Just Desserts

by Tricia Quinnies

  The piercing sound of microphone squeal came from inside the club.

  “Her name is Kate. And she’s not your girlfriend. And the other woman? The one attached to the mayor? Is she one of your business partners?”

  “Stop it.” Quinn paced in front of her and shook his head. “Jesus, Sadie. I can’t change my previous—the women that I’ve dated. Yes, I’ve been involved with, in varying degrees, several women. I can’t erase the past.”

  “I know. Your life is overwhelmingly fortunate. Crazy and full of adventure,” she sniped.

  He stood inches away and locked her in a steely gaze. “You’re being sarcastic. Don’t.”

  “Fine. Here’s the truth, sans sarcasm. You are from the most prominent family in Chicago and practically own the city.” Her throat dried. She swallowed several times. “Your world. It’s different from mine. I get to serve you and your friends. I’m a waitress. You didn’t invite me. Clearly you’re embarrassed and don’t want to be seen with me.” She sniffed and stretched out the hem of her dress. “Ha. Good thing I won’t have to worry about any black tie affairs since my one and only little black dress is ruined.”

  Quinn wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her against his chest. “That’s bullshit.”

  She stepped away to break free of his hold.

  He tightened his arms around her and nestled her closer to his chest. “Listen. At the game, last night, I made you miserable. I didn’t want to take you to this pretentious gala with me, and then have to leave you alone again. I wanted, actually planned, to pick you up after the opening and come here for the concert.”

  She closed her eyes and burrowed against him. She stayed silent, listening to him and his heartbeat.

  He dropped his chin onto her head. “Sadie, you saying that you don’t belong in my world is a load of crap. And us, we’re a good fit. My family and Chicago, I can’t change. So would you please cut me some slack?”

  “We are pretty good together.”

  “And speaking of fitting into worlds. Do you know how difficult it was to get your father to talk to me about the diner? And I know if I don’t make things right between us—Paul along with Lindy and Eddie—” He brushed his fingers across her cheek. “—Hell, the entire town of Lake Geneva. They’ll be hunting me down with pitchforks.”

  She sighed. “You wouldn’t have a fighting chance.”

  “Not going to be an issue. I’m not leaving you. You’re kind of stuck with me.”

  She laughed. “Just what a Wrigley would say.”

  He hugged her. “Jesus, you’re hot.”

  “Thank you. You look pretty sexy in your tux.” She slipped her fingers along the edge of his cummerbund.

  “Sadie. You’re burning up. Do you feel all right?”

  “Yeah. You’re holding me tight. All’s good with the world.” A gush of emotion swelled in her chest. Her eyes started to well up with tears.

  A car came around the corner. The bright glare from its headlights spotlighted them.

  Lightly, he kissed her cheek. With a flick of his knuckle, he brushed off an escaped tear. “Tears of joy?”

  She nodded.

  They watched as a white limousine pulled into the alley and stopped.

  The back door slammed open. Emily rushed out. She glanced at them, and then jogged over to the limo. She opened the car door. “Thanks.”

  Out hopped Dave and Taylor. And then the other members of the Foo appeared.

  Jogging past her and Quinn, Dave smiled and went into the club. The rest of the guys followed him inside.

  “Come on. This is happening. Oh my God,” Emily squealed like a little kid as she ran past and went back into the bar.

  Quinn held her hand and they slipped back into the rear entrance of the bar. There was standing room only. They went up to the rooftop where they found one chair. Quinn sat and plopped Sadie in his lap. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled between his shoulder and neck. While the band played, the crowd around them danced and head banged. They stayed in each other’s arms, content.

  After the Foo finished playing and left the club, Sadie and Quinn helped Emily and her crew clean up. By the time Sadie sat in Quinn’s Porsche, her ears were buzzing and legs felt like rubber.

  “Should we go to your place or mine?” he asked.

  “Yours.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Sadie nodded. “Uh huh. I think I fell in love. At the concert. Like my mom and dad.”

  “Really? With Dave?” He drove onto Lake Shore Drive. “He’s quite the chick magnet from what I’ve been told.”

