Chapter Thirteen

Ashton

We never made it into the crystal blue waters of the kidney shaped swimming pool at Nanna’s cottage.

As soon as we hit the threshold, hand in hand, I discovered an unquenchable thirst. And not just for a drink of water after my salty gulps of ocean water. It took us less than a minute to peel off our bathing suits.

“Christ, you looked so fucking good on the water today,” his voice was rough. “It almost wounded my eyes because I didn’t want to close them, even when I hit the ocean water. It should be declared illegal to fill out a bikini like you do.”

Quinn stood in his bedroom, naked in all his glory. My eyebrow rose and I took in his physique: tall, tan, firm muscles, and a long, hard cock ready to please only me.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I said, enjoying the view.

“It’s been in this state for hours,” he laughed. “I kept having to deliberately dunk myself in order to avoid Grady’s rude comments. I couldn’t wait to get you back here. Come here before I go caveman on your tight ass.”

I leaned against the headboard waiting for him to join me. “Down there?” I asked, teasing him. “By the footboard?”

Not waiting for an answer, I crawled to the edge of bed, delighting in his open mouthed stare as he watched my progress. I placed my hands on his chest and leaned down to lick and tease his nipple. Quinn groaned as I bit down gently, tugging the whole nipple in my mouth. His hands tangled in my hair, I brought my face close and hovered around his lips. I licked the edge of his mouth, my tongue flickering everywhere but inside his mouth.

“Mmm … salty.”

With a hint of frustration he asked, “Are you toying with me, woman?”

Moving to the side of his cheek, I licked and sucked my way around his face. Nibbling his ear lobe, then his neck, down his collarbone. “Are you calling me a tease?” I whispered, blowing gently in his ear. “Never.”

“Yes, I think I am.” He pushed me back on the bed, putting his head between my legs. I gasped in pleasure when his breath hit my wet center. Very, very wet. All damn day. It had been hard to tell where the water from the ocean ended and my raging desire began.

His fingers gripped my hips, pulling me closer to his mouth. He dipped a finger inside the quivering wetness. “I’m going to devour you. Right now. I’ve decided that like a fine wine, one sip of you isn’t enough. I’m going to have to buy a subscription to wine of the month.”

“The month?”

“Okay, wine of the day,” he conceded and then his tongue replaced his breath for that tiny sip he’d just referred to.

Not nearly enough. “More,” I moaned on a sigh.

“How much more?”

Those words made me freeze for a moment, closing my eyes. What had I gotten myself into? I felt his hands on my knees as he opened me wider. For his hungry gaze and his equally ravenous mouth. Running his tongue down my center, he lapped up my womanly essence. Round and round, licking and licking until I couldn’t take anymore.

I exploded.

“I want you inside of me,” I begged after the last quake of my blissed out body had stilled.

“Are you sure?” he asked. He raised himself over my center pushed the tip inside. I arched my back, wanting him to slam into me. I didn’t want gentle. I wanted rough.

“Look me in the eyes while I fuck you,” he said, his voice with a possessive growl. “Your eyes, Ashton. The gold flecks sparkle when you’re nearing your peak. It’s addictive.”

I did as he asked, wincing as he took me inch by inch. Stretching the lips of my sex, making room for his wide girth. He plunged the last couple of inches inside of me, making me groan. He was so deep inside of me.

“Ashton,” he whispered, as his gaze locked on mine. He slammed into me over and over as we became one. There was no Ashton or Quinn. We were one person. One mind. One body.

I wrapped my legs around his waist, latching onto him as he plunged into me.

“Touch yourself,” he commanded. “Show me how you like it. Come again for me, baby.”

I squeezed his cock as it reached places inside of me I didn’t even know he could. My shy hand fluttered between us and I stroked my clit just like I did when I was alone. I squeezed my eyes shut because I wasn’t ready to share this intimacy with him yet. It was enough that I’d agreed to touch myself. I cried out his name as another intense orgasm ripped throughout my body.

“Christ, Ashton. I can’t hold on any longer.”

“Then don’t,” I said, threading my arms to the back of his neck and pulling him in even deeper. With one final thrust, Quinn pulsed inside of me.

He collapsed next to me, our breath combining in fast pants. A perfect rhythm. Between the surfing and the hot sex, I was literally sated. Tired. Exhausted. Satisfied. I’d never felt so good and I didn’t want to go home. Not anymore.

His house smelled like salt air, sex, and the faint remnants of morning coffee. A heady combination if you ask me. I could bottle it and make a million dollars.

