d landscaped the backyard. Currently it resembled a miniature forest between the shoulder-high weeds and the tree that had been struck by lightning and lay in pieces. He’d cleared enough space behind the house for it to be safe, but it was nothing but functional.
The back door squeaked and Kellie stepped onto the porch, two beers in hand. Sunglasses hid her eyes and her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, making her neck look longer and more slender than usual. She wore a strapless knit dress with wide black-and-white stripes that had red anchors stamped over the bands at random. She looked as though she should be a tattoo model.
She paused a few feet away. “Should I go back inside so I can come out again?”
He swiped at his cheek and wiped off imaginary drool. “Would you come out naked?”
“No.”
“Darn.”
She snorted and held out a beer. “Look, Pandora put a stud in my nose.” She turned her head to the side and pointed at a tiny spot that glinted in the sunlight.
“Blinging. You’re a big baller now.”
“Please don’t ever say those two words in the same breath again. I might have to unlike you.”
He set the tongs on the side of the grill and reached for Kellie, who came to him willingly, wrapping her arms around his waist. He kissed her temple and down the side of her face until he came to her lips. When he didn’t plant his lips on hers immediately, she fisted his shirt and closed the distance herself, taking the kiss. He cupped the back of her head and opened for her. His cock grew hard, which wasn’t a new thing with her around. She was hot and sex with her was fun, but he didn’t just want to fuck.
Kellie rocked back on her heels and slid her free hand down to cup his dick. “Take care of your meat before it burns.”
“Want to give me a hand?”
She tipped her bottle back and sidestepped away from the grill.
“Fine. It’s actually done. Want to grab the plates?”
“Sure.”
He savored these moments of domestic bliss. Would it be like this to live with her on a daily basis? Would they even like it?
* * * * *
Kellie pushed her plate away and leaned back on the barstool. Quin was still sawing away at his steak with more force than he needed. She’d been so focused on her own woes that she hadn’t paid much attention to what he needed. This was the tough part about being in a relationship, you had to make time for each other’s needs and actually care.
“What did you do today after we talked?” he asked around a mouthful of food.
“It’s so hot when you talk with your mouth full of food.”
He smacked his lips a few times and she rolled her eyes.
“I went to the shop to do the bookkeeping and hang out. Sam, Mary’s kid, told her he doesn’t want to be shop manager anymore. It sucks because we have to hire and train someone, but we’ll get a full-time person instead of night and weekend help. I don’t like being at the house without Grandma. It’s weird. How about you? Did the A/Cs go in okay?”
“Yeah, we still need one more unit, but it’s not baking people alive.”
“Any leads on who did it?” She hated that someone had done this.
“Nothing, but the police are paying more attention to me and what’s been going on.” He wiped his face with a napkin and stacked his plate under hers.
“That’s good. Dinner was really great. Thank you.”
He put his hand over hers. “You’re welcome.”
She swiveled to face him and tilted her head to the side. “So steak dinner, huh? Is there a fight on tonight?”
His brow furrowed and he actually took a second to think about it. “Not that I know of.”
“Does this mean you want to have sex? Because I’m really not that hard to convince, you know?” She had to bite back a laugh. Poor Quin’s eyebrows were trying to crawl off his forehead and he’d forgotten to close his mouth.
“I, uh, maybe.”
She slid off the stool and pushed between his legs. She’d had a hard time keeping her eyes off his chest and abs. She could have saved them a paper plate and just eaten off his stomach. Not that she had to keep her hands to herself, but watching him was quickly becoming one of her favorite pastimes. He automatically grabbed her hips and stared at her. She leaned against him and planted a quick kiss on his mouth.
“This was not how I pictured this going.” He slid his hands around to cup her ass.
“Really? How did you want this to go down?” She leaned into him and rested her forehead against his.
“I was going to cook dinner for you.”
“Check.”
He stood and easily lifted her. With any other man, handling her had pissed her off, but he turned her on. She wrapped her
legs around his hips and her arms around his neck. “Hang out and talk a little.”
“We’ve done that.”
“Maybe watch some TV.” Though his gaze was on her, he walked without faltering to the steps in the front hall.
“Not interested.”
“Make out a little.”
