Page 70 of Fragile

Quinn

I was about to give up hope xo

I chuckle at her response. A few minutes later, she knocks on the door, and it creaks open to reveal her in a short black dress covered in lemons. The deep V of the neckline draws my eyes straight to her perfect freckled cleavage and my mouth waters.

“Hey,” I manage to force out, tearing my eyes from my perusal of her body and looking into her green depths.

“Hey.” She grins. “The suit is working for you. It always does.”

“The dress is working for you. You look beautiful.”

“Thanks.” She blushes, the apples of her cheeks tinting as she tentatively moves toward me. Her gaze flits quickly to the floor, then back up, avoiding direct eye contact for too long. Every movement is cautious, as if she’s hyper-aware of every step she takes.

“Am I making you nervous, Queenie?” I tease, my voice low.

Her wide green eyes lock onto mine. “No,” she squeaks. “Don’t be silly.” She laughs, but it’s laced with the nerves she claims not to have. “We could get caught again,” she says with a glint in her eyes.

Suddenly realizing why she’s acting a little skittish, I take a step toward her, wanting to soothe her in any way I can. “We could get caught. You sure you want to be here with me?” I ask, knowing the question has a double meaning. If we’re caught, people will know about us, and I’m pushing that boundary to see where she stands with it.

When she nods slowly, my insides light up. “Now you’ve got me alone in here, what are you going to do with me?”

She chews on her bottom lip as our hands lace together. “Doyouhave anything in mind?”

Sliding closer to her again, I make sure to place my hand firmly on her hip and pull her into me. “I have everything in mind, Queenie.” Letting my gaze lazily travel all over her face, I bring up one hand to trace her mouth with my fingers. “These lips, the ones that cheer for me every game? I want them wrapped around me.” She shivers at the contact, so I slowly continue dragging my fingertips down her neck, collarbone, the tip of her shoulder, counting all the freckles as I go, until I link our hands together and bring them to my lips. “These hands that clap for me? I want them all over my body. And these eyes? I want them on me at all times.”

“Specific,” she says breathlessly, her eyes dilating as she stares up at me.

“You’ve awoken the beast in me,” I say, bopping my nose against hers, the scent of cinnamon filling my head.

“Beast, hmm, I always preferred him to the prince anyway.” Her arms wrap around my neck as I crash into her, taking everything she’s offering. Her nearness is wreaking havoc on my brain chemistry, and I only have tunnel vision when it comes to her. I definitely know I don’t deserve her, but I sure as hell can’t give her up when she’s a lifeline I desperately seek out.

Needing to have her closer somehow, I dip my hands under the skirt of her dress and grasp her ass as our bodies press against one another. It doesn’t seem like enough. I want more. I need to be so close to her, I’m practically under her skin. It’s probably not healthy to think that way, but she’s consuming me.

Twenty years of knowing Quinn, and it feels like I’m only just seeing her.

Breaking the kiss, I squeeze her ass again, breathing heavily as I look at her full swollen lips. Desire spiking my already heated blood. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to catch a ball while you shake your perfect ass on the sidelines?”

“Worried you don’t have the skills, Cooper?” she taunts, the nerves suddenly disappeared.

“Oh, I’ve got the skills, Queenie, and I can’t fucking wait to show you.”

“So much talking.” She presses her lips against mine. “Too much talking.”

Backing her up against the wall next to the row of lockers, I fuse our lips together and devour her with a hunger that I’ve never felt before. Lifting her hips, I encourage her to wrap her legs around me, and as soon as she does, I lose my mind. Her hands paw at my shirt buttons, lips on mine as she rolls against me. “Miles,” she breathes, pushing my shirt open and kissing my collarbone and neck, leaving a scorching trail of kisses, ones that I want to immortalize on my skin like the rest of the ink there.

I’m dizzy from all the blood pumping around my body at warp speed. Dizzy with having her wrapped around me, needing me, showing me how badly she wants me. Yet somehow, in the midst of her touch and kisses, I remind myself that she’s worth more. “Wait, wait, wait,” I say, pulling her back up to my face. “Hold up, let me think.” Because, right now, the only thing in control is south of my waistband.

“I don’t want to wait, Miles. You are what I want.” She kisses my jaw again, and I bite back a groan.

“I want you too, but Queenie…” I stop her and pull her face to mine until our noses touch. “You’re worth more than a quick fuck in the locker room. I want to enjoy you and take my damn time getting to know every single freckled inch of you.”

She whimpers.

She fucking whimpers.

And it takes everything in me not to fold, but she does deserve more. She deserves to be worshipped like the Queen she is.

“Okay, you’re right. You’re right.” She kisses me softly, as though I’m the most fragile thing in her world and something deeper inside me shifts. I definitely feel all the things for her. All the big, scary things that I’ve never felt for anyone else before. And then, as I’m debating how my world suddenly revolves around her, she slides down my body slowly, eyes locked on mine and keeps moving lower and lower until she’s sunk to her knees before me.

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