by Honor James
“Darrel Hays from the Post Mr. Brodie-McKaughan,” the reporter said, to which Quinn nodded. “Do you plan on returning to your modeling career?”
“At this time I’m not sure if I will or if my agency, or any other would have me.” Quinn smiled slightly. “I’m back on my feet but the long hours of prep, the travel and then the stress of such things are still beyond me at this time. Over the next few months I will likely make a decision but at this time it is still up in the air. You.” Quinn pointed to someone else.
“Sharon Toombs from the Gazette,” the woman said, and Quinn nodded to her as well. “Everyone wants to know where you went after you awakened, care to share?”
“Knowing how well known my birth parents are and the fact my face was being plastered everywhere,” he shot a dirty look to some folks. “I and my team of caregivers decided it was best to get out of the city entirely. We retreated to the country where the fresh air, no time constraints and general lack of the hustle and bustle allowed me time to finish my healing process. It was quite lovely actually, lots of trees, bright blue sky and even a stray cat we tried to befriend while there to no avail. He still hated us when we left.” Quinn looked over the crowd who had started waving frantically again. “You,” he pointed.
“George Carrigal from the Examiner,” the reporter said. Quinn nodded and gave him a look that, to everyone watching, said he was slightly amused by his choice.
“I’m sure you’ve read some of the things being said Mr. Brodie-McKaughan, rumors and such. We have it on good authority that your birth mother fired a woman who was later dragged back by your former best friend and then you ran off with her. Care to clear up the matter?”
Quinn chuckled at that and shook his head. “Well, not to toot my own horn but I’ve honestly never had to have any woman kidnapped. I don’t recall losing any friends of late but since I’ve been out of touch I’ll have to check on that. As to running off, trust me, I wasn’t capable of doing any sort of maneuver until last week and, even then, it was more of a limping trot like gait. So, to answer your question, there’s nothing to clear up because that is seriously a load of crap.”
Quinn stepped back and tipped his head to the crowd before heading out with the security team right with him.
* * * *
“Well, uh,” Jordan said, turning off the TV. “That was interesting.”
Susan just sat there and looked at the screen. “Wow, I can’t believe that they are just letting him go and not hounding him like crazy right now. I’m glad that they aren’t, don’t get me wrong but wow. Yeah I’m rather surprised.” Which said something. She then grinned and added, “So you kidnapped me and brought me back huh?” she teased, moving so that she could sit on Jordan’s lap and simply be held by him.
Wrapping his arms around her, he laughed. “Apparently.” He shook his head. “And he ran off with you, in his condition no less, that there is a seriously impressive feat. As to the reporters,” he made a face. “They’ll be on his ass, not those ones specifically but their little minions. They’ll be in the parking lot and on the street ready to tail him. Security will thin the numbers down and then whoever he’s got driving him will lose the rest long before they get here.”
“I certainly hope so because I really don’t feel like being a part of the news media. How in the world did you both handle it? How do you handle it? So many women and men that look at you in the ads that you do and want you so much, how are you able to not go home with a different person each night?” That was what she didn’t understand. Why did these two men want her? She was not an ugly woman, but she wasn’t beautiful either. She didn’t understand how she had gotten so lucky to have these two amazing men as hers.
“I’m not in ads, I’m behind the scene, darling,” he reminded her gently. “As for Quinn,” he shrugged. “They see what’s presented, not what’s truly there. They figure the life is so glamorous and spectacular because the rags make it seem so. But in reality, if Quinn’s agent didn’t twist his arm to go to parties and movie release or award shows, he wouldn’t. He hates that part of the life but knows that it sells more products and keeps him working. Or rather, it did.” He chuckled.
