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On the way through the door, I bare my teeth at the bouncer and his gaze zips up to the sky. Jesus, we’re not even in the club yet and she’s being coveted.
Already possessiveness is making my blood sizzle and pop, my hand tightening around Quinn’s and pulling her into the protective nook of my arm.
It doesn’t stop men from checking her out as we pass and I growl at them over her head, ready to invite them outside to formally meet my fists.
Jesus. I’m not going to last five minutes.
* * *
Quinn
Desmond hustles me into a table in the corner, shielding me from the rest of the club with his big body, that flexed line of his jaw ready to snap.
What is the matter with him?
I’m having fun. So far, anyway. I love Desmond’s sisters, as mischievous as they are. The night would be complete is Desmond would dance with me, but he seems too preoccupied with scrutinizing everyone else in the club.
From the other side of the table, Steph and Melissa roll their eyes at his behavior, Melissa reaching out to squeeze my elbow. “Come on, let’s go dance.” They glance pointedly at their brother. “Unless someone wants to ask you…?”
Desmond doesn’t hear his sister over the volume of his own growl, which he is directing at a group of men at a nearby table. What has gotten into him?
I shrug at Steph and Melissa. “Okay, let’s go dance.”
“Wait,” Desmond barks over the music. “You’re going to dance?”
“Yes. She is.”
“Sweetheart…” Desmond says, sounding tortured.
Steph drags me away before and I can answer and next thing I know, we’re on the nearby dance floor—and that’s when I remember, I don’t know how to dance.
“Oh shoot,” I mutter, my arms automatically folding across my middle.
“What?” Melissa asks. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t dance.”
Steph doubles over laughing. “You’re only telling us now?”
“I was caught up in the excitement,” I explain, biting my lip.
The sisters trade a resigned look.
“Dammit, Quinn, you had to be so likeable?”
My brows draw together. “I don’t understand.”
Steph has to talk loudly to be heard over the increasing volume of the music. “We thought it would be funny to make Desmond’s life hell, since he’s done it to us so many times.”
“Yeah, we wanted to watch him turn green with jealousy over you, but, yeah…” She looks at something in the distance over my shoulder. “We’re a little worried we’re breaking his heart instead.”
I turn to see what she’s looking at and find Desmond at the edge of the dance floor, his anxious gaze zeroed in on me like a secret service bodyguard. Once again, I face Steph and Melissa. “I don’t understand. What would break his heart?”
“You, Quinn.” Melissa sounds exasperated. “Dancing or talking to another man.”
“I don’t want to dance or talk to another man,” I blurt. “But if Desmond wants something serious with me, he hasn’t said so.”
“Quinn.” Steph shakes me. “Do you know how many women my brother has given sex lessons to? None. That kind of thing only exists in romance novels. It’s all a cover. We knew the second we saw you two together that he was a goner for you, girl.”
My heart takes flight up into my mouth. “Are you sure?”
“Are we sure?” Steph elbow her sister. “She wants to know if we’re sure.”
“Why wouldn’t he just tell me…”
My question trails off when I realize I already know the answer. It comes back to me in the form of our conversation inside the bodega over coffees.
“You want a lesson from me so you can ask out other men?”
“M-men…” I stuttered, considering his question. “Well, sure, I think that would be one advantage, don’t you? Being more assertive.”
I’m the one who asked Desmond for lessons in confidence and sexiness.
Only now can I remember how he deflated when I confirmed he would be teaching me to be sexy so I could lure other men. My God, why did I say that? Does he really still think I’m just angling for a sensual education so I can use it on someone else?
My fingers cover my mouth. Otherwise, I’m certain my heart will fly out and land on the floor. I have to go tell Desmond the truth. Right this very second.
I have to confess that I love him.
And I will. I now have the confidence to say it without fear.
“Go,” Melissa says, smiling.
Needing no further invitation, I spin on a toe and go toward Desmond where he is still standing on the edge of the dance floor. Before I can reach him, though, another man steps into my path, blocking the man I love from view.
“Hey cutie. Let’s dance.”
8
Desmond
A man steps into Quinn’s path and my life flashes in front of my eyes.
Seriously, I relive the moment I was born, right up to an hour ago when she walked out of the guest room, more beautiful than a woman has the right to be. The ground turns to rubber under my feet and a horn blares in my head.
