My phone vibrated in my hand, pulling me out of my trip down memory lane. I grinned from ear to ear when I saw Quinn’s name on the screen.
Man, the girl who had stolen my breath three years ago could still make my body heat up and my stomach twist in a mind-blowing way. Hell, she’d owned my freaking heart from the moment I’d first laid eyes on her.
Her text read: I’m sorry. Ariel is having a meltdown. She can’t find her phone.
I rolled my eyes. Quinn’s roommate had a knack for losing things. No lie, Ariel literally misplaced just about everything she owned.
Me: Hurry, please. The snow is falling hard.
I was debating whether to ditch the idea of leaving that day. Maybe we should wait until the snow stops. I still had to pick up Quinn’s gift, and with Christmas two days away, I wasn’t sure if I would have time. We would’ve gone home earlier if I hadn’t had practice. College basketball season was in full force, and practices and games were keeping me so busy that I hadn’t even seen Quinn in a week.
I was about to text Mom to let her know we were about to leave Boston when Quinn walked out of her building. I almost dropped my phone. My jaw certainly fell to my lap.
The love of my life and the one person who did lustful things to my groin wore nothing but a tank top, sleep shorts, and UGG boots. Not that I was complaining, because she looked like a damn goddess, all long legs and curves. In the few months since we started our first semester of college, she’d filled out more, and if it was even possible, she was more beautiful than ever.
Snap out of it, man. Rescue your girl from the freezing temps. It was a balmy twenty degrees Fahrenheit.
She waved at me, seemingly okay with the snow piling up on her butterscotch hair as she glided toward me as though the sun was shining in the heat of a hot summer.
I jumped out of my truck, and my phone crashed to the pavement. Several swear words went off in my head as I picked it up before meeting Quinn on the sidewalk.
I scanned the area to shake off the cobwebs—or rather the R-rated images popping up left and right of us naked together.
I pulled her to me the minute I was close to her. “What are you doing? It’s Antarctica out here.”
She giggled, snuggling into me. “I’m fine.”
I swiped a hand over her hair to clear the snow, but it was useless. “We need to get moving.”
“I know, but my phone just died, so I have it on the charger. We’ll be another fifteen minutes. Come up.”
I took off my jacket and wrapped it around my girl. “Did Ariel find her phone?”
“Yeah, it was in the bathroom under a pile of dirty clothes. But we’re not done packing, and Ariel’s flight just got canceled. She’s on the phone with her dad. She might be coming home with us.”
I didn’t care. I liked Ariel, and she would fit right in with my siblings and Quinn’s family. “Traffic leaving the city is going to be madness.” We had a two-hour drive home, and that was on a sunny day.
She flattened her hands on my chest before standing on her toes and giving me a tender kiss on the lips. “We’ll make it home. The plows will be out clearing the roads. And don’t even think we’re not leaving today. I have a few things I have to do before our big holiday party tomorrow night.”
“Home” and “plows” were all I heard as my body flared to life and heat shot to my groin. The last time Quinn and I had been together, as in not coming up for air, was over two weeks ago.
Damn basketball schedule.
She, too, had been super busy, not only with finals but with her job at a clothing store off campus. The holiday shopping season meant she’d committed to working until the very last minute.
I grabbed her hand. “Let’s hurry, then.”
We jogged back to the dorm, and once inside, we both shook off the snow like dogs shaking water off their fur.
Quinn shivered. “I lied. I was about to turn into an ice sculpture.”
I laughed. “The best way to get warm is me wrapped around you.”
Sashaying, she closed the short distance between us. “We could have a quickie. The dorm is empty except for a few of us who are still packing.”
An instant boner pushed against my jeans as I swept my gaze up and down her delicious body.
She bit a nail and batted her long lashes. “There’s a supply closet down the hall.” Her hand danced south until she grabbed onto my belt buckle.
I nuzzled her neck. “Pack, Quinn. Snow outside.” The words were clipped, and I sounded like I could barely speak. I couldn’t, actually. The girl was driving me insane.
She snorted before clutching my rock-hard erection. “You sure?”
No. “Yes.”
“Yes, you want a quickie.”
“Yes. No.” It was impossible to keep a clear head when she wanted sex. I would have liked to say I had the willpower to abstain, but who was I kidding? I was eighteen and hornier than a dog in heat, but if we wanted to get home that night, we couldn’t drag our feet.
She pressed her body into mine, pouting as she continued to hold my groin hostage. “He says otherwise.”
I glanced through the glass door. “And that snow says to get moving.”
She huffed. “Fine.” She headed toward the stairs.
I caught her wrist. “Hey. I will ravish every part of your body when we get home.”
“I know.” She sounded like she was about to cry.
“What’s happening?” Suddenly, I was getting a bad vibe, as if I’d torn her heart out of her chest. Surely, she knew a blizzard barreling down on New England could land us on the side of the road for hours until we could get help.
She shrugged out of my hold.
My eyebrows drew down at the sudden coldness that jumped off her. “Quinn?”
Her amber eyes clouded with tears as she gnawed on her lip.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
She shuddered. “I haven’t seen you in forever, and—”
I captured her face in my hands. “Don’t ever think I don’t want you. Ever. You own my heart.” I took her hand and placed it on my chest. “Feel that.” My heartbeat was out of control. It always was when I was with her or thought of her.
Her shoulders sagged. “Sometimes, I feel like we’re growing apart.”
“Never,” I said as sure as the fucking snow was piling up outside the building. “When we get home, we’ll spend every minute together. We just need to get on the road.” That last sentence came out a little harsher than I’d intended.
She smiled, albeit weakly. “I know.” She didn’t sound convinced of either the seriousness of leaving or anything I’d just said.
So I made myself a promise that for the next week. I would shower Quinn with love and kisses and everything and anything she wanted.
Chapter Two
Quinn
Boston traffic was stop-and-go with cars honking their horns. We hadn’t made it out of the city yet, and I was praying the highway would be clear. However, the more we inched along, the more I knew Maiken was right. We should’ve left hours ago.
I rubbed my hands together in front of the vents, hoping to thaw out. The chill that had seeped in and down to my bones earlier wouldn’t go away.