They came. They always came to his call. Teresa, hiding behind layers of heavy makeup and a smirk that didn’t quite reach the dull shine of her eyes sauntered towards him like it was an honor. Cherry, with her namesake hanging in a clumpy fringe around fresh bruises and long shattered dreams, scurried like a beaten dog. Quinn couldn’t watch, couldn’t bear witness to the heart wrenching tragedy of it, even if it would have been the right thing to do. They wouldn’t appreciate her sympathy, would hiss and spit at her pity. Cherry would rather claw Quinn’s eyes out.
Turning her attention to the table as Alton told the women what was expected, she watched as Lucas pawed through his pockets, turning them inside out and dumping the worn, dirty contents out onto the table. His pack was next. Curl-edged papers, stained clothes, a multitude of packets and vials all upended onto the smooth wood surface. The tension washed from him in heavy waves. Things were going to go badly in a minute.
“Lucas.”
Name bit off like a chunk of meat, the Beta flinched with the impact of the sound. Shaking hands turned palms up, showing their emptiness. “I thought I had the syringes, Rip. I can go get them right now.”
The sun rose in Quinn’s thoughts with searing brilliance. It filled her chest with indescribable warmth that seeped through her limbs. It illuminated all the dark places, swamped in muck and filth in glorious sunshine. She was already moving, turning so her hands could tuck themselves into Alton’s belt. Thighs fitted around his leg, a gentle tug given to the strip of thick leather for his attention.
“You are a worthless piece of shit.”
“I thought I had another pack, Rip, I swear. I can be back in five minutes.”
She gave another tug to the belt. Not too hard, but not soft enough to be ignored. Squeezing her thighs around him, she tried to make it more difficult to be dismissed.
“What are the rules about interrupting, little girl,” Alton snarled as he leaned down to bring their faces close.
His hand tangled in her hair, wrenching her head back until Quinn struggled for the thinnest breath to fill frozen lungs. The shock of hot and cold made her feel fragile, breakable. Tears welled, turning soft gray misty. A faint tremble came to her lips as all that light dimmed. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“Words are cheap, aren’t they, baby girl?”
“Yes, sir, they are.”
“Go back to the room and think about the consequences of your actions,” Alton said, pushing her away as if she was nothing more than an annoying, yapping dog.
Nerve crumbling and gut twisting, Quinn had to stop herself from doing just that as he turned his attention back to Lucas. She hung her head low, feet sliding in a quiet hush to point towards the hall that led to the private rooms. Grasping at the shifting sands of her resolve, she took a slow breath and turned back to face him. It was an epic effort of will to lift her chin, to bring the strong lines of his face into her view. Starting and stopping half a dozen times as the rise and fall of his vicious tone beat at Lucas just as his hands did, she managed to say it, too loud and cracking, “I’ve made my decision.”
The sudden stillness was nerve wracking. Even Lucas’ wheezing breaths from where Alton gripped his throat were muted. Golden brown gaze slid sideways, fixing her with a calculating stare that almost undid her.
“Have you now?”
“Yes, I’ve made my choice. He can get mine while he’s out.”
“There’s plenty of the shit right there. If you’re so sure, why wait?” Cherry’s sneer was almost as bad of a decision as her speaking out had been.
Alton was already standing tall, shoulders rolling as he released Lucas and turned towards the woman. Quinn didn’t even pause to think.
“You think I’m just a good fuck for him,” Quinn asked on a low, mocking purr. Her hands drifted around Alton’s waist as she caught him, pressing her body against his side. Head canted, she fixed Cherry with a disdainful smile. “That shit, as you so eloquently called it, is for the toys, honey. Things he loans out, things he doesn’t care about. He’s not about to put that into his mate.”
It was a hard thing to stand proud and unfeeling in the face of such destruction. Watching as what little light in Cherry’s eyes had survived to this point shattered and died felt more wrong than anything Quinn had ever done. Even reminding herself it had to be done didn’t help.
Alton’s satisfied rumble was her cue. Nuzzling his chest, she made sure every inch possible was touching him as the two women were led off to be readied. Her answering purr was quiet, soft enough she prayed he wouldn’t hear the rattling fear in it.
“Do you understand, Lucas?”
Already scrambling to gather his things, Lucas made the appropriate sounds in a tumble of mashed syllables. From under her lashes, she watched him give a jerky nod before running off as if being chased. Alton had already dismissed the underling, his hands roving over Quinn as he moved them in the direction of the hall. He’d want her in bed as soon as possible, to hell with waiting for the cocktail of hormones. She didn’t have to be high on a forced estrous for him to begin.
It was now or never.
“May I ask for one thing?” Expecting the tension that pulled heavy muscle rock hard, she was already moving to subdue his anger. If the heat lodged between her lungs had begun life as a candle flame, it was building into an inferno. Dainty hands stroked over available skin, sliding under the sleeves of his shirt to scrape her nails over muscled flesh. Mouth pressed against his chest, she waited for permission to speak further.
Silence stretched until it became thin and brittle. Before it could shatter, Quinn strained up on tiptoe. Notching her hips against his, she climbed Alton’s body to get as much contact as she could. Seconds continued to tick by. Not until his hand came down to her ass to hold her steady when her calves trembled did she dare to so much as breathe.
“And what is it you want now?”
“I’d like to go out.” If possible, the biceps under her fingers grew even harder. She rushed to add on, “Just over to Kauffman’s. I want a bagel.”
“Rip, the guys from the docks are here.”
