Always My Girl (The Shaughnessy Brothers) (12 page)

It was on the tip of her tongue to beg him not to stop, to take her right there, but clearly he was one step ahead of her. His hand came up and firmly cupped her cheek, forcing her to look at him, his eyes glazed with desire.

“How…how did this happen?” he whispered, his eyes scanning her face.

“I don’t know.” She almost cursed her honesty. Now wasn’t the time for her to come off as being unsure of anything! What if he pulled back? What if the fog of lust suddenly cleared and—

“I want you,” he said thickly, hotly.

“I’m yours,” she whispered, and then his lips were back on hers as he clasped her waist and lifted her until both her legs wrapped around his waist. The sensations were glorious. The feeling of Quinn—
aroused
Quinn—between her legs was every fantasy come to life. Anna had never found the appeal in wearing dresses before.

She did now.

One of Quinn’s hands moved from her waist to her hip and then to cup her bottom. Her panties were of the barely there variety and clearly he approved. She felt him wrap the fabric in his fist as he began to tug.

And then the phone rang.

“Quinn,” she whispered.

“Ignore it,” he said and immediately went back to kissing her and adjusting his grip on her panties.

While the phone on his desk continued to ring, his cell phone began to go off with what sounded like a dozen text messages arriving at once.

This time, she didn’t have to say his name; they were on the same page. Something was up and needed his attention. As much as Anna wanted to argue how much
she
needed his attention, it was obvious something was wrong. Quinn gently lowered her to the floor, and Anna silently fixed her dress while he picked up his cell phone in one hand and the office phone in the other.

“
What?
” he barked into the office phone. He raked a hand through his hair as he listened then cursed. “I’m on my way.” Then he slammed the phone back down and focused on his cell phone before shoving it into his pocket and turning toward Anna.

“What is it?” she asked nervously. “Is everything okay?”

He shook his head. “Aubrey’s in the hospital.”

Without a word, Quinn picked his hat up off the floor and searched for his car keys. Anna didn’t ask; she simply followed him outside as he locked up before running to her car and grabbing her purse. When she turned around, Quinn had already pulled his truck up behind her and was waiting.

She found comfort in the fact that they were in sync. Climbing into the truck, all she said was, “Let’s go,” and Quinn immediately put the truck in drive and took off.

* * *

They had barely left the parking lot when Anna pulled her phone out. “Okay, what’s going on? Who called? Who texted?”

“It was my dad on the office phone. Aidan texted.”

“What do we know? What happened?”

“Hugh’s away on business. Aubrey was supposed to go with him, but they didn’t have anyone to watch the dogs,” he said with exasperation. “Owen was driving through on his way to some seminar, and he stopped by, not knowing Hugh wasn’t home, and found her passed out on the floor.”

Anna gasped. “Oh no!” They all knew of Aubrey’s history with cancer as a teen, so any mystery illness was cause for alarm. “Where is Hugh?”

“He’s on a flight home right now from New York.” Quinn cursed. “I’m sure he’s freaking out.”

“Of course he is,” she said. “So is everyone on their way to the hospital?”

He nodded. “Aidan and Zoe probably got a thirty-minute start on us, and Dad’s ahead of them. Owen called him first after he got Aubrey to the hospital.”

“He didn’t drive her himself, did he?”

“I don’t even know. Once Dad said what was going on, I just sprang into action. Why don’t you call Zoe and see if you can get more details and if she knows how Hugh is getting to the hospital from the airport? We can meet him if we need to.”

Nodding, Anna dialed Zoe’s phone and was relieved when she answered. “Hey, where are you guys?”

“We’re about thirty miles out from the hospital,” Zoe said. “What about you?”

“I’m with Quinn and we just left the shop. Who’s getting Hugh from the airport?”

“Ian is going to pick him up. So we’ll all meet up at the hospital.”

“What happened? Do you know?”

“All I know is Owen stopped by and found her on the floor. I can’t… I don’t even know what to think. I mean, did she fall? Was she sick? We don’t know!”

