She moved the dog away. “Hey, now. Stop that.”
Quinn raised his head at the sound of her voice, scanned her T-shirt, and blinked. One corner of his mouth quirked, and he blinked rapidly so many times she lost count. A flush ignited on her chest and spread northward. Why hadn’t she thrown something on over the tank?
Liz turned slowly and smiled. “Well, there you are. I swear Archer was nearly frantic when I got up. I think he thought you were hiding in Quinn’s room because he insisted on going that way.” Liz seemed to realize what she’d implied—no doubt alerted by the deep pink staining Sarah’s exposed skin by now—and quickly pressed her lips together as though stifling a laugh.
Sarah ruffled Archer’s neck. “Crossed signals, I guess. I wasn’t hiding.” Not a lie, not a confession, but not much of an answer either. Hopefully, Liz didn’t notice. Meanwhile, Quinn’s eyebrows bounced with amusement.
Several awkward moments later, Sarah had settled down with a cup of coffee and was asking Liz when she wanted to hit the gym.
“Not today, doll. I think I’ll head back to my room for a while.”
Okaaaaay. Sarah’s nerves danced along a knife’s edge. Was Liz feeling all right? Did she know what had happened in Quinn’s bedroom? And did she disapprove? Maybe she’d been stifling a scolding instead of laughter.
“Are you feeling all right this morning, Liz?” Sarah ventured.
“Yes, of course.” Liz’s voice was high, tight, strained. “I just need some quiet time away from … Well, just some quiet time.”
After she’d left the kitchen, Sarah gaped at Quinn. “What’s going on with your mom?”
“No idea. She’s been acting sketchy since I got up.”
A renewed flush heated Sarah’s face. “Do you think she knows about last night?”
“I don’t see how she could.” He shrugged. “Although I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
Sarah suddenly felt small and cheap.
Quinn rose and rounded the counter, surrounding her in his strong arms as he came up behind her. He laid his cheek on her head. “I can guess what you’re thinking, and you’re reading it all wrong.”
She leaned against him, feeling snug and safe in his hold. “So Sparky’s a mind reader now?”
“You’re not as good at hiding stuff as you think you are.”
“And you’re an expert at reading women?”
He kissed the top of her head and gave her a little squeeze. “No, though I’d like to become an expert at reading you. How am I doing so far?”
A few simple words had her sighing and returning to an even plane. How did he do that? “Not too bad, but you’ve got a way to go.” Even I can’t read me sometimes.
He chuckled, his warm breath ruffling her hair. “Can’t wait for you to start teaching me.”
And there it was, that zing that hit her core and dissolved into a puddle of heat. Lord, how was she going to keep her hands off this man—and keep his mother from catching on?
All of Quinn wanted to haul Sarah back to his bedroom, and he busily tried on one excuse after another to get her there. You left something behind. We tore up the sheets, and I was hoping you’d help me make my bed. Have I shown you my shower? Nothing passed muster as plausible, so he went with honest, leaning down to nip her ear and whisper, “I didn’t get near enough of you last night. What do you say we duck back into my room?”
She craned her head and gave him an eye-roll so huge he thought her eyeballs might disappear in their sockets.
“Trying to read your signals, Sunshine. Is that a ‘Take me now, you hot stud,’ or an ‘I want you so bad, but later’? I couldn’t tell.”
Her shoulders started shuddering with laughter. “I gotta hand it to you, Sparky. You do see the beer bottle half-full.”
Before he could ask her what she meant, her phone buzzed. “It’s Gage.”
He stepped back so she could answer.
“Hey, Bro. What’s going on?” Her eyes slid to Quinn’s, a question mark flitting through them. His body tensed, primed to run interference for her.
A quick head bob, and she said, “No, it’s gotten better. Either he’s not being such a pain in my ass or I’m getting used to him. He’s standing right here, by the way.”
Quinn’s muscles uncoiled a fraction, and to Sarah he mouthed, “Haha. Don’t tell your brother.”
She mouthed, “Don’t tell your mother,” right back at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Another head bob. “Sure. I can do that. How soon?” A pause. “You got it. How are Lily and Daisy?”
Quinn idly picked up coffee mugs while Sarah chatted with her brother. When she finally hung up, he turned and asked what Nelson wanted her to do.
“Their house has been empty the last six weeks, and he wants me to go check on it.” She shrugged.
Protectiveness surged inside him. Where it came from and why, he didn’t know. It was just there. “Let me know when you’re going, and I’ll go with you.”
She shook her head vigorously, and her hair shifted in glossy layers. A vision of her tossing her head side to side, moaning incoherently as she’d orgasmed underneath him last night rocketed straight to his crotch. His dick hadn’t exactly been asleep, but now it woke right the hell up, raring to go.
“No, you won’t,” she argued. “Someone needs to be here for your mom.”
Mom. Right. He sidled up to Sarah’s back once again and bent his head to kiss her shoulder, pulling her tank strap out of the way so he could kiss her there too, and moved slowly up her neck.
“Quinn, stop!” she hissed, but the giggle in her voice contradicted her words.
He didn’t stop. Instead, he kept kissing, adding soft sucks and nips as he went, and snaked his hands around to knead her
