Ricochet: Friendly Fire Read online

  She broke the kiss with a gasp, sitting up straight on his lap. Bracing her hands on her chest, Quinn’s wide eyes locked onto Rick’s.

  His responses to her touch made her feel sexy and powerful. “Are you ready for me to ride you?” she rasped.

  Rick’s mouth fell open at her uncharacteristically vulgar words. “Holy shit, god yes. Fuck, Quinn. Do it.” His eyes were wild with desire, the pupils so large she could barely make out the turquoise.

  Rick bent his knees, putting his feet flat on the floor for leverage. He gripped her waist with his large hands, more than ready for her to move.

  Quinn leaned back and closed her eyes, shifting slowly at first, grinding the tiny bundle of nerves that made up the epicenter of her pleasure down hard on Rick’s pelvis. She wanted to draw out this moment, make it last forever, but it was too much, yet not enough at the same time. Quinn had to have more.

  “Rick, oh my god... you feel so good.” She moaned and writhed, picking up speed as the friction on her clit sent spasms rocketing through her. Every time her hips came down, the head of Rick’s cock drew across a sensitive spot deep inside her, making Quinn’s legs shake and causing an immense pleasure to quickly build inside her body.

  As the sensations intensified, her rhythm began to falter. Sensing her inability to keep up the pace, Rick took over, lifting her up with his hands then slamming her down on his cock as his hips thrust off of the floor. Quinn continued using her fatigued leg muscles to elevate her body up and down on his hard shaft, coming almost all the way off before crashing back down, driving his engorged cock deeper and deeper inside each time.

  “Quinn, I can’t— I’m gonna come, doll.” Rick squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on holding back his orgasm, needing Quinn to come first.

  “Rick, I’m there with you, don’t stop.” Biting his lip, Rick continued the fast pace, using his arm strength to slam her down on his cock over and over again. When Quinn’s moans turned into one long, loud wail, he held her down and ground his hips up into her clit, sending her careening over the edge.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck, Rick! Fuck me hard!”

  Quinn’s filthy mouth did him in. Rick thrust up one final time and her slick pussy convulsed around him. A flood of heat burst from his balls, jetting out in mind-blowing wave after mind-blowing wave as a string of obscenities tore from his throat.

  Making sure Quinn wouldn’t fall over, Rick let go of her waist, his tired arms flopping to his sides. He didn’t think he had ever come that hard in his life.

  Quinn shuddered one last time and collapsed on his sweaty chest, her hair spread out over his body in a soft cascade. Rick folded his arms around her back, hugging her tight and dipped his head to steal a quick kiss.

  Rick gently turned them until they were lying side by side on the thick carpet. When he slipped out of her, he heard her whimper softly. It took a moment for them to recover, then Quinn spoke.

  “I’m clean Rick. In case you were wondering.”

  “What?” he answered, his voice husky with sleep.

  “I mean, we didn’t use a condom, so I’m telling you that I’m safe.”

  “What!” Rick repeated, sitting up quickly, his expression horrified. “Holy shit,” he whispered. He let his head thump back down on the floor, staring at the ceiling in disbelief. If there was one thing the Marines, his dad, and his two brothers taught him, it was that you wrapped it up. Every. Single. Time.

  Quinn ran a hand up his arm, tugging him back down to the floor. Reluctantly, he acquiesced, taking her back in his arms.

  “I’m on birth control. The implant they put in your arm. It’s fine.”

  She didn’t mention how she went behind Travis’s back and got the implant done shortly after they were married and his true nature reared its hideous head. No way was she going to have a baby with a man like him. After she left him, she was tested for STD’s at the women’s shelter. Quinn assumed he had been cheating on her throughout the duration of their marriage. When he would get mad at her, which was often, he would allude to having sex with other women. Whether it was all talk to hurt her or whether it was real, Quinn didn’t know or care. She was just grateful he didn’t give her an incurable disease.

