Her plate was cleared, fingers swiping up the last crusty remains of the steak.
Mouthing the delicate vertebra of her nape, Kahler leaned them both over to slide his plate in front of her. Fisted cutlery wavered over the cold offering that still managed to look divine. A nagging voice warned her that she shouldn’t be putting him out more than she already had. Indignant at being refused, hunger made itself clear with an enraged grumble.
“It’s yours…”
“Eat, little bird,” Kahler said against her skin. His hand drifted back to her, settling low on her belly.
Heady warmth, glorious and intoxicating, suffused her. Washing through her body, centered where his hand caressed that constant flutter of awareness, she caught herself humming. Stuffing food into her mouth, she silenced it at once.
Kahler noticed. He always did. The careful rasp of his stubbled cheek slipped along her shoulder, prickling over her skin as he leaned into her. Both hands went to her stomach, spreading so that his fingers touched from her thighs to her heart.
Her reaction was immediate. Eyes burning though she blinked hard to contain the threat of tears. Warm palms didn’t just touch her, they damn well cradled. Strong and sure, he sheltered the too small thing inside of her. It was a tiny thing, the size of some miniscule seed, but it was there. She felt it, as strong as the heart beating in her chest. As his purr lengthened, deepening into a low rumble of contentment, she could almost imagine she was included in that sound.
A terse jerk of her head shook the idea free. It was a stupid thought, brought on by hormones and sleep deprivation. She was wholly dependent on him, her mind trying to play tricks to ensure a successful pregnancy.
That was all it was.
Hunching her shoulders, she went back to eating. It was far too easy to paint the man in a warm, soft light when she needed his scent and touch like water, like air. He wanted the child, that much seemed certain, but she was only his incubator. She was just a means to an end. It made the fact he’d claimed her all the more confusing. A breeder could have sufficed and without all the other difficulties this whole ordeal was bogged down in. Gods knew enough females, Betas and Omegas both, resorted to that path for him to have his pick.
Perhaps sensing her waning appetite or how the long muscles of her back were winding back into their customary mangled snarls, Kahler plucked the silverware from her fingers. Carrying her to the bed, he settled them both in the middle of the nest.
Shedding only his coat, tossing it towards the nearest chair, he tucked Quinn against his side. The purr had never stopped, keeping her languid if not calmed. Arranging her limbs as he wanted them, the blanket was pulled up until only her nose peeked out. His fingers carded through her hair with her wrapped around him.
A single tear managed to slip free, soaking into the fine cotton of his shirt. Eyes squeezed shut, she prayed for sleep to take her.
Her prayers must have been answered, because the next time Quinn opened her eyes, dawn was peeking through the windows. It took a moment for her sluggish thoughts to register that Kahler still held her close and that at some point he’d stripped. Skin to skin, it was difficult to even think about moving.
One hand at the back of her knee, he had her leg bent high to his waist. His other arm cradled her spine, leaving his palm to cup her ass to keep her snug. Rising on an elbow, she studied a face that had never looked so serene to her.
Foolish to think him attractive, to find this moment gentle and nearing sweet. He didn’t care about her, and how he looked while asleep didn’t change that. She had more pressing needs to attend to than her stupid imagination. Trying to pick her way free of his limbs and failing, Quinn wasn’t surprised when Kahler took a quick breath. Pulling her back, his eyes opened wide to scan the room. Seeing no threat, his lashes fluttered to narrow slits as he turned his attention down to her.
“What’s wrong?” Sleep rough and ridiculously enticing, the quiet words slipped along Quinn’s senses. A voice had no business touching a person like that.
“Nothing, go back to sleep.” With him awake, she didn’t have to be so careful. Wriggling free of him, Quinn scrambled down the bed. The steady burn of his gaze seared along her back, making her even more self-conscious than usual.
Muttering half formed obscenities, she stooped to snatch up his abandoned shirt from the floor on her way to the bathroom. The thing was huge and stiff, but it covered her almost to the knee. His breathy chuckle followed her into the other room.
Avoiding her reflection in the mirror as she washed her hands once finished, Quinn ran her tongue over her teeth and decided some rituals needed to be adhered to no matter what. Taking a steadying breath, hoping whatever Kahler had done to her earlier stuck around long enough, she reached for the tube of minty toothpaste.
Surprised as hell she hadn’t thrown up, Quinn sauntered back into the bedroom. Kahler had drifted back to sleep, his shadowy bulk disrupting the smooth lines of her nest.
The gnawing itch of annoyance scratched under her skin. An organized person, she couldn’t ignore the disarray that met her. A perturbed grumble slipped over her lips as she aimed for the table. Their plates had been cleared away at least, but Kahler’s perpetual stack of papers remained scattered all over the surface. Though she reached out to tidy them, she snapped her hand back just before touching the crisp white sheaves. What if she messed up the order of them? Was there even an order to them?
Wrinkling her nose, she turned instead to his scattered clothes. She hadn’t realized how much she appreciated his habits until then. He’d always hung everything up, hidden away behind the closet door. Grumbling under her breath, she picked up the discarded things.
“Leave it. It’ll still be there in the morning.” Sluggish and warm, even half asleep his amusement was clear.
“It is morning.” Quinn bit the inside corners of her lips, refusing to let the smile that twitched at them free. Folding the items as best she could, she draped them over the back of one of the wingback chairs. It’d have to do for now.
“S’not,” Kahler mumbled through a wide, dreamy smile.
“Is.” Her cheeks ached with the strain to not grin like a complete idiot.
“I say no, my say goes.” Kahler yawned, mouth wide as he rolled to his side. Patting the space beside him, he mumbled, “It’s cold. Come back to bed, Grace.”
He was still smiling that strange, dreamy smile.
Quinn swayed where she stood as ice burned through her veins.
