Sugar & Spice

Chapter 22

A/N: Dedicated to DarkPandorasKnight xoxo

In the morning, Crissy woke to gentle, warm breath against the back of her neck with the weight of Quinn's arms wrapped around her, his fingers laced into hers. His thumb rested against the back of her hand and the solid expanse of his chest pressed to every inch of her back. She smiled and kissed his hand.

"Good morning to you too," Quinn said, his voice gravel rough and deep with the lingering edge of sleep.

She hummed in response, snuggling into his arms even more. "How long have you been up?" she asked.

"A few minutes maybe."

The faint smell of coffee drifted up the stairs and Crissy glanced at the clock – ten minutes to eight. She groaned. She didn't want to leave but Amy already had the coffee going for at least an hour and she shouldn't leave Amy to fend for herself.

"I should go," Crissy sighed.

Quinn tightened his hold on her, peppering her shoulder and the curve of her neck with kisses until she giggled and hitched her shoulder up.

"You're making this a thousand times harder," she said, rolling over to face him.

"Then I have succeeded in foiling your plans and you're mine for the rest of the day."

She groaned again and kissed him long and hard and deep, tasting the linger spices of cinnamon and sugar on his lips. She trailed her fingers over his jawline and along his throat, coasting over his collarbone and down his arm.

"You have no idea how much I wish that was true," she replied. "We should go sledding again as soon as possible."

"I can work with that."

"And in the meantime, there should be lots of coffee and hot pastries."

"I can work with that too." He brushed his thumb over her chin then hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Amy isn't going to kill me, is she?"

"No. Why?"

"I spent the night."

"She's fine with it. I promise."

"You sure?"

She laughed and kissed him one last time before she gently pushed him off the bed and towards the bathroom.

"There might be a fresh apple turnover waiting for you downstairs in a few minutes if you hurry," she said.

Crissy slipped down the stairs and as she turned the corner she spotted Ellie waiting on tables with Amy at the coffee machines, putting the finishing swirl of cream into a mug of black coffee.

"Hey, sugar, there you are," Amy chirped. She lowered her voice and a sly smile tugged at her lips. "How was last night?"

"Nothing happened so you can stop looking at me like that."

Amy rolled her eyes but when she looked at Crissy again, there was a hint of genuine concern in her eyes.

"Everything okay?"

Crissy hesitated a moment, glanced back up the stairs to make sure Quinn wasn't in hearing range.

"When you started dating Manu, how long did it take before he told you he loved you?" she asked.

Amy blew out her cheeks as she let out a puff of air. "God, that was a long time ago. Two years I think?"

"Oh," Crissy said.