Chapter 10

“You did not!” She gasped, her hand to her chest as her eyes widened. “You punched him?”

He laughed and shrugged. “I know, I know, but what other choice did I have? He called Justin Bieber the voice of our generation. He had it coming.”

Kiera tipped her head back, a deep belly laugh overtaking her at the thought of Quinn getting into a bar fight in college over a pop icon’s potential lifetime achievements. “Is it too late now to say sorry?” she teased, quoting a line from one of Bieber’s songs.

“Don’t start with me, woman.” He gave her a stern look, unable to hide the smile on his lips.

She giggled and shook her head. “Oh, gosh, that still might be one of the best stories of the night.”

They’d spent the last two hours sitting on his couch and recapping everything they’d missed out on over the last few years and it was…perfect. When she’d made the decision to just bite the bullet and drop in on him, she knew there was a chance it would go south if he rejected her, but even her most hopeful outcome hadn’t been as great as this. After yesterday’s sadness, she needed this as much as she bet he did. She needed the hope and positivity and happiness that Quinn, and his family, were known for.

“What about you?” he asked, his hands gently stroking from her ankles to her thighs and back again, her legs across his lap. “What’s the dumbest, most impulsive thing you ever did back then?”

He looked down and then back at her, and something in his tone made her think he almost wanted to answer the question for her.

She brushed off the thought and tapped her fingers to her lips. “Hmm. I once secretly texted my boyfriend at the time from my roommate’s phone to see if he’d respond—real flirty and suggestive. Some kind of test, I guess, to see if he’d cheat on me.”

“Wow, that’s so much worse than mine,” he said, eyes widening.

“It actually gets a lot worse.” She covered her face with her hands and laughed. “Not only did he not take the bait, but he confronted my roommate for her ‘betrayal’ of me in front of our entire group of friends in the cafeteria—totally called her out. She had no idea what he was talking about, and I just sat there, pretending to be shocked by the allegations.”

“Kiera!” Quinn laughed, but he looked as horrified as she’d felt back then. Freshman year had not been kind to her and she’d definitely made her mistakes as a teenager and young adult. She still couldn’t believe how immature she’d been back then. “I can’t believe you did that—that’s horrible!”

She covered her face again, dropping back onto the couch cushions. “I know! I was the worst!”

“Seriously, babe,” he teased. “That poor guy…and your poor roommate! You might be batshit crazy.”

“So embarrassing,” she said with a groan. “I was awful. But if it makes you feel any better, I’ve matured a bit since then…I think.”

Going to college in a new place and being on her own for the first time had been like throwing someone who’d never learned how to swim into the deep end of a pool. She’d had so many safety nets here in Woodlawn—Quinn, her mom, the Kavanaghs—that she’d spent her first two years in Seattle awkwardly fumbling through life on her own.

Looking back on it, she was glad she’d had the chance to figure out who she was on her own, to become her own person. She loved who she was now and was proud of how far she’d come, both professionally and personally.

“That’s good to know.” He squeezed her leg and ran his hand up farther on her thigh. “But I don’t mind a little crazy now and then. You weren’t exactly laid back when we were kids.”

“Now who’s crazy?” she said with a smirk, trying not to focus on the tingling she felt between her legs again. “I was an awesome kid.”

He laughed. “No argument there, but damn, I had to put out a lot of your fires.”

Kiera smiled at him, her fingers trailing down his arm. Softly, she responded back, “You did.”

She remembered that about him—he was her protector, her supporter, her everything. She’d say, Hey, swim into this tsunami with me, and he’d say, Okay, wear my life vest. She saw now how much she had taken for granted, or how she’d taken him for granted.

He was her biggest regret, and her heart ached as she was beginning to see that more and more clearly. Losing his presence in her life—all those unanswered phone calls and emails—she’d been devastated, and part of her still was. She knew she’d gotten busy and put him on the back burner for a bit, but a real friend would have understood that and not abandoned her over it.

Ugh. They were such a fucking mess. She was a mess.

She wasn’t going to let that stop her, though. Quinn was too important to her. What was happening between them was completely unexpected, and yet, it felt like she’d never wanted anything more.

“I still would,” he said quietly, his head tipped back against the couch, those dark eyes piercing into her soul. “Put out your fires, I mean.”

“I know you would, but hopefully you won’t have to.” She put out her own fires now. She’d grown and blossomed and become a person she liked and never wanted to lose. She’d found who she was.

Quinn would always be there if she needed him, but she didn’t want to need him anymore. She just wanted him. And right now? She really wanted him.

Lifting her feet from his lap, she stood from the couch and reached a hand out to him, beckoning for him to follow her. He grabbed his cane and pushed up slowly, carefully, and she winced at the ripple of pain she saw crossing his face. She wanted to be everything for him, the way he had once been for her, to take away his pain, to be what he needed.

“Where are we going?” he asked as he stood, wrapping an arm around her back and kissing her temple.

