Cheat Codes (Dawson Family 1)

Being together.

“I love grilled cheese,” she says with a smile.

“I remember.” I slide the plates to the opposite side of the island counter where we can sit on the high-backed bar stools. “Cheese and Chinese food are your favorite. Not necessarily together, though now I’m wondering what fried rice would taste like topped with cheese.”

“I’ve never tried it.” She gets the water bottles from the living room, coming back and sitting next to me at the counter. “But now I want to.”

“Maybe for breakfast,” I joke and Quinn laughs.

“Thanks for making me a sandwich.”

“You’re welcome, though it was easy.”

She takes a few bites, looking from her food to me every few seconds. “So…it’s late,” she says after she’s eaten half her sandwich.

“It is.”

“And you have to be up early.”

“I do.” I swallow the food in my mouth and grab my water, slowly twisting the cap off, and try not to think ahead. I fail. I think and plan ahead by nature. I risk a quick glance at Quinn. She’s looking at me at the same time, and we both look away.

How can she be shy around me after two rounds of mind-blowing sex?

“Are you going to stay?” she finally asks.

“Do you want me to stay?” Answering her questions with a question irritates her, I can tell.

Her eyes narrow ever so slightly in a two-can-play-this-game sort of way. “Do you want to stay?”

“Depends on if you want me to.”

She purses her lips and leans back with a sigh. I close my eyes in a long blink and look away, hating the tension that’s creeping back up on us. I like her. I’ve liked her for years. Years. So why the fuck is it so hard to tell her that?

She picks the crust off her grilled cheese, neither of us talking. A sleek white cat jumps up on the counter, trying to steal food from Quinn’s plate. She picks the cat up and puts her down, only to have the cat do the same thing again. And again.

“Luna,” Quinn says sternly. “Stay down.”

“Luna, Bellatrix, and Neville…are your cats named after Harry Potter characters?”

“Yeah. The fourth cat is Lily.” Quinn gives up and goes to the pantry to give the persistent cat a treat. “You like Harry Potter?”

“I do. I’ve seen the movies and read the books, because I know you’re going to ask.”

The smile comes back to her face, but it’s not the same one as before. I’m back to feeling like a jerk and am getting afraid it might be too late. We just had sex—twice—and I’m acting like none of it mattered. If only she knew how much it did. How much it always has. “They’re modern classics.”

“Yeah, they are. Obviously, I’m a fan.”

“I got sorted into Ravenclaw. I did the quiz online.”

“I got Gryffindor.”

“It suits you.” I finish the rest of my sandwich. “Quinn,” I start and turn around. She’s back at the counter, picking at her food, but hasn’t sat back down yet. She’s uncomfortable, thinking I’m looking at this as a one-night stand and is trying hard not to let it show.

“I do want to stay. With you.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

I internally wince. “If I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t. Just like I wouldn’t have asked you out to dinner if I didn’t want to spend time with you.” I wipe my hands on a napkin and pick up my plate, taking it to the sink before Luna comes back. My heart thumps inside my chest and I’m cursing myself for putting this distance between us after we’d come so close. I need to fix it.

“You’re not going to make me sleep on the couch again, are you?” The second the words come out of my mouth, I wish I could take them back. My failed attempt at a joke makes Quinn’s face go slack.

“I, uh, I wasn’t going to but, uh…”

“I’m joking,” I say and go to her, pulling her into my arms. Her body is stiff against mine, worlds different than how we were not long ago. I’m smart. I got into Duke University School of Medicine for fuck’s sake. How is it possible I’m such a complete idiot at the same time?

It’s Quinn, and I’m not blaming her for turning me into a bumbling fool whenever I’m around. It’s either this or shut her back out.

Fuck.

There was a reason I hated my psych rotation. I’m not good with feelings in general. I’m even worse when it comes to my own.

“I would very much like to sleep in your bed next to you,” I tell her, gathering her hair to the side of her neck. With each passing second she doesn’t relax, I feel like I’m losing her. “I want to wake up next to you,” I say softly, letting the honesty she likes so much come out. “And I’d like to take you out to breakfast. And then dinner again after the conference is over.”

