Quinn II (Undaunted Men #2) (33 page)

“We don’t sleep apart,” I command, and by the look in my eyes, there is no room for argument. “Yes, I'm a bastard. I'll be the first one to admit it. I was trying to get you out of my system, but no matter how hard I tried, or how many women I had, you were always there. I could never escape you.” My lips turn down as I stroke her cheek. “The pain of losing you never went away,” I admit to her.

She chews on the side of her lip before she speaks, “I can see that. Jules told me how hard the separation was on you.” Thank God for Jules, putting in a good word for me.

I don't want to talk about it though. I just got Lexi back, and all I want is to move forward. “The three of us will move into the guest bedroom together, and tomorrow, I’ll have a new bed in here, come Hell or high water.”
 

She shakes her head, disagreeing. “You don’t need to do that. You’ve spent enough money on me and the baby.”

“It’s non-negotiable. You and this baby are all I care about. This is your house now, too. You can do any damn thing you want to it in order to make yourself feel comfortable here, understand?” When she doesn’t answer me, I realize I need to give her some space and not push her, so I change the subject. “C’mon, let’s get you and Angel settled in the other room, and I’ll start moving stuff over.”

All I have to move over is Lexi’s suitcase, a small changing table, and a frilly bassinet that’s on wheels. I do that as quickly as possible as Lexi stands holding the baby a tad stunned. She shouldn't be, she knows I can be overbearing with a one track mind when it comes to her.
 

“All done, sweetheart,” I tell her as I saunter over to her and the baby. I wrap them both in my arms as we both peer down at our sleeping Angel. “She's so damn perfect.” My eyes flick to Lexi's with adoration. “I love you so damn much it hurts.” I don't give her time to respond as I give her a soft kiss on the lips. “While you get settled in the next room, I'm going to jump in the shower, okay?”

Lexi shyly nods her head. “Okay.”

I flash her a quick smile, and then back away, to take a quick shower. When I'm finished, I get dressed then head into the guest bedroom. Lexi has the bassinet on her side of the bed, and the baby is quietly sleeping and snuggled inside. She looks up at me as I come closer and her mouth gapes open. Confused, I ask, “What’s the matter?”

She nervously licks her lips and I watch as she swallows hard while staring at my bare chest. I look down at my chest, and run my hand over my pecs in confusion, looking for something to clue me in. It then dawns on me, she's probably drooling, because all I’ve got on is a pair of gym shorts. I grin, knowing I’m affecting her. I didn’t do it on purpose; it’s just how I sleep, but I’m happy I can shake her up. I stroll over to my side of the bed and slip in beneath the covers to snuggle beside her.
 

“Did you miss me?” I huskily whisper, pulling her into me. Her hands land on my chest, and I shiver from her cool touch.
 

“Your skin is so warm from the hot shower.” She runs her hands over my taught muscles, and damn if my dick doesn’t stir.
Down, boy, not for a few weeks.
 

Cupping her cheek with my hand, I take her lips in a tender kiss. “Are you cold, baby?”

“Mmm…not now.” She grins over my lips.
 

“Oh, woman, what you do to me. I love you.” My words cannot even begin to express my emotions. She owns every part of me – they both do.

Kimber comes out of nowhere and jumps into the fray. She weasels her way in-between us, using her snout to separate us while wagging her tail.

Lexi gives her the most breathtaking smile as I watch these two reconnect. Big, wet, sloppy kisses attack Lexi’s cheek, and I grin. Kimber uses her paw in such a way as to rest on Lexi's shoulder as if she's part human and giving her a hug.

“You know what just dawned on me?”

“What’s that?” she asks while kissing Kimber on her snout.

“I believe you love my dog more than me. I think you always have.”

She stifles a laugh. “Are you jealous, Quinn?” she teases.

“Yes, I believe am,” I tell her seriously, and then she laughs out loud. The rich, vibrant sound fills the guest room, and seeing her happiness makes me smile.
 

“Kimber, you hear that?” she asks in a soft voice. “I think your daddy’s jealous.” Kimber wags her tail, and I shake my head at the absurdity.

Once Kimber gets her fill of having Lexi's attention, she settles down at the foot of the bed and lays her head over Lexi's legs. She peers up at me with innocent eyes. “Is it my turn now, Kimber?” I ask sarcastically, raising a brow. Lexi giggles as I pull her body back into mine. “I don’t know where to kiss you now. You’ve got dog slobber everywhere on you,” I tease.

“Oh, stop it,” Lexi chides.
 

I chuckle and lie down, resting my head on the pillow, and Lexi follows suit, snuggling her head against my chest. “We better get a head start on our sleep,” I suggest. “Our little Angel is a hungry rascal. I think she was on your breasts every two hours today. Of course, if it were me, I’d never get off them.”

Lexi suppresses a laugh and covers her mouth with her hand. “Oh geez, you did not just go there.”

I grin at her, my lips twitching. “Baby, I’m not gonna lie. I wish I was the one on those swollen tatas.” I shake my head, forcing myself to get my dick under control and not think about fondling those larger than life sweater puppies.

“Yeah, well they are off limits for a while,” she informs me, and I groan in protest. She swats at my chest for letting out a disappointed groan, and justifies herself, “It’s an odd feeling when my milk rushes to the forefront.” I groan out loud again, but this time it’s louder and I clench my teeth, trying to ward off the lascivious thoughts. Lexi grins at me, thinking this is funny, but it’s far from it.

“There is nothing better than seeing my baby feed from your breasts. It just does something to me on the inside when I watch you take care of her in the most natural of ways.” I’m telling her the truth; there is nothing more sacred than seeing her sustain my baby’s life with her own milk.

