Midnight Lies: The Wildefire Series (26 page)

Lifting his head, he stared down at them. “I missed these.”

She laughed unexpectedly. Quinn had always been able to bring almost as many smiles
to the bedroom as he had orgasms.

“They missed you, too.”

“Then I guess I’d better make it up to them.”

Her nipples, already aching for his touch, tightened even more in anticipation. Hot
breath coated her skin and then his tongue bathed her entire breast. At the same time,
one of his hands traveled down to her stomach and then she felt him between her legs.
Opening for him, she gasped as a long, hard finger pressed deep just as his mouth
clamped onto her nipple, sucking hard and deep. In seconds she was back on the precipice
of a mind-blowing climax.

He released her nipple with a loud pop and pulled his finger from her. As much as
she wanted him inside her, she couldn’t stop a disappointed groan. Chuckling softly
at her reaction, he moved over to her other breast and gave it the identical treatment.
And as before, his mouth clamped hard onto her nipple and, at the same
time, he plunged deep. Only this time, it wasn’t his finger. At the first hard thrust,
Samantha screamed, shaking the rafters of the old house. Wrapping her legs tight around
his hips, she buried her face in Quinn’s neck to muffle her cries of intense pleasure
as an orgasm once again crashed over her.

His mouth clenched to control his need to let go, Quinn pushed Sam away and pressed
her shoulders gently onto the pillow. “I want to hear your pleasure. Don’t hide it
from me.”

Green eyes, darkened with pleasure, gleaming with love, gazed up at Quinn. A part
of him wanted to deny what he saw; another part reveled in the fact that this amazing,
beautiful woman could feel this way about him. How the hell had he gotten so lucky?

Coherent thought vanished as she writhed beneath him, allowing him to go even deeper.
Hooking her long, silky legs at her knees, Quinn lifted them, spreading her wider,
and then buried himself as deep as he could go. Her inner muscles gripped him like
a vise as he set up a pistoning rhythm of thrust and retreat. His own impending climax
zipped up his spine. Locking his eyes with hers, he growled, “One more time, Sam.”

With a keening cry, her entire body arched and she gave him what he asked for, just
as Quinn’s release flooded inside her. They held each other tight as both their bodies
went stiff and then collapsed into each other, shuddering in recovery.

Pressing tender kisses against her elegant neck and silky shoulder, Quinn realized
that for the first time in months, he knew true and total peace.

Not wanting to smother her with his big, sweaty body, he rolled and collapsed beside
her. Both of them were panting like thoroughbreds after a race. He propped himself
up on his elbow to look down at her and felt his heart flip over. Her face. Had he
ever seen Sam more
serene or peaceful? She glowed like she had a brilliant light inside her.

“I think we can say that this house has been well and truly christened,” he said.

She rolled over on her side, facing him. Her smile was both sweet and sexually confident.
So different from the timid, almost frightened Sam when they’d first had sex. He loved
seeing that confidence.

“I wonder if we’ve shocked it.”

He shook his head. “The house is over a hundred years old. I’ll bet she’s seen her
share of risqué bed antics.”

She smiled dreamily. “I hope so. I love the history here. Babies have been born in
this bedroom; thousands of meals have been cooked in that giant old kitchen. Families
loving each other, husbands and wives growing old together. Just the way it’s supposed
to be.”

“I guess having a crusty old bachelor living here will be quite a change for her.”

Samantha dropped her head back onto her pillow. Quinn’s words reignited a worry she
hadn’t let herself face. She had wanted to be with him, share herself with him. She
loved him and that was only natural. But now those demons of doubt had returned. She
had to know where she stood.

Feeling more exposed and vulnerable than she’d ever felt in her life, she whispered
words she didn’t want to say: “Where is this going, Quinn?”

“What do you mean?”

It took more courage than she thought possible to roll back over on her side and face
him. “I mean, you’re here in Midnight. You bought a house that you knew I loved … called
it our new home.” She swallowed around the lump of fear clogging her throat. “Have
you changed your mind about a permanent relationship?”