“I do like eating.”

“Yeah? Me too.”

“So much I do it every day. Sometimes multiple times a day.” She clasps her hands around my shoulders. “Out of context that could sound a bit dirty.”

I kiss her neck, remembering how incredible she looked with her hand between her legs touching herself. “I like thinking about it the dirty way.”

Early morning light shines through the large windows in Quinn’s bedroom. My alarm sounds and I scramble to turn it off, not wanting to wake up Quinn. She looks fucking adorable in her sleep, buried under her thick blankets. I was hot five minutes after snuggling up with her, but wouldn’t change a thing.

Quinn stirs but doesn’t open her eyes. She rolls onto her back, hand going up on her pillow above her head. It physically hurts to keep my eyes open, but I want to remember this moment the best I can.

Losing the battle against sleep, I fall back and doze off. What feels like seconds later, the snooze alarm sounds. Blindly, I reach out on the nightstand for it.

“Archer?” Quinn says quietly, voice thick with sleep. Her eyes flutter open and she smiles when she sees me. “Do you have to get up?”

I slide my arms underneath her and pull her close. Her head rests on my shoulder and she hooks a leg over me.

“I don’t have to.”

“You can’t skip your…your…whatever that thing is.”

“I only came here to talk to Dr. Crawford about the fellowship, which I did. He’s not there today anyway. I’d rather stay here and give you a thorough medical exam. Hone my skills that way.”

“Well, that does sound educational and I’m very willing to help you expand your areas of expertise.” She pulls the blankets around her shoulders. “Or go back to sleep. You can do a sleep study on me.”

“I like the way that sounds.” I let my eyes fall shut, head dropping to the side to rest against Quinn’s. All the awkward tension melted away the moment we got into bed together last night. We didn’t have sex again, but the moment we laid down together, things felt back to how they should be.

The world feels right when Quinn is in my arms. Her fingertips dance up and down my arm, lulling me back to sleep. And then my snooze alarm goes off again. Dammit. It’s a habit to just hit it again instead of turning it off. I didn’t actually intend on not showing up to the panels I signed up to attend, but if I ‘accidentally’ forgot to turn on an alarm, no one could blame me.

Quinn sits up, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “I can make you breakfast.” She runs her hand down my chest, fingers brushing over the tip of my cock, teasing me on purpose. “Go back to sleep. You didn’t get much last night and I kind of feel responsible.”

“You didn’t get much either.”

“Yeah, but I can take a nap after you leave. I’m assuming I’ll need my strength for later, right?” She bites her lip, looking so damn sexy.

“Fuck yes.” I wrap my arms around her and bring her to me, giving her a quick kiss before she gets out of bed.

“Turn your alarm off. I won’t let you oversleep.”

I watch Quinn leave, admiring her ass in her short sleeper shorts. With her on my mind, I lay down

, falling back asleep in minutes.

“Archer?”

The mattress sinks down next to me and the sweet smell of maple syrup fills my nose.

“Archer,” Quinn repeats softly.

I open my eyes, and her face is the first thing I see. Yawning, I push myself up. “Breakfast in bed? You know I’m never leaving now, right?”

“That was ultimately my plan. Lure you in with food and sex then hold you hostage and kill you.”

I take the tray from Quinn, stomach growling at the sight of the pancakes, bacon, and eggs. “As long as I get to eat all this and fuck you one more time, I’ll die a happy man.”

Quinn smiles, brushing her hair back. “You said it’s over at two?”

“Yeah. Will that work with your kidnapping plan?”

“I was hoping to have you tied up and bleeding by one, but I can delay things a bit. It’ll give me more time to get the kill room ready.”

“Kill room? You are serious.”

“I’m a serious person, Archer. Which you’ll find out later.”

I cut into my pancake. “When you kill me?”

“You’ll be begging for death by the time I’m done with you.”