Page 58 of Never Again

Found two more metal discs hidden in her backpack. After double-checking that there weren’t any more discs, he handed her bag back to her as an SUV pulled into the parking lot. She watched as Jakob jumped out of the SUV and grabbed a large metal bin from the back and quickly joined them. Without a word, Jakob grabbed everything off the car and placed it in the bin.

When Nathan tossed the thumb drive to Jakob, Bailey glanced at her brother to find him shaking his head once. Swallowing hard, she watched Jakob add the thumb drive to the bin before securing it and placing it in the trunk of Nathan’s car, further confusing her as she looked back at Quinn and-

“Change of plans.”

CHAPTER34

Emerald Bay, Florida

“This isn’t Massachusetts,” the small woman who’d passed out an hour ago mumbled sleepily as they pulled into the long driveway hidden by the surrounding woods.

“No, it’s not,” Quinn murmured absently as his gaze flickered to the rear-view mirror before shifting his attention back to the imposing security gate in front of them.

“You lied to me,” Bailey grumbled as she shifted to get more comfortable in the seat next to him.

“Yes, I did,” Quinn said, noting the cameras watching their every move.

“Bully,” Bailey muttered, making his lips twitch despite the fury tearing through him.

He’d fucked up.

He never should have brought her back there, never should have taken her to that fucking bar, and he should have walked away when he realized just how fucking badly he wanted her. There was no walking away.

Not now.

When the gate slid open seconds later, Quinn resigned himself to what he knew was coming as he drove through the gate and down the winding road as he took Bailey’s hand in his and realized that he didn’t fucking care anymore. He was done. Had been for a long time, but he didn’t realize it until Bailey fell asleep in his arms under that tree. The moment that he wrapped his arms around her…

It was like coming home.

He tried to fight it, tried to tell himself that it was a mistake, but the moment that his mouth found hers in the elevator, he knew that it was over. He’d stopped fighting it. He wanted her, more than anything.

For so fucking long, he’d told himself that his job was enough, but he’d been lying to himself. He wanted more in his life than a job that left him fucking exhausted, which, judging by the look on Tristan’s face as he pulled in front of the house, most likely wasn’t going to be an issue anymore.

Tristan didn’t say anything as Quinn climbed out of the car, but then again, he hadn’t expected him to. With a nod and a curious look in Bailey’s direction, Tristan headed back inside the large house, leaving them to follow him inside. After one last look back at the driveway, Quinn made his way around the car and-

“I’m ready to be carried,” the small woman that he was quickly becoming addicted to mumbled as she tried to curl back into a ball when he opened her door.

“You really are a pain in the ass,” Quinn said, sighing heavily as he picked her up and pressed a kiss against her forehead before he kicked the car door shut and headed inside.

“I’m fine with that,” Bailey murmured with a satisfied sigh as she laid her head against his chest.

“I bet you are,” Quinn murmured, kissing the top of her head simply because he couldn’t help himself.

“I really am,” Bailey said as he stepped into the foyer and found Tristan waiting for them.

He watched his best friend’s cold gaze shift from him to the small woman in his arms as he said, “We’ll talk in the morning.”

With a nod, Quinn carried Bailey upstairs and headed for the room at the end of the hallway that he normally used when he stayed here. As soon as he placed Bailey on the large bed, he headed back downstairs and wasn’t surprised to find their bags by the front door and absolutely no signs of his best friend, letting him know just how pissed Tristan was.

Not that he could blame him, he’d fucked up, after all.

Telling himself that he’d worry about that tomorrow, Quinn threw Bailey’s backpack over his shoulder before grabbing their bags and headed upstairs, only to find himself frowning when he walked into the room and found the bed empty. When he heard the shower running, Quinn placed their bags by the door before closing it, and after a slight pause, he made his way into the bathroom and nearly fucking groaned when he spotted Bailey shimmying out of her panties.

God, she fucking destroyed him, Quinn thought, licking his lips hungrily as he ran his eyes over her. The last shower they took together, he’d been out of his fucking mind thinking about what could have happened to her at that bar to enjoy the sight before him. But now…

He toed off his shoes as he reached for his belt, pulling it loose before unsnapping his pants and carefully pulling the zipper down over the hard bulge that was quickly forming as he ran his eyes over her. She was so fucking beautiful, Quinn thought as he pulled his shirt loose before focusing on the buttons while he took in lightly tanned skin covering the decadent curves that had his cock becoming painfully hard.

When Bailey saw him standing there, she gave him a sleepy little smile that had his heart skipping a beat as he gave up unbuttoning his shirt and went to her. She felt so fucking good in his arms, Quinn thought as he wrapped his arms around her and met her for a slow kiss that had him groaning as his hands slid down her back, enjoying the feel of warm, soft skin beneath his touch.

---