Quinn II (Undaunted Men #2) (5 page)

Quinn cooked rabbit for dinner tonight, and surprisingly, I loved it. Maybe it’s because it was slim pickings at this point, and I was starved, because we had hiked most of the day. We’ve pretty much gone through all of our packaged provisions, and have been foraging for our own food. For some reason though, I’m not worried about the lack of food, because Quinn always seems to find a way to produce a meal for all of us. He’s incredibly talented in anything he sets out to do. I have never met anyone who can do all these things, and do them with mastery and proficiency.

Right now, we’re both sitting beside the fire on a large tree stump, finishing up our meal. I watch Kimber as she sneaks up behind Quinn, steals a hunk of meat from his plate, and then swallows it down whole. I burst out laughing when Quinn turns around and discovers what happened.

“You little cuss, do you think you can get away with this ‘cause you think you’re so damn cute?” he scolds.
 

She gives him the most innocent eyes I’ve ever seen, and I melt. “Aww, she was hungry, Quinn.”

“Whose side are you on?” He looks my way, arching a brow.
       

“I’m always looking out for my girl,” I tease. “We girls have to stick together.” I smile, watching the two of them wrestle back and forth. Seeing Quinn interacting with his dog with such tenderness does something deep inside me. Vince would never have treated a dog with such care.

“You’re amazing, you know that?”
     

“What do you mean?” he asks as he feeds Kimber a piece of meat from his hand.

“I mean, I would’ve never known she was in the military by the way she’s acting right now. She’s crazy happy. I would’ve expected a more staunch personality, but she’s highly animated and having the time of her life.”

“Of course she’s having the time of her life. Number one, she’s with me,” he flashes me a wink, “and number two, she’s in her element. Besides hunting with me, she’s got me twenty-four-seven right now, and she gets to play in the mecca of all playgrounds.”

I lean back, supporting myself with my hands, and cross my legs at the ankles. As soon as I do, my smile disappears, and I find myself quickly jumping to my feet. I let out a high-pitched squeal then brush at my leg as if a hundred wasps were stinging me. Being startled is an understatement. My chest is heaving for oxygen, and all I can think about is that damn rattlesnake being inside my pants, biting me.

Quinn’s brows are furrowed, and he’s looking at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “What the fuck, Angel?”
 

I’m unbuckling my pants frantically as I continually squeal with terror. “Help me, Quinn! Something’s in my pants, biting me!”

Quinn is on his knees in front of me right away, pulling down my pants, looking for the culprit. He runs his hands over my thighs and down my legs, searching my bare skin. My hands curl into fists out of fright, because I’m freaked the hell out.

“Baby, I see nothing,” he says with urgency and concern. “Where did you feel it?”

“Right here.” I point to the tiny, red spot on my left thigh. He inspects the little mark, and then searches through the legs of my pants. I can’t get them off for my thick boots, and I’m crawling out of my own skin, needing them off. My heart is beating wildly in my chest as Quinn slowly inspects every nook and cranny of the fabric. “Please hurry,” I cry in panic.

His shoulders begin to shake, and I think he’s laughing. “What the hell, Quinn?” I grind out, because this is far from funny. “I don’t like looking at creepy crawlies, let alone having one in my pants. Did you get it?” I ask frantically.

“Yeah, I got it all right,” he says with mirth. He tilts his head back to look at me as he holds up the offender. “Your creepy crawly was a piece of pine straw poking the hell out of you,” he chuckles. Relief and irritation flow through me at the same time, because I still don’t see the humor.

“The only time I’ve seen you move this fast is when you’re hot for me,” he teases.

I counter with a sour face as he chuckles at me. “You would be jumpy too if you had a rattlesnake almost bite you.”
 

I don’t feel like eating the rest of my dinner after that debacle, but Quinn's not having it. He encourages me to eat, reminding me how important calories are when hiking. When I push my food around on my plate, he winds up holding me in his arms and feeding me one bite at a time as he chuckles to himself every now and then. He knows I’m not happy that he finds my antics humorous, so for my sake, he continually tries to hide it, but always fails. I guess it’s in his personality to find the humor in everything, and I can’t really fault him for that.
 

