Fireworks: A Holiday Bad Boy Romance (45 page)

"Light Slayer
and I grew up together," I said. "But that has nothing to do with my
playing. Arrowa was evolved before he and I started playing together."

"You don't
have to convince me," Dave said. "Remember? I was sitting next to
you. I saw you play and that's not something you can learn."

"Thanks,"
I said. I zipped up my suitcase and led Dave into the main room to get a
celebratory drink.

Owen was at the
bar with Anya. She had both arms around him, her hands tucked into the back
pockets of his pants. His hand was light on her shoulder, but even that casual
touch ignited a fury of jealous in me. I pushed away the ridiculous feeling. Of
course, they were perfect for each other. She was the opposite of Sienna in
every way and just what Owen needed.

Dave waved a
champagne flute in front of my eyes. "Snagged these from a waiter. I may
not have made it to the second round, but at least Davon evolved a little
farther. Let's celebrate," he said.

I forced a smile
and clinked my champagne flute against his. "Definitely a reason to
celebrate. Thanks for saving me a lucky seat," I said.

"Now isn't
this cute," Anya interrupted. "Two newbies. You're the Orcan, right?
That's perfect for you, Quinn. A human and an Orcan make a great team in
Dark Flag
. Come on, Owen, let's leave
these two to strengthen their partnership."

Owen did not move.
"I didn't get a chance to congratulate you, Quinn. Actually, the
tournament committee gave me something to present to you. Can I steal you away
for a moment?"

He laced his
fingers through mine and pulled me into the second bedroom. Before he could say
anything he blinked at my suitcase closed and ready to go. "Are you
leaving?"

"Yeah,
actually, I got a room for myself. It was feeling a little crowded around here.
Plus, I got the feeling that you and Anya might want a little space."

"Me and Anya?
What about you and the skinny desk clerk? What's with that?" Owen asked.

"Are you
kidding? I'm not the one with my hands all over a Green Witch. Do you have any
idea how awkward I've felt?"

Owen rubbed his
forehead. "Let me guess, Anya's been making you feel like a third wheel. I
thought you knew me better than that, Quinn. I'm not with Anya and I don't want
to be. So don't use that as an excuse. If you don't want to stay here, you don't
have to."

"I love it
here, but I haven't earned my place. This is your party," I said.

Owen took both my
hands and pulled me closer. "No, this is your party. You're the one that
just won your first tournament."

My cheeks got hot.
"Thanks. So you understand how that makes it even more important for me to
strike out on my own, right? I have to earn my place, especially in Light Clan.
Otherwise, I will never earn any respect in this world."

Owen picked up the
room key that I had left on top of my suitcase. "Does that mean I'm not
allowed to visit?"

"No, of
course not."

"You're not
going to let that scrawny Orcan carry your suitcase, are you?" Owen asked.

"You're not
going to let that Green Witch put you under a spell are you?" I asked.

Owen's lips
curved. "Here, let me help you." He picked up my suitcase and headed
out of the suite.

Anya caught him at
the door. "After the newbies have all gone for their naps we're heading
over to the Venetian. You coming?"

"No
thanks," Owen said. "I'm not in the mood for gambling tonight."

"Who said
anything about gambling? We can always grab a bottle and ride a gondola,"
Anya said.

Owen unhooked her
hands from his collar and headed towards the elevators. "Goodnight. Tell
the Clan I'll see 'em in
Dark Flag
later."

I stepped into the
elevator first. "You don't have to do this. Go have fun with your
clan," I told him.

When I turned
around, Owen's lips seared across my words. I heard my suitcase drop to the
elevator floor as his hands encircled my waist. He smiled through the kiss, his
lips moving across mine like warm honey. Our mouths opened just as the elevator
stopped at another floor.

Owen stepped back
just as four people joined us. We did not say another thing until we reached
the door of my new room.

"Can I come
in?" he asked.

I nodded and
opened the door. He came inside and shut the door behind him then caught my
waist. He pulled me against him as he leaned back on the door and our lips met
again. I was off-balance, dizzy, and pressed against his body for support.
Everywhere we touched, heat ignited.

