Happy Endings (18 page)

“I can’t settle for less than I deserve, Susan.”

Sighing, Susan pulled away. “No matter how right I think you are for Quinn, I wouldn’t want you to.”

Q
uinn drove Larissa toward her apartment along the dirt road, worried about her silence. She seemed different than she’d been. Thoughtful. It didn’t give Quinn a good vibe.

“Everything okay over there?”

“I’m not sure,” she said, so softly he almost didn’t hear her. She shifted in her seat to face him. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

Even though Sydney had a point about him making time for Larissa, he had too much to do. He’d already lost several hours by attending the dinner party.

“I had planned to go to sleep early. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

“Fine.”

She sounded like it was anything but fine.

“Come on, beautiful. Don’t be angry. Once I get this deal settled, I’ll be all yours. It’s important that I get the numbers figured out on this green energy situation before the company comes out to install stuff.”

“I understand.”

Quinn reached across to hold her hand, but she pulled away. Maybe his family was right. Considering his father and sister both warned him he’d lose her if he didn’t make some changes, it might be a good idea to think about it.

At the fork in the road between the employee housing and his hotel, Quinn turned the car sharply.

Larissa’s head jerked toward him. “What are you doing?”

“You’ve never been for a moonlit walk on my beach,” he said. “Now that my leg’s getting better, I think it’s time we went for one.”

He held his breath, wondering if she’d argue and make him take her home, now that she was angry. To his relief, she relaxed into her seat and stared out the front windshield.

Although she didn’t speak again the rest of the drive, the atmosphere in the car felt considerably lighter. He’d done the right thing. It was lucky his family had hounded him about it. He could have so easily made the wrong decision.

After parking in his usual spot, Quinn hurried to her side of the car and opened the door. He got a grin for his trouble, and decided it couldn’t hurt to step up the romance.

He bowed over her hand, kissing the back of it. “Did I tell you how wonderful you look tonight, by the way?”

She climbed out of the car. “Actually, you didn’t.”

Damn. He was a bloody idiot. Quinn had been so frustrated about his father all but commanding him to attend the dinner party that he didn’t get into the spirit of
why
John wanted him to attend. The whole point was to romance Larissa, Quinn had just been too stupid to realize it.

“What a huge mistake on my part,” he said. “There has never been a more beautiful woman in all the world.”

She chuckled and bumped her hip against his. “That’s laying it on a bit thick, don’t you think?”

“No.” He pushed her against the car and tipped her chin to face him, really looking at her for the first time that night. “I think you’re perfect, Larissa, and I haven’t taken the time to make sure you know that.”

He leaned down, seeking her mouth, needing her to understand how much he cared about her. Work was important, and he had a hard time figuring out how to juggle a personal life when he had a deadline looming, but he didn’t want to lose her.

She sighed into his mouth and her body molded against his while she returned the kiss.

The taste of her, the feel of her, everything about her drove Quinn crazy. When she surrendered herself to him like that, it made his heart pound with anticipation and his groin tighten with desire.

He ran his hands through her hair, pushing his hips against hers as he drove her back against the warm metal behind them.

Her hands slid down his back and she squeezed his ass, giggling into his mouth. “I do love this rear end,” she murmured. “Does this mean I get to work on it tonight after all? I’m itching to give you a special massage.”

That surprising statement bumped his libido a notch higher. Since they returned home and she’d been massaging him every day to heal his leg, she’d never teased about giving him an erotic massage—likely not wanting to bring up bad memories of their first meeting. It was encouraging that she did so now.

He pulled away and nodded. “You can give me whatever you want, all night long. I just want to be with you.” He took her hand, leading her out to the beach access path. “I need to apologize first, and I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“Apologize? For what?” She didn’t sound as shocked as her words might suggest. She knew full well what he needed to apologize for, but he’d tell her anyway.

“For using you as a massage therapist to heal my leg, a playmate for my bed, and then sending you to your own room every night and ignoring you while I work.” Shit. Saying it aloud like that, he really did sound like an asshole. He sighed and squeezed her fingers gently. “I didn’t realize that’s how I was treating you, but I don’t want you thinking that you aren’t special.”

