Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
AUGUST
I’m being too pushy. Quinn is allowed to approach dealing with her power however she needs.
All I want to do is let her know that I’m here to help, but this is probably coming off more as me demanding to take part in her process.
The decent move would be to loosen my arms and let her climb from my lap.
So, why can’t I do that? When did my hands decide to make their own decisions?
One of them rubs circles on her back, still picking up a steady heat through her T-shirt. The other basks in the small caresses of her fingers. She idly traces the bones in my hand while keeping quiet, her brow furrowed with her deep thoughts.
I fight the urge to lean forward and kiss that little dip. The move would only lead to me trailing my mouth over the other interesting curves of her face. I might be tempted to use her riot of freckles as a guide, each one a pinpoint on a map I would make sure to visit.
Ice gathers in my gut, and I realize I’ve started to grow hard under her taut ass. Luckily, before that becomes too obvious, my Pyro suddenly stands.
“Okay. I think I can do that,” she declares.
“Hmm?”
Quinn grabs my hands and pulls me off the bench. “I think I can tell you when I need help. Let’s practice!”
“Yeah, sure.” Her eagerness has me smiling. “How do you want to do this?”
“Let’s go to your place and have sex.”
By the time my slow mind makes sense of Quinn’s words, she’s already towed me halfway across the parking lot. That frost in my stomach? It spreads, threatening to coat my skin.
“Hold up.” My feet plant in the asphalt, immobilizing us, and she frowns back at me. “Are you serious?” Not that I don’t want her to be. Far from it. I’m just having trouble keeping up with the swerves in her thought process.
“Yes.” Quinn moves in close to me, wrapping her arms around my neck until our bodies press flush together. “I haven’t been able to stop fantasizing about you, and I want to practice asking for help. What better way than to do the deed? That’s when I’m at my hottest.”
“Yeah, you are,” I mutter. The memory of her naked body sprawled out on the table in my shop as I thrust into her splashes across my mind, and my dick continues to rise, along with my ice.
Quinn’s smile is wicked. “Meet you at your place.” She presses a quick kiss to my lips, stepping away before I can deepen it, then jogs to her car. “Race you!” she calls before diving into the driver’s seat.
And I thought a fancy dinner was a good date.
Moving quick, I’m in my car, revving the engine to life. I don’t care if Quinn beats me to my place as long as I don’t leave her waiting. Keeping that fire burning in her eyes is my main goal. I want her hot to the touch, and I want her to beg for my soothing caress.
When I pull into the driveway of my small house, Quinn is leaning against the front door, fiddling with a strand of her red hair. My key is barely out of the ignition before I’m jogging across the expanse of tiny rocks that covers the front yard.
As I go to unlock the dead bolt, a set of scorching hands lands on my waist. The heat is so intense that I wonder if she’s burning through my shirt.
If so, this would officially become my favorite piece of clothing.
Once we’re inside and alone, I reach for her again, but Quinn skips back.
“Shower?” she asks, one eyebrow raised.
“Hell yes.” I don’t care how high my water bill gets.
Taking the lead, I navigate to the bedroom, which has a full bath with glass doors boxing in the shower.
“Turn the water on cold,” she demands.
From the heat waves rolling off her, I understand why.
I’m just about to let my chill surround her when I stop myself. Quinn hasn’t asked for help yet. She wants to do this on her own for the time being. And when I glance over my shoulder, I discover my Pyro has her eyes shut, as if concentrating hard.
As she takes a moment for herself, I slide open the shower and turn the faucet as cold as it will go.
I’m going to see Quinn soaking wet.
Just the thought has my cock standing at attention, making my pants uncomfortably tight. I want them gone, but this encounter is under my woman’s control.
“Should I take my clothes off?” I ask.
Quinn’s eyes fly open. “Yes.” Her one word sizzles in the air.
Thank the gods.
I whip my shirt over my head, then unbutton my pants and tug down the zipper. While the denim did something to control the tent in my pants, the stretchy fabric of my boxer briefs does nothing to camouflage how hard I am.
Quinn makes a noise deep in her throat that has my balls tightening.
Then she repeats the moves I just made, pulling off her blouse and sliding her shorts down her toned legs. For the first time, I notice that her freckles continue their scattered path over her stomach. The small flames that coated her skin when we hooked up in my shop blocked that view before.
But now I can admire the sexy little dots. And imagine licking each one.
“If you’re going to look at me like that, I need to be under the water.” Desperation and command weave themselves together in Quinn’s voice, and when I feel her hungry gaze on me, I wonder how long I’ll be able to make this last.
Committing fully, I tug off my underwear, then step into the frigid spray.
Well, frigid for someone with a normal body temperature. This feels just fine to me.
But I don’t want just fine. I want Quinn’s body reminding me what heat feels like. I want fire against my bare skin.
I want to burn.
Through the glass, I watch as my date reaches behind her to unhook the lacy black bra that cups her breasts the way my hands long to. I bite my knuckle to stifle a groan at the sight of her tight red nipples.
Is their color always so dark, or is there a flush over the tight tips? Are they begging for my attention?
When her thumbs hook in the waistband of her matching panties, I swallow. Once, twice, a third time, and I still feel like I’m going to choke on my tongue.
“Take them off.” The pleading seeps out of me, even though I thought the words would stay in my brain.
There’s a strange noise that briefly distracts me. A repetitive, high-pitched pinging. A quick glance down shows that my arms are now coated in frost, and the noise is from the shower spray colliding with the icy surface.
Quinn smiles wide, then does as she was told. The beautiful red curls at the apex of her thighs call to me as insistently as her nipples. So many places I want to touch, to caress, to kiss.
But she’s still on the other side of the room.
“What are you waiting for?” I growl.
Quinn’s chest expands on a deep breath, and I watch her arm herself with confidence.
That’s it. Come to me as the badass you are.
She steps under the water.