Chapters (46)
- Tyler was gasping, coughing, his hands on the pavement.
- Title Page
- Table of Contents
- Dedication
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- PROLOGUE
- CHAPTER 1
- CHAPTER 2
- CHAPTER 3
- CHAPTER 4
- CHAPTER 5
- CHAPTER 6
- CHAPTER 7
- CHAPTER 8
- CHAPTER 9
- CHAPTER 10
- CHAPTER 11
- CHAPTER 12
- CHAPTER 13
- CHAPTER 14
- CHAPTER 15
- CHAPTER 16
- CHAPTER 17
- CHAPTER 18
- CHAPTER 19
- CHAPTER 20
- CHAPTER 21
- CHAPTER 22
- CHAPTER 23
- CHAPTER 24
- CHAPTER 25
- CHAPTER 26
- CHAPTER 27
- CHAPTER 28
- CHAPTER 29
- CHAPTER 30
- CHAPTER 31
- CHAPTER 32
- CHAPTER 33
- CHAPTER 34
- CHAPTER 35
- CHAPTER 36
- BEYOND THE STORY
- AFTERWORD
- SECRET PLAYLIST
- Copyright Page
Another gust of wind gave her all the urging she needed. She eased into Tyler, finding him warm and solid. He smelled like cigarettes and beer and something warmer, more inviting, like cinnamon or vanilla or both. His arms came around her, dragging the guitar into her lap. He shifted, moving her slightly. It put her face almost against his neck, his breath against her hairline.
She suddenly wasn’t cold at all.
“I don’t think there’s room in this chair for the three of us,” she said softly.
“Please,” he scoffed. “As tiny as you are? Plenty of room.”
Tiny. Tiny! Quinn almost fell off his lap. Maybe he couldn’t feel her crushing his femurs.
But then he started to play, his fingers spilling across the strings, picking out a quick-yet-slow rhythm. His arms were warm and strong, caging her in his lap, and Quinn closed her eyes.
When he began to sing, it took her by surprise. His voice was low, rough and raspy, carrying a tune effortlessly. She didn’t know the song, but it felt vaguely country, with lyrics about pretty girls and apple trees. Her cynical mind wanted to mock it, to mock him, because he was being gentle and kind and it threw her off balance more effectively than when he’d physically dragged her out of her apartment building.
But damn, he had a sexy voice. Quinn felt drunk on the sound, like he was playing her body instead of the strings.
His fingers eventually went still, and he dropped a kiss against her temple.
She shifted in his lap, turning, rising up to kiss him.
For an instant, she almost panicked and drew back, thinking of the night she’d spent with Nick, when she’d kissed him and made an absolute fool of herself.
But Tyler was kissing her back, setting the guitar against the wall, using both hands to catch her waist and slide under the tank top. She was suddenly straddling him, and even though she’d gone all the way with boys before, this felt like more, like she’d been playing Little League all her life, and all of a sudden she’d been dropped in the middle of a Major League game. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
He grabbed her hips and pulled her against him, and Quinn gave a little gasp.
Then his mouth was on her neck and his hand was under her shirt. When his fingers discovered that she wasn’t wearing a bra, he made a low sound in his throat. His thumb stroked over her breast again, and Quinn felt the touch all the way through her body.
“God, you’re good at this,” she gasped.
He laughed, and she felt the sound roll through his body. His hands pulled free of her shirt to stroke up the lengths of her arms. “Are you still cold?”
She shook her head.