Anna sighed. “Poor Hugh. Has anyone talked to him?”

“Just Ian. We didn’t want to add to his stress—plus he’s on a plane right now, so we probably wouldn’t get through to him.”

“Did Owen drive her to the hospital? Did she wake up?”

“No,” Zoe said. “He called 9-1-1 and rode in the ambulance with her. He’s a wreck.”

“I’m sure. It had to be pretty scary finding her that way.”

“I think he was more upset he couldn’t help diagnose what was wrong. He told Aidan he’d never felt so helpless in his life.”

It was exactly how Anna felt at that moment—it was good to know she wasn’t alone. “Okay, so Ian’s getting Hugh, Owen’s with Aubrey…are we missing anything? What about the dogs? They’re going to need someone to go in and let them out, I would imagine. Right?”

“I didn’t even think of that. Damn it.”

“Okay, you guys go on to the hospital, and Quinn and I will swing by the house and check on them. Aubrey’s mentioned her next-door neighbors have helped her out with the dogs before, so we’ll check in with them.”

“Sounds good. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know, okay?”

“Thanks, Zoe. We’ll talk to you soon.”

After she hung up, Anna looked over at Quinn. “I hope you don’t mind. I volunteered us to check on the dogs.”

He shook his head. “No, it was a good idea. Since Aubrey didn’t go on this trip with Hugh because of the dogs, we may not be able to find anyone else. The more we can do to help, the better. Did she tell you anything different or have any updates?”

“Nothing yet. Your dad’s going to pick up Hugh. Owen’s at the hospital.”

“He’s a mess, isn’t he?”

“Who? Owen?”

Quinn nodded.

“You know he’s not good in situations like this,” Anna said softly. “His bedside manner isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy. He’s going to get all clinical.”

Quinn chuckled. “He can’t help it. It’s how his brain works. But I’m sure he’s also nervous because he’s not comfortable with Aubrey yet.”

“It’s not like she’s new to the family,” Anna pointed out. “She and Hugh have been together for almost a year.”

“Yeah, but he hasn’t been around much, so he’s only met her a handful of times. He was the same way with Zoe.”

Anna nodded. “Hell, I grew up with you guys and it took Owen until I was almost fifteen before he would say more than two words to me.”

“Yeah, well…you intimidated him.”

“What? Me? How?” she asked, laughing a little.

“You held your own with all of us—you played ball and ran around and climbed trees. You didn’t fit his perception of a typical girl.”

Anna wasn’t sure how to take that, so she let it be. “Well, he didn’t fit my perception of a typical boy either, you know. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as smart as Owen. He still has a way of intimidating me by making me feel like a moron.”

“Join the club. He does it to all of us. The key is to just remind him he’s talking Klingon and he’ll stop.” Chuckling, he shook his head. “Although he may take that as a compliment. Then we’d have to be the ones explaining to him how it’s not.”

That made Anna laugh. “I don’t want him to get a complex. There’s nothing wrong with how he speaks or the things he says. He just needs to…”

“Dumb it down?” Quinn suggested with a grin.

“Exactly!”

The drove without talking for a while, the radio playing softly in the background. For the first time possibly ever, Anna was grateful for Quinn’s driving skills. She was certain they’d get pulled over due to the way he was speeding, but he drove with confidence into the night. She’d deal with the white-knuckle grip she had to take a time or two if it meant getting to Hugh and Aubrey faster.

“I hate to ask,” Anna finally said, “but I was on my way to get some dinner when the car started doing its thing. Do you think we can go through a drive-through and grab something? I don’t want to hold us up but I’m starving.”

“Oh thank God,” Quinn said with relief. “I was thinking the same thing but I figured you’d yell at me for stopping when we needed to get to the dogs and then to the hospital.”

“You will never get yelled at by me where food is concerned.”

A bark of laughter was his first response. “That is not true!” He looked over at Anna. “You yell at me all the time about food!”

“That’s because you’re normally calling me at some crazy hour wanting cookies or burgers or something ridiculous!” she replied with a laugh.

