Page 23

QUINN

Q uinn didn’t release her hand until they got to her front door.

He could practically feel her tension thrumming through her.

His need to keep her safe overshadowed her annoyance.

Patience wasn’t a pushover. From the little he’d learned from her in the last few days, he knew she’d worked hard for everything she had.

So, giving in to his dominance didn’t come easy. Too bad for her.

As he unlocked the door, she pushed by him to get into the house. “Thanks for the ride. Can I have my keys?”

“I’m not leaving until I check the house.”

“Are you for real right now?”

“I am. Just like I was yesterday, or I guess it was this morning.” She looked like an angry bunny as she stood there practically vibrating.

He knew she was tired. The dark circles under her eyes would have proved it even if he didn’t know how little sleep she’d had.

Her safety would always come first, though.

Was he pushing all her buttons? Yup. Did he care? No.

Sure, Doc thought she was perfect for him. Of course he did. Too bad he’d never convince Quinn to change his mind. She needed someone closer to her age who wasn’t a brutal beast. Someone who would take care of her, and encourage her, not be off in some hell hole when she needed him.

“Whatever. You do what you need to do. I’m going over there and sit my butt on the couch. Oh wait, the food is still in your truck.”

She was right. He’d forgotten it, making sure she wouldn’t run into the house on her own.

“I’ll go grab it. You can try to lock me out, but I’ve still got your keys. Besides, I saw the way you hugged that bag. You won’t give that up.”

She actually growled at him and looked even more like a little angry bunny. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her. Laughing? When was the last time he’d done that with anyone but his teammates? Probably never? What the fuck was this woman doing to him?

“My butt will be on the couch.” She sighed, kicked off her sneakers, and stomped toward the living room.

It didn’t take him but a few minutes to grab the food from his truck and make it back. By the time he walked in, she was sitting on the couch, with her feet up on the coffee table, her eyes closed, and her head leaning against the couch.

Poor little doc. She’d hustled her ass off at the Ready Room after almost no rest. He got it; he did. More than wiped out himself just from hanging with Doc, had him wishing for his bed. Although sharing his childhood fuck-up was grueling in its own way.

Quinn unpacked the food and put in the refrigerator, then went to check the house. He didn’t expect to find anything, but he wasn’t taking any chances with her being alone. It would be different if Livie was home. At least, that’s what he told himself.

Patience was still sleeping when he got back downstairs. He contemplated leaving her there, but decided she needed to be in bed. Picking her up in a bridal carry, he brought her upstairs. After pushing the decorative pillows to the floor, he pulled back the comforter and placed her on the bed.

She looked so peaceful. Young. Innocent. Although not as much as she was before he took her virginity. With no makeup, and with her auburn hair in a high ponytail, she could have passed for fifteen.

He leaned down and lifted the bottom of her T-shirt to get to her waist. His knuckles grazed her soft skin as he popped open the button on her jeans and lowered the zipper. Just touching her had his cock jerking against his fly.

Dragging them over her supple hips and down her thick thighs.

Damn, what he wouldn’t give to have her again.

To drive his hard dick into her tight pussy one more time.

But tonight wasn’t about getting fucked.

He was never even supposed to touch her again.

But he couldn’t leave her fully dressed.

It went against every one of his instincts. Weird. He’d never had them before.

He removed her phone from the pocket, then folded the jeans and put them on her desk chair, along with her socks.

Then he dragged the hem of her T-shirt up over her chest. Her skin was so pale, almost translucent, and felt like silk against his fingers.

He raised first the right, then the left arm, and pulled it through the sleeves, then gently lifted her by the shoulders so he could pull it the rest of the way off.

He didn’t remove her purple lace bra or underwear, though he wanted to.

Who knew she was hiding the sexy lingerie under her work clothes? It seemed out of character.

She didn’t wake, even when he covered her with the comforter. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t deny their attraction. Patience elicited emotions in him he hadn’t thought possible. Dangerous feelings. But no matter what she or anyone else believed, a relationship between them would be wrong.

After covering her with the comforter, he stood watching her breathe. It was probably creepy, but he couldn’t resist. What he really wanted to do was kiss her. But he knew better.

How could she have slept through this? Unbelievable, really. He’d never slept that soundly in his life. It made it dangerous for her to be by herself, but he wouldn’t, no, couldn’t, stay with her. It would set a precedent—a bad one.

Breaking down, he kissed her forehead, then left her to rest. Downstairs, he double-checked all the locks, then left her keys on the kitchen island.

Quinn didn’t want to leave without being able to deadbolt the door, but unless he wanted to spend the night on the couch, he didn’t have a choice.

For a moment, he considered it. But it would give her the wrong idea.

One he’d been fighting too hard to dissuade her of already.

Quinn let himself out and then made sure the door was secure.

He checked the area. When he didn’t see anyone around, he felt as confident as possible that she’d be safe.

As he climbed into his truck, he looked up at her bedroom window, half hoping he’d see her standing there, but she was probably still dead to the world.

With a heavy heart he didn’t understand, he drove home.

The ride was too quiet, giving him too much time alone with his thoughts.

The day had been a heavy one. Sharing with Doc had been easier than he’d expected, but he stifled the worry that it would blow back on him somehow.

It just added to the list over the last few days.

First the disastrous mission. Even though they’d saved the hostage, he’d still killed a man with his bare hands.

Then everything with Patience, Felicity, and whatever was brewing with the fucking asshole Kern. It was a lot.

Tomorrow he’d be on base first thing and share his story with the rest of the team.

God knew how that would go. How had everything imploded?

For twenty years, he’d kept it buried, hidden from everyone in his life.

He’d planned on keeping it that way until his final breath.

Instead, all it took was one fucked up mission to blow it all to hell.

The only good thing he could look forward to was the angry text he knew he’d get from Patience when she woke up as soon as she realized she was just in her underwear.