Midnight Lies: The Wildefire Series (34 page)

“Sam?” he whispered.

Samantha looked at the beautiful man above, his deep blue eyes glittering with need
and hot desire. No one
would ever accuse her of being sexually assertive. With Quinn she had timidly explored
that side of her sexual nature, but so many times he had overwhelmed her with his
needs and his ability to pleasure her, so that she’d never really gone beyond her
comfort zone. She had once joked to herself that if anyone looked up “sexually assertive”
in a thesaurus, her picture would be beside the antonym.

Her lack of confidence in the bedroom had plagued her for years. Quinn had given her
the confidence to go further, and tonight she wanted to go as far as she could. A
million miles past her comfort zone. Whatever he wanted, she wanted to give to him.
His pleasure was all she sought.

Her fingers clumsily unzipped his pants. Not a good beginning if she wanted to behave
like the vixen she wanted to be with him. Her heart plunged to her stomach when his
hands stopped her.

She lifted her eyes to his. “What’s wrong?”

He held her gaze for several long seconds. Samantha couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move.
If he rejected her advances …

Finally, giving her that rare beautiful smile, he shook his head and said, “Not a
damn thing.”

She started breathing again when he removed his hands but then gasped when he took
her face in them, bent forward, and kissed her softly on her lips. Before she could
respond, he released her and leaned back against the couch once more.

Shivers of arousal blended with heat to create a throbbing need unlike anything she
had ever felt. Samantha didn’t know what turned her on more, Quinn looking at her
with such burning need, his large, beautiful hands lying on the couch clenching and
unclenching as if he were having trouble keeping them off her, or the massive erection
now poking through the opened zipper. Whatever
it was, she loved every single nuance of this moment of self-discovery.

Needing to see him, touch and taste him, she quickly unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned
the single button at his waistband, and then opened his pants. The dark navy briefs
barely contained him. She had seen Quinn’s penis many times, both aroused and not.
But now, with new eyes, she wanted to explore every long, hard inch of him. She moved
the material of his underwear slightly and his erection sprang out, as if eager for
attention.

Her first tongue swipe at the head caused an interesting reaction in Quinn’s body.
Breath caught in his throat and his entire body went stiff. Smiling her delight, she
licked again, loving the salty, masculine taste of him. After several licks and swirls,
she sat back a little and considered him. She didn’t care what books and magazines
said about the male appendage. He was beautiful.

“Sam … please …”

Quinn’s groan made her realize that while she had been delightfully admiring him,
he had been in torture, waiting for her to continue. Since his torture was definitely
something she didn’t want, she bent forward and, without any hesitation, took him
inside her mouth. When he touched the back of her throat, she jerked back quickly,
afraid she would gag. Then she tried it again, finding it easier each time. Setting
up a steady rhythm, she soon lost herself in his taste, the texture of hot, smooth
steel on her tongue and the responding hisses and groans above her.

So into her own delicious findings, she was startled out of her sensual world when
Quinn gripped her shoulders and pushed her away.

“What’s wrong?”

Instead of answering, he lifted her from the floor. The hard, glittering look on his
face might have terrified her
at one time, but she knew that expression. He was teetering on the edge of control.
She wasn’t surprised when he raised her dress, stripped her panties down, and growled,
“Step out of them.” When she complied, he picked her up and placed her in his lap,
facing him, with her straddling his hips. She felt his fingers testing her readiness.
Apparently satisfied with the moisture he found there, he pushed her down hard and
thrust deep.

Swallowing a gasp at the fullness, Samantha grabbed his shoulders and closed her eyes.
Quinn’s hands were on her hips, pulling her up and then pushing her down. Pants and
groans filled the room, and as if coordinated, their bodies stiffened as one. Samantha
felt Quinn’s release at the exact moment she fell over the edge into dark oblivion.
Holding on tight, she allowed herself to soar, knowing that when she landed, Quinn
would be there to catch her, just as she would be there for him.

