by Dee J. Adams
“Oh my God,” Ellie said, her heart beating frantically. “You scared me to death. I didn’t see that coming at all.” The poor guy. “You’re soaked.”
He still held her high, one strong arm wrapped under her ass, the other holding his shoes. He gazed up at her, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “But we saved your skirt. Mission accomplished.”
Looking down at his moonlit face, Ellie’s heart thumped hard for a different reason. His intense focus made her giddy and nervous. “I guess I owe you one.”
“I guess you do.” His low voice caressed her as soft as a touch. Sent a rush of goose bumps across her skin. Quinn took a few steps away from the tide and onto drier ground. The stars twinkling overhead had nothing on the sparkle in his eyes.
“I think you can put me down now,” Ellie said. It might have sounded more convincing if she hadn’t whispered it.
Quinn kept her right where she was. “What if the tide comes in again?” he whispered.
“Then I guess we’ll both be wet.” The words were out before she realized the double entendre. Her face flushed and she hurried on before he could comment. “I feel bad. Your suit may never be the same again.”
“I don’t care. It’s just a suit.” His low voice and piercing gaze sent her pulse skittering faster. He couldn’t hold her like this all night.
The hairs on her nape stood on end and Ellie looked around. She saw another couple strolling along the water.
“You should put me down now,” she said again.
His grin widened and that outstanding smile decimated her. “Do I have to?”
She laughed at his disappointed little boy tone and nodded. “Yes. You have to.” Slowly, he slid her flush against his muscular chest until their gazes locked eye to eye. Ellie’s smile faded as she smelled the mint candy on his breath from the restaurant and caught the intoxicating aroma of his cologne. Good grief. If he set her down now, she might fall over.
“Just so you know,” he whispered, “I don’t mind holding you. I kind of like it.” He tipped his head a fraction as though he might kiss her. There would’ve been no better time. Under the moon and stars with the waves crashing nearby. It was movie perfect.
Maybe that’s what set off the alarm in her head.
“We should probably head back now.” Damn, why was her voice so soft?
His lips curved into a grin. “If you say so.”
She fully expected him to slide her down the rest of his body—just to make an impression. If he was anywhere near as aroused as she was, then he had a package in his pants as hard as a post. In her experience, a man wanted to “share the wealth.” Instead, he set her on the sand and stepped back. He buttoned his jacket, though his pants were soaked from midthigh down and clinging to his solid legs, making it hard for her to turn away.
“You poor guy. That must be really uncomfortable.”
“Not as uncomfortable as…forget it.” He shook his head and chuckled as if he had some inside joke. “C’mon, let’s go back.”
“Right.” That little encounter was too close for comfort. Her comfort. Brushing up against his hard body felt better than savoring the chocolate she’d had earlier. Imagine having a choice between Quinn and chocolate. Better yet, imagine licking chocolate off Quinn’s solid chest. God, she needed to wash her brain out with soap.
“Let me know how much the dry cleaning bill is. The least I can do is pay it since you saved my outfit.”
He glanced at her as they headed toward the restaurant. “You’re sweet to offer, but it’s not necessary. C’mon.” He held out his hand.
She took his hand and they walked back to the parking lot in silence. There was something about the way they moved together. In perfect step with each other. Something about the way his warm hand engulfed hers and gave her a sense of security she hadn’t felt in a long time. There was nothing creepy or sinister about him.
At the car, the driver opened the door. She looked behind her one last time and couldn’t shake that feeling of being watched. Doing stunts meant eyes were constantly on her and she knew the sensation. Still, she didn’t see anything and slid into the car.
Ellie did her best to avoid staring at the wet material clinging to Quinn’s legs. She watched the scenery of the Pacific Coast Highway instead.
“How come you’re so quiet all of a sudden?” he asked.
She met his liquid silver gaze. “I was just thinking about tomorrow. Sorry.” She twirled her ring. Liar, liar, pants on fire.
“Tell me about this stunt tomorrow.” His brows quirked together. “How dangerous is it?”
