Quinn II (Undaunted Men #2) (31 page)

“Easy, girl,” he softly encourages. He gently leads Kimber to my bedside. She doesn’t hesitate; she jumps right up onto the mattress, overly excited. She prances, whimpers, and whines, trying to talk to me in her own special way.
 

She's so beside herself, Quinn has to keep her from romping all over me. “Shh, calm down,” he soothes her. Her tail is wagging so hard her ass sways from left to right, but I manage to wrap my arms around her, pulling her in for a huge hug.
 

“Hey, my girl, I’ve missed you so much.” Low, inarticulate sounds expressing her joy flow from her vocal cords nonstop. Her happiness is giving me goose bumps. “Are you trying to tell me you missed me, too?” I coo. I find myself crying, but they’re happy tears for a change.

Kimber is full of uncontainable emotion. Short, guttural sounds resonate in my small room in an effort to show me how much she did indeed miss me.
 

She licks at my tears relentlessly, making my sobs of happiness turn into laughter. The more I talk to her, the more verbal and excited she gets. Giggling, I have to dodge her unceasing tongue as she licks me at every turn. Holding her in my arms feels like a dream.
 

After about five minutes of us reuniting and me chit-chatting like an idiot to her, she finally settles down, laying her head on my lap. I was so immersed in Kimber it registers at this point that I’m not alone. I glance to my left and my gaze locks with Quinn’s. He’s standing against the wall with his arms crossed, wearing the biggest grin, and I return the expression. Two of his friends catch my eye as they stand in silence beside Quinn, just staring at me.
 

So many questions start running through my head all at once, and it reflects in my jumbled questions, “How? When? What?”

Quinn pushes his large frame off of the wall, and in three strides, he’s at my side. He sits down beside Kimber and me. “Lexi, first, I want you to meet Stryker and Hunter.”

His friend Stryker has dark sunglasses pushed up on top of his head and he’s holding a cane as Quinn explains, “Stryker was playing blind so he could get Kimber in here for you.”

Stryker steps forward to shake my hand, and as he does, I thank him. “Thank you for bringing her here. Was that you who got slapped out there?”

His friend Hunter pipes in, wearing a smirk on his face. “Yeah, he got busted all right, but Stryker can’t ever help himself. A nurse caught him peeking over the top of his sunglasses at her ass, and then happened to overhear his sexual innuendos.”

“Hey,” Stryker cuts in, barking at Hunter from over his shoulder, “there’s such a thing as being able to see while still being legally blind, you know.” He gives me a wink, explaining, “She just didn’t give me a chance to clarify the situation.” Stryker lets go of my hand and steps back with a grin.
 

Quinn stifles a laugh as he caresses the length of my hair. His friends sound as if they're a handful, but they're both handsome. However, nobody can compare to Quinn, but maybe that’s because I’m biased. I look into his eyes with gratitude for letting me see Kimber. “I thought she was gone forever.”

“Yeah,” he nods his head toward Hunter and Stryker, “if it weren’t for these two, she wouldn’t have made it. They missed us by mere minutes on that mountaintop, and I’m kind of glad they did. They were able to act quickly and save her. If they’d come any earlier, it could’ve turned into a messy bloodbath otherwise.”

I peer around Quinn and say to the men, “Thank you. Thank you both for saving her.”

They nod their heads, and then I look to Quinn for answers. “I’ll tell you the whole story later,” he tells me.
 

The stressful drive from Virginia to North Carolina, the anxiety from visiting Quinn’s house earlier today, and the physical exhausting work of having a baby has caught up to me. I stifle a yawn, but fail to hide it.

“Okay, party's over,” Quinn announces. “The new mother needs her rest. Say goodnight to Kimber, and tomorrow you’ll be together again.”
 

I nuzzle my nose into Kimber’s fur and breathe her in one last time, savoring everything about her. “I’ve missed you so, so much, girl,” I whisper into her thick coat. She wags her tail and licks my cheek. I smile at her cute eyebrows that lift in question, and I can’t imagine what she’s thinking.

