Ashton Hill Fools

"No, you won't," Grayson said in hard tones, "Because I won't let you. My mother insisted we help you today, but that is it, one night, Quinn. Trust me, I have no intention of being played for a sucker by another Myers woman, so whatever you thought you could get out of me, it's not going to happen. Tomorrow you're gone!" He said adamantly, it was too dangerous to have her here, she made him feel things he had thought he wouldn't again... At least not for a woman like her.

Quinn wanted to explain that she was nothing like her sister, or mother, for that matter. She was a Thomas, not a Myers woman, but she understood how awful this must be for him. If her finance left her on the eve of her wedding to care for a baby while he ran off with another woman, she wouldn't be happy either in this situation.

"I'll be gone tomorrow," she agreed. She planned to make the most of this reprieve though, and started to turn toward the stairs up to the nursery to glean everything she could from Jo while she could.

"I need to go back to the office. I'll make sure everything my mother has on the list she has undoubtedly made for the baby is delivered. Do you need anything? Medication for your injuries, or whatever?" he hadn't shaken the knowledge of her trauma or the look on her face when the door slammed. What was she even doing in such a volatile area where she could be blown up? He decided to investigate that when he got back to work.

"I'm fine; I can get what I need tomorrow when we leave. One night, Grayson, I promise. April and I won't be a burden to you any longer than that. If your mother hadn't been there I doubt I would have even called you and disrupted your quiet life here for even one night," she said without rancour and walked away.

It didn't matter that the man was sex on legs, with his broad shoulders and chest, his stormy green eyes and his thick black hair just this side of messy looking. He was not her type. He was a family man who liked his conventional life with his son and mother, and, if she remembered correctly, two brothers and their families. The total opposite of what she was. She had no home and no family aside of the two small children upstairs and a wayward sister that had made her life complicated from her first breath. No, she wasn't a family woman, she had no real experience with it, and she knew at that moment that she couldn't keep April, even if they didn't find Rheagan. She had a career to get back to that didn't allow for the responsibilities that came with a child.

No, the sooner she got out of this house and sorted her own life out without the distraction of Grayson Ryde the better for everyone. She sighed, wondering if that was what was best for April. She walked the last flight of stairs with a heavy heart, wondering what the hell she was going to do.

*****

Chapter 2

In one afternoon and evening, Quinn had fallen in love. She adored the sweet-natured baby girl and delighted in her conversations with Noah. She even felt a growing affection for Melody and Jo, but she had no illusions about Grayson's feeling towards her, and she had to agree, he was right, she wasn't suited to life in this safe, stable house and family.

Jo had left after an early dinner to go home to her family, promising to return at six the following morning. She had a family of her own who lived nearby, and she came in the mornings on the rare occasions that neither Melody nor Grayson were available for Noah. Her job mostly centred on the after-school time until dinner, which Grayson tried to be home for. She would, on occasion, stay later, if needed, but that was rare, as father and son enjoyed spending at least part of every evening together. She had been trying to retire for some time, but Grayson had refused to interview new nannies.

Unable to sleep, it was after midnight when Quinn tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen carrying the baby monitor that would alert her if April woke up during the night and fussed being in a strange bed in a strange house. She was after something to help her sleep, a glass of milk, or maybe even a glass of wine.

Her ponytail swung as she looked around in the darkness, small slivers of moonlight lit the windows and mapped her way through to the kitchen. She found the refrigerator and a glass and poured herself some milk before sitting at the kitchen table in the dark. She'd enjoyed having dinner with Noah and Melody and Jo. If she was honest, it was a relief not to have Grayson there to scowl at her and let her know she wasn't welcome in his home.

She'd used her tablet to research the close-knit family. The more she read about them, the more impressed she had become. The three brothers were a cohesive unit, and if you took on one brother, you could be guaranteed that you took on all three. She could see that their success and the success of their father and grandfather came from that strong family base, so unlike her own family. From a young age, she had learned to carve out pockets of solitude, mainly in the library where she could ignore her callous and manipulative little sister and the mother who blamed her for her sad, unfulfilled life.

