Chasing Quinn

by M. E. Clayton

  She let out the sexiest moan I’ve ever heard and opened her mouth to me. I slipped my tongue into her hot awaiting mouth and she tasted like she did when I kissed her last night.

  She tasted like I’d never get enough of her.

  I tilted her head back breaking off the kiss as I started trailing my lips down her neck. I was going to taste every inch of her body. I had never wanted a woman the way I wanted this one and that’s saying something.

  “Mmmmm, Chase.”

  I nipped at her soft flesh. “Tell me what you want, babe.”

  Quinn ran her hands under my shirt and I removed my lips from her neck just long enough for her to pull my t-shirt over my head.

  “In the name of all that is holy,” she breathed.

  I couldn’t help the smirk that took over my face. “Like what you see?”

  She started tracing my tattoos with her delicate hands and I had never been so happy to have them in all my life. I’d cover my body from neck to toe nail if that’s what turned her on.

  “Jesus Christ, Chase, you’ve got to be the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.”

  Fuck. Yeah.

  Before I could high-five myself, she started placing light kisses all over my chest, and I swear, it was all I could do not to cum in my pants right then and there.

  A moan erupted from deep within my throat at how good it felt to have Q finally touching me, let alone kissing me.

  “Tell me what you want, Quinn, before I take the choice away from you.” I knew how I wanted to fuck her, but I needed to make this all about her so that she’d come back for more.

  And more.

  And more.

  She let out a breathy laugh. “First I want to make sure you have a condom before this goes any further, I don’t want to take any chances after last night.”

  My entire body froze.

  Her words were like a bucket of ice poured ruthlessly over my hard-on. I untangled my hands from her hair and stepped back to look into her face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  She looked up at me with lust clouding her eyes and the corner of her beautiful lips tilted as if she had a secret. “I’m all for casual sex, Chase, but I’ve never, nor will I ever, engage without protection. I may be horny, but I’m not irresponsible.”

  Her hands were still rubbing my chest and eight-pack, so I grabbed them because I couldn’t handle their distraction. “I mean, what did you mean when you said ‘after last night’?”

  The look in her eyes was quickly turning from lust to confusion. “Well, when you went back into the bar, I figured it was to go hook up with that blonde.” She shrugged a shoulder. “It’s none of my business, but if I’m going to sleep with a guy like you, protection is a given, don’t you think?”

  I could feel my blood beginning to heat and not in a good way. “A guy like me?”

  “Well, yeah, a guy who can sleep with one chick on Friday and be ready for another one on Saturday,” she said as casually as if she were discussing the weather.

  I dropped her hands and took a step back away from her. “You’re unfuckingbelievable, Quinn. You really fucking are.” I reached down to pick my shirt up off her kitchen floor and threw it back on without any finesse whatsoever. I’m surprised I didn’t poke my eye out with my fingers or something.

  “Whoa,” she breathed out. “I’m unbelievable just because I want to do the responsible thing and use a condom? Are you actually serious right now?”

  I tugged my shirt down over my waist with more force than was needed. “You really think I went back in there and took that fucking bitch home?”

  She planted her hands on her hips and glared at me like I was in the wrong. “Why else would you go back into the bar?”

  I growled at her. Actually fucking growled. “Maybe because it was a choice between going back into the bar or strangling the fuck out of you. I chose the option that didn’t come with a prison term!”

  “You’re going to stand there and tell me you went home alone last night? Bullshit, Chase.”

  “You’re such a goddamn hypocrite, Quinn.”

  Her eyes were shooting lasers. “Fuck you, Chase,” she hissed.

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “So, let me get this straight. It’s okay for you to enjoy a casual hook-up, but when I do it, I’m some sort of sleaze?” I asked. “The night I met you, you guys were all out so that you could get laid, not Iz or Avery, but you, and yet, if I engage in the same behavior, then I’m a whoring playboy?” I stepped to her. “I hate to break it to you, Quinn, but that’s the definition of a hypocrite.”