  “He chews a lot of gum, but he’s got nothing on you. My sexy Wrigley man in a tux.” She waggled her eyebrows.

  “I’m no rock star, though.”

  “Oh no, you’re not going to get me to say anything like worlds and rocking.” She reclined in the bucket seat, lay down, and covered up with his tux jacket. Her eyelids were heavy as lead. “I’m feeling pretty happy. Weird. My mom and dad, they met at a U2 concert and fell in love.”

  “Not all that weird. And if you won’t say it. I will. You rock my world.”

  She laughed. “You’re a dork. And I love you.”

  His phone rang. “Jesus. It’s four o’clock in the morning. Who the hell could that be?”

  She closed her eyes because it took much energy to keep them open.

  He answered the call. “This is Laughton. Uh. No shit. Congratulations Jake. And Suze is okay? How many pounds is he? Nine? That’s good, right?”

  “What his name?” Sadie asked tiredly.

  “Michael,” Quinn said without taking his eyes off the road. “See you tomorrow. Take care.”

  She laid her hand on his knee.

  He clasped it and squeezed. “Almost home, my love.”

  She drifted off and fell asleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sadie woke up blessedly warm under a pile of down comforters. Last night floated into her mind in bits and pieces. She’d been freezing after walking home in the rain from the Field Museum. Quinn had found her at the club. The Foo Fighters played.

  Quinn was sprawled out next to her.

  She’d slept at his place.

  She set her palm on his stomach and felt the rhythm of his breathing. “Are you awake?”

  “I am now. At least one part of me is.” He turned to his side and felt her forehead with the back of his hand. “Better.”

  “What’s better?” She sidled closer to him and draped her leg over his hips. “I don’t have any clothes on. Except my undies. How did that happen?”

  “Dead asleep when we came home. Snoring, too. I carried you up here. You were burning up. Thought you had a fever, so I stripped you down and put you into bed.” He caressed her shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

  “Good.” She turned onto her back. The chandelier hanging above was made of shiny gold silk. Pretty moss-colored tassels dangled off the edge of its entire circular perimeter. “What time is it?”

  “Almost two. We’ll know for sure in a bit.” He tossed off the comforter, sat on the edge of the bed and stretched. He made his way to the wall of sash windows and twisted open a wood blind.

  Sadie stared at his bare taut ass and muscular shoulders. He looked delicious. When sunlight poured into the room, she squinted and let out sigh. “Why?”

  “Feeding time for the elephants at the zoo. You’ll hear them.” He strode across the room, grabbed a pair of jeans off a wall hook and pulled them on. When he opened an antique armoire, there were stacks of neatly folded T-shirts on the shelves. Quinn yanked off one and shook it out and put it on. “I should go to Glen Ellyn. But I can do it tomorrow.”

  Sadie sighed. She missed seeing his bare shoulders, abs and butt. “What’s going on there?”

  “To see Jake and Suze and the baby.”

  “Baby? What baby?” She sat up, clutching the duvet to cover her. “Your brother had a baby and you didn’t tell me?”

  He sat on the edge
of the bed. “Ah. Okay you must have had a fever. Jake called to tell me on the way home from the club. Do you remember last night at all?”

  “Don’t panic. I remember. Most of it anyway.” She rubbed her lower lip with her finger. “It was a loud, ear-bursting concert. And you told me you loved me. Right?”

  He dropped his head, the blond flecks in his hair danced as his shoulders shook from laughing. “Sort of. You got the gist of it.”

  “Whew. You should go and see your new nephew today. I’ll get going.” She looked around the bedroom for her dress. On a caramel leather chair, in the corner of the bedroom, she spied her shoes and messenger bag. She tried to comb her fingers through her hair. It was a bird’s nest. “Definitely in need of a shower.”

  He kissed her. “Make yourself at home. I’ll run downstairs and get us some coffee and cinnamon rolls.”

  “Okay. I need it. I feel like I passed out in your bed.” She glanced around his lavish penthouse bedroom and felt her cheeks start to tingle. “I mean, I didn’t pass out. I hardly drank.” Feeling exposed, she adjusted the sheet up and around her chest like some kind of shield. She grasped the four-poster’s column next to her and carefully slid off the bed. Sadie tiptoed across the room to get to the master bath. “You do have hot water don’t you?”