Her thoughts continued to swing from the safe, calm family life that took place in this house, to her own life where her only real commitment was to her job and avoiding her sister, both commitments had been broken today. Sure, she was supposed to be resting, but she had planned to work on a few project ideas while she was recuperating. She certainly wasn't supposed to be facing instant motherhood, and she certainly wasn't supposed to be lusting after her sister's ex. Her search online had told her what an eligible bachelor he was, and she had been surprised Rheagan hadn't gone through with the wedding, she craved status and money, and her marriage to Grayson would have given her both.

Quinn didn't believe in fairy tales and romance, though, she was too much of a realist. She did believe in unadulterated lust and hormones that drew two people together to share blissful affairs, and huge endorphin fed highs. It was the life she led. It wasn't compatible with long-term relationships, though she did try from time to time when stationed somewhere for a few months. Her relationships were always temporary though, she knew it, and her partner knew it, there was no room for romance or people like Grayson Ryde, who would expect their partner to take on a traditional role of raising children and looking after the home. There would be no career for the future Mrs. Grayson Ryde, she would bet on it. Damn him, making her think about how long it had been since she even had so much as a fling. That had to be why she felt such a magnetic attraction to him whenever he was in the same room.

"Can't sleep?" Grayson asked, interrupting her thoughts as she sat in the dim moonlight.

Quinn squealed and immediately fell from her chair to the floor, knocking her now empty glass from the table to shatter on the tiles. Recovering quickly, quicker than she had this afternoon, as the glass broke she stood to apologise, but instead let out a groan as she felt glass pierce her heel. She sat heavily on a chair and picked up her heel to examine the wound as Grayson turned on a light and grabbed a towel from the kitchen. She blinked as the light came on and lifted her head to apologise for breaking the glass, but found herself speechless yet again. Grayson was no longer in a suit, but loose shorts, running shoes and nothing else, his big broad chest making her speechless.

"Sorry," he said contritely, walking toward her with the towel. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She watched him, all smooth tanned skin and muscle with a sprinkle of dark hair decorating his chest. He was pure masculinity, and she found it hard to breathe, let alone speak. He bent his head and winced at the sliver of glass still protruding from her heel.

"Can you pull it out?" he asked.

"I'm sorry about the glass, I'll replace it," Quinn said breathlessly, and quickly removed the sliver of glass, pressing her thumb over the wound, and went to get up to clean up the mess.

"Relax, it's just a glass, not a Picasso," he placed his hand on her arm, keeping her in her chair. "Be careful, there's glass everywhere. You sit, and I'll clean up. I'm wearing shoes, you're not," he pointed out the obvious, seeing her about to protest. He gathered a broom and dustpan from the utility room, and within minutes he had cleaned up and had grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge for himself.

"Did April go down easy?" he nodded at the baby monitor still sitting on the table.

"Not really, I had to rock her to sleep, and she's been a bit fussy. I expect that she's missing Rheagan," Quinn said, not meeting his eyes because she didn't want to see the hardness there whenever Rheagan's name came up.

"Have you decided what you're going to do yet?" He asked.

"I guess while I'm waiting for Roland to find her I should get some legal advice," she said carefully. "I don't know what my rights are legally to make any decision about April and her future. If I gave her up, would she end up in the foster care system?" she pulled a face. "Would I be able to put her up for adoption and choose a family that desperately wanted a beautiful baby like April?"

"You wouldn't consider keeping her?" Grayson asked.

"I don't know," she sighed. "It's a lot, you know? I'm more than a little overwhelmed. I know you probably make tough decisions every day that affect thousands of lives, but I don't. I need to process what's happened, where I am, what April needs, what I need..." she shook her head. "All I know is I have a month, two at the most before I am expected back at work. I have a job and a career that make the responsibility of caring for a baby impossible, no matter how cute and sweet and easy going she is. I just don't know if I am mummy material, not even for her. Let's face it, I had the worst role model growing up, I don't even know where to start."

"Seems you have more in common with your sister than a killer body and gorgeous hair. She didn't want the responsibility either," Grayson said in a flat voice, needing to find fault with her, to put some distance between what he knew about her and her family and how his body and brain were being affected by her proximity.

