Quinn

 

If I could avoid going home, I would. It’s going to be a shit evening, and I’m not in the mood to explain myself to everyone. Ash and Harper are bound to have questions, and I cringe at the thought of Colt asking me about last night. However, avoiding the house will just worsen the situation.

When I pull into the driveway, I spy Colt’s truck parked next to Gabe’s car. His truck looks like it could crush Gabe’s vehicle, and as my eyes run over the large, black truck that’s as badass as its owner, my heart sinks. It’s likely that Gabe’s already explained what went down last night in hopes of calming Colt before he sees me.

I make a face and put my car in park before cutting the engine. I doubt Colt handled the news well. I still remember Tom Anderson trying to do more than kiss me when we were parked in his car at the end of the Thompson’s driveway. I’d been fifteen at the time, and Colt must’ve been watching from the shadows to make certain I’d made it home safely. He’d emerged out of nowhere and had dragged Tom out of the car and had threatened to feed him his testicles if he should ever try to touch me again.

The memory causes a smile to tug on my lips as I climb out of the car. I’d been so pissed at Colt for not allowing me to handle the situation myself, so I’d ignored him for two weeks straight. Not that he’d cared. He’d made certain that all the boys in the school knew that they’d have to deal with him if they so much as looked at me the wrong way. Colt’s always been my protector, and he’d made high school more than a little difficult. Thankfully, by the time I’d followed the guys out here to Riverside after graduation, he’d chilled out quite a bit.

My smile fades as I approach the front door.

Colt’s extremely sensitive when it comes to violence against women and children. For it to happen to me…

He’s going to be livid.

I open the door and step inside, bracing for the upcoming conversation. What I hadn’t expected was for Colt to be sitting on the living room sofa, waiting. I freeze in the midst of crossing the threshold.

He reminds me of a lounging predator waiting for its prey. His legs are splayed, and he looks quite comfortable where he’s sitting, but I know it’s just an illusion. He’s eerily still, and only his eyes move as they lock on my bottom lip, and then they slide down to where the scarf and makeup hide the bruising around my neck. His eyes darken dangerously, and his jaw flexes.

“It’s nothing,” I say lightly before I inwardly wince, wishing I hadn’t spoken at all. That’s the last thing I should have said to Colt of all people.

“Doesn’t look like nothing to me.” He calmly rises to his feet, straightening to his full, impressive height. “I want to talk to you. In private.”

“Okay,” I say softly. He doesn’t move as he waits for me to exit the living room first. I’m assuming he wants to talk down in his room, so I walk through the living room with him following behind.

I step inside, and my chest tightens. I typically avoid Colt’s bedroom. Plenty of women have seen the inside of this room, but I still can’t resist looking around, taking in the big bed and the black as sin sheets. I yank my eyes from it, and my gaze bounces off the gray walls and all the black accent furniture. On his dresser, three knives rest beside their opened display case, and my eyes immediately lift to the flat, one-inch thick, tree panel that’s attached to the wall. It spans about fifty inches, and there are rings upon rings moving outwards from the center, betraying how old the tree had been when it’d been cut down. Plenty of knife marks mar the beauty of the wood. Colt had an affinity for darts while he’d been growing up, but somewhere along the way, he’d switched to knives.

I turn to look at Colt, and I come up short when I find him standing directly behind me. My head instinctively tilts back so that I can look up into his face. He’s just so damned sexy, and he hadn’t shaved this morning.

His hazel eyes drop to my scarf. “Take it off,” he says softly.

That soft directive causes my lower belly to quiver. I wish he was saying that to me under different circumstances. Somehow, I shove aside the attraction that I’m feeling. “I don’t think I should,” I say steadily.

His eyes burn fiercely into mine. “I need to see, Quinn.”

With a shake of my head, I take a few steps away from him. “All that will do is fuel your anger. We both know that.”

Something dangerous slides across his face. “I can’t possibly be angrier than I already am.”

“Colt, it’s done and over with. It’s been handled, and I will never see him again.”

His eyes remain fixated on my split lip.

He’s not listening to me. I step closer to him and touch his arm. His forearm tenses beneath my fingertips, and his eyes slide up to meet mine. I’m not surprised to see the murderous gleam within those hazel depths. His instinct is to take care of the threat—Slade.

“Hey, I’m okay,” I promise. “I hit him back, so he’s not looking so pretty, either. I handled the situation myself.”

“Was it rape?” he asks through stiff lips, and I find myself held captive under his intense scrutiny.

