He peered at the darkened gym windows. In a murky corner, he thought something moved. He inched toward it, stick gripped. When he found nothing, he methodically walked the length of the floor-to-ceiling glass and came up empty.
Faint, indistinct noises pulled his attention to the depths beyond the pool. He crept around the perimeter, his neck hairs standing on end. Why didn’t I grab a flashlight? Because everything’s supposed to be lit up right now!
The farther he went along the pool’s edge, the more the cold, gloomy night closed in around him. His heart was a jackhammer in his chest. The sensation was familiar, though one he experienced on the ice. Not like this.
A rustle on his left startled him. Something, someone, is there.
He pushed a cleansing breath through his lungs, counted to three, and deliberately put one foot in front of the other. He raised his stick and plunged into darkness.
Chapter 25
Samson and Sarah
Sarah ran for Liz’s room. A little unnerved by the crash moments before, being with Liz was probably as much for her own comfort as for Liz’s.
While the sound of breaking panes had startled her, the look on Quinn’s face had really spooked her. His usual smirk, the cocky-casual look, had morphed into downright alarm. The flutterbugs that had set flight during their no-holds-barred lip-locking had been zapped by his sobered demeanor.
As she and Archer navigated the hall, however, her mind detoured to how Quinn had practically dived into her mouth. Omigod! Soooo hot!
Her hormones kicked up, and the tummy tickles blossomed once more despite the mystery back in the family room. She couldn’t stop her panties dampening at the recollection of his mouth and hands on her, adding to the moisture already there. If he kissed everyone that way … Jesus, no wonder women wanted him!
The thought turned her quivering insides leaden, like someone had lassoed her dragonfly wings, and his words floated through her lust-riddled brain. Don’t take this the wrong way, Sunshine … Fuck! He had been about to tell her he wasn’t interested, hadn’t he? And that was with her proposing no-strings sex, something a guy like him should have jumped at. She’d offered up her hussy self on a platter, but he’d kissed her and said, “Thanks for the sample, but no thanks.” Maybe he’d decided older and brunette were an interesting walk on the wild side, but he’d stick with blond and busty. Except it hadn’t felt that way. No, it had felt like he was ravenous and couldn’t get enough fast enough.
Telling herself to knock it off, she lightly rapped on Liz’s door and pushed it open. The soft light from a bedside lamp revealed Liz reclining on pillows, her arm flung to one side and an e-reader just beyond her grasp. Her eyes were closed, but she stirred as soon as Archer found his way to her side.
“Oh! How did you get in?” Pulling herself up, she rubbed Archer’s head. Confusion crossed her face when she saw Sarah. “Sarah? Is everything all right?”
Sarah clasped her hands behind her back and took a short breath to even her voice, choosing her words carefully. “Everything’s fine. Quinn heard a noise outside and went to check it out, so I thought I’d look in on you before heading to bed. Do you have everything you need? Anything I can get you?”
“No, doll.” She patted the bed beside her. “But tell me about your date. Did you have fun?”
Date? Right. Seems like weeks ago. She perched on the edge of the mattress and filled Liz in, which took all of two minutes.
“Quinn was beside himself after you left,” Liz laughed.
Sarah frowned. “He was?”
“Oh yes. Fidgeted and cussed and paced like he had a bur stuck up his butt. It was kinda cute. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him do that before. But then again, he hasn’t had to since he went from college to the big league. If you have people taking care of your every need, padding your life so all you have to do is show up—oh, and sycophants telling you how great you are all the livelong day—well, lack of maturity and basic checks and balances will do funny things to someone’s brain.”
A giggle bubbled inside Sarah. “I’m having a hard time picturing it.” The image of Quinn pacing with “a bur up his butt” and the fact that he’d cared enough to be agitated in the first place made her a little giddy. God, she wasacting like a starry-eyed teenager.
Her mind zigzagged to him heading toward the noise, his tightly gripped hockey stick to hand. Surely he wasn’t in any danger, was he? He’d come give them the all-clear any minute, wouldn’t he?
Minutes ticked by, and though Liz was talking, Sarah struggled to focus on what she said. Where was Quinn? She glanced at her phone. A half hour had already passed with no word from him.
She rose and headed for the door. “Think I’ll go see what’s keeping Quinn. Is it okay if I leave Arch here with you for now?”
“Sure, doll.”
As Sarah reached for the lever, the door whooshed open. She jumped when Quinn loomed in the doorway. “Hey,” he said softly.
She scanned his eyes but couldn’t read anything there. His expression was blanker than his poker face. Noticeably missing was the hockey stick, though his hand twitched. “Hey. Everything check out okay?” she ventured.
“Yep.”
Something in his bearing set off a few alarm bells in her head. He pushed his way inside, apparently eager to get to his mom, and Sarah stood back. Intruder syndrome had her softly calling Archer and leaving mother and son behind.
In her own room, she flung herself on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Shit! What had he discovered? What could he have discovered? This was a gated, safe community for Denver’s elite, wasn’t it? The same unpleasant thought—that he’d regretted the kiss—stabbed its way into her musings, delivering a nasty sting. If he
