Page 21 of Delayed Penalty (Seattle Serpents #3)

CHAPTER 21

HAYES

“Man, can you believe our little sister?”

Matthew, Quinn’s fuckhead older brother, takes a swill of what appears to be his sixth beer, rocking back on his plastic lawn chair as we all sit out back, dinner settling in our bellies.

Well, mine’s not settling. It’s sitting at the base of my throat, waiting for me to barf it all back up because all I did was sit there while they shit on her so I didn’t ruin Bess’s holiday meal. It took everything I had not to say something, not to reach over the table and punch that stupid fucking smirk off Matthew’s face. Hell, it’s taking everything I have now.

These people have no idea who Quinn really is. They don’t know she stays up every night to help Flora with her homework with nothing but patience and kindness, don’t know she reads to her nightly, helping her sound out the words she doesn’t know and giving her definitions when Flora has questions. They don’t know Quinn single-handedly taught her the multiplication tables and is learning how to cook by watching YouTube all so I can eat better during the season and Flora doesn’t have to survive off grilled cheese and pickles—though I doubt the kid would complain about it.

They don’t know shit about her, and they certainly don’t know that Quinn would make a fantastic teacher. I’d pay all the money in the world to put her through school and make it happen for her.

“She really thinks she can be a teacher, huh? She can barely take care of herself.” Her douchebag brother looks at me, rocking back in his chair again. I wish I could sweep the legs right out from under him. “Honestly, between you and me, I wouldn’t trust her around your niece. She has no sense of what’s right and wrong. She’d probably allow her to run off in a crowded mall or something. Too busy looking at more hideous earrings she can scare men away with.”

I grip the edges of my chair so hard I can feel the plastic bending beneath my fingers.

Don’t hit him. Don’t hit him. Don’t hit him.

I really, really want to hit him.

The back door swings open and out walks Quinn, Flora by her side, that damn cat in one arm and a plate stacked full of desserts in the other. I relax at the sight of them, but only a little.

“Speak of the devil… What are you doing, Quinny? Practicing corrupting the youth for when you become a ‘teacher’?” He rolls his eyes. “I?—”

I rise out of my chair so fast it topples over, all eyes shooting to me. I think one of her sisters even gasps, though I couldn’t tell you which one. They’ve both had their noses turned up all night, so I can’t really tell them apart.

“Don’t,” I growl.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t. Don’t you dare say another fucking word to her.”

“I can say whatever I want about her.” Matthew rises from his chair, stumbling ever so slightly. “She’s my sister. She’s just your nanny.”

The fuck she is.

I march toward him, done listening to his bullshit and definitely done worrying about screwing up Bess’s holiday. This guy needs a good ass kicking, and I just happen to be willing to deliver it.

“Hayes!”

I ignore the call.

“Hayes!”

I don’t fucking stop. I can’t. I want to hit this fucker way too much to stop .

“Adam!”

My feet halt of their own accord, and I turn to Quinn, who is halfway down the stairs, her eyes filled with fear. I remember how Hutch and Auden were able to have a whole conversation with just a single glance, and that’s what Quinn and I are doing right now.

Don’t do this , hers begs.

Fuck that guy , mine says back.

I look back at Matthew, who is standing there smirking at me, so close I could reach out and punch him and I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep over it. But then I look to Flora, who is watching with wide eyes, then to Quinn, who is still staring after me.

Please , her hazel eyes implore.

As much as I don’t want to, I cave. I won’t hit her brother. Not here. Not now. But that doesn’t mean I’m leaving without saying something. I turn to him, closing the distance between us until my nose is damn near pressed up against his. At least the prick is smart enough to look scared.

“If you’re going to insist on talking to her like that, this is the only warning I’m giving you—do it again, and you’ll be bleeding all over your pretty Prada loafers, Matty .”

Matthew’s eyes widen like he’s the one being put out here. Me? All I can do is remember the look in Quinn’s eyes to keep me from making it happen anyway.

I look at the rest of her siblings. “That goes for every last one of you pricks too. One more bad word about her and we’re going to have problems.”

“What’s going on here?”

I turn to find Bess and Chuck coming down the stairs, their eyes bouncing from me to Matthew to Quinn.

“Everything okay, Hayes?” Bess asks.

“It’s fine, Mom. I?—”

“No, Bess.” I cut her off because I know she was about to apologize, and that’s bullshit. She has nothing to apologize for. “Everything isn’t okay. It’s not okay for this to continue. For your other children to rag on Quinn because she’s trying to find something she loves to do instead of taking the first soul-sucking job that comes her way. You know I like you, so please forgive me for causing a scene with your children, but we’re leaving.”

“We are?” Flora asks as I grab her hand, tugging her up the stairs. “But dessert!”