The thought of her selfless acts over the past nine months has tears forming in my eyes, and I have to wonder what the fuck is wrong with me. I’m not an emotional man, far from it. I guess I’m just so damn happy I’ve got her this far into my house and in my bed.
 

My voice comes out raspy as I tell her, “You have no idea what you did for me by keeping this baby. Despite the knowledge you had that I might have never been in the picture, you still wanted to have her. I have no words for that right now. You'll never know how deep my love for you runs, Alexis.”

She relaxes into me, and her arm circles around my waist as she holds me tightly to her. I fucking melt, because she owns me. “You are everything to me, Lexi,” I breathe through the tightness in my chest, wanting my confessions to hit home. I thread my fingers through her hair and press her head against my heart, holding her closely to me, savoring the moment. “The both of you are everything to me,” I whisper.

“Thank you, Quinn,” Lexi whispers. “I know you mean what you say, and you say what you mean. I’m still unsettled about the past eight months, but most especially, I'm deeply disturbed and haunted about the disaster that went down yesterday. I know you’re trying to make things right, I can see that. I can also understand why you did the things you did, because I’d probably react the same way and shut you out too if I were in your shoes. Just give me some time to work through this, okay?”

“Baby, you’ve got all the time in the world you need, as long as you stay with me.”
 

I can feel her lips form into a grin against my chest as she shakes her head at me. “You are relentless, aren’t you?”

“You’re just now figuring that out?” I tease. “You haven’t seen anything yet, Sweetheart.”

“You do realize I have a job and a house, and…”

I interrupt her by pulling her body up and over my chest, resting her on top of me. She looks startled by the abrupt movement, but I shut her down by threading my fingers in her hair and pulling her lips to mine, kissing her stupid. When I break away, I can tell I accomplished my mission, and I give her a sultry grin.
 

“Your job is to take care of Angel and be my wife. You’re going to have your hands full raising our baby.” She starts to protest, but I cut her off. “I'm an old fashioned kind of guy when it comes to family, but if and when there comes a time when you want to work, I’ll help you start your own business from the house if you like. I’d prefer it if we didn’t put our baby in daycare.” I tilt my head to the side to get a solid look into her eyes and ask, “Do you? Do you really want to run in the fast lane and put our baby in child care, Lexi?”

Her top teeth play with her bottom lip for a second as she thinks my question through, and then shakes her head. “No,” she whispers, “I don’t want her in daycare if I can help it, but you totally just skipped over the fact I have a life back home.”

I consider her statement for a moment, and then reply, “Then why did you come here in the first place? I’m fairly certain you came in hopes of getting back together. Am I right?”

She nods. “Yes, I suppose so, but I didn’t have it all worked out in my head yet, because I didn’t know what to expect. I thought maybe you were going to hear me out, and then we’d take things from there. You know, take things slowly.”

“I only have two speeds, baby. That’s stop and go; you know that. Plus, I’ve done the long distance relationship thing before, and I swore I’d never do it again. Too much time and space between two people allow for things to go to hell. Not that you need time and space for that to happen, it’s just easier to lose control of the situation.”

“I don’t know,” she hesitates. “I don’t want to feel like I’m—”

“Stop it.” I don’t want to hear the negative words. “We have a baby now. We’re a family, which means I not only want you both, I need you two here with me. I want to provide for my girls. Nothing would give me more satisfaction and pleasure while you give our girl your undivided attention. Seriously, I’ve been single for so long, with very little expenses, and I’ve had so much undercover work that I’ve got enough money and resources to retire right now if I wanted to.” I bring her lips to mine and softly kiss her. “How about we just take this one day at a time, okay? If you want your career too, we’ll work something out, but stop worrying about things so far ahead, when tomorrow isn’t even here yet.”

She smiles at me and nods. “I do love you,” she whispers.

“I love you too, baby.” At this point, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt we’re going to make it. “There will be some bumps in the road, but that’s with any relationship. We will conquer them together, one problem at a time.”

Epilogue

If there is one thing I’ve recently learned in life, it’s that some people can readily forgive others for their transgressions as opposed to others who harbor bitterness for years on end. Lexi had damn near forgiven me in the blink of an eye, allowing herself to run on blind faith without reservation. I was beyond blessed to have been forgiven the way I was. Unconditional love is such a rarity these days, and she has it in spades. It’s a quality of hers that leaves me speechless every time I see her put it into action.

Yes, there were moments of trepidation on her part every now and then, acting as if we were too good to be true, which I think scared her heart more than anything, but it wasn’t long before she was able to let go of any last minute doubts she might’ve had about us. She could see I was committed, and deeply in love with her and my baby.
 

Her unrestricted forgiveness for exonerating Connor for the things he did to her was a fine example of her character. She tells me she holds no resentment toward Vince either. She simply feels sad for him, and if it weren’t for Vince orchestrating his vindictive plans, she never would’ve met me. Looking back now, I can see how Vince had her pegged, capitalizing on her forgiving heart to his every advantage. I’ve learned from her compassionate heart in ways I never thought possible. She has such an incredible, loving soul.
 

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that lady friend you brought to Hawaii, Stryker, but I have been so damn busy with Angel and Lexi I can’t see straight. What’s going on with you two?” I ask curiously, because I’ve seen them together on occasion, but she’s not with him on this trip.

“Nothing, we dated for a couple weeks after the trip, but then things fizzled out, but oddly, we’ve managed to remain friends. I do have another rule to put on my special spreadsheet, though.”

“Oh, what’s that?”

“Seems like the thinner the eyebrow, the crazier the woman.”

I burst out laughing at his comment, but more from the facial expressions he makes as he tells me about this lady. “I’m scared to ask.”

“Yeah, you should be. Both you and Travis have it made now. You don’t have to worry about dating crazy single women anymore.”

“I have to agree with you there, buddy. Your turn is coming, though, just wait and see.”