Chapter Seven #2
“Meggie,” he sighed, frustration glinting from his eyes. “You’d sit there and starve rather than eat with me, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s right,” she admitted without looking up from her desk.
“Who would have believed a sweet, little churchgoer could be so stubborn,” he mumbled just loud enough for her to hear.
Meggie slammed her pencil down and shot back, “And who would have believed a pillar of the police force could be so rude and
behave so chauvinistically.”
“Meggie.” His voice held a note of warning.
“You have been rotten, Quinn Donnelley,” she said, barely holding her quick tongue. “I’m so mad at you I could just scream!”
The muscles at the side of his mouth began to quiver as if he was making an extreme effort not to smile. “Would it do any
good if I apologized? If I admitted I behaved high-handedly last night, and asked you politely to join me for dinner?”
Meggie cocked her head to one side and shrugged her shoulders lightly. “I suppose it might help.”
His eyes holding hers captive, Quinn spoke. “There’s an awful lot of food here for one person. Would you care to join me,
Miss O’Halloran?”
Accepting his hand, Meggie smiled. “Who could ask for a more romantic invitation?”
In gentlemanly fashion, he handed her a plate.
“I should probably have put up more of an argument but I have a terrible weakness for Chinese food.”
Quinn cleared his throat, giving the impression of deep shock. “You mean to say it’s not my company that interests you, but
my choice of cuisine?”
“Absolutely,” she told him, dumping a large portion of fried rice onto the plate.
Quinn was quiet for so long that Meggie glanced up to find him studying her. Their eyes locked and she felt like a drowning
person. Breathing in deeply, she attempted to regain her composure.
“You’ve done such a magnificent job. There’s only one thing missing,” she teased. “Music.” The trembling lips were a poor
imitation of a smile.
Quinn shook his head slightly. “You have music, don’t you?” When she nodded and pointed to a centrally located volume-control
switch, he stood and turned the dial. Immediately a soft melody filled the room with the glorious sound of music that seemed
to encompass Meggie. Half the time she hardly noticed the music, but with Quinn, now it was the most beautiful sound in all
the world. Unconsciously the upper portion of her body began to sway gently with the beat.
“You’re a marvel,” she said. The romantic mood he had created was an experience she would never forget. “It makes me want
to dance.”
Quinn glanced around him, making a sweeping study of the empty room, then shrugged lightly. “Why not? Shall we?” He rolled
back his chair and stood, offering Meggie his hand.
The smoldering light in his eyes took away her breath and the ready smile faded from his lips as she fitted herself into his
arms. With her high-heeled shoes she was nearly as tall as he was. Her arms slid over his shoulders, locking around his neck,
while his hands gripped her waist, bringing her boldly against him. He was so close, she could breathe in the masculine scent
of his after-shave. Just being in his arms sent shivers of excitement over her skin.
They hadn’t moved, each captured in the magic of simply being in one another’s embrace. When Quinn began to sway, Meggie followed
his lead, gently laying her head on his shoulder. Slowly, ever so slowly, she closed her eyes. The gentle pressure of his
mouth against the top of her head stirred the soft auburn curls.
A hand below her chin lifted her face, her name a disturbed throbbing sound as his mouth openly sought hers. Desire seared
through her veins as her lips parted voluntarily, eager for the possessive, hungry demand. The kiss that followed was deeper,
more intense, as if he couldn’t get enough of her, as if he never wanted to let her go.
Shuddering a sigh of longing, Quinn buried his face in her neck, exploring the hollow of her throat and the pulsing cord in
the slim column.
The clatter of shoes against the polished floor shattered the heavenly rapture. Shielding her protectively from the gaze of
the intruder, Quinn tensed, immediately alert.
“George?” he asked, his voice level, belying the raging fire that had flared between them only a few minutes before. Meggie
felt incapable of speech, her lungs robbed of oxygen.
Although George was behind her, Meggie could almost see the older man fluster as he spoke. “Oh, sorry, Donnelley. I was just
checking to see if you needed anything . . . and I can see that you . . . well, that you don’t.”
“Good night, then,” Quinn said pointedly, with a heavy note of censure.
“Yes, sir, good night.” The chagrined voice faded as if he was walking away as he spoke.
Quinn hesitated momentarily before setting Meggie away from him. The dark eyes were sharp while hers remained soft, drugged
by the pleasure his kisses had given her. Meggie marveled at his control.