He blew out a long sigh and shoved his fingers through his hair. Despair increased
the throat lump to softball
size. He didn’t need to say the words. She had no trouble reading his thoughts.

“I don’t understand, Sam. You were okay with that arrangement before.”

She sat up. Lying beside him, having his warm body next to hers, tempting her, wasn’t
conducive to this kind of discussion. She swung her legs over to the side of the bed,
with her back facing him. “And I’ve had a lot of time to think about things.” She
turned and looked at him over her shoulder. “I don’t want an
arrangement
. I want permanency.”

“You mean marriage?”

“Marriage, children, commitment to spend a life together.” She shrugged. “Everything.”

“Sam, I care about you … more than anyone I’ve ever known.” He shook his head. “But
after my divorce, I swore never again. If it helps, I want more than what we had before,
too. A long-term relationship—that’s more of a commitment than I ever thought I could
agree to again. But marriage? That’s out of the question.”

She had known what his answer would be … had always known. She just hadn’t wanted
to face it.

Pulling in every bit of her reserves, she stood and faced him. “Then I can’t do this.”

Regret and something else darkened his eyes. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Already feeling too exposed, she picked up the first thing she saw—Quinn’s shirt—and
slipped it on. She looked around the beautiful old bedroom and wondered if anyone
else’s heart had been broken within these four walls.

“You really shouldn’t have bought this house, Quinn. She deserves a family to live
in her and love her.”

“That’s why I—”

“No. Stop.” She backed away from him … away
from temptation. “I’m not going to live in it for you. It’s your home, not mine.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means this is goodbye.”

Surprising her, he jumped from the bed and grabbed her shoulders. “Before this all
happened, we were good together. We were happy. Don’t deny that.”

“I can’t … I wouldn’t. But having you put limitations on us before we even get started
again won’t work. Not like before.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t. From the first time you kissed me, I knew a temporary relationship
wouldn’t work. What you said … about nothing permanent … I kept hoping you’d change
your mind.”

“Why the hell do we have to put labels on things? We’re good together. We could be
good together for years.”

“Dammit, I don’t want term limits. I want a future. With you. A commitment that you’re
not going to walk away when things get tough. I want the knowledge that we can fight
and disagree with the assurance that we’re still one.” She swallowed again and whispered,
“I want it all, Quinn.”

“I can’t give you those promises.”

“Then I guess this is it.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“Yes it does.” She gazed around again at the beautiful old room that had known intimacy,
happiness, heartache, and love. The things that made up a family. “This house deserves
to be home to a family who love each other and are committed to a life together.”

She went to the window and lovingly caressed the wood that was in desperate need of
a coat of paint. “It’s going to take some work and elbow grease, but when it’s finished,
she’ll be as beautiful as she once was.”

Turning back to him, she stretched her trembling
mouth into what she hoped looked like a smile. “The people Zach recommended will do
a good job for you. I doubt that you’ll need anyone to oversee it.”

Grim acceptance stamped on his face, he nodded. “You’re welcome to come here anytime.
I’ll give you a key.”

She ignored the offer. She doubted she would ever come back here again. Why return
to the place where your heart was torn from your chest? Unless … “Will you sell it
once the repairs are done?”

Quinn could only shake his head. Hell, he was making it up as he went along these
days. Not having a plan for his future had him stumped. With his career going up in
flames and Sam giving him an ultimatum he couldn’t accept, he felt like the captain
of a ship with no rudder or sails.

He answered honestly. “I don’t know.”

The smile she gave him was bright but didn’t disguise the pain in her eyes. “Keep
me in mind if you decide to sell.”

The tightness in his chest almost constricted his breathing. Hadn’t he always known
she would want more? Of course he had. He just hadn’t wanted to accept it. Sam was
a small-town girl with old-fashioned values. He had expected her to give him this
ultimatum at some point. He had just hoped it would be far into the future, when the
thought of living without her wouldn’t be so bleak. He refused to believe that day
never would have come. Everything ended eventually, even the things you didn’t want
to end. That was just the way life worked.

