Knock Me Off My Feet

Chapter 10

Audie sat quietly in the car, tingling from Jamie's kiss and his words. Now she knew where Quinn got his unlikely mixture of gentleness and macho swagger-from his father.

"I'm dying of curiosity, Quinn. What's pogue mahone mean?"

Quinn laughed. "That's Gaelic for 'Kiss my ass.'"

"Figured it was something like that," she said.

"So did you have a good time today?"

"Oh, fair, Stacey," she sighed. "How about you?"

His chuckle was so warm and soft that it gave Audie goosebumps.

"My family is the best part of my life-my family and friends. I've already told you that." Quinn reached over and brushed his knuckles against the side of her face. "Having you with me today made it even better."

Audie shot him a circumspect look.

"That's all. I'm done. I won't say another nice thing to you the whole way back. I swear it." He dropped his hand to her shoulder briefly, then pulled away to concentrate on thedrive.

She sat in silence, staring out at the busy South Side neighborhoods along 103d Street. The cars looked normal. The streets were straight and flat. The traffic lights were red, yellow, or green. It was all quite ordinary.

Then it must be her, she decided, because suddenly she didn't know where she was.

But oh! She sure knew how she'd gotten there!

It started with the anonymous threats. Then Griffin insisted she call the cops. Then the cop sent to protect her ended up seducing her. Then she'd been seduced by the cop's entire family!

And right at that instant, Audie couldn't decide whether to run like hell or jump into this man's arms and beg him to love her forever. How had she let it get this messed up? How could she have put herself in this position?

But there she was-in Quinn's car, in the dark, under some kind of magic spell. Her brain had been addled by an entire day of affection and belonging, and now her mind was wandering light-years beyond basic common sense, and she was thinking about all the wonderful "what ifs" of Detective Stacey Quinn.

What if Quinn was the right man for her? What if he could love her for who she was? What if they got married someday and she suddenly became one of those Quinn people-the laughing, arguing, singing, drinking, loving South Side Quinns?

What an intriguing thought.

If Helen were alive, she'd have a cow, and wouldn't that just be icing on the wedding cake right there?

Audie giggled silently and cast a sly peek at Quinn, then turned away.

Their wedding would be a big, emotional affair. The reception would be loud and wild. All their kids would have Quinn's eyes. She'd quit the column and go back to coaching and teaching. They'd live in Quinn's house and they could fit one of those wooden swing set contraptions in the backyard.

She stole another glance at the poor unsuspecting groom- and father-to-be, his no-nonsense face lit up by the dashboard, all straight angles and handsome planes.

Oh, hell, she might as well admit it-it wasn't just the magic spell of his family. It was the magic of Stacey Quinn himself. He was wonderful. She was fatally curious about him, fatally tempted, fatally interested.

She winced and looked down at her hands. She'd already used the L-word in her mind, hadn't she? It didn't mean she actually loved him. It just meant it might be possible. Or not.

Audie smoothed her hair and pulled her shoulders back. "OK, Quinn. The answer is I'm not exactly sure what I like the best," she said, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Huh?" Quinn looked her way and cocked his head.

"That day on the boat you asked me what I like in bed and I don't really think I know for sure."

"Jee-ay-sus, Audie. You're supposed to warn me!"

She looked over to see him grinning ear-to-ear.

"I'm sorry. You're absolutely right, Detective." She laughed and took a deep breath. "I'd like to talk about sex now. Would that be all right?"

"I've got a few spare minutes."

Audie folded her hands in her lap and bit her lower lip. "Why don't you ask me questions and I'll try to answer them? Do you think that will work?"

"What kind of questions?"

"Sex questions."

"Like a health class quiz?"

"No! Like a get-to-know-you thing."

Quinn snorted. "Pardon me for bringing this up, but the last time I tried to 'get to know you,' you sent me packing to the guest room."

"I know. But this is different."

"So you're ready for me now, Audie?" His voice sounded strained.

"I think so. I don't know. Just ask me questions before I chicken out."

Quinn took the entrance ramp onto the Dan Ryan Expressway, laughing nervously. "I don't think I'm going to be watching road signs in a minute. Don't let me miss the Lake Shore exit."

"No problem."

He adjusted himself in the driver's seat and pulled the car into the stream of expressway traffic. "OK-let's start with a simple one. Uh, how do you like to be kissed?"

"All the ways you've kissed me so far have been quite nice. I got no complaints there."

