My mind in a haze from the alcohol, I tried to remember if he had been with a girl that evening. He’d been talking to several, his arm around one girl’s shoulders, whispering in her ears, that signature grin on his face—but had he taken her into one of the bedrooms? The last thing I wanted was to walk in on him while they were in the middle of the goddamn act.
At first I tried to dismiss the heavy silence as nothing, but it pounded at my ears until I forced myself up from the sofa and went to find him, straining to hear anything that might clue me in to his whereabouts.
The first bedroom was empty.
The second bedroom was playing host to a couple sprawled out on the bed, passed out, but neither person was my brother.
Dread settled into the pit of my stomach as I made the long walk to the master bedroom at the end of the hall.
My first thought when I pushed the door open was that the room was empty. It was that quiet.
I stepped inside, heart hammering against my rib cage, and glanced around. The lamp atop the dresser was on, and the comforter on the bed was rumpled.
Nobody there.
I crossed to turn off the lamp, and with my hand on the switch, started to turn back toward the door.
That’s when I saw his hand, limp and white on the carpet. It was all I could see of him until I stepped around to the other side of the bed, where his body was crumpled against the box spring…
“Mr. Pierce?”
“Yes?” Louis must have said my name more than once.
“We’re here.”
“Thanks.”
I slide out of the car and shake it off, force away the cold, sick feeling that I get when that memory overtakes me. Immediately, Quinn’s face swims up before my eyes, and a burst of warmth and love fills my chest.
In this moment, I make a decision.
I’m going to start by showing her the way I really live, not just that stripped-down apartment I use for hookups.
She’s so much more than that to me now.
I’m going to do this even though the thought sends a wave of cold fear through my body.
I’m deep into making plans by the time I walk through the door of my building.
I’m going to start with my place in the Hamptons.
This is where our love story really begins.
Chapter 27
Quinn
Friday is another dry spell, by which I mean I don’t have a single meeting with Christian scheduled.
On the one hand, it makes it easier to build out my plans for him since he’s not here to distract me with those eyes and that body.
On the other hand, even though he’s not here in person, all I can think of are his eyes—the way the black of his pupil is ringed by a lightning strike of blue so light that it’s almost pure white. It reminds me of the way the ocean waves exploded outward from the shore in various shades of blue, ringing around a tropical island I once visited with my parents when I was a teenager. Christian’s eyes are a different color of blue, changing from moment to moment, depending on the light, his mood…
Now that I’m intimately acquainted with his body, that’s hard to forget, too. I’m as professional as they come, but when he’s sitting across from me, his ripped abs hidden by a crisp white shirt and topped by a slim-cut jacket that does nothing but emphasize the hard line of his waist…
I shake my head and loosen my grip on the computer mouse. It’s one thing to realize you’ve unconsciously been rubbing your thighs against one another underneath your desk at work. It’s another to completely abandon your job to go masturbate in the bathroom.
My heart thunders in my chest. It’s so dangerous to be with Christian. I could lose my job if anyone were to find out. I definitely don’t want to get fired from HRM—not now that I have no safety net back in Colorado, and not when I’m finally making big strides in my career. A ruined reputation is no joke.
But how can I stay away from him?
I bite my lip as I maneuver some of the events around on his calendar.
The answer is that I can’t.
I can’t.
I don’t want to.
And I won’t.
We’re just going to have to proceed cautiously, and not just because of my job. It seems like a long time ago now, but in reality it hasn’t been long since I had my heart shattered and then stomped on and spat on by that bastard Derek. Christian might have a tenderhearted side, but there’s no guarantee he’s good right to the core.
My body heats up at the thought of him. I’m trying to be rational, but what I’m feeling isn’t a rational emotion. I just know we’re right together—at least right now.
Day by day, Quinn. Day by day.
It’s just after 5:00, and I’m making the last few changes to next week’s schedule when my phone vibrates in my purse.
When I pick it up, the sight of Christian’s name sends my heart rate skyrocketing.
Head over heels, for sure.
Run away with me.
Right now???
I want to show you the real me.
Haven’t I met you before??
I’m waiting outside in the car. You’re not working late on a Friday Is that a question? :)
It’s an order ;)
A shiver runs down my spine. He might be joking, but just imagining the kind of orders a man like Christian could give fucking turns me on. Even if I’m the kind of woman who’s not the sweet, submissive type. Sex is like a battle between us, and that’s just how I like it.