Broken Promises (The Brianna Lane Series) (3 page)

I looked at my floor to ceiling mirror, studying my tired features. My red hair lay limp against the pillow, still damp from my interrupted shower. I traced my cheekbones, brushing my fingers over the smattering of freckles. I cringed when they’d surfaced during my childhood but Quinn loved them, telling me I was sun kissed to perfection. I told him he was blind, but it didn’t change his opinion. He cherished everything about me from my small nose, which he loved tweaking, to my pouty lips he nibbled on. I let out a tired sigh—there was nothing desirable about me at the moment.

His voice broke through my thoughts and I closed my eyes.

“Well, make sure you do because the only thing worth eating in here is the take out we ate three nights ago. But even that looks like it wants to sprout legs and walk itself to the trash bin.” The fridge door slammed shut and I heard him retracing the path back to the bedroom.

He appeared holding a towel dripping with water. I raised my eyebrows at him, sending him a curious look.

“You had no frozen vegetables so I scraped some of the ice from the freezer’s walls.” He came closer, signaled for me to flip over onto my side. “Here, hold this on your lower back and tell me what happened.”

I let out a soft hiss of pain when the icy cloth connected with my skin. It didn’t take long, however, before I began to relax, the cold numbing my throbbing muscles.

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” I groaned as I hid my face beneath one of my pillows. Now that all the excitement was over, I was mortified and wanted to move on.

“Dancing in the shower again? Or a dramatic finish to the song you were singing?” he asked gently, trying to disguise the smile in his voice. He lifted the towel and tenderly touched my skin. “My guess is dancing in the shower. Must have been some move.” He lifted my hand and held the towel to my back himself.

This was the problem with being in love with someone as observant as Quinn, he knew me—well enough that he’d guessed what I’d been doing.

I mumbled into the pillow, hoping my attempted answer would satisfy him. There was a pause, but deep down I knew it wouldn’t. “Fine, I was dancing in the shower again,” I replied, pulling the cushion away from my face and replacing it with my hand. “I put a little too much bump in my grind. One thing led to another and then you found me.”

I groaned again, this time more from embarrassment than pain and was answered with silence. I peered at him and saw a huge smile on his face.

“What?” I asked. He had this look in his eye and I couldn’t resist cupping his face. I loved touching his jawline late in the day, my fingers rubbing softly over the stubble on his cheeks.

He grabbed my hand and turned it so he could graze my palm with his mouth. His breath tickled my skin—his lips brushing back and forth as he quickly kissed me once more.

“I love you, Bri, even when you’re clumsy.” He chuckled faintly as he leaned in, his brown eyes soft and voice slightly serious. He kissed my mouth this time and as he pulled away, his fingers trailed through my hair. “What am I going to do with you?”

If he’d been paying attention, he would’ve seen the move coming from a mile away. It wasn’t often I could get one up on him so when an opportunity presented itself, I knew I had to take it.

Ignoring the throbbing pain, I flipped him onto his back and then threw myself on top of him. I looked down with a triumphant look as I straddled his body.

“Clumsy, huh?” I questioned, tilting close enough to take his bottom lip between my teeth and tug gently. A sense of empowerment washed over me, and when I finally released him, I couldn’t help but smirk.

“Let me see . . . since you love it so much, maybe I should show you step by step what happened in the shower.” I pretended I was deep in thought before glancing at him. He lay watching with an amused smile as his fingers reached under my shirt and caressed the skin at my waist. His touch sent a tingling flare through my body, heightening my awareness of him.

I grabbed his hands and placed them beside his head, giving it an extra push to show him this was where I wanted them to stay.

“Now keep still,” I gently scolded. “If you don't, I’m going to get distracted, and I’ll never be able to show you. Now, where were we?” I settled on his hips, enjoying myself. Feigning a puzzled expression, my eyes widened as I continued. “Oh, I remember. I was about to reenact the shower scene. Are you ready?”

His only answer was a brief nod as he moved into a more comfortable position. Just that small movement created friction and my mouth went dry for a moment. If I didn’t keep focused, I wouldn’t be able to continue this fun—the craving I had for him slowly building.