His hands brushed
back my loose hair, his fingers tips tickling my neck. I gasped against his
kiss and felt him smile again. He kept the sensation going as his fingers
trailed down my bare shoulders. I gasped again and this time, his warm tongue
traced my bottom lip.

I moved up on my
tip toes to answer his exploration and the friction between our bodies pulled a
low groan from him. Owen's hands slipped to my waist, and he pressed me hard
against him.

"Not
enough," he whispered against my lips. "Not enough."

He stood up and
bent me back, his kiss devouring me. I opened to him, hungry for his delving
tongue. My fingers found the open buttons at his neck and pulled his shirt
open. Underneath, his neck was hot, his skin burning to be touched.

Owen held me as he
pushed us farther into the room and shed his coat. Our lips did not stop and
neither did my fingers until I had stripped him of his shirt. He arched against
the feel of my hands on his bare stomach and chest, his agate-blue eyes ablaze.
I ran my fingertips up to his shoulders and down his arms, leading his hands to
the straps of my tank top.

He peeled it down
to my waist, his lips meeting mine again as he reached for the hook of my bra.
I reached for the beaded necklaces, but he stopped me, his voice ragged against
my lips.

"Leave them.
Just them," he said. His hands dropped to the button of my jeans. He undid
them and slid his hands around to the back of my waist, dropping lower as his
pulled my jeans off. They dropped to the floor, and I stepped out of them.

The moment away
from his body was too long, and I pulled him close again. I felt him hard
through the fabric of his suit pants and the heavy contour melted something
deep inside me.

"More?"
I asked, the back of my knees meeting the edge of the bed.

Owen nodded,
taking off his pants. I lay back on the bed and he slipped up and over me, the
heat of his body and our desire making me arch towards him. His lips crushed
against me and I opened to him. As his tongue slid against mine, his hand
mimicked the intoxicating friction between my legs.

I dragged my hand
down his wide shoulder, across the tense hold of his arm, to where his fingers
swept in small pulsing circles. When he felt my hand press his wrist, he
slipped inside my panties and pressed into me.

I arched against
the exquisite pressure. His lips left mine and he panted against my neck, the
sweet motion driving him harder as I melted against his touch.

I pressed up
against him, pulling myself free of my panties, leaving nothing between us.
Owen kissed me again, breathing words of ecstasy as he pushed inside me. I
cried out at the sudden and shattering pleasure that pulsed through me and
around him. He held firm until my shockwaves subsided, then rocked gently with
them.

The rhythm built,
his hands cupping my cheeks, his blue eyes awash like the sea. Owen looked down
at me, our eyes locked together as he surged into me, a crashing wave of pure
bliss.

PART 3

CHAPTER
TEN

Quinn

The
rest of the tournament weekend passed in a neon-lighted blur. I assumed that
was the way many weekends there ended up for the tourists all around me. I just
felt like I was in a different world.

When Owen and I
woke up together in the same bed, we laughed. And then, we did not talk about
it again. Even on the nearly four-hour trip back to UCLA, we never mentioned it
once.

"Do you like
living in L.A.?" Owen asked after one particularly long pause.

"Yeah, but
sometimes I wonder if I would like anywhere that gave a buffer between me and
my parents," I said. "How about you? You still live in the same town
you grew up in and your parents are just down the street like mine."

"When they're
in town," Owen said. "My parents are different."

The Redds had
money, and not the kind families got from high-powered careers. They had
inherited money, old money, and it seemed to be a self-replenishing supply.
Every year, Owen's parents made a big show of offering him a yearly stipend,
which he immediately turned down. Then, they flew off to another jet-set
location and it would be months until they appeared in Nevada again.

"Haven't you
ever been tempted to be like your parents?" I asked. "It would put
you in the same position as Anya." The words soured even as they came out
of my mouth.

Owen scrubbed at
his stubbled chin. "I've never been tempted because that's not what I
want. It’s not really what they want for me, either. My parents are happy that
I want to be my own man. Sometimes, when I think about taking a desk job or some
other conventional thing, I hear their voices in my head telling me life's too
short to go any way but my way."

I sighed.
"That sounds like a luxury to me."

His hands
tightened on the steering wheel. "I know it looks like it’s been easy for
me. I don't have anything to complain about. It’s just I've worked hard to
build my own career out of nothing. The fact that it looks effortless is
something I'm proud of, but I also think it takes away my credibility."