Ellie grinned, mostly to ease his mind. It had taken years to convince Ashley not to worry about every stunt so she slipped into calm reassurance mode. “There’s a certain amount of danger but I control the blast. It’s a self-detonator. I pull the plug and I jump. I’ll be clear when the car blows. I’m not worried, so you shouldn’t be.”
Quinn shook his head. The black strands glistened from the streetlights cutting into the window. “That just doesn’t seem right. It’s not natural.”
He wasn’t the first person to have this opinion, but she’d gotten used to it. It made her think of her mother. One of the only people who rarely inquired about her work or the dangers. Ellie sighed and pushed it out of her head. “It’s my job.”
When he looked at her the way he did now, with such intense focus, Ellie’s blood burned hotter in her veins. “Don’t you ever wonder that it’s time for a new job?”
“Yes, I do.” She grinned at his wide, searching eyes. “Surprised?”
“Then why stick with it?”
“To begin with, I don’t have a degree. I started stunt work as soon as I graduated high school.”
“So? You’ve been living with a roommate, you probably have money saved. Go back to school.”
This night couldn’t end quickly enough. She’d completely backed herself into a corner. “Go back to school and study what?” she asked, playing the usual game as she spun the ring around her finger.
“Whatever you want. It’s your life. What turns you on?”
You. But she certainly couldn’t say that, could she? Not while they were in the backseat of his limo all by themselves. Not when it would be too easy to get lost in each other. “Just because I think about finding a new job, doesn’t mean I don’t like what I do.” That was honest. “Usually, I really enjoy it.”
He studied her while he rubbed his hand in his lap. “I get it,” he said. “You’re an adrenaline junkie.”
She grinned. “Gosh, I’ve never heard that one before. What about you?” she asked quickly. “Once you sell the company, what do you want to do?”
The grin on his face dimmed. “You know…I wish I knew. All I can think about is getting out. I was never given a chance to do what I want. I was expected to follow the family business. I never figured out what I wanted to do, I just struggled with doing what I had to do.” Her heart went out to him. There was no avoiding the sincerity in his words. Part of her connected with him. Understood doing what had to be done to survive. He kept pressure on his hand, swirling motions over his knuckles. A nervous habit?
“How did you hurt your hand?” she asked.
The smile on his face fell and he quickly folded his arms across his chest. “Why do you ask that?”
“Because I noticed you’ve been rubbing the back of your right hand like it’s aching.” She raised her brows. “I’ve had my share of aches. I guess I’m tuned into it. What happened?”
Quinn looked out the window and his jaw flexed. “Car accident.”
She’d had her share of those. Of course they were all scripted. Still, they were never fun. Just work. Quinn’s reaction had her wondering. “A bad one?”
“I survived.” His tone, his complete shutdown, threw Ellie. Obviously she hit a nerve, not to mention a subject he didn’t want to discuss. What a pair they were. Hiding secrets, giving only the barest and most general information to keep the conversation goi
ng. A lot of jokes and not a lot of heart.
Pathetic.
“We’re here,” he said with an attitude change so abrupt, it could’ve been a movie take. Right on cue, the limo pulled up to her apartment building and Quinn checked his watch. “Ten fifty-four. I should get points for bringing you home a little early.” The smile returned to his face and sent a wave of tingles down her back. It was impossible not to be affected by his smile.
She’d rather give him something besides points, but that was out of the question. “Two points,” she said, lifting two fingers.
“Two? God, what does a guy have to do to get on your good side?”
Ellie glanced away from his exasperated pout and held back a grin. Luckily, Bill—she refused to think of him as Fido because then she wanted to call him Mad Dog—opened her door. She climbed out and started up the walkway. Quinn strode next to her. It was time for the obligatory after-the-first-date kiss. She really hated this part.
“I had a great time tonight,” she said. “Thank you.” Reaching her door, Ellie faced him, but she couldn’t quite make eye contact. Standing so close to her, he frazzled most of her nerves.
“You’re welcome. I had fun too.” He checked his watch. “Look at that, five minutes to spare.”
