Carly Phillips - Under the Boardwalk

He’d revealed enough about their operation already. As for her sister, Zoe’s true occupation and why she’d kept it secret was her story to tell.

Ari frowned. “And when will that time finally come?” she asked, her frustration evident.

“With any luck, at the end of this weekend.”

“Aah.” She nodded slowly as understanding dawned. “The seven days you asked for.”

“That’s right. And until then, for Damon’s sake we continue the charade of being lovers.”

“Quinn?” she asked, meeting his gaze. “It’s not a charade.”

Relief was sweet and he grinned. “I hoped you’d say that.” He wasn’t about to press her on exactly what they were to each other. He’d never been one to label a relationship anyway. For now he’d take whatever she offered.

He noticed she had begun to undo her blouse. One button at a time, she slipped open her shirt, a provocative smile on her face. Watching her, he broke into an appreciative sweat. “You do know how to prove a point.”

“It’s one of the benefits of being with a teacher,” she said on a sultry chuckle.

He laughed. “Not one the school board would advertise, I’m sure.”

“Maybe not.” She dropped her blouse onto the sofa cushion beside her. “But I don’t see you complaining.”

“That’s because I’m a smart man.” He reached out and with one finger, drew a line from the base of her throat, down her neck and chest, until his fingertip nestled in the warm vee of her cleavage.

He sucked in a shallow breath, enjoying their banter and foreplay. “So tell me a little about this brazen side of you,” he urged her. He’d already told her that he thought the conservative teacher was a cover for the real Ari.

When he’d met her, she was wearing an uptight suit, then he watched her discomfort in the miniskirts and tight tops slowly disappear, proving to him that so much passion and depth lurked beneath the priggish professor persona. Now he wanted to know why the cover was necessary. Why she couldn’t be that delightful mixture of Ariana and Ari that he knew her to be.

“Aren’t there things you’d rather do than talk?” she asked in a husky voice, since his finger had begun to make its way across her left breast.

He inclined his head. “Yes, and we’ll get to that. As soon as you tell me why you keep this side of you so well hidden from everyone you know.” Beneath her lacy bra, he drew lazy circles around her nipple, careful to avoid touching her there and eliciting the wanton woman he knew she could be.

She exhaled and a low, trembling moan came out instead. “You expect me to talk right now?”

He nodded. “If you want satisfaction later, I do.”

She arched her back, which had the effect of pushing her breasts taut against her silky bra. “That’s blackmail,” she complained.

“And you’re stalling.” He shot her a bad-boy grin and started to withdraw his finger.

“Professor Ariana Costas is safe,” she admitted at last.

As a reward, he cupped her entire breast in his hand and began kneading her soft flesh.

Her eyelids fluttered closed, a happy sigh on her lips.

“Safe how?” he asked.

She swallowed and her throat worked convulsively. “Ari is what the family calls me.”

It’s what he called her, too, but he wasn’t about to mention it just yet.

“And Ari hits too close to home.”

“How so?” he asked, curious.

Ari sighed. “Well, Ari is the little girl in the tanning cream who turned orange and liked it. She’s the one who played lookout and laughed while her sister stole the principal’s spare keys to the boys’ locker room.” Her lips twitched as she recounted the memory. “Zoe wanted to douse the football team captain’s shorts with itching powder after he started spreading rumors about her.”

Quinn stifled a laugh. It was important that he continue to focus on Ari more than on Zoe’s pranks. “And Ari’s the one who walked into Damon’s casino dressed like that twin?” he guessed. “The one who slept with me? Who just undressed in front of me now? And who liked it?”

“You know me too well.” She looked at him through heavy eyelids.

Through caring eyes, he hoped. Still his life had always been about watching people leave and never getting too close as a result. She was guaranteed to do just that once her sister returned, and he couldn’t invest too much in her.

“I’m not sure what to think about us,” Ari said.

Quinn nodded, accepting her honesty. He wasn’t sure what to make of them either. He only knew when she was around, the world seemed brighter and he liked everything more. He’d gotten more revelations than he’d counted on, and he didn’t want to risk driving her away too soon.

“Then how about you don’t think and just feel?” he asked, and shifted his palm so that he could turn teasing into torment by rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger at the same time he leaned over and sealed his lips over hers.