“C’mon girl,” Quinn coaxes. She hops off the bed and stays underfoot, following Quinn. I watch as he leans over, carefully taking Angel from her crib, trying not to disturb her. Kimber takes special interest in what Quinn is doing. He peels back the cotton blanket, showing Angel to his friends like only a proud father would. When he’s done showing her off to Stryker and Hunter, he squats down to the floor, resting his weight on one knee, allowing Kimber to sniff out the new life form. I smile as her ears perk up with curiosity, and then she tilts her head to the side.
 

“Say hello to the new addition, Kimber,” he tells her while wearing a grin. She wags her tail as she sniffs the length of Angel’s body. Kimber's whiskers must tickle her little face, because she makes a face and wriggles in Quinn’s arms, and I chuckle. My heart soars with happiness, watching the three of them interact together. “You guys are going to be very close pals. She’ll probably give you a run for your money once she learns how to crawl,” he chuckles.
 

I don't know why he keeps talking as if all of us are going to be very close knit. I live in Virginia, and I'm not ready to forgive and forget that quickly. I’m not uprooting my life on a gamble. I still feel the sting from earlier; it's all too fresh.

After all the introductions have been made, Quinn places the baby carefully back into the crib. Both Hunter and Stryker give me a kiss goodbye on the cheek, and then they take Kimber out the door. I frown when Quinn closes the door behind them. I wish I had more time with Kimber, but I’ll take what I can get.

He comes back over to me, walking with a dominant swagger that makes me swallow hard. The way he’s looking at me makes my mouth go dry. He’s exuding love, pride, elation, and if I’m not mistaken, a bit of passionate desire.
When he reaches me, he leans down to give me the most sensual kiss that manifests everything I just saw in his eyes. He has such an effect on me that I can’t help my double standards. I might be able to deny my love for him verbally, but my body won’t betray him.

“I’ll be right back,” he whispers over my lips, breaking the kiss. I lick my lips, tasting him, wanting more. “I need to talk to the guys for a second.” He reluctantly pulls away.

I let out a huge sigh once Quinn walks out the door. Pressing my hand to my rapidly beating heart, I realize the man can still undo me with little to no effort, and it’s not fair. He's making it hard to resist all his advances.

I yawn again, but this time I don’t hold back. I’m beyond exhausted. I stretch out my arms and aching back. I try not to fall asleep as I wait for him to return. As I lay here, I don’t know how much time has passed, but I’m missing out on bonding with my baby. There was no time for an epidural or much else when I had first arrived at the hospital. However, I’m quite sore in my nether regions, and as I shift my position in the bed, I receive a twinge of pain.

As soon as my feet hit the cold linoleum floor, Quinn walks back through the door, giving me a pointed look of disapproval. “What are you doing?”

“I was going to hold the baby,” I respond defensively.

“Uh-uh,” he shakes his head, “right now, you need sleep. The rule is supposed to be when the baby sleeps, so do you.”

“But...” I protest.
   

“There’s no arguing with me, woman.” He lifts my legs, swiveling my body, and then tucks me back into bed. After he covers me with the blanket, he gives a satisfied nod then climbs in over top of the covers to hold me again. He pulls me to him and cradles my head against his beating heart. My eyes flutter closed as I savor his entire being. I could get used to him all over again in a heartbeat, and that thought alone scares the ever-loving hell out me.
 

I’ve always had such a forgiving heart, and I think it’s one of the reasons why my parents sheltered me so much growing up. Of course, they didn’t need to worry, because Vince and Connor would always pick up the slack, making sure people weren’t taking advantage of me. Funny how that worked out. Even though Vince totally capitalized on me, there’s a part of me that still wants to believe there is good in him. I’m probably fooling myself, but it’s wired in my DNA to be compassionate and forgiving. I’ve always looked for the good in people, no matter how bad they’ve been. I suppose that’s not the wisest way to be, but there you go. This is me; this is who I am. I honestly don’t know how to be any different.

My arm stretches out over his tight abs, and then I run my hand over his muscled chest, soaking him in any way I can. He feels surreal, and I never thought my day would end with him back in my life. I try not to think of the past, but think of the here and now, grasping onto this very special moment.

“Baby?” Quinn softly asks.

“Mmm?” I respond sleepily.

“How did you...well besides the obvious, how did you conceive? I thought you couldn't get pregnant.”

“Remember when you dumped out the entire contents of my backpack, looking for the tracker?”

“Yeah, what about it?”
   

