Chapter One
Quinn Powell stared down at the picture his sister Dorothy had sent him. Just looking at it twisted his gut and set him on fire with a need that shook him. It was of her twenty-first birthday party three years ago, which he hadn’t been able to attend, and beside her stood Kaley Woods, her best friend.
Dorothy had always been a force to reckon with. The moment she met Kaley in nursery school, they’d been best friends. No one could separate the two even if they wanted to. Their parents were overjoyed by their strong friendship as neither would do anything to risk the other. Kaley wouldn’t go out to any wild parties, which meant Dorothy found other ways to occupy her time. Dorothy wouldn’t sit in the library all day reading books, so Kaley found ways to be with her friend. They were like chalk and cheese, yet the best of friends. Watching them grow up had been fun. Quinn was a good ten years older than the girls and had been expected to get them out of trouble even though they rarely misbehaved. Kaley seldom spoke more than a few words at a time to him and he’d done everything to try to get her to say more.
I want her. She belongs to me.
Over the years, he’d noticed Kaley was a shy girl, almost withdrawn, apart from when she was with Dorothy. His sister brought Kaley out of her shell and forced her to live in the real world rather than her imaginary one of books.
It’s time to take her and not let her get away anymore. He ran his thumb over her picture, falling for her smile like he’d fallen for every single part of her over the last few years. She was a beautiful woman yet hid behind large clothing and glasses she didn’t need. He’d seen her slide them up into her hair several times as she moved around the house. Whenever he entered a room, the glasses would conveniently fall down onto her face, hiding her away. He didn’t know why she was avoiding him, only that it would no longer work. He wanted her. She’d lived the past six years without any interference from him.
When she’d turned eighteen, Quinn had had every intention of getting to know her better, to seduce her. Dorothy asked him to let Kaley live her life, to go to college without the fear of an older, scarier boyfriend. His sister cared about him but she also cared about her friend. Dorothy only asked for him to give Kaley a chance to live her life through college. She hadn’t said anything about the future. He’d given his sister Kaley’s college years, and the last time he’d spoken to her, he’d made his intentions known. He was coming back home to make Kaley his. His sister no longer demanded he stay away and had in fact started to send him pictures.
He was a Navy SEAL and had the pleasure of working with a fine group of men who all worked for special top-secret operations that risked his life on a daily basis. He’d just signed the papers for his final mission. He was getting out and, at the age of thirty-five, he was going to finally marry his woman.
After handing everything over, he grabbed his bag and looked at his friend Dale.
“Are you sure about this? There’s nothing more exciting out there.”
Quinn shook Dale’s hand. “I don’t need excitement anymore. I’ve got everything I wanted out of this life. It’s time for me to move on.”
“The guys are all going to miss you.”
“I may be out but that doesn’t mean you can’t come and visit me. I’ll be expecting you.” He withdrew his hand, offering a smile. “Come visit me and I’ll buy you all a beer.”
“Will do. The men are going to want to see the woman that has you leaving our asses.” Dale tucked the form under his arm. “How are you getting home?”
“Plane, taxi. Dorothy has refused to come and get me. She’s at the apartment where I’ll be staying.”
“Okay. Your sister is waiting to give you a long talk, right?”
“You know her well. She’ll be ready to have my ass if I in any way ruin her friendship with Kaley.”
“Ah, the mystery woman has a name.”
Shaking his head, Quinn turned and headed out into the sunshine. He loved the summer a hell of a lot more than he did the winter. Everything always looked brighter. Climbing in the back of the guys’ car, he laughed as they talked nonstop about his leaving. They were all good men and he’d miss them.
Quinn stood in the airport and he took out the picture his sister had sent last. It had been taken four months ago at Kaley’s twenty-fourth birthday. His sister knew about his feelings for her friend and had expressed her concern, but she hadn’t stopped sending pictures of Kaley.