Free The Key West Anthology by C. A. Harms

sure you’re safe.” I was positive I was panting. I could hear the whoosh sounds in my ears. Oh, even my ears felt warm. I wanted to kick him in the shins for affecting me the way he did. It was honestly unfair.
    I instinctively licked my lips, and his gaze fell in the direction of my tongue.
    The sound of the break room door startled us both. He stepped away, and Callie stood there looking back at the both of us, unsure.
    “Um, I’m sorry. I was just looking for you. There is a guest at table twelve who has requested to talk to you.” Her gaze continued to shift between the two of us. “I can hold him off for a few minutes,” she assured him.
    “I’ll be right there, Cal.” They shared an unspoken dialogue for a few seconds longer before she stepped out, closing the door behind her.
    I knew the two of them were close, but sometimes that closeness made me a little uneasy. Yeah, okay, it made me jealous. I had no one to blame for it but myself, though. I mean, he was offering himself up right and left, yet I still refused to bite…again.
    The hunger in me was just smoldering, though. The need to have him touch me was overtaking my brain, and I was on the edge of caving. But when I do cave, it may be dangerous for the both of us.
    “Will you please wait for me?” he asked, just above a whisper.
    “It really isn’t necessary,” I started to argue.
    He pressed his thumb down over my lips, stopping my words. “It is for me. Just give me five minutes.”
    I stood silently as he walked away without looking back. My heart raced and my throat felt tight as I swallowed past its thickness. When I was sure he wasn’t about to turn around, I slipped out of the break room and went out through the back exit just off the kitchen.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Fifteen
     
     
    Jett
     
    I hold on tightly to the piece of scrap paper in my hand. Callie had scribbled down Quinn’s home address in a rush. I guess it didn’t help that I was barking at her to hurry the hell up. Thankfully she knew not to take offense to my shitty mood. I was pissed that Quinn had snuck out of the restaurant the moment I turned my back. She thought she had outsmarted me, but she had another thing coming. I wasn’t going to just sit back and let that happen.
    As I turned the corner onto Summer Drive, my stomach hit rock bottom. I already knew by the address that her house was in the more rundown area of Palm Beach, but I hadn’t expected this.
    The houses were small and dilapidated. I scanned the area with caution until my gaze landed on the little white house on the right with her car in the driveway. I shut my car off, crawled out, and made my way to the front door. Before I could knock, it opened and Quinn came rushing out.
    “Mom, I don’t have time for this. I’m late already.” Quinn’s startled look at seeing me on her front porch almost made me laugh. Instead, I narrowed my eyes at her as she took another step in my direction.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked.
    I let my gaze rake over her appearance. Long tan legs spilling from a pair of tight and skimpy black shorts. A small flicker of light reflecting off her belly ring, peeking out below the hem of her tight tank top. Spencer’s embroidered across her breast in red letters had me grinding my teeth in aggravation.
    She flinched when I trailed the tip of my finger over her exposed waistline. “I told you to wait for me.”
    “Yeah, and I told you that I was fine,” she stated in return, her tone stubborn and forceful.
    “Fight it, Quinn, I really don’t care anymore.” I slipped my hand around her waist and pulled her flush against me. “I see the way you react to me, to my touch. I know you’re curious about where this could go with us. You don’t have to say it out loud, your body already does. Let me just make one thing clear—I don’t give up easily.”
    The rise and fall of her chest against mine told me I was right. Her body molded against mine