Page 30 of Dangerous Affair (The Phoenix Three #2)

L iam chickened out. It was the perfect time and place to bring up wanting to see where this thing between them could go.

The sky was an artist’s abstract painting of yellows and pinks.

The soft slap of the ocean against the sand was music floating in the air, and his gaze was drawn to Quinn as she closed her eyes and lifted her face to the gentle breeze.

It was the perfect evening for having that talk, but what if she wasn’t ready to admit, to accept that they were past having a simple fling? If he tried and she shut him down, dug her heels in and closed her mind to the possibility of them, he would lose any chance he had with her.

So, instead of that talk he wanted to have, he decided they would have a quiet, romantic night. The situation she’d found herself in was close to breaking open, and this might be their last chance to spend time alone. At the moment, she was staring out at the ocean and seemed miles away.

“Penny for your thoughts.” She didn’t respond. Had she even heard him? “Quinn?”

She startled. “Sorry, what?”

“Where’d you go? In your mind?” Why was she blushing?

“Oh, just…um, you’ll think I’m weird.”

“I already think you’re weird, so no problem there.” He winked to let her know he was teasing her. She had his curiosity going, though. When she just stared at him, he said, “You can tell me anything.”

“You know, you’re the first person I’ve felt I could tell about this little quirk I have.”

“Now you have my attention.” It had to be a good thing that she trusted him with something she’d never told anyone else.

She picked up her wineglass and took a healthy swallow.

After setting it back down, she cleared her throat.

“Okay, here goes. Just now, I was imagining us living on an island in the South Pacific. No one else lives on that island but us. Well, along with these cute little monkeys that swam ashore after a shipwreck a hundred years ago. They showed us where there was fresh, pure water. There were mango trees and banana trees and coconuts, and all the fish we could eat. So we had plenty of food, but I was getting kind of tired of eating nothing but fish. We…ah, we didn’t wear clothes.

” She was blushing again. “See, I’m weird. ”

“That’s very detailed.” He ignored the weird part for a moment.

She shrugged. “All my fantasies are.”

“Do you have these fantasies often?” Quinn Sullivan was more fascinating by the minute.

“I don’t know. Just sometimes my mind creates these pictures.

Mostly when I’m stressed and want to escape.

It started after my mom died. I missed her so much and cried a lot.

One day, my dad took me out to her favorite spot in the garden.

He had a picnic spread out on a blanket the same way she used to.

He told me to imagine she was with us, and we talked about her. It made me feel better.

“After that, when I would cry, he’d tell me to create a story in my mind with her in it.

Like someplace special we might be, and he’d ask where we were, what we were doing, what we were eating.

I was ten years old, and those stories I’d make up with Mom in them were a comfort.

As time went on, the stories would get more creative, more detailed.

At some point, I started creating fantasies that didn’t have her in it. I’ve had a few with you in them.”

“Yeah? More than this one?” She nodded. “Tell me another one about us.”

“The first one I had with you in it was when we were in the woods and Jasper was shooting at us. I was a bit stressed out, so my mind made up a story that took me away from the danger we were in.”

“I want to hear it.”

“Well, we built a cabin in the woods. You hunted for our food, and I grew potatoes. We…ah, we had babies with your blue eyes.”

“Maybe we could have one or two with your green eyes.” He was suddenly imagining her pregnant with their baby and his male brain liked that picture.

She laughed. “I guess that would only be fair.”

“Right now, I’m having my own fantasy. Want to hear it?” He loved how her eyes lit up when she was happy.

“Tell me.”

“I’d rather show you.” He stood and held out his hand, pleased when she didn’t hesitate to take it.

“Where are we going?”

“Someplace we don’t need clothes.” He took her to his bedroom, where he tried to show her without words how much she meant to him.

He wanted to tell her he was falling for her, but he was afraid that would scare her off.

She hadn’t given him any indication that he meant more to her than that fling she insisted they were having.

Fling. He hated that word.

* * *

The next morning, Liam was enjoying a cup of coffee on his balcony while he waited for Quinn to wake up.

He thought about how he should proceed with her.

She hadn’t said anything about her next assignment.

He didn’t doubt she had one scheduled, probably had her next year booked out.

He frowned. Did she intend to tell him her plans or just leave when the time came?

Should he push for some kind of commitment from her or let things play out?

He couldn’t decide, and he hated being hesitant to do so.

His military training had programmed him to be decisive.

She’d told him the reason for her no-relationship rule, and he got why she felt that way after her experiences with other men.

He wasn’t other men, but how could he prove to her that he would never come between her and the career that she loved?

His phone chirped, Grayson’s name on the screen. “What’s up?”

“The West Virginia sheriff and one of his deputies are on the way here to interview Quinn. They expect to arrive around one.”

“Did they give any pushback on coming here?”

“Big-time. Threatened to issue an arrest warrant if she didn’t appear at the sheriff’s office by noon tomorrow.

John told them she wasn’t returning to Hope Corner, so if they wanted to talk to her, it was here or nowhere.

Then he dropped the big bomb. Said since she was kidnapped, she wanted to call the FBI to report what Garrison had done.

He told the sheriff that he was advising her to do just that. ”

Liam chuckled. “That must have gone over big.”

“It went over like a lead balloon. John said he got about a full minute of sputtering before the sheriff grumbled his agreement to talk to her here.”

“Interesting that they don’t want the FBI involved.”

“John’s vibe from the sheriff is that he doesn’t want another agency encroaching on his territory, especially the Feds. John wants to meet with Quinn before they get here, so why don’t you bring her over to my place for an early lunch. John will be here, and she can talk to him then.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Their lawyer was soft-spoken and kind to those he liked, and he would like Quinn and she him.

Underneath that gentle nature was a man as sharp as a whip and a formidable opponent to any who came up against him.

She would be in good hands. “What was his impression of the sheriff?”

“That he doesn’t have any other suspects, so he’s going to try to pin Garrison’s murder on Quinn.

This isn’t going to be fun for her, so let’s make sure she’s well prepped before the interview.

Since you’re going to surprise him with the story that you rescued her, John’s also meeting with you.

I don’t think the sheriff’s going to be happy when he finds out you’re involved in all this. ”

“Because he’ll realize he can’t bully me. Not to mention that I’m a decorated Marine, giving his suspect an alibi.”

“Exactly. See you in a few hours.”

Liam hadn’t even met the sheriff yet, but his hackles were already up.

He was going to have to work hard to keep his temper in check if the man tried to terrorize Quinn into making a false confession.

Under no condition were they taking Quinn back to Hope Corner with them.

If he had to spirit her away and hide her, he would.