“Apparently there's a pack of birth control pills still lost somewhere in those mountains. I had just started a brand new pack shortly after we met, and it was all I had brought with me. Given the fact we were together for two weeks, it would've been perfect timing for me to have ovulated and conceived. I really didn't worry at the time about not taking the pill, because it had been given to me simply to help stabilize my hormones. As far as being told by doctors I'd never be able to get pregnant in the first place…I have no answers for that.”

“I have an answer for that. It means we were meant to be, Lexi. I swear it’s purely divine intervention.” He's probably right. It's the only answer I've been able to come up with. “You and our baby have made me a very happy man. I've never felt more complete than I do right now.”
 

I feel like I'm floating on cloud nine hearing him say those things to me, but still...

“Quinn,” I start off nervously, “you're making things sound awfully permanent. I can't...I'm not ready...” My words get all jumbled up. I don't know how to structure my sentences.
 

Two fingers come to rest over my lips, hushing me. “I'm not leaving you, not when I just got you back. I’m not letting you get away.” He removes his fingers from my lips and strokes my hair with a tenderness that’s heart-melting.

“I don't know what you’re insinuating, but I have a job to get back to, a mortgage to pay...”

“Lexi,” he growls, interrupting me, “I'd ask you to marry me this very second if I didn't think you were already too overwhelmed, but I know you. I know how you react when there’s too much change too fast. I’ve been there.” My heart skips a beat, and I shake my head. This can't be real. “Tomorrow, you and the baby will come home with me,” he says with determination.

“No.” My eyes pop open as I lift my head to look at him. “It’s too soon.”
   

“What are you going to do, Lexi? Jump in your car with a newborn while there's still snow and ice on the ground?” Offended, his brows pinch together. “That’s utter bullshit. You’re not going anywhere, except to live with me. You’ve given me a real, bonafide Angel. There’s no way in hell I can let either one of you go. We’re not
going
to be
a family. We already are one.”

“But…”
 

“I’ve already called your family, which, by the way, we’re going to have a little chat about how they didn't know you drove down in this weather.” I swallow hard, and my look is guilty. “Yeah, I'm not happy about that,” he snips, clearly upset as he arches a brow. “They’ll travel down and stay with us when the roads have cleared. I told them you were resting right now, but you would call them tomorrow.”

I look at him like he's lost his mind. He's just bulldozed over my life as if he's in charge of making every decision for me. “Don't I get a say?” I ask, affronted.

He smiles at me and taps my nose in a playful gesture, dismissing my irritation. “You know I don't know how to hold back when it comes to you. Even in the mountains, I threw my heart out there time and again. I've told you, you're the only one I'd move Heaven and Earth for.” He pauses, his forehead wrinkling as he realizes something. “I guess you're not the only one I’d do that for now. I'd move the world for Angel, too.”

I sit here speechless. There are so many things I want to say, but I don't know how to convey all my thoughts to him. Do I want a family with Quinn? Hell yes, I do; it's why I drove down to North Carolina in the first place, hoping that he'd want to reunite.

 
“I’ve got it all covered. My other friend, Travis, whom you've not met yet, is having his fiancée gather all the things you'll need, so we can put together a makeshift nursery. Then when you feel strong enough, you can decorate the baby’s room the way you want it.” He kisses the top of my head, and murmurs, “I love you, Lexi. I love you so damn much I will do anything to keep you.”

I rest my cheek against his muscled chest, feeling stunned, but nevertheless, I stop fighting him. “I'm too tired to argue with you anymore today.”

He softly chuckles, and says, “You’d lose anyway.” My entire body relaxes into him. I just want to sleep.

The hospital intercom clicks on and a low feminine voice comes through the speakers in my room. “Visiting hours are now over.” I don't pay attention to the rest of the announcement, because I don't want him to leave. I hold him a little tighter against me.

“Just so you know, I'm staying the night with you and the baby, and there's no debating it.” I close my eyes and grin, listening to his solid heartbeat. “I had already looked into the hospital rules. Fathers are allowed to stay in the room overnight.” Leave it to Quinn to figure out all the angles beforehand. He plays with my hair as I allow myself to soak up his warm promises of a future with him while drifting off to sleep. I think somehow, some way, we’re going to be okay. “I love you too,” I sleepily whisper.