Page 40 of Stick Around,
And then today, we’d moved her stuff over to our house.
Walter didn’t even lift his head as I slipped out of the room, clearly unimpressed with my midnight restlessness. The hallway was quiet, and as I passed my bedroom door, I let my hand hover near the knob for a moment before I forced myself to keep walking.
I padded down the stairs, my plan simple: make a nest on the couch, find a boring documentary on TV, and finally get some sleep. What I hadn’t planned for was the soft glow coming from the kitchen.
Or the sight that greeted me when I rounded the corner.
Quinn stood with her back to me, reaching into the cabinet above the coffee maker. The light above the stove spilled across her form, illuminating miles of bare legs and the gentle curve where her pink tank top rode up, exposing a sliver of skin at her lower back.
My mouth went dry as I registered what she was, and wasn’t, wearing. Black underwear was the only thing covering her lower half. And what a glorious half it was.
If I turned around now, she wouldn’t even notice I’d been there.
Instead, I stood frozen, my eyes tracing the line of her spine, the delicate hollow behind her knee, the soft shadow where her thighs met. And her ass? Something awakened in me, a hunger that had nothing to do with food.
She turned, a glass in her hand, and our eyes met.
Her lips parted slightly in surprise, and my gaze dropped to her chest, where the thin fabric of her tank top did little toconceal the outline of her breasts or the hardened peaks of her nipples.
Heat rushed to my face as I jerked my eyes back up to hers.
“I’m sorry.” I took a step backward. “I didn’t… I should’ve… I’ll just…” My back hit the doorframe, and I fumbled to turn around.
Real smooth. Why was I so damned awkward?
“Reid.” Quinn’s voice was scratchy with sleep, and my cock shouldn’t have jumped at that, but it did.
“I couldn’t sleep and was coming down for the couch. I didn’t know you were…” My eyes raked over her. “I’ll go back upstairs.”
“Don’t.” The single word halted me more effectively than a physical barrier.
“I couldn’t sleep either.” Quinn put her glass on the counter and walked toward me. “Something about being in someone else’s bed makes my brain go into overdrive.”
The mention of her in my bed sent another wave of heat through me, this time settling low in my stomach. I swallowed hard. “Is that so?”
The kitchen light caught the gold flecks in her hazel eyes, making them shimmer with something unreadable. Her fingers brushed mine, a touch so light I might have imagined it if not for the trail of electricity it left on my skin. “The couch is too uncomfortable to sleep on.”
I glanced toward the living room, where the couch indeed looked woefully inadequate for my six-foot frame. “Better than that squeaky air mattress.”
Quinn bit her lip, considering something. “Your bed is big enough for both of us.”
I studied her face, looking for any sign of uncertainty or pity, but found only an open invitation in her eyes.
“Quinn.” Her name came out rougher than I intended. “Are you sure?”
“It’s just sleep, Reid.” She smiled, but something in her expression told me it wasn’t just anything. “Unless you’d prefer the couch’s lumbar punishment program.”
I cleared my throat. “I’ll grab us some water.”
Moving to the refrigerator gave me a moment to collect myself. The thought of sharing a bed with Quinn sent electricity racing through my veins, a current of anticipation that had no business being there if this was truly “just sleep.” But after what I’d witnessed between her and Kellan, and knowing she’d been with Enzo as well, I wasn’t sure where I fit in this unfolding dynamic.
I retrieved two water bottles and then followed Quinn up the stairs. The gentle sway of her hips in those black underwear was hypnotic, and I wondered what it would be like to slip my fingers under them and feel her warm skin against my palms.
The thoughts were so vivid that I nearly stumbled on the top step.
Once in my room, I shut the door behind us. The sheets on my bed were rumpled on the side where Quinn had been lying, and seeing the physical evidence of her in my cock twitch.
She slid under the covers, and I put the water bottles on the nightstand before joining her. I held myself rigid, acutely aware of every inch of space between us.