When he’s satisfied I’ve eaten enough, he pulls me against his broad chest and gives me a reassuring kiss on the top of my head. Why does this man like me the way he does? I don't get it. Why does he want to protect me and take such good care of me?

“The sun is beginning to set. We’ve got a few things to do before it turns dark.” I nod my head, agreeing. We each get up and fall into our own routine. I’m constantly amazed how we work so efficiently together.

I rinse off our collapsible bowls and utensils as Quinn straightens up camp. When I’m done, I fold up the few clothes I had hung out to dry after we washed them in a nearby stream. Quinn sneaks up behind me and slips his arms around my waist, pulling me against his hard body.

“Mmm. Hey, baby,” he murmurs as he nuzzles his nose into the crook of my neck.
   

“Hey,” I respond in a breathy whisper, inhaling Quinn’s distinct pheromones. I think it’s magnified by the fact he’s so self-confident and handsome. It makes me want to run my nose all over him.
 

“I love watching a woman do my laundry.”

I stifle a laugh. “Don’t get too used to it, Mister.”

“And why’s that? You’re coming home with me,” he states matter-of-factly. I stiffen, because this is the first time he’s brought up the subject in days. He turns me around in his arms and basically forces me to sit on his lap. His expression is serious as he asks me, “Have I ever hurt you?” I shake my head, staying quiet. “Do you think I would let any harm ever come to you?”

“No,” I quietly reply and frown. He’s saved me from countless catastrophic situations since the day we’ve met.

“Do you not want me, Lexi?” he asks sadly. My heart squeezes and bleeds dry. He sounds so forlorn.

“Oh, Quinn, it’s not that…”
 

“We’re about to hit a fork in the road, Angel. You need to decide what it'll be. If you choose your safe house, is it really going to be safe? And will you even make it there in one piece?”

He's most likely right. Will I be safe? I know what my heart wants, but my mind doesn’t know what to say, so I remain silent. He doesn’t fight fair as his tender, full lips brush against mine and I melt.
 

 
“Do you want me, Alexis?” he softly murmurs.

“I do,” I whisper, and then bite my lower lip to keep myself from saying the notorious ‘but’ after my statement. I've been sitting on the fence, confusing myself as to what the best thing to do is. My hands beginning to tremble, so I clutch onto the fabric of his shirt.
 

“Then let’s try it. You’ll have nothing to lose by coming home with me. You can leave anytime you want. Hell, I’ll even take you and drop you off at your safe house if you wind up not liking me.” He tilts his head to the side, patiently waiting for me to answer.

“Is that all I’m good for, doing your dirty laundry?” I ask, wearing a light grin, trying to avoid his question. The tension-filled atmosphere between us is palpable.
 

His lips curve in a light grin as he murmurs over my lips, “Your laundry skills are incredible, as are a few other things.” I return his smile and kiss him back, sliding my hands around his neck. “I can promise you this, Lexi: you won’t be disappointed.” His words are so sincere a shiver rolls through me.
 

“Are you cold?” he asks.

“No, you just have that effect on me.”
 

He smiles, knowing what his very presence does to me. “Then tell me I affect you to the point you want to come home with me.” He's not going to let this go, and I suppose I can't push back my decision any longer. “So, what'll it be?”

I nod my head at the same time I say, “Yeah, okay.”

“You don't seem excited about it.” He looks at me with concern.

A soft smile graces my lips, and I assure him, “I am looking forward to being with you. I'm just a little scared of the unknown, you know? There’s been so much of it lately.”

He holds me tight in his arms, and after giving me a chaste kiss on the lips, he pledges, “You will not regret one single-second of your decision to be with me.” He’s so serious it makes my heart flutter.

“Is that a promise?” I half tease with a light tone.

“Yep, I'm not one to make promises, so when I make one, you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt my word is my bond.”

“I believe you whole-heartedly, Quinn. I do.”

“Good, it's settled then.” He kisses me firmly on the lips, and I can feel his shoulders relax and the tension leaving his body. My decision made him happy, it's apparent. “It is supposed to dip down into the low 40s tonight. I need to go get a few pieces of wood to keep this fire going throughout the night.”

