by Cathryn Fox
Quinn circled the small island. Nighttime was upon them when he landed the plane on the small runway and powered it down.
He unlatched his seatbelt and followed his brother to the small airport, where they took a shuttle to the castle. The place was quiet, not a member to be found. Quinn looked at his watch as he climbed the steps.
“What’s going on? This place should be in full swing by now.” He tried the door and found it locked. He frowned. Had Alexander shut the place down? He turned to look out over the island and the key to the castle jingled in his pocket. He grabbed it and opened the door to find Jacob standing there. What the hell?
“What’s going on?” Quinn asked, taking in the almost amused look on the man’s face. His glance went to his brother, and when he found him smirking, Quinn squared his shoulders. “Josh?” he asked, a warning in his voice. He started to back away. “I don’t know what you’re up to but if you think bringing me here is going to—”
“You’re going to need this,” Josh said, handing his cabana key back.
“Right this way,” Jacob said, waving his hand toward the hall. “Your submissive awaits.”
Quinn’s heart started pounding, hitting his ribcage so hard it was ringing in his ears. “I don’t want a submissive. I’m with Rebecca.”
Josh gave him a little shove. “Just trust me on this.”
“Josh—”
“Come on, big brother.”
Josh pushed him down the hall, and Quinn fought against him. “So help me, you better not have set me up with someone to prove I can’t quit the lifestyle. The only one I want is Rebecca.”
“Just keep going,” Josh said.
They stopped walking when they reached his favorite playroom. Jacob waved his hand. “Your sub awaits,” he said, then stood beside Josh.
Quinn looked into the room and what he saw next was like a physical blow to the stomach. He grabbed the doorframe for support and briefly pinched his eyes shut, expecting the vision to be gone when he opened them again.
He blinked, the beautiful sight of Rebecca tied to the cross, dressed in the red silk panties and bra he’d sent her, with a blindfold on her eyes, nearly made him sob. She’d set this up. For him.
He searched for his voice. “Rebecca,” he said, stepping up to her. He removed the blindfold, pushing it to her forehead. “You don’t have to do this,” he said, finding it harder and harder to breathe. “Not for me.”
Her face was full of warmth and admiration, trust and respect as she looked at him. “I know I don’t have to, but I want to.”
His heart hurt so bad it made it difficult to talk. “Rebecca, no you don’t need to do this. I know what happened in bed last night, but I can quit this, I promise. You don’t need to change for me. I’ll change for you.”
“This isn’t about me changing to be who you need me to be. This is who I am, Quinn. Just like you’ve been trying to be the man I needed. But all along you were the man I needed. Just the way you were.”
He cupped her face and gazed into her eyes. When he saw love shining there, everything he felt for her rocketed through him. Was this happening? Was this really happening?
He pressed his forehead to hers. “I was so scared I’d lost you.”
“You’re not getting rid of me so easily.”
“I want you, Rebecca, forever.”
“I know.” She made a gesture with her head and he turned to see the collar sitting on a chair. The world went out from underneath him.
His heart thundered and his voice was rough with emotions when he said, “Tell me how much you want this…want me.”
“I want this, and I want you,” she answered, her expression filled with pure admiration.
He touched the slip of red silk covering her hips, and when he caught the sweet tang of her arousal, possession raced through him. He crossed the room, came back with the collar. “You’re mine, Rebecca,” he said, putting the collar around her neck and clasping it from behind. “Every part of you.”
“Every part of me is yours, Quinn. Yours to keep.”
The End
Thank You!
Thank you so much for reading, Yours to Keep. I hope you’re enjoying Rebecca and Quinn’s journey as much as I loved writing it. Please read on, I’ve included an excerpt from FEVER, book one in the Firefighter Heat trilogy! I hope you enjoy!
* * *
Interested in leaving a review? Please do! Reviews help readers connect with books that work for them. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.