“I think it began when I did this.” With my weight pressed down on his body, I gyrated and a small grunt escaped his lips. I smiled with satisfaction, enjoying the look of surprise on his face as I continued. “Next I did something that looked a lot like . . .” I rotated my hips in a tight circle. “Or maybe it was this?” I smirked, shaking my head in mock confusion. I swiveled the other way, wiggling in his lap for extra emphasis. “No, it was definitely this.”

Repeating the first motion, he groaned out my name and reached to pull me closer. I could feel how aroused he was, but I wasn’t completely done yet. I leaned forward and pushed his hands by his head again, softly rebuking his impatience. Satisfied he’d obey, I continued.

“I kind of did this move then where I shook my behind,” I drawled lazily, my movements matching what I was saying. “And then . . .”

“Enough!” Quinn roared, his patience snapping. He grabbed my hips and it took all my strength to stop him from flipping me onto my back. I ground myself into him and finished unbuttoning his shirt, sliding my hands over his body. “Want to know what I did next?” I whispered as I held myself still, waiting for his response.

The look he gave me seared my insides, and I knew right then I had him. Kissing his chest, I looked him straight in the eyes—the picture of seduction. Little did he know, I was about to strike.

Brief annoyance flared through me as I beat my palms on him. “I found myself lying on the bed naked, my boyfriend complaining there wasn’t any food, and I’m wondering why he won’t touch me!”

I lifted my leg up, dragging it across his hardened body as I pulled away. I didn’t get far, however, before I found myself securely underneath him, his body molding with mine.

“My turn,” Quinn whispered as he adjusted his weight. “You’ve had your fun, now it’s my turn.” He brushed his lips over my cheek.

“But what about the movie?” I murmured as he kissed the side of my mouth. I couldn’t care less about our date—I just didn’t want to start something and have to abruptly stop.

“Movie?” he replied, distracted. His whole attention was focused on me as he slowly sucked on my bottom lip. My body arched into his and releasing me, he grinned. “Does it look like I care right now?”

I tried to respond but was cut off when he attacked, pressing me down firmly. His kiss was now hard and demanding—the time for holding back over. I was in heaven.

Quinn was a master at seduction and always knew the right buttons to push. I couldn’t keep my arms from wrapping around his neck as he deepened his assault on my mouth, his tongue probing and dancing with mine. He tasted so good, and I could feel myself straining against him. Everything else was forgotten as he changed the pace—alternating between the rapid bursts of penetrating hunger and the slow casualness of a man who had all the time in the world. It didn’t matter how he kissed me, each second left me breathless and eager for more. I would never be able to get enough.

Somewhere in the intensity of the moment my phone rang, but it melted away with the rest of the world. I ignored it when it stopped, but it instantly resumed its ringing. Whoever it was would call back, and hooking my leg around Quinn’s, I gave myself over—to both him and passion.

Chapter Two

Quinn stood by the door waiting, the keys to my car jingling against the side of his pant leg. I threw him an apologetic look before turning back and continuing the search for my purse.

“Just give me another second. It can’t have gone too far. I know I tossed it over here, and it’s not like it grew wings and flew off.”

I dropped down to my knees, making sure I didn’t bang my head on the side of the coffee table as I peered below the couch. I was surprised by what I discovered beneath there and made a mental note to clean it up sometime this weekend—another thing added to my steadily growing list.

I slid my hand under the base so I could move items aside, my fingers closing around something small. A quick rub of my thumb immediately told me what I’d found. “Well, it’s about freaking time,” I whooped, my voice muffled as I started backing up from the floor. I was beyond excited. “I can’t believe this is where you’ve been hiding.”

“Good, you found it. Now get up off the floor and let’s go.” He gestured with his hand, eager to leave. I stared at him, lost in thought—the man looked amazing in a pair of tight jeans.

Wearing a goofy grin and loosely clutching what I’d found, I was brought out of my musings by him impatiently tugging on my arm. I laughed as I tried not to trip over him, our bodies bumping each other. We were almost out of the apartment when I looked down at my hand and remembered it wasn’t my purse I was holding.

“Quinn,” I interrupted, pausing to get his attention. When he didn’t stop, I jerked away and staggered back when his grip loosened. My body lost its momentum, and I would’ve fallen if it weren’t for his quick reflexes. He caught me with mere seconds to spare.