“You’ve hardly eaten anything,” he reminded her.
Reluctantly, Meggie glanced down at her nearly full plate. “No, I guess I haven’t,” she murmured.
Holding out her chair, Quinn held it for her as she sat. He paused behind her, his hands resting on the gentle slope of her
shoulders before sliding down her arms. His lips teased her neck as she exhaled unevenly.
“Have I told you that you’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever known?”
Meggie smiled softly, the corners of her mouth gently curving upward. “And I’d say that one of your ancestors was found kissing
the Blarney Stone, Quinn Donnelley,” she said, her voice slightly breathless, even now.
Quinn was chuckling to himself as he walked around to the other side of her desk. She met his gaze as he rolled out the chair
and sat. With an alluring sweep of her long lashes, she lowered her eyes and concentrated on the meal.
They were silent for a long while, each pretending preoccupation with the dinner. Meggie hardly knew how she managed to maneuver
the fork from the plate to her mouth, her thoughts focused on the man sitting across from her. The man she loved. More and
more Meggie discovered that her thoughts centered around Quinn, not only when they were together but when they were apart,
leading separate lives. She saw so much of herself in Jill and had already come to love the young girl. A longing deep inside
prayed that someday the three of them would be a family.
The thought of another child, Quinn’s baby, brought an unexpected lump of joy to her throat. A miniature of his father with
the same determined jaw and a head full of auburn curls that resembled her hair color. A grandchild was just the healing balm
her father needed to smooth him over these difficult years before his retirement and the days he saw his business taken over
by Sam or a stranger.
“Are you ready?” Quinn’s words splintered the workings of her imagination.
Meggie nodded, helping Quinn load the leftovers into the sacks.
“You look a million miles away,” he said, his eyes crinkling with laugh lines. “It must be the company you keep.”
“No . . .” She hurriedly discounted the statement until she recognized the twinkle in his eyes.
“Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.”
The stars glowed like rare jewels against a bed of black velvet. It was a night for lovers. The thought made her sharply aware
of the man walking beside her. It was easy to picture Quinn as her lover. He would be gentle, coaxing, patient. His touch,
his caresses brought sensations alive within her she hardly knew existed. There was something about Quinn that made her feel
more of a woman than any other male. Curiously she wondered what would happen if Quinn could read her thoughts.
“What’s so amusing?” he questioned.
Meggie started. “Oh, nothing,” she lied.
One thick brow arched challengingly. “If you say so.”
At the apartment parking lot, Quinn pulled his Jeep alongside of her Mustang and walked with her to the elevator.
The heavy doors slid shut and Quinn held open his arms in silent invitation. Meggie walked into his embrace, allowing her
head to rest upon the muscular chest while his arm curved possessively around her shoulder, cupping her upper arm.
“Any phone calls lately?” he asked in a husky murmur as if he needed something to keep his attention from the fact she was
in his arms.
“Hardly ever, anymore. I don’t want a tracer on my phone, Quinn. I think whoever was making the calls got bored with me.”
“When was the last time he phoned?”
“The Sunday I talked to you,” Meggie answered.
Quinn nodded, his expression momentarily hardening. “You realize I unplugged your phone while you were sick, don’t you?”
Meggie stared across the blank space of the enclosure. “Yes, I talked to my dad yesterday. He tried to phone last week and
was worried when he couldn’t reach me.” When they’d spoken the night before, Meggie learned it had been Sam who’d made repeated
attempts to reach her. Overcome with concern, he’d contacted the phone company and finally informed her father. But how could
Meggie be upset with Quinn? He had only been thinking of her.
“I question the fact the caller has lost interest in you, or this game of his,” Quinn warned, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“Usually when someone has continued for this length of time there’s a definite purpose. If you don’t want me to place a trace
on the line then I think it might be a good idea to get a telephone answering machine.”
A short laugh slipped from the tensing muscles of her throat. “I have plenty of other uses for fifty dollars, Quinn.” She
fixed her gaze on his mouth and felt her heartbeat quicken.
It looked as if he was about to argue when the elevator door glided open. He followed Meggie to her door.
“You’re not working overtime tomorrow, are you?”
Leaning against the wall outside her apartment, Meggie’s fingers outlined the passionate mouth, trailing over the lean angles
of his jaw, her fingertips exploring the muscles as they tightened.
“Meggie,” he groaned.