I really like Quinn Baldwyn.
Jenny turned as they approached. She rushed over and took Aubry’s hands. “I wanted to apologize about earlier. I was catty and I really wasn’t trying to be; I’m just so stressed out and sometimes when I open my mouth, my mother comes out. I think you’re really beautiful, and it’s obvious my brother is crazy about you, and—”
“It’s okay,” Aubry cut in, half afraid if she didn’t say something the woman would keep going. But she was being earnest, which was more than anyone could say for their parents. “It’s really fine. I know I’m not what you expected.”
“I didn’t expect anything at all. Quinn has been remarkably close-mouthed about his seeing someone.” She gave her brother a mock glare. “I’ll have to come down to Devil’s Falls sometime after the honeymoon and we can catch up.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” Especially since they wouldn’t be “dating” once they got back into town. She forced herself to keep her smile in place. They’d just have to stage some kind of breakup. No, that was way too complicated. He’d probably wait a week or two and then quietly pass on the information that they’d broken up. The loss that rose up at the thought had no place there, but she couldn’t seem to reason it away.
“Of course I do.” A man approached and Jenny’s entire face lit up. “Brad.”
He was cute in a rich guy sort of way, and he looked just as fresh faced and young as Jenny. He walked up and draped an arm over her shoulder. “So I hear there’s this hot chick who’s looking to get hitched. You seen her around?”
Jenny’s giggle would have annoyed the shit out of Aubry if she wasn’t so blatantly happy and in love. She’d seen that same dopey look on Jules’s face pretty often since she and Adam got together, and she tried really hard not to let it bug her.
But there was nothing like being surrounded by happy people in love to make a person feel really, really alone.
“You okay?”
She blinked, not sure when Jenny and Brad had headed for another group of people, leaving her and Quinn temporarily without an audience to play for. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Oh, I don’t know, because you’re surrounded by hungry piranhas looking to feast.”
“Quinn, did you just call me fresh meat?” The shock on his face almost made her laugh, but she was enjoying ribbing him too much to ruin it. “I think you did. Rude much?”
“I’ll show you rude.” He pulled her into his arms and palmed her ass. “Just wait until we get alone, peaches. You’ll get everything that’s coming to you.”
“Quinn. You’re in public. Stop acting like a Neanderthal.”
He rolled his eyes at her scandalized tone and whispered, “Think if I fuck you right here on the table, it would prove I really was a Neanderthal? We both know you’d like the audience.”
Aubry shivered at the image his words brought. She tried to keep her voice light. “True, but I think it would make future family dinners really awkward.”
“Damn, you’re right.” Quinn sighed theatrically. “I guess I’ll have to wait until we’re alone to release all my pent-up frustration on you, huh?”
“Guess so.” She nodded solemnly, her entire body sparking in anticipation. She couldn’t wait for this damn rehearsal to be over with.
Chapter Fifteen
Quinn barely waited the requisite hour after the meal to grab Aubry’s hand and drag her out of the room. He didn’t give a fuck that everyone present knew exactly what was on his mind or that inside of ten minutes he was going to sink between her thighs. The only two whose opinions he cared about were Jenny and Brad, and they were so lost in each other that he could have done exactly what he threatened Aubry with earlier and he doubted they would have noticed.
“Hey, big guy.”
He stopped so fast, he had to catch Aubry before she ran into him. Even then, he wasn’t sure if he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing. It was the blonde from the hellish dinner a few months ago, and she was looking at him just like she had the last time they met—like she’d swallow him whole and then come back for seconds. He cleared his throat. “Ah, Aubry, this is…” Fuck, what was her name?
“Rochelle.”
“Right. Rochelle.”
The woman ignored Aubry and sidled up to him, going so far as to run her hand up his chest. “Richard said you’d be here, and I’m so glad we had this chance to run into each other. You were called away from dinner last month, so we didn’t get to…know each other.” She sank so much innuendo into the last few words that there was no mistaking she meant “know” in a Biblical sense.
He grabbed her hand, part of him astounded that she was being so bold, but then again, he had no idea what his old man had told her. Obviously he led her to believe Quinn was a sure thing, which wasn’t surprising, exactly, but it still caught him off guard. He let go of her, putting a little push behind it so that her hand dropped away from him. “Yeah, well, duty called.”
“I just bet it did.” If anything, she looked more interested, reaching for him.