He slipped his tongue between her lips, molding his body to hers. The need to make love to her, bury his body deep inside and lose himself in her, was overwhelming. But without warning, the doorbell rang, interrupting them.

“This can’t be happening.” She echoed his thoughts exactly.

He rose to his feet, pulling her to a sitting position. “Unfortunately, it is. I forgot I told Wolf to bring Dozer over when he got a lull at the center.”

Ari scrambled to dress, pulling her shirt over her head.

“The bedroom’s back that way and the bathroom’s inside,” he said. “Go on and I’ll handle Wolf.”

“Thanks, Quinn.” She treated him to a smile that made him harder than he’d been before they were interrupted and, worse, caused a distinct warm feeling in his heart. So much for not investing too much in Ari.

• • •

Ari buttoned the blouse she’d changed into at home, then glanced in the mirror over the sink and vanity in Quinn’s bathroom. With the meager contents of her purse, she quickly fixed her makeup and, after a moment’s hesitation, picked up a comb lying on the counter and brushed through her hair. She’d pulled herself together on the outside, but inside she was still trembling and aroused.

And one thing had nothing to do with the other. Arousal seemed obvious and understandable. The trembling came more from their conversation than from unslaked sexual desire. Thanks to Quinn, she was an emotional mess, feeling more vulnerable than usual and susceptible to a whole host of insecurities. All combined to prove just one thing.

She didn’t know who she really was. She couldn’t say she missed Ariana Costas, the uptight and boring teacher with an equally boring life.

On the other hand, she still thought that the insanity surrounding her family was too great. Her views on that hadn’t changed in the time she’d been gone. But she liked the woman she was around Quinn-the more open and less repressed, and even less judgmental, Ari.

In coming home, she was starting to view her family from an adult perspective and appreciate their idiosyncracies a bit more than she’d like to admit. So much so that she no longer minded thinking of herself the way her family did: as Ari, the child who’d willingly participated in their pranks and games.

So it wasn’t a coincidence that she could no longer think of herself as Ariana. Being caught between two personalities and two worlds raised a scary question-just where did that leave her now?

Quinn stood in his office watching the rows of television monitors. His anger was contained and he merely rocked on his heels and waited for Damon. By the time his boss strode into the room, it was close to midnight.

“The tables are hopping and the bar’s packed.” Damon slipped his hands into his slacks, obviously pleased with himself. “All in all, it’s a damn fine night.”

The man’s arrogance knew no bounds and was getting on Quinn’s frigging nerves. “I guess that depends on your perspective. I don’t appreciate being tailed to my own goddamn house.” Though he’d told Ari he was just being cautious, he’d lied. He just hadn’t wanted her to panic.

“A smart man trusts no one, Quinn.”

He clenched his jaw tight. “And what did you find on this fishing expedition of yours?”

“That you’re having a good time on the job, not that I blame you. It’s smart to keep Ariana close by. This way she can’t be asking questions around here. I’m impressed with you,” Damon said, nodding.

“Then call off the tail or I’m out of here.” And though he had no intention of walking away, Quinn’s boiling frustration was evident in his threat.

Damon waved a hand, dismissing him. “Go downstairs, have a drink and relax. You’re too damn uptight.”

“I wonder why.” Quinn let out a harsh laugh and, ignoring Damon, headed out the door. To keep himself sane, he needed fresh air.

And he needed to see Ari.

Not five minutes later, he’d settled himself on a barstool where Connor was busy mixing drinks and sending pathetic mooning looks Maria’s way. Not that he was one to talk, he silently acknowledged, watching Ari’s hips sway as she maneuvered among tables.

“I’m not sure how we came to this,” Connor said, leaning on the bar during a lull between patrons. “Hung up on two babes.”

“We always liked women,” Quinn said, laughing.

“Yeah, but they never presented such big challenges before.”

“Is that what you see in Maria?” Quinn asked his friend. “Is it just the challenge?”

Connor wiped down the bar with a damp rag. “Hell, if that’s all it was, do you think I’d be taking her and her kid to Great Adventure?”

“She has a kid?” Quinn let out a slow whistle. “That must have been some first date.”

“Instead of having hot sex, we shared hamburgers, fries, and milk shakes, then watched Joey play with his friends at the school playground.” Connor stared at Maria for a while, long enough for her to turn and acknowledge his searing gaze. “And I’m still not going anywhere, which shocks the hell out of me.”