Page 31 of Beyond Me

I arched my brow.I was half annoyed at her plan to find some guy to sleep with, but hadn’t I done the same exact thing?I tried not to laugh as she shoved her face in her mug in an attempt to hide.This was too much fun to pass up.“So I was just part of this master plan to be used?”I asked.

“N-No!I mean, not really, I didn’t plan on sleeping with you.I didn’t like you!”

“You didn’t even like me?Hell, now I really feel used.You just wanted my body.”

“No!Crap, you’re twisting my words.Besides, you came after me, remember?”

“Forget it.Let me just take off my clothes so you can fuck me.I never thought I could feel so cheap.”

“James!I—” She broke off, catching the huge grin threatening to split my face.She gasped and pointed.“You’re teasing me!You suck!”

I laughed in delight at the red spots on her cheeks.“Baby, let’s just say you can use me anytime you want,” I drawled.“In any way, even.”

She glowered, those plump lips pursed in a cute pout.“I can’t believe I fell for that,” she grumbled.“I was afraid to hurt your feelings.”

“Using a guy for his body isn’t a problem, Quinn,” I told her, dropping the mixture into a hot pan.

“I’m not,” she said softly.“Are you?”

I spun around.Her serious dark eyes stared back.The question exploded around me, and I realized we’d reached a turning point.Had she heard my plea last night before she fell asleep?Did she know how much she meant to me even after this short period of time?I watched her carefully, wondering what she wanted from me.“Am Iwhat?”

She swallowed and lifted her chin in that movement of pure bravery that almost broke my heart.“Using me for my body?Or am I more?”

The sizzle in the pan drifted to my ears, but I stood still, frozen to the spot.What type of answer did she want?The truth?That I was falling in love with my spring break fling and she was going to leave me without another thought?Or was this an opportunity to take a leap and find what I needed to know?If she needed me as much as I did her?

My silence must have been too long, because she forced a laugh and shook her head.“Forget it, I’m so lame.Let’s just enjoy what we have and not analyze it.Wow, that smells good.”

It would be easy to accept her fake words.Move on without dissecting some scary-ass feelings that could end up breaking both of our hearts.But I couldn’t leave her hanging.I wasn’t that much of an asshole—not when it came to Quinn.

“You are.”

“What?”

I leaned over and pinned her with my gaze.Showing her everything I was feeling and fighting in that brief moment.“I wanted it to be just sex.It would be easier.But you’re more, Quinn, much more.Do you understand?”

She quivered, nodding her head.I wanted to go to her, but it was too much, and I had already sacrificed more than I thought I could this morning.

Then she smiled.A beautiful, giving, joyous smile that splintered my reality and left it broken behind me.“I understand.”

My heart hurt, so I turned back to the eggs for something to do.I grabbed a plate, slid the omelet on, and served her at the counter.“Eat up.You’ll need your energy.”

She was still smiling when she took the first bite.

The blare of my phone cut through the air halfway through our breakfast.I got up and checked the screen.Adam.I’d already texted him back to cancel the party, and his continuous texts were getting more and more crazed.Better take it or the guy may show up at my door.“Be right back, I gotta take this,” I said.

“Okay.”

I walked into the living room and hit the button.“What’s up?”

My friend’s voice was high-pitched.“What the hell are you doing, man?Are you fucking crazy?We had these parties planned for months—hell, it’s a tradition in Key West.You can’t cancel on me.I got a ton of people freaking out.”

My temper reared, but I kept calm.“Adam, if you want to have a party, you host it.I’m done.I got shit I need to do this week, and I’m not up for hosting more of Girls Gone Wild at my house.”

A long groan.“I can’t have it at my house!I don’t have the space, and it’s too damn late to rent a hotel.Hey, I got a great idea.I’ll host the party over there.I’ll take care of everything, make sure we clean up.What do you say?”

Why did I suddenly feel like I was eighteen again?Rich and Adam were always pushing me to take the lead because my parents didn’t give a shit.They were both stuck in their fathers’ firms, living the dutiful life I’d always hated, so they looked to me to be the wild one.The one who bucked the system, took no prisoners, and broke all the rules.

I was fucking sick of it.

---