“I don’t have my purse,” I said sheepishly, waving my hand in front of him. “It was the digital music player I thought I’d lost last week. Don’t ask me how it got there, but here it is.”

I expected to see annoyance in those dark brown eyes of his, and not the twinkle he got when he was amused. His gaze softened, and he twirled my red hair with his fingers before tucking it behind my ear.

“So you don’t know where your purse is?” he asked, adding a mischievous grin to the sparkle still flashing in his eyes. He licked his lips, moving forward as he pulled his shirt out from his jeans. “I guess we’ll be missing the movie after all.”

Quinn drew me roughly to his muscular chest and delicious warmth bubbled inside me. It was good to see he was just as affected as I was. We could never get enough of each other—always needing to be touching in some way.

He tilted my head and reclaimed my mouth, his lips parting so he could taste me. I melted into him as my hands gripped his arms for security. It was easy to become lost in moments like these. Then I remembered what else I’d seen under the couch. Reluctantly breaking away, I stepped around him and began yanking on the couch.

“Move you stupid excuse for a sofa,” I cursed, stopping long enough to kick it hard with my foot in frustration. It remained in the same position, totally unaffected by my efforts to move it.

I reached for the upholstered frame and began heaving again. My efforts were rewarded with a huge ripping sound as the fabric came away—leaving a large tear and causing my body to tumble.

At this rate, I’m going to be spending most of the night on my back, I thought, giggling quietly. Without fail, strong arms encircled me and picked me up.

“Sweetheart, I’m tempted to start wrapping you in bubble wrap. That or lock you in your room where you can be safe. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so accident prone.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny, Mr. Comedian,” I scoffed, slapping his chest with my palm. “It’s not like I do it on purpose or anything.” I glanced at the stubborn couch and Quinn. “Make yourself useful. My purse must’ve fallen behind it when I tossed it earlier. I’m pretty sure I saw it back there.” I used a finger to point in the direction I thought I’d seen it.

Flexing his muscles, he grabbed the couch and dragged it away from the wall with ease. I’d been right—it was lying underneath. I could’ve stretched all I wanted, and still wouldn’t have reached the bag.

I quickly scooted behind, bending to retrieve it. I heard an appreciative sigh from Quinn and knowing what it was for, I added an extra wiggle. Backing up, my body hit him and just because I could, pushed into his groin. The approving sigh became a groan.

He tightly held my hips, making it impossible to move from the position I was in. “You know if you keep up all this flirting, Bri, I’m going to change my mind about the movie.”

Releasing a chuckle, I bumped him again before rolling my eyes. “You’re no fun. Let me go so I can stand up straight.” He released me and I clutched my purse to pass by. I should’ve known I wouldn’t get away with my antics when he slapped my behind.

“That’s for being a tease.”

As Quinn followed and locked up, the phone rang again. A feeling of foreboding came over me and I twirled around to return inside. He blocked my way, however, and gave me a slight shove in the direction of the stairs.

“Keep moving. Thanks to your missing purse, we’ll barely make the theatre on time. We’re pushing it as it is. The machine will pick it up, and you can see who it was later.”

“What if it’s important,” I moaned, unsure whether to tell him about the sensation I had.

“If it is, they can call you on your cell phone.” He raised his eyebrows. “You have it, don’t you?”

I opened my purse and saw it lying beside my lip gloss at the bottom. Admitting defeat, I blew out a quick breath and headed toward the exit. The apprehensive feeling was still there, but Quinn was right—it could wait.

Calling over my shoulder, I began to run. “Race you to the car. Loser buys popcorn!” I didn’t pause to see whether he accepted the challenge. I picked up the pace and was out of breath when I finally reached the bottom of the stairs—beating Quinn by seconds.

“So are you going to tell me what we’re watching, or just leave me guessing?” I asked, keeping my focus on the road. We’d thankfully missed peak hour traffic and the journey into downtown Penshurst was uneventful.

I peered at Quinn, waiting for his answer. Ever since we’d started dating, we had this deal where we each took turns in deciding what movie we were going to see. It was something he had begged for after I’d dragged him to yet another romantic movie—a real tearjerker. He became adamant if he sat through one more “chick flick,” he’d turn into a girl, so the plan was instituted to protect his threatened manhood.