Page 65 of Temptation

“Let's hear it.” Quinn nodded, pulled out her phone, and played the recording. Deedee sat back and breathed deeply through her nose when it was done. “He's preparing to end it with her or thinks the end is coming and is pre-emptively giving you just enough truth so that it's believable and setting her up to come across as rejected and crazy if she approaches you. I think a lot will hinge on how this weekend goes for them.”

“Yeah. That’s what I thought too.” Quinn agreed. She noticed Tenn looked incredibly irritated and unconsciously reached for his hand. If Deedee noticed the subtle affection and comfort, she ignored it.

“Okay, send me that; we can’t use it in court as evidence of the affair, but we may be able to use it during mediation to establish intent.” She took back the signed papers from them and added them to their individual files, then stood up and held out her hand. “I'll be in touch.”

“Thanks.” Tenn stood up and shook her hand and Quinn did as well.

“Yes, thank you for taking our case.”

“I’m not normally one for gossip and drama.” Deedee winked at them. “But I have to say I’m looking forward to the party next Friday.”

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The drive to Planned Parenthood was silent; Tenn seemed lost in his own thoughts and Quinn wasn't sure what to say. They had gone online the night before and made appointments, so once they filled out all their information on the paperwork, they were both taken in one after the other. Tenn went first; when Quinn came out of hers, he was waiting for her. The drive to the grocery store was also looking to be a quiet one, and Quinn decided she couldn't handle it anymore. “Is everything okay?”

“Uh. No. I'm pissed, actually.” Tenn switched lanes and came to a stop at a streetlight. “Not at you, just…” He trailed off and gestured helplessly.

“Is there something specific bothering you?” Quinn shifted so she was facing him, hoping getting him to talk about it would resolve the uncomfortable awkwardness that had settled over the vehicle.

“All of it!” He burst out, and Quinn stayed quiet; he clearly needed to get this out of his system, so she decided to just listen. “Joel is over there, “pre-emptively” trying to make sure you don't leave him and cover his tracks, and I get to deal with fucking meltdowns and holes in my walls that I have to repair. She's barely even trying to cover her shit up; she's not putting in any effort to fix anything, and she wants to leave me for a guy who's straight up telling her he's not going to be with her or marry her because he sees her as a whore! Like, what the hell is wrong with her? Or better yet, what's wrong with me? I don't fucking understand!” He breathed heavily for a few seconds, and Quinn reached for his hand; she could see he was on the verge of tears and felt terrible for him.

“And it's not even that I want her; I don't, and I haven't for years. I can't wait for this divorce so I'm free from her, but Jesus Christ, am I not worth fighting for? Did I not do enough for her? It's just - It's so fucking messed up. Please explain it to me because I don't understand.”

“First, there's nothing wrong with you. I think you're pretty fucking incredible and worth fighting for.” She pressed the palm of his hand against her cheek. “There's something wrong with her because she's throwing her life with you away.” Quinn smiled when his hand immediately curved to hold her face. The gentle motion of his thumb sweeping across her cheek sent a shiver down her spine that was so different from the one Joel's touch had produced. It was warm, made her heart skip, and made her want more. She turned her head and pressed her lips against his palm, smirking when he drew in a sharp breath and swallowed. She adjusted her grip so she could hold his hand again and leaned the side of her head against the back of the seat. “I don't have an explanation exactly. I do have a theory if you want to hear it.”

“Yeah, sure. A theory is better than nothing.” She was pleased to see he had calmed down as soon as he’d gotten it off his chest and was now listening closely to what she was saying.

“Just keep in mind I'm not a psychologist or behaviour specialist, but I have been working with both for my own issues for twenty years.” She grinned. “Which should qualify you, in my opinion.” Tenn finally smiled and let out a low chuckle as he nodded, bringing her hand up and kissing the back. “I don't think Viki's father was a good person. He probably was verbally abusive and degrading to her and her mother and only showed affection after they bent to his will. There probably wasn't sexual abuse, but she probably heard or saw them having sex. It crossed wires in her brain, and now she needs it. She probably didn't even realize it until she met Joel, so in her mind, he loves her and gives her something no one else can.”