She trailed kisses along his jaw to his ear. “That’s sounding more like it. Then what?”
He started up the stairs, but he paused at each one. “Uh.”
She tightened her hold on him and rolled her hips. He stumbled and had to grasp the banister with one hand. She laughed and braced to hit the ground, but he held them both upright by some miracle.
“Fuck it,” Quin growled against her ear and set her down on a step partway up the staircase.
She laughed and tried to push to her feet but his hands on her thighs held her in place. He knelt two stairs down from her and had a determined glint in his eye. How could he make her feel sexier? She was not unaware of her charms or the way men were attracted to her, but rarely did the way one looked at her change the way she felt about herself. Quin made her want to preen, whatever the fuck that meant.
He began kissing her knee and blazed a fast trail up her thigh. He pushed her skirt up to her hips and shoved his hands under the leg band of her underwear. Her nipples tingled and her panties grew damp. She leaned back on the stairs and propped her elbows up so she could have some leverage as Quin pressed his mouth to the outside of her panties and stroked her with his tongue.
Her eyes drifted shut as warmth radiated to the rest of her body. “Did you see this in a porno too?”
His movements stilled and she cracked open one eye. His hands still cupped her hips, his body forcing her thighs open, but his face was cocked to the side and his brows drawn down in a pensive look. He held the pose for a moment then shook his head. “Nope.”
She let her head drop back and laughed. It was no hardship to enjoy his touch, the way he could be rough and gentle. One of his hands, trapped as it was by her panties, slid across her hip to her mound while he nuzzled her breasts through the strained fabric.
“Then where does this come from?” she asked, a little disgusted with how breathless she sounded. He did this to her.
“Too many stairs.”
She chuckled and dug her fingers into his thick hair. Quin bit the top of her dress and tugged it down, but the elastic snapped back into place. She tried to stifle her giggles but he was so earnestly frustrated she snickered anyway.
“Not what I meant to do,” he grumbled.
“Here. This what you want?” She pushed the strapless dress and bra down, freeing her breasts.
He grunted and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to one breast then the other. She arched her back, wanting more. He obliged, sucking on the tips and teasing the peaks with his teeth. She moaned and pressed him harder against her chest, ignoring the way the wooden stairs bit into her back and shoulders. He slid his fingers through her folds and her thighs tightened around him. He thrust two fingers into her slick channel and slowly pumped them in time with his mouth. She put her heels on the edge of a stair and thrust her hips at the pace she wanted.
“Unh-unh.” Quin let her abused breast pop from his lips and removed his hand from her panties.
“Oh come on,” she whined.
He grinned at her and crawled down her body, lowering his knees to another stair. He bit her leg just above her knee and winked. “You’re going to.”
A shiver stole up her spine. She didn’t doubt Quin, in fact she looked forward to it. Each time they had sex it got better.
He pulled the crotch of her panties aside and blew across her damp skin. His fingers stroked her labia, gently parting her. “I’m going to touch you here. And then I’m going to put my mouth here while I put my fingers inside of you. That work for you?” His thumb massaged her clit in slow circles, but not hard enough to stimulate her desire.
Her internal muscles fluttered and she could feel her cheeks flushing with want. “Mm, yes. Do that.”
“Put your legs over my shoulders. There you go.”
She’d do whatever he asked, so long as he went down on her. With her legs over his shoulders, she couldn’t move her lower body without offsetting his balance. Which meant he was in complete control of what she did, and the smug sucker probably knew it.
All coherent thought fled when his roughened fingertips spread her folds. He licked her and her back bowed up off the stairs. He pushed a thick finger into her pussy and added another. She wanted to move, roll her hips or fuck his fingers herself, but she couldn’t without some leverage. Fortunately Quin seemed as ready to get her off as she was.
He pumped his fingers in and out, curling them so he hit the spot that made her gasp and bursts of light go off behind her eyelids. His thumb pressed against her ass and she clenched down on his fingers.
“Is that a no?” he chuckled.
“That’s a not right now.”
“Hm.”
She gripped his forearm as a tremor racked her body. He must have been waiting on some signal, because he chose that moment to wrap his lips around her clit and suck. Release slammed into her so suddenly she screamed and dug a hand into his hair. Her muscles hugged his fingers and her thighs squeezed him. As the wave of pleasure receded, she lay back against the stairs, panting for breath.
