Page 24 of SEAL's Patience
“It’s always better to check than be sorry later. Besides, I’d have nightmares about the ceiling falling on you if I didn’t.”
Patience blinked up at him, her cheeks tinged with pink. “You’d worry about me?”
Fuck.Stupid rookie mistake.Of course, she’d twist his words. The last thing he wanted was to encourage her attraction.
“I’d worry about anyone.” True, although he wouldn’t have gone to the extreme he had for anyone else. Quinn cared. He just couldn’t let himself. Couldn’t trust himself with her, especially after what happened in Marikistan.
“Right.” Patience didn’t sound convinced.
Let her believe what she wanted. It wouldn’t matter in the long run. After he left her apartment, he’d stay as far from her as possible.
What he didn’t expect was for her to move in front of him as he grabbed his boots from the floor. Or for her to put her hands on his cheeks to pull him down for a kiss.Fuck.He didn’t expect that at all, and was so surprised he didn’t resist as her mouth touched his.
Her lips rubbed against his, and his shocked inhale let her slide her tongue inside. She tasted like sunshine and mint, and her lilac scent flooded his senses. His boots hit the floor with a heavy thud, as his arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her closer. His cock throbbed against his zipper and drowned out the fucks that his brain screamed at him.
This was wrong. He needed to put an end to it. To push her away. Except she felt so good in his arms, and he dragged her closer and inhaled more of her sweet scent. Then he took control.
His dominant personality needed control. Not just needed it, but had to have it. It was hard-wired in him, and he couldn’t let it slip—ever—and it didn’t matter if it was a kiss or a fuck against the wall. Quinn needed to be in charge. All. The. Time. Not that Patience would ever get more than this one kiss. If he was lucky, it would scare her away.
A feeling of coming home washed over him as he grabbed her hair and pulled her head to the side, his lips slanted over hers. He bit her lower lip, then licked the soft flesh to soothe her pain.
Patience’s mouth parted for him, and he slid his tongue inside. Rubbing against hers. Tangling. Dancing. Her groans spurred him on. His free hand slid down her waist to her sexy ass, and he finally squeezed the butt he’d been fantasizing about for months. His hard cock pressed against her belly. She squirmed against him, forcing a moan from him. If he wasn’t careful, he’d take her against the wall. But he shouldn’t be taking her at all. Too bad his willpower was melting faster than ice on a summer’s day.
CHAPTER 13
PATIENCE
Patience’s hands slid from Quinn’s cheeks over his scratchy beard and grasped his shoulders. Clutching his heavy jacket, she was worried if she let go he’d pull back from their mind-blowing kiss.
Oh. My. God. Quinn was kissing her. His firm lips possessed hers as his tongue learned the inside of her mouth. It was better than anything she’d imagined. For months, she’d thought about him, fantasized about him. Holy hell. There had been so many times she’d gotten herself off as she imagined his hands and mouth on her. But not one of those fantasies compared to the real thing. As she inhaled his citrus scent and his minty flavor, the heat radiating from him lured her closer.
Wait until she told Livie. Her bestie would lose her shit for sure.
With a growl, Quinn pulled his mouth away, his chest heaving against hers. He rested his forehead against hers as she tried to catch her breath. Desire heated her core as worry washed over her. Would he pull away? Storm out of her apartment? Never talk to her again? Or…
“This was a mistake,” Quinn said. His voice was rough with passion.
And there it was. Before her eyes, his demeanor changed. Quinn pulled into himself, and a pained expression crossed his face. He would try to brush this off, push her away.
Patience wouldn’t allow it. Nope. As a young child, she’d learned from her parents that if she wanted something, really wanted it, she’d have to fight for it. She wanted Quinn. More of him. A lot more.
“Why is it a mistake? You’ve been pushing me away for months. I don’t understand why.” Her voice sounded breathless in her own ears. Inside, she quaked with need and apprehension as he shut down in front of her.
“Do you really need me to lay it all out for you, little girl?” He sighed and took another step back.
Her fingers fell from his shoulders. Hope dropped like a lead ball in her stomach. As his expression closed off, putting distance between them, her dreams melted away. Patience shivered and wrapped her arms around her waist.
“No. No, don’t do that. Don’t pull away. I know you like to call me little girl, but I’m not one. I’m twenty-six, almost twenty-seven. I’ve lived more than most women my age and seen a lot of awful shit in my life. You don’t get to tell me what’s not good for me.”
As she stared up into his light green eyes, she tried to control her ragged breathing. That was a lost cause when Quinn smirked. Damn, he was hot when he did that.
“I don’t do relationships,little girl.”His eyes narrowed.
The way he emphasized it sent a wave of heat to her core. Damn, her panties were a lost cause.
Quinn exuded hotness. Every molecule in her body craved his scent, his touch, to feel him buried inside her. Did she want a relationship? No. Between school and her upcoming summer trip, then starting her residency in the fall, there wasn’t time for anything else. Although, if he offered it, she would have tried tofigure something out. After pining for him for months, Patience never thought they’d get this far.
Patience straightened from the wall she’d been leaning against, her fists clenched at her sides, and huffed. “Who said I wanted one?”