“Oh, I see. So as long as you’re getting fed too, it’s okay. Is that it?”

Anna pretended to think about it. “Hmm…maybe.”

Quinn pulled in to the first burger place they came to and ordered enough food for six people.

“Are we bringing food to the hospital?” she asked.

“No. Why?”

“You cannot possibly be that hungry! The amount of food you just ordered is way too much for one person.”

“You’re eating too,” he reminded her.

“Um…one burger, one order of fries, buddy. The rest is all you.”

“So you’re saying you don’t want one of the milk shakes I ordered.”

Dammit. She did enjoy a good milk shake. “Okay, fine. I’ll take one of the milk shakes.”

“And onion rings. You’re not gonna have any?”

Anna sighed loudly. “You know I will. They’re just so crispy and good!”

“And the freshly baked cookies,” he said, shaking his head. “I guess I’ll have to eat them all.” He turned and winked at her. “And I do enjoy a good chocolate chip cookie.”

“You’re the devil, you know that, right?”

His smile grew and became just a bit wicked. “You know it, sweetheart.”

* * *

By the time they reached the hospital, it was after nine. Quinn knew they weren’t going to be able to get in and see Aubrey, but he wanted to be there for Hugh. The dogs had been let out and fed, and the neighbors had promised to go over again before midnight if no one had come home.

Sitting in the waiting room with his family, Quinn felt restless. Uneasy. The last time he had sat like this was after the crash that had taken his friend Todd’s life. He had sat in the waiting room with Todd’s family and what seemed like a hundred members of the NASCAR family. He could still see the look on the doctor’s face when he came out to talk to Todd’s wife. His stomach sank.

It was the same look they had all seen the night his mother had died. Taking a shaky breath, Quinn wiped at his eyes, certain he felt tears welling there.

And then Anna’s hand was on his arm, her head on his shoulder. He couldn’t move, didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that he was overwhelmed emotionally. That was the last thing anyone needed right now. So he sat and drew comfort from her until he could get himself under control.

Just think of something else. Anything. Just move on from all thoughts of doctors and hospitals and focus on something else
.

He thought about what had happened earlier at the shop, and it brought up an entirely different emotion. Anna had been so hot in his arms, and he couldn’t believe how incredible it had been.

Kissing her, touching her, was not part of the plan. Any plan. Especially after the other night at her house; but once he saw her in that dress, it reminded him of the curves she had beneath it. And then when she mentioned being with another guy? Well, something had simply snapped. He didn’t want her with another guy—for business or otherwise—and now that he had experienced what it was like to kiss her when she was completely into it too?

“I’m yours.”

Anna’s words played in his head over and over. It was inevitable. She
was
his. It was still hard to wrap his brain around it, and they were going to have to talk about it. No doubt it would be awkward. He hated the thought of doing anything to jeopardize their friendship, but they’d crossed that line together and there was no way he could just forget it happened. Hell no. He’d been replaying the kiss they’d shared at her house almost nonstop since it had happened. Add tonight’s escapade to it, and he had his own X-rated movie going on in his head.

Tilting his head, he rested it on Anna’s. Quinn heard her sigh. It was weird how he kept thinking about Anna in this new light—this new sexy light—and it wasn’t…weird. He would have thought going from thinking of her as a buddy to thinking of her as a lover would have been difficult, but it wasn’t. If anything, the thought of it was an incredible turn-on. His fingers almost twitched with the need to touch her and find out what she liked, what turned her on. He was almost desperate with his need to discover her.

“I’m yours.”

Yeah. She was.

And it scared the shit out of him.

“Well? Any news?”

Hugh Shaughnessy walked into the waiting room looking as if he hadn’t slept in a week. It was after midnight, and he had been back with Aubrey and the doctors ever since he’d arrived. He sat down in a chair next to his father as the entire family leaned forward and waited for the update.