“Did your mom...?” She shook her head and stared out at the water.

Quinn stayed silent as he stood beside her, listening to the waves crash against the beach and watching the moonlight play against the surface of it. No one else was on the beach tonight, which suited him just fine. There were clouds in the distance, but it wasn’t supposed to rain until morning. They had time to enjoy being together with no interruptions, and Quinn hoped that could start to make things up to Larissa. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he’d hurt her with the way he’d acted.

He bent to take his shoes off and Larissa did the same. Quinn stacked them neatly next to the path leading back to the hotel and then set off across the sand at a leisurely pace that was easy on his leg.

“What makes you think Mom said anything to me?” he asked after they had walked for a while. He needed to get everything out into the open so he could make things right with her.

“She and I spoke tonight,” Larissa answered. “I told her my worries about being with you.”

“And you told her I’d been a complete jerk who was only concerned with himself?”

“Not exactly. It hasn’t been quite that bad.”

Well, that was good. He hadn’t stepped over the point of no return, at least.

“However,” Larissa continued, “I did tell her I wanted a partner, not someone who cares more about work than he does about me.”

That didn’t surprise him. He’d known from the beginning Larissa wouldn’t settle for anything less. “I’m trying to be better about that.”

“Really?” Her wide eyes looked black in the moonlight, but the skepticism was clear in her gaze. “If this is you trying, then we’ll never work.”

She may as well have stabbed him, as much as her words hurt. “Am I not worth waiting for, while I figure things out?”

“Am I not worth figuring them out quickly for?” she countered.

What did she expect from him? It wasn’t as though he didn’t realize he’d been a jerk, but he had responsibilities.

They had made it to the secluded inlet Quinn liked to sit at during odd moments when he had free time. Stone formed a half circle about eight feet in diameter, soft sand filling the middle of the space. Even when other people walked the beach, he felt secluded and private inside this spot. It was his second favorite place on the entire island, and one of the reasons he kept living at the same hotel.

He led Larissa inside the sheltering rocks and swept away sand that had coated the best rock to sit on. He sat down and leaned against the stone wall, patting his good leg for her to sit on.

She folded her arms and stared at him, not making any moves to sit. “Well?”

She wasn’t going to let it slide. He had to answer. “It’s complicated,” he said. “Yes, you’re worth it, but I have more to think about than just what I want. My whole family depends on me to do right by them and keep this resort functional. My time is not always my own. Can’t you understand that?”

She nodded once. “Thanks for an honest answer.” She uncrossed her arms, sitting carefully in his lap and turning to snuggle her face into his neck. “I do understand that, Quinn, but you aren’t the only man who works on this island. Your dad managed to run things and raise a family. Did he spend all his time away from you guys?”

Her hot breath caressing his skin made it hard to think about her questions. What was it about Larissa that always made him horny? It was time to be serious, but all he could think about was unzipping his pants, slipping up her dress, and making love to her right here next to the ocean.

“Dad was around on weekends,” he managed to answer. “But during the week we hardly saw him.”

“Fine. I’m willing to start with a compromise. Take weekends off to spend them with me and during the week, I’ll be patient.”

“It’s not that simple, and you know it.” His voice came out harsher than he intended, but he drove forward with his point. “You have massage clients on weekends so you can’t always be with me, and I have too much going on right now to take any time off. I missed a few days when we first got back from the waterfall, and I’m playing catch up. Once this deal is done, I’ll try to take one day off a week. Fair?”

“You’ll try?” She pulled away from the hollow of his neck, and Quinn was surprised to see tears on her cheeks. “One day a week is not nearly enough time with the man I love, and you can’t even promise me that one day!”

The man she loved? Time stopped for a fraction of a second, and Quinn forgot how to breathe. He knew he was falling for her, but he had no idea she felt the same way. As traditional as she seemed to be about love, and as much as her ex hurt her, he figured it would take months of courtship to win her heart. Besides that, he’d done a piss poor job of courtship so far.