  “Crap. I’m sorry Quinn. I didn’t even think about it. I’m clean too. Mack does physicals on us all the time. Jesus, I’m such an asshole.”

  “Hey!” Quinn snapped. “You’re not an asshole.” She stared him down, refusing to look away. “We were both a little caught up in the moment, okay?” She couldn’t help the smirk that pulled at her lips, thinking about their uncontrollable passion.

  Rick scrubbed a hand down his face and sighed. “Yeah. I’m good. Better than good actually.” He looked around the room, clothes scattered everywhere, and smiled. “Want to get off of the floor? My ass is numb.”

  Together, they laughed, walking hand in hand to the bedroom. As they snuggled up together under the covers and she was safe in the cocoon of Rick’s arms, Quinn decided that this time, she wasn’t going anywhere. She was right where she belonged, and nothing had ever felt so good.

  Chapter 9

  Rick woke up a few hours later, the sun still shining brightly in the mid-August afternoon sky. He panicked for a brief second, certain that he would find Quinn gone again. When he felt her warm body shift next to him in bed, his racing heart slowed back down.

  She’s here. With me. Lying in my arms.

  He couldn’t stop the wide grin that spread across his face. She stayed with him, and not only did she not run away, they had earth shattering, life-altering sex. Rick felt his cock swelling again just from the memory.

  Being careful not to disturb Quinn, Rick slipped out from under the covers to use the bathroom. When he came back into the room, he stopped next to the bed to get his visual fill of Quinn’s unparalleled beauty. With her asleep, he could ogle as much as he wanted without her knowing how obsessed he was with anything and everything about her.

  Quinn was lying on her stomach, hugging a pillow under her head as she slept. The room was warm enough that she had kicked off the sheet at some point, exposing all of that perfect, creamy flesh. Rick leaned over and gently fingered a lock of her dark hair. Its soft texture slipping easily through his loose hold.

  Swollen, ruby red lips contrasted starkly with both the white bedding and her pale skin. They were parted just enough to flood Rick with images of them stretching wide around his thick cock as he thrust it down her throat. His suddenly insatiable dick stirred to life, pulsing with a rush of blood to his groin.

  Ignoring his arousal, Rick’s eyes continued down the gentle slope of Quinn’s spine, longing to trace the curved line with his tongue. The swell of her hips, starting with two small dimples just above her round ass, begged to be grabbed with his large hands to brace himself as he sunk in deep.

  Shit.

  His now completely hard dick pulsed, too full to disregard. Rick wrapped his hand around the shaft, stroking languidly as he raked his eyes up and down Quinn’s sleeping form. Not wanting to get caught standing over the bed, jerking himself off like a pervert, Rick slid back under the covers. Quinn must have sensed his movement, because she immediately curled up next to him, that perfect ass pressing against his aching hard-on.

  The friction pulled a low moan from Rick’s throat, escaping in a sharp hiss from his between his clenched teeth.

  He swore he heard a faint giggle right before Quinn ground those delectable hips back onto his stiff cock. When she began to move, sliding his shaft along the cleft between her buttocks, he realized she was torturing him on purpose.

  Rick gave her ass a light slap, and rasped in her ear. “You’re being very naughty, Quinn.”

  Quinn immediately froze, her entire body becoming rigid and tense. Rick could almost see the cold veil that dropped over them, chilling the room enough that he actually shivered.

  He wanted to kick his own ass for being so fucking stupid. Rick knew Quinn had all of the signs of being abused, so w
hy in the hell would he play around by slapping her?

  “I—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done—”

  ‘It’s fine, Rick. I’m fine.” He could tell Quinn was trying to keep her voice light and unaffected, but he could hear the slight waver and feel her body tremble beneath his touch.

  Rick yanked his hands back as if her skin scalded him, wanting to give Quinn space to recover from his mistake. He rolled onto his back, making sure that their bodies didn’t touch anywhere, not wanting to make the situation any worse.

  “I’m thirsty.” And with that brief statement, Quinn leapt out of bed, hurriedly pulling on a tank top and shorts. She was dressed and out of the room in less than ten seconds, leaving Rick’s head spinning.

