Chapter 23 #2
Quinn Summers isn’t a one-night woman. She’s a once-in-a-lifetime, soul-altering woman. The kind that is impossible to walk away from.
“Just get me in touch with him immediately.”
“Sure. Whatever you say, bro,” Beckett says smugly. “Hurry up and get here. We all can’t wait to see you.”
Then he disconnects, and I’m left with nothing but silence in the car as my rage goes from simmering to nearly a full boil by the time I arrive at my brother’s house.
It feels wrong being here right now. Quinn is out in Las Vegas doing who-the-fuck-knows-what, and all I know is she’s alone with no protection.
No set of eyes on her, making sure she’s not being a naughty girl.
Because I swear to God if I find out she’s on a date tonight, I will put a cold glass plug in her ass and spank her with my belt until she has a very clear understanding of her rules.
Because fuck me, she needs a Daddy to give her some.
My brothers’ cars are all parked up already.
Of course.
Suck-ups.
I really need to do something nice for Jordyn. I feel bad for being such a shitty brother-in-law. If I don’t get my shit together soon, Cash is going to resent me for not putting in more effort. The last thing I want is to lose anyone in my family. Including Jordyn.
As soon as I step out of the car, the woman herself emerges from the front door with her arms crossed over her chest. Just for a second, I consider getting back in and leaving so I don’t have to face her wrath. She glares at me as I approach.
“You about to pull out a gun on me, sis?” I ask, half-teasing.
She’s an unpredictable one. Cash has told me she’s pulled a gun on him more than once, but I’m pretty sure it’s a kinky thing for them, which I don’t want to think about.
The corner of her mouth twitches, and her eyes twinkle, and I let out a sigh of relief. She likes to pretend to be pissed, but it doesn’t take much for her to crack. I do need to be better, though. My parents taught me better than this.
“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood,” she answers, pushing the front door open. She steps inside, waiting for me, her voice sweeter than usual. “Everyone is out by the pool if you want to join them. I know they’re excited to see you.”
Why would my brothers be excited to see me? We were together just a couple of hours ago.
At least Jordyn isn’t throwing shit at me. Maybe she’s in a good mood, and I’ll be able to slip out of here early so I can find Quinn.
I need to know more about her. Cassian needs to do a more thorough deep dive. I don’t give a fuck what he has to do; I want more information.
The sound of laughter floats through the living room as Jordyn follows me toward the French doors leading outside. Everyone freezes when I appear, but I’m too busy staring into the wide eyes of my girl, perched on the edge of a chair with a drink in front of her.
My jaw clicks as I grind my molars together. What is she doing here?
I flick my gaze to Cash, but as soon as I do, he shakes his head, showing he had nothing to do with this.
“Now that everyone’s here, why don’t you guys have a drink while Quinn and I finish the sides for dinner?” Jordyn asks.
Before anyone can say anything, Jordyn reaches for Quinn’s hand and tugs her toward the house. Her sweet perfume hits my nose, and I can’t stop myself from reaching out to grab her so I can really look at her because something about her is off.
When she pauses and tips her head back to meet my gaze, I stare at her red-rimmed eyes and squeeze my fingers around her wrist tighter. Has she been crying? Because parts of her mascara look smudged, too.
As if she can tell all the questions I have for her, she gives me a single head shake. “I’m okay,” she mouths.
She’s not okay. There’s nothing okay about her crying unless it’s because I just gave her too many orgasms. But she’s silently pleading with me not to ask in front of everyone. I don’t like it. Whoever or whatever made her upset needs to be dealt with immediately. Not later.
Gently, she pulls her arm away, and I reluctantly let it go. She glances back at me one more time before she disappears into the house behind Jordyn.
As soon as the door closes, I spin around toward my brothers.
“I didn’t know Jordyn invited her to dinner. She showed up a little while ago,” Cash tells me, his hands in his pockets. “My wife will be getting her ass spanked tonight for whatever she’s trying to pull right now. I told her not to get in the middle of you and Quinn.”
I glare at Cash. “Your wife is doing this because she’s hoping she’ll get her ass spanked, you dumbass. Jesus, she has you wrapped around her finger.”
Beckett snorts, and I turn my scowl to him. “I spoke to you twenty minutes ago, and you couldn’t be bothered to tell me Quinn was here?”
“I wanted to see your face when you saw your girl at family dinner,” Beckett answers, then brings his glass to his lips.
I reach out and tap the bottom of it, sending gold liquid splashing down the front of his dark blue dress shirt.
“Asshole,” he mutters, brushing it off him.
It feels good to mess with Beckett. It’s been a while since I have. Since I’ve fucked around with my brothers for fun. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until now.
“Why has Quinn been crying?” I finally demand.
Kian and Cash frown while Beckett continues wiping off his shirt.
“She hasn’t been crying here,” Cash answers. “Jordyn and she had already started drinking by the pool when I got home. By the time I got out of the shower, Kian and Beckett were here. She’s been smiling and laughing the whole time.”
The muscles at the back of my neck tighten. “Laughing at who? Are you making her laugh?” I jab my finger toward my brother, white-hot anger spreading through me. “I will fucking kill you, Beckett. I’ll put you in the desert, I swear to God.”
Beckett’s eyes actually widen for half a second before his easy, golden-retriever smile slides back into place.
“Dude. Chill. She was laughing with Jordyn. We were pretty sure we realized Quinn was yours when you carved your fucking initials into that guy’s chest with a heart around it, bro. Jesus Christ.”
Shit.
“She’s not mine,” I mutter before striding past them over to the outside bar, where I take a long pull directly from the bottle before pouring a full glass of the same whiskey.
She may not ever belong to me, but I’ll be damned if I let any other man have her. I can give her everything except my heart.
Because I no longer have one.