Aubry was there before she made contact, inserting herself between them. She looked over her shoulder at him, raised her eyebrows, and jerked her thumb at the blonde. “Is this one of those hussies you warned me about? Her tits are certainly large enough to fit the profile.” She turned back to Rochelle and spoke in a stage whisper. “Sweetie, have you seen the crowd in there? That dress is more Vegas hooker than West Coast socialite.”
Rochelle turned a mottled red color that didn’t do much for her platinum blond hair. “Who’s your friend, Quinn?”
“This is my girlfriend, Aubry.” He got a little thrill every time he introduced her like that.
He’d expected the title to make Rochelle back off, but she just laughed. “Oh, damn, that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all night.” She smoothed back her hair. “I’ll tell you a little secret, Audrey.”
“Aubry.”
“Whatever.” She pointed at Quinn. “He might play on the wild side with a little Goth chick like you, but when he settles down—which will be sooner rather than later—it’s going to be with someone like me.”
Aubry laughed. “What? A social ladder-climbing gold digger?”
“Please. A woman his family approves of—one who fits.” She raked a look over Aubry. “Which I can tell you right now, you don’t.” She straightened, a polished smile firmly in place. “Well, Quinn, when you’re done playing in the gutter, you give me a call.” She moved around them and into the restaurant, leaving him with a furious redhead.
He cautiously put his hands on Aubry’s shoulders, well aware she might try to take him out at the knees. “I’m sorry.”
She turned around and he was surprised to see that the fury on her face wasn’t directed at him. “That is one of the women your dad threw at you? What the hell is wrong with him? Does he seriously not know a thing about you?”
“To be fair, I like blondes.” Or at least he used to. These days, nothing could hold a candle to redheads.
She poked him in the chest. “I’m being serious. Don’t throw a joke in there like that. What kind of woman is willing to try to jump you when I’m standing right here?” She shook her head. “You know what, don’t answer that. I see why you wanted me here now.”
The thing was that might have been his original reason for agreeing to this whole thing, but it wasn’t the reason he wanted her here now. Quinn took her hand and headed for the elevator. “Let’s get out of here before we run into someone else.”
“You took the words right out of my mouth.”
He barely waited for the elevator doors to close before pulling her into his arms and kissing her. There were so many conflicting emotions circling inside him, he didn’t know where to start. He liked Aubry. He didn’t like the expiration date she’d put on them. He just needed to find out how to broach the subject without spooking her.
What am I saying? I know the perfect way.
The elev
ator dinged, bringing him back to himself. He stepped out into the hallway, keeping his hold on her hand. “Come on, peaches. I have a promise to fulfill.”
“God forbid you drop the ball on that.” The anger was gone from her face, though she shot a look at the closing elevator doors like she was putting serious consideration into going back down to the lobby and throwing down with Rochelle. He liked that she was so fierce, almost jealous. It made him think he might actually have a chance at getting her to agree to give this a shot. A real shot.
He held the room door open for her and then closed it softly behind him. “On the chair by the desk.” It was a sturdy thing with thick arms and a wide seat. Perfect for his purposes.
She obeyed, sitting primly on the edge of the seat. “Are we going to play dirty secretary? Because I think you’d look fetching crawling toward me with an envelope between your teeth.”
“Something like that.” He knelt in front of her, catching her ankles in his hands. “Do you want to know a secret?”
“Hell yes.”
He traced circles on her anklebone with his thumb. “I spent the entire fucking dinner thinking about dropping my napkin under the table and crawling down there to get it.”
“Clumsy of you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a clumsy guy sometimes. And while I was down there, the temptation to taste you would be too much.” He ran his hands up her legs, lifting her dress as he did, until the fabric hit the tops of her thighs. It was so silky it bunched effortlessly, revealing the long expanse of her pale skin. “Look how easy it was to get between your thighs. Almost like you were inviting me.”
Aubry reached over her head and clasped the back of the chair, spreading her legs in invitation. “That’s because I was. Your family is so unbelievably unbearable, I needed something to distract myself. Since you invited me here in the first place, being a distraction is your job.”
He gripped her thighs, exhaling harshly when he found that she wore no panties. “I know an invitation when I see one, peaches.” He spread her folds, dipping one thumb into her wetness and spreading it up over her clit. “And this right here is an invitation.”
She lifted her hips. “Would you be talking this much while you were under the table?”