"Great. Uh, what gets you… well…"

"Hey! You told me you weren't sexually repressed!"

"I'm not! I just… fine, let me backtrack a bit. How do you like to talk about sex?"

"What do you mean, 'how'?"

"I mean do you like flowery words and vague references to, you know, body parts and things people do with them when they make love? Or do you like to talk about sex directly?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never had this conversation before, exactly."

Audie crossed her arms under her breasts and looked out at the shiny river of cars. "I've talked about sex, of course, but usually afterward, and it was stuff like 'That felt nice,' or, 'I liked this or that,' so I'm not sure how I prefer to talk about it right now, with all my clothes on, riding in an unmarked police car." She turned to face him. "How do you like to talk about it?"

"Directly, I suppose."

"Then let's be direct. Keep asking."

Quinn turned up the air conditioning and shifted in his seat. "Are you sexually attracted to me, Audie?"

"Oooh, yeah." She pursed her lips and nodded.

"So it hasn't been all wishful thinking on my part?"

"Not hardly."

"That's a huge relief."

"I'm glad."

"All right. Let's take care of the paperwork first. I'm healthy. No HIV. No herpes. No nothing. The department tests everysix months and the last one was in June and since then I haven't been at risk, if you know what I mean. I'm good to go. How about you?"

Audie laughed nervously. "There's been no one since Russell, and I got tested again just a month ago. I'm completely healthy. And I know you're Catholic and everything, but I'm on the pill."

"Wow. Then we could do some serious sinning."

"We could."

"So tell me what gets you sexually aroused."

She laughed. "We're moving right along, aren't we?"

"No point in dawdling." He grinned at her. "I've sinned before, you know."

"Fine. Being within a hundred miles of you gets me aroused, Quinn. Hearing your gravelly voice. Feeling you touch my hand or my cheek or my feet and legs-well, you already know what happens with that."

He did know. Yes, Lord, he did. And Quinn looked at her over there, glowing, round and soft and refreshingly honest, and realized that if this was going where he thought it was, tonight was going to be one hell of a good night.

At that instant, Connelly's warning came to mind, and he knew that no matter how much he wanted Audie, how crazy she was making him-this probably was not a smart move.

But then she turned toward him, those dark eyes sparkling, those plump lips turning up at the corners, and Quinn didn't give a damn what Connelly said. He couldn't even remember what the man looked like.

"And talking about sex with you, Quinn-now that gets me plenty aroused."

"It does?"

"Yes."

"Did you say my voice is gravelly?"

"Yes, I did."

"All right then. And how do you know you're getting hot for me?"

"Hot for you?" Audie laughed and then sighed deeply. "Mmmm. Well, I start to tingle all over and I feel all warm inside. My stomach does a little flip. I want to touch my own breasts." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Then I feel myself getting wet and slippery and I start thinking about how I'm going to get something big and hard inside me."

She heard Quinn take a loud gulp of air. "Holy God in heaven, that was a fine answer."

"Ask me some more."

"Whoa," Quinn whispered. "So when you're like that-all hot and slippery-goddamn!" He turned up the air conditioning another notch. "What do you imagine happening first? What would you want to start off with?"

"Are we talking about right now, with you? Can I answer it that way?"

"Yes."

"I'd like to start with a long, slow kiss. Then lots more of them, because I really like the feel of your mouth on mine-have you noticed we seem to fit really nice on each other?"

Audie heard Quinn gulp. "That I have. And as I recall, my mouth fits real nice in a few other places you got."

"I know it does," she breathed.

Quinn was quiet for a moment, trying to get his synapses to fire. "OK, so we've kissed. What next?"

"Next I'd want you naked, Detective Quinn. I'd want to take your clothes off-with no help from you-and watch your expression when I look at all of you for the first time… when I put my hands on you."

"That could be arranged."

"Because you've seen a lot more of me than I've seen of you."

"True enough."

"And then you'd take off my clothes."

"Yes, I would."

"And you'd put your hands all over me."

Quinn sucked in air.

"Keep asking. I'm liking this."

"I noticed." He sat for a moment just listening to the sound of his own blood pounding in his ears. "What makes you come, Audie?"

"Wow. That's a complicated one." She turned in the seat to get a good look at him. His face was very serious and his jaw was tight and hard above his collar. She wondered what else of his might be hard. "You want the honest answer?"

"Honesty is good."

"Well, honestly, it doesn't happen all that often. It can take some time and a lot of direct attention, you know?"