“I could stay like this forever and ever,” I said, stroking my fingers down Quinn’s chest.

“You don’t have to leave anytime soon. How about you don’t ever leave?”

“I do have to go back next week,” I said on a sigh. “I have work. Then Griffin’s wedding next weekend.” I thought guiltily about Albertson’s offer of a job. I wanted to tell Quinn, but I just couldn’t find the words yet. I wasn’t even sure where this relationship was going. I imagined myself spilling the beans, giddy with excitement and his face falling in disappointment as he realized this had all become far more than a quick fling with the Atlanta girl.

“We can talk about it over dinner,” Quinn said. “I’m starving.”

Suddenly ravenous, I agreed. “Me too.”

“I’ll take a quick shower and go pick up some grub. When I return will you still be here?” he asked.

I laughed, totally understanding his unease. I’d behaved like a jealous, immature pain in the ass. Something I vowed to myself not to do again. “I promise not to run again.”

“Let me take a quick shower, and I’ll go pick up something from the seafood deli around the corner.”

***

I lounged lazily by the pool while Quinn ran to the deli. My mind and body were both exhausted, but my spirit fired on all cylinders. I daydreamed extensively about my promising future here. The things I could achieve with twice the pay. The weekends I could spend wasting the sunlight on the beach. I’d be so tan George Hamilton would ask me for my secret.

“Ellie? Is that you?” An elderly woman wearing a floral dress walked out of the main house toward me, her jewel encrusted flip-flops clapping on the cement. “I’ve been calling you to come inside. It’s time for dinner.”

I hardly recognized Quinn’s grandmother, Louise. I hadn’t seen her in person for years. Actually, it was the summer before Griffin and Quinn had graduated high school. She was so vibrant and colorful many years ago. I remember her baking all these treats for us while we swam at Griffin’s pool. Brownies, chocolate chip cookies, lemon tarts, and cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing.

My favorites were the homemade mini pizzas she would bake by the dozens and bring out to us while we were swimming. His Nanna was so sweet with a sunny deposition. Now it was like the years had crept up on her and stolen away everything joyful about her. She looked like she’d shrunk a couple of inches and her normally icy-blonde hair had turned into tufts of pure gray wisps. I couldn’t help but cover my mouth as she got closer to me.

“Ellie!” She asked louder, squinting in my direction.

I patted the seat next to me. “Hi Nanna, it’s me…Ashton Jansen. I’m so happy to see you again. I remember your pizzas very fondly.”

A look of confusion crossed her face as she cautiously sat down. Then in the blink of an eye, she brightened up. “Ashton? Carl and Betsey Jansen’s daughter?”

“Yes ma’am,” I encouraged her. “That’s me.”

She reached over and embraced me. The dullness in her eyes was instantly gone, replaced by the vibrant blue that I recognized from long ago. “What you are going here?”

“I’m visiting Quinn,” I said, thinking of the best and most honest explanation. I didn’t know if Quinn had actually told his grandmother about my visit or if she had just forgotten. He had never mentioned it to me. Even though I didn’t have any expertise dealing with dementia patients, Quinn had shared enough information that I felt I could handle the situation.

“That’s nice,” she said, patting my hand. “Are your parents and brother here as well? I’d love to see them again.”

“No, Nanna. They’re back in Georgia.”

“Well, you’ve got to ask them to come see us sometime.” Nanna wrapped her hand in mine. “Especially Griffin. I’ve told Quinn it was time to let those hard feelings go and make amends with him. It’s about time … don’t you think, Ashton?”

I raised my brow. Nanna knew about what happened between Griffin and Quinn? This was a little embarrassing.

“Do you remember what happened, Nanna?” I asked. “Why Griffin and Quinn aren’t speaking?”

“All the drugs,” she said as she clucked her tongue. “Such a shame.”

“The drugs?” I asked confused.

“Your brother put some of that damn Devil’s Lettuce in Quinn’s car when he heard the cops were coming to bust up their little party. He didn’t want to get caught with it. When the cops pulled Quinn over and found the drugs. Quinn went to jail. Griffin should have stepped up and taken accountability for his actions but he gladly let Quinn take the fall. Does he regret the rash actions that ruined Quinn’s life? Does he?”

My mind raced and it lacked the information needed to compute and process what she was saying. In addition, Nanna was becoming a little agitated by the confession and that concerned me. I wished Quinn would return soon so I could get some answers. I didn’t want to press the older woman so I kept my tone soft and soothing.

