Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
CAL DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TIME THEY'D FALLEN into bed. But when he opened his eyes the thin winter light eked through the window. Through it, he saw the snow was still falling in the perfect, fat, white flakes of a Hollywood Christmas movie.
In the hush only a snowfall could create was steady and somehow satisfied snoring. It came from Lump, who was stretched over the foot of the bed like a canine blanket. That was something Cal generally discouraged, but right now, the sound, the weight, the warmth were exactly right.
From now on, he determined, the damn dog was going everywhere with him.
Because his foot and ankle were currently under the bulk of the dog, Cal shifted to pull free. The movement had Quinn stirring, giving a little sigh as she wiggled closer and managed to wedge her leg between his. She wore flannel, which shouldn't have been remotely sexy, and she'd managed to pin his arm during the night so it was now alive with needles and pins. And that should've been, at least mildly, annoying.
Instead, it was exactly right, too.
Since it was, since they were cuddled up together in bed with Hollywood snow falling outside the window, he couldn't think of a single reason not to take advantage of it.
Smiling, he slid a hand under her T-shirt, over warm, smooth flesh. When he cupped her breast he felt her heart beat under his palm, slow and steady as Lump's snoring. He stroked, a lazy play of fingertips as he watched her face. Lightly, gently, he teased her nipple, arousing himself as he imagined taking it into his mouth, sliding his tongue over her.
She sighed again.
He trailed his hand down, tracing those fingertips over her belly, under the flannel to skim down her thigh. Up again. Down, then up, a whispering touch that eased closer, closer to her center.
And the sound she made in sleep was soft and helpless.
She was wet when he brushed over her, hot when he dipped inside her. When he pressed, he lowered his mouth to hers to take her gasp.
She came as she woke, her body simply erupting as her mind leaped out of sleep and into shock and pleasure.
"Oh God!"
"Shh. " He laughed against her lips. "You'll wake the dog. "
He tugged down her pants as he rolled. Before she could clear her mind, he pinned her, and he filled her.
"Oh. Well. Jesus. " The words hitched and shook. "Good morning. "
He laughed again, and bracing himself, set a slow and torturous pace. She fought to match it, to hold back and take that slow climb with him, but it flashed through her again, and flung her up.
"God. God. God. I don't think I can-"
"Shh, shh," he repeated, and brought his mouth down to toy with hers. "I'll go slow," he whispered. "You just go. "
She could do nothing else. Her system was already wrecked, her body already his. Utterly his. When he took her up again, she was too breathless to cry out.
THOROUGHLY PLEASURED, THOROUGHLY USED, Quinn lay under Cal's weight. He'd eased down so that his head rested between her breasts, and she could play with his hair. She imagined it was some faraway Sunday morning where they had nothing more pressing to worry about than if they'd make love again before breakfast, or make love after.
"Do you take some kind of special vitamin?" she wondered.
"Hmm?"
"I mean, you've got some pretty impressive stamina going for you. "
She felt his lips curve against her. "Just clean living, Blondie. "
"Maybe it's the bowling. Maybe bowling. . . Where's Lump?"
"He got embarrassed about halfway through the show. " Cal turned his head, gestured. "Over there. "
Quinn looked, saw the dog on the floor, his face wedged in the corner. She laughed till her sides ached. "We embarrassed the dog. That's a first for me. God! I feel good. How can I feel so good after last night?" Then she shook her head, stretched up her arms before wrapping them around Cal. "I guess that's the point, isn't it? Even in a world gone to hell, there's still this. "
"Yeah. " He sat up then, reached down to brush her tumbled hair as he studied her. "Quinn. " He took her hand now, played with her fingers.
"Cal," she said, imitating his serious tone.
"You crawled through a blizzard to help save my dog. "
"He's a good dog. Anyone would have done the same. "
"No. You're not naive enough to think that. Fox and Gage, yeah. For the dog, and for me. Layla and Cybil, maybe. Maybe it was being caught in the moment, or maybe they're built that way. "
She touched his face, skimmed her fingers under those patient gray eyes. "No one was going to leave that dog out there, Cal. "
"Then I'd say that dog is pretty lucky to have people like you around. So am I. You crawled through the snow, toward that thing. You dug in the snow with your bare hands. "
"If you're trying to make a hero out of me. . . Go ahead," she decided. "I think I like the fit. "
"You whistled with your fingers. "
Now she grinned. "Just a little something I picked up along the way. I can actually whistle a lot louder than that, when I'm not out of breath, freezing, and quivering with terror. "
"I love you. "
"I'll demonstrate sometime when. . . What?"
