“Cane, that’s a big accusation . . .”
“And it’s not one I’d throw around for the hell of it either. But it makes sense and I just have this feeling . . .”
I looked at the ceiling, the clock ticking on the wall making me feel like a bomb was getting ready to go off. It was an ominous sound.
“It sure as hell kept her around longer,” he said. “She would’ve been let go a couple of weeks ago if we had gotten another job. Think about it, Quinn.”
I knew, down deep, he was probably right and the fallout from it, if it were true, would be giant. But I just wanted to spend the next couple of days enjoying the feeling of not being drowned in work.
“I’ll deal with it next week. I just need to relax for a couple of days. On that note, would you mind me taking Kari to your cabin this weekend? I really want to get away with her and relax, no interruptions.”
“No problem. You still have a key?”
“Yeah,” I said, looking up at the sound of my door opening and Sam walking in. “I appreciate it. I really want this weekend with Kari to be special.”
He laughed. “You’re both family to me. Now you just need to be to each other.”
No shit, Alexander. No shit.
KARI
The front door opened way before I expected it to. I heard Titus fly down the stairs, yapping his head off at Max coming home from work. It was early for him to be home and although I was eager to see him, I was just a bit disappointed. I had plans to make the night sexy as sin to celebrate him winning the bid and us getting back on track, but he hadn’t given me enough time.
I walked into the living room to see my man bent down, rolling his puppy on the floor.
“Titus gets your love first, huh? Is that where I rate?” I joked, leaning against the wall.
“Ah, sweetheart. Are you jealous of Titus?” he smirked.
I stuck out my bottom lip. “I want you to pet me like that.”
He growled as he stood up, crossing the room in three long strides. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around him as he captured my mouth with his. His tongue slid into my mouth, staking claim to it. I moaned a little, feeling my body respond to his instinctively. Far too soon, he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine.
“I want to take you out of town for the weekend. Can you call off from work?”
“Where do you wanna go?” I asked, nuzzling my nose against his.
“Payson. Let’s go to Cane’s cabin—away from everyone and with bad cell coverage. I want all of your attention for a couple of days. I need it.”
I sighed dreamily, the thought of spending a couple of days wrapped up in him sounded fabulous. “I can probably do that. I just have one shift and I think Chandra will pick it up. I can call and see.”
He lowered me to my feet and swatted my behind. “Do it and let’s get outta Dodge.”
I smiled brightly and gave Chandra a quick call. Besides having to work with Dr. Manning, she was more than happy to pick up an extra shift. She found it hard to be professional around him, she said, when she just wanted to throw him on a gurney and have her way with him.
“Pack some stuff. Or pack nothing, if you want. I want you naked most of the weekend, anyway.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” I said, eyes widened for effect. I watched him move across the room to his office. “I’m glad you didn’t let me leave you,” I whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.
He turned to face me, a serious look on his face. “There was never a real chance I wouldn’t come for you. I think we both just needed a minute to get our brains wrapped around everything.” He started towards his office again before turning back to me. “Just to be real clear though, that’s the last time you get to pretend to walk away from me. Got it?”
I tried not to smile, but the effort was futile. “Got it.” I blew him a kiss and headed to the bedroom to pack my things for a weekend with Mr. Quinn.
MAX
“Hey, sweetheart,” I said cautiously, peeking my head around the side of the door. She was bent down in her closet, digging through her shoes. “I have to do a couple of things before we go. Is that alright?”
“Sure,” she mumbled, rummaging around. “Can I help with anything?”
I cleared my throat. “I need to gas up the truck and grab some road snacks. And, um, I need to run by and see Sam real quick.”
Kari’s hand paused in the air. She didn’t turn to look at me, just paused before tossing the shoe. “Really? Why?”
“I don’t know,” I mumbled, not happy about the interruption from Samantha. “She called and said it’s really important. She almost sounded like she’d been crying. Cane was throwing around accusations this afternoon and I’m wondering if maybe she heard him.”
“What was Cane saying?” Kari bent up from her stoop, a pair of sneakers in hand.
“He thinks Sam might have sent a fax to one of our competitors.”