thirty-eight | real

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I STARED AT QUINN, unable to take my eyes off her anxious face and unable to move past the words she'd just said

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I STARED AT QUINN, unable to take my eyes off her anxious face and unable to move past the words she'd just said.

Part of my assignment was to, by any means necessary, convince you to return to the Warriors.

By any means necessary.

What the hell did that mean?

Thoughts started flying as I spiraled deeper and deeper. I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. All I could do was lose myself in doubt. It wrapped around her words and sprouted in my mind.

"August."

She said my name hesitantly when I couldn't figure out what to say. I was too busy replaying the last couple of weeks, replaying every interaction I'd had with Quinn.

Most specifically, last night.

The words Quinn said by the ocean, the way she told me she wanted to put me first. How she was scared but wanted to trust me. The way she'd kissed me. The way her body melted against mine. The way her eyes grew wide, filled with awe, when I slipped inside her.

That had all been real, right?

It must have been real.

I refused to believe that was an act or a manipulation.

I refused to think that last night was something scripted.

Quinn might be my weakness, but last night was more than anyone could simply conjure up as a means to get me to play right into their hands.

And yet, Quinn really was my weakness.

Could it be possible that she had me seeing things through rose-colored glasses? That she had me under a spell? Because she sure as hell made me feel like a man possessed sometimes.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner, but—"

Quinn's voice weaved into my consciousness, interrupting my thoughts. Thoughts that couldn't quite decide what to think about what she'd confessed. And I knew they wouldn't be able to figure it out until I simply heard her say it.

"Quinn."

My voice was rough and raw, like I'd just woken up. Maybe that was why Quinn didn't quite hear me and continued rambling, saying words that didn't really mean anything because they weren't the ones I wanted to hear.

I cleared my voice and tried again.

"Quinn," I said, louder this time.

She froze, her eyes blinking up and meeting mine. And fuck, that connection. That connection had to be real, right?

Her brows lifted as if she were both surprised I'd acknowledged her and eager to hear if I had more to say.

"Quinn."

In the August HeatWhere stories live. Discover now