  Her little hands curled into fists. “Is that so? Well, here’s one for you, Chase. I’ve never kissed a man, casual hook-up or not, and then ten minutes later announced to another man that I didn’t have a boyfriend!”

  “I wasn’t announcing anything! I was simply answering her question truthfully. I’ve been chasing you for fucking weeks, Quinn, and you’ve done nothing but dance around me. But I tell some stranger that I’m single and that’s when you decide you have the right to be jealous and lash out?”

  “I wasn’t jealous,” she denied. But we both knew she was.

  Hell, if I wasn’t so pissed, I’d be turned on as hell that she actually got jealous over me. But I was pissed. And for a lot more reasons than she thought.

  I stepped away from her and started pacing her kitchen. I didn’t want to look at her for fear I’d drag her off to her bedroom and fuck her into submission. “So what, Q? You just want a quick fuck? You want to just try me out for a bit?”

  “You know what, Chase? You can get the hell out of my house.”

  I stalked back over to her and towered over her. “Jealous or not, answer me this, Quinn. What have I ever done in the time you’ve known me as a boss, and as a friend, to make you believe that I would take home that dirty bitch after she talked and treated Avery the way she did?”

  Quinn face blanched a little, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Do I come across as that much of a dick that I would let someone mistreat my best friend’s fiancé and then fuck them? Do you think Nick would even remain my friend if I disrespected the woman he loves like that?”

  I could see the fight leaving her, but being the stubborn hardass that she was, she still jutted out her chin towards me and didn’t back down. “I know what you’ve shown me, Chase. But for all I know, you probably have a revolving front door that doesn’t discriminate.”

  My blood began to boil with her every word.

  I was not my fucking father.

  “Because yours does?” I threw back at her.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and shot me a look so lethal, I wasn’t sure we could be friends after this. “That’s rich, Chase. Go ahead and call me a whore in my own fucking home.”

  Fuck, she was killing me. “I never called you a whore. I’m simply judging you for being single, like you’ve been doing me.”

  I needed to fucking leave before shit really went sour. As pissed as I was, I wasn’t going to fuck shit up for Nick and Julian by doing or saying something I couldn’t make right. I turned away from her and damn near ran for the front door.

  I wanted her to stop me, and when she didn’t, I wanted more than anything to not walk through her front door, but I had to.

  She was in the wrong on this one, not me, and I was not going to bow down to her. I liked Quinn way more than I ever thought I’d like a woman, but the woman I ended up loving was going to be the only woman I would ever get on my knees for; and Quinn wasn’t her just yet. So I slammed the door behind me and raced down the stairs like a fucking thunderstorm.

  I knew I couldn’t go to Julian’s or Nick’s because they had the girls with them, so I drove to the only place on earth that had the ability to sooth me.

  My mother’s.

  The drive over didn’t do anything to diminish my frustrations, though. I looked at the time on my watch and saw that it was already a little past ten-thirty. I was happy as hell when I s
aw the light flicking from her T.V. through the window.

  I parked directly in front of her house, and getting out, I clicked the key fob to lock it up. I unlocked the front door because, of course, I have a key to my momma’s house. Hell, we all have keys to her house. Nick, Julian, Kane and I are all welcomed 24 hours a day here.

  It’s our sanctuary. She’s our sanctuary.

  I saw her rising from the couch as I walked in. “Chase, honey, what a nice surprise.”

  I bent down and hugged her to me. She smelled like she always did…safe. “Hi, Momma.” I stepped back and looked down at her. “What are you doing up so late?”

  “Oh, just feeling restless a bit.” She walked over and sat back on the couch, patting the empty cushion next to her. “Now tell me what’s got you here this late, son.”

  I sat down next to her and told her the minimum. “Quinn and I had a bit of a disagreement.”

  She pursed her lips. “Nick’s Avery’s Quinn?”

