Page 193 of Key of Kink

Maybe a more fitting description was freed. Grant had come and gone, and Quinn had stayed. He’d faced his past and walked straight through it.

I didn’t feel the need to fill the silence. I’d have plenty to talk about once we were in the flat.

The Uber stopped outside my building. I thanked the driver as we got out, then guided Quinn to the main door. We climbed the stairs without speaking. When I unlocked the door, Quinn stepped inside and turned in a slow circle as if reacquainting himself with the space.

“I like this place,” he said as I bolted and locked the door.

I smiled. “You’ve been here before.”

“Yeah, but tonight it feels different.”

I knew exactly what he meant.

I hung my jacket on a hook, and a heartbeat later Quinn wrapped his arms around me. No preamble, no words, just his cheek resting against my shoulder.

I stood there for a second, then slid my arms around him in return.

“You were extraordinary tonight,” I told him.

Quinn huffed. “I safeworded.”

“Yes.”

He pulled back and stared at me. “That still doesn’t feel like a successful end to a scene.”

“It is if you understand what it means.”

Quinn studied my face. “You really believe that.”

“I do.”

He leaned his forehead against my chest. “Good.”

I stood there, holding him, sharing his warmth.

“Tonight was huge for me,” he murmured.

“I noticed.”

“Not just because of the scene.” He hesitated. “It was because of him.”

“I figured.”

“I thought seeing him again would shrink everything.” A pause. “But it didn’t.”

I cupped his chin and raised it. “What did it do?”

He looked me in the eye. “It made me realise I’m not that person anymore.”

The certainty in his voice made my chest tighten.

“And you were there,” he added quietly.

Something shifted inside me then.

The truth I’d been circling all evening suddenly refused to stay quiet any longer.

“How about I make us some tea?”