Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

(Quinn)

The moment my lips touched Annora’s, all the pent-up feelings for her came rushing back to the surface. I kiss her gently instead of with the passion I know is buried deep inside me for her. This is the first kiss after being starved in the dark for so long. Gentle is what she deserves. Her hands cling to my jacket as she holds me to her.

I wrap my arms around her, one hand on the small of her back, and the other up between her shoulder blades. Nibbling at her lower lip, I slip my tongue in to explore her mouth when she gasps in surprise. Annora moves her arms up to wrap them around my neck. The kiss takes on a life of its own as she kisses me back with just as much pent-up hunger.

I move my hand under her arms, turn her around until her back is against the kitchen island, then I lift her up and place her on the counter. My mouth never once leaves hers until she takes initiative by wrapping her legs around my waist. I tear my mouth from hers to trail kisses down her neck. Reaching my hand up, I catch her head as it falls back, allowing me full access to her throat.

The moan that slips from her lips as I graze her soft skin with my teeth has my already hard. member pushing against my pants. I want to strip her naked and take her right here

on the

counter. I continue to lick, nibble, and suck on her neck as I remove my suit jacket. The sound of my phone ringing stops me for a moment, but Annora moans my name, setting me on fire. I drop my jacket on the floor behind me,

Breaking the kiss, I pull her silk shirt up over her head, and the sight of her pale skin takes. my breath away. The white lace bra cupping her amazing breasts makes that fire roar higher. When her hands cover her abdomen, I frown at the stretch marks that she is trying to cover.

She is a mother. She had that a**ole’s child.

I push that thought aside as I move her hands out of the way. The lines are there as a reminder of motherhood. An odd thought occurs to me as I run my hands over her stomach. What would it be like to watch her belly grow with our child? The thought was almost sobering until she reached up and brought my lips back to hers.

I groan into her kiss, then fist my hands in her hair. Just like in the past with her, the wave of passion threatens to consume us. Cupping her breasts through the lace, I stroked my thumbs over her erect nipples. Then my greed took over. I pulled the lace aside to reveal the pink bud to the air. I tear my mouth from hers, lean down to flick my tongue over one of the rosy tips.

“Oh, my god, Quinn!” The sound of her moaning my name in that throaty way of hers made. me almost o**m on the spot.

Before I can latch onto her other nipple, my phone rings again. This time I frown again. That ringtone is one that is important. With a heavy sigh, I take one last look at the feast in front of me, then I step back from her. Just like that, the bubble we are in bursts back to reality. Annora pulls her clothes back in order as I lean down to pick up my phone.

“I have to take this,” I answer that call as I walk away from her.

over me. I end the

What I hear through the phone feels like a bucket of ice water was thrown call after telling the nurse that I will be right there. Turning back to Annora, I see her cleaning up our partially eaten dinner. I can see the questions in her eyes as I walk to her. Grabbing her hand, I stop her actions to turn her to face me.

“I am sorry for the interruption, Annie, but I have to go.”

“That sounded serious?”

“It isn’t life or death, but if I don’t show up to calm him down, he might end up hurting

himself.”

Annora frowned at me. “Who are you talking about?”

“My father. He is in an end-of-life care facility near Mercy general. He has nightmares sometimes and gets rowdy when he wakes up.

“How long has he been there?”

“This one? About a year. I had him transferred here when I moved.”

“What happened to him?”

“He destroyed his liver and d**n near died from cancer. He can’t live on his own anymore, so I had to put him in a care facility.”

“Did you eventually work out all your problems with him?”

“That would require actual conversation. Something my father was never great at.”

“Well, then you should go.”

“I’m not done with you, Annie. I don’t think I ever will be. From the way you kissed me, I don’t think you are done with me either.” I yank her to me, then fuse my mouth to hers again

In her shock, her mouth opens, and I delve inside. The kiss took on a life of its own, with our bodies pressing tight against each other. I wanted very much to lay her on the floor, strip her naked, and have my way with her. Reluctantly, I break the kiss, but I don’t let go of her. I kiss her nose as her eyes close, then just lean my forehead down to hers.

“You don’t know how much I have wanted to just hold you in my arms like this again.”

“If it is anything like what I have wanted, then yes I do.”

“I want to see where this can go this time around, Annie.”

“There is something I need to tell you first.” She leans back to look up into my eyes.

“You have a child, I figured that out earlier.” I give her a smile. “Her father is an a**hole, but that doesn’t mean it will scare me away.”

“Quinn, you don’t understand. There is more to it than what you think.”

“Relax, I am not running away. The army is in my past, Annie. My life is right here in California, and I am not going anywhere. We have all the time in the world to get to know. each other again. There will be plenty of time for you to explain it to me.”

“I really need to tell you this. It is important, Quinn.”

My phone rings again, making me look down at it. It was the care facility again. With at heavy sigh, I step back from Annora. “I need to go, or they will just keep calling. I don’t want

them to have to sedate him.”

“Then go, but we really need to have a conversation if this thing between us can move forward. I want this too, Quinn, more than I have wanted anything since the day I drove

away with my family.”

“When are you free next?”

“I am busy all week until Friday. I have the weekend off. We can talk then.”

“Alright, come to my office when you are free, and we can have that talk.”

“No, I don’t want to have this kind of conversation in that setting. Meet me here at five on

Friday.”

3/7

Chapter 10

The fear in her eyes makes me wonder briefly what it is she wants to tell me. I debate my options on what will happen to my father if I just let them sedate him so I can stay here. I know I should go to him, but my heart is right here in my arms, and I want to stay with her more than anything else.

“Okay. Hey, listen, no matter what it is, just know that I am not going anywhere. I have waited ten years for this.”