"Oh, you
seemed to have plenty of credibility at the tournament," I said. I slapped
his knee. "No wonder you seem to have a never-ending fountain of
self-confidence."

"Me? You're
the one that burst on to the scene."

"That was
Arrowa. I'm just plain old Quinn about to go back and scrape by with bottom grades
in her nursing program." I crossed my arms and looked out the window.

"Who knows,
maybe you'll get kicked out and have a chance to make it on your own,"
Owen said.

The thought was
appealing, more than appealing. By the time Owen parked the car and we walked
across campus, I had thought of a dozen legitimate ways to get kicked out of
the nursing program. My parents would be angry, but I would be free. Free of
them and Sienna's shadow and free to finally take a look around and decide what
I wanted for myself.

"Quinn?"
Owen caught me with my hand on the doorknob of my dorm room. He pulled me
closer and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist. "I know what we
haven't been talking about is a really hard thing to talk about. Just know
this."

He kissed me. Light
and simple, but he let it linger until I had no doubt our thoughts were the
same.

"Who needs to
talk?" I asked. "We seem to be doing fine."

"Quinn, is
that you?"

My blood froze as
the door opened and my father stood staring at us. Owen's arms dropped away and
all the blood drained from my face.

"Father? What
are you doing here? Is Mother okay?" I asked.

"I'm right
here," she said. My mother came into view, her arms crossed and one foot
tapping. "The question is where have you been and what on earth have you
been doing?"

"Certainly
not studying," my father said. He stepped aside and all but ordered Owen
and I inside the room.

I was surprised
when Owen followed me. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas," he said.

"What are you
doing here, Owen?" my father asked. "Please tell me you know why this
is a cause for concern."

"Frankly, I
don't," Owen said.

"I don't know
what you think you are doing to our family, but Quinn is in danger of losing
her place in the nursing program. Anything you do is harmful to my girls, to
Quinn, don't you see that?" my father asked.

"I'm losing
my place in the nursing program?" I prayed my hopeful tone had not been
heard.

"No," my
father said. "Your mother and I drove here and convinced your advisor
otherwise. You are on probation, but you will be able to work your way back up.
We'll discuss it as soon as this thoughtless, careless, waste of space
leaves."

"Father! You
can't talk to Owen that way," I protested.

"No, it’s
okay, Quinn. I understand. Your father needs someone to blame and it should be
me," Owen said. "Better me than Sienna or you or anyone else. Listen
to them, don't lose what you have here before you know what you want."

His words hurt,
but I still followed him to the door and grabbed his hand. He squeezed mine
before pulling free. "See you around."

"I'm sorry,
Owen. This is horrible," I said. I stood frozen as he winked at me and
left the room. Then my anger boiled to the surface. "How dare you blame
Owen. You know he was never anything but wonderful to Sienna and to me."

"There is no
you and Owen, Quinn," my mother said. "That is a ridiculous and
terrible thought. You need to get yourself together."

"And that is
why we waited to talk to you," my father said. "Because you are now
on probation and because we pay a large part of your tuition, you will be
coming home every weekend so we can ensure you are studying."

"I'm not a
child," I said.

"Then stop
acting that way and get serious about your career," my father said.

They left before I
could even begin to explain the ideas I had for my own life or my own career.
Under the harsh fluorescent lights of my dorm room, it seemed like I only had
one choice and it had been made for me.

#

"
The
problem is that I really did love nursing
when I started," I said. "It’s just that it was always overshadowed
by Sienna and then it didn't seem like my choice. And, well, the rest kind of
unraveled by itself."

Darla sat on my
bed and nodded. "You're good at nursing. I know you'd make a spectacular
nurse, but who says that's a good reason for staying in a profession? It’s
better to be having these thoughts now than three, four years out of school.
Rent, car payments, bills, it could get real ugly, then trying to drop a good
nursing paycheck and reach for your dreams."

"What dreams?
What if I'm just escaping and the whole gamer world is the easiest path?"

"Easy? I die
like fifteen times every time I try to play. If you've survived this long, won
a tournament, then maybe you should keep going," Darla said. "What I
can't believe is that you agreed to go home weekends."