"I do know."

"I think you were on the right track the other night."

"Without a doubt."

"But every once in a while it just happens all nice and mellow for me."

Quinn turned to her with a smug little smile. "That's all going to change, Homey."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, what you just described doesn't sound all that tremendous."

"It can be nice."

He chuckled lasciviously. "Nice is nice, but here's what I want to know: Has it ever been so fucking hot that your screaming made the neighbor lady call the cops?"

Audie's eyes flew wide. "Um, not that I recall."

"I think you'd recall something like that."

"I guess I would."

"Well, that's the part I'm gonna change, Homey."

She laughed.

"Or die trying."

She laughed again.

Quinn checked the road, then turned to face her, waiting until their eyes locked in the faint light. "Tell me how you like it, Audie."

"Like what?"

He stared at her, and his voice came out rough and low. "Tell me how you like your sex."

"Oh, boy." She whipped her head around and looked out her window. She wondered if anyone else driving on the Dan Ryan Expressway at nine-thirty on a Sunday evening was having this discussion, in just this way. Somehow, she doubted it.

"I wasn't expecting that one."

"Too bad. You wanted direct questions-I'm asking them."

She turned toward him slowly, and she could barely get the words out. "I've been thinking about this a lot since that night on my couch."

"Me, too. Nonstop, really."

"And I just want the sex to be with you, Quinn."

"Great. Now exactly-"

"Wait! Here's Lake Shore, but you're in the wrong-"

He squealed across three lanes of traffic to make the curved exit ramp, little electric sparks flashing as the front left bumper scraped along a retaining wall.

"Sorry."

Audie hooted. "Man! This is great! OK, next question?"

Quinn shook his head, his heart slamming against the inside of his ribs. "No way. No more questions-I just want the actual sex now."

"But-"

"I need to get inside you-right now."

She couldn't stop laughing. "That doesn't sound safe."

"You'd better not be yanking my chain, woman, because I've got no more gentleman left in me."

She was quiet for a moment, then said, "Oh, Quinn. It's ten minutes to my place. Do you think you're gentleman enough to wait that long?"

"That I can handle." He looked over to see her smiling quite brightly. "Have pity on your man, Audie. There's not enough blood in my brain to carry on this conversation."

"That's OK." Audie reached out and touched Quinn gently on the side of his face, trying not to panic at the way his words had just slammed into her heart-your man, your man-trying not to panic at how much she wanted him, all of him, everything he had to give her, everything he'd show her.

She let her fingers trail along his jaw to his throat, and she hooked her fingers inside his shirt, circling in the soft down below his collarbone.

"How about I ask the questions now?" she whispered. "I think we've got time for a few, all right?"

The silky touch of her finger caused tiny flashbulbs to pop in front of Quinn's eyes, making driving an even greater challenge. "Just make 'em easy-like ones I can answer with a grunt."

She giggled. "Okay. Here's one I think you can manage." She leaned over and put her lips against his ear. "Are you hard right now, Quinn?"

He swallowed. Her hot breath made him shudder. "God, yes, I'm hard."

"How hard?" She brought her lips to the tender spot under his jaw and kissed.

"Extremely hard."

She scraped her teeth along his neck. "As hard as that night on the sidewalk?"

"Harder."

She bit his earlobe. "As hard as that night on your deck?"

"Harder."

She flicked her tongue under his jaw. "As hard as the other night on my couch?"

"Harder. Longer. Thicker. I've been saving up."

"Excellent," Audie breathed, flopping back against the passenger seat. "That does it for my questions."

They barely looked at each other and they didn't speak and they didn't touch-not while they parked the car or rode the elevator to the twenty-eighth floor or walked down the hallway and opened the door to Audie's place.

They didn't talk as they entered the apartment or when Quinn put his hand over Audie's to stop her from flipping on the light switch.

They said nothing to each other as Quinn took her by the hand and led her to the huge black windows overlooking the lake and the northern edge of city lights-the John Hancock Tower, Water Tower Place, Michigan Avenue, all spread out before them like diamonds tossed on black velvet.

Finally, Quinn smiled down at her and broke the silence. "We're going to finish what we started."

She stared into his eyes, bright with reflected light and intense desire.

"I'm going to take down your hair. Then I'm going to kiss you."

Audie nodded helplessly. He wasn't asking her if he could do any of these things-he was telling her. That worked for her.