I look up into Quinn’s blue gaze and give him the warmest smile I have. I treasure him, and all the things he’s done for me. I truly feel loved by the way he takes care of me. So why am I so nervous still about going home with him? What’s wrong with me?

“Do you need some help?” I offer.

“Nope, you just stay here and keep my bed warm, woman.”

I giggle and shake my head at him. “You’re such a caveman.”

His lips twitch, and he growls over mine, giving me one last sultry kiss before he stands up. He’s only standing in front of me and I miss his presence already. I watch him stretch out his arms, and then he calls out for Kimber, “Come on, girl. Let's get the manly duties out of the way so we can hurry back to take care of our princess.” Kimber wags her tail and jumps around Quinn’s feet, excited to be going somewhere. I smile fondly as I watch them both trail off into the woods to gather wood. I let out a sigh of total happiness and contentment, letting my doubts dissipate. Undoubtedly, I have never felt this complete in my entire life. Maybe I’m just worried about Vince catching up with us eventually.

“Ow,” I swat at a mosquito and grumble. I am so sick of mosquitoes. This is one nuisance I will be glad to leave behind. They usually leave us alone during the warmth of the day, but around dusk, they come out with a vengeance. I rummage through my backpack and discover I had used the last of the bug wipes Connor packed for me. I know Quinn has some spray. That man has something for everything, including a back-up to his back-ups.

I clamber over to Quinn's backpack and begin searching for his bug repellent. I can't seem to find it, so I continue to rummage deeper into his sack. A glimpse of pink catches my eye, and my forehead wrinkles. I don't remember seeing Quinn wear anything pink. He doesn't come across as a pink-wearing kind of guy.

Curious, I grab the little bit of fabric poking out from his other clothing and give it a tug. It seems rather small, and as I shake it out to hold it up, I let out a gasp. This is my shirt. My horse t-shirt.
Why does he have this? Better question: how did he get this?
This t-shirt was at my house and in my dresser drawer. My heart thrums in my ears as the surprising revelation washes over me.
Holy Fuck, is this for real?
Because I had thought we had clarified everything after I had run away. The phone conversation he had with his friend comes slamming back into my mind. Stupid, Lexi, just stupid. I let my guard down, trusted him, and now look what happened. I had thought he came clean with me on everything.
 

I’m running on adrenaline, my heart pounding in my chest, as I rifle back through his bag until I find what I’m looking for. A brown leather wallet sits nice and snug inside a zip-lock bag. With shaky fingers, I carefully unzip the bag then pull out his wallet. I've got a sinking sense I’m not going to like what I find. I open it and discover his driver's license and credit cards.
     

I whip out his license and read his name: Quinn Gerrard. Well, that doesn't tell me anything tremendous. I pick out his credit cards, and they all say the same name. Not satisfied, I go through his entire wallet and don't see anything that will give me any information as to who this man truly is.
What, Lexi? Were you hoping for a business card?

I keep rolling his last name around in my head over and over again, driving myself nuts with it. I think about what his last name should mean to me, but come up empty. I don't know how long I have been rummaging through his things, but I need to put it all back before he and Kimber come back. Despite my shaky hands, I put his cards and everything back in his wallet to perfection and place it back in the bag before I get caught.
 

Why should I care if I get caught?
In fact, I should be down right pissed off and challenge him with this, but what would that do? If I confront him he’ll most likely feed me a bunch of excuses, quickly fabricating some extravagant lie just like he’s done all along.

He’d have to lie, because having my favorite t-shirt is horridly creepy. It’s so far out of the realm of hair-raising, eerie, and disturbing that I’m panicky, afraid, and chilled to the bone. He has more than an ulterior motive in place, and I’m too freaked out to imagine what that would be, or worse, what he’d do if he knew that I knew. Dammit, I knew what we had together was too good to be true.
 

I notice my hands are still trembling as I put the t-shirt back exactly where I found it, tucking it in-between his other clothes. My heart is beating a mile a minute, and I don't know what to do. What
am
I going to do? I rub my sweaty palms against my thighs as I work on a breathing technique, but it doesn’t accomplish squat. This is why Quinn has been so covert all this time. He’s been creepily spying on me, and I don’t know why.