“We’ll eat it in the car,” I say, holding my other hand out to Quinn.

She looks down at it, then back up at me.

“Quinnicorn?” Chuck eyes his daughter. “Dear?”

Then she grins and slides her hand into mine .

“Mom, Dad, thank you for dinner. It was delicious as always, and I’m sorry we can’t stay any longer.” She turns to her brothers and sisters. “As for all of you…” She flips her middle finger up at them, and I laugh, holding her hand the whole way to the car.

I sit on the edge of my bed, watching the minutes tick by. Every ounce of me is screaming to run to Quinn, to check and make sure she’s okay, but she just put Flora down not even ten minutes ago, and the last thing I want is for her to get up and wander out looking for one of us and find us together.

Especially not after Flora’s confession. She loves Quinn.

I’m not stupid. I know they’ve grown very close, and I knew the likelihood of Flora getting attached to her nanny was extremely high. But to actually hear her say it? That was something else entirely.

It’s not even because I’m jealous of their love. I know deep down Flora loves me in her own way. It just made me feel absolutely racked with guilt over what Quinn and I have been hiding. I’ve been so wrapped up in Quinn and how good she feels that I’ve stopped thinking of how this could impact Flora heavily if things were to go south. She should have been my first thought this entire time, not my second.

Yet…I watch the clock, counting down the minutes until I can go to Quinn. It’s funny. My parents were addicted to alcohol, and my brother was addicted to drugs. Me? I’m addicted to Quinn Benson, and it’s one habit I don’t want to kick.

Tap, tap, tap.

I jerk my head up.

Was that…?

Then I hear it again.

Tap, tap, tap.

I scramble across the room, wrenching open the door.

“Hi,” Quinn says quietly, standing before me in a Serpents t-shirt that’s so big I can’t even see the sleep shorts I know she’s wearing underneath.

She’s wearing my shirt. She’s wearing my shirt and she’s standing at my door and fuck if I don’t want to kiss her.

She slips into my room, pressing her back against the door as she closes it. I want to close the distance between us and kiss her so fucking bad my fingertips literally ache to touch her.

But I don’t. We need to talk first. The ride home was silent save for Flora happily eating her dessert in the back seat of Quinn’s Bug, and we were just as quiet when we got home. She did her nightly routine with Flora while I hid away in my room, trying to talk myself out of driving back over to her parents’ place and really giving them a piece of my mind before pummeling Matthew.

Fuck, I still want to do it.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

She nods, but it doesn’t match the tears shining in her eyes.

“Honey…”

And now they’re no longer just shining. They’re running down her cheeks, one little tear, then another big one, and I fucking hate it. Her chin wobbles and she sniffles, brushing the streaks away.

“I’m sorry. It’s nothing. It’s just…”

“Just that they’re all assholes?”

She laughs lightly. “Yeah, that. It’s nothing new though. They do it all the time. I should be used to it by now.”

“No, Quinn, you shouldn’t. You should never be used to something like that, and they should never be talking to you like that. And your parents should damn sure never let it happen.”

That part pissed me off nearly as much as the shit her siblings were spewing. How could Bess and Chuck just sit by while their kids tore into her? I never would have expected that from Bess .

Quinn shakes her head. “No, no, don’t blame them. My parents are great. They love me. Sure, they’re totally exhausted by me always jumping from one thing to the next, but they love me no matter what.”

I have no doubt she’s telling the truth, but what I witnessed today still wasn’t right.

“They should still say something.”

She shrugs. “Maybe. But Matthew and them wouldn’t have gotten nearly as ugly as they did if my parents were in the room. They’re dumb but not that dumb.”

“I’m not sure dumb is the word I’d use for that prick. Maybe a douchey piece of shit or asswipe or something to that effect. Actually, I should bring him to a game. Let the guys have a go at chirping him for a bit. He’ll change his tune real quick.”

“That does sound really nice.” She smiles at the thought. “But that’s not what I came in here for. I don’t want to talk about them.”

“Then why’d you come in here? I mean, I have an idea why, but…”

“Well, that , and for another reason. I, uh…” She tucks a stray hair behind her ear. “I wanted to say thank you.”

Okay, I was not expecting that.

“Thank you? For what? ”

“For standing up for me.”

Her words are like a punch to the gut. While I did say something to her fuckface brother, I still sat there and let her get ragged on for far too long.

“I should have said something sooner. I should have stopped them before I did. I?—”

She shakes her head. “You didn’t because you’re a gentleman, Hayes. Because you’re starting to think before you act and you didn’t want to ruin my family’s Thanksgiving. I didn’t realize it at first, but the moment you stood up from your chair, I could see it, could see how much you’d been holding back all day. So, no, while you didn’t say anything right away, you still said something , and that’s a hell of a lot better than not saying anything at all.”

