After Quinn’s confession in the hot tub it took everything I had to not explode with outrage.
How dare that fucking asshole treat her like that?
What was even worse, was the fact that Quinn’s hands were tied. She was right that there was no easy way out. The best thing she could do was prove herself on her own terms.
Which meant this whole bar reno thing had to be a success.
Quinn left the hot tub. I didn’t follow her right away. I knew she probably wanted to be alone.
I sat in the almost-too-hot water long enough to feel dizzy before I got out. Hopefully I’d given her enough time.
When I got back to the hotel room she was still in her ensuite bathroom. I can’t lie, I was a bit let down that the place had separate bathrooms. It wasn’t like I was planning on walking in on her in the shower or anything. I’m not a total pervert. But it would have given us a reason to be near each other. Sharing a sink while we brushed our teeth, or watching her put on makeup in the mirror while I shaved.
Fuck, that sounded so domestic, didn’t it?
I groaned to myself.
What the hell had this girl done to me?
But I couldn’t help it. Those were the kinds of places my brain whenever I thought about her. That slight smile on her lips, watching her suppress a laugh, that wrinkle of her nose when she walked into my brother’s bar, that single raised eyebrow that told me she wasn’t going to tolerate any of my bullshit…
I was drawn to her. And I knew Quinn was drawn to me. It wasn’t hard to tell. I’d caught her watching me more than once or twice. The way her breath sped up, the way her cheeks flushed, the muted heat in her eyes…
This thing we had was mutual. It had to be.
I went to my bedroom in the hotel suite and changed out of my wet swim trunks and into a soft pair of sweatpants. I went back to find the living area still empty. Quinn was taking her time in the shower. I could hear the soft sounds of the water spraying. I almost thought I could hear the sounds of the spray hitting her skin, dripping down her body and following the lines of her curves.
My cock stirred as my mind went into the gutter.
I’d seen most of Quinn’s body when we’d gone swimming. When she walked out into the pool my jaw almost dropped. Yeah, I knew Quinn was hot, but seeing that soft, creamy skin on display, wondering how she would feel under my hands, it was almost too much to take.
Luckily the cold water helped stop me from getting rock hard.
But now, in the warm hotel room there was nothing to stop my cock from rising in my sweatpants.
Quinn was naked in that shower, and fuck, but I wanted to be in there with her.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
Not yet, at least.
I was starting to feel hungry. I focused on the rumbling in my stomach to distract myself from thoughts of wet, naked Quinn.
I flipped through the hotel menu, trying to decide what to get. I spotted a classic cheese and meat tray. I called down to the front desk and placed the order. It seemed like the kind of thing Quinn would like. Something easy and simple she could eat while she continued to work.
That girl was a workaholic if I’d ever met one. At least now I understood why.
Fury began to rise in my chest again when I thought about what Quinn had told me.
I knew the world could be a shitty place, and I knew women had it worse than men when it come to some things, but fuck… The shit that girl was going through made me so angry I wanted to punch my fist through the wall.
Or into that asshole’s face.
I wanted to fix it. I wanted to solve this problem for her. But I felt helpless. What could I possible do the make this situation better? I couldn’t just storm in there and beat the guy to a pulp, as much as I would have loved to.
It seemed the only way to help Quinn was to work hard on this renovation. To help her prove herself at work so she could get out from under that guy’s thumb.
I looked around and spotted Quinn’s folder of work papers. I took it and sat down on the sofa to leaf through them. I only understand about a quarter of it. That blogger list was there, along with several itineraries. But then there were dozens of spreadsheets with numbers and tons of documents with business jargon. I frowned down at the papers, trying to decipher them, but it was all Greek to me.
I set those aside and went back to the itineraries. I couldn’t find one for this weekend’s little adventure, but I was sure it was there somewhere. Quinn wasn’t the type to leave out any details.
A knock came from the door and I opened it to find a bellhop with the tray of meat and cheese. I took it from him with a thanks and handed over some cash as a tip.
The platter was fancy as hell with all kinds of expensive cheeses and rolls of meat I couldn’t identify. It was all a little too rich for my blood. I was used to truck stop sandwiches picked up on tour.
My heart stuttered in my chest.
One the one hand, I hated being reminded about my life on the road. It only reminded me of everything I had lost. But the memories themselves weren’t bad. I’d had a lot of fun visiting different cities and meeting all kinds of fans.
It was like my heart was torn in two. I had loved being a musician, but the lifestyle had been getting to me. Being told by my doctor that I had to give it up had almost destroyed me, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I left the industry anyway.
That constant push-and-pull used to consume my every waking thought. Did I regret what happened or not? Was I feeling loss or relief?
Perhaps the answer was a simple as… both.
But recently, I had been spending fewer moments agonizing over what happened. I’d been focusing more on my future. Looking ahead to all the new experiences that waited for me.
And Quinn had big a big part of that.
The sound of the shower stopped, so I knew Quinn had gotten out. I imagined her slipping into a cute pair of yoga pants. The curve of her hips was delicious in those pencil skirts. I was dying to know what that cute ass looked like in something more revealing.
I didn’t want her to see me waiting for her with my tongue hanging out in anticipation, though, so I went back to the work folder.
Quinn had helped me overcome some of my demons. Now it was my turn to help her kick hers to the curb.
I didn’t have the words to really express just how much she meant to me.
But I could show her.
***
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