  I smiled. “Yeah, Momma. Nick’s Avery’s Quinn.”

  She sat sideways facing me and cocked her head. “I’ve never seen you upset over a woman before. What did you guys disagree about?”

  I briefly closed my eyes and sighed. “Old habits.”

  A brow was quickly raised. “Hers or yours?”

  “Ours,” I confirmed.

  She was silent for a minute or so. My momma was very careful with the advice she dispensed. She knew Nick, Julian, Kane and I all looked to her for guidance and she took that trust seriously. She asked me the one question that needed to be asked, “What do you want with her, Chase?”

  “I like her, Momma.”

  She let out a soft chuckle. “Chase, darling, you like all women.”

  “Mo-”

  She held up a hand to stop me. “I’m not saying that as if it’s a bad thing, son. I actually think your appreciation for women is one of your better characteristics.”

  “Well, Quinn thinks quite the opposite, I can assure you.”

  “Why have you never had a serious girlfriend before, son?”

  That was easy. “I’ve never met a girl that made me feel anything beyond superficial attraction.”

  She smiled. “I guarantee your answer is much simpler than Quinn’s. If she’s never been serious about a man, it’s for a much deeper reason than she just hasn’t found someone who does it for her. There’s only one reason a woman guards her heart.”

  “Because there’s a hurt somewhere in her past,” I concluded for her.

  She patted my knee. “Chase, if you really like Quinn, you’re going to have to do more than appreciate her. You’re going to have to make the effort to understand her, as well.”

  I hugged my mother and stood. “Thanks, Momma. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Chase.” I locked her door behind me on the way out and wondered how was I going to even begin to understand Quinn?

  Without strangling her first.

  Chapter 6

  Gluttony: Because for some things, too much is never enough.

  Chase~

  It was only Monday afternoon and I had already reached my patience for people this week. I was totally blaming Quinn for my impatient, foul disposition. I hadn’t called or talked to her since I left her apartment Saturday night. And while I still had no plans on apologizing, I wanted to give her a day or so to cool off.

  I was not going to let our bullshit ruin our circle of friendship. If we never happened, I’ll just have to find a way to live with that, but we needed to maintain our friendship, for the sake of everyone, if nothing else.

  I’m not going to lie, though; I’ve been tempted at least seventeen times today to summon her to my office to hash this shit out, but I didn’t want the entire building talking about a shouting match in my office that had nothing to do with work. When it was all said and done, I was still Quinn’s boss. If she was going to tell me to fuck off-which she had no problem doing-it had to be done off the clock. Well, if she was going to shout it, then it needed to be done off the clock.

  The intercom on my phone buzzed with my assistant Sylvia’s voice brining me out of my Quinn trance. “Chase, I have Ms. Erickson here to see you,” she said, shocking the shit out of me.

  I wasn’t as formal as Nick or as stuffy as Julian, so I allowed a lot of my employees to call me by my first name. It didn’t bother me. My position demanded respect whether my employees called me Chase or Mr. Alexander.

  “Do I have anything else this afternoon, Sylvia?”

  “No. The last item for the day was the Tamarack portfolio and that’s been sent already.”

  “Okay, send her in and no interruptions, please.”

  “Sure thing, Chase.”

  “Thank you, Sylvia.”

  I disconnected the intercom and anxiously waiting for Quinn to walk through the door to my office. I knew the odds were that she was here for something work related. Her new promotion put her in contact with me, Nick and Julian more, but I was hoping she was here about Saturday night.

  I leaned back in my chair with my hands crossed over my stomach and watched her walk in. She looked like she was ready for battle.

  Fuck, she was beautiful.

  “How can I help you, Quinn?”

  She took a deep breath, bracing herself. “Are you terribly busy? Do you have a few minutes?”

  I raised a brow. “I always have time for SMA employees, Quinn.”

  Her poise weakened a bit, but she quickly gathered herself back together. “I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t going to be any…uh…backlash or issues with us working together after our…uh, our discussion Saturday night.”

