Sample Sunday #3

Okay, here's a whole CHAPTER from Broken Promises - it's one of the scenes I thought of when I saw the graphic of the book's cover.

He’d been banking on my clumsiness to give him an extra advantage  so the shock that I was still standing, cross bow pointed at his head, was obvious as he searched my face for the answer.

“You weren’t always so light on your feet Bree. There was once a time when all I had to do was look at you the right way and you would fall all over yourself. Can’t say I like the change.” His eyes roamed up and down my body as if to discern what other changes had occurred since the last time we’d met.

“There’s a lot of things that have changed Quinn, one of them being that you no longer have the same affect on me. You lost that ability the last time you tried to rip my throat out, remember?” I tightened my grip on the cross bow, hoping that the blatant lie I just said wouldn’t reveal itself in the slight tremor coursing through me.

Quinn began to move, starting with the slow pacing circle of a predator, a small smirk covering his face. Obviously something I’d said amused him and if I wasn’t careful, the small ground I’d claimed in this never ending battle between us would be lost.

“Oh I remember perfectly, Bree. It’s something I’m still looking forward to but I have to admit this new you has me intrigued. I couldn’t possibly kill you before I’ve had another chance to enjoy you.” He flicked his hand out to my face, using his fingers to twirl a strand of my hair.

           



            Dang him, I cursed, lifting the cross bow higher, struggling to keep my focus. You would think after all we’d been through, that I’d be immune to his methods of distraction but like the lovesick fool I kept trying to convince myself I wasn’t, I’d almost fallen under his spell again. I shook my head hard, using the motion to clear my thoughts. I hoped it could add extra steel to my weakening spine.

“You won’t ever get another chance to get that close again, Quinn. I may not be ready to end whatever the hell we’re doing, but that time’s fast approaching. I’m going to tell you one more time, quit hunting me because trust me you won’t like how it ends.” I added an extra shot of anger to my threat, using my body to send the message that I wanted him to leave me alone.

“And just how is this going to end, Bree? With death? As much as I’m just dying to know” He paused, lacing his comment with a thread of sarcasm, “I can’t help but hope that for at least tonight, it ends up with you underneath me writhing in pleasure, your eyes pleading for me to push you over the edge. I want you screaming, not in terror but for the surge of blinding lust you know I can give you.”

His eyes smoldered as he dropped the layer of intimidation he had been carrying and I got a glimpse of the old Quinn, the Quinn I loved and desperately missed. His face looked almost tender, his lips softening from the smirk to a gentle smile that had my insides pooling hot within my stomach.

My arm lowered slightly, my posture relaxing as I fell under the spell he was suggestively weaving. Licking my lips in frightful anticipation, I made to take a step towards him as he continued to seduce me.

“Do you remember that?  Those passion filled nights where we couldn’t get enough of each other? Where you could never tell where your body ended and mine began? Of the sex laced kisses, searching caresses and fevered need we had to satisfy each other? Do you remember that Bree? Because I know I do.”

I’d stopped breathing, my body shaking as it remembered every scene that Quinn was invoking. I remembered those nights, of wishing that we could remain like that forever, of believing that the love we felt for each other would sustain us.                     

Movement snatched me out from my memories as I felt the cross bow pulled from out of my grasp and the sound of it clattering on the floor as it was thrown there. Holding my wrist in a firm grip and pushing me up against the wall behind me, Quinn took my hand and placed it on top of his jeans.

“See how well I remember Bree.” He whispered, rubbing my hand harder into the bulge that strained against the material, begging to be released. “See how much I ache for you. Nothing else matters but you and me in this moment. Let’s forget about everything that’s happening and the choices we’ve made. Let’s remember how good it was between us, how good it can be again.” His last words were lost as he nuzzled into my hair.

