Page 24 of Ignite: Tony's Story
I’m delirious and exhausted, but I also really need the bathroom.
Tony picks me up like a bride being walked over a threshold, and physically takes me to the bathroom and sets me on the toilet. He and Quinn strip the bed and then come back to the bathroom, pulling me into the shower between them.
They wash me from head to toe as I stand there in a stunned silence. Call it mommy/daddy issues or what you will, but I’ve never felt so cared for.
Once again, is this really my life?
Tony
I feel like I’m living in some kind of fantasy world.
Waking up with not just one someone, but two someones, that I am truly growing to have feelings for. They make me feel… alive.
We’ve all been working hard all day, busting our asses on writing better decryption programs to help us get into all the data Mara pulled off Adley’s secret server. Mara’s also been working on modifying a Rubber Ducky USB hacking device. She has a harebrained idea that she could infiltrate the warehouse lab in Raleigh. I’m not a fan of the idea so far.
Quinn is currently trying to distract me.
“Hand it over, Quinn.”
“Make me,” he says, smirking. He holds my lifeline− my phone− behind his back.
“I’m waiting for an important call.”
“Dude, you’ve been waiting for Bennet to call you all day. He’s probably balls deep inside their mystery girl, and if he’s lucky, someone’s balls deep in him, too.”
“Really?” I want to punish him for putting that visual in my head.I also really kind of want to try that…
“What time does Mara get back?” Quinn asks, voicing my next thought.
“In the next couple hours or so.” I say, hopefully. She went back to Adley’s office to make sure there wasn’t anything else she missed and to cover her tracks, since it’s unlikely she’ll return to the office once we get all the information we need.
The decryption program we wrote together is working like a charm. We honestly work really well together, and I’ve never enjoyed “work” more. I have a bunch more files to send Bennet that might be worthy of his secret FBI contact. Except he hasn’t called me back since I spoke to him this morning. He was on his way to meet his father.
That I haven’t heard from either of them is giving me anxiety. I’m pretty sure Quinn recognizes this, which is why he is hell bent on distracting me from my phone− by stealing it and playing keep-away. Like a child.
“You know, if you’re going to continue to act like a child, I might just have to spank you.” I meant it as a joke, but the words sound salacious coming out of my mouth.
“Ooh, please do.” He’s taunting me, but his eyes get wide when I stalk towards him. He’s cornered at the end of the hallway, with nowhere to run unless he thinks he can get past me.
I get close enough to hear when he swallows. I’m only an inch or two taller than him, but I use every centimeter to my advantage, crowding him against the wall.
Just for effect− I’m still unsure if I could pull off actually spanking an adult man and keep a straight face− I unbuckle my belt and pull it from the loops of my slacks. Earlier, Quinn made fun of me for dressing like I work in an actual office when I could walk around in my boxers all day. I quickly pointed out that he was, in fact, walking around inmyboxers.
Quinn’s eyes follow the movement of my hands as I wrap the belt around my knuckles once, snapping the leather against itself. The sound echoes off the walls.
“Want to hand my phone over now, Quinn?”
Watching the flicker of mischievous challenge flash over his eyes, my body tenses. I forget just how athletic he is as he feigns to the right, but then quickly skirts by my left when I lunge for him.
He laughs with his whole body. His mouth opens wide, head tipped back, shoulders shaking. Mara hinted he has somewhat of a dark past with his family, but you’d never know it by the way playfulness and sheer joy radiate from his whole body.
His distraction technique works before I even realize it, and I take off, chasing him through the house. He runs down the hallway, through the kitchen, and jumps over the living room sofa in a single bound, shrieking with glee as he evades me. I finally catch up to him enough to dive and tackle him to the bedroom floor.
At first, we are laughing so hard that tears are streaming from my eyes. Cracking up at our own ridiculousness as we wrestle like children over a toy.
But somewhere along the way, the laughter and play turns into something else. The phone lays forgotten on the floor, and instead we’re wrestling each other’s clothes off.
Maybe it’s a good thing that I don’t have time to think about my actions or consider that I’ve never been with another man before I met Quinn. Knowing me, I’d overthink it. But right now, my brain is firing a million different ways that only lead to one outcome.
