Justice for Corrie (Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Book 3) (11 page)

“Crud. You’re right. Darn it, Quint. What am I going to do?”

Bingo.

“Stay with me.” Quint held his breath as Corrie absorbed his words.

“But…I don’t…”

“I have a security system. I live in a house in a subdivision. If there are unknown cars in the area, my seventy-seven-year-old neighbor will let me know. She’s a one-woman crime-stopper team.” While Corrie bit her lip, Quint continued. “I have two extra bedrooms, sweetheart. I have lots of space. I’m not saying I
want
you to stay in either of those bedrooms, but I’m not going to pressure you. You can stay with me and let me protect you. Once this is over, if you want, we can see where this chemistry between us goes. No pressure. Honestly.”

“I don’t do so good in unfamiliar places.”

Quint sighed in relief. Her hesitancy wasn’t because of him, but because of her nervousness about her lack of sight and his house. He took her hands in his and rubbed the backs of them with his thumbs as he spoke. “I know. You said as much when you told me Ian moved in with you rather than you going to his place. Sweetheart, I’m a bachelor. Have been for a long time. I don’t have a lot of stuff. I’ll walk you through my house as many times as you need to learn the layout. We’ll bring over as much of your assistive things as you want. Hell, you can redo my kitchen however you need to. Trust me to take care of you, Corrie. I’m not that douchebag Ian. Trust that I’ll make my home as comfortable for you as yours is. I swear I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“I’m not easy to live with.”

“It’ll be an adjustment for both of us.”

“You have an extra bedroom?”

Quint’s heart dropped, but he forced himself to say normally, “Yup.”

“I want to stay with you.”

“Thank God.” Quint breathed the words. Not caring that they were in an interrogation room with a two-way mirror, he leaned forward, listening to his gear creak as he moved, and brought Corrie’s mouth to his. He kissed her long and deep, putting the things he hadn’t yet said into his kiss. He finally drew back and looked at her.

Corrie’s hands were on his chest and she had a rosy glow on her face. Even with all that was happening, she was levelheaded and so gorgeous he almost couldn’t believe she was here with him.

“On one hand, I hate this vest you’re wearing because I can’t feel
you
…but since I know you have it on to protect yourself, I can’t
really
hate it.”

Quint chuckled. Corrie constantly surprised him.

“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go tell Detective Algood where you’ll be staying and we’ll go to your place to gather your stuff.”

“This doesn’t mean you’re getting out of your lesson today, buddy.”

Quint pulled Corrie into his side and kissed her temple gently. “I didn’t think it would.” He shifted until he had her hand in his and headed for the door.

“Thank you, Quint.”

He stopped. “For what?”

“For being you. For liking me as I am. For understanding I’m not like other women. For just…everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me for liking you and as far as you not being like other women…I thank my lucky stars every day for that. Come on. We have a lot of stuff to do tonight.”

C
orrie sat nervously
on the couch in Quint’s house. He’d been very patient with her as she’d decided what she needed to bring to his place, even going so far as to reassure her that if she realized she needed something she’d left behind, he’d be sure to collect it for her as soon as he could.

His house smelled good. Corrie didn’t know what she’d expected it to smell like, but cinnamon wasn’t it. He obviously had air fresheners strewn about to make it so fragrant, but Corrie wasn’t complaining.

He’d held her hand and brought her straight to his sofa and told her to hang tight there while he brought in the rest of her things. She’d been all too ready to stay where he’d put her, because she didn’t want to look like an idiot fumbling around his house trying to find her way. He’d said he’d show her around, and she was taking him at his word.

Corrie heard him go out to his garage a few times and walk down a hall into the back of the house. He’d puttered around in the kitchen a bit, most likely putting down the box of her kitchen doohickeys she’d decided she’d need immediately.

Finally she heard his footsteps coming closer to where she was in his family room. She felt the couch dip as he sat next to her and she sighed in relief when he took her hand.

“Relax, sweetheart. I promise you’ll get through this.”

“I’m just nervous. I don’t like new places.”

“I know you don’t, but soon this will feel like your home too. I swear I’ll do whatever you need in order to make you comfortable.”

“I’m being silly, I know, I—”

Quint cut her off with a kiss. He pulled back and whispered against her lips, “You’re not being silly. I’d feel the same way as you in your shoes. Just please, trust me to fix this for you.”

Corrie took a deep breath. He was right. “Okay.”

“Okay, first a tour. Then we’ll decide where to put some of your things. Yeah?”

Corrie nodded and gripped Quint’s hand tightly when they stood up. “Lead on, oh brave warrior.” She tried to lighten the mood.

Quint laughed as she hoped he would.

They spent the next hour touring his house several times. Quint never lost patience with her as he told her where his furniture was. He held her hand while they explored and she used her cane to gauge the distance between pieces of furniture and the width of halls and doorways. She felt more at ease after using it to figure out where things were and having Quint there to explain what everything was as she touched it.

After she’d been through every room twice, she began to feel comfortable enough to suggest moving some of the furniture here and there. She wouldn’t have been so bold, but Quint had repeatedly told her it was fine and encouraged her until she made some suggestions. Of course he immediately agreed and they worked together to find the best layout of his stuff.

