Page 35 of Beyond Me

I grabbed her, devouring her mouth like my last meal, and she exploded in my arms in a mass of soft, melty heat.Hands grabbing, nails digging, I pushed up her skirt and dove my fingers into wet heat, curving them the way she liked and hitting her favorite spot.She bucked and moaned, and I eased her to the ground, forcing her on her hands and knees.Quinn panted hard, her ass high in the air, bare to my gaze now that I took away her underwear.

I wasn’t going to last.

I ripped open my shorts, sprang free, and covered myself quickly with a condom.Dragging my fingers across her dripping slit, I teased her as I got myself ready, raised myself up, and pushed between her open thighs.

Mine.

Silky wet heat closed around me like a fist.She cried out when I moved, going deep, and I reached around to yank down her tank and play with her breasts.Rubbing her hard nipples, I took her like an animal, and she loved it, bucking and meeting me with every thrust, crying out my name until I felt her shatter around my dick and milk me hard.

“I love you, James!I love you, love you...”

The words sang in my ears and my balls tightened and I came, my body shaking with the force of my release.I pumped until I shot the last drops, turned her around and took her in my arms.She was still shuddering, and I rubbed her back.

“What are we going to do?”she asked, her eyes filling with tears.

I kissed her slow and gentle as I wiped a tear from her cheek with my thumb.“I love you, baby.We’ll work it out.I just found you, and I’ll be damned if I’m ever letting you go.”

She relaxed in my arms as if we had settled the looming question clouding our happiness.“Okay,” she whispered.We snuggled for a while, until we straightened our clothes and I checked on our direction.“I need my underwear,” she stated, holding out her hand.

I gave her a wolfish grin.“Hell no.I’m keeping them.”

“You can’t do that!People will know!”

I laughed.Erotic siren to blushing schoolgirl.Perfect.“Nope.I’ll keep it hidden and no one will know.”I demonstrated, pushing the lacy fabric deep into my pocket.“When we’re at the bar, you’ll be thinking of all the bad things I could be doing to you.”

She chewed her lip.“Oh my God, I can’t.”

“You don’t have a choice, baby.Now let’s get docked and head over to Captain Crow’s.The earlier we get there, the earlier I can get you back home where you belong.”

I loved the contradictory emotions that skittered across her features.She was completely turned on, but enough of a good girl to be shocked by such behavior.Finally, she seemed to accept she had no choice, but her gaze strayed to my pocket, as if she was nervous.Perfect.She’d be thinking of me all night, even in the bar, and that’ s exactly what I wanted.My possessive streak ran long and deep when it came to Quinn.The idea of her flirting with anyone other than me made me want to rip off a guy’s face.Not very civilized.I’d never experienced such intensity with a woman.She seemed to bring out a bunch of raw emotions I never knew I had, and I was still trying to maneuver through the new shit I was feeling.

As I began to dock the boat and get ready to hit Captain Crow’s, I wish I had known the future.If I had, I would’ve kept sailing and avoided the damn bar at all costs.

Instead, I took her hand, led her off the boat, and hit Duval Street.

Biggest mistake of my life.

THE BARwas packed.Skimpily-clad bodies grouped together, Jimmy Buffett blasted from the speakers, and groups claimed the large tables with pitchers of alcohol covering every inch of the battered wood.A loud whooping hit my ears, and my crew began chanting my name from the back.Funny, it always seemed flattering before, but now I realized how shallow the shit really was.

“Do you see your friends?”I shouted over the noise.

She shook her head.“Not yet.”

“We’ll keep a lookout.For now, let me introduce you.”She squeezed my hand and I returned the pressure.I figured we’d stay for a drink, Quinn would connect with her friends, and we’d get our asses the hell out of here and back to bed.Where we belonged.

We weaved our way toward the back of the bar, and I quickly introduced her to Rich and Adam.They gave her a quick once-over, as if they couldn’t understand why I was so into her, but finally grinned and made light conversation.The waitress was by my side in a few seconds and Rich ordered a pitcher of tequila, clapping me on the shoulder.“You got this round, right, dude?”

Whatever.I shrugged.“Sure.”

“You’re the best.Hey, hope you had a better time this week than we did.Things got pretty fucked up since you backed out of our plans.”

Adam jumped right in.“Dude, I mean, I respect your decision to cancel—it’s your house—but we took a lot of shit.I had a bunch of guys flying in just to crash at your place and party hard.I looked like an asshole.”

I shrugged.I was so done with this shit.“Sorry.But I told you, I’m done.Those guys could’ve flown in and stayed with you.”

Quinn interrupted.“Sorry, guys, it was my fault.I wanted to sightsee, so I dragged him around all day.”

My heart did a wimpy flip-flop at her attempt to defend me.“Sightseeing, huh?”Rich slurred.“Is that what they’re calling it?”

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