One Night with a SEAL

by Tawny Weber

  He raised his head so he could meet her eyes. “Sounds fair. But I should warn you, I have a very active and expansive imagination.”

  “That so?” She brushed her fingers over his cock. Grinned at his hissed-out breath. “Prove it.”

  Now, that was a challenge he could gladly accept.

  10

  QUINN REFILLED HER coffee cup then sat back at her table. She had the afternoon off—which was a good thing as afternoons weren’t exactly rush time at Myer’s. Plus, staying home gave her time to focus on her studies.

  Not that she was. Studying, that was. She should be. She had a paper due and an exam she needed to buckle down for, but when she opened her laptop, the window was open to a shopping site.

  Biting her lower lip, she considered the dress on the screen. It was a deep blue, slinky with just enough sparkle. Perfect for a has-been queen.

  Perfect for attending her ten-year high school reunion.

  She added it to her online shopping bag, picked two-day shipping and tried not to cry as she thought of the damage it was doing to her pitiful savings account, but there you had it. She pushed Order, put in her credit-card information and slammed the laptop lid shut, her heart racing like she’d just run a race.

  She was doing it. She was going to her class reunion.

  Not because she wanted to be there, necessarily. She was going for Xander.

  Taking her coffee with her, she went into the living room and curled up on her couch to stare out the window. He hadn’t asked her to accompany him again. This was her way of surprising him. She wanted to go with him.

  Wanted to spend as much time as possible with him while she still could.

  Their time together was dwindling fast. Too fast. In a matter of days he’d be gone. And if going to a reunion together and giving people the crazy idea that they were a real couple meant being able to spend a few more hours with him?

  She’d take it.

  Sipping her coffee, she watched a car pull up and park. A moment later, a pretty blonde got out. When the blonde headed straight for Quinn’s door, a bakery box in her hand, Quinn straightened. A moment later, there was a knock on the door.

  What was up with that?

  Too curious not to find out, Quinn answered the door.

  “Hi,” the blonde said, with a warm smile. “I’m Vivian. I was hoping we could chat.” She lifted the box. “I brought cupcakes.”

  And now Quinn was even more curious.

  And she wouldn’t mind a cupcake.

  She returned the other woman’s friendly grin hesitantly remembering what curiosity did to the cat. “Hi, Vivian.” She glanced at the box then up into the woman’s face. “Why?”

  “First, because I love your boots and figure any woman who has such great taste in footwear is one I’d like to know. Second, I know you grew up here, but you haven’t been back long so I thought maybe you could use a friend. And third,” she lifted the lid to show off the variety pack of cupcakes, “some things are better discussed with sugar.”

  “A friend?” She hadn’t had a girlfriend since high school, and even then, she’d been more popular, more liked for her looks than for her personality. “Let’s not be hasty.”

  The woman’s smile remained. “Well, let’s focus on that third reason, because I really, really need to talk to you.”

  Oh, Quinn didn’t like the sound of that. She almost told her to get lost, that whatever she had to say Quinn wasn’t interested in hearing, but there was something about the other woman’s face, something that told Quinn she wasn’t playing a game.

  Crap.

  “In that case,” Quinn said, opening the door wide and holding out her arm, “come on in.”

  Quinn nodded at the table and Vivian sat. She opened the lid of the box. “Help yourself.”

  Inside were half a dozen cupcakes. Quinn chose a chocolate one with mile-high, dark chocolate frosting. “So what do I owe the honor of having the best baker in town deliver cupcakes to my door?”

  Vivian blinked. “You know who I am?”

  Quinn shrugged. “Small town. You’re Mike Harris’s sister.”

  Vivian’s mouth turned down. “At the moment I’ve disowned him, but I suppose, technically, you could say I’m his sister. Anyway,” she continued with a shake of her head, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news and all that, and this might sound crazy seeing as how we don’t know each other, but women should stick together, don’t you think?”

  Quinn was fascinated by the way Vivian talked, quick and bright, barely taking a breath. “Sisterhood for life,” she agreed, then took a bite of her cupcake.

  Vivian smiled and seemed to relax. “Anyway, I recently discovered that I have been the consolation prize in a stupid, immature bet.”

  “Consolation prize?”

  Vivian nodded. “Runner-up. Second place. First to lose, as the SEALs say.”

  “SEALs? Please tell me you’re talking about the marine animals.”

  “Nope,” she said. “Afraid not. And while I was the consolation prize, I thought it was only fair to let you know that you were the grand prize.”

  Everything within Quinn froze. “What?”

  “Yeah. Pretty sucky, right? It was a challenge. To see who could get you—Xander or Zane.”

  “What?” Quinn repeated, softer but with more venom, which her new buddy recognized.

  “Don’t kill the messenger. I just... I thought you should know.”

  Quinn realized that the other woman had been hurt by this. It made her own pain easier to deal with, knowing she wasn’t alone.

