Dear Rose 3: Winter's Risk (10 page)

Zach’s face came to her mind. With his brooding mouth and expressive eyes. There was a sadness ingrained in him as if instinctual. Maybe because he’d never thought he’d find what he’d wanted.

She didn’t have to imagine Quinn. He was still directly in front of her. Only now he’d turned and was staring at her with eyes that burned like fire. That glowed with a flame. He pushed a lock of hair away from his face. His kissable lips.

Her pussy throbbed. It had been so long. So long wanting them both and never knowing how to handle it.

And suddenly she didn’t want to be a good girl anymore. She wanted to be bad. Very bad indeed.

Quinn got up off the bar stool and sauntered over toward her.

She met him halfway across the floor, walking on unsteady legs that felt like taffy. She stopped right in front of him, staring in those eyes that made her crash and burn. “Hi.”

He didn’t appear sad anymore. Instead, his expression was positively primeval. Devilish. Like a man she wanted to crawl into bed with and never come out. “Hi.” He reached across to stroke her face with nimble fingers that heated her skin.

It was a simple touch. Not in an erogenous zone. Yet that was where she felt it. Her nipples pebbled and got uncomfortable. Her pussy felt confined, as if she needed to rip off her clothes right then and there. And be free.

He gave her a knowing leer, almost as if he knew the tumult going on inside her.

God, and they hadn’t even kissed yet. She’d never wanted someone so badly. Except maybe Zach. Speaking of Zach… “You look sad.”

“Just a lot to think about. With you. And with Zach.” His voice lowered. “He’s going to run from us. He’s already running from me.”

She sighed. “I knew he would. Unfortunately. What happened?” She didn’t pull back. Continued to stay near him. Zach would be the one to run from his shot at happiness.
But he only has that shot if you jump in.

He shifted his brows up and then waggled them.

She gasped. A million thoughts went through her mind about the two of them engaged in sex. It was a
nice
mental image. It would be like two Greek gods performing. The way their muscles must have rippled sent cascades of desire through her.
Is it hot in here?
“Get out. You two did?”

He nodded. “Yep, yep. Then he booked away, and I haven’t seen him since. He won’t take my calls.”

She shook her head. “He knows he wants us. But he doesn’t know how to be with us.”

Quinn’s sad eyes met hers. “Yep.”

She pressed her face into his hand, which was still resting on her. Rubbed against him. It was rather like putting an iron on clothes. Her entire being heated again. She wanted to close her eyes and indulge in this man before her. She wanted to forget about the world, about the problems with Zach, about everything for a while. Quinn would be a lovely distraction.

“Your place or mine?” His thumb paused on her cheek.

“For what?” It was a distraction question. Since the moment Quinn had fixed his hungry gaze on her, she’d known where they both wanted this encounter to go. But she needed to hear him say it.

His voice was deeper than usual. Rough. Not like the Lab puppy she always thought of him as. “You know.”

She did. She closed her eyes. Her heart pounded a thundering beat like hooves on concrete in her ears. She could hardly hear over the rushing sound. She wanted this. Why deny what she wanted? Why make him state the obvious?

That would be Zach’s job in their relationship.

Which meant she could give in. To the relentless assault of her desire. She’d had so many dreams about Quinn and Zach. Always separate, never together. Until after she’d found out they were both bi. And even then the dreams weren’t as concrete. Mainly because she had no idea what to expect with that kind of sex.

She opened her eyes.

Quinn stared at her, his eyes probing, his hand unmoving. “Your place or mine?” he repeated. He was almost as tenacious as the force of her desire.

Give in
. “Mine.” It gave her some modicum of control to say where this would happen. And lots of satisfaction to say it would.

“Okay.” Quinn dropped his hand and scurried back to the bar. He threw money down without waiting for Phil to come over and settle his tab. He tossed back the rest of his drink in one gulp. Then he was at her side. “Let’s go.”

They walked to her car. She lived only minutes from the bar. No small talk or inane conversation. He didn’t touch her either. Complete silence. An oddity for him. She was used to him rattling on about everything.