Quinn recoiled as if he had just slapped her. She wanted to argue with him, to rail at him that she was nothing like her spoilt, selfish and ultimately irresponsible sister. One look at his face though, told her that he wouldn't believe her. She had to try though, didn't she? Or be forever tainted by the same brush.

"I'm not my sister, Grayson," she said in a tired voice. "You've been nothing but judgemental and accusing all day, but you don't know me. You have no idea who I am and that my sister and I are poles apart."

Grayson held her gaze, saying nothing. He did know that he had investigated her on his own after he had returned to work. She was hard working, diligent, and managed to climb high in her career without the usual innuendo that followed a beautiful woman about how she got to the top of her profession. He couldn't find one article or document that disparaged this woman in any way. Not even her links to her sister had managed to touch her stellar career. He'd made a call to an executive he knew at the network she worked for and, again, got nothing but a glowing report.

Quinn hated that. He towered over her and she made to stand up, wobbling a little as she placed her towel wrapped foot on the floor. His hand shot out to steady her and felt almost a zap of electric current as he touched skin to skin. His eyes changed from hard dark stone to a stormy sea, and she swallowed hard as she realised he was as attracted to her as she was to him.

Grayson let out an unintelligible curse and yanked on her arm, pulling her against his half naked body and bent his head to kiss her. There was nothing soft and sweet about the kiss as he parted her lips with his tongue and thrust it into her mouth to tangle with her tongue as if daring her to give as good as she got.

Usually, nothing about people, or men, in general, surprised Quinn, but, as her hips slammed against Grayson's, she could feel his erection, and then his tongue was assaulting her mouth, and she reeled at the lack of finesse and obvious lust of the man kissing her. She responded in kind, twisting her tongue around his in a dance that was more aggressive than intimate, as if they were both battling their sanity.

His hand found the gap between her t-shirt and yoga pants and skimmed up her ribcage to cover her breast, his thumb swiping over her nipple, making her groan. He felt a jolt of sparkling electricity arc between them as she came up onto her toes, pressing her mound even harder against his erection, and he, too, groaned.

As if of their own volition, her hands explored him, starting with his chest and moving down to his hard-ridged stomach. He obviously worked out every day. A strange corner of her mind still worked and wondered if it was always at midnight that he exercised. Then her thoughts were torn away as he placed his other arm under her ass and lifted her from her toes, making her do the most natural thing at that moment and lift her legs to wrap them around his hips and press her pussy against the hard ridge of his cock. She wanted him in the worst way right then, right there, and she stopped battling the crazy need she felt, even though she knew it was so wrong. So wrong for him. For her. For Rheagan. For Noah and the baby even. She let herself get lost in the moment and enjoy the pure pleasure of it.

Suddenly everything stopped, and it took her a moment to realise he wasn't responding to her anymore. That she was sliding down his big frame and her feet were touching the floor once again. Had she done something wrong? Why had everything just stopped? Then she heard it, not understanding at first where it came from, but, as clarity restored itself, she snatched up the baby monitor and ran from the room.

"Fucking hell," she cursed under her breath. "I almost lost my freaking mind back there." How long had April been crying? Why hadn't she heard it before him? He must have some amazing control to have been aware of it and just been able to stop. She was embarrassed and humiliated that she had let it go so far, that she had been so out of her mind with lust that she hadn't heard April cry, he had. She truly wasn't mummy material if all it took was a kiss from a man like Grayson to make her forget her responsibilities, especially tonight, the first night April had been in her care. God, what must he think of her?

"I'm here," she crooned, picking April up from the cot. "I'm here, I'm sorry, little one. I know it's a strange place, but I'm here." She rocked the little girl and checked her nappy as Jo had shown her to. "It's a very good thing we're leaving tomorrow, little one. You're Aunty Quinn has no self-control around that man."