She’s wrong. It’s not better. I still should have said something. I?—

“Stop,” she says, sliding her arms around my neck. “Stop beating yourself up.”

“I’m not beating myself up. I’m?—”

“Adam?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up and kiss me already.”

I crowd her against the door, not wasting a single second, and press our bodies together tightly, taking her mouth in mine, kissing her hard and fast like I can’t get enough because I can’t get enough. But that’s how it’s always been, hasn’t it?

When I finally release her, she sighs, like she’s been waiting for the kiss all day, and I feel like I have too.

“That’s better,” she mutters, and I couldn’t agree more. “Now, I’d like to be fucked hard and fast, please.”

I smile down at her. “Is that so?”

“Yep. You said I should use my words, right?”

“I did say that, huh?”

I kiss her again but slow this time, softer. She’s having no part of it, pulling at my shirt, trying to take it off.

“Easy, easy,” I say, holding myself away. “We’ll get to your thing, but I want to do my thing first, okay?”

“Hayes…” she whines.

“Just trust me, okay?”

She nods, and I kiss her again, sliding my lips against hers with a gentleness I’m not sure I’ve ever used before. I don’t know why I want to take this so slow. I don’t know why I’m not just ripping her clothes off and fucking her as hard and fast as she requested. But this feels important right now. Taking my time and worshipping her feels right.

I’ve always struggled with that—knowing what’s wrong and what’s right. But not this time. This time I’m following my gut, and it’s saying to drive this woman mad with pleasure until she forgets all the awful things about today. I trail my lips over her chin and down her neck, sucking her collarbone before moving lower until I can’t kiss her any more. Then I drop to my knees.

She holds the t-shirt up, watching me with hungry eyes as I hook my fingers into the waistband of her tiny sleep shorts and pull them down. She steps out and I toss them aside, never once shifting my attention from the sight before me.

“No panties?”

She shakes her head. “Seemed unnecessary.”

She’s right.

I lean forward, pressing a kiss to her right thigh, then her left. I do it again, inching closer and closer to where I know she really wants before pulling back and starting again until she’s a panting mess above me.

I love it. I love seeing her like this, splayed out before me, needy.

“Adam…” She says my name like a plea. “Put your mouth on me.”

“My mouth’s been on you, honey.”

She growls. “You know what I mean.”

I laugh darkly. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

I slide my tongue over her, and she arches off the door with a sigh. It’s the most beautiful sigh ever, so good I’m dying to hear it again, to taste her again. I run my tongue through her folds over and over, licking every inch of her I can. I swirl my tongue around her clit, sucking it hard before backing off. I do it repeatedly until her legs are shaking around me and I’m certain she’s about to fall over if she doesn’t come soon. I curl a single finger into her, and she groans, her head slamming back on the door with a loud thud.

“Yes, yes, yes. So close. I need…”

I know exactly what she needs. I slip my finger from her pussy and glide the soaked digit back to her ass, pressing against the tight ring we’ve only explored a few other times. I push against the muscle, and she tenses for only a second before relaxing, allowing me to glide in with ease as I suck her clit hard, this time not relenting.

It’s only a few moments before one hand is crashing through my hair and dragging me closer while the other is slapped over her mouth as she screams into her palm. I smile when I hear her muffled cry of my name. I pump my finger in her ass, dragging out her orgasm as long as I can before sliding it out and rising to my full height.

I take her tired body in my arms and carry her to the bed, placing her in the middle before stepping back to lose my sleep pants and shirt. She watches me with sleepy eyes, and I can’t help but stroke my cock as I take her in, body spent and breaths ragged. She’s gorgeous like this. Hell, she’s gorgeous all the time, even when she’s walking around in a messy ponytail and leggings that have seen better days with mismatched socks. I swear I could stare at her all day.

“Please don’t,” she says, and I realize I must have said that last part out loud. “I need you.”

Fuck if that doesn’t get me moving. I crawl up the bed, fitting myself between her legs and sliding over her slick heat.

“I’m going to fuck you hard and fast now, Quinny,” I promise, brushing my lips over hers.

She nods, barely listening as I press just the head of my cock into her.

“But I want you to know something first, okay?”

“Tell me.”

I grab her chin, staring down into her eyes, and she stills, her attention solely focused on me now, not what’s happening between her legs.

“You’re smart, Quinn Benson. You’re good enough. And you’re absolutely fucking capable of doing whatever you put your mind to. Fuck anyone else who says otherwise, understood?”

She doesn’t say anything. She just watches me, the hazel eyes I love so much glossy, and I’m not sure if it’s with lust or emotion or what.

