“I could see you in here most.” I made a slow spin to give her the whole effect. “I saw this as our oasis. The whole house is that, I guess, but for me, no matter what else is going on in our lives, this is the place where you and I can always be
us
. Not Leo Taylor, tight end for the Richmond Rebels. Not Quinn Russell, hotshot journalist. Not the Trio. Just . . . us. You and me.”
I let her body slide down mine until her feet hit the floor. Looping my arms around her waist, I held her to me. “Mia, I know we’ve still got things to work out. I want to keep at it. I don’t want to bury our shit under a rug or pretend we’re perfect. But I want to deal with all of it together. I want us to
be
together, and not just for now, not until we see if things are good. I want you to live with me here, in this house I picked out because I could see you all over it.”
Quinn rested her cheek against my chest. I felt her tears soaking into my shirt, and I could only hope and pray that they were the happy kind. Swallowing hard, I went on, laying everything on the line and going for broke. In the back of my mind, I heard the old Eatonboro High Eagles chant:
Go big or go home.
“Mia Quinn.” I dropped to my knees and held both of her hands tightly in mine. “I love you beyond my ability to express it. I’ve loved you for so long that I can’t remember when my heart didn’t beat for you. You are all I need and all I want, and there isn’t anything I won’t do to prove it to you. You said once that I had everything I’d ever dreamed of having. I told you that you were wrong, because nothing I have, nothing I am means a damn thing if you’re not with me. I want you to live here with me, and I want you to be mine. Marry me, Mia. Let me be yours. Be mine for the rest of our lives.”
The next few seconds felt like an eternity. They were the longest of my life, and silence had never sounded so loud.
And then Quinn sank to her knees, freeing her hands from mine and wrapping her arms around my neck. “All I’ve ever wanted is you, Leo. You’ve been my wish since I knew how to dream. I’ll be yours, if you want me. Yes, Leo. My answer is yes.”
There was nothing else I could do in that moment except to kiss her, to kiss my girl so thoroughly that she could feel down to her toes every single bit of joy and exhilaration I was experiencing right now.
When I let her up for air, she leaned her cheek against mine and whispered in my ear. “Can we test out this amazing bed you have right here now, or do you have anything else we need to
talk
about first?”
I chuckled. “No, I think I’ve used up all the words I have for the rest of the day. I’m willing to express myself in another way.” I nibbled a line along her jaw and was about to go further when I remembered something. “Oh, shit, I almost forgot. Hold on. Stay here. Don’t move.”
“Okay . . .” Quinn frowned as I jumped to my feet and unzipped my duffel bag, still lying on the floor where I’d left it. I riffled through it quickly until I found what I needed.
“Here.” I thrust a handful of dark blue silky material at Quinn. “As promised. Now, of course, you need to keep your end of the bargain.”
She rose to her feet, too, shaking out the cloth, a huge smile spreading over her face as she realized what it was. She held it up against her, stroking her fingers over the number and name.
Twenty-two. TAYLOR
.
“It’s perfect. Exactly what I want to seal our engagement.”
“I’m glad you agree.” I closed my hand over hers where it clutched the jersey. “I didn’t get you a ring yet, Mia. I wanted us to go together and pick it out. You’re going to be wearing it for the rest of our lives, and I wanted you to have input. We’ll get it tomorrow.”
“I love that idea. But right now, I don’t want to think about tomorrow. I want to focus on right now.” She cocked her head. “Is it okay if I use your bathroom to put this on?”
“Babe, that’s
our
bathroom now, and sure. I’ll be waiting for you right there.” I pointed to the bed and began tugging at my tie.
Quinn shot me a come-hither glance over her shoulder as she walked toward our bathroom, and I felt my heart speed up. Anticipation was going to kill me . . . but what a way to go.
Within a few minutes, I’d shed my suit, hanging it carefully on the hanger in the nearly empty closet. Since I’d moved in here, I’d pictured Quinn’s clothes dominating this space, her shoes on the racks mixed in with mine, the two of us getting dressed together in the mornings, and even more important, getting
un
dressed at night. There had been nights when I’d been convinced that vision would never happen for real. Yet I’d held on, and here we were. It almost felt too good to be true.