I leaned my weight back onto the wall, half filled with burning need and the other half filled with confusion. I wanted to believe him, needed to believe him that we could move past this and as he lifted his head back, waiting for my answer, I got the chance to look into his eyes. I wasn’t looking for the obvious color of blue that showed he had succumbed to the charm, but to the emotion behind what he was saying.

I looked deep and was startled to see that he also believed what he was saying. Somewhere during this conversation, Quinn had stopped being Quinn the Hunter and had become Quinn the Lover and my heart skipped a beat. Raising my hands to wrap around his neck, I pulled him in close, rubbing my moist lips against his.

“Let me show you Bree. Please”

It was the please that broke me, that had me reaching out to him with my lips,  that had me open my mouth as his tongue swept in to taste me. Bright hot light filled my mind as the aggression and terror of the last few days was hastily pushed aside and replaced with a burning need so fierce, it had me grasping with need and frantically trying to pull him as close to me as possible.

Hands ran mindlessly over my body, as Quinn responded to my eagerness, his hands hitching underneath my bottom to pull me high above his waist. As if they had a mind of their own, my legs wrapped themselves around his waist, thrusting against him in an effort to find the release only he could give me. His hard bulge rubbed against my inner thigh, the friction of it causing shots of pleasure to course through my body and had me whimpering into his mouth.

“Show me, Quinn. Please hurry.”

The intensity of our passion increased as our bodies began moving against each other at a frenetic pace. My hands pulled at his jean buttons, trembling with the need to pull free the pressure building there and guiding it to where it was needed most. Quinn was also busy working, his hands reaching behind me to pull the shirt I was wearing over my head. With a frustrated growl, he took the bottom of the material and violently tore it, leaving my back exposed to the cold cement of the wall.

“I never liked that shirt anyway.” I murmured, my lips never leaving his. My heart pounded heavily against my chest, beating in time with the rapid thump of his. Time stood still, all noise faded down to a whisper as the only sounds I could hear where the unsteady breathing coming from us.

I didn’t hear it at first, my need for Quinn consuming me but even I couldn’t ignore the sound of my name being shouted at me. My surroundings came crashing down around me as I leant my head against Quinn’s heaving chest, struggling to regain my composure. I knew the sound of that voice and knowing the state which he found me in, embarrassment washed over me in waves.

I slowly opened my eyes, tilting my head to the side so I could see his face. Standing there, with the light of the street behind him, was Liam and from the look of concern and disgust that covered his face, I could almost feel the disappointment oozing off him.

I didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, how much he had seen but I knew what this looked like, knowing there wasn’t anything I could say to make him understand. No one understood what a drug Quinn was to me or how no matter what I did to fight it, I would give myself to him time and time again.

I lifted my hands from off Quinn’s body, using my hands against his chest to push him back, unwrapped my legs and put them shakily back on the ground.

 Quinn growled deep within his throat, annoyed at being interrupted and attempted to place me back where I was. But the moment had passed and it was time to get back to reality.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing Bree? Please don’t tell me you were actually going to let him touch you like that after everything he’s done.” Liam struggled to control his voice and it came out as though he was being strangled.

I moved to distance myself from Quinn, realizing by the sudden chill against my skin that my back was exposed and tried hard to keep it hidden. I lifted my hand as if to plead but was cut off before I could open my mouth to respond.

“What’s it to you boy? Upset that you don’t ever stand a chance of riding Bree hard against the wall? I can’t imagine how difficult it is each day, lusting after her but knowing you can never have her. Want me to tell you just how sweet she tastes? How she sounds as her back arches and screams your name each time you touch her?”

Disappointment crashed so hard over me that it threatened to drown me in its depth. The Quinn that I had seen but a moment ago was back to being buried deep, the new cold and vicious Quinn back in control.

“Quinn!” I shouted, turning to him in disbelief that even he could be so crass. But it was like I wasn’t even there as Liam raised his voice over mine, his fists clenched tightly by his side.