Then she gulps audibly. “Understood, Adam.”

And I fulfill my promise.

“Coming!”

I run a towel over my hair as I speed-walk toward the front door with a grin. It must be Quinn. She left her phone in my bed, and I’m betting she realized it and forgot the door code again, even though I’ve texted it to her ten million times over the last few months.

“Forget something, honey?” I ask as I pull open the door.

Only it’s not Quinn.

“Bess.”

Her purple-painted lips pull into a smile. “Well, hey there, honey .”

Heat warms my cheeks. “Uh, sorry. I thought you were someone else.”

She lifts a brow at that, likely deducing exactly who I thought she was. I’m sure after the way I left things at her house, Bess has been able to deduce a lot of things. You don’t usually almost get into a fight over someone who is “just your nanny.”

“How are you? Come on in.”

I step aside and she squeezes by me, her hands full of several different-sized bowls, each a different shade of purple. I toss the towel onto the couch, making a mental note to pick it back up later before I leave for the game. I lead her into the kitchen, grabbing a few things off the stack of dishes and holding them as she makes her way over to the fridge and begins loading them in there.

“Thank you,” she says.

O…kay?

When she’s finished, she faces me, folding her hands together in front of her.

“I brought you dessert since you never got the chance to have any.”

“Oh. Well, thank you. Flora will be excited to hear that. She was raving about the slice of pumpkin pie she snuck away with and let nobody else touch.”

Bess smiles. “That little girl is the best.”

“She is,” I agree. “So, how are you, Bess?”

“I’m…well, not so great.”

I frown. “Is everything okay? Chuck okay?”

She waves her hand. “Oh, yeah. We’re fine. It’s just… Well, I noticed you haven’t been to the bakery in a while, so I figured I’d stop by. Make sure everything is okay.”

We both know she’s not here asking after Flora and me. She’s asking if we’re okay after what happened at her house last week when I nearly decked her son over her daughter. Her daughter who makes me smile. Who makes me laugh. Who makes me feel like I’ve never fucking felt before.

“We’re good, Bess. But what happened last week was out of line.”

She sighs. “I know. Matthew is…” She rolls her eyes. “Well, he’s a little much sometimes.”

“I don’t mean just with him.”

Her brows shoot up. “Oh?”

I lean back against the counter, crossing my arms over my chest, not caring if I wrinkle my dress shirt. “I mean with you and Chuck just letting your other kids dump on Quinn like that. It was wrong. She doesn’t deserve that.”

“Well, I know that. Chuck and I love Quinn. We love all our kids. We?—”

“You let her down is what you did. You should have stopped them. You should have stepped in and shut it down and told them they were wrong for talking to her the way they did.”

“They’ve always been like that, ribbing each other and whatnot. They’re siblings. That’s how it goes.”

“Did you know Quinn believes them?”

She rears her head back like I’ve just slapped her. “What?”

“Quinn believes them,” I repeat. “She thinks she’s not good enough because they say she isn’t. She thinks she’s irresponsible because they say she is. She thinks she can’t be a teacher because they say she can’t.”

“That’s… That’s ridiculous. She’s completely capable. Chuck and I talk all the time about how much we love her sense of adventure and how she’s not afraid to try new things or go after what she wants. We envy her for that.”

“Have you told her that lately? Has Chuck?”

“Well, of course we have. We’ve…”

But she doesn’t finish her sentence, and I have a feeling she’s realizing right now that while yes, she loves her daughter, she hasn’t quite supported her in all the ways she should.

“I guess it has been a while since I’ve talked with her about it, you know? Made myself clear. I love Quinn and I think she’d make an amazing teacher. Sure, she’s needed more time than my other kids to figure out what she wants to do, but I’ve never doubted for a second that she would. We’ve always believed in her. We always will.”

“Do you mean that?”

I spin around to find Quinn standing at the edge of the living room.

“What are you…”

“I forgot my phone.” She shrugs, then looks at her mother. “Do you mean that?”

“Yes, dear,” Bess says, rushing over to her. She takes her hands. “Yes, of course I mean it. You are capable of so many great things, Quinn Penelope, and I want you to know that even if you change your mind about becoming a teacher or if it takes you another ten years to find what you want to do, your father and I will still be here to support you. Every dang step of the way.”

Even from here, I can see Quinn’s bottom lip quiver. She wraps her mother in a hug, squeezing her eyes shut tight, but I see it anyway, the lone tear that streaks down her face, the weight she’s been carrying around being lifted from her shoulders.

I see it.

I see her.

And I know in this moment I am completely fucked because I’ve gone and done the most irresponsible thing I’ve done yet.

I’ve fallen in love with Quinn Benson, and there’s no turning back.