They stepped inside her apartment. It was nondescript. Textbook West End small apartment, like hundreds of other ones in complexes all over. It had none of the flavor Quinn’s had. She knew from living in that area when she’d first moved to town. She’d still missed the quaintness of the makeshift apartments in that area. She didn’t even have to see Quinn’s to know. Why had she moved? Maybe she could have met Quinn before now.

She shut the door and locked it, but when she turned to face Quinn he was right behind her. She almost collided with him. “Sorry.”

“I’m not.” He wrapped those long arms around her and pulled her against his hard body.

Even through his clothes, she could feel his heat. Could smell the oil he’d put on to glisten those muscles up for his performance. Sandalwood. That was the scent. It tickled her nose. His skin would probably slide against hers with ease due to the liquid.

She wanted this so badly. Wanted to lie against him and feel. Didn’t want to think this through. She’d been putting off the inevitable for so long. It was about damn time she gave in.

She reached for his shirt and pulled it from his jean’s waistband.

He helped her get the shirt off and over his head. He tossed it on the floor. “I’m a little oily. I had just performed…”

She put a finger on his lips to shush him. He hadn’t been talking before. He didn’t need to start now. “I know. I don’t care.”

He stuck out his tongue and lapped at her finger, causing her to jerk it away. “Don’t care, huh? I like your attitude.”

“Good.” She ran her hands down the hard planes of his chest. Across and over, stroked the soft skin. Due to the oil, it was supple. Yet she could feel the hard muscles underneath lying in wait. She slipped a hand down his washboard stomach and found the top to his jeans.

He sucked in his belly and squirmed closer to her. He inhaled her unique fragrance. “I love your perfume. I want to be covered in it.”

She could do that. Having sex with him would coat him in her scent, as he would coat her in his. A tradeoff. A good one too. She rubbed across where the jeans fastened, then picked at the snap. Had them open in a second and worked on unzipping them.

And encountered skin.

“Commando?” A thought that blistered across her mind. All those times she’d been on dates with him, had he been like that? It was a sobering piece of information to think all she had to do was slip her hand into his jeans to find him.

“Only way to live, baby.” He grinned at her and winked. “I don’t like boxers. And briefs are too confining. I already wear a thong when I perform, and believe me, you don’t want to.”

Which left bikini style, but she didn’t point that out, as it was even more confining than briefs. “Oh God.” She could feel herself moistening. With pleasure.

“Been called that many times.” Quinn quipped the words. Even as turned-on as they were, he still had a sense of humor. Good for him. “Going to finish?”

She nodded before dipping her hand back against him to finish pulling apart the zipper. Hairs brushed against her hand. She slipped in through the now wider V to encounter him.

He rubbed against her hand. The fullness of him came out in the center of the opening. He was perfect. Thick. Large. Red. She could see his little eye, the one that would send out his pleasure.

Time to make him weep.

A cliché. But true.

Before she could pull down his pants, he shifted and reached in one pocket. Took out his wallet and extracted a piece of foil before placing the wallet back. He set the packet on the small table next to her front door. Good thing that was there. “Condom?”

He nodded. “I don’t always carry one around. But with you…and Zach…” His voice lowered on Zach’s name. “…I thought I should be prepared.” He frowned as though thinking about something unpleasant.

Which she couldn’t have right now. Time to banish thoughts of whatever problems they might have with Zach.

“Good.” She moved away from him. “We could go into the bedroom…” She pointed toward the back of her apartment.

He batted his eyelashes at her. He slowly moved around her and then started to lower his pants. He stopped in front of her and eased them off.

Baring his body for her to see. A shudder moved across her like an earthquake moved along its faults. God, he was gorgeous. Like some Greek god come to earth. Or maybe a Norse one. He did sort of look like Thor.

His pants lay on her thick carpet. He was naked by her front door. Where had his shoes even gone? She didn’t remember him taking them off. Had been too enraptured with his nakedness to notice that.

He grabbed for her and pulled her against him. He lowered his mouth, which descended against hers in a capture that sent her senses reeling. Delving in, he explored her thoroughly.