“She’s awake,” he said and then yawned broadly. “She didn’t fall, so there’s no injury or concussion from that.” He shifted in the seat to get more comfortable. “They did find she was mildly dehydrated and right now we’re just waiting for some test results. Because of the late hour, we’ll probably have to wait until morning for them to do the more…you know…invasive tests.”

Quinn silently cursed. It wasn’t fair. Even though they all knew there was a possibility of Aubrey’s cancer coming back, no one expected it to happen so soon. “What are they thinking?” he asked.

Hugh wiped a weary hand across his face. “Honestly, they’re stumped. Aubrey goes for exams twice a year and hasn’t presented any symptoms that raised red flags. When the doctor asked how she felt before she fainted, all she could say was she was hungry and was going to get something to eat and then she felt dizzy and…” He shrugged. “It could be something really simple or it could be—” He stopped and hung his head.

“How is she doing now?” Anna asked softly.

Lifting his head, it was easy to see the tears. Hugh didn’t bother to wipe them away. “She feels fine. She’s tired, so the doctors said the best thing was to let her sleep and they’ll come in and see her first thing in the morning.”

“Are you going to stay the night?” Ian asked, his hand firmly on his son’s shoulder. “Or do you want me to take you home?”

“I honestly don’t know. I hate the thought of leaving Aubrey alone here, but…there’s nothing else I can do tonight. I’m not going to be any use to her tomorrow if I’ve been up all night watching her sleep.”

They all nodded. “Then let’s go back to your place,” Ian suggested. “You may not get a lot of sleep, but it will be more than you’ll get here sitting in a chair. We’ll get up early so you can shower and change your clothes, and we’ll have you back here first thing.”

Wordlessly, Hugh nodded and then stood. He looked around at his family. “What about the rest of you? You’ll all come back to the house for the night, won’t you? It’s too late to drive home.”

“You sure you want us all camping out at the house?” Aidan asked. “We can go to a hotel if it would be easier on you.”

Hugh shook his head. “We’ll make it work. There’s only three bedrooms including mine, so…”

“We’ll make it work,” Zoe said. “Don’t worry.”

But Hugh was a planner at heart. It was something that came naturally to him and helped relax him. “No…no…we’ll put Dad and Owen in one room.” He turned to his younger brother. “You’re staying, right? Or do you need to get going to your seminar?”

Owen shook his head, his jet-black hair in disarray, his glasses slightly crooked. “I gave myself extra time so I could visit with you. I’ve got a couple of days.”

Hugh smiled. “Good. You and Dad will room together. Aidan and Zoe will take the other room and”—he looked over at Quinn and Anna—“you guys can camp out in the den. Will that be okay?”

“Absolutely,” Anna said with a warm smile while Quinn nodded.

“Zoe, Anna, you guys can borrow something to sleep in. Aubrey’s got a pretty extensive wardrobe, and I know she won’t mind.”

“Hugh?” Zoe interjected. “Stop talking. You’re exhausted. It’s late. Let’s just go home,” she said as she walked over and hugged him. “We’ll worry about the little things when we get there, okay?”

He nodded and yawned. “Okay.”

* * *

It was two in the morning and Anna was wide-awake. They were all back at Hugh and Aubrey’s home, and it had taken a little while to get everyone situated and settled. She was standing in the doorway to the den looking at Quinn, who was shirtless in his well-worn jeans. Memories of what had happened between them earlier in the shop flooded her, and she wondered what was going to happen now that they were alone.

“This opens up into a bed,” Quinn said when he saw her standing there. “Or we can use the blankets and pillows and camp out on the floor. What do you think?”

What did she think? Um…bed please! She searched for a way to say it without it sounding as if she was nervous—like it was the most natural thing in the world for them to be talking about sharing a bed or camping out on the floor together. Well, camping out on the floor kind of wasn’t a big deal. They’d done it a ton of times while growing up.

“The bed should be fine—just as long as it’s not like the one at the beach from Aidan and Zoe’s wedding.”

Quinn chuckled and began to pull the cushions from the couch. In minutes, he had it all unfolded and was sitting on the bed. “This is a pretty good mattress. You can’t even feel the bars.” He lay down and moved around a bit. “Nope. It’s definitely better than the other one.”

