Under the Gun (CEP Book 3) Read online

  Quinn pushed a lock of her curly red hair behind her ear. “I think maybe it was because of my Aunt Constance. She was my favorite, but when I was ten or so, she came to visit one Christmas and brought the man she was seeing and it was weird. She’d always been such a free spirit but with this guy, it was like he’d tamed her and I hated that.” Tilly looked at her like she’d seen a fucking lightbulb go on over her head. “I know. I’m a psychologist. I get it.” She rolled her eyes.

  Tilly laughed. “Your aunt was in love, Quinn. That’s all it was.”

  “Yeah, yeah. But it was traumatizing for some damned reason.”

  “You don’t have to change for anyone, you know that, right?”

  “I know.”

  “And back to your dating these guys who can be bossed around. I think Gunner scares you because you know that’s not gonna happen.” She raised an eyebrow. “If there’s anything I’ve learned, these CEP guys are all alphas.”

  Quinn snorted out a laugh. “I’m definitely not a beta.”

  Tilly laughed with her. “No, that you’re definitely not.”

  “It’ll never work. We’re both too obstinate.”

  Tilly shrugged. “It can work.”

  “And I don’t wanna be controlled,” Quinn now said soberly. “Especially not in the bedroom.”

  “Oh, honey, let me just say this, although it might seem as if John’s in control in the bedroom, he tells me all the time that I am, and I love that.” At Quinn’s look of consternation, she explained. “He tells me it’s all for me, and that’s a head rush. And you know what else? It’s, God, even more incredibly amazing because after dealing with running the studio all day and being the boss for hours on end, when he takes me to bed, I like that he takes charge.”

  “Damn, Till, have another glass. You’ve never talked this much about your sex life.” Now Tilly was embarrassed. “Aw! Look at you now, all blushy and shit!”

  “Shut it,” Tilly said, holding her glass up yet again to the waitress as she passed by.

  “Thatta girl,” Quinn said with a giggle.

  But Quinn loved that her best friend had that with her husband.

  She just wished she could find it for herself.

  Chapter 6

  “I ever get another job like that, shoot me,” Gunner grumbled to Brock.

  It was Thursday night and he and Brock Wilse, another CEP member, Chase’s old roommate who’d gone pre-med but hadn’t done his internship yet, were sitting in Brock’s ‘66 Mustang in the parking lot of a sleazy motel ready to take pictures of a supposedly cheating husband.

  Brock laughed. “You were guarding a pageant queen. What’s so tough about that shit?”

  “I’ll tell you what was tough. A three-hour luncheon and five-hour dinner surrounded by every New York City socialite there was. I’ve never heard so many women talking about purses and hats and shit. Fucking ridiculous. Then Ms. Carmichael wanted to engage me with her vast knowledge of Pilates, telling me I should join her in a class.”

  “Dude. She’s hot. You should’ve gone for it.”

  “Not my type. I like women who care what they look like, but this chick’s obsessed to the point where she had me standing in the lobby of the Colony Club holding three different cans of hairspray for her as she sprayed each fuckin’ piece of hair before she went inside.”

  Brock barked out a laugh. “No pain, no gain.”

  “Uh, yeah.” Gunner pointed to the room where their subject was leaving. “Look.” Holding up the camera he zoomed in to get several shots of the man then the woman coming out behind and stopped. “Wait. Isn’t this Mrs. Vanderbilt?” He held the camera toward Brock so he could see the digital image.

  “Isn’t she the wife who fuckin’ hired us?”

  “Yeah.”

  They watched as the couple made out against a Mercedes for some time, Brock still clicking the camera, before the man got into the car and drove away. That’s when they noticed Mrs. Vanderbilt was walking their way.

  “What the fuck?” Brock mumbled while rolling down his window.

  “Hi, guys,” the woman said as she approached.

  “Uh, hey,” Brock answered.

  “Did you get some good pictures?” she asked.

  “We did. But I’m confused,” Brock said.

