Behind Your Back (9 page)

“That’s something I’d definitely like to see,” she says.

“Maybe you will.”

W
e don’t touch again until I take her hand to lead her out of the restaurant. She leans toward me the slightest bit.

“Thank you so much for bringing me here. That was nice.” Her fingers grip my arm a little too tight. I fold her shawl over her shoulders and she looks up at me. Those green eyes can be a bit unnerving when you’re staring right into them. I have a very specific plan, but I decide to deviate from it.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” I ask and her lips turn up slowly.

“Do you read minds, Quinn Brand?”

“Only redheads,” I say as we leave the restaurant and start walking down the street. “Going to be okay in those shoes?”

She stops and sticks one of her feet out in front, as if she’s studying it.

“These old things? Psh, I could run a marathon in these.” I bet she could. We resume walking and she tugs me closer.

“Are you cold?” I ask.

“No,” she says.

Interesting. I’m going to take her lead and see what she’ll let me get away with. If we had it my way, I would have pulled her into the nearest dark alley, pulled up her dress and fucked her hard against the dirty stone of the building.

But I’m not sure if Saige is that kind of girl and I don’t want to ruin something that hasn’t even started. It’s easier to stay in her good graces than get myself out and then back in.

Tendrils of her hair swirl in the breeze and I want to capture one with my fingers.

“What are you thinking about?” she asks. The silence between us has been easy instead of awkward. I like that.

“You.” I say the first thing that comes to mind.

She turns her head and looks at me from under her black-slicked lashes.

“Yeah? What about me?”

I’m not going to tell her what I’m really thinking, of course, but I almost consider it, just to see what she’d say.

“About how pretty your hair is. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a color quite like that.” She tucks a strand behind the ear that doesn’t have the white flower on it.

“Well, I can’t exactly take credit for it. I had nothing to do with it.” I chuckle a little and we reach an intersection.

“Where to?” I ask.

“Left,” she says, pointing, so we wait until the way is clear and cross.

“What are your plans for the rest of the night?” she asks.

“I’m not sure. I’m only thinking about right now.”

“Smooth, Quinn Brand.”

“Thank you.” She stops walking and I nearly trip, which is unlike me. This woman has put me off-balance more than once this evening already.

“But I don’t want to know the answer you think I want to hear. I don’t want to hear a line you’ve fed to other women. I want to know what you want to happen. Just tell me.” She turns to face me and her hands grip my lapels. She’s almost close enough to kiss, but I’m not going to. She doesn’t want to know what I’d like to do with her, but I’m going to tell her anyway. Just to see what happens.

“I’ve been thinking that I’d like to pull you into an alley. Any alley. Run my hands over your skin, rip the pins out of your hair, yank up your dress and fuck you until your back is bleeding from being rubbed up against the wall behind you. And then I’d want to take you somewhere with a bed so I can fuck you some more. Satisfied?”

Her mouth is slightly open, but her eyes aren’t filled with shock at all. They’re filled with fire and if I stare into them too long, she’s going to consume me. She blinks and I try to pull back, but she’s still holding onto me.

“Why don’t you? Are you scared?” She’s taunting me and I’m starting to get pissed off.

“Are you asking me to fuck you? I will. Don’t think for a second that I won’t.”

She lets go of me and takes a step back.

“Then fuck me.”

Nine

I
really wish she would stop surprising me. I’m getting tired of it.

“That’s what you want?” I say and I can’t stop the rush that goes through my body as I think about doing that very thing. I’ve been hard for her since the moment we first made eye contact. And she’s been teasing me all night.

“Yes. That’s what I want,” she says, and that’s all I need to hear. With one quick look in either direction, I yank her into me and shove her down the nearest alley. The buildings are angled so barely any light from the street comes through. I’d like to see her, but it doesn’t matter right now.

“I’m not going to be gentle,” I say right before I push her up against the wall. She gasps. Half in pain and half in… desire. A single shard of orange light from the streetlight catches her face and shows me her eyes. Perfect.

I allow myself one moment of looking at her glittering eyes before I claim her mouth with mine. She tastes like vanilla and cinnamon and heat and need.

I don’t often lose control, but I feel myself pushing so hard against her, she’s gasping, her breaths coming out in little jerks. But she doesn’t push me away, not even when I plunge my tongue into her mouth to claim her even further. She just hooks her leg around me and digs her fingers into my scalp, urging me to give her more.