“Well, I don’t actually know, since I’ve not had the full tour yet.” Kiera grinned and lifted her brows, giving him a suggestive look. “But I was hoping you could point us to the bedroom because I have another fire you could put out right now.”

He snorted, laughing as he took her hand and led her toward the back of the apartment. “Remind me to help you with your dirty talk, babe.”

She glanced down his body, noticing there was a significant bulge in the front of his pants. “I don’t know, it seems to be working for you.”

He followed her gaze downward and grinned mischievously. “I guess there’s nothing about you I don’t like.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks as he led her into the bedroom. This all seemed so fast…really, really fast. And yet, at the same time, it didn’t feel weird, and it didn’t feel scary. It felt natural and easy.

She’d be lying if she said their night together hadn’t crossed her mind a few times. She’d often found herself comparing boyfriends to him, wanting to find that same level of connection she’d had with Quinn between the sheets. Kiera had a sneaking suspicion she was about to find out that the missing ingredient all along had been…him.

She couldn’t wait to find out, but there was still something tugging at the back of her mind. There was something she didn’t know, or at least that’s what she feared. As if Quinn was holding back from her, or his feelings were different from hers, though she wasn’t sure what that could even mean.

The night Kiera gave him her virginity, she’d initiated it. Hell, she’d thrown herself at him, and by coming over abruptly today, she was doing that again. She didn’t mind making the first move on principle, but it hadn’t really worked out that well for her last time. He’d disappeared from her life and their relationship had come to a screeching halt.

She couldn’t survive that happening again.

Kiera Finley is standing in my bedroom.

Kiera Finley is standing in my bedroom, pulling her dress over her head.

Kiera Finley is naked in my goddamn bedroom.

Quinn’s eyes traveled over her flawless skin, the smooth rounds of her breasts pushing at the fabric of her bra, the curve of her waist and hips, and the small mound between her legs that reminded him her panties were still on his kitchen floor.

“Fucking hell, Keeks,” he said breathlessly, pulling his own shirt over his head and dropping it to the floor. They stood next to the bed, far enough apart to just watch each other. And he loved every second of it. “You’re so damn beautiful.”

He reached for the buckle of his pants, but she stepped forward and took over. Unclasping it, she pushed the top of his pants down slowly and carefully over his legs. Quinn’s mind flickered to his accident…his legs…his scars.

He grabbed for her, to pull her back up to face him, but she batted away his hands.

“Quinn, please. Let me.”

He looked down at her, naked except for her lacy white bra, now kneeling in front of him. His cane to one side, the bed to the other. It was so damn sexy, and so damn terrifying. He’d exposed so much of himself to her already—his heart, his past, his vulnerabilities.

She’d seen his scars before, but always in a medical setting. It didn’t compare to where they were now, what they were about to do. He didn’t want her to see him as a patient. He wanted her to see him as a lover.

“Kiera, I—”

She pushed his pants down to his ankles anyway, and the lump in his throat kept him from saying anything else. She trailed her hands up both of his legs from his shins to his thighs, dipping under his boxers until she brushed past his manhood.

He exhaled sharply, and she slid his boxers down next. His eyes closed, not wanting to see the desire leave her eyes when she came to the rippled, burned skin that covered his left leg, or the surgical scars that looked like big thick ropes down his knee, or the tattoos he’d once loved that now looked like a blurry, inky mess.

But there was no pause, no sounds of disgust, nothing of note at all. When he gained the courage to look down, he saw her fingers tracing his wounds and a lone tear rolling down her cheek. The calculated, professional way she’d once gazed at his scars was gone, and in its place, sorrow. She leaned forward and kissed the worst of it, then the rest. Soft little moments of acceptance as she laid her lips on the ugliest parts of him, her tears brushing his skin.

“Kiera,” he began again, the words choking in his throat.

She shook her head and looked up at him. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there the moment it happened, Quinn. I should have been there.”

He wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, pushing her tears away as he remembered that this face—her face—was the last thing he’d seen before everything had gone dark. “You were there, Keeks.” He lifted a hand to his heart, laying his palm flat against his chest. “You were always there.”

“Oh, Quinn,” she sighed, a sad smile on her lips and adoration in her bright blue eyes. Love poured out of her as she pushed up on her knees, eyes level with his manhood. She licked her lips and he was sure he’d explode. “Sit on the edge of the bed. For your leg.”

He dropped down onto the bed, propping his cane up against the edge, happy for the relief. Standing was already enough of a task. The tension in his leg immediately eased as he stretched it out, spreading his knees to allow her to crawl between them. Any nervousness he felt over her being so close to his scars was gone, vanished the moment hurt turned into longing.

She pressed her breasts to his thighs, leaning down and dropping one kiss against him. Then she sat back on her heels and he kissed her—long, languid kisses that said everything he was feeling in that moment as her hand found him.