  She threw her head back and laughed. “That wasn’t my husband. I gave you the information and picture of my lover and you guys performed brilliantly! I’ll definitely be recommending CEP to all my girlfriends.” She chuckled as Gunner and Brock stared at her. “What’ll happen now is your secretary will mail these photos you got tonight to my husband.” At the guys’ confused glance she clarified. “Bastard’s been cheating on me for years, so I thought I’d give him a taste of his own medicine. That was his business partner who’s been embezzling from their company from day one. What better way to get back at Mark than this? I gave your secretary his office address, so when he gets the pictures tomorrow, Alex and I will be in Aruba and we can send him our own pics. Clever, huh?”

  “Uh, yeah,” Brock agreed cautiously.

  “I thought so! Okay, thanks again! Now I’ve gotta get home and pack!” She chuckled as she walked to her Escalade.

  Brock looked at Gunner and they cracked up.

  “That’s one way to do it, I guess,” Gunner declared.

  “Yep. Never a dull moment,” Brock conceded. As he started his car he said, “Let’s get this shit back to the office.” He placed the camera in the backseat. “Then I can call my latest flavor and she can blow me while I watch The Americans.”

  “Fuckin’ harsh, man,” Gunner commented as they drove off.

  “Hey, if she’s willing…”

  “When you gonna get your MD?”

  “Put it on hold for a bit. I don’t know. I love this shit. Gets me jazzed. Not sure if I can deal with patients after all this. Plus, money’s just as good if not better.”

  Gunner nodded. They did have a pretty sweet setup.

  Back at the office, Gunner told Brock to go do his thing and he’d take the equipment in. Once inside, he checked his schedule and before leaving, grabbed a chocolate cookie from the box Abby had brought that morning. It was a little stale, but whatever.

  And he only thought about Quinn twice as he locked up.

  Fuck.

  “You should go on one of those cooking shows. You wouldn’t win but I know you’d feel better about yourself,” Gunner told Oz.

  “Fuck off,” Oz grumbled as he moved things around on the grill.

  They were in Oz and Tilly’s backyard that Saturday where Oz was grilling steaks, chicken and some kind of shish kabob shit that Tilly had concocted.

  “No, seriously. You could probably come in at least next to last.”

  “Fuckin’ twenty degrees out here yet my wife has me doing this shit,” Oz complained then took a drink of his beer.

  “Hey, this is what happens when you commit to a chick. Next thing you know, she’ll have you hanging all her unmentionables on a clothesline over there.” Gunner nodded toward a spot next to the detached garage.

  “Gets me her pussy the way I like it, I’ll fuckin’ do it,” Oz muttered, turning a steak.

  “Fuck,” Gunner mumbled.

  “What’s up?” Quaid asked as he approached.

  “Tellin’ Murphy here how being married isn’t all that bad,” Oz explained.

  “Fuck,” Gunner repeated.

  Quaid looked at Gunner. “You wanting to get hitched? Didn’t know you were dating anyone.”

  Gunner took a long draw on his beer. “I’m not. That’s why this fuckin’ conversation’s over.”

  “Yeah,” Quaid agreed making Gunner look suspiciously at him. “Didn’t think so. Probably hard finding someone who’d want a Nancy like you. Now, you find someone who wants a real man, send her my way.”

  “I’ll tell her to bring her ball gag,” Gunner fired back.

  “Hell yes. Don’t forget the flogger. Chicks dig that shit.” Quaid gri
nned at him.

  Gunner shook his head. “I don’t need all that shit. My dick’s enough to keep them satisfied.”

  “Oh, don’t think they’re not begging to take a ride on my massive cock. They just like everything else that comes with it,” Quaid supplied.

  “Jesus Christ,” Gunner mumbled at the same time Oz said, “Fucking hell.”

  Quaid laughed and looked at Gunner. “Better be careful, though. Next thing you know you’ll be having some sissy-assed party celebrating your first month of fuckin’ marriage.”

  “It’s a pre-Super Bowl party,” Oz insisted.

  “Uh huh. That’s why the plates have your and Tilly’s pictures on them,” Quaid countered. He looked at Gunner. “I miss the part where Oz played in the NFL and Tilly cheered?”

