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“Nice line, McCauliffe. I bet you use it with all the ladies.”
“Only the ones I sleep with,” I said, deadpan.
Delaney popped up, straddling me, and hit me in the chest. “Very funny, Quinn.”
I didn’t say another word, just pulled her down onto me, stroking her back, her legs, her breasts. Taking her face in my hands, I kissed her, softly at first, then deeper. She responded, opening her mouth to mine, her tongue teasing. My body tensed, need coiling deep in my core, as she rocked her hips against me.
Rolling her gently onto her back, I locked my eyes onto hers, pushed a stray tendril of hair out of her face. She smiled at me, the first rays of sunlight breaking over her face.
“Are you always this serious?” she asked, her fingers sliding across my back, up and down my arms.
“Yes. Mostly.”
“I’ll have to see what I can do about that,” she said, rising to place her lips on mine.
I answered her with a deep kiss, my hands tangling in her hair, our breathing in sync, our bodies perfectly aligned. Her eyes fluttered open, urging me on. I quickly grabbed protection, then gripped her waist, easing my way into her. She arched up to meet me and we moved together, our legs intertwined, slowly at first, then faster, more urgently. Keeping her wide blue eyes on mine, she never looked away, even as she trembled and cried out.
I followed her lead, then we lay there, still and quiet for a few moments. I listened to her breathe, in and out, her soft exhales feather-light on my bicep, the quiet hammering of her pulse slowly returning to normal. She was still in my arms as I stroked her, holding her close to me.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“Anytime.”
A few more beats passed before Delaney spoke again.
“Quinn?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t think we should tell anyone about this. You know, besides Mars, since he already knows.”
I took a second to digest her words. “It feels like I should take this personally.”
“No. It’s just—my brothers might kill you.”
I stared down at the freckles on her nose, all scrunched-up with worry about what her brothers might think.
“Hell, Delaney, I’m not going to put it on blast at the station that we slept together. Multiple times, if you’re keeping track. Give me some credit here.” I propped myself up on my elbow, smoothed the wrinkle out of her brow. “I have been known to use discretion from time to time, believe it or not.”
“I know, I’m not saying that...”
“What are you saying?”
She sat up, pulling the sheet around her, covering her naked body.Too bad...
“It feels, I don’t know. Complicated.” She bit down on her lip, looked out the window.
I fucking hated that word. Julialovedthrowing it around when we dated and those four syllables lit a hot, angry fire in my gut.
I took a deep breath, ran my palm over my neck, exhaled. Standing up, I grabbed my jeans and shirt, got dressed. I couldn’t do this again, even if Delaney was funny, and cool, and gorgeous as hell. That’s exactly what got me in trouble the last time. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—be with a woman who wasn’t sure what she wanted.
“Wait. Don’t go.” She reached her hand out towards me, but I ignored it. A sharp pang radiated in my chest and I hated myself for being an asshole, but I needed to get out of there while I could still fucking breathe.
In the living room I found my shoes, then my keys.
“See you around,” I said over my shoulder, then let myself out.
9