"I never thought to say those words to any woman I wasn't related to. I was just never going to go there. "
If she'd been given a hard, direct jolt of electricity to her heart, it couldn't have leaped any higher. "Would you mind saying them again, while I'm paying better attention?"
"I love you. "
There it went again, she thought. Leaps and bounds. "Because I can whistle with my fingers?"
"That might've been the money shot. "
"God. " She shut her eyes. "I want you to love me, and I really like to get what I want. But. " She took a breath. "Cal, if this is because of last night, because I helped get Lump, then-"
"This is because you think if you eat half my slice of pizza it doesn't count. "
"Well, it doesn't, technically. "
"Because you always know where your keys are, and you can think about ten things at the same time. Because you don't back down, and your hair's like sunlight. Because you tell the truth and you know how to be a friend. And for dozens of reasons I haven't figured out yet. Dozens more I may never figure out. But I know I can say to you what I never thought to say to anyone. "
She hooked her arms around his neck, rested her forehead on his. She had to just breathe for a moment, just breathe her way through the beauty of it as she often did with a great work of art or a song that brought tears to her throat.
"This is a really good day. " She touched her lips to his. "This is a truly excellent day. "
They sat for a while, holding each other while the dog snored in the corner, and the snow fell outside the windows.
When Cal went downstairs, he followed the scent of coffee into the kitchen, and found Gage scowling as he slapped a skillet onto the stove. They grunted at each other as Cal got a clean mug out of the dishwasher.
"Looks like close to three out there already, and it's still coming. "
"I got eyes. " Gage ripped open a pound of bacon. "You sound chipper about it. "
"It's a really good day. "
"I'd probably think so, too, if I started it off with some morning nookie. "
"God, men are crude. " Cybil strolled in, her dark eyes bleary.
"Then you ought to plug your ears when you're around our kind. Bacon gets fried, eggs get scrambled," Gage told them. "Anybody doesn't like the options should try another restaurant. "
Cybil poured her coffee, stood studying him over the rim as she took the first sip. He hadn't shaved or combed that dark mass of hair. He was obviously morning irritable, and none of that, she mused, made him any less attractive.
Too bad.
"You know what I've noticed about you, Gage?"
"What's that?"
"You've got a great ass, and a crappy attitude. Let me know when breakfast is ready," she added as she strolled out of the kitchen.
"She's right. I've often said that about your ass and attitude. "
"Phones are out," Fox announced as he came in, yanked open the refrigerator and pounced on a Coke. "Got ahold of my mother by cell. They're okay over there. "
"Knowing your parents, they probably just had sex," Gage commented.
"Hey! True," Fox said after a moment, "but, hey. "
"He's got sex on the brain. "
"Why wouldn't he? He's not sick or watching sports, the only two circumstances men don't necessarily have sex on the brain. "
Gage laid bacon in the heated skillet. "Somebody make some toast or something. And we're going to need another pot of coffee. "
"I've got to take Lump out. I'm not just letting him out on his own. "
"I'll take him. " Fox leaned down to scratch Lump's head. "I want to walk around anyway. " He turned, nearly walked into Layla. "Hi, sorry. Ah. . . I'm going to take Lump out. Why don't you come along?"
"Oh. I guess. Sure. I'll just get my things. "
"Smooth," Gage commented when Layla left. "You're a smooth one, Fox. "
"What?"
"Good morning, really attractive woman. How would you like to trudge around with me in three feet of snow and watch a dog piss on a few trees? Before you've even had your coffee?"
"It was just a suggestion. She could've said no. "
"I'm sure she would have if she'd had a hit of caffeine so her brain was in gear. "
"That must be why you only get lucky with women without brains. "
"You're just spreading sunshine," Cal commented when Fox steamed out.
"Make another damn pot of coffee. "
"I need to bring in some wood, feed the generator, and start shoveling three feet of snow off the decks. Let me know when breakfast is ready. "
Alone, Gage snarled, and turned the bacon. He still had the snarl when Quinn came in.