  Gunner laughed. He loved the guys he worked with and that they could give each other so much shit. He just hated being the subject of their shit at times.

  “Hey, baby?” Tilly called from the back door.

  “Yeah, honey?” Oz answered and didn’t even flinch when Gunner and Quaid chuckled.

  “Can you throw on a few more chicken breasts, please? Jeff and Jen made it and Quinn brought someone.”

  Gunner tried to control it. He really did. But at hearing that, his head whipped around to look at Tilly like she’d lost her mind. She only smiled sweetly at him then thanked her husband before going back inside. In the meantime, Quaid had wandered over to where Boone and Brock were standing.

  “Guess you and Quinn aren’t an item anymore, huh?” Oz asked as he made room on the grill to toss more chicken on.

  “We never were,” Gunner replied with a scowl.

  “One night with you and she was ready to move on, huh?” Oz grinned.

  “Fuck you.”

  And goddamn it. Now all Gunner wanted to do was get the fuck out of there. Didn’t want to go inside only to watch Quinn hanging all over some fucking pussy.

  “Hey, can you go grab the platter from the fridge with the corn and shit on it?” Oz asked him.

  Gunner glared at Oz a moment to see if he was forcing the issue but when he got nothing, he turned to go in the house. He’d just pulled the platter out of the refrigerator and was closing the door when he saw Tilly and Quinn come in.

  “I can’t believe you brought him,” Tilly griped.

  “He was available. I have a date and I’ll get laid later,” Quinn said with a shrug before she saw Gunner. Her eyes grew big for a second before she covered up her surprise with a look of indifference.

  “Oh, hey, Gunner,” Tilly said. “Did John send you to get those? Here. Let me take them out to him.” She grabbed the tray and left him and Quinn standing in the kitchen alone.

  “Hey,” she said, going to the fridge. She bent down to look inside and, fuck, that ass of hers looked great in her jeans. “You want a beer?” she asked, turning toward him. And, goddamn it, that low-cut shirt of hers put her tits on full display for him and he couldn’t keep his eyes off them. Catching him looking at her triggered a slow knowing smile to form on her face which made him smirk.

  “Yeah, sure,” he answered, taking the bottle. “How’ve you been?”

  She twisted the top off her bottle and tossed it into the trashcan and after taking a drink replied, “Good. You?”

  He lowered his bottle from his lips. “Good.”

  She nodded. “Well, it was good seeing you. I need to get back to my date.” And she was gone.

  The pang of jealousy inside him made him whisper out a, “Fuck!” then he went out back to join Oz again.

  Gunner stood in the kitchen talking to some of the guys when Tilly came breezing in.

  “God, I can’t stand that guy,” she said to Oz, rolling her eyes.

  “Babe,” Oz answered which made her giggle.

  “He’s such a…yuck! I don’t know what she sees in him either! He can’t be that good in bed,” she huffed, grabbing another bottle of wine from the refrigerator then leaving.

  “Jesus,” Oz pronounced watching his wife leave the kitchen. “You seen that guy?”

  Gunner nodded. He had. And the guy looked like the biggest pussy he’d ever seen: small build, tailored suit, hair immaculately styled. Total opposite of Gunner and he had no idea what Quinn saw in him.

  But thinking of Quinn in bed with this guy had him on edge which pissed him off. What the fuck was going on with him? She was just a woman for Christ’s sake.

  He did his best to ignore what he was feeling before finally saying, “Gotta take a piss.”

  “Use the one in my bedroom ‘cause the other’s probably in use,” Oz instructed.

  Gunner went into the living room seeing that Quinn was nowhere in sight and wondered if she’d left which would be a good damned thing. Out of sight out of mind and all that shit. He’d just walked into Oz’s bedroom when lo and behold, out of the bathroom came the woman herself.

  “Oh. It’s you,” she said, trying to get by him.

  “Yeah. It’s me.” Before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed her arm and jerked her back inside the bathroom, slamming the door closed.

  “What the fuck are you—” she got out before he slammed his mouth down on hers.

  His hand went to her breast, grabbing it hard, his thumb gliding over her erect nipple making her moan into his mouth. And when her leg hitched around the back of his, he knew she wanted him as much as he did her.