Quinn released the clasp she'd used to pull back her hair for the soccer game. The heavy waves now tumbled onto his wrists like warm satin, and he breathed her in. She smelled like spice and flowers and musk. She smelled just like she tasted, if he recalled correctly.

Audie stood very still, breathing fast, watching the restrained and slow way he moved around her, the ravenous gleam in his eyes. The lion at breakfast was back, but this time she was showing him to the all-you-can-eat buffet.

She closed her eyes and felt the tingle as his fingers moved up into her hair and his palms cradled her head. Then his lips came down on hers, all hot, all wet, all Quinn-and all was lost.

Where did she go right then? She couldn't say, because her world suddenly turned to nothing but sensation, no thought, no care for where her feet were planted. The only thing she knew was that this man's mouth was on hers and his hands were on her and she wanted it bad. She loved it.

She felt Quinn rock her in his arms, back and forth with the press of his loins, his tongue tasting her, taking her. She loved that, too.

Then he stopped kissing her and held her in front of him. He took her hands and pressed them against his shirt, and her fingers began working down the column of buttons.

She stopped and frowned.

"Your gun. I don't know what to-"

"That's the only thing I'm going to help you with, Homey." He reached behind him and removed the nine-millimeter automatic pistol from his waistband, walked away, and placed it on a side table. He came back. "You're on your own now."

She pulled the shirt from his belt and spread it apart across his body, then settled her palms flat on his ribs. She slid her hands up and over his hard chest and flat, silky nipples, across his wide shoulders, and down his arms, feeling each warm, solid inch of him as she went. The shirt fell to the floor.

Audie leaned in and put her lips on his breastbone. She nuzzled close and kissed him, feeling the tickle of his chest hair against her cheek, breathing in the scent of him, sighing with relief to finally be this close to him.

But it wasn't nearly close enough.

She brought her hands to his waist and down across the solid ridges of his stomach, leaving a trail of southward-bound kisses as she moved. She dropped to her knees and looked up at him.

"I love your body, Quinn."

Heseemed surprised by that. "This'll work out pretty good then."

She put her hands at his belt and tugged, then felt the zipper slide open under her fingers. She kept watching his face so far above her, seeing the storm clouds gather in his eyes as her fingers pushed away his shorts, as she welcomed him in her hands.

"Oh, God, Quinn." She took a deep breath and let her eyes embrace what she already cradled in her hands-all thick, silky head and stiff flesh. "You're very big."

"Told you I was saving up."

She looked up to his face again, his eyes glittering with the city lights. "Hurry. I want my turn," he said.

She slinked her hands down his narrow hips and along the hard line of his legs, yanked off his sandals, and stood, seeing him there in front of her, all lean and solid and wearing nothing but a lopsided grin and a raging hard-on.

"Turn around, Audie."

A shiver went through her. "Turn around?"

"That's what I said."

She felt him put his hands on her hips and turn her to face the windows. It was an amazing sight-they were reflected back, floating in all the lights, somewhere in the darkness. She watched Quinn lean down to whisper in her ear.

"Spread 'em, Audie." She gasped.

With a gentle nudge of his bare foot, he pushed her legs wide apart, then reached around and raised up her arms, placing her hands flat against the glass.

Quinn saw her expression in the window-half shock and half amusement. Perfect.

He leaned down into her ear. "I think I'd better frisk you before I fuck you."

Audie whimpered.

He started by pulling her T-shirt from the waistband of her skirt and pushing his hands up her back and around her ribs, feeling with pleasure how she rippled under his touch. He unhooked the tiny snap at the front of her bra, and the satiny fabric fell loose inside her shirt just as his hands swooped up to cup the freed weight of her breasts. Her nipples immediately rose to hot points in his palms.

"Good Lord," she mumbled, feeling his big penis jab into the small of her back. She dropped her head forward and shuddered.

Quinn's hands were all over her now-moving on thebare skin of her stomach, her ribs, her sides, running little circles around her rigid nipples. She couldn't help it-the feeling was so intense that she arched into him, pushed her breasts into his hands, and pressed her hips back against his cock.

"Looks like we're not messing with any of that 'resisting an officer' shit, are we, Audie?"

She started to laugh but stopped abruptly, because his hands were at the zipper of her skirt, and he was shoving down hard on the skirt and underwear until they caught on her spread upper thighs-too tight to move any farther.

