Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

(Annora)

A glass of water with a red rose in it is the first thing I see when I wake up. With a smile on my face, I rolled towards Quinn, only to find an empty bed. After the mind-blowing sex we had last night, I was looking forward to a slow love making session to start our first morning as an engaged couple.

Finding his spot empty is disappointing, but then I remember that we have a guest. I look at the clock on the bedside table. It is only eight in the morning. Quinn is probably downstairs with Aaron. I hope he is doing better this morning than he was last night.

Quickly I roll out of bed, then head to the bathroom to shower. After showering, I head to my closet to dress for the day. I grab an ankle-length skirt in light green with a floral pattern going up one side from hem to hip. I pair it with a white loose- fitting blouse, grab a pair of canvas slip-on shoes, then call myself dressed.

It is Saturday, so casual clothing is necessary.

My entire body is relaxed as I walk down the stairs to find Quinn and Aaron. I can hear their voices coming from the kitchen as I reach the bottom of the stairs. I stop in the doorway to watch them. They have always had an effortless way with each other that I used to admire.

Aaron’s hair has grown out since the last time I saw him at the hospital. It is getting s**y, but it looks good on him. It is currently sticking up in all directions like he has been running his hands through it. From the tone of their conversation, I can understand why he has been doing this.

Rylan. They love each other, that much was made crystal clear last night. However, after talking to Quinn last night, I understand why Aaron pushes her away. I don’t agree with it, but I understand. One day I hope they find their way to each other.

“Give her time, Aaron. You both need time. Once you talk to Dr. West…”

“Do you think he can help me?”

“Between the two of you, I was able to pull myself together and out of that dark pit. Give it a chance. Please.”

“I will go. For you.”

“No, Aaron. Do this for you. I will be there every step of the way. Call me night or day if you need me. I will be there.”

“What about Annie and Grace? You can’t drop everything with them for me.”

“If he doesn’t, I will kick his a**.” I say as I enter the room.

Aaron jumps and spins around on his stool to look at me.

“I’m sorry. When I came down here, I couldn’t help but watch you two together. It has been so long since I have seen you two together like this. Well, outside the hospital, and in business settings. I am sorry for eavesdropping.”

Aaron pats the stool next to him. There is a smile on his face as I sit next to him.

To my surprise, he pulls me into a sideways hug, then lets go quickly.

“It is good to see you, Annie. Last night wasn’t my finest night, but I am glad you

were here. Thank you for taking care of Rylan.”

“There is no need to thank me.”

“I need to anyway.”

“Well, I am glad to help. Rylan is a strong woman. I have a feeling that we will be

good friends. I look forward to getting to know her better.’

you two

A ghost of a smile crosses his face, then he grimaces. “The thought of being friends is frightening. With her stubbornness and your mischievous nature, I

fear the trouble you two will make.”

I can’t help but laugh at that. “Oh, come on now. I thought you enjoyed my pranks

that summer.”

The look of horror on his face makes me laugh again.

Chapter $3

“Absolutely not.”

“Then I will have to think of new ones. It is time to up my game.”

He shakes his head, then looks down at his hands as he laughs. “I should get going. Mom is going to want to meet for breakfast before she and dad go off on their adventures today.” He looks up at Quinn as he stands up. “Are you two s dinner later with my parents so mom can meet Grace?”

on for

“Yes. I have an idea about that. Rather than go out to dinner, why don’t we do something here? That way, when Grace has had enough of adults, she can just go up to her room.

That is actually a good idea. I can call the restaurant we were going to go to and have them cater for dinner. Giovanni’s has a great delivery service. However, I would need to call them as soon as possible to set that up.

Aaron nods his head, then walks out of the kitchen. When I hear the door close behind him as he leaves the penthouses, I turn to look at Quinn. He looks tired and worried. I know he is worried about his friend. He is tired because of me.

Well, it is his fault too. That erotic bondage session lasted for hours. When we finally fell asleep, it was around three in the morning. With our chosen careers, we have both had to function on less sleep than that. Today, however, isn’t one of

those days.

“Since Grace is at my parents, and we don’t have to pick her up until noon, I say we get some more sleep.”

Quinn smiles at me as he walks around the counter. The way he pulls me against him lets me know he has other ideas in mind. I shiver in anticipation as I see his eyes go dark with desire.

“How about I take you back upstairs, spread your thighs wide, then spend the next few hours with my face buried in that juicy p**y of yours?” D

“Why not just do that right here, right now, on the kitchen floor? We have the

house to ourselves still.”

His mouth fuses to mine as his hands grab my a**. Fire erupts in my belly as he deepens the kiss. When his tongue flicks across my lips, I open my mouth for him. The passion between us instantly ignites as his tongue sweeps inside to explore and entwine with mine.

I break from the kiss with a laugh as he lifts me up and places me on the counter. The last time my a**way on this counter, had no panties on and he took full advantage of that. Now I feel so overdressed.

The ringing of the house phone makes him pull away with a growl. “It isn’t even nine in the morning. David better have a good reason for calling.”

“There is only one way to find out.”

He growls before letting me go to walk out into the foyer. When he comes back in, there is a grim look on his face. It makes me hop off the counter, then close the distance between us quickly.

“What is it?”

