A Broken Soul(46)

Quinn



THE GODDAMNED WOMAN was infuriating.

I came over to get some answers, and instead of even looking at me, she was hitting buttons on her fucking remote like I wasn't even there. Like I hadn't just spent the past two and a half hours pacing my house after dropping Sophia off at her slumber party, trying to calm myself down without any success.

"You mind?" My voice came out more of a growl, but it was taking everything I had not to go all caveman on her ass and toss her over my shoulder, tying her to the bed until she finally listened.

"Not at all," she replied casually, waving her wine glass through the air. "Carry on like you intended. I'll just pretend you're not even here."

"How much wine have you had?"

"Not enough to put up with you. That's for goddamned sure."

With that, I'd had enough. "For Christ's sake, Lilly!" I barked. "Will you fucking look at me?"

"No thanks."

And I snapped. Snatching the remote from her hand, I powered the TV off and shoved it into the pocket of my jeans. If she wanted it, she could come get it. And I couldn't lie, the idea of her digging around in my jeans held a hell of a lot of appeal.

"Hey! I was watching that!"

"And now you're not. Start talking."

She shoved up from the couch and got in my face. "Start talking? Have you lost your mind?!" Christ, she was something else. How I ever thought, for even a second, that she was anything like Addy was beyond me. She was harsh where Addy was soft, argumentative where my wife was compliant, loud when my Addison was quiet. She pushed back. That was something Addison had only ever done once …  right before she died. They couldn't have possibly been more different. But in spite of that - maybe even because of that - I was unbelievably attracted to the woman. It was that attraction that scared the living shit out of me. It was unlike anything I'd felt before, even for my wife, who'd been the love of my life. It was why I pushed Lilly away, causing her pain that I felt down to my very bones. But something in me had snapped tonight, and despite the fear, I couldn't make myself stay away.

"You show up at my house, force your way in after being a complete dick earlier today, and you have the nerve to bark orders at me? You've got to be kidding!"

"And you let some fucking guy put his hands all over you right in front of me!" I shouted back.

"Oh my God," she laughed in bewilderment, as she raked her hands through her long, silky hair and took a step back. "You have. You've totally lost your mind."

I couldn't have stopped myself from moving toward her if I tried. The more I got to know Lilly, the more that tether, that unseen force I felt between us grew stronger. I couldn't not touch her.

"Wait," she paused, holding her hand up to stop me. "Where's Sophia?"

That one simple question hit me in a place inside I'd long thought dead. The fact we were in the middle of an argument, the fire inside her raging as strong as always, and she stopped everything out of concern for my daughter? I felt that in a way I had never wanted to feel again. And it made me lose all control.



       
         
       
        

My voice came out in a growl as I stalked toward her. "At a sleepover."





Lilly



OH GOD.

There was no denying it. In that very moment, Quinn was the predator and I was his prey. And how I wanted him to devour me.

But self-preservation kicked in before I could do what I wanted and lose myself in him completely, because no matter how badly I craved this man, in the back of my mind I knew it was only a matter of time before he did something else to hurt me, to push me away and keep me at arms length.

And I was tired of being hurt.

"Quinn, stop," I demanded, but judging by the feral look in his eyes, he was beyond reason as he continued to move. My hands hit his chest at the same time the fire in my blood ignited. "Who the hell do you think you are, huh?" I shouted, slamming my palms against his chest. "Who the hell do you think you are?! You treat me like shit over and over and over, drive me crazy with your fucking mood swings, and you think you have the right to come in here and make demands? Screw you, Quinn! I'm tired of letting you make me feel bad about myself." I laughed without humor again, because the longer he stood there, so close, the more hysterical I began to feel. "And you know what? It's all my fault! Because I actually want to be your friend." I punctuated the statement with another smack to his chest. "How stupid is that? Because on the rare occasion you aren't a jerk, I actually like being around you. I'm not so damn lonely all the time."