Knuckling one eye, Quinn didn’t have to exaggerate the yawn that made her jaw crack and pop. Shoulder hitching in a shrug, she cast her bleary gaze to the steam billowing from the shower. The deep breath was slow, gathering her strength as she planted palms to the bench and began to hoist herself with care.
When his hands cupped under her arms, taking her weight to lift her, she shot upright with a jagged cry. The touch was unexpected, catching her off guard. Middle twisting, throbbing, her arm swung out to clamp down over the deep seated ache that burst forth from her careless movement.
“What the hell are you doing?” Despite the way he snarled the words against her hair, he pulled her close, already purring to wash away the quivering tension. Large hands held her, somehow gentle under their firm grip as he soothed away the pain.
Quinn’s weak sounds were ushered away under the steady vibration. Not until deft fingers pinched and pulled at the thin fabric of her pants did she try to struggle against the forced calm. Rigid and disbelieving, she felt him work the waist down. The cloth slipped over her hips, whispering over her thighs and crumpling to the floor.
Swallowing hard against the torrent of words that slammed against the back of gritted teeth, the pleas and entreaties for him to stop, to leave her alone were held back by the thinnest string of control. Calloused fingertips caressed the swell of a hip, jerking as they encountered the first divots left behind by unknown teeth. Feeling his chest expand in a deep breath, the force of the purr doubled. As if he needed to calm them both while his hands made quick work of her shirt, tugging it free.
Ripping off the band aid of everything that sheltered her from his view, she stood naked and shivering before him. The purr did not stop, not even as a quick double step back took away the sweltering heat of him. Still he poured that sound into the echoing room, a cautious tug on her hand aiming her towards the shower that waited.
Other than her cheek, it was the only part of her he was willing to touch. A quick glance as she turned sideways to avoid the full blast of the hot spray showed his gaze averted, green eyes pinned to the loose braid of her hair. Refusing to go past it to the marred expanse of her chest where pinkened rings and shimmering arcs branded her.
There was no reason for his obvious distaste to bother her, but it did. Quinn had never considered herself beautiful, not by the standards of the women she had seen every day throughout her life. Strippers, dancers, even prostitutes all held an allure she never would. Her mother, Marina, had forever been ripe fruit, dangling from the vine with lush curves and a delectable magnetism that Quinn could never hope to match. The fact he’d once found her desirable, hadn’t been able to keep his hands off of her, had made her feel a little different. He’d never once said her breasts were too small, her hips too narrow. Even if it was only her dynamic that spurred him on.
Now even that wasn’t enough to interest him. She was hideous enough to make him turn away.
The narrow point of her chin met her chest as she lowered her head, blinking away the scalding threat before it could tumble free. Understanding all of this in theory was much different from facing it in fact. Under the harsh lights that limned the tiles in dewy golden hues, she saw what he saw.
Damaged, if not broken, of no real use. Body a constant reminder of the others who had touched what was his. An Omega he’d tied himself to that no longer had purpose. Was it any wonder he was so eager for her to be healed? Never mind that she’d be put through the humiliation and torment of doctors prodding at her, validating that same failure.
Shoulders twitching under the weight of her thoughts, Quinn turned her back to him though she knew the view wasn’t much better. At least then he wouldn’t have to see the single tear that managed to slide over her lashes. Slow and cautious, she took up her soap and began to work it into a lather.
Her ragged gasp echoed through the stall when his hand closed over her hip, nudging her aside. Making room for him as he came into the once large space. Crowding her back into the corner, pinning her inside the glass enclosure with him. Shushing Quinn’s quiet, desperate sounds despite the tension that riddled his every movement, he took the fluffy poof from her clenched hands. His eyes remained fixed on her hair, the curve of her cheek, the thick fringe of her lashes. They didn’t stray lower.
Every instinct screamed at her to move away from the too large male. To seek refuge somewhere his overpowering presence wasn’t suffocating her and the very real threat of the thick shaft growing firmer by the second couldn’t reach her. The low hum of the bond writhing through her chest, promising her mate would keep her safe, couldn’t convince her he wouldn’t damage her beyond repair. He would destroy her as he did what he did best, subduing her with force and taking what he wanted from her.