My lips slide against hers, lubricated by her lipstick. Our noses collide, making my eyes water, but I don’t let go of her, don’t stop.

Before I can think, my hands are moving down her body, scrabbling at the edge of her dress, yanking her underwear out of the way because I don’t have the patience to take them off her. I doubt I could stop at this point, even if she asked me to. Her hands fumble with my pants and the moment she touches my cock my brain explodes and I jerk away from the kiss. I hear her moan and my eyes snap open to find her looking at me with one eyebrow raised.

A challenge.

I push her dress up even more and she bites her lip between her teeth. I stroke her a few times at the juncture of her legs. She’s soft and warm and I just want to sink into her. I want to know how she tastes, but there isn’t time. Without further ado, I grab her legs, lifting her up. She hooks her legs around me and sink myself inside her.

We both moan and her eyes close as her head goes back against the filthy wall. This is what I pictured, only it’s so much better. She’s wrapped around me, clenching my cock and I can smell her and it’s perfection. I pull back and slam into her again.

She knew what she was asking for. I don’t do gentle. Ever.

I don’t last nearly as long as I thought I would.

We’re both panting as I step away from her and zip my pants up. She slides down the wall and it makes me a smile as she shimmies her dress back down.

“Well, you’re not a liar, Quinn Brand, I’ll give you that.” I still feel like I’m in a haze of lust. I wait for her as she straightens herself, picks up her purse, finds a tissue and starts wiping away any evidence of our tryst. I didn’t use protection and she didn’t ask me to, which is probably stupid on both our parts, but what’s done is done.

When she puts her shawl back on, I hold out my arm and she takes it, but stops me under a streetlight.

Her finger traces my mouth.

“You have my lipstick all over you.”

I raise my hand to wipe it away, but she grabs my wrist.

“Leave it.”

So I do.

S
he’s humming to herself as I drive back to her apartment. I half-expect her to berate me for what happened in the alley, but she doesn’t. I pull the car up in front of her place and turn off the engine. She turns to me as if she’s suddenly remembered that I’m in the car with her.

“Would you like to come up?” We both know what she’s asking and I’m more than happy to comply. But I find myself shaking my head. I can’t let myself be consumed again by her tonight. My head is clouded and I need to sort my shit out before I see her again.

She doesn’t seem upset that I say no.

“You’re right. We probably shouldn’t,” she says, her hand on the door. “Well, thank you for a lovely evening. It was… something else.” She leans over and kisses my cheek and then brushes her hand over the place she kissed. Like she’s rubbing it in.

“Call me.” She slinks out of the car before I can offer to open the door for her. I let her go, watching as she slowly ascends the steps and then turns to blow me a kiss and give a little wave with her fingertips.

“See you later, Redhead,” I say as she unlocks the door and vanishes inside.

I call Cash as soon as I get home.

“I don’t want to sound like a teenage girl asking you about the Sadie Hawkins dance, but details,” he says. I chuckle a little.

“Well, you do sound like that, but it doesn’t matter. It went well. I, uh, I may have fucked her up against the wall of a building.”

Cash doesn’t skip a beat.

“Before or after dinner?”

“After. She asked me what I wanted to do and I told her. I didn’t expect her to go for it, but she did. Didn’t even ask me to use a condom.” Cash makes a sound like a disapproving grandmother and I want to reach through the phone and introduce my fist into his windpipe.

“Yeah, I’m sure you would have stopped, given her a lecture on safe sex and then slid a rubber on. I’m sure you
totally
would have, Cash.” I pull into the parking garage and pop the trunk so I can put the sweatshirt back on.

“Of course I would have. Safe sex is very important, you know.” I imagine all the different ways I can kill him. There are so many…

“Well, I didn’t, okay? Jesus fuck.”

“Was it good?”

“Yes,” I say, even though it’s a lie. It was more than good. It was rollercoasters and boiling blood and fireworks in my brain. I haven’t felt like that in a long time. I’ve been numb and Saige slapped me in the face. I can still feel the sting of it.

“Uh-huh. Don’t you go falling for her.” I make a choking sound.

“I’m not falling for her. She’s hot. I liked fucking her. That’s it.” I don’t tell him about the dance. I don’t know why. But I fill him in on the rest of the night as I strip off my tux and play fetch with Leo.

“When are you going to see her again?” he asks.

“Soon. Definitely soon.” I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I have red lipstick all over my mouth. It almost looks like blood.