“We have visitors. The detectives from last night at the hospital. I told David to give me ten minutes to get dressed, then send them up. I would rather not have this conversation while I am still in my pajamas and sporting a hard on.”

I glance down at his obvious erection and smile. I absolutely love that I have this effect on him. If I had more time, I would help him with that.

“Go get dressed and I will make a pot of coffee.”

Quinn nods, then rushes upstairs to get dressed. Please let the detectives be here to tell us they know who hit my car yesterday, or who called me and threatened Grace. I doubt they found that person, though. I am more concerned now about who hit

my car.

When Quinn comes back downstairs, he is dressed in a pair of black dress pants and

a

charcoal grey button-up shirt. He has the sleeves of the shirt rolled up to his

elbows. My gaze lingers on the tiger lily tattoo with my name on the base. I am still amazed that he did that to remind himself of me.

I feel his gaze on me, so I look up. “Are you ready to talk to the police?”Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“Come here.”

I walk to where he is standing at the entrance to the kitchen. He pulls me into his arms, kisses the top of my head, then he looks down at me. His green eyes are full of love, and I can’t help but smile up at him. The phone rings again, causing him to sigh in annoyance.

“Guess they are getting impatient.”

“So, it would seem. Are you ready?”

I nod at him, then walk back into the kitchen to grab four coffee mugs out of the

cabinet.

(Quinn)

After showing the two detectives into the foyer, I lead them into the living room, where Annora is waiting. She set the coffeepot with four mugs with cream and sugar on the square coffee table. She glances up at the two men when they approach her.

“Dr. Winters.”

She stands up and shakes both of their hands, then gestures to the coffee table. “Would either of you like some coffee?”

“That would be great. Thank you,” Detective Mòrris says.

“We have some news about the crash,” Detective Anson says as he makes a cup of

coffee, then sits down.

I sit down next to Annie and wait patiently for the two men to get comfortable. She

reaches over to grab my hand as she waits with me. I can feel her nervous energy, so I gently squeeze her hand.

“We couldn’t make an I.d. by using the traffic cameras at the scene. The good news is that we got a call about an abandoned vehicle an hour after we left the hospital.

The vehicle description matched the description of the truck that hit you.” Morris tells us.

“The truck was reported stolen early yesterday morning. The CSU team recovered fingerprints off the steering wheel that didn’t belong to the owner and ran them through the system. We don’t have a match yet, but we wanted to give you an update,” Anson says.

That could have been done over the phone. Why did they come here just to tell us that? I feel there is something more to the story.

“What else did you find?”

Anson looks over at me, then glances at Morris quickly before looking at Annora. “It is about the phone call she received yesterday afternoon. The call was made from a cell phone in Rick Walker’s name. He is a guard at the FSan Francisco County jail.”

That is where Dionne is currently while she waits for her bail hearing.

“We are fairly certain that he was paid to make the call, or he was paid to give her his phone so she could. We had Walker put into a holding cell at the jail until we can get down there to speak to him.”

“What happens if it is proven that she paid him or did it herself?”

“Well, it is a mis*demeanor in the state of California. However, since the is no proof of what they said, it will be difficult to charge either of them. We will have to wait and see what Walker has to say when we talk to him.’

“Did you talk to McAllister about the crash?”

Morris sighs and shakes it head. “That one seriously angry man. One who had a strong alibi at the time of both incidents. However, we understand that he could have hired someone, so we are going to get a warrant to check his financial records. We are working hard to find who tried to kill you yesterday, Dr. Winters.” I

“Can either of you think of any other suspects that would try to harm you or your daughter?”

Chapter 53 F

“Lana Wells,” Annora says.

“That is your ex-husband’s new wife? Why do you suspect her?”

Annora laughs aloud. “She is a jealous harpy. Kyle has her fooled about his true nature. She is angry with me for putting her precious husband in jail. He tried to kill me, and this is what he deserves. Lana thinks I lied about that, but ave witnesses. Do I honestly think she would try to kill me? No, but I have to give you everyone who could be a potential suspect.”

Morris pulls out his notebook to write her name. Then he stands and Anson follows his move. I stand up and lead them both to the door. After they leave, I walk back to Annora and pull her up off the sofa.

She wraps her arms around my waist and buries her face in my chest. To soothe her, and myself if I am being honest, I run my hands up and down her back. When she stops shaking, I pull back a little to look down at her.

“Let’s go pick Grace up, then we can all go to the beach. Have a little family picnic, collect some seashells, and build sandcastles.”

“Grace would love that. Can we stop at my house on the way so I can grab out beach gear? I will call Giovanni’s on the way to arrange for dinner to be catered later tonight.”

With that plan in place, I grab my keys off the hall table, then wait for Annora to

grab her purse. A day out of fun in the sun sounds like the best way to shake off all the drama surrounding us now. It will also be a suitable time to tell Grace that we

are getting married.

“When we get married, where do you want to live? Here, your place, or do you want to look for a new house where we can start over as a family?”

“I love my house, Quinn, but I really love the security of this place. Why don’t Grace and I just move in here until we get married and then we can decide after that? Max can stay at my house so that it isn’t empty.”

“So, he isn’t going to back to New York?”

“Not until he knows if the baby is his or not. If it the baby isn’t his, then he plans to move his business here and go from there.”

I hold my hand out for her as she