“I'm basing this on a few things. Unfortunately, we know she behaves like a child in bed. That high-pitched, breathy voice is very much the opposite of her speaking voice. Calling Joel Daddy in bed and letting him do whatever he wants to her, a child would do anything to please their parents if it meant there was affection after they finished. He's probably very cruel to her in the moment, but afterward, he's happy and loving, making her feel like she pleased him and is being rewarded. Finally, she's throwing tantrums like a child when she doesn't get her way. She's trying to make you mad to get you to act like Joel so she can make him jealous. If you had punished her or degraded her, she would have told him you were able to give her what only he could before, so he has to put the effort in and show her he actually does love and want her.”

“That's so disturbing on so many levels,” Tenn muttered, looking a little green.

“It's just my theory.” Quinn reminded him. “I could be way off base. I’m guessing and assuming a lot about a woman I barely know, after all. Have you ever asked her mom about her dad?” Tenn shook his head.

“Neither of them has ever mentioned him beyond the fact that he left when Viki was thirteen.”

“Thirteen is a very impressionable age; she probably hit puberty around that time. And she probably has some abandonment issues from her dad leaving. If you and Joel leave at the same time, she might have a complete breakdown.”

“Great. She can have at it as long as it's nowhere near me or my property.” He glanced at her. “What about Joel? He never hinted at what he was really into?”

“Nope. Joel and I had a sexual relationship that was very, very vanilla. Like I'm talking, sex in the bedroom, with the lights off, and missionary position most of the time, doggy-style. If he felt adventurous and had a few drinks, he would let me ride him while he lay there with his eyes closed.” Quinn admitted, her cheeks flushing a little. She wasn’t embarrassed, not exactly, but she had done an awful lot of therapy over feeling like Joel wasn’t attracted to her, so learning about his sex life with Viki was based on kinks and fetishes was making things much easier.

“That sounds terrible.” Tenn gave her a sympathetic look, and Quinn shook her head. It hadn’t been terrible, just boring.

“It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible. He was very loving and respectful when we had sex. It wasn't often, like maybe once every two weeks, and he refused to try to spice things up. I spoke to my therapist about it because I felt like he wasn’t attracted to me, and she suggested that it was more likely that he probably had a lower sex drive or was maybe a little sexually repressed for some reason, because we were having sex regularly, it just wasn’t as regularly as I wanted it to be. She also reminded me that some people just prefer regular, vanilla sex and don’t need more than that.”

“While that’s true, being in a relationship is also about compromise and discussion. If something made him uncomfortable, then he should have offered other suggestions or asked if you guys could work together to slowly build up to get to a point where he’s comfortable. Not doing that means he expected you to be happy with what you got while he got exactly what he wanted.” Tenn pointed out.

Quinn let out a dry chuckle. “My therapist said pretty much the same thing and even gave me some tips on how to make those suggestions myself. His response was less than enthusiastic.”

“You know what?” Tenn squeezed her hand before letting go to turn into the parking lot of the shopping complex, and she shook her head in response. “I’m grateful he put the bar on the floor for me.” The way Tenn's eyes swept her body made her subconsciously clench her thighs together. His gaze was full of desire and anticipation she couldn’t remember ever seeing on someone's face when they looked at her. “Because I can't wait to watch you ride me.” He pulled into a parking spot, and after a quick look to make sure there was no one around, he leaned over and kissed her. “Among other things.” He smiled as he pulled away from her, and she shifted in her seat, reminding herself that they were in public and she shouldn’t jump him where they could be seen and recognized.

“I’m looking forward to that just as much as you are.” She teased, leaning toward him just a little, hoping to get another kiss out of him.

“Go get your groceries. I have to run to the hardware store; if I'm not back when you go to check out, text me.” He kissed her again. “And I'll come to get you.”

Quinn nodded. “Okay. I shouldn't be too long.” She opened the door and slid out, straightening her sundress as she did. “I have a list, so I won’t be doing much browsing.”

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