Fox was silent for a handfulof heartbeats, and I half expected him to get up, declare this a mistake, andpack his bags.
I could imagine watching himgo with tears in my eyes, this incredible experience—this incredibleman—slippingthrough my fingers like a handful of water.
“All right,” he said after amoment. “Yeah, all right.”
Relief washed over me. Icould have this. Not forever—not even forlong—but for now.
FOURTEEN
FOX
The sound of my phonevibrating startled me. I’d fallen into a proper, deep sleep with my armswrapped around Quinn, where I’d collapsed once I’d cleaned us both up.
How long had I been out? Ihadn’tslept that peacefully in a long time.
Swearing under my breath, Ifished my discarded jeans from the side of the bed, pulled it out of thepocket, and squinted blearily at the text that’d just come through.
Jimmy:we’ve got some infofor you. I’ll send it through in an email tomorrow, just wanted to let you knowASAP
I smiled at that.ASAP.
The company he’d gone to workfor had turned him into one of them already. He’d be getting a buzz cut and apair of decent leather boots any day now.
Might’ve worked forhim. It was hard to imagine him in anything other than a lab coat, so I’d neverbothered to try.
Jimmy seemed all right tome. Misguided, but all right. Heart in the right place, and now in a line ofwork that suited him much better than staring down a microscope all day.
Thanks. Have a nicenight.
Quinn stirred beside me,rolling over and pressing his cold nose to the middle of my chest.
He made a soft, happy soundthat melted my insides like a sunny day melted ice cream.
“You’re still here,” hesaid, a tiny smile lighting up his face.
I wanted to kiss him, but Iwasn’tsure yet that I was allowed. Instead, I satisfied myself with brushing a straystrand of hair away from his eyes.
“Expecting me to pack mybags and leave while you were napping?” I asked, unable to resist stroking hishair now that my fingers were near it. It was just as thick and silky as itlooked, soft to the touch. Quinn always looked as though he’d just rolled outof bed, and I was starting to like it.
“Didn’t seem impossible.” Heyawned, snuggling closer before opening his eyes. They shone with warmth andcontentment, and I wanted him to look like this all the time. Like he wassaturated with happiness.
I gave in, shifting so Icould press a kiss to his forehead. It wasn’t his lips, but it wasenough to satisfy me for a bit.
“I never just leave,” Isaid. “Not without saying goodbye. Besides, I was comfy. You make a wonderfulhot water bottle.”
Quinn snorted. “That’s a newone. I’ll have to add it to my resume.”
“You’ll have people fightingover you.”
He laughed, letting his eyesfall closed again. “If you say so.”
“I do say so.”
Quinn could have had anyonehe wanted, and it was a surprise to learn that he didn’tknowthat. That hewas apparently unaware of how gorgeous he was. How easy it would have been tograb the attention of any man who was even remotely attracted to other men.
Of course, he’d never beenallowed to. Uncle fucking Vincent had seen to it that he’d never developed anyself-confidence. Quinn didn’t see how much he was worth, howgoodhe was.
I wanted him to. If Iaccomplished nothing else on this job, I wanted to walk away from it secure inthe knowledge that Quinn knew he was worth something. Wortheverything.That he deserved the moon and the stars, and he should find someone who’d give them tohim and not settle for anything less.