His hands were on her bare bottom now, and she heard herself moan a little, and the oddest sensation ran through her-it was almost as if she'd just had a small, friendly orgasm simply because he was touching her.

But that was impossible.

His hand went to her belly and he pulled her back against him, causing her hands to fall from the glass. Quinn pulled the shirt and bra over her head and dropped them to the floor.

Audie saw herself then, naked breasts and wild hair, her skirt shoved down low on her hips, and Quinn's hands moving on her.

It happened again-the little pleasant flash of heat in her blood. "Wow," she whispered.

"Lean against me, Audie. I won't let you fall."

He pushed aside her hair with one hand and bent his lips to the back of her neck. Audie felt him kiss her there, bite her, his lips hot and wet and his breath so close in her ear. He began rocking her again with the press of his hips, and she thought for sure her knees would give.

Hesuddenly lifted her off the floor and yanked off the skirt and underwear. While she was up in the air, she flipped off her sandals. Then he set her back down in front of him, nudging her feet apart again.

His hands went everywhere now, all over her, cradling and pinching her breasts, encircling her throat, moving down her sides and over her hips and sliding up and around her ass. She saw everything in the windows, and she felt like hot lava in his hands-no bones left in her anywhere, just heat and slick need.

Quinn slipped his hand down her belly and toward the open split of her sex. His fingertips made the slightest contact with her wet flesh and she jumped and cried out.

"Oh, Audie," Quinn whispered in her ear. "I've been waiting for this. I've been waiting to come to you, make you mine. I can't wait anymore. I want you so much."

She let her head fall back against him and shivered. She liked the way his words had just spilled out thick and musical from the back of his throat and hot into her ear. She liked the sound of his voice so close, so intimate. She liked that every inch of her skin pressed back against him and that his cock was smashed up against her and his fingers were moving slow and sure along the entrance to her.

With the lightest touch, he coaxed her stiff little bud from its hiding place, pinched her, and rubbed his erection hard against her from behind.

"Do you feel me, Audie?" He kept moving against her.

"I feel you, Quinn," she moaned.

"What do you feel? Tell me."

"I feel how good you are to me," she breathed. "Oh, God, I feel how much you want me-how much I want you."

Quinn slid his fingers from her and pulled her up to her full height, encircling her gently in his arms.

"You're going to get me. Right now."

Yet again, a flash of heat spread through her, and this one was an attention-getter. She saw her eyes fly open in thedark window. There was no mistaking it-Stacey Quinn had just made her come with the barest touch of his finger, the press of his skin on hers, and with his words.

What the hell would happen when he was inside her?

"Come here to me," he said, turning her, taking her hands, and sinking slowly with her onto the Oriental rug. "It's time for sweaty sex on the floor, Homey."

They knelt in front of each other and she stared at him, so close, so gorgeous and intense. She felt his hard desire tap against her belly now. She felt his arms reach around her back and pull her against him. He felt like fire. There was fire in the tongue that licked into her mouth, fire where his fingertips pushed up into her hair. She felt herself become only what his hands wanted from her-nothing but slippery heat and stiff nipples and arching flesh, all for Quinn. Only for him.

"You are so soft. So beautiful," he managed between kisses. "I want you to take whatever you want from me. Take it."

Audie pushed hard into him with her mouth, then pulled back, breathless. She came back to him, running her tongue across his lips, resting her hands on his thighs, then pulled back again.

Quinn smiled at her. She did it again-came to him and kissed him with a sharp rush of needand then pulled away. There was something happening here, he realized, as if she was right on the edge of letting go, on the edge of asking for something, but she didn't know how to go about it.

Just as he suspected.

"Let it go with me, Audie." His voice was warm and his hands cradled her face and she felt herself trembling-from desire or fear she couldn't say.

"I'm not sure I can," she said.

Quinn looked down at her beautiful flushed face, her lips swollen from his kisses, her eyes dark and doubtful.

"Please don't be afraid of me."

She shook her head. "I'm not afraid of you, Quinn. I'm afraid of me-of what I want right now, with you… what I want to say to you."

He smiled at her and gently traced his thumb across her full bottom lip. When her wet little tongue came out to greet him, his penis jumped.

"Say it."

She was about to shake her head again when he pulled her roughly to him, smashing her breasts against his bare chest. "I want to hear you ask for it," he said roughly.

With a little sob, she leaned back and looked into his eyes. "I want it hard, Quinn," she whispered. "I want you to pin me down, and take me until there's nothing left of me. I want you to make me scream."

