Of course, looking at her now with just the tips of her dark auburn hair getting wet in the pool, the tops of her breasts glistening with drops of water in the low light, and that unintentionally coy smile, I know that none of that is happening. Not in a million fucking years.
So instead, we sit on this submerged bench seat against the side of the pool in the shallow end, sipping scotch and just staring out over the neon forest of Manhattan.
“It’s pretty up here.” She takes a small sip of her drink, and I’m not even able to look away from the perfectly unintentionally sexy way her lips linger on the edge of the glass as she swallows.
“I like coming up here.”
“After fights?”
I nod. “Yeah, actually. It clears my head,” I say, as if my head is any fucking way clear right now with her sitting so close that I can almost feel her skin against mine.
But it’s true. I come up here after the fights because win or lose, it puts things in perspective for me. When I’m up here, surrounded by the trappings of wealth and power that I wield now, it forces me to remember where I am in life. That might sound absurd, or like some sort of douchebag “rich-guy problems” bullshit, but it’s something I’ve found I need. Because again, win or lose, I have to remind myself why I fight, and I fight because this life that William Archer gave me is precious. I came from nothing, and I was nothing before he saw something in us and dragged us out of that hole. I might truly hate being beholden to Javier and the fighting, but I know I owe William even more. There was the promise made to stand tall under the responsibilities and the trust he gave me, and owning up to that debt means more to me than anything.
And so, I fight.
“Listen, sorry about snapping at you back there at the warehouse. I just-” I take a sip of the scotch and then clear my throat. “I just wasn’t expecting to see you.”
She fidgets with her glass. “Sorry I followed and spied on you like a stalker.”
“I’d say it worked out alright,” I say, chancing a grin at her.
“Well, I think we’ve had quite enough encounters without me following you around looking for more.” Quinn says quickly, her cheeks blushing adorably as she takes a big sip of her drink.
“Oh?” I smirk at her. “And what kind of encounter were you looking for tonight, darlin?”
She stammers as her face goes bright red and she opens her mouth and closes it again quickly about three times before she just looks away. “That’s- that’s not what I meant.”
I grin at her. “Yeah but you’re dying to mean it.”
The voice in my head is screaming about how terrible an idea it is to be flirting with her like this. How I need to get up and just walk the fuck away right now. But she turns and looks into my eyes, and as her pouty lips just part, her tongue slips out to wet them. I can see her chest rising and falling with her every breath, and it’s almost too much for me to take before I end up ripping her panties off right here and driving my cock inside her.
I need her to roll her eyes, or smack me, or just walk away from me right now. I need a hit of reality right in the face for me to simmer the fuck down and just know how bad of an idea this is. How dangerous it is to play with this particular fire named Quinn Archer.
But instead, she does the exact fucking opposite. Instead, those big lashes of hers blink as she looks up into my face, her eyes wide and her teeth just gently biting at her lower lip as the flush from the pool and booze creeps over the tops of her breasts. And then she opens those pink, pouty lips. “Maybe.”
Yeah, fuck. I’m done.
My hand goes to her hair, and I grab a handful of it as I roughly bring her crashing against my lips. She moans out this sexy-as-fuck cooing sound as I growl into her mouth. Our breaths intermingling as our tongues slide together and our lips crush against the other hard enough to bruise.
She’s moaning into me, her hands running over my chest and dropping down over my abs. I grip the handful of hair tighter in my fist, loving the way she gasps into my kiss as I do. My other hand traces over her hip there and teases at the elastic of her panties. She drops her hand down into my lap, the boldness of the act from a girl like Quinn surprising me momentarily, but it’s only that much hotter because of it. Her fingers grasp at my cock through my briefs, pulling at me like she needs me, and I feel like I could explode right here and now.
She gasps out loud as I yank her head back, exposing her neck to my lips and my teeth as I nibble and not so gently suck my way down to her collarbone. I’m pulling at the straps of her bra, slipping them off her shoulders as she shudders and presses against me. Her hand still stroking my cock through the fabric.