  “Men suck,” Quinn said, taking a huge bite of the cupcake.

  “Amen to that, sister,” Vivian said, toasting her with her own cupcake. “So, what are you going to do?”

  Quinn considered that question. She’d trusted Xander. Had been contemplating putting her heart on the line for him—had put her heart on the line. Had opened up to him only to find out none of it was real.

  It hurt. It hurt so much worse than anything Peter had done. Worse than having her father walk out on her.

  “I’m going to do what I should have done in the first place,” she said quietly. “I’m going to walk away.”

  * * *

  XANDER POUNDED ON Quinn’s door. He didn’t understand it. He knew she was home, he saw her lights on, but she wasn’t answering the door.

  Two more minutes and he was going to break in.

  He knocked again and finally he heard the click of the dead bolt unlocking. The door opened.

  He frowned at Quinn, still in jeans and a T-shirt, the same outfit he assumed she’d worn to work. “Are you okay?”

  “Other than having a maniac knocking on my door at 3:00 a.m.?” she asked coolly. “I’m fine.”

  He narrowed his eyes. Something was up. “I waited for you. After work,” he clarified.

  “Did you?” She shrugged. “I guess you wasted your time.”

  And she started to shut the door.

  He pressed his hand against it, holding it open. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’ve just decided to take myself out of the running.”

  “The running?”

  She tipped her head to the side, and though there was definitely a lot of anger in her expression, beyond that, he saw hurt in her eyes. “The running as top prize for your little dare.”

  She knew about the challenge.

  Shit.

  “It wasn’t a da
re,” he said quietly. “It was a stupid challenge. It didn’t mean anything.”

  She laughed harshly. “No? Seemed to me it meant enough, was important enough for you to win that you came after me. Well, congrats. I hope it was worth it.”

  She tried to shut the door but he held on. “Worth what?”

  “Worth losing me.”

  It wasn’t, he realized. Nothing was worth that. “I didn’t come after you because of the challenge. You know that. It was stupid. Meaningless. And I didn’t even win,” he hurried on. “It wasn’t a dare to get you into bed. Just to take you to the reunion—which you refused to do. I lost and I’m glad. I got something so much better,” he told her honestly.

  “I don’t believe you. You told me you don’t lie, but you lied to me.”

  He was losing her. And this time he wasn’t sure he could stop it. “Let me in, Quinn,” he said softly, taking a chance and touching her—just her arm. His finger trailing over her skin. “Let me in so I can explain.”

  But she shook her head, looking so hurt it tore him up inside. “Anything you say will be a lie. Now let go of my door before I decide to try out some of my new defensive moves on you.”

  He hesitated, but it was late and she was obviously upset and he didn’t want to make it worse.

  If that was even possible.

  Letting go of the door, he stepped back, his hands held up in surrender. “This isn’t over.”

  “It really is.” She started shutting the door only to stop. Looked at him in a way that made him feel like something smelly under her shoe. “You know the worst part? I trusted you. I knew I shouldn’t but you were so convincing. I trusted you,” she repeated, “so I guess I have no one to blame for this but myself. Goodbye, Xander.”

  She shut the door, leaving him on her dark doorstep. Leaving him to face the truth.

  The only person to blame was him.

  11

  THE NIGHT OF the reunion, Quinn was behind the bar at Myer’s when Xander walked in looking like a freaking dream in dark dress pants and a crisp white shirt opened at the collar. Her heart tripped.

  She’d missed him the past two days. She’d missed him so much.

  The bastard.

  He headed straight for her. She considered running away but the man was a SEAL.

  If he wanted to find her, to catch her, he would.

  And she wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of letting him know how much he’d hurt her. She’d slipped the other night. Had been raw and vulnerable but now she was stronger. Smarter.

  “What’ll it be, sailor?” she asked, making sure her voice was a husky purr.

  “We need to talk.”

  Pouring two shots of tequila, she raised her eyebrows. “You know what? I’m all talked out. Oh, I know, you want to talk about me accompanying you to the reunion? Winning that dare?”

  “It wasn’t a dare,” he said through his clenched teeth. Glad to see she wasn’t the only one getting irritated. “It was a challenge. And I don’t want to win it.” He leaned forward, lowered his voice, his gaze intense. “I want you.”

  She wanted so badly to believe him.

  Stupid, stupid girl.

  “Well, you’ve already had me,” she said. “Let someone else have a turn.”

  The guy at the end of the bar raised his hand. “Where do I sign up for this?”

  Xander whirled around and glared, and the guy slunk down on his bar stool. “We’re talking,” he said, turning back to Quinn. “Now.”

  “No, I’m working. And you are leaving.” She handed the shots to her customers, who were watching the little drama with huge eyes. “Now.”

  She turned her back on him, and that was her mistake. Not that he couldn’t have easily taken her out but she made it too easy for him.