“You’re good.” Damn. So much for not feeding the ego.
“What if we do this again tomorrow night?” His low voice wrapped around her, promising seduction and sin. His gaze drilled into hers.
“That’s probably not a good idea.”
Completely undeterred, he grinned down at her, his eyes sparkling with a not-so-hidden agenda. He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and sent goose bumps along her nape. “What’s not good about it? We laughed, we talked. We had a close encounter of the oceanic kind.”
She smiled. It had been a nice night, but what had he really thought would happen? “Let’s be honest with each other, Quinn. You’re here visiting. I live here. I don’t do one-night flings or casual sex. I’m old-fashioned that way.” Shrugging, she put all her sincerity into her next words. “You’re a nice guy and I appreciated the dinner tonight, but you need to know that it’s not going to get you into my bed. Or me into yours.”
He still looked down at her with a gorgeous quirk to his upturned lips, his white teeth almost glowing in the darkness. Finally, he nodded. “That leaves four minutes.”
Her speech hadn’t fazed him. Ellie laughed and shook her head. “Does anything I say penetrate that head of yours?”
“So if you’re not going to go out with me again…if I don’t have a shot at getting under any sheets with you, be they yours or mine…do I at least get to end the night with a kiss?” His gaze fastened on her lips and Ellie’s heart rate picked up.
“I d-don’t really see the point,” Ellie murmured. “I mean the reason for a kiss is really just the beginning of something…” Damn. She didn’t want to mention the word.
“Something… What?” He moved closer, his broad chest and shoulders like a massive wall. His cologne mingled with the smell of seawater. “Something sexual?”
She nodded, unable to utter words.
“A kiss can also be the end of the something,” he told her. “Like the end of a first and last date.”
Ellie tipped her head to the side. Had he just admitted defeat? “So you understand that nothing’s going to happen between us?”
“I didn’t say that. Something’s going to happen. Just maybe not what I would’ve liked.”
“At least you’re honest,” Ellie said.
“Just like you.”
Resisting the urge to laugh in his face because she was maybe one of the biggest liars on the planet, Ellie focused on the collar of his black shirt.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said softly. “How about a kiss?” He pulled away a fraction, amusement lurking in his eyes. He traced a gentle finger along her cheek. “I’m down to three minutes.”
God, she was such a pushover. “As long as you know it won’t happen again.” Her voice barely came out.
“A first and a last.” His whispered words floated around her as he closed the distance between them. Her heavy lids fluttered shut when he tipped her chin up and pressed his lips against hers.
Holy meltdown, Batman.
Quinn’s soft kiss insisted on cooperation. He cajoled her lips apart until she opened for him, welcomed him. The tip of his tongue brushed against her bottom lip and a rush of tingles ran riot over Ellie’s spine. Her hands crept up his chest, over his shoulders and wrapped around his neck. Oblivious to his wet pants, Quinn pulled her against him and tasted her more deeply. She gasped at the shock of his hard body. Not just muscle hard, but aroused hard. Despite her earlier trepidation, she loved the feeling of him against her. His tongue continued to own her mouth. Plunging, retreating, dancing with her own in the softest, sexiest kiss she’d ever experienced.
He pulled back, his eyes on fire with heat and lust. He ran a hand through her hair, settled his warm palm against her head as he stared down at her. “One minute left.” After one last stare that nearly incinerated her, he leaned in and kissed her again.
Nothing had ever been this good. No kiss had ever made her so completely ready to toss her no-sex-on-the-first-date/no-sex-with-out-of-towners rule. The gentle kiss slowly turned into something hot and hungry. With a hand on her lower back, he pulled her flush against him again and his erection burned against her belly. She had to be imagining things. He couldn’t seriously be that well endowed.
But she’d never get that far, they’d just made that perfectly clear, so she wrapped her fingers in his hair and kept their lips sealed together. He made love to her mouth. Kissed her deeply and stroked his tongue against hers in a slick, sensual dance. A low moan quivered in the back of her throat at the same time that Quinn’s fingers slid through her hair, his palm warm against her head.