Happy Reading,
Cathryn
Fever
Cathryn Fox
Excerpt
Strawberry daiquiri in hand, Sara Jack blew a wispy auburn curl off her forehead and glanced around The Hose, her reporter’s eye stopping to examine the men crowded around the pool table. She studied them for a long moment, as though the sight of their scrumptious backsides was actually newsworthy. Of course, back in Trenton, Iowa, aka, Butthole Nowhere, such a sight really was newsworthy. But here in Chicago, tight firefighter buns were a dime a dozen, she supposed. And damned if she didn’t want to grab herself the baker’s special, to go. Thirteen fresh, warm honey buns.
Mmmmm…yummy.
She sipped her fruity drink and considered the name of the establishment again. The Hose, she mused. What a perfectly delicious name to describe the local watering hole where the firefighters from station 419 gathered nightly for a game of eight ball.
As Sara blocked out the din of the crowd, and completely ignored the bridal party members lounging around the table beside her, her lascivious gaze panned the hotties in the room a second time. Her investigative eyes zeroed in on one very sexy, very “well-equipped” Mitch Adams as he turned in her direction. The man had been warming her blood and getting under her skin during their rehearsals without even trying.
As she devoured his broad shoulders, his firm stomach, and his even firmer thighs, a slow heat gravitated south and burned her body from the inside out. She licked her suddenly parched lips, her mind wandering, conjuring up all the wicked ways Mitch, with his lethally honed physique and panty-soaking smile, could help extinguish those slow burning embers.
The Hose, she mused again, her glance settling a few inches below Mitch’s leather belt. What a great name for the firefighters’ bar - a name, she suspected, or at least hoped, had nothing to do with their profession.
Beer in one hand, pool cue in the other, Mitch lazily crossed his legs at the ankles and leaned against the pool table. Dark hair cut short gave him a charming boy-next-door look, but Sara suspected he was anything but.
Unlike the “nice boys” she’d dated back home, pleasant, spineless boys who bored her to death - inside the bedroom and out - Mitch had a raw sexuality about him that screamed of sex, sin and…danger. Sara shivered. Almost violently. Surprised at just how much his carnal edginess aroused her.
Her gaze brushed over him again, taking pleasure in his square jaw, perfect white teeth, long athletic body, and bad-boy attitude. Sexual awareness prowled through her, warming her blood. Her glance traveled onward and upward until she met with a set of bedroom blues that shimmered with dark desire when they locked on hers. Mitch shot her a look that held all kinds of suggestions, all kinds of wicked possibilities.
Sara drew a sharp breath, her pulse pounding in her throat. She wiped her hands on her snug jeans, letting the denim drink in her moisture.
As he watched her watching him, his nostrils flared and his body tensed, tension lines bracketing his sensuous mouth. In that brief moment when their gazes collided, they shared a heated exchange, one that could undoubtedly set the crowded establishment ablaze.
It occurred to Sara that she wasn’t the only woman in the bar taken by his edgy sexuality. She twisted sideways, noting the way the other women in the room watched him, their body language indicating they’d like a tour of his station, with up- close and personal instructions on how he handled his hose.
Just t
hen, Cassie Williams, the beautiful bride-to-be, the same woman who was responsible for Sara’s unexpected trip to Chicago, stepped up to the table. Sara welcomed the distraction and shifted in the chair to face her.
Sara had been best friends with Cassie since kindergarten, which was why she, along with her other best friends, Jenna Powers and Megan Wagner, had dropped everything and hopped on the first plane to Chicago. Nothing short of a category-five catastrophe would keep them all from attending Cassie’s nuptial exchange with sexy firefighter Nick Cameron.
With Sara’s body still feeling the effects of Mitch’s lusty gaze, she focused fully on Cassie.
“Pretty cute, isn’t he?” Cassie asked with a knowing look on her face as she gestured toward Mitch with a nod.
“What? Who?” Sara asked, feigning innocence.
Ignoring her question, Cassie sat down and shimmied closer. She tapped Sara’s nose. “Watch out for him, Sara. He’s not like the nice boys you know from back home.” Cassie remained quiet for a moment, while Sara mulled over that warning. A moment later, Cassie pitched her voice lower and added, “Mitch Adams is…dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” Sara asked, her pulse racing a little faster, her internal temperature rising a little higher.