“Are you saying Griffin knowingly placed drugs in Quinn’s vehicle?” My brother had planted drugs on Quinn? He told me that he didn’t know who’d done it. Why had he lied again? Why would he blame this on my brother? That wasn’t Griffin’s way. He was a good kid. An honest kid. He wouldn’t sell his best friend of fifteen years down the river in a leaky canoe.

“You didn’t know, honey?” Nanna asked, continuing to make that judgmental clucking noise with her tongue until I wanted to rail at her to shut up. “That’s why he got sent to live with me. His lawyer made that part of the deal to avoid the juvenile detention hall. If Quinn wanted any chance to get into a good college, he had to comply. But his full ride football scholarship and his chance at the NFL, that was ripped from him by Griffin’s bad choices.”

I couldn’t believe this. Quinn had lied to me. Lied to his parents. His grandmother. Feeding them this line of bullshit about how his pot was Griffin’s. What kind of a friend does that? Just to save face? I knew Griffin smoked pot every now and then, but he would never put his best friend’s life in jeopardy. That’s why Griffin wasn’t talking to Quinn anymore. Because he’d tried to blame his felony possession charge on my brother.

“Nanna, I don’t think my brother would intentionally get Quinn in trouble,” I said, offering a different point of view. Maybe doing so would jolt her memory back to the truth. “That’s not like him.”

Her face scrunched up, turning red. “How dare you say that? My Quinn … my - my husband is nothing but a fine gentleman. You fired him for no good reason. He’s been working for you … he gave twenty-five years of his life to your company! How dare you!”

I tried to pat Nanna’s back. To soothe her. Stall her freak out. I never should have pushed her for my own selfish reasons. I should have simply soothed her upset until Quinn returned to face the music.

“It’s okay. You’re alright…”

But it wasn’t. Because I had no idea what I should do. What if she got so upset she stroked out? Nanna was so frail, so fragile. I’d made Quinn’s grandmother cry and step off the cliff toward a meltdown.

“You need to leave! Where’s Wayne? Wayne!” Nanna stood up, almost losing her balance. Her arms pin wheeled before I caught her and steadied her slight body.

“What’s going on?” a lady in kitten scrubs rounded to corner. “Mrs. Andrews. What you are doing out of bed?”

The nurse wore light pink scrubs with fluffy white kittens chasing balls of colorful yarn. A stethoscope snaked around her neck and a bottle of pills appeared in her clutched fingers. Quinn came in behind her, skidding to a stop when he saw the commotion.

Nanna was now crying, great heaving sobs wracking her body. The nurse had reached her and tried to comfort her as I stood there dumbfounded, mouth agape.

“I - I was just talking to her,” I stuttered. “She asked questions about Griffin. Then she got upset. She wanted her husband.”

“I’ll be right back,” Quinn instructed as he handed me the brown paper sacks of take-out food. Smells of butter lemon shrimp and scallops wafted up through the bag. Normally I would be salivating at the scent of delectable seafood but I was too upset to think about eating right now. I had made Quinn’s grandmother who had dementia visibly upset, like the houseguest that had overstayed their welcome.

Tears pricked the backs of my eyes as I took the bags and headed for the house. I swiped at them and washed my hands. Unpacking the bags, I tried to comprehend my conversation with Quinn’s grandmother.

She’d said that Griffin planted the drugs in Quinn’s car. But Quinn told me that he didn’t know who did it. Why would he put the blame on my brother then? None of this made sense.

A few minutes later Quinn walked in the cottage as I pulled out plates and silverware. A pitcher of fresh lemonade and iced tea rested on the kitchen counter. I poured him a glass.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset your grandmother.” My hands shook as Quinn just stared at me. Like he didn’t want to see me again. “She came outside while I sat by the pool waiting for you to come back. At first she didn’t recognize me. She called me Ellie. Then after I told her my name, it was like a light bulb clicked. She remembered baking treats for us. She talked to me about the summer before you left for college.”

Quinn’s face froze. “What exactly did she say?”

“That was the strange part. She said that Griffin had put weed in your car so the cops would think it was yours, not his.” I gripped my hands on the countertop. “That he set you up on purpose and then wouldn’t admit to what he did. Is that true?”

“Let’s have a seat,” Quinn said. He carried the two glasses of lemonade to the couch, setting them down on the coffee table. “This is something we should’ve talked about a long time ago.”