He jumped up and began making the bed. Anna walked over and helped him. It didn’t take long to do, and once all the sheets and blankets were on and the pillows back in place, there didn’t seem like there was much to do except…get in the bed.

Looking around, Anna saw a pile of blankets and some pillows still on the floor. She looked at them and then back at Quinn. He shrugged. “You take the bed. I’ll camp on the floor.”

Disappointment swamped her. So they weren’t picking up where they left off earlier. Well…damn. Of course it made sense. The den in Hugh and Aubrey’s house was certainly not the place she wanted to get intimate with Quinn for the first time. But still.

“Unless…” he began, and Anna’s gaze instantly went to his.

“Unless?”

Quinn cleared his throat and looked at the floor—very insecure and very unlike the confident man she knew him to normally be.

“Unless you wouldn’t mind…sharing.” He looked up at her, his blue eyes uncertain as his gaze held hers.

This was it. This was her chance to finally live at least part of the fantasy. “I wouldn’t mind,” she said softly and smiled when she saw his shoulders relax, as if he was relieved.

Suddenly shy, Anna looked down at the oversized T-shirt she was wearing. She was comfortable in it, and knew Quinn had seen her in one just like it not too long ago, but suddenly she wished she were wearing something sexier. Her hand smoothed over the fabric, and when she looked up, Quinn was standing right beside her.

His hand came up and caressed her cheek. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured, but he didn’t do anything else—didn’t touch her anywhere else, didn’t attempt to kiss her. Instead, he stepped back, pulled the blankets down, and motioned for Anna to lie down. Then he walked over and closed the door to the den and turned out the light.

Anna’s heart was racing. All of her senses were on high alert. She heard him walking back over to the bed, where he stopped. The sound of the zipper on his jeans going down seemed unusually loud, and she found her breath coming in little gasps. Was he going to completely undress? She heard the jeans hit the floor and then felt him climbing into the bed beside her.

She went perfectly still—afraid to move, afraid to breathe. Quinn moved closer and she almost let out a loud
whoosh
of air when she realized he still had his boxers on. There was just a sliver of light shining into the room through the blinds, enough for her to see him lying on his side looking at her.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

“Uh-huh.”

He chuckled. “It’s just me, Anna,” he said, and then he did reach out and touch her—just on her arm, but even that light touch was enough to make her skin tingle.

“I know,” she said, finally letting herself relax. “This is just…new.”

“But it’s not bad, right?”

Was it? Right then she’d have had to say no, but the timing was less than ideal. “No, it’s not bad. A little confusing, but not bad.”

Beside her, he shifted so his head was resting on his pillow, but his eyes never left hers. “This wasn’t the way I pictured the night ending. What happened in my office…well… If the phone hadn’t rung—”

“I know,” she whispered.

“You’re trembling. I can feel it.”

She let out a low, nervous laugh. “It’s just…I never thought… I mean, it’s you and me. I always wanted—”

“You did?” he interrupted.

Uh-oh
. It was too late to take it back. Thank God for the lack of real lighting. Maybe Quinn wouldn’t be able to see how embarrassed she really was. She nodded and then realized he probably couldn’t see that either. “Yes.”

“Jesus, Anna. I never knew. How come you never said anything?”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. We tell each other everything.”

“Quinn, you never once looked at me as anything other than a friend. We’ve been hanging out together since we were kids. You tell me about the girls you date and the hookups you’ve had. I figured if I told you how I felt, you’d—” She stopped and tried to keep her voice steady even though her heart was ready to beat right out of her chest. “I figured you wouldn’t want to be around me anymore.”

“Anna…”

“I’d rather have you as my friend than lose you.”

Quinn reached and took one of her hands in his. “You’re never going to lose me.”

“How can you be so sure? What if…what if we…change things and it doesn’t work out? Are you honestly telling me things would go back to the way they were before? That it wouldn’t be weird to hang out together?”