  “Jesus. I’m such a fuck up.” Rick scolded himself quietly while digging the heels of his hands into his eyes.

  He slowly shuffled into his clothes, which were lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. The more he thought about Quinn’s reaction, the angrier he got. Someone had put his hands on Quinn, her reactions to certain situations made it more than obvious. But who? Her father? It seemed that Quinn had a strained relationship the man, but Mack said he was a close friend. They served together in the Corps. Knowing Mack, and his judge of character, Rick doubted he’d be friends with a man who would beat his daughter.

  That left a lover or boyfriend as the most likely suspect. Rick’s fists were clenched so tight his knuckles began to ache from the strain. If he ever found out who the bastard was that turned this gorgeous, playful, intelligent girl into such a frightened, untrusting mess, he would probably kill them with his bare hands.

  Unsure of what to expect next, Rick took a deep breath and left the bedroom.

  Quinn was standing at her living room window, watching the light traffic in front of the gym. A puke green Jeep Wrangler with it’s top down flew into the parking lot, jerking to an abrupt stop. Quinn smiled as Tucker jumped from the car and disappeared through the door beneath where she stood.

  “That guy is one of the worst drivers I’ve ever encountered.” Rick said from next to her, looking out the window at the same scene.

  She laughed at Rick’s assessment of Sanctum’s I.T. specialist. His Jeep was sitting crooked, taking up two parking spaces. “I can see that.”

  Thankful that Rick lightened the mood, Quinn glanced over at him. His face turned serious and it looked as though he was about to say something when her phone rang.

  “Sorry.” Quinn pulled her phone out of her purse, not at all sorry for the interruption. The last thing she wanted to discuss with Rick was the reason for her reaction to his playful swat.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Mrs. Hardy?”

  “Ummmm,” Quinn was suddenly very aware of Rick standing half a foot away, listening to her side of the conversation. She didn’t bother to correct her name with the man on the other end and have to explain it to Rick. “Yes?”

  “This is Bradley Stanton. I’m calling from your lawyer’s office. We need you to come down and sign a form for your divorce. It was an oversight the last time you were in.” The man coughed into the phone. He sounded horribly sick.

  Quinn rubbed a hand across her forehead. “When?”

  “I’ll be in the office Sunday morning from ten to eleven. Anytime during that would be fine. It should only take a minute.”

  “Alright. I’ll be there before eleven on Sunday.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Hardy.”

  She hung up, staring blankly at her phone.

  “Something wrong?” Rick reached out as if to comfort her, but made a face and pulled his hand back.

  “No. Nothing big. I have to sign something at my lawyer’s office. Probably for my dad’s estate.” Quinn felt ill at how easily the lie fell from her lips. No way was she going to explain her divorce to Rick right now. Not until it was over and done with, and even then, she wasn’t sure how much she would want to share.

  “Oh. Okay.” His forehead wrinkled in confusion. “On a Sunday?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve met them on the weekend before. I guess they have a lot of work to do, so there’s always someone there.”

  Quinn watched Rick begin to reach for her, then hesitate. He was obviously unsure of what he should do next. She didn’t want him to be uncomfortable touching her. Heck, she wanted his hands on her as much as possible. Once again, Travis was ruining her life and this time managing to do it from almost a thousand miles away.

  Well, screw Travis. I want to be with Rick, so that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not going to deny myself anymore.

  She took a step forward, closing the distance between their bodies, pressing against Rick until they were joined from chest to hips. His tight muscles loosened under her touch. Rick lightly skimmed his hands up her back until they were buried in her long hair.

  Her head tilted up to find a sad look in his beautiful blue eyes. As his mouth descended onto hers, Quinn felt confused by Rick’s grave expression. When their lips met, her eyelids became heavy despite her racing thoughts. Her lids fluttered shut, their mouths softly sliding together in an emotional kiss that brought up more questions than it answered.