“Is this how you remember it?”

Samantha snuggled into the blanket covering them as she leaned back against his chest
and looked out over the lake. The frogs and crickets were quiet, most likely enjoying
a long winter’s nap. Millions of stars reflected on the water. With a gentle wind
blowing, it looked as though fireflies were dancing across the lake.

“It’s more peaceful than I remember, and still beautiful.” She shook her head in wonder.
“I still can’t believe you remembered what I said about this place.”

The hard arms that were wrapped around her tightened as he nuzzled his face into her
neck. “There’s not a moment that we spent together that I don’t remember.”

The quiet sincerity in his words brought an unexpected lump to her throat. “I feel
the same way,” she said softly.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“I no longer have a job.”

She twisted around to look up at him. “What are you talking about?”

“With Charlene’s murderer never being caught, the suspicion and doubt that I could
have done it is still there. The board thought it best that I step down.”

“Oh, Quinn, that’s so unfair. You shouldn’t give in to those idiots.”

“I could’ve fought it. Probably would have won, too. Bob, my attorney, certainly thought
so. But I didn’t want to be in a place where that kind of doubt exists. I went into
medicine to save lives, not to scare people.” He shrugged. “I thought I’d take a couple
of months and work on the house. Then, when I’m ready, I’ll either go back to a hospital
or I might consider private practice.”

“I’m so sorry this has happened.”

He pulled her back into his arms. “On the upside, we can spend some time together.
Maybe even Christmas, if you like.”

“I like.” Even though she tried to sound cheerful, she knew the huskiness of her voice
revealed her true feelings. She wanted to cry and stomp her feet at the injustice
of it. She also wanted to go to Atlanta and tell the bastards who didn’t want Quinn
in their hospital that they were imbeciles.

“I ever tell you the reason I went into medicine?”

Unwilling to break this fragile new beginning by reminding him that he had shared
very little with her, Samantha just shook her head.

“I saved the life of the woman my brother tried to kill. She wasn’t breathing and
I gave her CPR. I was glad to be able to save her, but I never gave what I did much
thought after that. I guess all the other shit covered up the fact that I’d done something
worthwhile. My plan was to be in banking, like all the Braddocks before me. I went
to college with that goal in mind, never even considering anything else.”

“But you joined the army, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, after college.”

“Was that part of the plan, too?”

Quinn snorted. “As far from it as possible. But my parents did something so unbelievable
and outrageous … I don’t know. I think I went a little crazy. The last thing I wanted
to do was be like them.”

“What happened? What did they do?”

“The last semester of my senior year, my mother called to tell me that Dalton had
committed suicide. It crushed me. I felt almost as bad as I did when I first realized
he was sick. I’d tried repeatedly to see him but he refused all of my visits. I hadn’t
seen him in years but kept hoping one day he’d change his mind and agree to see me.”

“How awful that must have been for you. But what did your parents do to make you so
angry?”

“I didn’t know about the suicide until after they’d already held his memorial service.
I never got the chance to say goodbye. And actually, I think the only reason she even
called me then was because she thought I might read about it in the newspaper.”

The callousness of his parents disgusted her. How could they treat their own son that
way? “Why wouldn’t they want you at the service?”

“My parents blamed me for what happened.”

“Blamed you for what?”

“Dalton’s crime.” He shrugged. “They’ve never accepted responsibility for anything
in their lives. They had to blame someone.”

“How could they blame you for your brother almost killing someone? You’re the one
who prevented him from committing murder.”

“According to my parents, I should have called them, not the police. They would have
figured out a way to cover it up. Because of me, Dalton’s life was ruined and their
reputation was in jeopardy.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Yes, but that’s my parents for you. Anyway, with Dalton’s death, then the cold-blooded
way they buried him and went on with their lives … I don’t know, I just couldn’t imagine
having anything to do with them again. So instead of doing what they expected of me
and following in the family business, I signed up for the army.”

“Were they furious?”