Quinn gazed down at her beautiful face and felt the words tremble on his lips. How
he wished he could give her what she wanted, what she deserved. He didn’t want to
lose her but neither could he promise something that could never be.

If he were a different kind of man, he would tell her what she wanted to hear. But
those would be promises he couldn’t keep. He’d hurt her already; he refused to be
a total bastard.

One of the hardest things he’d ever had to do was turn his back on her and say, “I’ll
take you home.”

“Then we got dressed and he brought me home.”

Savvy’s eyes were compassionate and sad as Samantha gave an entire account of her
breakup with Quinn. When she finished, she held her breath, hoping her sister would
come up with a solution. It was a silly hope. There was no solution other than giving
up her dreams.

“I can’t believe he would buy a house here if he didn’t plan something permanent.”

“I made the mistake of thinking that, too. Especially when he said he bought the house
for us.”

“So you think he meant for you guys to move in together?”

“Yeah, I do. He never said the words, but having him refer to it as our house …” She
swallowed, unable to continue.

Samantha wasn’t a prude or a hypocrite. She and Quinn had slept together and she wasn’t
ashamed of giving herself to the man she loved. However, living together in her hometown?
She would be fodder for every self-righteous, gossiping resident. And old-fashioned
or not, she didn’t like the thought of living with a man who had no intention of marrying
her. That just wasn’t her.

“Did he say when he would be back?”

“No. I’m assuming he will come back at some point to check out the repairs.”

“Maybe when he comes back, he’ll have realized what a dodo-head he was.”

“I don’t think so, Savvy. He was too adamant.” And
because being with Quinn was what she wanted most in the world, she doubted herself
again and asked, “Do you think I was wrong?”

“No, I don’t. When we were little girls, before Mama and Daddy died, you always played
the bride.”

Even heartbroken, she could smile at that memory. “You played the schoolteacher, I
was the bride, and Bri was …”

Both grinning, they finished her sentence in unison: “Indiana Jones.”

Savvy giggled. “That was a really hard class to teach. You always showed up in that
old white nightgown Mama gave you. And every few minutes, you’d pop up from your desk
and throw your plastic flower bouquet.”

Samantha nodded, loving these memories of happiness before their world fell apart.
“And remember, Bri had that nasty-looking hat she found at Goodwill when we were dropping
off some donations?”

“Yeah. And she used our jump rope as her whip.”

“Little did I know that getting to be that bride wasn’t going to be as easy as it
looked.”

“I’m so sorry, Sammie. I really believed Quinn came back for you to make a commitment.”

“I think he did. At least all the commitment Quinn can give.” She shrugged. “Sometimes
things just don’t work out the way we hoped.” The words were bland and trite but they
were the best she could manage right now. That damn lump had apparently decided to
make a permanent residence in her throat.

Wanting to get on to something else, pleasant or not, she said, “We had a little altercation
with Clark Dayton at the diner.”

In the middle of shifting on her pillow for a more comfortable spot, Savvy stopped
to give her a grimace. “What did the asshole do?”

“Oh, you know, the usual insults and snide looks. Quinn, however, had more than a
little run-in with him.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. I was in the car, so I didn’t get to hear anything. Clark came out
of the diner and said something that Quinn took exception to. Before I knew it, he’d
shoved Clark against the window and had a few choice words for him.”

“Oh, how I would have loved to have seen that.”

Even though she’d never felt less like smiling in her life, she forced her mouth into
a grin. “Everyone in the diner got a good view of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if
Midnight Tales
doesn’t run a story. Thirty seconds of excitement in Midnight.”

“Someday Clark’s going to say the wrong thing to the right person at the wrong time.”

“We can only hope. By the way, he did say that Lindsay was back in town. Didn’t Zach
help her get a job in South Carolina?”

“He did but it apparently didn’t work out. I hate to hear she’s back. Living with
those Dayton men has got to be hellacious. I just hope now that Zach is married, she’ll
leave him alone.”