Quinn (The Beck Brothers 3)

“I know, that’s why I came to you,” Quinn said.

“So what’s the problem?” Christian asked, looking slightly concerned.

“Shit, I don’t even know where to start,” he huffed. He scrubbed his face with his hand as he tried to gather his thoughts. “You know the woman, Margot, which I work with?”

“The one you just went to London with? Yeah, what about her?”

“I’m starting to really like her.” Quinn sighed heavily.

Christian barked out a laugh, slapping a hand over his mouth when Quinn glared at him.

“Sorry. It’s just that you practically hated her a couple of months ago,” he smirked.

“Yeah, I know. I don’t know what happened. We ended up sleeping together while we were in London and now I’ve been taking her to and from work because she sprained her ankle while we were away and she can’t drive.”

“So you’ve been spending some time with her outside of work then?” Christian asked thoughtfully.

“Yeah, and I guess I’m just seeing a different side to her. Don’t get me wrong, the shit she does at work still irks me, but I don’t seem to be getting as pissed off about it like I did before.”

“Have you been with her since London? In a sexual way, I mean,” Christian asked and settled back against the couch, arms crossed over his chest.

“No and that’s where my problem comes in. While we were in London, we were messing around a second time; she touched me in a way I couldn’t handle, and I just freaked. I just can’t seem to get past this whole ‘no touching’ thing. It’s like my body wants her to touch me, but my brain is against it and makes me just react,” Quinn grunted, shaking his head.

“You’ve been this way for as long as I can remember. Did something happen that I don’t know about?” Christian asked.

Quinn shrugged. “Not that I can think of.” He lied.

“Huh.” Quinn muttered, stumped by the situation. “Maybe you can try to slowly introduce her touching you. Like let her touch your chest one time, then move on to your stomach the next time, then legs, and so on. What about your junk? Do you let women touch you there?”

“That’s iffy. I handle blow jobs better than getting jerked off.”

Christian nodded and turned his gaze to the coffee table while he thought about everything. “Do you think you should talk to a therapist? I’m sure Jared would see you,” he said after a moment of silence.

Quinn thought about going to Jared before, especially since he got home from London. He wanted so badly to change the way he was. He wanted to be normal. He wanted Margot’s hands all over him. Quinn could not stand to be like this for the rest of his life. He wanted a normal fucking relationship for once. He wanted to be good enough for Margot.

“Maybe. I’ll get his number off of Sebastian tomorrow.”

“I think it’s for the best,” Christian said sincerely and glanced at Quinn.

Quinn nodded. “So how you doing?” he asked, wanting to change the subject.

Christian shrugged and looked back at the coffee table in front of them. “Nothing new,” he said tightly.

Christian’s knee started bouncing. That was something he always did when he had something on his mind. Quinn studied his little brother for a moment - he looked weary and run down, his shoulders were slumped, and he looked a bit paler than normal. Something big was bothering him. Quinn reached over and put his hand on Christian shoulder.

“Chris, what’s going on? I’m here for you, too, you know,” he said with a frown.

He stared at Quinn as if trying to weigh the pros and cons of telling him. Christian swallowed hard before speaking. “It’s nothing really, don’t worry about it.”

Quinn narrowed his eyes at his brother. “I know that’s bullshit, but I won’t bug you about it.”

He had secrets, too, so he understood if Christian didn’t want to talk about it.

Christian nodded. “Thanks.”

Quinn was about to reply but his cell phone started ringing. Quinn lifted his hip and pulled it out of his back pocket. He looked at the screen and saw it was Margot calling. He was instantly concerned. Did she fall and hurt herself further? Quinn hit the answer button and put the phone to his ear.

“Margot? Are you alright?” he asked.

“Non,” she sniffed into the phone.

Quinn stomach dropped. “What is it? Did you hurt yourself?”

“Non...my...my papa. He is dead,” Margot choked out and started sobbing.

Quinn cursed under his breath, not what he expected her to say. His heart broke for her. He couldn’t imagine the pain she was feeling at the moment, and it had to be ten times worse since she was so far away from her family.

“I’ll be right there, Margot,” Quinn said as he stood. He wasn’t sure if she heard him over her crying. “Sweetheart, did you hear me?” he asked to make sure.