“It’s harder when it comes from the heart.” She blinked back tears, and he swallowed hard. “What I’m trying to say is that the career and taking care of myself are important, but with you gone, I realized there’s something I care about more. I wanted to be with you more than I wanted those things. I guess that means I have to turn in my badass badge.”
He stood motionless, recycling her words to be sure he fully understood their meaning.
Unchecked tears were spilling down her cheeks in a free-for-all. “Don’t you get it?” she said. “I’m in love with you, Quinn.”
That he understood, loud and clear. He just couldn’t get his mouth to work.
“Aren’t you going to say anything? ‘Too bad, Sarah. You’re too late.’ Or—”
A single heartbeat, and he had her face cradled in his hands. “Or how about I fucking love you, Sarah, and I don’t want anybody else? Or I like me better when I’m with you, so let me be with you?” His eyes searched hers while his thumbs stroked her soft skin. “Let me love you, Sarah, and I’m not talking about sex. I want all of you.” There. He’d said it. It was out.
Her hands covered his, and she returned his gaze with such tenderness he nearly lost it. He forged ahead despite the tears clogging his throat and brimming his lower lashes. “I like that you know the real me, that you know my past, what I’ve done and what I’ve been, and you accept me. I can be me with you. You trust me. Do I have regrets? Lots. But the biggest regret I have is not meeting you sooner.”
One side of her beautiful mouth curled up. “You weren’t ready for me, Sparky.”
“I still might not be ready for you, but that sure as hell won’t stop me.”
“Sparky doesn’t do things halfway.”
“Not when it comes to you, babe.” He kissed her with all the pent-up fervor that had been building inside of him during these long months, taking charge of her mouth in a way that left no doubt he was in all the fucking way. Her arms wound around his neck, pulling him close until the heat of their mouths and bodies practically fused them together.
Though he stood in a COVID-19 testing booth surrounded by flimsy metal frames holding flimsy blue curtains, he was home.
He broke the kiss and nuzzled her neck. She smelled so fucking good he wanted to inhale her. Bottle up her fragrance and take her with him everywhere he went.
A deep throat-clearing made them both jump. When Quinn looked toward the source, he realized a large, unamused health worker was watching them.
“Did you miss every single message on social distancing?” the man said dryly.
Quinn put up a hand in surrender and maneuvered himself beside Sarah to hide his raging boner. “Sorry, we just—”
“Get a room! Better yet, get a room and quarantine yourselves.” The guy shot them a thoroughly disgusted look.
“Shit, I hope neither of us gets him for a tester,” Sarah giggled as they scurried toward the elevators.
“He’s just jealous.” Quinn leaned down to her ear. “You heard the man. He said we need to get a room.”
“I believe we have a choice between two.”
Quinn punched the elevator up button with his elbow. “You didn’t check out of Lily’s and your room?”
“No, I kept it. I didn’t want to assume you’d want me in yours.”
“Babe, assume I’ll always want you in mine. And speaking of mine, wanna come upstairs and have a look?” He flashed her both dimples.
On cue, the elevator doors opened, and they stepped into the empty car. He pressed the button for his floor.
She stood on tiptoe and purred against his ear, her warm breath shooting tingles through him. “Does it have mirrors?” His boner had eased into a semi, but her closeness and throaty voice turned it rock hard again.
“There’s one in the bathroom. Bet we can figure something out, being the creative team we are.”
Breathless, she pulled back and ran her fingers through his hair as she stared deep into his eyes. “Is this just sex?”
“Hell no. This is ‘I love you’ all the way. You good with that?”
“I’m more than good with that.”
Inside his room, he hung out the do-not-disturb sign and locked the door. Enfolding her in his arms, he relished her silky hair against his cheek, her pliant body beneath his hands. She pecked his lips, and he caught her mouth with his. Tightening his hold, he drew her closer. Her mouth parted when the tip of his tongue touched her lips, and soon they were tasting, rediscovering, then consuming each other with unbridled hunger. Unable to hold back another second, he picked her up and carried her to the bed, deposited her on its pillow top and followed her down, settling into her welcoming arms, where he wanted to stay forever.
Chapter 40
The Winning Score
Months later, on a cool fall day in a sunny Denver park, the season-ending team picnic was wrapping up. The boys were clustered together, some still lamenting their Stanley Cup loss in a seven-game run against Tampa. But Quinn had gotten over it—it helped to have distractions, like a smoking-hot, sassy girlfriend you were nuts about who’d agreed to move in with you—and house-hunting for that just-right place with her.
Wyatt, apparently, had no such distractions. “I still say that if that motherfucker hadn’t run Hadley and boarded him, Hads would’ve been on the ice and gotten us the winning score instead of sitting in the training room waiting for repairs,” he groused.
Sarah was cleaning up picnic tables with Lily and some of the other WAGs, and Quinn caught her eye and crooked his finger. She ambled over
