Ryland just smiled and continued to stand there.
“Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?” He wanted his brother gone and Paige in his arms.
“Not really.” Again, the imitation of a statue.
He let loose a little roar. His brother, also being an apex predator, responded to the challenge with a roar of his own before smiling. He knew why Quinn was acting like the territorial grizzly that he was. His mate was in the presence of another unmated male. He hadn’t wanted to introduce her to his family this way. The Blackwood bear clan could be a little overwhelming.
“I can come back later, if this is bad time.” Paige spoke breaking the unspoken challenge between the two males.
“No!” they both cried out in unison, causing her to step back.
“Shit.” Ryland immediately lost his challenging stance. “I didn’t mean to scare her.” His voice was so low only Quinn heard him.
Despite the sincerity of his apology, Quinn wanted nothing more than to take off Ryland’s head and hand it to Paige as a trophy. “Lot of good that does me now.”
Ryland eased himself away from the couple. He wasn’t stupid, he saw the killing glint in his brother’s eyes, knew the restraint, brother or not, it was taking the other bear not to shift and pound his ass. It didn’t, however, stop him from yanking his brother’s chain one more time before he left.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Paige. If you ever get tired of big brother here, let me know. Ryker and I would be more than happy to give you some double pleasure.” With a wink, he was gone, the sound of Quinn’s low-throated snarl filling the air.
Once he had his bear tethered again, Quinn turned to Paige. Immediately his cock became untethered, springing to life. “Hi.”
She didn’t return his greeting and his heart plummeted to his feet. If his dickhead brother had messed this up for him, they’d still be looking for pieces of his body a year from now.
“I’m glad you decided to come.” Quinn eyed her compact car and frowned. “Do you mind if we take my truck. This seems a little small.” He smiled as he said it, not wanting to hurt her feelings. The car was cute, just not big enough to hold a bear shifter with any amount of comfort.
“I brought lunch. I thought maybe we could eat here since you just got back and might not have a lot of time.”
“Baby, I’ve got all the time in the world for you.” Quinn flashed her another smile and Paige thought she’d melt into a gooey pile of desire.
He spied the tote in the front seat and opened the door, pulling it out. He brought it to his nose and groaned. “Salmon. My favorite.” His eyes skimmed over her. “Well, my second favorite thing to eat.”
Paige blushed a fiery red.
He just grinned at her embarrassment. “Are you afraid of heights?”
“Umm, no.”
“Great. Wait right here.” He put the tote on the hood of her car and hurried away, taking the steps to the trailer two at a time. He was back as speedily as he’d left, a large blue blanket in his hands. “I have something I want to show you.”
Paige laughed softly. How could she not? His upbeat personality was contagious.
“What are you laughing at?” he demanded.
“Are you going to show me your etchings?”
“No,” he denied, catching on quickly. “Unless, you want to see my etching.”
They arrived at the construction elevator and Quinn let go of her hand to open the metal door. He pushed it up and she watched his bicep bunch and contract. The man was huge. She missed the feel of his work-roughened palm immediately. She remembered the scrape of his callouses on her breasts and she was suddenly hungry to feel them on her hips, her thighs. Oh, sweetness, her pussy. Everywhere.
He helped her inside and closed the service door with a clang. Pushing a large red button on the side, the elevator rose. There were no floor numbers. From what she’d seen as they walked toward the building, she thought there were at least ten finished floors. She licked her lips and turned toward him. “I really liked your, umm, etching.”
Instantly, both remembered the feel of her hand cupping his cock through his pants. He let out a fluent curse and dropped the blanket and tote to the floor. A minute later, she was in his arms in a fevered clash of kissing and touching.
“God, I missed you.” Quinn’s voice was a warm rumble against her lips. Mouths meshed together and both groaned their pleasure. He licked at the seam of her mouth, and she opened to him. As their kiss deepened, he turned their bodies, pressing her against the elevator’s wall.
She’d dressed in a long summer dress with bell-shaped sleeves. Grasping a thigh in each hand, he lifted her until he was wedged between her legs, her weight supported by the wall and his hips. The bottom of her dress fell away, leaving her legs and thighs bare. The position lined up her clitoris with the zipper of his jeans.