“If you love me, Larissa, give me more time.” He hated the pleading tone in his voice, but she needed to know how important this was to him. “I truly want to be with you, but I
have
to finish this Project Green deal first. I don’t have an option.”

Her lower lip quivered, but she didn’t say what he longed to hear. She didn’t tell him to take the time he needed.

He ran his thumb down her cheek, wiping away the tear streak. “Please, Larissa. Wait for me to get this done. I need you in my life. I love you, too.”

Her chin trembled even harder. “You do?”

“Yes. I know it’s fast. I know you want assurances that everything will always be perfect, and I wish I could give you that, but that’s something no one can promise. There will be problems in our life, but we can make it through them together. I know Jacob made you scared as hell to trust again, but I know how I feel with no hesitations.” He kissed her tenderly, putting as much of his feelings into the kiss as he possibly could. “I’m in love with you, Larissa Benner.”

She let out a sob, but her arms circled him and she went crazy, kissing him and crying at the same time.

After a few minutes, she pulled away, wiping her nose with a low laugh. “This is a sexy look, huh?”

“Very sexy.”

She snorted. “Yeah, I hear a crying girl is sure to turn on any guy within a five-mile radius.”

Quinn nodded. “When the girl is you, that’s true. It’s just too bad for the rest of those sorry saps. They’ll have to find someone else. I get to keep you.”

“Ha. Lucky, lucky you. A sobbing mess of a woman all to yourself.”

“Lucky me is right,” he insisted, refusing to let her talk down to herself.

He rubbed his hand across Larissa’s knee, trailing it up to the hem of her skirt and gripping her thigh. He dared go a bit further when she didn’t protest, caressing her smooth skin all the way up until he could feel the heat between her legs.

Nipping her earlobe into his mouth, he rubbed at her cotton panties as his rapidly enlarging erection pressed against his jeans. Everything would be okay. It would work out. They loved each other.

“Let me show you how much I love you,” he whispered.

Larissa moaned and dropped her head against his shoulder, spreading her legs wider to allow Quinn to stroke her easier.

Encouraged, he made small circles against the light fabric separating him from her most sensitive place. He loved the change in her breathing when he hit the right spot. She was already damp, ready for his touch. She’d apparently forgiven him and was now ready for something other than talking.

“I’ve always wanted to make love on the beach,” he said. “No one’s out tonight. Let’s celebrate our commitment right here.”

“Oh, yes.” Her breath came in short, panting spurts as she shifted herself against his hand. “I want you, Quinn. So much. Now.”

“Good.” He grinned. “It will be my pleasure.”

She sucked in another breath when he tucked his finger beneath the band of her panties. “Oh, no. The pleasure will be mine.”

L
arissa woke to sunlight streaming into the window. For a few seconds, the king-sized bed beneath her caused some confusion.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

Ah... that was right. Quinn asked her to spend the night. Finally.

She stretched and smiled up at Quinn where he stood near the window. “Good morning, yourself.”

With a sexy grin, he launched himself across the room, landing on the bed with a hard bounce. He plunged his fingers into her hair, drawing her mouth toward his.

Panicked, Larissa fought against him, trying to get her mouth away while covering her lips with her hand. “Stop, I have morning breath!”

Laughing, Quinn kissed the back of her hand. “After everything we did last night, do you think a little morning breath scares me?”

Memories of all the places their mouths ended up through the course of the night flashed through her mind. She shook her head slowly, but didn’t remove her hand. It didn’t matter what they did during the height of passion. There was no way she’d kiss him before having a little mouthwash.

Quinn kissed the tip of her nose and then backed away, amusement clear in his expressive grey eyes. “I had a feeling you’d be that way, so I went to the concierge desk and swiped some amenities for you.” He nodded in the direction of the bathroom. “There’s a toothbrush and stuff laid out on the counter, and I snagged some girly shampoo too, in case you want to shower.”