“One,” Quin said with a smile as he crawled up the stairs, pausing to kiss her breasts.
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t been able to walk straight after the treehouse. “What exactly are you counting?”
“How many times I can make you come.”
Her traitorous nipples tightened even more. “No. Not playing that game again.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him up for a real kiss, loving the way he gave her just enough of his weight to hold her in place and keep her immobile.
“Don’t you want to come again?” he asked, genuinely perplexed.
She pushed a hand past the waistband of his shorts and grasped his stiff flesh. “Again with you in me? Yes. A marathon of orgasms? No.”
He groaned and rocked his hips into her grasp. “I don’t understand.”
“Silly man.” She rolled her eyes. How had a quick fuck on the stairs turned into an emotional conversation? “I’d prefer one good orgasm on your cock over ten any other way.”
“Seriously?”
She banged her head on the stair. If he didn’t grasp the concept of sex with someone you loved being better than with some random, she really did not want to explain it to him now. “God, you’re being dense. I like you. I want to come with you. It’s girly emotional bullshit. Now, condom?”
He blinked once. “Upstairs.”
“What happened to always being ready?”
“I thought I was ready.” He chuckled and pushed to his knees, his erection straining toward her.
Though her legs were still a little shaky, she rose and pushed her dress, bra and panties off. It was worth scraping the underwire over her hip to see the look of gape-mouthed lust on his face. She smirked and started up the stairs.
She could tell when he picked his jaw up off the ground because she could hear the heavy thud of his feet on the stairs. She glanced over her shoulder and a little thrill raced through her. He was back to looking like a hungry predator. She took the remaining stairs two at a time. She was halfway down the hall when he caught her around the waist and slung her up into his arms laughing.
Chapter Eighteen
Maple Leaves—This winter element symbolizes the passing of time and often represents wind or movement. It can also be the symbol of people in love. As an individual leaf it can symbolize resurrection and regeneration, taken from the leaves changing colors each season.
She was so damn beautiful when she smiled. The worry had fallen away, at least for now, and she was his. Part of him wanted to tie her to his bed so she’d never leave, but that was unrealistic. She’d kick his ass if he tried.
; He laid her on the bed and shoved his shorts off. Kellie was already pulling a condom from his nightstand out and ripping it open. She knelt on the edge of the mattress and reached for his cock, bypassing at the last moment to roll his balls in her hand and lift her chin for a kiss. He plundered her mouth, greedy for all she would give him. He’d deal with his guilt later, for now he had her.
She rolled the condom on and scooted back.
“Take your hair down.” He crawled toward her, painfully hard.
She quirked a brow at him but did as he asked, shaking out the long, dark locks that spread around her like a cape. “Like this?” She sat with her legs curled to one side, bits and pieces of the intricate dragon tattoo visible through the cascade of hair.
He wound a length around his hand and put his face in the crook of her neck. She always smelled of something almost sweet. It clung to his skin and clothing long after she had left. He wanted to imprint it on his memory.
“I want in you,” he said and shifted so her back was against his front.
“Hm, how?” She reached back and squeezed his thigh.
“Like this.” He released her hair and flattened his hand against her abdomen, bringing her back against his chest.
They sank to the mattress, laying on their sides, and he pulled her to him, guiding her leg over his. He grasped his cock and notched it against her entrance. He propped up on an elbow and glanced at her, but her gaze was on where their bodies touched, almost joined. He pushed into her and she dropped her head onto the pillow. He loved the way her lips parted and her eyes drifted shut. He pushed deeper and her little breathy sighs turned him on even more.
She groped for his hand, grabbed his wrist instead and brought his palm to her breast. The bountiful globe overflowed his hand. He squeezed and she moaned.
“Harder, Quin.”
He thrust and the bed squeaked beneath them. She angled her hips and gripped his thigh. The harder he thrust, the more her breasts jiggled and her breath hitched, but he couldn’t see her face. She’d turned it into the pillow and away from him. Frustrated, he pulled out.
The Harder He Falls: 2 (So Inked) Page 28