Under the Boardwalk (Costas Sisters 1)
Page 33“You need to relax and I’m going to make sure you do.” His voice held a determined edge as he maneuvered their positions so that she lay on her back, her head between his crossed legs. “Shut your eyes.”
This was one order she didn’t mind obeying, and she let her lashes fall. His fingers moved from her jawline to her forehead, and he began a steady massage of her temples. His touch was electric and she responded, her br**sts tightening with need, while lower down, a pulsing of a different kind began between her legs.
“Breathe in,” he said in that deep voice that had mesmerized her from day one. “And out.”
Despite the desire flowing through her body, her mind responded to his request. For the first time since receiving a phone call about her missing twin, she let herself relax. She calmed down, feeling herself sinking deeper into the mattress as her tension eased. His caring caress nurtured the emptiness she’d been experiencing from being alone and being the only one doing something to find Zoe.
She wasn’t alone anymore. She had Quinn. And although he wasn’t revealing answers, he wasn’t leaving her to fall apart either. He nurtured her emotions as well as he fed her hunger. And she had a hunch that would be the next need to be filled.
CHAPTER TEN
Quinn watched Ariana sleep in the king-size bed in his hotel room. She’d taken him off guard with that heated kiss in the lobby, even more so by making him promise he’d remain hands on, not off. But no sooner had he begun to massage her temples in an attempt to relax her, than she’d fallen into a deep sleep, leaving her head in his lap and him completely aroused.
He’d moved her head to the pillows and covered her with the blanket, then stripped to his boxers and climbed in on the other side. He lay far from where she was curled into the pillow and far from temptation, because despite her seductive words, she needed sleep. Still, keeping his hands to himself wasn’t easy.
Neither was falling asleep, and as he turned on his side, he couldn’t help but stare. Although technically this wasn’t his bed, something about having Ari here with him felt too damn right. Her black eyelashes covered her paler skin and she slept peacefully. More so than he’d been able to manage since she’d unloaded her feelings on him earlier that night. He’d asked for it but that didn’t make the guilt and sense of responsibility he felt easier to bear.
The distinctive ring of a cell phone broke both his thoughts and the quiet around him. A glance at the nightstand told him his phone lay silent, and he realized the muffled sound came from inside Ari’s large purse. The phone rang again and she stirred. Not wanting her to awaken, he swung his legs over the side of the mattress and looked through her bag for the phone.
Shit.
“Quinn? What are you doing up?” Ari’s voice called to him. “Come back to bed.”
A smile quirked his lips. “Now, that’s an invitation I can’t refuse.”
“I don’t expect you to.” She laughed, a sultry, sensual Come here he couldn’t possibly mistake.
“Your phone was ringing,” he forced himself to tell her.
“Did you check the number?”
“Your mother. Do you want to call back?” He palmed the cool metal in his hand.
“Come here, Quinn. And leave the phone.”
He placed the cell in her bag. “What’s going on?”
Curious, he walked to the edge of the bed and met her gaze.
“The only reason I’d call my mother back now was if it was an emergency.” Her compelling, serious gaze stared into his.
“It’s the middle of the night. Doesn’t it stand to reason any call would be important?” he asked.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “You know my mother by now. She’d call at this hour just to ask me to say good night to the monkey,” Ari said wryly. “So I’m asking you, is it important?”
In other words, were her parents calling about Zoe? Quinn could all but read her mind. All the while her steady gaze never left his. She obviously trusted his word that much. Trusted him.
He swallowed hard. “It’s not an emergency.”
She smiled, patting the mattress beside her. “Then come back to bed.”
Though her question should have overloaded his sense of responsibility, instead her blind faith freed him to be with her right now. He strode around to his side of the large bed with every intention of making it feel a lot smaller. After all, Ari knew he had secrets that affected her and she accepted him anyway. Maybe a better man would deny himself this opportunity, but hell, when had Quinn ever considered himself a candidate for sainthood?
He lifted the covers and climbed back in beside her only to discover she’d already slipped out of her skirt. Wearing a tight “Damon’s” top and skimpy panties, she curved one finger his way, silently asking him to close the gap between them.
Her green-eyed gaze met his. “How’s this for sure?” Taking him by surprise, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, revealing a black lace bra and creamy mounds of flesh.
He exhaled a sharp breath, taking in her softly rounded cle**age and erect ni**les waiting for his hands, his fingertips, his mouth. “You do realize that your quiet-professor image doesn’t suit you?” Maybe because he saw the woman inside. One who was willing to take risks for her twin and slowly grow more emboldened by her actions. He couldn’t put Ariana into the conservative mold in which she painted herself.
“I think it depends on your perspective,” she murmured.
Her answer took him off guard. It damn well figured that when he finally had her just where he wanted her, half dressed in his bed, they were getting to some serious conversation he couldn’t let slide.
He tipped his head to one side. “Are you saying I see a side of you others don’t?”
“Right now you do.” A naughty smile tilted her lips.