“Me too, Quinn. I just hope you still feel that way on Friday.”

“Come on now, it can’t be as bad as you are making it out to be. So, you have a child with that a**le. I can handle that as long as you let me try.”

“Even if my child isn’t Kyle’s?”

That thought stopped my heart for a moment, then I realized that no matter who the father of her child is, it is none of my business. “What happened during the time we were apart is none of my business, Annie. There are things in my past that are ugly too, but I want you, Annie. I will take the time we both need to get to know each other again. That includes

getting to know your

child.”

“Oh, Quinn, it may not be that simple.”

“To me, it is. We have waited all these years to find each other again. Here we are with the chance to see if what we had then is still as strong as it was all those years ago. Are we the same people we were back then? Hell no, but this feeling I have in my heart, and the one I feel from you, is worth exploring.”

“It is, but there may be some things that will be hard to handle.” Annora waved her hand when I opened my mouth again. “Now, go to your father. I will see you here Friday at five in the evening.”

I kiss her one last time, grab my jacket, then walk away from her. There is a feeling of foreboding in my heart, like whatever she must tell me will change how I look at her. With that thought in mind, I leave her house to go calm my father down.

(Annora)

The second the front door closes behind Quinn, I feel my knees shake from all the feelings he brings out in me. On unsteady feet, I make my way to the front door to lock it behind him. On the way, I spot Grace’s smiling face looking at me from her picture on the wall in the hallway. Quinn must have glanced at her picture, but not truly looked at her.

4/7

Chapter 10

He would know the truth the moment he sees her eyes.

How am I going to tell him? Will he be angry that I didn’t look for him? With a shake of my head, I walk to the door, flipping both locks into place, then stepping to the side, I set the security alarm. Kyle may be in jail for that night, but that doesn’t take my fear away that he could get out before morning.

If that happens, he will come here to yell at me for not letting him into the house. He will blame me for what Quinn did and no doubt call me a ***e for cheating on him with someone new. Regret fills me deeply, knowing I willingly married him.

Shaking my head, I walk through the house, turning off all the lights, one room at a time. Slowly, I make my way to my room, peel off my clothes, and put on my pajamas. Once I am comfortable in bed, images of what happened in the kitchen tonight flood my mind. My body is still on fire where his finger, lips and tongue touched me.

It was a fire that no other man has ignited in me since I was eighteen and Quinn touched. me. Kyle always called me a prude when it came to sex. What he never knew or understood was that I was ruined for any other man the moment I gave myself to Quinn. My body craved his all summer, and it still craves his touch to this day. The events of tonight proved it.

I am in so much trouble. I need to be stronger this time around. To not succumb to him so easily, so completely, as I did in the past. The fear of getting burned alive by the fierce desire we have for each other is strong. I know that there was our relationship than sex.

more to

The love we had was so intense that I didn’t know where I started, and he ended. It was like

we were one soul in two bodies.

Breathing deeply, I push those thoughts out of my head so I could try to sleep. The ringing of my cellphone makes me sit up, instantly alert. Please let Grace be fine. Reaching out for

phone on the nightstand, I glance at the caller id. It is not Grace.

my

“Hello, Lana, what can I do for you?” I answer the phone with a heavily audible sigh-for her to hear. I am annoyed with her calling me at all, knowing exactly why she is calling.

“Put Kyle on the phone!” Lana screams. Her voice is shrill and loud in my ears, making me

pull the phone away.

I roll my eyes at the ceiling and shake my head before I respond to her. This happens every single time Kyle shows up here or comes home late to their house. She calls me up and accuses us of cheating on her. Ironic considering, she was the one he was cheating on me

with.

5/7

Chapter 10

“He isn’t here, Lana.”

“How

long ago did he leave? Did you two have a fun time behind my back?”

“Didn’t you have an enjoyable time behind mine all those times you two snuck off together while he was married to me?” I countered her with the truth.

“Where is he, Annora?” She asks.

“At the police station being arrested for assault, t**g, and violating a restraining order.”

“What!”

If I hadn’t already had to phone away from my ear, her scream of disbelief would have made me pull it away. How blind to his faults can she be? I can’t say much myself since I too was blinded by him in the beginning.

Oh, did he not tell you about the restraining order I have against him? He isn’t allowed within two hundred feet of me or Grace. That means coming to my home to beg me to come back to him. It violates not only his parole but my restraining order. He tried to hit me but got dealt with swiftly by my dinner guest.”

“You had him arrested? How cruel are you? Can you not leave us to live our lives?”

“I will do that as soon as your HUSBAND leaves me and my daughter alone.”

“Grace is his daughter. He has a right to see her.”

“No, he isn’t, and he knows it. The judge denied him visitation and signed my restraining. order. Kyle’s name is not on her birth certificate because he isn’t her father. She was born before I ever met him.”

“He told me you two met before, had an affair, then lost contact.”

He told Lana my story about Quinn. Why am I surprised by that? He has always twisted the narrative to suit his needs.

“Listen up, Kyle is not Grace’s father and if you want a DNA test to prove it, I will happily give it to you. Now, if you want to bail your husband out of jail, that is up to you. I am blocking your number. You want me to leave you in peace to live your life, here you go.”

I hang up the phone as she screams at me again. F**k you, Lana. Going into my phone settings, I swiftly block her number. I am so done with that woman being in my life. She took the husband I didn’t want, which I will be forever grateful for. Kyle is her problem now.

With my phone still in my hand, I lean back against my pillows. I sent a quick text to Grace telling her goodnight and I will pick her up in the morning. Her goodnight reply is fast, letting me know she will be ready when I pick her up. Closing my eyes, I try to let sleep take over, but images of Quinn’s sea-green eyes keep me awake.