Dare To Resist (Dare Nation 1)

“Okay, good.” She took a long sip of caffeine and moaned her approval, the sound reminding him of the noises she’d made when she climaxed beneath him. “Mmmm. I needed this,” she said.

He needed her, but he had to focus on the situation and immediately realized he’d just assumed she didn’t have plans today. “Do you mind staying with Jenny while I shop?” He refused to think of what he’d do when Quinn finally had to leave.

She shook her head. “I was going to do laundry and relax today. It’s fine for me to stay, but on that note, don’t you think you need to line up help?”

“Like who?” he asked, playing dumb. The longer he could avoid the situation the better.

“Your mother? Sister? A brother or two?” Quinn raised an eyebrow over the mug as she drank.

“I’d really rather not,” he admitted, the thought of telling his family he’d possibly fathered a baby with a one-night stand not appealing.

She sighed. “I’m sure you don’t expect me to move in and take care of the baby, so what’s your plan?”

Actually the thought of her moving in didn’t sound so bad. Jenny responded to Quinn, always settling down when Quinn held her. And if he put their sexual incident aside, because he couldn’t let that count in his thought process, having Quinn around hadn’t been bad at all. He liked her in his home. And the look of her in that camisole last night, her long, tanned legs peeking out from beneath the short top? Yeah, that was a sight he could get used to.

“Austin? What’s your plan?” Quinn asked again.

He shrugged. “Frankly, I don’t have one.”

“Right. So I’ll call Bri and ask her to set up a family meeting this afternoon. Suck it up because you need them.”

He shuddered but knew he had no choice.

A little while later, he’d left Quinn and Jenny at the house and was headed toward Target, using the time to make some calls. Like Quinn, his attorney asked if Austin wanted him to call Child Protective Services or the authorities about the baby, and he’d immediately rejected the idea. There was a chance Jenny was his, and he wasn’t putting her or any baby into the system before knowing for certain.

At Target, chaos ensued. Even with Quinn’s list, Austin was at a loss. Diaper sizes were confusing as fuck. Formula, he had the exact type, but he had no idea how many cans or tubs of the stuff to purchase.

“Baby bathtub? What the fuck?”

“Excuse me, but language?” a female voice said.

He turned to see a woman with a young child in the front seat of the shopping cart. “Sorry,” he muttered and changed directions, heading to the aisle with plastic bathtubs.

Another glance at the list and he groaned. Digital thermometer, changing pads, baby wipes, Diaper Genie, Balmex, infant Tylenol, baby shampoo, blankets, burp rags, bottles, nipples … nipples? Jesus fuck.

He kept that inside this time. Bouncy seat, baby carrier because apparently Quinn thought he was going to strap Jenny to his chest and walk around with her dangling from his body, onesies size six-to-nine months, and pacifiers.

He drew a calming breath as he dumped everything into his cart, asking when he needed help, which was often.

He glanced at his phone to see what was next. Baby washcloths and towels. They couldn’t use regular ones? Then he saw the little teddy bear towels with hoodies attached, chuckled, and bought four because why not? It meant less laundry. It was bad enough he was going to have to explain things to his housekeeper.

And Dreft.

What was Dreft? After asking a sales associate, he discovered it was hypoallergenic baby laundry detergent. How the hell did Quinn know all this stuff?

Finally he came to the last item, a car seat. He realized she’d left a stroller off the list, noticing because there was an entire aisle of the things, and he assumed it was because she wasn’t sure he’d take Jenny out. But maybe the baby would like being pushed in one, so he asked the sales associate for the best stroller on the market.

Thirty minutes at checkout and a small fortune later, a young guy helped Austin bring his second cart out to the car and load everything into the back.

He headed home, breathing a sigh of relief that the shopping ordeal was over. Except when he arrived, the driveway was full of familiar cars, and that’s when he remembered.

Family meeting, he thought and braced himself for the fallout.

* * *

Quinn had held her breath until Austin left to go shopping. She’d spent the last two hours in the guest bedroom tossing and turning, wondering how she’d ended up in his arms and coming apart beneath that hard, hot body.

Kiss me. She couldn’t claim she hadn’t been fully aware of what she was doing despite the cloud of sleepiness that had still consumed her when she’d woken up breathing in his masculine scent.