“True.” Susan shrugged. “I just plain like him. Before he woke, I was, of course, enamored of him, but then I began to learn about him and get to know him through the stories that you and everyone around told of him. That’s the man that I care deeply for. The man that I’ve gotten to know in the last two months.” Well, almost two months. “Who would have known that he woke the day I kissed him. How strange right? I had wanted to before that but professionalism kept me from it but when his mother fired me, I figured why not, and just did it. I feel a little bad for kissing him and him not knowing it, but I’m grateful that he is awake and now can kiss me back, too.”
“I told him,” Jordan said with a smirk. “About you kissing him, I mean. Been teasing him the entire time that, had he just looked a little more pitiful from the start, you might have done it sooner and he would have woken sooner. Just so you know.” Jordan looked around before dropping his voice to a whisper. “He’s not amused by it,” he reported and then laughed. Clearly Jordan was amused by it.
Susan snorted and then giggled, she couldn’t help herself. “Oh honey, this is no fairy tale and I’m more than most certainly no Princess to waken her Prince or whatever. I’m happy that he’s awake but I seriously doubt that I had anything to do with it.”
“I think you’re a pretty damned fine princess actually,” he said, squeezing her closer. “But you are right, Quinn ain’t no Prince. Now me, on the other hand.” He smiled brightly and batted his lashes.
Laughing Susan tickled Jordan and then got off of his lap. “Okay, come on. Time to pack a teeny-tiny carry-on for our three-week vacation on a beach. No clothing permitted.” She hoped that Quinn had been able to arrange that at least. “Just the three of us, sun, sand, surf, food, and sex. Hopefully lots and lots of sex.”
“You mean he was serious?” he asked in amazement. At her nod he laughed softly and shook his head. “Hot damn. That is freaking awesome!” Jumping to his feet, he grabbed her hands and tugged her up. “We’d better get moving then,” he said, tugging her toward the bedrooms.
Susan laughed the entire time that they packed. She couldn’t seem to help herself. If she wasn’t laughing she was swatting away Jordan’s hands and reminding him that they were on a time limit to get ready to leave. Finally however they had everything together and were waiting, not so patiently, by the door for Quinn to return.
He stepped inside and gave her a tired smile. “I see you’re ready to go.” He chuckled softly. Closing the door he walked over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Did you guys catch the broadcast?” he asked softly.
Wrapping her arms around Quinn automatically, Susan hugged him and nodded. “We did. Are you okay?” He looked tired, looked worn out actually. “If you aren’t up to it, Quinn, we can do this another time. I don’t want you to push yourself more than you should. You are back and moving of your own violation however you are still not to your full pre-accident self. You need more rest than you did before. We can wait for a vacation.”
“No, we’re going,” he said quietly. “I’ll sleep on the flight. I’m used to doing that so it’s not a big deal. Besides, after that.” He waved a hand vaguely around. “I don’t want to be in town for a while. I’ve got a couple of people that will drop hints that we’ve left town and send the paparazzi all over the map and nowhere near where we actually will be. I’m okay,” he told her with a smile. Cupping her face, he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
She let him kiss her and sighed against his lips. “Goodness, you make me forget everything,” she whispered honestly. Pulling back from him, however, she nodded and looked to Jordan. “Do you have our bag?” she asked with a smile, not leaving the loose circle of Quinn’s arms, simply resting her head against his chest as she spoke.
“Yes, ma’am, shaving gear, toothbrushes,
toothpaste, sunscreen, lube, and a couple bits of clothing just in case we need to go into civilization for any reason,” Jordan reported, obviously for Quinn’s sake.
“Good.” He nodded, squeezing her close. “Let me get out of this suit and into something comfortable, and then we can head out. You do have your passports, right?” he asked.
“Sir, yes sir.” Jordan snapped off a silly salute. “The missus was quite specific in our packing needs and snapped out orders accordingly. You know,” he said, relaxing into a pose with one hip to the counter. “She really is a little general when she wants to be. I totally sympathize with you about all that physio stuff. I honestly thought you were kidding, dude.”