He groaned against her lips, his heart bursting, and his cock throbbing in her grasp. She slid her fingers up and down, tightening in intervals before she moved her mouth to his tip. When she brushed her lips over him, he pushed his hips forward. They’d barely started and he was already in heaven.

Her lips parted and she took him in her mouth, her tongue rolling around him as she gripped the base with her fist. She began to move and suck and he pumped his hips with every jolt that shot through him. He didn’t want to know where she’d learned her skills, but he was completely intoxicated by her.

Her free hand moved down his leg, caressing everything he’d been hiding from the rest of the world. She embraced him fully, accepted the worst parts of him without hesitation. He decided then and there he would do the same.

She’d hurt him, and he’d held on to that for years. But right now, her lips on his cock, her hand on his scars…he just wanted to love her.

“Keeks, I’m going to come,” he panted, pulling her shoulders back slightly.

She licked her lips, looking up at him with lust-filled eyes. “That’s okay.”

“I want to come inside you,” he said with a growl, taking her lips again.

She gasped, pushing her body against him as he reached around her and unfastened her bra and let it fall to the floor. He trailed his tongue down her jaw, to her neck, and lower until he took her nipple between his teeth, pulling gently, and then flicking his tongue over its tip. Softly, he sucked as she moaned and arched her back, giving him easier access to her breasts. He moved over to the other, repeating his stimulations, and the small moans that came from her throat made him feel closer and closer to climax.

“Do you have protection?” she asked breathily, her eyes searching the room.

He nodded. “Nightstand.”

She jumped up to her feet and rounded the bed, pulling open the drawer quickly and rummaging through it until she found a small foil packet.

Quinn pushed himself back farther on the bed until his head was flat against the pillow, his naked body stretched out before him. She grinned and waved the packet at him, climbing onto the bed next to him as she opened it and slid it over his member with only a little help from him.

“I don’t know how much longer I can wait while you stare at it,” Quinn told her, urging her closer.

“Sorry,” she teased, lifting one leg over his thighs until she was straddling him. “There’s a lot to stare at.”

A feral roar rumbled in his chest, his hands gripping her ass. “Your dirty talk is improving.”

She smiled and lifted her hips just enough until he was pressed against her entrance, before pushing down slowly, and then all at once. She gasped as he filled her, and for a moment, the room spun and went black as he felt her pulsing around him.

It was exactly as he remembered, yet somehow better.

She was his perfect fit, and as she began moving, rising rhythmically as she rode him, he became more and more certain of it. Her breasts bounced and he reached up, cupping them in his hands and running his thumbs over her nipples.

“Ohhhh,” Kiera moaned, and her lips parted. Her eyes closed as her head fell back.

“Look at me, baby,” he demanded, squeezing her nipples between his thumb and index finger. “I want to see your eyes when I’m inside you.”

Her bright blue eyes had darkened, slowly moving down until they found his. She fell forward enough to drop her hands to his chest, anchoring herself against him as their bodies moved together, picking up speed.

He gripped her ass and lifted her up and down faster, as her lips met his. Their kiss became almost frozen, as if they needed only to feel each other—mouths pressed together, connected in every way. She trembled and pulsed and he felt every second of it as her climax pushed him over the edge moments later.

Her chest hit his as she fell forward. His arms wrapped around her back as they both tried to catch their breath. Quinn loved her weight on him, loved holding her, cradling her against him as she fell apart so he could put her back together again.

After a few moments, she slid onto the bed next to him, her head on his shoulder and one arm slung over his chest. He didn’t want to move yet, caught up in the sensation of her fingers drawing circles on his chest as they both stayed quiet. The energy between them, even while exhausted, was everything it had been six years ago…and more.

It wasn’t just sensual and passionate—even though there was so much of that—it was light and airy and happy and easy. Like it had always been meant to be, and they easily slid into the mold already created for them. If he hadn’t already wanted her before, tonight’s dinner and conversation and…dessert…sealed the deal for him.

He was in love with Kiera Finley. He always had been, and he was never letting go of her again.

“Hey, Quinn?” She tipped her head up to look at him, her chin on his chest.

He smoothed a stray tendril from her face. “Yeah?”

She kissed his chest and smiled at him, before laying her head back down. “I’m going to sleep here tonight.”

Quinn laughed. “I would hope so, Keeks.”

“Probably tomorrow night, too,” she added, her voice completely serious.

He smiled, his heart feeling very literally like it was swelling in his chest. “And the next night?”

“Yeah, probably that night, too.” She kissed his chest one more time before yawning and drifting off to sleep.

His cheeks almost hurt from smiling so hard, and he kissed the top of her head gently, making sure not to rouse her as he carefully moved out from under her and reached for his cane. After a few minutes in the bathroom, he crawled back into bed next to her, which took a little maneuvering since she’d already starfished across most of the bed.

As he pulled her back against his chest, she sighed in her sleep and curled into him. Quinn kissed her again and closed his eyes. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow night, or the next.

And every night after.