“What?” I asked in a forceful tone. No more half-truths and evasion. I needed to facts.

Quinn continued, “I’m not going to make excuses for Griffin or pretend to even know why he did what he did. All I know is that he set me up. He planted that bag of weed in my car, called the cops, and got me arrested.”

“Why in the hell would he do that,” I demanded. “All because you slept with his baby sister? That punishment doesn’t fit the crime.”

Quinn shrugged. “That’s what he told me. After I went to jail, my parents bailed me out. My dad got the police chief to drop the charges and every record of what happened was expunged. So long as it was understood that I wouldn’t do it again, of course. My parents took it a step further and sent me to live with my grandparents for the summer. I told them that I didn’t mind living at the beach, and they thought it was a good idea for me to get away for a while before I went to college. I was packed and gone the next morning. But I lost my full ride football scholarship to Ohio State.”

“How do you know it was Griffin that set you up?” I asked. I still had a hard time believing that my brother would do something so nefarious. I knew that he could be a hothead with a rash temper, but I just couldn’t see him setting Quinn up to get arrested just because he’d deflowered me at a kegger.

“The next day Griffin came to the house. He told me that there were consequences to my actions and next time I should think before doing something so stupid. That I should watch where I stuck my dick in case it got cut off.”

“But did he actually say that he put in the marijuana in your car?” There was no way my brother would stoop so low. I shook with pain at the thought. Quinn tried to put his arms around me but I slapped his hands away. Why was he doing this to me? Forcing me to take sides? Choose between them?

There had to be more to the story than what Quinn was telling me. I had to call Griffin but I needed to be alone to do it. I tried to think back to that night when it all happened. I remembered Griffin being moody, but I thought it was because of his issues with Caroline and had nothing to do with me. I knew that Griffin smoked weed. It was more of a casual thing, though. Or was it? Maybe I didn’t know my brother as well as I thought I did.

“He didn’t come out and admit it but he said everything other than the words.” Quinn drained the rest of his drink. “I can read between the lines. Who else would’ve done it?”

As a negotiator, I didn’t like any sentence that included the word ‘but’. The conjunction negated everything that came before it. Now, considering everything I’d been told, everything had that transpired, it did make sense.

“You still could’ve said goodbye,” I said, going straight to the heart of the matter. At least my heart.

“I know, and I’m so sorry. I was stupid. I should’ve come over and told you how much you meant to me. I guess I was worried about turning you against Griffin. I loved both of you guys and I didn’t want to make matters any worse than they had to be. It wasn’t the best way to handle the situation, and I was wrong.”

Quinn grabbed my arm but I snatched it away again. Touching him only led to one thing and that one thing wasn’t a clear head.

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “But it’s the truth. I know you don’t want to hear that about your brother. Why would I lie? Especially after all these years.”

There was that damn ‘but’ again. Suddenly the smell of the seafood caused my stomach to roil. I couldn’t breathe. The walls closed in on me. Quinn had accused my brother of doing something heinous. Griffin Jansen was no saint but he wasn’t a heathen either. He’d never do anything criminal, putting a loved one in jeopardy. And he’d loved Quinn like a brother.

I sucked in a ragged breath and threw my hands in the air. “I’ve got to go.”

“Please Ashton,” he pleaded, clutching at my top but finding thin air. “This is why I never said anything. I didn’t want to come between you and Griffin. I know how much you worshipped him. It was best that I left. My parents wanted a fresh start for me. And I got one.”

I speared him with a glare. “Do my parent’s know? Have you spat your venom at my mother?”

Quinn’s eyes widened at my verbal assault. I didn’t care. I wanted to hurt him like he’d continued to hurt me. Dig the knife in so deep I’d have to twist it to pull it out. “I would assume Griffin told them the same story he told everyone else.”

“I need to go,” I repeated. “Give me time to digest this, Quinn. Please respect my privacy and leave me alone. I’ll contact you when I’m ready to see you again.”

“We can talk tomorrow?” Quinn asked, hope still lighting his blue eyes.

“No, I’m going back to Atlanta. Everything is done here anyway. I need to get back to the office and start the ball rolling on this hotel deal.”

“Please, Ashton Just stay one more day. We can figure this out.”

I shook my head. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

But I wasn’t. I wasn’t sorry at all.

“Will you call me when you arrive? At least let me know that you made it home okay?”

I conceded that small point with a nod.

And for the second time in twenty-four hours, I walked out on Quinn Andrews. Just like he’d done to me.