Page 31 of What Love Can Do

“I see,” Quinn said, “so you were attracted to me, not because you were drawn to my irresistible charms, but because I was one of the only men you ever see? Great, now I feel better.” Simultaneously, he scoffed and laughed.

“No. Ugh!” She dropped his hands, popped the trunk, and went to work pulling out the lighter fluid, a bag of firewood from the bed-and-breakfast, and some paper for kindling. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. Quinn,” she said, whirling around to face him. “You are amazing, and I’m having the best time getting to know you. I feel like I’m drawn to you. If that weren’t true, I wouldn’t have to…” She stopped, mumbling something to herself.

“Wouldn’t have to what?” He helped her with the firewood, stacking it all against his chest.

“Nothing, forget I said anything. Let’s just have a good time, can we? I rented a room just down the cliff over there.” She pointed toward a small hotel down the road. “We can make the bonfire, get sloshed if we want to, and just…” She turned to him with a glassy look in her eyes. “And just keep enjoying our time together. Can we?”

“Yes,” he said definitively, putting the wood on the ground, so he could take her hands and fix her windy hair behind her ears. “Yes, of course we can. I would love that very much.” It was true. He wasn’t saying it just to appease her. He really loved the idea of another night together.

He just worried. For so many reasons.

That he would get wrapped up in a relationship when he wasn’t ready was one. That now Lilly seemed to think he wanted no strings attached from the way he’d acted, when nothing could be further from the truth was two, and three—if he didn’t hurry up and decide what he wanted to do with his life from this moment forward, he might lose an amazing opportunity with this wonderful woman, and losing out on life’s opportunities was not something he ever wanted to experience again.

Twelve

Much later, even after their bonfire dinner was over, Con still wasn’t ready to leave. In his meditative state, he wanted to stay out all night, staring at the ocean, so Quinn took the blankets, wrapped one around his brother, wadded another one into a pillow for him, and threw some more kindling into the fire to keep him warm. “Call me if you need anything, maggot.”

Lilly agreed to leave her car with Con, in case he needed it. Then she and Quinn walked down the road to the rented cottage on the cliff.

Checking into a small room facing the ocean, Lilly thanked her lucky stars for knowing other proprietors of bed-and-breakfasts in the area. She’d always wanted to stay here at the Whispering Winn, and the first thing she did was open up the wooden shutters facing the black of night and water. A cold wind blew in, prompting Quinn to start a fire in the fireplace, and before long, they were wrapped up on a rug before it.

Lilly would have been fine with sharing the room with Con and Quinn, with the three of them falling asleep, no hanky panky, no nothing, just three people sharing a room overnight, but now that they were alone, the night became all the more magical. Maybe it was because of their near-argument back on the beach, because stress was piling on them, or because they both seemed to be feeling the effects of the ticking clock, but Quinn was hell-bent on focusing on her.

Drawing her in.

Tasting her, feeling her.

She knew he wanted to explore everything her body and mind had to offer before he no longer had it. Laying on her back, she watched him slide down the length of her torso, kissing every inch of her, even breathing in the scent of her bonfire smoke-tinged skin. She knew where he was headed, and she did nothing to stop him.

Ben rarely went down on her, and even when he had, he hadn’t known what to do when he was there, only licking her with the same rhythm over and over, as if that was all it would take. But Quinn relished the gifts her body had to offer, made himself at home between her legs, inhaled her scent, varied his movements, some fast, some slow, dark eyes glancing up at her every so often, so he could gauge what she responded to, what she liked, and what he still had to do to get her there.

He used his fingers, achingly slow at first, then faster while changing the degrees of intensity in the way he licked her, devouring her like a starving man presented with some rare fruit until the sensations built slowly, and her legs tightened. He never gave up until he’d brought her to that pinnacle, and even after she came in rolling waves more powerful than the ones outside the open window, he stayed there, softly kissing her and laying his head against her thigh.

She could have drifted into sleep for the rest of the night, but she wanted him to feel good too. “What can I do for you?” she asked sleepily, groggily, in a foggy stupor of happiness.

He crawled up between her legs and kissed her softly. “You’ve already done enough.”

As sweet as he was, as much as she knew he would have given up a chance to orgasm just so she could fall away in peaceful slumber, she retrieved a condom and slid it on him. Then she wrapped her legs around him and drew him in, using her hands to pull his hips into her. She let him slide into her, love her, pound her, fast and strong, so he could finish on the hardest, highest note possible, and right when she gave him a smile—a sincere, I can’t believe you’re real smile—he lost it and came.

And that’s when it happened. Undeniably. Unequivocally. It didn’t matter that they’d only known each other a few days. It didn’t matter that she’d fought it or that they’d soon be parting.

She fell in love with Quinn O’Neill.

Lilly had loved before, but not like this. It scared her suddenly, the fear snaking around her like the Pacific wind filtering in through the windows, but luckily, Quinn was there, arms enveloping her, protecting her in his warm cocoon of reassurance and peace, and before she could have any more thoughts, she fell asleep.

Lilly got to sleep with Quinn all night long, and for a girl who hadn’t slept all night with a man in several years, that was nice. The night was everything it should be—sexy, loving, peaceful, and had made her feel safe and happy.

In the morning, she awoke on her side, Quinn holding her from behind, still asleep. Soon, he woke himself, kissed her and scratched her back lightly, but they didn’t make love again. Though it would have been perfectly fine with her, it was nice to know they could be near each other without needing sex again. It was reaffirming to know that they simply had a bond and common interests, and their quiet time didn’t need to be filled with moans and groans every chance they got. It showed her that Quinn didn’t have a one-track mind either, that he could be perfectly happy lying next to her under the thick blanket, spooning his warm body against hers. And it showed her that she didn’t have a one-track mind either. After his painful comment about latching onto the first guy who came along Green Valley, she spent the better part of their bonfire last night wondering if he was right, if her attraction to Quinn O’Neill was simply because she needed closeness.

But what would happen down the line—let’s say if we got together? Once closeness wasn’t a pressing need anymore, would we still have enough in common? It was hard to tell. She hadn’t known him long enough and wouldn’t get the chance to either.

Unless they kept a long-distance relationship.

It could happen. Her best friend, Corinne, who moved to Seattle three years ago kept a long-distance relationship going with her now-husband, Jay, and it worked perfectly fine for them. It hadn’t been easy, but it was doable.

The thought kept playing in Lilly’s mind even as they dressed, went out to find Con, who had indeed slept all night on the beach, had a light breakfast, then packed up. Once behind the wheel of her car and on the road back to Forestville, however, what was doable in Lilly’s mind had changed a million times over.

What am I doing, entertaining a long-distance relationship? Way to stick with a plan, Lil. She shook her head, arguing with herself the whole drive back to Forestville, while Quinn gazed out the window at wine country, and Con slept in the back. And right when she thought Quinn was doing a fabulous job of keeping his distance again, his hand slid over the center console and scratched her thigh with a pinky nail.

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