He let out a surprised laugh, deep and throaty, but said nothing at first. Then his grip on her softened. "Tell me if I hurt you. I don't want to hurt you, sweet lassie."

It was her turn to laugh. "You can't. I think I was made for this-for you, for right now. I think I've been waiting all my life for this." Her eyes pleaded with him. "Do it, Quinn."

"Jaysus."

He laid her gently on her back, and his face was drawn with such raw sexual hunger that she trembled. He hovered over her a silent moment as if to give her one last chance to change her mind.

Like that would happen.

"I want to scream, Quinn," she whispered, and his hands were pressing down on the insides of her thighs, spreading her wide, and she felt him slowly run a finger along the dripping seam of her.

"Holy Christ, Audie," he groaned.

He cupped himself in his hand and rubbed the fat head of his penis up and down the entrance to her. With his eyes hot on hers, he pushed inside her in one long, slow slide and listened to her moan the whole way in.

At first, Audie thought he'd ripped her apart. He felt so huge and hard, and she'd been empty for so long that it was a shock to her. But when he began to move, so slow and deep, all she felt was the pleasure, the swaying pleasure in the putting in and pulling out, the press of his hard weight into her, becoming part of her.

His hands went to her wrists, moving them up over her head and pinning them to the carpet as he began to move a bit harder and a bit faster. Audie looked up into his eyes, so forceful and serious, and she felt conquered like never before, treasured like never before, and the waves started to break in her mind.

She was his. He was inside her. She was getting exactly what she wanted-what she'd always wanted.

Thank God.

Then the words began.

"I'm taking you, Audie. I'm right here. I'm giving you what you want, big and deep and hard. I'd do anything for you. Do you know that I'd do anything for you?"

His words struck like velvet lightning in her blood. She felt herself clenching and pulling as he continued to rain words down upon her in that musical voice-so many words.

"You're mine, woman," he growled, dipping his head to suck and lick at her hard nipples. "I'm never letting you go. I'm taking you hard. Taking your sweet little body."

The man who said so little in everyday conversation was making love to her with words, she realized, bringing her to orgasm with words, words like kisses, words as real and as hard as the cock now fully inside her, reaching her core.

"I feel you coming, Audie. I feel you so hot and sweet-God, you are the sweetest damn thing I've ever seen in my life!"

Where was this place? Wherever it was, she was going fast and rough and it was a rushing, dark place and his words were dragging her there.

"I'm coming!" she whimpered.

That made him smile. "I know you are, baby," he said, kissing her softly. "And I'm going to keep you there, then push you higher." He adjusted himself over her, changing the angle and speed of his thrusts, and the friction was too hot, too good, and she cried out.

Quinn looked down to see her body shimmering with sweat, all softness and sex writhing beneath him, her breasts exposed, her lips parted. She was very close to letting go completely, he knew. And it was going to be good.

"Come here to me." He released her wrists and pulled her up, balancing her head in one arm while supporting himself with the other. He started a slow and sultry rhythm with his hips.

"Don't close your eyes. I want you to look right at me while I split you open. Look at me while I love you. You want me deep inside you, don't you, Audie?"

"Oh, God, yes!" She didn't recognize her own voice.

Quinn pushed into her without mercy then, rough and serious and just a bit faster. "I'm taking you, Audie. I'm taking you with everything I've got, everything I am. Do you want more?"

"Yes! More!" And the words faded into a wail, not a cry, not a moan, but a desperate sound that told Quinn what he needed to know-that this was something new for her and it was surprising and strong. Her eyes began to close.

"Open your eyes and look at me." She did. His gaze locked on hers and she gasped. He was seeing too much. He was asking for too much!

"It's too much… I don't know-"

"Just feel, sweetheart," he murmured. "Just feel us together; feel how good this is between you and me. It's unbelievable. It's so … damn … good."

He held her head so that she couldn't escape the truth of what she'd asked for and what he was giving her. And Audie didn't know where the force originated-whether it was in her heart or her flesh-but she was drowning in it, dying in it, staring into the penetrating green fire of Quinn's eyes as he showed her what it felt like to feel possessed, taken…

Loved.

He watched her face widen in shock and her eyes flash. Then she screamed-and it was wild and reckless and he covered her mouth with his own to swallow it. She arched against him and shook and went rigid, screaming louder, and her hands were tearing at his back, and Quinn absorbed theviolence of her surrender.