  She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  So when he leaped over the bar—which she wished she could have seen—and bent down, tossing her over his shoulder, she didn’t hesitate. She fought. Kicking and punching the best she could. When Steve said something to Xander, tried to stop him, Xander growled and poor Steve backed up so fast, he knocked over a tower of glasses.

  “Dianne is going to kill you,” Quinn said gleefully. If only her boss was there right now. “More damages to pay for.”

  He stalked down the hallway as if he knew where he was going, turned right and stepped into the tiny closet Dianne called her office and shut the door, then set Quinn on her feet, holding on to her upper arms.

  She shook her hair from her eyes. “Let me go.”

  “Not until I’ve had my say.”

  “What makes you think I care to hear what you have to say? What makes you think you deserve my time and attention?”

  “Nothing,” he said simply. “But I’m hoping you’ll listen anyway.”

  She didn’t want to. Told herself she couldn’t care less about what he had to say but she found herself crossing her arms and muttering, “Fine. Two minutes.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She waited but that seemed to be the extent of it. “If I’d known you were going to be that succinct,” she said drily. “I would have given you two seconds.”

  She tried to get by but he blocked her. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

  “I’m fine,” she said quickly.

  “You were right. I did lie to you, but not about what you think. Not about my feelings for you. The only reason I accepted that challenge was because it gave me a reason to approach you. I knew Zane would try to win it no matter what, and I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing the two of you together.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  “It does. I had a crush on you. In high school.”

  Her eyes widened and she was surprised at the depth of pain his confession brought. “That’s what this whole thing was about?” she asked. “You living out some teenage fantasy?”

  “Yes. No.” He shook his head. Stabbed his fingers through his hair. “I had a crush on you, but it wasn’t real. You’re real. The person you are now—Quinn, you’re amazing. Smart and strong and so beautiful. I don’t want to lose you. I’m falling in love with you.”

  His words went right to her heart. Her breath caught and she stumbled back a step. “No. No, it’s too late. I’m not that girl. I told you that before. I’m not a princess. I’m just me.”

  He nodded. “I know. You are who I want. Give me another chance. Trust me.”

  “I can’t,” she whispered.

  His mouth flattened. “You mean you won’t.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “It matters that you’re too afraid to take a chance. Stop playing it safe,” he said. “Stop living this half-life where you keep yourself so guarded and distant from everyone and everything. Take a chance on me.” He stepped forward and touched her cheek. “Take a chance on us. We can make it work.”

  But she was too scared. She stepped back. “It’s too late.”

  He stiffened. “You got what you wanted.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This. You’ve been waiting for me to screw up, to catch me in a lie or to let you down in some way so you’d have an excuse to walk away from me. You got what you wanted,” he repeated softly. “I just hope it’s what you can live with.”

  He opened the door and stepped out into the hall, shutting the door behind him. Leaving her alone. She knew he was right. This was what she’d wanted. What she’d expected.

  And she couldn’t live with it. Didn’t want to.

  * * *

  XANDER STOOD NEXT to the piano at the country club while “Fergalicious” played over the loudspeakers. People danced and talked, a few hanging around the buffet tab
le, more hanging out at the bar. The room was filled with balloons, streamers and enough paper panthers to fill a damn jungle.

  People kept their distance from him—probably because when anyone got too close, he glared at them until they scurried away. He wasn’t in the party mood. Had been paraded around—literally, and riding that panther float in the parade down Main Street had been the stuff of nightmares—enough. He just wanted tonight to be over.

  Wanted another opportunity to talk to Quinn again. To convince her to forgive him. To give him another chance.

  “Yo,” Zane said, coming up to Xander. “Great party, right?”

  Xander nodded. Something was up with his twin. “You look like hell.”

  “Thanks, man. Glad to know you’ve always got my back.”

  “Always.”

  The song changed to Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable,” and on the dance floor, Mrs. Marshall, their old algebra teacher, did a shimmy and shake against Mr. Bridges, the PE teacher.

  Zane went white. “Oh, man.”

  “So wrong.” But Xander couldn’t turn away. It was like a car wreck.

  “We’re supposed to find Kyle,” Zane said.

  “Right.” Xander sighed. “Challenge time, and all that.”

  “Yeah. All that.” Zane frowned. “You okay?”

  Great. Now he had Zane wondering what the hell was going on with him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  As long as it wasn’t about him, Xander was game. Still, Zane didn’t come to him for advice. He followed his own path. “You want my advice? Did you bump your head?”

  “Challenge time!”

  Both he and Zane looked over as Kyle held his hand up.

  Xander glanced at Zane and they both stood there, leaving Kyle’s bid for a high five unanswered.

  Lenny slapped Kyle’s hand then turned to Xander and Zane. “So which one of you is here with Quinn? I’ve got twenty riding on this. If I can collect before the next song, I can snag a date for the rest of the party.”