Page 24 of Trusting You
I held his gaze. “Liam, you aren’t going to fail. And even if you did, you aren’t letting anyone down. You’ve done a pretty incredible job on your own so far. And with all this extra help, not to mention my superior business acumen”—I tapped my head and winked at him—“you will not fail. This place is going to be packed this weekend and then we are going to blow Oktoberfest out of the water and you won’t even remember these doubts.”
He smiled, a big genuine smile, and those gorgeous blue eyes crinkled. I swear I could feel my ovaries tingle. We stood there for a few minutes staring at each other. Needing to break the crazy tension, I tried to pivot. “Okay, that’s settled. Get back to work,” I barked at him.
“Okay, boss lady. Make me.” His grin turned mischievous.
“Oh, I’ll make you.” I turned the hose and sprayed him in the chest. He was caught totally by surprise and turned and ran from me. I took off, spraying him continuously while he weaved around the new tables. Just as I thought I could get his face, he ducked and ran straight at me, wrestling the hose from my hands.
“Ha,” he said, panting. “I got you now.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “Do your worst, Quinn.” I thought he would spare me. I thought wrong. He shot the hose of freezing cold water straight into my stomach. I doubled over and tried to run but he was faster. I ducked behind the closest table and tried to head inside where I would be safe. I turned around the concrete stairs that led up to the deck area but he cut me off and was able to corner me.
“Nice try.” He held the hose up at me and smirked.
I was out of breath and my chest was heaving. Despite the freezing cold water, my entire body felt hot.
He stood there for a minute staring at me with an almost feral expression. His Binnacle Brewing T-shirt clung to the muscles in his chest and his damp hair fell across his forehead. He looked muscular and intimidating and oh so hot. In other circumstances I would be scared by the giant wall of sexy man looking at me like I was his next meal. But my entire body was on high alert. I was hot, sweaty, and turned on. I could feel my nipples standing at attention and I had to squeeze my thighs together to stop the full body shiver running through my core. We stood there, staring, chests heaving, for what felt like an hour but was probably more like two minutes.
He dropped the hose on the ground. Next thing I knew he stalked over to me, grabbed me by the waist, and pulled me into his hard, wet chest. His mouth descended on mine, and I was completely lost to the sensation of his full, tender lips. It was messy and frantic and I held onto him for dear life. He smelled like hops and pine trees. Our hands were everywhere. He was gripping my ass as I ran my fingers through his hair. Our mouths and tongues danced desperately as if we had waited years for this moment.
This was more than a kiss. This was an epic sensory experience. His lips, his hands, his hard muscular chest. Oh my God, his intoxicating manly smell. I had never been kissed like this in my life, and it was melting my brain. His hands found my hips and picked me up as if I weighed nothing. I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist without breaking the kiss. Suddenly I was aware of something very large and hard nudging at my core. Instead of breaking away, it made me want more.
My entire body throbbed for him. I wanted to take him home and lick every inch of his body, including what felt like a very impressive erection. I moaned into his mouth as his hand found my breast. He curled a fist into my hair and tugged my hair back, exposing my neck to his frenzied lust. I moaned when he found my sweet spot and I longed for friction, for nudity, for more. Under normal circumstances I would be freaking out that I was doing something wrong or wondering if this guy actually liked me. But somehow I didn’t want to stop or analyze. In that moment, I was overwhelmed by Liam Quinn.
I was backed up against a wall with my legs wrapped around him as we devoured each other. This was passion. This was intensity. This was adrenaline-fueled lust. This was what had been missing in my life.
And just like that, it was over. He gently placed me on the ground and took a step back. His face was flushed and his eyes were glazed. At least I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t form a coherent thought at that moment. He scratched the back of his neck nervously and looked at me intensely. I was frozen to the spot. I needed to say something, but my mouth couldn’t formulate words. I just stood there and stared at him like an idiot.
“Ah. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t. No. Sorry,” he stammered. He took off his hat and ran his hands through his hair.
He took another big step back, widening the gulf between us. “Thank you, Cece. This place looks great. Now go home and get some sleep. It’s going to be a busy weekend.”
And with that he turned around, walked back to where he had dropped his broom, and got back to work.
And I stood there, staring at him while he swept the patio, trying to regain my powers of speech after experiencing the hottest make-out session of my life.
15
Cecelia
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Nora was flopped on my bed, clutching my Cabbage Patch dolls with her feet in the air. I had a weird déjà vu back to high school where we spent tons of time lying on my bed listening to Justin Timberlake and talking about boys. It was Friday night and the taproom was reopening tomorrow. The brewing staff spent the day bottling and so I had an unexpected evening off to spend with my bestie.
“Nope. Not kidding,” I said as I held my hand out. She handed me another Red Vine and paused.
“So…he grabbed you and kissed you senseless, thrust his giant cock at you, and then just up and ran away?” Nora sat up quickly, sending a tidal wave of dark hair into my face. I pushed her back on the pillows.
“Pretty much,” I confirmed, chewing on my Red Vine.
“That is some fuckboy shit.” She paused and took another bite. “What a prick.”
“Don’t be like that, Nora. It was a weird night.” I still hadn’t figured out how I felt about it. It was the hottest kiss of my life. But he was my boss. And he walked away from me without saying another word. Was it bad for him? I had been under the impression for a number of years now that I was competent in the kissing department. It was a blow to my ego.
Nora vigorously shook her head. “Nope. He had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make out with Cecelia Goddamn Leary. And he ran away and hasn’t said a word since.” She shook her Red Vine in my face. “Fuckboy.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s really not. But I admire your positive attitude. We shouldn’t have expected better. He’s a Quinn. Those Quinn brothers are hot as sin but terrible at relationships.”