  He slid his other hand down the front of her jeans, lower inside her panties and his fingers traced through the wet he found there. Growling against her mouth he said, “Fucking wet for me, aren’t you, baby?”

  “Oh, God.” Her lips moved against his before her hands went to his jeans getting them unbuttoned.

  And that was all the encouragement he needed. He had her jeans unzipped, down and off one leg in no time before picking her up by her tiny waist and sitting her on the counter. He next pulled out his wallet getting a condom out and slipping it on and ordering. “Feet on the counter,” and watched as she placed at least five-inch wedge heels up there. Fuck!

  She did as he said, leaning back on her hands, then moving forward he put his cock at her entrance making her cry out at the contact. Gritting his teeth, he slid in slowly.

  “So fucking tight. Jesus Christ,” he said low, putting his hands under her ass a bit and raising her up to help ease himself inside.

  Once he was fully seated, she brought her hands up, grasping at his shoulders, her chest heaving with every breath she took as he began moving inside.

  “You like my cock, don’t you, Quinn?”

  He saw her bite her lip, probably getting ready to blast her with a smartassed comment, before she said, “Yes!” on an exhale.

  And that comment alone made his goddamned day.

  Looking into her eyes, he kept his thrusts steady, keeping one hand on her ass and moving the other to the front circling her clit, his eyes on hers the entire time. When she moved one of her hands moved down and she ringed her fingers tightly around the base of his cock, he groaned, his head falling back on his shoulders.

  When he brought his head forward, he saw that she was lost in her bliss, her eyes glazed and mouth open, totally loving his dick inside her which was a huge turn on. He picked her up, holding her ass with both hands now and began sliding her up and down his length as her hands gripped his shoulders.

  “Oh, my God. Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” she cried. “Gunner!”

  And that was it. Fucking heaven. Her pussy clamped around his cock so fucking tight he almost lost it right then, but he was too caught up in watching her. So beautiful, so fucking cute in how she clutched at his shoulders breathing hard, looking up at him almost in awe.

  “Fucking gorgeous, baby,” he said, slamming her down on his cock several times before he himself came.

  When he caught his breath, he leaned down and kissed her long and hard and deep, knowing he was a bastard because other than being highly attracted to her and wanting to fuck her, what he’d reall
y wanted to do was make her forget the asshole she’d come with.

  Sliding her off of him, he let her feet hit the floor but let her lean against the counter because she still looked like she wasn’t in full possession of herself.

  “That was…that was…” she breathed. “That was…amazing.”

  He couldn’t have agreed more.

  Tucking himself inside and righting his jeans, he buttoned himself up as he watched her do the same. She bent to put her foot back into the heel she’d just taken off to get her jeans and seeing her bending down made him want her again. Fuck. When she finished, she looked up at him and smiled, sated as he’d ever seen a woman. And, God, that was a good look on her.

  He continued observing as she turned and looked in the mirror, running her fingers through her hair to fix it.

  Then turning back to him, she placed a hand at the center of his chest, smiled and said, “That was great. Thanks.”

  And she walked out.

  Chapter 7

  God!

  Why couldn’t she resist Gunner?

  She’d made a point to bring Rod to the party knowing full-well that Gunner would be there, but that was supposed to warn him off. Show him she’d moved on. Not let him corner her in the bathroom and give her the fucking of a lifetime.

  God!

  As she walked down the stairs, she sought out Tilly, and catching her eyes, let her know they needed to talk. Then she made a beeline to Tilly’s studio.

  “What’s up?” Tilly asked when she came in but upon seeing the look on Quinn’s face, she rushed to her asking, “Are you okay?”

  “No! No, I’m not okay! God!” After explaining what’d happened she remarked, “I’m fucked up, aren’t I?”

  Tilly gave her a little smile. “No, honey, you’re not.” She shrugged. “You like him.”

  “But I don’t wanna like him.”

  Now Tilly laughed. “Well, then you’ll have to work on that.”

  “Thanks,” Quinn replied glumly.

  “It’s gonna be okay. I promise.”

  “Sure it will.”