When they’d entered his bedroom for the first time, Corrie was extremely nervous, but Quint kept his tour clinical and she only caught a brief innuendo or two. He was trying to be on his best behavior.

Finally, after she’d walked through the house without holding onto his hand twice, and she was confident that she’d remember where she was and how it was all set out, she called it quits for the night. Corrie knew there’d be times she’d forget, she was too used to her own place, but she appreciated Quint’s patience more than he’d ever know.

“How come you don’t have a seeing eye dog?”

Corrie figured he’d ask at some point, since most people did, but she wasn’t offended. “A dog is a lot of responsibility for someone who lives alone. I’m not opposed to one, heck, I love dogs, but knowing myself, I’d probably worry about its health, and what it was getting into that I couldn’t see. For now, my cane gets me around just fine, and if I need help, I’m never afraid to ask people around me for assistance.”

“Have you ever had one?”

“A dog? Unfortunately, no. My parents were allergic, and even once I moved out, I’d just gotten comfortable in my routine.”

“You’re off tomorrow, right?” Quint asked, changing the subject abruptly, as he was sometimes wont to do. It was as if once he got the answer he wanted, his brain was constantly in motion and he moved on to the next question.

Corrie smiled and did what she usually did, just went along with his change in conversation. “Yeah. It’s Dr. Garza’s day tomorrow.”

“I’ve asked for the day off as well. We’ll start on the kitchen and you can tell me the best place for everything. We can try to set up the pantry and fridge the same way you’ve done it at your place.”

“You’re too good to be true, you know. Are you a cyborg? Something out of the future?”

Quint chuckled. “Nope. I’m just me.”

“I like ‘just you.’”

“I’m glad. I like you too.”

Corrie knew she was smiling like an idiot, but couldn’t seem to stop. “We’re still going to hit the books tonight, though. I hope you know that.”

Quint burst out with a short laugh. “Of course, slave driver. Let’s do this.” He pulled over the papers she’d printed out and concentrated on what she’d set up for him tonight. He reviewed the alphabet and only made a few mistakes.

“Okay, tonight we’re going to start working on Grade 2 Braille. You ready?”

“Yup, sock it to me, woman.”

Corrie shook her head and continued. “Okay, try this.”

“I, L, Y.”

“Right,” Corrie praised, “but remember, this is Grade 2, the dots don’t necessarily represent letters, but actually words.

“So the I might not be an I, it could be a word instead.”

“Yup.”

“How do I know the difference?”

“Most things nowadays are written in Grade 2, so it’s a good bet if you come across something, it’s actually a word and not the letter. You’ve got a short sentence in front of you in Grade 2. If I’d written it out in Grade 1 Braille, it’d be eight letters. But since it’s in Grade 2, it’s only three.”

Corrie held her hand over Quint’s as he traced the dots with his fingertips again. “What does it say?”

“I like you.”

He traced the dots again. “Okay, so the I is really just an I. The L represents the word like, and the Y the word you. Cool. But I have a question.”

Corrie could tell Quint was looking at her. His hand was motionless under hers.

“Shoot.”

“How do I know the L represents the word like, and not loathe, or lick, or,” he paused and his voice lowered seductively, “love?”

Corrie’s heartrate jumped. “Practice, really. You have to figure out the context of what you’re reading.”

“Ummmm, so if
you
were sending me a letter in Braille it could be love, but if I got one from a scumbag prisoner, it would probably be loathe.”

Corrie felt Quint put his free hand on her neck. She knew he could feel her heart beating extremely fast. She nodded. “Yup, that’s it.”

“Got it.” He paused and they sat there without saying a word for a moment. “I think study time is over. It’s late. You have to be tired. Come to bed with me?”

He’d asked the question, but Corrie could tell he wasn’t really asking if she was tired. It was finally time. She nodded enthusiastically.

Quint leaned toward Corrie and kissed her. He couldn’t hold back. Jesus, having her here in his space, having her stuff all around his house, made it seem more like a home. He’d only brought one or two women to his house before, and it hadn’t made him feel as comfortable as he was with Corrie here.

He couldn’t wait to put her things away in his kitchen, to arrange it so it would work for her. Quint wanted to watch her making coffee in his kitchen. Wanted to see her cooking and being comfortable in her own skin in his space. He wanted her clothes hanging in his closet, her stuff on his bathroom counter and her sexy body in his bed, on his sheets. He had it bad.

He licked her lip as he pulled away and scooted back his chair suddenly. “Come on, sweetheart.” Feeling like a bull in a china shop, he towed her quickly down the hall to his room, not bothering to turn off the lights as he went. Not wanting to let go of her, feeling as if he did, she’d disappear, Quint forced himself to drop her hand and turn her toward his bathroom.

“Go on, sweetheart. Bathroom is straight ahead, maybe five steps. Do what you need to do. I’ll use the guest bathroom.”