Much too quickly, Quinn pulled away, breathing hard. He cupped her face in his hands. “You don’t look it, but officially you’ve turned into a pumpkin.” His husky voice sent a new wave of desire crashing into her stomach. “I could be in grave danger when it comes to keeping my points. I only have two of them as it is.”
Not really. After that kiss, he’d scored past the ten thousand mark, but he didn’t need to know that information.
Ellie smiled, forced her gaze away from his face and pulled out of his arms. “Don’t worry. Your points are safe.” She turned and unlocked her door before she could do the most ridiculous thing and invite him in. “Thank you again for dinner.”
He nodded and took a step back, shoving his hands in his pocket. “You’re welcome.”
She opened her door.
“Hey, Elle.”
She turned and he was right there. He bent his head and kissed her again, so softly. Just like the kiss in her trailer. Sweet and tender, and Ellie was lost in the gentle warmth of his mouth.
Quinn eased away a fraction. “Good night,” he said at her lips. “Sweet dreams.”
Ellie couldn’t find words. She just smiled and nodded. Stepping into her apartment, she closed the door behind her, leaned against it for support—since her knees were about to give out—and sighed.
“Oh my God.”
Chapter Eight
“Oh! My! God!” Ashley’s frantic words brought Ellie out of her date-daze. She stood near her bedroom door with her hair pulled back in a long ponytail, wearing the Rob Thomas T-shirt she always slept in. Her hands covered her nose and mouth like a surgeon’s mask.
Instantly alert, a healthy dose of adrenaline raced through Ellie. “What? What’s wrong?”
Ashley spread her hands in front her. Speechless. She pointed outside. “That kiss,” she finally blurted. “Oh my, God, did you see that kiss?”
Ellie exhaled with a smile. “See it? I was in on it.”
“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!” Ashley danced around the room like a lunatic escaped from a mental hospital. Had it been that long since Ellie had been on a da
te that her roommate had to go bonkers?
Probably. Come to think of it, when was the last time she’d kissed a guy? Eight months ago? Nine? And how long had it been since she’d had sex? That thought was too depressing to dwell on.
Letting her roommate burn off energy, Ellie headed toward her bedroom. “While you freak out, I’m going to bed.”
“Oh no you don’t. Ellie Louise Morgan, you get your butt back here this instant. I want to hear every second of what happened tonight.”
“Uh oh. Anytime you pull out ‘Louise,’ I’m in trouble.” Giving in with a sigh, Ellie came back and collapsed on the recliner next to the sofa. She couldn’t hold back the huge smile splitting her face. It really had been a lovely evening. From the dinner, to the walk on the beach, to the goodnight kiss at the door. Yum.
Vaulting over the couch, Ashley sat cross-legged and stared at her wide-eyed. This was what college would’ve been like had Ellie gone. Forming lifelong bonds that stood the test of time. Sitting in T-shirts and underwear and ready to tell any and all of the deepest darkest secrets to a friend who’d go to the grave with the information.
Ashley insisted on the night’s details and Ellie complied, telling her everything from the table by the window to the rogue wave at the beach. Reaching for the brush on the coffee table, Ashley pulled her hair out of its band. “Admit it. You’re thrilled you wore the outfit. I mean, my God, you did see that man’s suit, didn’t you?”
Not to mention the man in the suit. A sigh floated from Ellie’s lips. “Yes, I saw his suit.” She closed her eyes and remembered his hands, his strength and warmth heating her skin. The way his lips smoothed across hers before taking complete control of her mouth.
“I wished I could’ve seen his face when he saw you.” Ashley closed her eyes and sighed too, as she brushed out her long hair. What a pair of mooning females they were. “God, what a hunk.” She sat forward on the sofa. Her spine straightened and her eyes widened. “I’m going to tell you something and I’m completely serious,” she said. “The way he dressed, the way he shared his dinner. He wants to stand out, you know.” She paused for effect. “He’s the One. I can feel it.”