Page 16 of Rehabbing the Beast
He grunted softly and absorbed the blow with only a half-step backward.
“No thanks to you,” he said, his voice rough.
Hearing those words and realizing what she’d done, she backed off and tried to regain some semblance of self-control. The smile on her face faded as her cheeks flooded with color. Clearly, six months of daydreaming and fantasizing had made her delusional.
“You left me, Cupcake. Left me with those sadistic bastards.”
His deep voice rolled over her like crushed velvet, darker and smoother than she remembered. Seductive and almost playful, it was like the deep purr of a large cat. Andwow, he looked good. Better than good. The man wore a pair of jeans like they were meant to be worn. And that snug Henley reminded her of everything that lay beneath, all those muscles she had spent hours massaging. The ones she still felt beneath her fingers when she dreamt of him every night.
“You said I was sadistic, too, remember?” she reminded him, crossing her arms over her chest to hide her body’s physical (and humiliating) reaction to him. It wasn’t the fall chill in the air that had her nipples pebbling beneath the soft cotton, and this time she didn’t have the concealing comfort of heavy scrubs to cover them.
His nostrils flared and those icy blue eyes glittered, as if heknew. “Before it was just a guess on my part. Now I know for sure.”
“Is that why you came here, Seth?” she asked, suddenly feeling drained. She’d forgotten how intense a few minutes in his presence could be. “To tell me how much you hate me? Or are you really going to make good on all those threats to kill me and hide my body where no one will ever find it?”
His eyes widened slightly, then his lips quirked. “Did I really say that?”
“Yes,” she nodded emphatically. “Repeatedly.”
“Oh.” He seemed almost regretful. “Well, no, actually, that’s not why I’m here.”
“Why are you here then?”
Seth took a step toward her. Quinn backed up. Seth took another step. So did Quinn. They continued until Quinn’s back was pressed up against the wall on the far side of the room and Seth was close enough for her to feel the heat radiating from his much larger body.
“Because I needed to know that you were all right,” he whispered, lifting his hand and gently tracing the pads of his fingers over the left side of her face. The bruises had long since faded, but a few fine lines remained, tiny but stark reminders of the incident. “Are you all right, Quinn?”
“Y-yes,” she stammered. She was terrified and excited at the same time, unable to move. Despite the roughness of his hands, his touch was so gentle, almost tender. She realized then that Seth had never actually touched her before outside of incidental contact. She had always been the one touching him.
“I heard you lost some vision in that eye. Is that true?”
“Y-yes.”
“Hmmm,” he hummed, studying her face carefully. She could feel his warm, moist breath whispering across her skin, a delicious mix of peppermint and chocolate.
She began to grow lightheaded as his nearness, his heat, enveloped her. Quinn reached deep within for the strength to resist. She could not allow herself to lose the tenuous grip she had on her emotions, not in front of Seth. She had to put some space between them so she could think straight.
“Is that all you wanted?” she managed to ask, her voice betraying her.
“No,” he breathed, crowding even closer so that her lips were just a hair away from the pulse in his neck. Quinn felt his heat, inhaled his unique scent, a heady combination of musk and spice and soap. “There’s something else I came for as well.” With those words, he lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers.
After her initial surprise, she softened beneath him, and before she could fully process what was happening, he deepened the kiss. His hand went around her waist while his tongue skimmed her lips, begging for entrance.
She gave it to him.
“Push me away, Cupcake,” he said roughly, leaning his forehead against hers.
“No,” she whispered, her eyes dazed. Her hands were on his chest, fisting into his shirt, but not to push him away. To hold on.
This was all she had ever wanted; everything she had ever dreamed of. To be held in the arms of a man she loved; to be kissed by him. It was the first time in her life that she had allowed a man to touch her without the intent of doing her harm. She could not let that go so easily. She wouldn’t.
“Jesus, Quinn.”
His words cut through the haze and gave her the strength to do what he’d asked. She pushed lightly at his chest, just enough to squeeze out of his grasp and step to the side. She breathed heavily, her heart pounding as if she had just run a sprint.
She’d let herself get carried away by Seth and his unexpected kiss. Relinquishing whatever control she’d had left her weak. She leaned against the table to catch her breath and chanced a quick glance at Seth. He looked every bit as stricken as she felt.
“Quinn, lass, are ye ready?” Siobhan stepped into the room and stopped as soon as she saw Quinn’s face, ashen and pained. “Och, child, what is it?”