Susan snorted. “Whatever. When he was able to do his first sit-up he didn’t complain afterward. He loved the kiss that he got and then the shower and the hot oil massage. Yes, I am a bit of a slave driver but I give rewards as well, so keep that in mind there, mister man.”
“She does at that.” Quinn nodded. “It was a great massage,” he said softly. “Not as good as the one the other night, but a close third.” He laughed. Pulling back from her, he winked and then walked toward the bedrooms.
Once Quinn was out of sight Jordan leaned in toward her. “Is it me or does he seem really beaten down?” he asked softly.
“He does.” Susan watched Quinn walking away, the worry was clear on her face. “I’m worried about him. Do you think that this is a good idea? I don’t want to undermine all that we have done in the last many weeks.”
“It should be fine,” Jordan said softly. “We’ll just keep an eye on him. I know today was hard for him, he hates being in front of a crowd like that when he’s not working and in his zone. And the press practically give him hives so that’s even more stress for him to deal with. I think he needs this. It’s a getaway for us all. For him I think it’s even more important. He’ll be out of the city where his parents live and where all those reporters are. Away from all the pressures and expectations, just living for himself and us. It’ll be fine.” He nodded slowly.
“As long as you are certain. I worry for him, a great deal.” She loved the man so of course she would worry about him. “He still hasn’t talked to them has he?” She shifted gears in their conversation mid-sentence. “His birth parents. He’s still not talking to them is he?” Which was a crying shame. It made her heart hurt for Quinn that he wasn’t able to talk to them.
“No, he’s not talking to them. But,” Jordan shot a look up the hall before leaning in again. “I talked to him about it, very roundabout and, I think but I’m not sure, he might be leaning toward extending an olive branch of sorts. I just don’t want to push it with him because he is the most stubborn person on the planet and, if I do push, we’ll be back to square one. So I’m trying, so damned hard, to leave it be as much as I can.”
“I’m trying not to push as well. I don’t want him to regret it a year or two down the line. It would kill me because I would be the center of why he wasn’t talking to them and that would affect our relationship I’m sure.” It would destroy her if he woke up one day and hated her.
“You’re not the center of why I’m not speaking to them,” Quinn said. He’d come back out while they’d been talking and caught her. Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, much like Jordan, he looked more comfortable but still tired. “Sorry to disillusion you, sweetheart, but this one is solely on them and not you. As for you—” He shot a dark look at Jordan. “Keep pushing and the reporters might be right in the fact I’ll be needing to look for a new best friend.”
“No fighting,” Susan said simply and moved to pick up the duffel. “Instead we are going on vacation. We are going to forget about life for three weeks and not think about anything more strenuous than what’s for dinner for all that time. We won’t think about reporters, family, nothing. Just each other. That sounds heavenly to me. Now, are you boys coming with?”
“Definitely,” Jordan said. Getting up, he collected the one and only bag they were taking from her, dug around and then handed over their passports. “All right, let’s get this show on the road.”
Quinn relaxed against her and nodded. Tucking his passport in a back pocket he gave her a quick smile. “The car will be down in the parkade waiting for us. We’ll be able to slip out without anyone being the wiser as to who might be inside. Just in case.”
“That sounds good to me. The less chance of people seeing us beforehand the happier that I will be.” Her arm was around Quinn’s waist, she needed to hold him, to keep him close. “What happens though in the future? I seriously doubt that we will be lucky enough to not be hounded by the press when we return and I refuse to hide my relationships with the two of you so what happens next?” She was thinking too far into the future and knew it.
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” he said softly. “But we have time to think about it and decide how we want to best approach it. It will come out, stuff like this always does, even if I don’t go back to work.”
“Which you don’t have to do given the money you’ve made and saved,” Jordan said.
“True.” Quinn nodded. Sighing he wrapped his arm around her and squeezed. “For now, let’s get to the airport and out of town. After that we can hash all this out over the next few weeks while we’re all getting some much needed sun and surf.”