“Yeah, dangerous. A guy like that can capture your heart without even trying. And since I know you’re a girl who wants commitment and doesn’t want her heart broken, I suggest if you start anything with him, you go into it with your eyes wide open.”
Eyes wide-open…legs wide-open. Oh, the possibilities.
“I’ve known Mitch long enough to know he’s a no strings playboy, a woman’s fantasy. It’s the way he likes it.”
Playboy. Fantasy. No strings. Sara wasn’t seeing a downside here.
Cassie angled her head. “When you meet the right guy, you’ll know it.”
Sara shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe I’m not looking for the right guy.” Honestly, she’d love to find Mr. Right and settle down. Not that she expected to find her “knight in shining armor” in a bad ass like Mitch. What she expected to find with him was a bad boy who was also so very, very good.
“He’s a great guy to have fun with, but don’t expect more, Cassie said. “I just don’t want to see you hurt.”
Sara worked to tamp down her desire and keep her voice even. Trying for casual she toyed with her straw and said, “How could he possibly hurt me? I’m here on a two-week vacation.” She dragged her finger around the perimeter of her glass and continued, “From work and from reality.” It suddenly occurred to her that a break from reality, along with a red hot fling with a “dangerous,” drop-dead-gorgeous firefighter, was just the thing she needed. What was that old vacation motto? What happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas. Surely that could apply to Chicago, too. Why couldn’t she have a wild, no-strings-attached affair and live out a few firefighter fantasies of her own? At least then she’d have something to warm her thoughts when she returned home to Iowa, to her mundane fluff job as reporter for Trenton’s small-time gazette.
The thoughts of going back to that office only to write another cow-tipping story made her shiver. Her dream job was to write sexy features for Entice, a young, hip, Chicago-based magazine for today’s strong, sexually empowered women. The trick was to come up with a great, hot topic story, one that would impress the Entice editors. Unfortunately, hot-topic stories were few and far between in her small town.
Cassie’s voice brought Sara’s attention back around. “To him, women are just sperm banks.”
Sara twisted her lips. “Sperm bank, huh?” It really had been far too long since she’d taken a deposit.
Sara looked over Cassie’s shoulder and spotted Mitch watching their exchange with interest, giving her the impression he knew exactly what they were talking about. He scraped his hands over his chin, dragging her gaze to his fingertips.
Her heart beat in a mad rush as she thought about how those fingers would feel tracing the pattern of her body, and touching her most private areas. She pictured his mouth ravishing hers, his hands on her breasts, his thick cock ramming her pussy, fucking her like she’d never been fucked before.
Just then their eyes connected, and in that instant, Sara knew she’d like nothing better than to take a few deposits from the bad ass firefighter.
Someone from across the room called out to Mitch. He twisted sideways and followed the sound, vanishing from her line of sight.
Sara pulled in a fortifying breath and focused all her attention back on the girls, playing catch-up on their conversation, which, from the sounds of things, was just beginning to heat up.
Never one to be subtle, Megan got right to the point. “So tell me, Cassie. Is Nick any good in bed?”
Cassie kept a telltale grin from her face, but the fire in her eyes spoke volumes. “You know I don’t kiss and tell.”
“I’m not asking about his kissing abilities, I’m asking about his fu-”
“Jesus, Megan,” Jenna piped in, “what kind of question is that?”
Megan shrugged. “I’m just asking, is all.”
“What you really should be asking is, does he know his way around a vagina? Because the last guy I dated couldn’t find my G-spot without a compass and detailed direction’s from Google Maps.”
A round of laughter erupted from the table and gained the attention of those around the four of them.
Still chuckling, Sara planted her elbow on the table and dropped her voice. “You think you’ve had it bad,” she whispered, resting her chin on her palms. “My last date thought a G-spot was the crisp five dollar bill he handed the waitress every morning in exchange for his coffee and paper.”