Their tongues met in a shy greeting, then dueled for dominance before he broke off the kiss. Both of them could win that fight; it didn’t matter at that point.

He lifted her shirt and soon had it over her head. He took a step back, perusing her thoroughly.

Standing in her peach bra and tan jeans, she couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. Even though he was wearing less. Probably had something to do with the way his gaze took her in. He seemed to be memorizing every facet of her body. Such scrutiny wasn’t what she wanted right now. She wanted him.

And she knew how to get him.

She reached behind her and pulled at her bra clasp. She was good at getting it fastened back there and undoing it. So when her hands came away, so did the bra. She tossed it atop her shirt.

He blinked as though unable to comprehend what she’d done. He said something nonsensical.

“What?” She thrust her chest out, hoping her breasts appeared nice and perky. They usually did, even if they were heavy too. She’d always gotten compliments on her boobs since they’d started to develop.

“Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.” He didn’t seem capable of saying anything beyond that. The want of her had seemed to make him quiet in the car. And she’d again rendered him speechless. That was an oddity for him. And she’d done it.

She exulted in her power. She stepped forward and rubbed her chest against his. Just the tips of her nipples grazed his skin. But a jolt of electricity zipped through her. It was such a zap. She wouldn’t be able to give him anything without getting something in return. No complaints about that.

He leaned forward and rubbed against her, letting out a soft sigh that sounded like contentment unfolding.

For several minutes, they did that, letting their bodies touch. They had skin-to-skin contact. His heat invaded her. The satiny feeling took her into bliss. Of course, this was also making them both horny, if his reactions and her feelings were any indication. Or hornier, as the case was.

She was the one who finally stepped away, unable to stand it anymore. She needed more of him. Needed him inside her. She had a terrible ache. An emptiness. And he would fill it. She quickly undid the snap on her jeans and shimmied them—along with her panties—off her body, almost forgetting her shoes in the process. They got wrapped up in the legs of her pants, so she didn’t have to backtrack as she divested herself of every stitch of cover. The cool air was nice on her skin.

She stood before him in all her glory. Naked. And surprisingly didn’t find herself with a need to cover up.

Why should she? Because his gaze turned to mush. He seemed spellbound by her nudity. It was even more of a reaction than he’d had to her being bare-chested. His silence spoke more words than his mouth ever had.

Time to step this up a notch. “Guess we should go to the bedroom?” She took a step that way, but he caught her easily by her shoulder. Brought her back up against his body as if she’d never been away from him, only they now stood with her back to his front.

He rubbed his cock between her butt cheeks, making her tense but thrilling her at the same moment. “No time.”

“No?” She turned her head to feast her eyes on him. Were they on some sort of time crunch? “Why not?”

He then maneuvered her body to flip her around so her front was against his. “No. I want you too badly. I can’t wait.” Their fronts came together in a tangle of skin. The time where they hadn’t been touching like that had done nothing to cool her libido, and if his reaction was telling her anything, neither had his.

Both of them hissed as the contact intensified.

Her skin felt like an electrified fence. Current surged along every nerve ending, and the minute he touched her, she felt a zap.

It was incredible. Nothing had prepared her for that. For the rush of exhilaration along her senses. She’d had sex before, but this seemed almost as if it was new. It was ten times more impressive than she’d ever imagined it would be, and she had a vivid imagination. “You feel so good.”

Just wait until you get Zach in there with you both.

“So do you.” He shook his head. “This is amazing. It’s like you know what to do to get my juices running. You’ve barely touched me, and I’m already close to spilling. I haven’t been like that in a long time.”

Their eyes met. She couldn’t look away. And from the expression on his face, he couldn’t either.

So close. They were so near to each other. It felt as if she’d never been this intimate with any other lover.

Just wait until Zach is between you.

But Quinn was who was there and who she needed to focus on. She let the thoughts of Zach fade away.

She could see every pore on Quinn’s face. Every crease in his lips. See the way his eyelashes curled up and were darker on the edges closer to the eyeball. She could see where hair met skin. Could see the edge of his iris where the color bled into white. The largeness of his pupil. Every minute detail was visible. And she enjoyed finding each one in a treasure hunt.