“I honestly don’t know,” he said, his voice calm and soothing. “But…I’m also not afraid to try.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “All I know is that for a long time now, things have been…different between us. It bothers me to see you with other guys, and I miss you when you aren’t there. I didn’t understand what I was feeling. Or at least I didn’t until the last couple of days.”

“Oh,” she said on a breathy sigh.

“Yeah,” he said, his own voice sounding a bit breathless. “I want to kiss you again, Anna.” He leaned closer until his lips touched her cheek, her jaw. “I know nothing is going to happen here tonight, but I’d really like to kiss you and hold you. Can I? Would that be all right?”

If she hadn’t been in love with him before, she certainly was now. This was a side of Quinn she hadn’t really thought existed. She knew the cocky and arrogant side of him. She knew the loud and boisterous side. Hell, she even knew the condescending and jackass side. But this considerate one? This was brand-new, and she really liked it.

“Yes. I’d like that a lot.” And then she held her breath as one arm moved across her and his weight shifted so his body covered half of hers. It felt better than she’d fantasized. He was large and warm and so damn muscular she almost purred.

Then his lips were on hers—softly exploring, familiarizing himself. Anna was doing the same with him. They shared lazy kisses and sweet, slow caresses, and rather than being awkward, to Anna it felt like coming home. Like this was what had been missing from her life.

She lost track of time and let herself just get lost in Quinn and all he was doing to her—which was mild in terms of anything sexual but it was arousing nonetheless. When he finally lifted his head, he placed one last kiss on her forehead before wrapping an arm around her shoulder and tucking her in beside him.

“We need to be up early for Hugh. I think we should try and grab a couple of hours of sleep.”

Anna nodded and couldn’t help but place her hand on the middle of Quinn’s chest and then place a kiss there as well. He hissed in a breath.

“Careful, Anna. I’m trying to behave here tonight.”

She giggled. “Sorry. I just always wanted to do that.”

He hugged her to him. “Well, when we’re someplace other than my brother’s den, I’ll let you do that all you want.”

“Promise?”

He chuckled. “Definitely.”

Anna sighed beside him and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

It was almost lunchtime and they were all sitting in another waiting room. Hugh had gone to the hospital before the rest of the family that morning, but they weren’t too far behind him. Now, as they sat silently drinking coffee, reading newspapers, and watching the muted television, they were anxious for an update.

Quinn took the last sip of his coffee and grimaced. It was cold and completely disgusting. Beside him, Anna sat flipping through a magazine.

Last night had been amazing. For the first time in his life, Quinn had simply enjoyed the act of kissing a woman. He hadn’t done that since he was fifteen. He had been filled with awe every time he touched Anna. She was a mystery and yet still familiar to him, and it was an incredibly heady experience learning this side of her.

Being here for his brother and Aubrey was his first priority, but he couldn’t help but feel a little impatient to get Anna home and be alone with her. He looked at his watch and sighed with frustration—not just for himself but for Hugh. It had been hours, and as far as he knew, there hadn’t been any updates on Aubrey.

“Maybe we should go down to the cafeteria and get some lunch?” Anna said to him as she put the magazine down beside her.

“I don’t know. What if the doctors come out and we’re not here?”

She bit her lip while she thought about it. “Perhaps Hugh will want to stay here and we can bring something back for him. What do you think?”

Zoe looked over and smiled. “What’s going on?”

“We’re thinking about lunch,” Anna said.

Aidan perked up and looked over at them. “I could eat.”

They all stood and walked over to where Hugh, Ian, and Owen were sitting. Quinn told them what they were planning and asked if they wanted to join them. Hugh refused, not wanting to take the risk of missing the doctor. Ian opted to stay with Hugh. Owen stood and said he’d go along.

The five of them walked to the cafeteria in silence. They grabbed their food and found a table, and there was a collective sigh as they sat down. Quinn knew they were all worried about the same thing—what if the doctors came out and said Aubrey’s cancer was back? How would Hugh survive, and how could they all be there to help? It was too much to think about, so Quinn did his best to find another topic.