"I thought I'd find everyone in here, but they're all scattered. " She got out a mug. "Looks like we need another pot of coffee. "
Because she got the coffee down, Gage didn't have time to snap at her.
"I'll take care of that. Anything else I can do to help?"
He turned his head to look at her. "Why?"
"Because I figure if I help you with breakfast, it takes us both off the cooking rotation for the next couple of meals. "
He nodded, appreciating the logic. "Smart. You're the toast and additional coffee. "
"Check. "
He beat a dozen eggs while she got to work. She had a quick, efficient way about her, Gage noted. The quick wouldn't matter so much to Cal, but the efficient would be a serious plus. She was built, she was bright, and as he'd seen for himself last night, she had a wide streak of brave.
"You're making him happy. "
Quinn stopped, looked over. "Good, because he's making me happy. "
"One thing, if you haven't figured it out by now. He's rooted here. This is his place. Whatever happens, the Hollow's always going to be Cal's place. "
"I figured that out. " She plucked toast when it popped, dropped more bread in. "All things considered, it's a nice town. "
"All things considered," Gage agreed, then poured the eggs into the second skillet.
OUTSIDE, AS GAGE PREDICTED, FOX WATCHED Lump piss on trees. More entertaining, he supposed, had been watching the dog wade, trudge, and occasionally leap through the waist-high snow. It was the waist-high factor that had Fox and Layla stopping on the front deck, and Fox going to work with the shovel Cal had shoved into his hands on their way out.
Still, it was great to be out in the snow globe of the morning, tossing the white stuff around while more of it pumped out of the sky.
"Maybe I should go down, knock the snow off some of Cal's shrubs. "
Fox glanced over at her. She had a ski cap pulled over her head, a scarf wrapped around her neck. Both had already picked up a layer of white. "You'll sink, then we'll be tossing you a lifeline to get you back. We'll dig out a path eventually. "
"He doesn't seem to be spooked. " She kept an eagle eye on Lump. "I thought, after last night, he'd be skittish about going out. "
"Short-term doggie memory. Probably for the best. "
"I won't forget it. "
"No. " He shouldn't have asked her to come out, Fox realized. Especially since he couldn't quite figure out how to broach the whole job deal, which had been part of the idea for having her tag along.
He was usually better at this stuff, dealing with people. Dealing with women. Now, he worked on carving down a shovel-width path across the deck to the steps, and just jumped in.
"So, Cal said you're looking for a job. "
"Not exactly. I mean I'm going to have to find some work, but I haven't been looking. "
"My secretary-office manager-assistant. " He dumped snow, dug the shovel back down. "We never settled on a title, now that I think about it. Anyway, she's moving to Minneapolis. I need somebody to do the stuff she does. "
Damn Quinn, she thought. "The stuff. "
It occurred to Fox that he was considered fairly articulate in court. "Filing, billing, answering phones, keeping the calendar, rescheduling when necessary, handling clients, typing documents and correspondence. She's a notary, too, but that's not a necessity right off. "
"What software does she use?"
"I don't know. I'd have to ask her. " Did she use any software? How was he supposed to know?
"I don't know anything about secretarial work, or office management. I don't know anything about the law. "
Fox knew tones, and hers was defensive. He kept shoveling. "Do you know the alphabet?"
"Of course I know the alphabet, but the point-"
"Would be," he interrupted, "if you know the alphabet you can probably figure out how to file. And you know how to use a phone, which means you can answer one and make calls from one. Those would be essential job skills for this position. Can you use a keyboard?"
"Yes, but it depends on-"
"She can show you whatever the hell she does in that area. "
"It doesn't sound as if you know a lot about what she does. "
He also knew disapproval when he heard it. "Okay. " He straightened, leaned on the shovel, and looked dead into her eyes. "She's been with me since I set up. I'm going to miss her like I'd miss my arm. But people move on, and the rest of us have to deal. I need somebody to put papers where they belong and find them when I need to have them, to send out bills so I can pay mine, to tell me when I'm due in court, to answer the phone we hope rings so I'll have somebody to bill, and basically maintain some kind of order so I can practice law. You need a job and a paycheck. I think we could help each other out. "
"Cal asked you to offer me a job because Quinn asked him to ask you. "