*****

After a night short on sleep and long on aggravation, Grayson went through the morning routine of getting himself and his young son ready to leave the house, trying not to think about the fact that he had almost taken his ex's sister on the kitchen countertop. Even at his craziest with Rheagan, he had never lost control like that, and it unnerved him. He considered briefly what would have happened if the baby monitor hadn't been there, if April hadn't woken and cried, if he would have stopped himself from making what he knew would have been a dreadful mistake. "Not a chance in hell," he grumbled. He'd never felt so absolutely caught up in the pleasure of a woman like that before. The only bright side, if there was one, was that he hadn't thought of Rheagan once while he had been kissing Quinn. That would have been inexcusable, not just for him, but for her.

"Bloody Myers' women!" he cursed out loud. They come in like a wrecking ball and throw his whole life out of order, well, he wasn't going to let it happen this time. She was leaving today, and he wouldn't have to be in the position he was in last night again. He wasn't sure he could stand another night of tossing and turning, trying to find excuses why he shouldn't just go to her room and finish what they started. The sooner she left the better, as far as he was concerned, and then his life could resume its normal pattern, safe and calm and easy.

On those rare occasions where he considered what it would be like to have a partner and a mother for Noah, that's what he pictured, a safe calm, easy going woman who believed in traditional roles, someone who would love Noah as much as him and want to stay home and create a happy family environment. He wanted a calm lake, not a storm-swept sea. He most definitely did not need a turbulent sea like Quinn. No matter how attractive he found her, how much he wanted her, how much he'd give to know if her eyes changed colour from the calm blue to a stormy sky when in the throes of passion, to know if she was a moaner or a screamer. He pulled himself up again.

Quinn Thomas, not Myers, he reminded himself, was not the woman he was looking for; she was, in fact, the exact opposite of what he wanted in his life. She had no home, no roots, she was career orientated and cared little for her family or the small town she had grown up in. She left after graduating and come back only to bury her mother. And now, he considered, she was coming back here to recuperate and heal, of all the places in the world she could have gone, and no doubt been welcome, she chose to come home. His attitude softened slightly as he thought about that fact. Then he shook his head. No, the sooner she was out of his house and his life the better. He could make arrangements for Noah to get to know his little sister, regardless of her choice, he was sure. He could find her a good foster family right here in Ashton Hill if Quinn decided not to keep her. He could do a lot of things for the little girl, but he couldn't for Quinn. Even if he wanted to, he doubted she would let him.

"Dad!" Noah called from the doorway of his room. "Hurry up, Grandma is making pancakes for breakfast!"

"She's awake?" he asked, checking his watch. His mother was most definitely not a morning person.

"Yup, and she's got her lipstick on! Hurry, Dad!" Noah said excitedly and hurried off back downstairs.

'Great,' he thought, standing and grabbing his suit jacket before following his son to find out what was going on. This type of excitement from Noah was the last thing he needed this morning. He had a came-close-to-having-sex-but-didn't hangover, a headache from too much frustration over it, and a distinct lack of sleep, he didn't need any additional drama this morning.

As he came downstairs, he saw Quinn's bags packed and ready to go, and he breathed a sigh of relief. At least one thing was going right this morning. Then an odd feeling came over him, and he stiffened as he passed the bags, feeling oddly unsettled by the fact that she was so eager to leave. Yes, he wanted her to go, but she didn't have to run away at the crack of dawn, running away from him like she had last night. She wasn't running, his more reasonable side of his mind reminded him that he had been the one to tell her to go in unapologetic terms. The harder, colder part of him straightened his shoulders, it's what Myers women did, run away. Except she wasn't a Myers woman, as she had pointed out more than once, she was Quinn Thomas. He walked into the kitchen thinking he was losing his mind as he argued with himself.

He stood in the doorway to the kitchen. His mother not only had lipstick on, but looked ready to go out as she made pancakes for Noah, who was sitting at the table telling Quinn about the time they had gone out to Juliette Falls and found what Noah had decided were dinosaur eggs, but were, in fact, large granite boulders. Lastly, he looked at Quinn, 'God, she looks good,' he thought, 'no sign of a restless night there,' he grumbled to himself. She bounced April on her lap as she listened avidly to Noah's story.