Page 157 of Scars Like Wings

I was just so tired…

I sobbed until I was just a sniffling mess. The entire time, Quinn held me. She held me close to her and rubbed my back. She was so hot. It was all soothing, and I think I would have cried longer if she wasn’t here. This is why I loved her. Her presence alone was enough to help me.

When I felt numb with nothing left, I pulled away. Quinn kept me wrapped up in her arms. I noticed the wet stains from my tears on her shirt. “I’m so sorry about your shirt?—”

“Fuck the shirt.” Quinn lifted my head up. Her eyes were orbs of pure flame. “Byrd, you cannot help what has happened to you. None of it is your fault. You didn’t choose it. You have been through some shit. You are still going through some shit. That’s okay.

“But you are not weird. I have never thought of you as a freak or anything like that. Do you want to know what I think about you, Byrd? I think you are ridiculously fucking beautiful. In your appearance, personality, and your actions. I think you are strong for what you have been through and survived. I think you are smart and creative with the connections and solutions you make. I think you are more powerful than you know.

“You are the furthest thing from a burden to me. In fact, I want to take this weight off your shoulders. When I told you that we can figure things out together, I meant it with everything in me. I want to be by your side. I want to carry some of that weight you refuse to share with anyone else. I want to remind you that you aren’t alone, of how beautiful and wonderful and smart and perfect you are every day. The only right thing you said was that I don’t deserve you. You are too sweet for me, too good for me. But you…”

Quinn ran her hand through her curls, ruffling them. She swallowed deeply and sighed. After what felt like an eternity, she continued, “You’ve broken me, Byrd. All I can think about is you. I adore you. I’m enchanted by you. I always want to be around you and be there for you. You are my light, my star guiding me home. But youarehome for me. I can’t work without having an idea of when I will have a chance to see you. I can’t cook without thinking about if you would like what I’m making. I can’t go to sleep at night without imagining you asleep beside me. Hell, poor Clarkson has been so sad up until Mama came home. She has been sleeping in the guest room every night. She can’t live without you. Neither can I, baby girl.Tu eres mi vida. You are my life. You have broken me. You have ruined me. I think that I’m falling?—”

Quinn shook her head. “No, that’s not right. I was about to lie to you.”

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My heart was beating at a thousand beats per minute at the thought of what she was confessing, what she was about to say. Was this real? Could it be real? “Lie to me? About what?”

“I’m not falling in love with you,” Quinn said. My heart sank immediately. Tears threatened to spill again. The taste of disappointment surfaced at the beginning of my throat like bile. I should have?—

“I’m not falling in love with you because I am already in love with you. I think I fell in love with you the moment I fell the night of the party. But then, I have just been falling deeper and deeper every—Ouch! Fuck, what was that for?”

“You almost gave me a fucking heart attack, that’s what!” The tears were free-flowing from my cheeks now, the overwhelming feeling of my emotions having to come out some way. “I thought you were about to say you didn’t love me!”

“Oh, no, Byrdie, I’m so sorry. I just fucked this up?—”

“No, you didn’t.” I smiled through the tears at her. “I love you, too, Quinn.”

Saying those words, I felt some unspoken, unidentified weight lift from my shoulders in relief. It was so easy to say. Something within me purred at the words as my heart sang. It was perfect. So perfect. It was my new favorite song. “I love you so much, Quinn.”

Quinn found a way to pull me closer to her. “Say it again.”

“I love you. I love you. I love you. I love—!” Every time I said those three words, Quinn kissed me. Before long, she was interrupting me with her peppered kisses on my cheeks, jaw, nose, forehead, and everywhere on my face until I was just a mess of giggles.

“Stop! Stop it, Quinn!” I begged her between gasps of breath.

“Oh? You want me to stop?” Quinn teased. She nuzzled my neck, making me giggle more. “I love the sound of your laugh. It just sounds like what bubbles look like.”

“I love how that makes all the sense and none at all at the same time.”

“I love how you think,” Quinn said, meeting my eyes.

Time seemed to slow down as we looked at each other. Both of us were breathing heavily from the exertion of our laughter. Our chests rose and fell in perfect sync. Our boobs were squished between us with how close Quinn held me to her. Not that I wascomplaining. Her hands rested on my back, but the pinkie of one of her hands feathered the beginning curve of my ass. I was hyper-aware of everything in this moment. I felt Quinn’s eyes radiating the same heat as the rest of her. Her curls were a wild mane, and they blew in the wind, tickling my face. And Quinn’s lips… I wanted to bite them. They were so beautiful. Everything about Quinn was so beautiful.

We leaned in at the same time. It was a small, sweet kiss. Chaste. Innocent. Delicate. Ephemeral. Yet everlasting. It made me furrow my brows while we slowly kissed. Her lips were so soft and smooth, but the taste of her was all smoke and spice. When we pulled back, I opened my eyes to Quinn watching me with half-lidded eyes. Her eyes were a deep honey I wanted to soak in. The taste of her lips lingered on my own, making them buzz.

Quinn watched my tongue lick my lips to taste more of her, and I saw the moment her control snapped.

She slammed her lips into mine. There was no gentleness this time, only passion. Her lips were a force to be reckoned with, her tongue easily snaking its way into my mouth to caress the roof of it and my teeth. I moaned deeply before taking her bottom lip between my teeth. I bit down, making Quinn growl.

“Mi hechicera traviesa, if you keep doing that, I won’t last and I will have to take you on this beach.”

“Then you had better get us home.” I nipped at her lip again.

With another growl, Quinn put both of her hands behind my thighs and lifted me so I was straddling her just like this morning. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around Quinn’s waist. She moaned. “I can feel how ready you are for me, sweetness. That’s my good girl.”

Her words went from my ears straight to my pussy. I had always been a sucker for dirty talk, but hearing it in Quinn’ssmoky voice? Oh, I was a mess. Emboldened, I said. “It’s all for you, Papi.”

Quinn rewarded me with a look that was the perfect combination of shock and lust. Her eyes flared like an explosion while darkening in color all at once. It was the last thing I saw before Quinn captured my lips again, and I closed my eyes. It was just as fierce as before without either of us missing a beat. Then I felt a lot of wind around us, whipping my locs around our faces. I couldn’t be bothered to question what was happening, not with the way Quinn’s tongue was moving in my mouth. I just held my arms wrapped around Quinn’s neck, kept my eyes closed, and sank into her and this moment. Nothing else mattered.

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