Secret Obsession (romantic suspense) (Red Stone Security Series Book 12) (21 page)

She lifted her shoulders in a jerky, awkward shrug and flicked a glance down the hall, as if she was biding her time to escape. “A little while ago. My first official day’s not until Monday. Is Red Stone the same company you’ve been with the last six years?”

He’d told her that he was in private security but hadn’t mentioned the name of the company and she’d been understanding. His rule was not to tell women who he worked for unless things turned serious. Things had never actually turned serious enough with anyone for him to be open about who he worked for. “Yeah. Listen, I’m sorry about the way things, uh, the way I…” Damn it, he’d never been tongue-tied around a woman before. Not even as a teenager. Looking at Athena now, he couldn’t believe he’d been dumb enough to walk away from her. When he’d realized how innocent she was it had freaked him out, to put it mildly. Had made him feel guilty for the dirty things he’d said to her, wanted to do to her. With her—

Her annoyed voice cut through his thoughts. “I really don’t want to talk about it. It’s not a big deal.” But her stiff stance and almost neutral expression said the opposite.

In his limited experience with her, her expressions had always been so open and animated. Now it was clear she was putting a wall between them. Even if he deserved it, it still irked him.

“Okay.” He didn’t really want to talk about it either. Clearing his throat, he continued, “Dominique is my cousin.” For just a moment out by the bar there’d been a flash of something in Athena’s gaze. Maybe he’d read into it, maybe not. Either way, he wanted it clear that he wasn’t with anyone else. Not that he was sure it would matter to Athena one way or another.

For the briefest moment, relief flared in those Mediterranean blue eyes. God, those eyes. She wore a soft-looking pale blue sweater that made her eyes seem even brighter against the hue of her skin. Even though it was February it seemed she had a sun-kissed look all year. He wanted to run his hands over all her soft curves, pull her close and devour her mouth. Damn it, he needed to get his thoughts under control. He’d already fucked up with her before, he didn’t need to sport a hard-on right now. That’d go over real well.

“She seems really nice,” Athena murmured, taking a step into the hallway and away from him.

It took a second for it to register what she was saying as he was mentally ordering his dick to stay down. What. The. Hell. He’d always been in control of his body. Always. Being around Athena again reminded him of why he’d run. Well part of the reason. The virginity thing had been an excuse he’d used to convince himself to end things. Because he’d known that after her, he’d be turning in his bachelor card forever. There was something so sensual and raw about her that called to him on the most primal level he’d just known she could be
it
for him. Quinn hadn’t thought he was ready for anything serious or to settle down.

Seeing her again, he couldn’t believe he’d actually walked away. Over the past two months he’d tried to convince himself he’d built her up in his head. No such luck.

It was clear she wanted to head back to the party and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable so he tilted his head toward the end of the hallway. “Want to grab a drink?”

“That sounds good.” A real smile touched her lips then, fleeting, but long enough for him to feel the effects of it through his entire body. “It was kind of a jolt to see you out there,” she said softly as they headed down the hallway.

Something eased inside him at the slight shift in her tone. “Yeah, no kidding. You look like Belle, I can see the resemblance now.” She was a little shorter than her cousin, but they were both knockouts.

She lifted her shoulders, no awkwardness there now. “Our fathers are brothers.”

“On Monday I’d like to take you to lunch,” he blurted. They’d reached the end of the hallway and he knew his time with her was limited. He didn’t think she’d want to stand around talking with him much longer even if she did seem more relaxed. “Since it’s your first day,” he tacked on, even if it was a lie. He’d make it seem casual even if that was the last thing he felt.

A tactician by nature, he was going to play things right this time. Or give it his best shot.

“Ah…” She trailed off as they reached the end of the hallway.

It emptied into the oversized foyer where Grant, Belle and Carlito Duarte, a detective for the Miami PD, were talking.

Carlito—good-looking bastard—smiled at Athena with a familiarity that grated against Quinn’s nerves. “Hey, Quinn. Athena, I didn’t know you’d be here,” he said, moving in to give Athena a hug like he had every right in the world to do so.

For all Quinn knew, the guy did. Athena didn’t spare Quinn a glance as Carlito hustled her off toward the kitchen where the sounds of the loud partygoers filled the air.

“Who died?” Belle asked, drawing his attention to her.

Blinking, he looked at Belle and Grant to find her watching him curiously and Grant with an almost knowing expression on his face. “What… oh, I just need a drink.”

There was a loud knock on the door, making Belle push out a laughing breath. “I’ll get it,” she said nudging Grant with her hip. “Go find a drink for Quinn and get me one too while you’re at it.”

Grant dropped a quick kiss on her mouth before clapping Quinn on the back. “I recognize that look,” he said as they entered the half-full kitchen.

Quinn decided to play dumb as he made his way to an ice bucket filled with beers. He grabbed two, handed one to Grant. “What look is that?”

Grant just snorted as he took the beer then set it on the nearest counter. “She’s my wife’s cousin and a new employee. Tread carefully.” There was an unexpected warning bite to his friend’s statement as he pulled a half-empty champagne bottle from the same bucket and began to pour a glass, presumably for Belle.

Maybe the tone shouldn’t be unexpected. Grant would consider Athena family. “I will.”

“Good. Then we won’t have a problem.”

Acknowledgments

As always I owe thanks to Kari Walker! I couldn’t ask for a better critique partner or best friend. Thank you to Julia Ganis for taking on this project. Working with you was a wonderful experience. Many thanks to Jaycee with Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs for another beautiful cover. To Tammy, Grace, and Joanna, thank you for your help confirming a translation. For my readers, you keep asking for more Red Stone books and I’m thrilled to bring you another one. Thank you all for reading this series and your wonderfully supportive emails. For my husband and son, you guys are my rocks. I’m also very grateful to Sarah for all the behind-the-scenes stuff that she does. Thanks to her, I get to write more! Last but never least, I’m grateful to God.

About the Author

Katie Reus is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of the Red Stone Security series, the Moon Shifter series and the Deadly Ops series. She fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it.

However, she didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense. For more information on Katie find her on twitter
@katiereus
or visit her on facebook at:
www.facebook.com/katiereusauthor
. If you would like to be notified of future releases, please visit her website:
www.katiereus.com
and join her newsletter.

Complete Booklist

Red Stone Security Series

No One to Trust

Danger Next Door

Fatal Deception

Miami, Mistletoe & Murder

His to Protect

Breaking Her Rules

Protecting His Witness

Sinful Seduction

Under His Protection

Deadly Fallout

Sworn to Protect

Secret Obsession

Love Thy Enemy

The Serafina: Sin City Series

First Surrender

Sensual Surrender

Sweetest Surrender

Dangerous Surrender

Deadly Ops Series

Targeted

Bound to Danger

Chasing Danger (novella)

Shattered Duty

Edge of Danger

A Covert Affair

Non-series Romantic Suspense

Running From the Past

Dangerous Secrets

Killer Secrets

Deadly Obsession

Danger in Paradise

His Secret Past

Retribution

Merry Christmas, Baby

Paranormal Romance

Destined Mate

Protector’s Mate

A Jaguar’s Kiss

Tempting the Jaguar

Enemy Mine

Heart of the Jaguar

Moon Shifter Series

Alpha Instinct

Lover’s Instinct (novella)

Primal Possession

Mating Instinct

His Untamed Desire (novella)

Avenger’s Heat

Hunter Reborn

Protective Instinct (novella)

Darkness Series

Darkness Awakened

Taste of Darkness

Beyond the Darkness

Hunted by Darkness

Into the Darkness