  Rick broke apart first. “I should get going. You probably have stuff to do and I don’t want to—”

  “Wait.” Quinn held onto Rick’s arms as he tried to pull away. Her pulse raced through her veins. This was harder than she thought it would be, asking what was wrong, why he was so sad. She couldn’t do it. Chickening out, she asked him about his plans instead. “Can I… I mean, what are you doing later?”

  Quinn didn’t miss the look of surprise that flicked across Rick’s face. “You’re asking to see me? Like, a date?”

  The smirk on his lips let Quinn know that he was teasing her, and she was glad to see his mood improve. She went along with his joking instead of being embarrassed and insecure like she normally would. Feeling brave, she met his playful smirk with a wide grin. “Yes, like a date.”

  Rick dipped his head again, pulling her into a deep kiss, needy and with purpose. This kiss was much more passionate than the tender one he gave her a few minutes ago. Rick groaned when Quinn’s lips parted, letting his tongue swirl around hers, drawing it into his mouth. She kissed him back with equal enthusiasm, nipping at his lips, running her hands over his rough morning stubble, unable to get enough of him. The tension between them had melted away, both of them comforting each other with their hands and mouths.

  When they finally parted, it was only because they needed to breathe. Rick’s mouth was swollen and wet from Quinn’s kisses. The way he was looking at her caused desire to burn deep inside. She had to steady herself by gripping Rick’s arm, wobbly from the power of that kiss.

  “I’d better go,” Rick said, his voice gravelly.

  “Okay. I’ll call you later?”

  Quinn followed Rick to the door where he stopped to finish their conversation. “Why don’t you just come to my place when you’re done? I’ll text my address to you.”

  She didn’t mention that she already knew where he lived and had already been to his condo in a very non-stalkery way. No need to make anything weird since they finally managed to tear down the barriers between them.

  She smiled, “Sure. I’ll see you around six then?”

  He gave her a final quick peck on the lips. “Definitely.”

  Rick decided to stop by the gym downstairs for a quick workout before heading home. The place was empty, but Tucker’s Jeep was still out front, hogging the same two spaces he pulled into earlier.

  The door to Mission Control unlocked with a soft click when he put his code in, letting Rick into the climate-controlled room. Computers of all types and sizes combined to create a low hum that buzzed in his ears.

  “Hey Rick.”

  Tucker sat in his usual chair, Bluetooth over his ear, as he scanned three separate computer screens and watched two camera views at the same time. The man’s fingers slid rapidly over a touchscreen, pulling up sites and typin
g in data faster than Rick’s eyes could keep up.

  “I didn’t know there was an operation today.” Rick put his hands on his hips, his gaze flicking between the different screens in front of him.

  “There’s not. Well, not a real operation. It’s more like we’re helping out another agency.” Tucker continued furiously typing, never looking up at Rick as he spoke.

  “Another agency?” Rick asked, making air quotes around the words. “Like the CIA?”

  Tucker’s fingers finally stopped. The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Maybe. I can neither confirm nor deny the identity of the other agency.”

  Rick laughed. “Riiiight. No worries. I’m going to get in a quick workout.”

  “Your girlfriend just left the parking lot,” Tucker said flatly, motioning towards the screen showing a real time view of the front of the gym.

  Rick frowned. “She’s not my girlfriend.” Is she? “And she’s allowed to do what she wants. Besides, I don’t see how it’s any of your business.”

  Tucker held up his hands. “Hey man, if it’s on the cameras, I’m going to see it. Remember that.”

  Rick grunted. “Well, don’t fucking spy on her, dickhead.”

  “Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever.” Tucker’s head was back down, fingers flying over the screen again.

  Instead of smacking the back of Tucker’s head like he wanted to, Rick decided to hit the heavy bag for a while. His repaired side felt much better and after chatting with Tucker, he was annoyed enough to be motivated.

  The entire time he was punching and kicking, he thought about what Tucker said. Was Quinn his girlfriend? Rick never had a girlfriend before. He never wanted one.