Dear Rose 3: Winter's Risk by Mechele Armstrong Page A

didn’t have? He tried to focus on the man in front of him, but Josie kept interfering. It was always like this.
    Their deal had changed nothing.
    In and out, back and forth, he sawed his body across Quinn’s. Until he was pounding. He was going so hard. So fast. So much pleasure, dammit. Even with the obtrusive thoughts.
    And the zenith took him up into the sky as he poured his soul into Quinn. His climax gripped him firmly, taking him up to the heavens, then sitting him back down on the couch as he collapsed against Quinn in a heap.
    He couldn’t breathe, yet his lungs insisted on panting trying to get enough oxygen. Another rock of Quinn’s butt back against him, and he shivered.
    Too much.
    It took all he had to remove himself from Quinn’s body and push off the couch. He slipped the condom off and then looked around at what to do with it.
    “Tissues on the coffee table.”
    Which meant Zach had to move. He stumbled over on legs that shook and deposited the condom in the paper.
    Quinn didn’t move. He lay on the couch, spread-eagled. His butt gleamed in the light with the wetness of the lube still glistening.
    Zach enjoyed the moment. The exhilaration of good sex. The wonderful endorphins cruising through his body. The feeling it couldn’t be better than this.
    Only reality always intervened. It had a way of flashing in and reminding Zach why he could never be happy.
    He’d thought about Josie while they’d been having sex. It wasn’t fair to the man in front of him. Why couldn’t he be normal?
    Quinn lifted his head. “Why so serious, Army Man?”
    Even in this moment of quiet and joy, Zach couldn’t take it in without the feeling of doom.
    Despite all they’d said, there was no way this could work. All his doubts crept up and pinched him.
    “No reason.” He lied to Quinn. He lied to himself, telling himself this could finally end his relationship hell. “I do have to go. Get ready for work in the morning.” He dressed in a hurry, leaving Quinn to lie on the couch and watch him with expressive eyes.
    “You’re running. Why?” Quinn propped himself up on one elbow.
    “I’m not. I have to get up early. Need to get to bed.” He yanked on his shirt and tried to pull his gaze away from the delectable Quinn lying there. He could pull off his clothes and go hide in Quinn for a while longer. Like he just had. But it wouldn’t help.
    “You’re lying. That’s why you’re leaving now. What are you booking away from?” Quinn shifted to his feet.
    Zach couldn’t let Quinn touch him. If Quinn touched him, he’d be lost. He’d stay. And that would lead to things that would never succeed. “I’m not. I have to get to work.” He licked his lips and hunted around for his shoes.
    Quinn stopped where he stood in front of the couch. “You can’t lie worth a fuck, Army Man. You obviously weren’t in special forces.” He appeared puzzled. And hurt.
    Fuck it. Zach was ruining the moment. And taking Quinn down in the process. “I…can’t stay the night.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because…” Zach closed his eyes for a moment and tried to find the words to explain. “Because what we did, what we would do. I…can’t change who I am. I can’t be with only you.”
    Confusion filled Quinn’s features. “I know. I can’t either. That’s why we’re going to try things with Josie. Both of us can get what we need. A man. And a woman. And she can have us.”
    Zach rubbed his face. “And then what? Down the road? When she decides she wants marriage? When she decides she wants kids?”
    “You agreed to give this a chance. To see where it would go.” Quinn looked pissed off. “We don’t know what any of us will want in the future.”
    Which Zach could handle a lot better than Quinn being hurt. “I did agree to give it a chance, and I do know what I want. I had sex with you. I thought about her. I’ll have sex with her. And I’ll think about you. It fixes nothing for me. You can separate out the