  I went from cool, calm professional to pissed off, frustrated male in seconds. I stood from my seat and rounded the desk until I was standing directly in front of her. “Our discussion? Is that what you call it when you assassinate someone’s character like you were doing me that night?”

  She was wringing her hands together like she didn’t know what to do with them. “Look, I realize I owe you an apology, but…”

  I threw my head back and scoffed, “You think I want an apology?”

  Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Don’t you?”

  I stepped to her until she had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. “I want the truth.”

  I could see her neck move as she swallowed her nervousness. “Chase…”

  I had to lean down far for my lips to reach the shell of her ear, but it was worth the strain when I felt her shiver. “I want to hear you say you were jealous, Q. I want to hear you admit that it bothered you when I told that woman I didn’t have a girlfriend. I want you to quick playing fucking games with me, Quinn.”

  She took a step back, but as I stood to my full height, I grabbed her by her shoulders and yanked her to me. I looked down at her and saw fifty different emotions battling for dominance in her eyes. Quinn wasn’t sweet like Avery or submissive like Isabella. Quinn was always battle ready. She didn’t take shit from anyone and God help any man who showed weakness around this woman.

  Quinn was strong and she had no use for wimpy men. I had to prove I was stronger than she was or else she’d walk right on over me to the next guy in line to see if he was her hero. Because, she could bluster all she wanted, but secretly-like all women-Quinn wanted a hero. And I’ll be goddamned if I was going to let her mosey on passed me to the next swinging dick.

  I stared into her brown beauties as honesty won out over stubbornness and pride. “I’m sorry, Chase.” She didn’t look away or fidget at all, as she continued, “I was wrong to say all those things to you. You didn’t and don’t deserve my harsh judgments. You were right. We both should be able enjoy causal sex just as much as the next person without it being held against us.” She took a deep breath. “I’m really, really sorry.”

  I ran my hand from her shoulder up her neck to cradle her jaw and I squeezed until she winced and her chest betrayed her breathlessness. “That speech was very pretty, Quinn, but
I didn’t hear anywhere in there the real reason you flipped out on me both Friday and Saturday night.” I was not letting her off that easily, even though I knew her apology was sincere.

  Her eyes flashed, but not with anger. That was lust looking back at me and I knew it was the hold I had on her neck that had her flushed. It was another heartbeat before she came clean. “Fine, Chase, I was jealous when I came out of the restroom and I saw her hitting on you.”

  I squeezed a little more. “And…”

  Now her eyes flashed with fire. “I didn’t like hearing you tell her you were single. I didn’t like knowing she was an option.”

  I leaned down and nipped at her bottom lip. “Why?”

  Her hands came up and fisted into my shirt. “Because I wanted you fucking me Friday night, not some random blonde.”

  That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear, but I’d take it. I kept nipping at her lip. “See? Was that so hard?”

  “Like gargling a million shards of jagged glass, if you must know,” she swooshed out.

  I smiled against her lips. I mean, how could I not? This woman was a spitfire if ever I met one. “I know how I can make it better, babe.”

  “By getting amnesia and forgetting everything since we met at Xavier’s?” she offered.

  I wanted to laugh, except that I knew she was serious. This woman had the pride of ten men and a stubborn streak a mile wide. “No. I was thinking of something different.”

  “How?” she whispered.

  I dropped to my knees in the middle of my office, and thanked Little Baby Jesus up in Heaven that she wasn’t wearing stockings, as I ran my hands up both sides of her thighs, pushing her skirt up.

  Quinn’s hands anchored onto my shoulders for support. “Chase, we can’t do this. We’re at work. How am I’m ever going to get Employee of the Month doing shit like this?”

  I already had my fingers hooked through her panties, pulling them aside when I answered, “Fuck, baby, let me eat your sweet smelling pussy every day and I’ll make you Employee of the Fucking Year.”