Climbing into bed, I folded my hands behind my head and waited. My usual post-game adrenaline had mixed with my nerves over asking Quinn to marry me, keeping me pumped and alert, but now, relaxing in my bed, floating on the blissful awareness that she’d said
yes
, I began to doze and drowse a little. The bedroom was awash in gray light as the sun set, and my eyes were heavy . . .
A sound from the bathroom jerked me to alertness, and I half-sat up, a little disoriented until I realized what I’d heard was the door opening. I blinked as my eyes adjusted and then sucked in a breath at the vision before me.
Quinn had taken down her hair so that the dark curls danced over her slim shoulders. My jersey hung on her body, and when she advanced toward me, I could just make out the subtle movement of her boobs beneath the silky nylon. The shirt ended slightly above mid-thigh, leaving her long tan legs bare.
The past and present jumbled for a moment in my mind. I had a sudden flash of memory, the feel of those legs wrapped around my back as I sank down into her, the weight of her breasts in my hands, the taste of her . . . it was all so vivid and so immediate that I gave myself a little pinch to make sure she was really here now, and that I wasn’t in the middle of some psychedelic mind trip.
Then she smiled at me and spoke, her voice low and teasing, and I knew this was real. “Are you going to say something, or are you going to just lay there gaping at me? You’re kind of freaking me out. I’m starting to worry that you’re second-guessing the whole forever thing.”
“Babe. Never.” I sat up and crooked my finger. “Come here. I’d go to you, but I seem to have lost the feeling in my legs.”
Quinn took a few steps closer to me, just beyond my reach. “You know, I realized something while I was getting changed.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” My eyes were glued to her fingers playing with the hem of the jersey.
“I never showed you my piercing when you were in San Francisco. I mean, I know I sent you a picture, but you haven’t seen it . . . up close.” She climbed onto the bed alongside my outstretched legs, and as she did, I caught a flash of skin and tan lines. “Personal.” She crawled up until she was sitting next to my hip.
“So . . . you wanna see?”
Apparently, the power of speech was the next to go after losing my legs, because all I could do was nod.
Quinn rose up on her knees and lifted the edge of the jersey by inches—or maybe centimeters, I couldn’t be sure. By the time she’d bared herself to the navel, where a silver hoop glinted in the dim light, my mouth had gone dry and I was convinced my dick had never been so hard.
She dropped one hand to her middle, drawing tantalizing circles around the piercing with the tip of her index finger.
“Wanna . . . touch?”
As if her words had unlocked my temporary paralysis, I lunged toward her, rolling both of us until she lay beneath me, the jersey hiked to just below her breasts. I straddled her hips, my cock between us, straining under the material of my boxers. Quinn’s eyes were luminous as she stared up at me, and then to my surprise, they filled with tears.
“Baby, what’s the matter?” I swiped her cheekbones with my thumbs. “Did I hurt you just now?”
She shook her head, closing her eyes as a couple more salty drops spilled out. “Happy tears. Relieved tears. God, Leo, I thought . . . I was afraid I’d never be here with you like this again. I was terrified we’d never find our way back to each other. I just . . . I love you. I never want to lose you again.”
“I promise you never will.” I gathered her to me, sweeping her hair back so that I could bury my lips in her neck. “This is it, Mia. This is our time. These are our days, just you and me.”
She turned her head a little to gaze up at me. “Love me. Remind me how good we are together. Just—love me hard, Leo. I need you.”
I didn’t need a second invitation. I tipped her head back and touched my lips to hers, thinking I’d be slow and gentle. But the moment her mouth opened to me, it was all over. I could only take and consume, blindly intent on pleasure and connection for both of us.
My tongue thrust into her mouth, and with a muffled cry, Quinn met me, stroke for stroke. Her lips were as aggressive and needy as mine were, and when she sucked my tongue, teasing the underside with the tip of hers, I almost lost my mind.
My hands fumbled under the jersey until I had her tits in my palms. She inhaled sharply and threw back her head, guiding my mouth to the pink tips that wanted my attention. I closed my lips over one at the same time that I teased the other with the pads of my finger and thumb. When Quinn made a low purr of appreciation, I knew I was doing something right.
“This—” I fisted the jersey. “It’s fucking hot, babe. Seeing you in my jersey makes me so hard.”
