The Best Part of Me by Jamie Hollins

hurt Ewan’s eyes.
    He scowled. This was the type of guy she probably went for. A pretty boy who took her for dinner at his country club. An asshole with an allowance from his parents who would buy her jewelry to celebrate their monthly dating anniversaries. He probably wore more hair gel in his brown hair than most women did, for fuck’s sake.
    The guy leaned toward Quinn and put his hand on her arm.
    Ewan felt his teeth protest as his jaw clenched. His stomach turned sour, and he had an overwhelming urge to walk across the room and put his fist through Richie Rich’s pretty face.
    The thought of another man touching her had him thinking all sorts of homicidal thoughts. God, when he’d kissed her in his apartment last weekend, it had seriously been better than some orgasms he’d had in the past. It was honestly that good.
    Her soft lips pursing against his mouth. Her breathy sighs.
    He quickly shook his head.
    Jesus, he needed to get laid. And by someone other than Quinn Adler. Or maybe he needed to fuck her so he could forget about her. But even as the thought swirled inside his head, he somehow didn’t quite believe it was possible. If he couldn’t stop thinking about how perfect her lips were, how was he going to ever survive fucking her?
    â€œI’ve got to admit, she’s a looker,” Sean said, leaning into him as he peered over in Quinn’s direction.
    Ewan gave him an icy glare. He and Sean had never competed for women in the past. Sean tended to go for the statuesque types who looked good on his arm but had nothing between their ears. Ewan used to prefer someone with a little more spirit who offered up a challenge. But his preferences in women had changed over the years.
    Maybe it wasn’t so much his preferences that had changed but more the type of women who were attracted to him . He’d hardened over time, and pretty girls who followed the rules didn’t often approach him.
    When he was younger, he’d chased girls. Now it was the other way around.
    Women usually made it easy for him. A whisper in his ear or a graze of a hand up his thigh to his dick was a pretty clear sign of what they wanted. The sex was instant gratification for him, albeit empty.
    But that was fine. That was the type of woman he had time for. Rough edges and completely transparent.
    He made it a point not to get mixed up with women in Ballagh. Any action he got was on his trips to the city to visit Sean. He liked the no-strings-attached ones who probably carried as much fucked-up baggage as he did.
    That was why this sudden fascination with Quinn was unusual for him. Maybe the earth had shifted infinitesimally or the lack of an ozone layer over the East Coast was getting to him, but it almost seemed impossible to get her off his mind.
    â€œSo what’s your move?” Sean asked.
    Ewan watched as she bounced her long, lean leg under the high-top table. She laughed again at something Pretty Boy said.
    â€œI don’t have one.”
    â€œWhat? Why not?”
    Ewan shrugged. He wasn’t about to get into all the ways Quinn Adler had him twisted up.
    â€œYou don’t have to resolve yourself to be miserable for the rest of your life,” Sean said seriously. “You don’t have to marry her, for fuck’s sake. Just take her out for a drink or something. Have a little fun.”
    Ewan frowned. “You know me better than that.”
    â€œYou’re a goddamn masochist is what you are.” Sean tossed back the rest of his drink and put his glass on the bar. “Let’s go over and say hello at least. Or will being polite ruin your image?”
    There was nothing polite about the things he wanted to do to Quinn.

Chapter 9
    Quinn looked over her shoulder, wondering what was taking the girls so long. Turning back around, she smiled at Gavin, the nice art history professor who’d approached her the moment her friends had left to get drinks. At first