Corrie nodded and headed off to the bathroom, her arms held out in front of her cautiously so she didn’t run into anything, as her cane was sitting on the kitchen table where she’d left it. Quint watched her backside sway as she headed for the bathroom and shook his head when she disappeared inside. He had to get himself together.

He quickly stripped off his clothes and carefully put them in the hamper in his closet. Usually he just threw them in the general direction of the plastic container, but he had a new reality now and couldn’t afford to be careless anymore. He kept his boxers on and strode out of the room toward the guest bathroom to get ready for bed.

He got back to his room a few minutes later to see Corrie standing uncertainly by the edge of his bed. She had one hand on the mattress and was standing with her legs crossed, one foot on top of the other. He inhaled deeply at seeing her. She was wearing a long T-shirt, and he couldn’t see anything else. He had no idea if she was naked underneath it or not, but her long legs about made his heart stop.

“Hey,” she greeted nervously. “I didn’t know which side you slept on.”

Quint quickly came to Corrie’s side and lifted her hand to his mouth. He kissed the palm and engulfed it in his own. “I don’t really have a side. I’m usually in the middle.”

She smiled at that. “Figures.”

“Go on, climb in. Whatever side you’re most comfortable in, you can have.”

Quint almost groaned when Corrie lifted the comforter and scooted into the bed over to the far side, leaving room for him. He followed her in and gathered her close.

“Your heart is beating a hundred miles an hour. Are you that nervous? We don’t have to do anything, sweetheart. We can just lie here. Sleeping with you in my arms is something I’ve dreamed about a lot over the last month.”

Quint heard and felt Corrie sigh. “I am nervous, I can’t deny it. But not for the reasons you may think.”

“Just relax. You’re fine.”

“I know you probably have never thought about this, but you always smell so good. Your bed smells so good.”

“My bed?”

“Yeah, your sheets smell clean, but it’s mixed with you. The cologne you sometimes wear, the soap you use in your shower, the detergent you use…
you
. It smells like you.”

“And that’s a good thing?”

“Oh heck yeah.” She paused, then continued, “I know I haven’t seen you…there yet. And it’s taking all my self-control not to push you over and rip off those boxers and examine the hard length I’ve been feeling against me every time we’ve made out.”

Quint gurgled deep in his throat. It was a cross between a gasp and a laugh. “The feeling is definitely mutual, sweetheart. I don’t know what you’re wearing under that T-shirt, but my palms are actually itching to slowly ease it up your body until you’re as naked as the day you were born. I know this is a he-man macho thing to say…but you have no idea what the sight of you on my sheets is doing to me. I’ve dreamed about it. I’ve even got myself off right here in this bed thinking about it. I think between the two of us, our first time is going to be pretty damn quick.”

“Are you complaining?”

Quint could hear the smile in her voice. “Hell no.”

“Did you turn off the lights?”

Quint took a moment to respond, not understanding her change of topic. “No.”

“Good.”

“Good?” Most women Quint had been with had asked him to turn the light off before they’d bared themselves to him.

“Yeah, I want you to have your fantasy. I can’t wait to lie here naked, imaging your eyes on me. But I’ll warn you, there’ll be a time when I’ll want the light off, simply so you can experience us together as I do.”

“Jesus, Corrie. Every time you open your mouth I get harder.”

“I can think of something
else
I can do with my mouth that will make you harder.”

Quint couldn’t think straight. He swore his vision went a bit gray at her words. He knew Corrie could speak her mind, and usually wasn’t shy, but this…this was beyond his fondest fantasy. He’d always been annoyed when women hemmed and hawed about their looks. It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand, the media was murder on a woman’s self-esteem, but maybe that was why Corrie was so self-assured and okay with her body. She couldn’t see any of the pictures of the stick-thin women in Hollywood that were constantly on television, magazines and the Internet. It was refreshing as all get out to be with a woman who liked her body.

Quint grabbed the bottom of Corrie’s T-shirt and forcefully drew it up. He didn’t ask, and she didn’t protest. She merely lifted her arms to help him. He saw her dusky pink nipples briefly before leaning down to devour them.

He took one in his mouth and sucked hard, while his fingers found the other and tweaked it playfully. Corrie moaned in his arms and grabbed hold of his biceps while he played.

He wasn’t nearly done when he felt one of her hands snake down his body between them. Quint helpfully pulled his hips away to give her room. She found his cock with no issues and squeezed him through the cotton of his boxers.

He lifted his head and gasped.

“God, Quint. You feel amazing.”

“I think that’s
my
line.”

“We’ll share it.”

Quint tolerated her hand on him for another moment before rolling to his back and lifting his hips to remove the offending material. The sooner Corrie’s hand was on his bare skin, the better. Before he could roll back over, Corrie was there. He looked up at her and grinned. She was so fucking sexy and she had no clue. No clue at all.

Her blonde hair was mussed and falling around her face. She brought one hand up and absently smoothed it behind one ear before putting her hand back on his body. Her cheeks were flushed and she alternated between licking her lips sensuously then biting the bottom one.

Her thighs were full, but muscular. He could see her quads flexing as she moved into place next to him. Quint knew they’d be soft under his hands.