“Didn’t Gabe tell you?” I ask sharply. That should have been the first thing Gabe addressed.

“I need to hear it from you.”

“It wasn’t rape, Colt.” I stare into his eyes, knowing he needs the reassurance. “I was a willing participant.”

His eyes blaze. “Until he choked you.”

My face heats. I still can’t believe it happened and that everyone’s finding out about my latest mishap. “Until he choked me,” I lamely agree.

He gazes at me silently, and I wonder what he’s thinking.

“He’s out of my life,” I tell him.

“I want his name.”

“So that you can what?” I ask. “Beat him up or threaten him? You can’t fix my problems for me, and you can’t fix them with revenge. Let it go, Colt.”

His face twists, and an unknown emotion crosses his face. “He hurt you, Quinn.”

“He did, but the bruises will fade. So will his memory.”

“We both know this will stay with you forever.”

I can’t deny it. What happened has changed my view on random hookups. I’m not happy that it happened, but it did, and I think it’s the wakeup call that I’d needed to begin sorting out why I’m the way that I am.

“Maybe,” I say in response to his comment. “One thing did come out of this mess, Colt.”

He looks at me questioningly.

He remains silent.

I can’t tell if I’ve gotten through to him or not. “Colt, if I ever get in over my head, you’ll be the first person I go to. But right now, I don’t need your intervention. As much as you want to protect me, you need to let me handle my own life.”

Indecision wars across his face until he reluctantly nods to signal that he’ll back down.

“Thank you.”

He gives me a measured look. “If he won’t let you go, you come to me. Promise me, Quinn. If you can’t remove him from your life, I’ll do it for you.”

“Colt…”

His eyes warn me that I’m not walking out of here without him hearing what he wants. “Promise me.”

“Okay,” I sigh and cave. “I promise.”

He nods, not saying anything more, and I take that as my cue to leave. I’m relieved that the conversation had gone better than I’d expected, and I hurry upstairs before he can change his mind.

In the hall, I nearly run into Harper.

“There you are,” she says, revealing that she’d been looking for me. Her eyes shift to the basement doorway that I’d just scurried out from. “Come talk to me,” she says, grabbing my hand with her uninjured one, leading me to my room.

Once we’re inside, I close the door for privacy. “I see Gabe’s been running his mouth,” I state dryly.

Harper’s mouth falls open. “Gabe knows?”

“He was home this morning.” I frown and look at her with puzzlement. “Who’ve you been talking to?”

“Ash. She said you had a busted lip and were wearing one of my scarves. What in the world happened last night?” she asks with concern.

I can feel a headache coming on. Deciding to keep the details minimal, I give her an extremely shortened version of what had gone down last night.

Her expression clouds. “That’s awful. I can’t believe he would do that without your consent.”

“I think he has a few screws loose,” I say in a dry tone.

“I’d say. What did Colt have to say?”

I grimace. “He was waiting for me as soon as I walked through the door.”

Her eyes widen, and she gives me a sympathetic look. “Uh oh.”

“That about sums it up.”

“What did you tell him?”

“It’s taken care of. I’m done with Slade.” Shit. I hadn’t meant to let his name slip.

Harper’s green eyes sharpen.

“That stays between you and me. I mean it, Harper,” I warn.

“Okay,” she agrees. “What happens if Slade doesn’t want you out of his life?” she asks, her expression serious.

“I doubt it’ll be an issue. It was just sex. We didn’t connect on any other level than physically.”

“You said so yourself that he seems kind of unstable,” she reminds.

“Honestly, there’s nothing there, Harper.”

“What if he disagrees?”

Good question. “That could be a problem,” I reluctantly admit.

Her eyes search mine. “Are you sure you’re okay? What he did last night…” her voice trails off.

“I’m fine,” I assure.

She looks at me intently. “You’d tell me if you weren’t, wouldn’t you?”

“You know I would.”

She hesitates as if she’s doubting me.

“I swear I learned my lesson. No more trusting anyone to do weird shit to me, and that includes tying me up.” My nose wrinkles. “It’s not really my thing anyway.”

“Then why allow him to do it?” she asks with genuine bewilderment.

I shrug. “The sex was good.”

“You know, normal sex can be just as good,” she points out.

“With the right partner, yes.”

She shakes her head. “We need to find you Mr. Right.”

“He doesn’t exist.”

“Sure, he does. We just have to find him for you.”

“Nah, I’m done with men for a while,” I say firmly.

“I think that’s probably wise.”