“I noticed.” Her hand insinuated itself between us to circle my shaft over the boxers.
“Ah.” I took a deep breath.
Focus, dude. Blowing your wad the first time she touches you is so not cool.
“Yeah. But it needs to come off now, because it’s in my fucking way.”
“Okay.” Quinn crossed her arms in front of her and pulled off the jersey over her head, tossing it to the floor. “Better?”
I pushed her gently back down onto the mattress, knelt between her spread legs and dropped my mouth to her breasts again. “So. Much. Better.”
Quinn threaded her fingers through my hair. “I don’t think there’s anything hotter than your mouth on my boobs. God, you make me feel so good.”
I lifted my chin a little to smirk up at her. “Oh, there might be something hotter.” I skimmed my lips down the smooth skin of her stomach, pausing when I reached her belly button. “This right here, babe. The sexiest fucking thing ever. The night you sent me the picture of this and told me about getting it . . . I didn’t get much sleep. I seriously considered flying out the next day.”
“I got it for me . . . to prove I could . . . but the whole time, I was thinking of you and what you’d think of it.” She raised her head and offered me a half-smile. “Glad it meets your approval.”
“Maybe I should just show you what I think.” So saying, I sucked the small ring into my mouth, tracing the rim of her navel with my tongue. When her hips arched in response, I trailed one hand down between her legs and parted her folds with my finger.
She was so wet, so responsive, that it took everything I had not to rip off my boxers and take her in one swift stroke. I swallowed hard, gave her belly button ring one more hard swipe and then took my mouth lower.
Quinn was almost sobbing as I kissed her sweet pussy. She surged up against me, giving little guttural cries that told me she was about to explode. It had been a long time for both of us, and my girl was about ready to go off like a firecracker. I pressed my tongue to her clit and plunged two fingers into her at the same time, and she rocketed off the bed, her moan long and loud and maybe the sexiest fucking thing I’d ever heard. I kept up, pumping my fingers and sucking as the orgasm ripped through her.
When she collapsed into the mattress, boneless, I worked my way back up to her mouth, kissing, licking and sucking as the situation and body part called for. I was trying not to rush, but holy fuck, my cock was aching. The need pounded in my head until I couldn’t hear anything else or think of any other option.
Take her. Now.
I paused long enough to kiss her hard on the mouth, rewarded by her low “Mmmmmmm . . .” I struggled to get off my boxers, desperate to have nothing at all between us.
Quinn helped me ease them down, her hand pausing to squeeze my ass, which was really much appreciated but not exactly where I wanted her attention. She knew what she was doing, though; my girl had always known exactly what I needed, almost before I did, and her fingers closed over my dick, working me up and down with occasional forays to swipe her thumb over the leaking head.
“Can I use my mouth?” She rained kisses down my neck to my chest.
I shook my head. “Not now. Even thinking about your lips on my cock is dangerous territory at the moment, babe. I just want to be inside you. I want to come deep in you, and I want you to come again, with me. Save that talented tongue for next time.”
She smiled, raking her nails lightly against my shaft. “I’m considering that a binding promise.”
I laughed, but it sounded a little desperate even to my own ears. “Definitely, baby.” I slid down a little, so that my throbbing erection lined up to her swollen, slick center. “Mia, I want to tell you again—I haven’t been with anyone since we were together. But I’ll wear a condom if it makes you feel better. I just wanted you to know.”
Quinn shook her head. “I trust you. I haven’t, either, and I’m still on birth control.” She rubbed the head of my cock against her pussy. “I want you. All of you, with nothing between us.”
I couldn’t have waited any longer, even if the world had been ending and crashing down around us. I thrust into her, nothing gentle or tentative, sliding home until I had filled her completely. I stayed completely still for the space of several heartbeats, letting myself feel the perfection of this moment.
And then Quinn canted her hips, changing the angle of our connection, and raised her legs to lock around my hips. Just like that, I was gone. There was no finesse, no polish; I gave a loud, primitive cry and began plunging into her, holding myself above her body as we both surrendered to the desire we couldn’t—and didn’t want to—deny.
“Love you, Mia—love you so much.” I was close, so close, and about to lose it. Through sheer force of will, I held back until I felt her tightening around my cock and heard her breath began coming in soft pants.