“I have no idea. I sent them a letter from boot camp and told them. I didn’t hear
from them while I was in the service. When I got out, I went by to visit. Stayed only
a few minutes.” He shrugged. “Haven’t seen them since.”

“They missed out on knowing what a phenomenal man their son is.”

His arms tightened around her and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, thanking
her.

“So did the army pay for your medical school?”

“No, the Braddock money paid for it. I received a trust fund when I was twenty-one.
My career choice might not have been what my parents wanted, but they couldn’t prevent
the money from coming to me. My grandfather had set up the trust when I was baby.
It was mine to do with what I wanted. And medical school seemed a whole lot more worthwhile
than banking.”

“What made you decide on emergency medicine?”

“My commanding officer, one of the toughest and smartest SOBs I’ve ever known, put
the idea of emergency medicine in my head. I already knew I wanted to be a doctor,
but he said the way I kept my head in the heat of battle wasn’t something to take
for granted. That struck a chord with me. I was already a combat medic.… Specializing
in emergency medicine just made sense. So that’s what I chose.”

“Any hospital should call itself lucky to have you on staff.”

Once again his arms tightened briefly around her. “You’re good for my ego.”

“Just stating the facts.”

They were silent for several seconds and then he said, “There’s something else I should
have told you. I guess I never thought it would come up, but I wanted to make sure
you understood where I stand.”

She tensed. Even as much as she wanted Quinn to share with her, it seemed when he
did, it was always disturbing news. She hoped someday they got to share the silly
and mundane like other couples. “What is it?”

“I know you don’t understand my dislike of marriage, but something I don’t think you’ve
given thought to is the very real possibility that if I fathered children, they might
inherit the same kind of sickness that my brother had or maybe even my parents’ alcoholism.
The thought of that happening is enough to swear me off the idea of children forever.”

There was an instant sadness but she refused to dwell on it. Yes, she had wanted Quinn’s
children, but she had already accepted that he couldn’t give more than he already
had. There was no use arguing that the chances of a child inheriting those sicknesses
were rare. Quinn would have given this a lot of thought before coming to that decision.
Her assurance would not change his mind.

“Thank you for telling me. This will be good enough, Quinn. We’re good together.”

“Yes, we are.” His teeth gently scraped the lobe of her ear. “Ready to go back inside
and be good again?”

“Absolutely.” She stood and Quinn wrapped the blanket tighter around her. Just as
she turned to go inside, car lights illuminated the house. It had to be close to one
in the morning or later. Who would be coming by this late? Had something happened
to Savvy or Bri?

“Why don’t you go get some clothes on. I’ll see who it is.”

The solemnity of his voice told her he was concerned as well. She rushed back inside
and hurriedly ran to the bedroom where she’d left her clothes. She had just started
to unbutton Quinn’s shirt that she’d been wearing when she heard a man shouting curses.
Not bothering to dress, she grabbed her Glock from her purse and
dashed out the door. The instant she was on the porch, she knew something terrible
had happened. Clark Dayton stood on the first step, holding a shotgun pointed straight
at Quinn.

Samantha stood beside Quinn. “What the hell are you doing, Clark?”

“I’m here to kill the son of a bitch who killed my baby sister.”

Her heart dropped. “Lindsay’s dead?”

“Found her in bed, stabbed.” He jerked the shotgun toward Quinn. “This bastard’s responsible.”

Sick with dread, she glanced briefly over at Quinn. Instead of focusing on Clark and
the shotgun pointed at his head, his eyes were on her. He was waiting for her to doubt
him. She didn’t.

Trying to convey her faith in him with just a look and a small nod was tough, but
she did her best. Any more than that would have riled Clark even more. The last thing
she wanted to do was piss off a man who would shoot Quinn without blinking an eye.

Samantha turned her gaze back to Clark. “What makes you think Quinn had anything to
do with this?”

“ ’Cause I heard the talk. He killed his ex-wife in Atlanta. Now he’s come here and
done the same thing to Lindsay.”