  “Yes.” Quinn smiled. He followed behind her and leaned against the door jam.

  She looked around the bathroom. Her dress and the velvet scarf were draped over a towel bar. They looked like old rags that had floated in on the shores of Lake Michigan. She touched them. “They’re still wet. I have no clothes.”

  Her lips started trembling and a rush of despair tugged the corners of her mouth downward. She was exhausted. As though she’d had become emotionally inebriated last night and now she was passionately hungover. “I have nothing. How am I supposed to get home?”

  Quinn came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her. “Ssh. You’re tired. I want you to stay. Here. Hang out in bed and sleep. I have plenty of T-shirts and robes. And there are shops downstairs. I can call and order anything you want. They’ll deliver.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “Thanks. I think I’m emotionally worn out. I feel like every one of my nerves are sizzling and zapping out all of my energy.”

  “Maybe that’s because you fell in love at a concert last night.”

  She turned around so fast the sheet dropped off her shoulder and bared her breast. “I said that?” She scrambled to re-hook the sheet under her arm. “Did I really?”

  He kissed her. “Yes.”

  “Um. Just so we’re clear. I confessed to falling in love. With you. But what about you?”

  “Me? Oh I’ve been in love with you since you made me roll balls of peanut butter cookie dough.” He massaged her neck and shoulders. “Maybe even before that. You have some serious knots.”

  Sadie dropped the sheet and fell against him. He hugged her tight as she nestled against his chest. “Such a sweetheart.”

  “Speaking of sweet. I ran out of the museum without dessert. You owe me. Especially after you set that plate of raw meat down in front of me.”

  “So sorry. But at the time it seemed reasonable.” She stepped back and stretched her arms over her head. “And for dessert. Me?”

  He started to strip off his T-shirt.

  Sadie gazed at his arms and the muscles. Safe

  She felt giddy and nervously combed her hair off her shoulders. Her fingers became trapped in a mass of tangles. “Wait.” She sashayed past him and stepped into the shower. “I have to take a shower.”

  “You mean I have to wait for my dessert longer? Seriously?”

  “I want a mocha latte with a pinch of cinnamon. I’ll be sweeter by the time you come back.” Sadie turned on the water.

  “Can’t I join you? I’ll wash your back. And your front. At the same time.”

  “I need clothes, too. Find me something in a size six.”

  Quinn exited the bathroom, complaining. Then he slammed the door.

  “Patience,” she shouted. Her voice, coming from under the hot water, sounded garbled. She desperately needed to wash her hair and body. She smelled like beer and smoke—nothing sugary.

  Sunday at Ann Sather’s Swedish Coffee House would be crazy busy. She figured he would be in a long queue. Which gave her plenty of time to feel human again, and sexier.

  Sadie found Quinn’s shampoo and quickly lathered it in her hair. A Foo song from last night popped into her mind. Rinsing, she hummed the tune to Everlong and let the hot water and steam mesmerize her as she washed out the last hint of stale smoke.

  The shower’s pressure slowed down. The water became a stream and then a dribble. Then it disappeared entirely. She twisted the handle. There were no hot steamy droplets to be found. Rubbing her arms, she stepped out and wrapped a towel around her. Damn.

  “Hey. Quinn. Something’s wrong with your shower.” She padded into the bedroom.

  No answer.

  Quinn came in the bedroom, twirling a wrench like a baton in his hand. He wore only his faded jeans. “I had to make some changes to the water heater.”

  His bare chest and nicely-ridged stomach were enticing. Sadie gawped at flecks of hair trailing below his belly button and hiding under his jeans that dropped below his hipbones. Her mouth watered. She felt her nipples harden. “Oh…oh. Really.”

  He set the wrench on the desk and closed all the blinds.

  She licked her lower lip and fidgeted from one foot to another.

  Quinn came up to her. “Coffee can wait. You don’t need any clothes. And you were taking too long in the shower.” He held her hand and stroked the length of each of her fingers. Then he devoured her lips with a passionate kiss. “You’re delicious.”