"Well, they
never said I'd be under house arrest. They just want to see that I'm keeping up
with my studying," I said.

"So, you're
really going home to be closer to Owen. Now that, I get."

"Yeah, I'll
let you know if it works," I said.

I managed to stay
hopeful the entire drive, but as soon as I pulled into Summerlin, I started to
worry. Not once had my parents asked if nursing was something I actually wanted
to pursue. That was not even an issue to them. I knew as soon as I set foot in
their house, I was in danger of becoming the unseen daughter again.

My worry
multiplied when I saw a strange car in the driveway. My first night home and my
parents had house guests. So, instead of finishing all my studying that night,
proofing it in the morning, and being free to see Owen, I would be stuck
playing the dutiful daughter for their friends.

"Hello?"
I called in the foyer.

"There you
are, baby. Took you long enough."

I reeled back
against the door and wondered what nightmare I had walked into. Trent strolled
down the hallway with both hands out.

He pried my
fingers from the door handle and kissed my cheek. "Your father invited me.
Your advisor told him we were dating and he thought it would be a nice surprise
before you studied all weekend."

"But that's
not your car in the driveway," I said.

Trent pulled me
along to the front parlor. "No, that's Nicky's car. I promised him a night
in Vegas if he came to family dinner."

Nicky sat across
from my father who was bravely ignoring his see-through mesh shirt. "Trent
brought a friend," was all my father said.

"No, no, no,
not a friend. Nicky's more of a boy toy," Trent said. "We surprised
your father. He was hoping I would come and keep your mind off a certain
someone. Turns out I'm not the only one that disapproves of Owen Redd."

"The
gamer?" Nicky asked. "Oooh, I do like that magazine cover shot of
him."

Trent slapped
Nicky's leg. "He's the one I caught with his tongue down my girlfriend's
throat."

"Ex-girlfriend,"
I said. My father was fast becoming an awful shade of purple, but I decided to
go with his “honesty is the best policy” course of action. "I broke up
with Trent because I caught him having sex with another man. Owen kissed me in
a ridiculous ploy to make Trent jealous. It was childish, but that was
it."

"He also
almost knocked my head off my shoulders," Trent said.

For a moment, it
looked as if my father might applaud Owen's efforts. "You should have been
honest with me on the phone, Trent. I do not appreciate you coming here to
cause a scene. Now, if you'll please excuse us, I believe it would be better
for you to go before my wife-"

"Sorry I'm
late to the party. Just a few finishing touches," my mother said. She
swept into the room in a flowing black dress with a coral red necklace. She
often overdressed for dinner, especially when she thought her daughters were
entertaining young men.

"Turns out I
made a mistake," my father caught her in the door. "Quinn broke up
with him and now Trent is here with his new boyfriend."

"Boy
toy," Trent corrected him.

"Honestly,
Quinn, you can't stick with anything these days, can you?" my mother
asked. She peered over my father's shoulder at Trent and Nicky. "Well,
boys, the least you could do is pour us all some of that wine."

She took the glass
Trent gave her and, in front of everyone, popped two pills into her mouth
before her first sip.

Both my parents
gave me angry and accusing looks. The room was painfully quiet, as if they
expected me to be the one to buoy up the conversation. I pressed my fingernails
into my palms and tried not to scream at everyone. How was this supposed to be
helping me get back on track? What kind of track was this?

I caught a wicked
gleam in Trent's eye before he launched into the raunchy story of how he and
Nicky met. My mother pounded her glass of wine and Nicky poured her another
before my father could intervene. The entire night was coming apart before my
eyes and then the doorbell rang.

"Hi, I heard
you were home. Maybe we can grab some Chinese food before you crack down on
studying?"

"Oh my God,
Owen," I said. "You could not have come at a worse time. Please, just
turn around and run."

Owen laughed.
"There is no way I'm leaving now. Whose car is that?"

I pressed my
forehead with both hands. "Seriously. I am so glad to see you. I didn't
think I would after my dorm room and all that. But I'm telling you that you do
not want to be here now."

"I'm not
letting your father's misplaced anger keep me from seeing you," Owen said.

He dropped a kiss
on the top of my head and strode past me to the front parlor.