“Definitely soon,” I repeat and then hang up.

I
don’t call or text her the next day. I want her to reach out to me. I’m distracted at work. I can’t get the image of Saige out of my head. I wish there had been more light so I could have seen her while I fucked her. But at least I could see her eyes when I came.

“Mr. Brand?” Grace’s voice barges through my foggy thoughts. She’s been saying my name several times.

“Yes?”

“There’s someone here to see you. A Saige Beaumont?” Her cool tone betrays nothing. Grace starts to ask me if I want to cancel my next appointment, but I interrupt her.

“Send her in.”

The door opens and Grace lets Saige in. I clench the edge of my desk as I rise. Her hair is down today, tumbling curls everywhere. She’s wearing a cream satin top with black pants, a black jacket and nude heels, looking every inch the young socialite.

“Saige Beaumont,” I say, stepping around my desk and pulling a chair out for her. “I’m surprised to see you. What brings you here?” My initial surprise has faded and now I’m a little bit… not
panicked
. Concerned. She shouldn’t be here.

“Quinn Brand,” she says, sitting in the chair and crossing her ankles. Something about it doesn’t seem right. Like she’s trying too hard. “I was out and about and I thought I’d drop in and see what you do during the day. Boring numbers and such.” Her eyes scan my office, taking in the sparse furnishings. The only thing I take with me from office to office is a framed Ansel Adams print. She stands up and is immediately drawn to it.

“Very nice,” she says, gesturing to it.

“Thank you.”

She studies it with a critical eye and then smiles.

“Very nice,” she repeats and sits back down. Her scent has started to fill the room and drift over to me. I’d love to open a window to clear the air, but I don’t move.

“Can I get you anything?” I ask and she shakes her head.

“Are you sure? You must have come here for something.” That makes her smile again and put up her hands, as if she’s surrendering.

“Fine, I had ulterior motives coming to see you. I just… I didn’t want us to do that thing where you wait for three days to call me and I wait around and all that.” I laugh a little, imagining her sitting next to a phone and waiting for me to call.

“You don’t strike me as a woman who would follow those kinds of unwritten rules.” I lean back against my desk and she shifts, uncrossing her ankles and leaning back in the chair. That’s better. More her.

“I’m not usually. Which is how I ended up here.” She laughs a little breathlessly. She’s nervous. I like that. It makes me want to throw her on top of my desk and fuck her all over again. I bet that material of her shirt would tear quite easily. I trace her body with my eyes. I’d gotten to touch her curves last night, but I want to see them. I want to know if she has other hidden freckles. I definitely want to taste her. And then I want to see her come completely undone.

“I think there’s something you want, Quinn,” she says and my eyes travel upwards to meet hers. Her body is something else, but those eyes. I’ve never seen eyes like hers.

“I should think it’s obvious that I want you, Saige. And if you say the word, I’d fuck you right on this desk. With my secretary right outside. She’ll hear everything and know exactly what I’m doing. But don’t worry, she’s discreet,” I say.

She doesn’t even blush. Just looks back at me like she’s daring me to do it. Then she heaves a little sigh and gets to her feet. She stalks toward me and I’m pinned by her gaze, like a butterfly in a frame. I don’t like it. I know she can see how hard I am. Laughing ever so softly to herself, she drags one finger up and down my chest, along my tie. Her eyelashes flutter and she looks up at me through them.

And then she steps back and starts to walk toward the door, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

“Well, I’m sure you’re really busy and have a lot on your hands. I should get going.” Her hand is on the doorknob when I spring into action. I grab her by the shoulder and whip her around so she’s facing me.

“Don’t mess with me, Saige Beaumont. You don’t know what you’re dealing with.” I don’t mean to be this honest, but she has no idea what I’m talking about anyway. Her breath hitches and color fills her cheeks. Finally. I’ve gotten an involuntary reaction out of her. We stare at each other for a moment, as if we’re locked together and neither of us can move.

And then I find the will to take a step back and let go of her. Shit. Did I just ruin it? But she doesn’t run away. Instead she just turns the doorknob and waves.

“Call me. As soon as possible.” The door shuts and I want to dunk my head in a frozen lake. I pace around my office and pour myself a glass of ice water. I need to cool down. What is it about her that gets me so fired up? I don’t understand it. She doesn’t even have to do anything and I’m ready to yell at her or fuck her or yell at her before I fuck her.