  A shiver went up her spine and she swayed against him. Her hip bumped against his erection.

  He tugged the towel off and let it drop to the floor. “I want to wake you up my way.” Grasping her waist securely, her aching breasts settled against his chest. He drizzled kisses along her collarbone.

  When his kisses quickened and multiplied, her heart raced. He nipped each of her breasts as he clutched onto her ribcage. His tongue traveled lower and swirled around her bellybutton. He knelt before her and pushed her thighs apart. “Hold on.”

  She sucked in a short breath and grasped onto his shoulders.

  “I want you,” he growled. He lifted her leg over his shoulder. “All of you.”

  He slipped his tongue between her silky folds.

  A shock of adrenaline coursed through her so fast she shuddered. Sadie grasped the bedpost to steady herself.

  His tongue flicked back and forth along the delicate skin within her crease. She swayed and held tight to the bedpost. He blew out short breaths all along her plush ridges and inner thighs. The bursts of warm air made her tremble. She quivered and her knees buckled. He held her waist and guided her down onto the floor.

  She spread her arms and legs out on the velvety carpet.

  He held her thighs and thrust his tongue in and out of her, whittling away all her self-control. As every muscle in her body relaxed she moaned. Her body was malleable and belonged to Quinn.

  He nuzzled his head between her legs and kissed her inner thighs.

  Her breaths became gasps

  “How are things coming?” He slipped his fingers inside her. “God, you’re gorgeous.” While kissing her stomach, his fingers explored the depths of her core.

  She could barely breathe as his thumb played with her clit, and his fingertips tickled her far inside, in places she never imagined would make her so hot she might explode. She needed Quinn to contain the fire he created within her.

  “Please,” she bellowed with what little air she had in her lungs.

  He licked one of her nipples. “I want you to enjoy this.” He kissed the other. “For a long time, but I seriously don’t know how long I’ll be able hold out, beautiful.”

  “Right. Mister Quick Draw.” Her voice sounded
raspy. She found a bit of strength left in her suddenly boneless body and sat up. “Take off your jeans, now.”

  As Quinn unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans she stretched out on the carpet and rolled over onto her stomach to stop trembling. The rug scratched her nipples. The friction struck tiny flares in her core. “Jeez. Your carpet must be one of kind. It’s making me hotter than hell.” She flipped over onto her back. “I want you. Now.”

  He dropped to his knees.

  She smiled at his erection for only a second, before he thrust its full length into her.

  Sadie arched her back and clutched onto him.

  He pulled out and she fell down onto the soft carpet. “Oh God. I’m aching for you. Where are you?”

  Quinn leaned down and licked the length of her stomach. “Patience.”

  She slapped his butt. “Don’t be a tease. You’re torturing me. I desperately want you.”

  He nibbled her earlobe. A long warm breath caressed her neck. “I can’t get enough of you. I want you, Sadie.”

  “Yes…!” she screamed.

  He drove the entire length of his penis into her. Quinn lifted her onto his lap and held her tight as he thrust hard and deep.

  Sadie hugged him, folded her legs around him and nuzzled into his neck. She sucked in quick gasps of air and let Quinn fill her body with his force.

  He fell back with her on top of him. Sadie caressed his hips and kissed his chest.

  As he swiveled under her, the tip of his penis tickled deep inside.

  She kissed him.

  Quinn gazed up at her, and sighed. “I’m so lucky. You’re beautiful.” He grasped her hips and drove into her.

  She gulped down the tirade of emotions swelling inside her.

  As he came inside her, she climaxed. Then they stayed together, as one, comfortably in each other’s arms.

  “I like where you are. Don’t go anywhere,” she whispered in his ear. “Besides, I’m too exhausted to move. I think I might ask for a refund from those tortuous Pilates classes. This is a much better work out.”

  He laughed. “Rest up, babe. We’re not done.”

  “I think I’m seeing stars and feeling the earth quake below us.” She sat up, still on top of him. Her legs reflexively straddled his hips tighter to make sure they didn’t separate.