“Okay, since we’re having a whose-boyfriend-thinks-a-vulva-is-something-they-drive-to-work-every-morning contest I want in,” Megan added, laying her palms flat on the table, a wry grin curling her lips. “My ex-husband thought fellatio was something you ordered off the dessert menu at Applebee’s.” She smacked one hand to her forehead. “And to think I married him! What the fuck was I thinking?” A round of groans followed Megan’s confession.
“Okay, you win,” Sara piped in, going back to her drink. Maybe alcohol would lessen the painful truth that all the men back home were as boring in the bedroom as they were out of it.
Cassie leaned forward. She slipped something under her hand and slid it to the middle of the table. “Actually, there is a way you can all win. Except this time winning means no Google Maps, no detailed directions, and no Applebee’s.”
Before Cassie continued, her gaze darted around the room. Her voice dropped an octave as though all four women gathered around the table were masterminding some secret plan to take over the world. “This is just good, old-fashioned fun where those involved know what a G-spot is and how to work it.”
The other women all huddled forward, mimicking Cassie’s actions.
Megan lowered her voice to match Cassie’s. “What are you talking about?”
Cassie lifted her hand from the table to reveal a small white business card. A hush fell over the group as all sets of eyes focused on the rectangular piece of cardboard.
After a long moment, Jenna broke the silence. “The Hot Line?” She crinkled her nose, her glance going from the card to Cassie, then back to the card again. “What the hell is The Hot Line?”
With a fairly good idea of what Cassie was suggesting, Sara scooped the card up for a better look. It simply read, The Hot Line, with a phone number, 555-HEAT.
Sara shot Cassie a look, her mind racing with indecent ideas. She furrowed her brow, the reporter in her needing clarification, the woman in her blazing to life. “Yeah, what the hell is the Hot Line, Cassie?” she asked, examining the card.
“It’s a way for you all to have a little fun, with men who know their way around a woman’s body.”
“Oh yeah?” Megan rushed out, eyes bright with excitement. “Enlighten me, chicky.”
Cassie tapped the card, which Sara continued to clutch like her life depended
on it. Okay, so maybe her life didn’t depend on it, but her libido sure as hell did.
Cassie got right to the point. “If you call The Hot Line and mention that you need assistance, it will bring a sexy firefighter – a sexy ‘fully equipped’ firefighter, that is – to your door, ready and willing to tamp down your fires.”
“Damn girl, give me that card!” Megan flashed a wide smile. Mischief danced in her eyes as she whipped the card out of Sara’s hands.
Pussy clenching in anticipation, Sara snatched the card back, the investigative side of her demanding proof. “Is this for real?”
Cassie’s hand closed over hers and squeezed. “Absolutely. How do you think I met Nick?” There was honesty in her eyes when she spoke, and nothing in her voice to suggest otherwise. “It’s also a very well-kept secret.” She grew quiet for a moment and then said, “I trust you know what to do with it.”
Suddenly Sara’s entire body went on high alert. She knew Mitch was standing behind her, felt him long before she saw him. His heat reached out to her, his scent closing around her like warm blanket. She inhaled, pulling his spicy aroma into her lungs, noting the way her body stirred to life whenever he was near. Lust burned through her, and her mind sifted through all the ways Mitch could help stoke that fire.
Mitch leaned over her shoulder and grabbed a handful of nuts. Sara drew a shaky breath, cream pooling between her legs. She closed her hand over the card, and angled her body to face him. The sight of him up close and personal had her libido reacting with urgent demands, clamoring for his undivided attention. His bad-boy smile did delicious things to her insides. Her body flushed, immediately. The man made her feel so edgy, so out of control, so fucking hot.
In a hushed tone, he spoke to her, and her alone. “I have to take off. I’ll be at the firehouse.” His voice was low, deeply intimate. His sexy tenor curled around her, her nipples tightening in response. As sexual tension whipped between them, basic elemental need took hold. Her mouth salivated, and her pussy ached to slide down his pole and ride him with wild abandonment.