Hegrabbed her tight in both his arms, knowing this was too much for him, too intense. "I'm lost," he told her. "I'm yours… "

Quinn came inside her with a roar and the heat blinded him and the world shattered into pieces around them.

They clutched at each other for many long, quiet minutes, their breathing ragged, their bodies slick with sweat and throwing off heat.

Quinn knew he should probably say something to her, but nothing seemed right. Nothing seemed good enough. Important enough. So all he did was whisper her name-"Audie."

And right then, he put away the fantasy forever. He didn't need it anymore. He didn't want Carmen Electra. He sure as hell didn't want Martha Stewart. He wanted this woman-he wanted Audie.

He pulled her up as he rose to his knees, then turned so that she sat on his lap. She stayed curled around him, quiet, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. Eventually, she stirred. "Quinn?"

"Mmm?"

"Are you always like that?" She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.

"Like what?" he wondered aloud. Did he usually let his heart crack in two? Did he usually see his soul reflected in a woman's eyes?

"Do you always talk that much?"

He chuckled, slightly embarrassed, gently stroking her back and hip with one hand. "Did I talk a lot?"

She pulled away enough to see his face, so sweet and confused. She ran a finger along his sweaty hairline and smiled at him. "Yes. You talked an awful lot."

He frowned. "That may have been a first. I hope I didn't say anything stupid."

Audie stared at him in silence, then kissed his cheek and tucked her body close to his again, gripping his waist tight with her legs.

So many extraordinary things had just happened to her, but the most amazing was that Quinn had just taken her to a place of blind, raging lust and now he cradled her in his lap, so warm and sweet, worried that he'd said something stupid. She'd never known a man like him.

Suddenly there were tears in her eyes, and she was glad he couldn't seethem.

"Nothing stupid, Quinn," she assured him, kissing his neck and hugging him tight. "Just wonderful."

After a long while, he lifted her away from his chest and kissed her tenderly. "I won't be sleeping in the guest room tonight, will I, Homey?"

"No. And not in the hallway, either. I don't think I'm done with you."

"Are you threatening me?" His mouth twitched with the beginnings of a wicked smile.

"Yes, and you love it." She ran a finger across those beautiful lips. "Shall we?"

With a groan she pulled away from him, tucked her legs beneath her, and stood. She offered him her hand, but he just looked up at her, astonished.

"Aren't you coming?"

"I kind of like the view from here," he said, and she looked down to see her thighs glistening with sweat and semen.

"Oh, God."

He jumped to his feet and put his arms around her, rubbing her back. "You look like a woman who's been thoroughly ravaged, and as I recall, that's what you ordered. Wanna take a shower with me?"

When she stopped laughing, she leaned her head back and looked into his eyes, so bright and contented. "I have to tell you something first, Quinn."

"I'm all ears."

"I explained how it is with me, and-"

"I changed all that?"

As ridiculous as it seemed, Audie suddenly felt a little self-conscious. "It seems that way," she whispered.

Quinn grabbed a handful of her thick, wavy hair, grinning. "You did look fairly shocked by the whole thing."

"That's because I was."

He kissed the adorable tip of her nose, then rubbed his cheek against hers as he whispered into her ear, "Tell me how it was different."

She closed her eyes and sighed, wondering how she could possibly explain this to him. She wasn't an expert on the male orgasm, but she didn't think they had the kind of drastic range of responses that women did. After a long moment, she pulled back to look at him.

"OK, Quinn. Have you ever taken a sip of Bud Light and found yourself staring at the can, trying to convince yourself that you'd just swallowed beer?"

His grin spread.

"My usual orgasm is a Bud Light."

He was already shaking with silent laughter. "And just now…?"

"Like sticking my mouth under the Guinness tap and slurping every rich, delicious drop until I blow up, knowing it's a very good way to die."

Quinn laughed hard and clasped her to him so tight that she momentarily couldn't breathe.

"You're supposed to warn me when you're going to talk about beer, woman."

"I forgot again."

"Audie, you make me so happy… "

The words came out sure and clear, and though Quinn's arms relaxed around her, she still couldn't breathe. She felt him stroke her hair and caress her back. She nestled closer, listening to his heartbeat, his breath, remembering how he had held her like this on the dock that night, when he first offered her a place in the world where she fit just right.

When she warned him she was a failure at love.

Quinn must have heard her thoughts again, because he whispered to her in his gravelly voice, "… until we both dry up and blow away."