Mia Darien - Good Things

“I wanted to talk to you about something.”

After only a few weeks in Daniel Cain’s constant presence, Quinn sensed his hesitation. Though how, when his expression gave nothing away, she didn’t know. If she had to put money on it, she’d bet Cain was nervous. Why?

“We’d like to offer you a position on the team.”

Quinn sucked in a breath. She hadn’t seen that one coming. Everything in her screamed yes, but she had one tiny problem. “I’m flattered, but I don’t think that will work out.”

“Why not?”

She sighed, but held his gaze with her own, heart thundering away. “I’m falling in love with you.”

There, she’d said it. Now he could shut down and walk away.

His lips flattened. He stepped back, out of her space and away from her body, and her heart cracked at the obvious signs of rejection. “You remembered, didn’t you? That I’m the one who got you out of the hellhole in Alaska?”

Confusion joined her heartache. What did that have to do with it? She nodded slowly. “The night they put you in my cell on the boat.”

He ran a hand over his beard, his blue eyes flinty. “I see.”

Confusion swirled through her. What did he see exactly? “I’m not harboring a hero crush if that’s what you’re thinking. Didn’t I prove I could take care of myself?”

A hint of a smile made his mustache twitch. “You certainly did that.”

“But you don’t believe I’m in love with you.” This had to be the strangest conversation she’d ever had. She’d expected him to be cold or spooked. She certainly hadn’t expected to have to argue about the true state of her feelings with the man.

“I believe you think you are.” The heaviness in his eyes sparked a glimmer of hope inside her. Did he want her to be in love with him?

She hopped off the tailgate and stepped up to him, right in his space, though she had to tip her chin to look up at him. “Kiss me.”

Shock widened his eyes. “What?”

“Put those amazing psychometric powers to use. Kiss me and see exactly what my emotions are.”

He stared at her a long moment, and she could see the debate in his eyes. So she took the decision out of his hands. Quinn went up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head down to hers. Tenderly, she lay her lips over his in the sweetest of kisses. Desire flamed within her, but she banked her need. Desire could come later. This was about connection. She allowed her emotions to flow freely and hoped like hell his gift would kick in. He needed to know.

The second his unyielding lips softened, she pulled back. His blue eyes blazed at her, almost sizzling her with the heat of desire within.

“Do you believe me now?”

“Quinn—” He groaned the word.

“No?” She grabbed his hand and dragged him back into the building.

“Where are we going?” She ignored the amusement in his voice.

Finally, she found the rest of the team still in the cells where the demons had held their prisoners before sale. Purpose in every step, she marched up to the brawny man who was Cain’s second-in-command. “Max, I need you to kiss me.”

Cain stopped cold and jerked her around, yanking her into his arms. “Like hell.” He took her lips in a possessive kiss that left no one in the room, least of all Quinn, in doubt. Daniel Cain claimed her for his own.

A wolf whistle sounded somewhere in the background of her pleasure. Probably Shaw. She ignored it, ignored everything and everyone, in favor of the pleasure this man could bring with such a simple touch.

Only the need for oxygen stopped them. He pulled back to lean his forehead against hers, both of their chests heaving as they gasped for air. “I think I’ve loved you since the first time you kissed me.”

“Oh? Maybe I trigger a savior complex in you,” she teased. How she could go from having no clue as to his feelings to trusting in his love in the span of moments, she had no idea. But the glow of contentment, and safety, and pure joy told her, in no uncertain terms, she could trust him, trust them together.

He chuckled. “I couldn’t get you out of my head for six years. No other woman stood a chance.”

Satisfaction swelled inside her. “Good.”

“So about joining the team…”

Quinn grinned. “I could use a job anyway. I’m sure I’ve been fired from my current one.”

Kamry stood and gasped for air as her body came down from the high she always got from working out. God, she was definitely out of shape and had no idea what she was doing, but one way or another, she was going to make sure that no man would ever be able to get the best of her the way Steven had.

She hated him. She had only been married to him for a little over a year, but had been with him for four. She hated that the minute ‘I do’ was said, everything changed.

In his eyes, she never did anything right. They would argue and scream. He would throw insults just as quickly as the last one registered in her brain. He would make her feel completely worthless. Then she had decided that when he wanted to yell and scream, she would ignore him and move on.

Then one day, it happened. He was screaming and telling her what a complete loser she was. She took a deep breath and kept cutting the carrots she was preparing for supper. Wrong move.

Before she knew what happened, she was on the floor. She remembered her head and the floor connecting, and then she was waking up. Of course, Steven was standing over her, asking her if she was okay and telling her how sorry he was. She fell for it.

The next time, he didn’t shove her. He straight up close-fisted her face. It escalated until he was no longer even apologizing for it. She couldn’t take it. She packed up and left while he was at work, never looking back. With help of her family, she filed for divorce.

Two months ago, she was lying in bed when she realized that she would never really be able to defend herself against a man if it happened again. She began watching YouTube videos of self-defense training and now, she was sitting on a bench after kicking and punching the heavy bag in front of her.

Everyone watched her, but she didn’t care. She really didn’t care that she had no clue what she was doing. What she did know was that she was not going to take it again. If the bag did nothing more than help her build strength, she would at least be able to kick and punch.

“You know, I’ve seen you coming in here and I have to say, you got some heart, kid.”

Kamry turned and stared at a young Hispanic man.

“Thanks,” she said, wondering why he was still standing there. She looked him over and knew she hadn’t seen him in the gym before, but he looked familiar. She just wasn’t able to place him. Maybe it was… Hell, she didn’t know. The man was covered in tattoos from his wrists, up his arms, then down his chiseled chest and back. He looked maybe mid-twenties or so, with short cropped hair and big brown eyes that reeked of mystery.

When her eyes returned to his, she realized she was busted. She hadn’t really been checking him out, well, she had, but not for the reasons she was afraid he thought.

“Heart is attractive and heart can get you a trainer. What are your goals?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

He chuckled, sitting next to her. “Why are you here?”

“I want to be able to fight,” she answered, not willing to tell the truth of it to a complete stranger.

“How long have you been split from him?”

“How do you know this has to do with Steven?”