Out of the Blackness (36 page)
I frame his face with my hands and smile at him, stroking his lip with my thumb. He presses a quick kiss to it and my heart swells. “I know I haven’t been easy to love, and I can’t promise that everything is going to be perfect overnight, but I swear I’m going to try.” I kiss him long and deep like he has taught me over the last months.
He breaks away, breathless and stares at me for a second, then laughs. “It’s about time you figured it out.”
“Hey!” I smack his shoulder.
He laughs again. “I love you, too, little one. So much.”
I nuzzle into his neck. “Do you think I could stay here tonight?”
I feel his sharp intake of breath. “Cuddles and kisses and conversation?” he asks.
“The full alliteration,” I answer with a contented grin.
He stokes my back and I feel the slight tension fade from his body as I relax fully into him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
In addition to his newest release, "Out of the Blackness," Carter Quinn is the author of the novel "The Way Back," and the short stories "I'm Every Goalie" and "In the Crease." Carter was born and raised in a very small Western Kansas town where cattle vastly outnumber humans. Because he’s contrary by nature, upon graduating high school, he went East, young man, hoping to find more people like him (shh: the gays!). After stints living in places as different as Omaha, Nebraska, and Ft Lauderdale, Florida, he settled in Lawrence, Kansas, and attended the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk!). Although he still bleeds (Crimson and) Blue, Carter now resides in Denver, much closer to his beloved Colorado Avalanche. He is the paw-picked human companion of the sweetest dog in the world, a Beagle-surprise mix named Yashe.
To experience Orange Fluff for yourself, please visit
carterquinnbooks.com