“That sounds good to me.” Susan looked up at Quinn, the love she had for him clear on her face even if she didn’t speak it aloud. “I look forward to getting nice and tanned all over with the two men that mean the most to me in the world. It’s going to be a marvelous three weeks.”
“It will be,” he said softly. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to her lips and then urged her to the door and on their way to their vacation.
Chapter Nine
They were on their way, to where she had no clue, but they were on the private jet Quinn had chartered and he was already dozing in his seat. The airport had been an amazing breeze. In through a secure, private entrance and they’d done the entire customs thing easily. They had been questioned about the small bag and very few, if interesting, items they were taking but Jordan had cleared that up.
Not that she could have given she’d gotten embarrassed the moment the security guard had hefted the tubes of lube up for all to see. Quinn hadn’t been any help because he’d been laughing too hard at what Jordan had been telling them. Either that or at her, she wasn’t really clear on that. Either way, they’d been cleared through with a bunch of knowing looks and then out onto the tarmac where the jet had been waiting.
And no one knew where they were going. Well, not true. The pilots obviously did and so did Quinn, but none of them were sharing any of the details. The pilots had just smiled and ignored the question when she’d posed it.
Susan looked to Quinn who was dozing and smiled. Looking to Jordan she asked, “Are you tired?” At the negative shake of his head she moved out of her seat and to his. “Then what do you think about us getting busy right here, right now? The pilots won’t be coming back here anytime so I really think that we need to see what is so great about making love ten thousand feet in the air.” Or however high it was that they were flying, she didn’t care, she just needed and ached to be with one of her men.
“Okay.” He grinned. Undoing his belt he popped to his feet and stretched. “Well, we have options. We have these enormous chairs that recline and vibrate. We also have a sofa back there and, if I remember correctly from what Quinn said, there’s also a bedroom in the back. Or we could just go insane on this rug. Did you notice how soft it is?” he asked shaking his head with a look of awe.
“I did notice how soft it was but I don’t want rug burns to ruin our vacation. I say that we go back and find the bedroom. If we are lucky Quinn will wake enough to join us.” She leaned in and kissed Jordan. “Come on big boy, I need you to fuck me.” Plain and simple, she needed him to fuck her. To ride her hard and make her scream.
“Done,” he said. Then he scooped her up into his arms and t
rotted for the back of the plane. Setting her down as they entered the bedroom he let out a whistle. “Damn, this is amazing, for a plane I mean.” Shaking his head he looked around even as he began to tug at her clothing.
Susan began to tug at Jordan’s clothing as well. “It is pretty swank, but right now I’m all for seeing the nakedness that is Jordan Connor.” She was teasing him, her nails raking over his skin gently as she bared a bit of flesh here and there. “I need Jordan. So desperately.”
That got his attention and had him pulling off his own clothes fast. Grinning at her, he scooped her up and tossed her onto the bed. At which point he yanked down her pants and got rid of them with her shoes and socks. “Much better,” he said crawling up onto the bed to hover over her.
“Very much better.” Susan moved the pillows so that they were pushed off of the bed and lifted a leg to wrap around Jordan’s waist, pulling him closer as she did so. “The view is spectacular,” she teased wickedly. “I think however that you need to do something about that raging hard on that you have going on there. We need to do something about it.” She amended. “What do you think would be the best way to help both of us out?”
“Well, I was thinking of maybe rubbing it over you a little but that leads to the worry of possible injury should I get it caught in the wrong place. There is the ever-popular hand job, but that’s usually for behind closed doors when I’m all alone, so really, unacceptable for mixed company. My only conclusion is that I slide it into that pretty little hole you have that’s just weeping for attention and fuck you until you can’t remember your own name.”
“I think that’s an utterly brilliant idea.” Susan moaned. “In fact, I am all for that. Later, much later, you can show me how you give yourself hand jobs but right now I truly think that you fucking me would be the best for both of our sanity’s sake.”