“Don’t you ever speak about her like that again!! Don’t even look at her. The best thing you ever did was walk away and so I suggest that’s what you do now before someone gets hurts” Fury colored Liam’s eyes to a pitch black as his cheeks turned red with anger.

“Before someone gets hurt?” Quinn chuckled, placing himself into an arrogant stance. He gave off the impression that he was unconcerned by what was happening, but I had painfully learned the last few days, now including, that you could never underestimate him. He had the ability to talk with a mouth of an angel while ripping your heart out like the devil himself. “And I suppose you’ll be the one hurting me then?”

Quinn turned his focus to me, sarcasm still heavy in his voice. “Well done Bree, I see in the midst of all this you’ve managed to find yourself an avenging angel. Look how quick he is to jump to your defense. How ready he is to defend your honor. Does he know yet that you have none? That just moments ago you were rubbing yourself against me like a common whore?”

Hurt flooded my eyes as I cringed at the accusation he threw at me. “You didn’t seem to complain when you had your hands all over me, your tongue in my mouth.” I retorted, resorting to being as crass as he was.

“Well, of course I reacted. Like any man I have no problem taking what is so freely offered.” He leered at me, reaching out for me and grabbing me around the waist. For the second time that night I found myself pulled tightly against his body, my own reacting as though the danger happening wasn’t there.

Ignoring the audience he had, effectively dismissing Liam from his mind, Quinn pushed me back up against the wall, reaching to release himself so he could finished what we had earlier started. This time the fog of lust was absent and I squirmed to get myself free.

“Shush..” Quinn crooned “settle down Bree and relax. You know how much you want this; even I can feel the way your body screams for mine.”

“Let me go” I snarled, viciously trying to pull myself away from him. “I should’ve known you wouldn’t change. You’re an animal and I can’t believe I ever thought I loved you.” Tears began to swell in my eyes, as my anger gave way to hurt.

“Quit your squirming.” Quinn commanded, his grip tightening and his eyes flashing with anger. “Then again if you wanted it rough babe, all you needed to do was ask.” He reached back behind my head and with a painful tug, pulled my head back by my hair, fully exposing my throat. “I remember how much you loved to bite me Bree and how much you loved to be bitten. How you’d groan with delight as you enjoyed placing bite marks all over my body.” He leaned in close, mouth open as if ready to sink his teeth into my neck. My breath hitched when I heard the sound of a cross bow being strung and loaded.

Startled, Quinn and I looked up at the same time to see Liam standing, cross bow aimed at Quinn, sweat forming at his temples from the force of his concentration.

“You have to the count of three to let her go before I kill you, you psycho bastard. One ... two ...” Liam’s voice never wavered, his hand steady as a rock. There was no doubt in my mind that he was serious and if Quinn didn’t let me go, he would be lying in a pool of his own blood by the end of three.

Quinn stood there, my neck still exposed, briefly assessing Liam and how seriously he should take this sudden twist of events. Liam wasn’t exactly a small guy, carrying the same height and build of Quinn so between them, the odds were pretty even and I hoped it scared Quinn enough that he would realize he had been outmaneuvered and leave.

With another slight tug to my hair, with a look that told me this was far from over between us, Quinn leaned forward quickly and licked me from the base of my neck to my chin. “'Til next time babe.” he whispered, lowering his hand to slap my behind.

I faintly heard Liam utter “Three” before I felt the swoosh of air pass by me as the arrow flew at where Quinn had just been standing. It hit the wall and rebounded off onto the floor.

I whipped my head around, looking for Quinn and to my complete dismay, recognized the relief I felt that he’d escaped.

Drawing in a deep breath, trying to lift myself taller, I turned to face Liam, avoiding eye contact and walked around him to enter back into the building. No words were spoken as he quietly followed behind me.

My back was still exposed, revealing the strap of my bra, but I didn’t care. My only goal was to find somewhere quiet to gather myself together. That and to slowly begin the chore of gathering together the pieces and gently tending to what remained of my broken heart.