Fear curdled her stomach and twisted down her spine, leaving her shivering and wide eyed. Unseeing stare caught on the gleam of metal from the shower door, she tried not to flinch. Failed in such a miserable fashion when she whimpered and shrank away from his hand as it came near, frothy with the light scent of lavender.
His purr rattled through his chest, half a growl of admonishment as he reached for her again. It turned into a snarl of warning when Quinn backed herself further into the corner, blatant in her refusal as she hugged her middle. Huddling into as small a target as she could make, she cowered before the Alpha who was becoming more annoyed and insistent by the second.
Shoved against the cold tiles, there was nowhere left for her to go when his rough fingers scoured her arm. No escape from the hand that pushed her flat to the wall and pinned her there as he continued to scrub at her, the soft knot of mesh fabric abrading her skin to a prickling pink. He wielded the once gentle puff as if it could remove the tight lines of puckered flesh.
No more purrs were given to soothe and calm as she flinched and whined. Snarls and low growls replaced his once tempered response as she tried to retreat. When he reached her stomach where the tangle of sutures still knotted tender skin, his touch grew slow and careful but did not stop the way he crowded her further back. Body pressed along her side, the slow drag of his hand was matched by the throbbing shaft that slipped over her hip. Movements in concert, he kept her paralyzed with the soapy fist at her stomach as he rutted against the side of her ass.
“You aremine. My mate, my Omega. Mine.” The words weren’t much more than a dark growl pressed against her neck. The warmth of his tongue as he licked at her damp skin was a brand against the icy fear filling her.
She would have fallen when he shoved her under the water if he hadn’t kept her in a bruising grip. Actions violent, he raked his fingers through her sodden curls, yanking out the braid in one harsh pull. Fingertips grinding against her scalp, he scrubbed her hair clean while he forced her legs shut tight around him. Slow sways of his hips working his thick length between her clenched thighs, he growled in her face when she dared to whine low in her throat and try to scuttle back.
Not realizing the water was cut off until she was half dragged from the shower squeaky clean and miserable, Quinn balked when he pushed her to sit on the bench once more. Fluffy and warm, a massive towel was draped around her shoulders, but it did nothing to ease the block of ice settled low in her stomach. It couldn’t compete with the arctic chill that spread through her veins as he came to stand close.
“Please,” she stammered around the chatter of her teeth, not surprised when she was ignored but terrified all the same by the way he caught her chin. Fingers digging into her cheeks, prying her teeth apart, he nudged the swollen crown of his cock against her lips with a low sound that was as obscene as it was gratified.
Sliding in over her tongue and leaving the salty taste of him there, Kahler caught her between his palms to hold her still. Pumping his shaft in and out, he pulled short when she choked. It didn’t matter that it was on the horrified terror pulsing through her, throbbing through her chest and constricting her air. He made a low sound that might have been a paltry attempt to soothe before he began to move again. Working just the head between her lips, he groaned above her.
Fear clawing at the back of her throat, she didn’t even taste the decadent spice of him. There was no thrill slipping through her veins, warming her from the inside out. Remaining cold and unresponsive, she was still as he used her mouth. A warm, breathing thing for him to slake his needs on and nothing more. Unable to even look at the man, she kept her gaze straight ahead. Staring forward at the thin trail of hair decorating his abdomen as it blurred behind a shimmer of tears and too close proximity.
It wasn’t long before his rhythm stuttered, hand closing over the back of her head as he moved in jerky thrusts. Feeling the shaft thicken, forcing her lips wider, Quinn managed to gather her reserves and force her eyes up. Sputtering on the first rich surge that coated her tongue and overflowed her lips, salty misery joined the pearlescent trails spilling down her face.
Head thrown back, he still refused to look at her. Blind hand wringing his knot, clenching and squeezing with near violent pulses of his fingers, he kept Quinn where he wanted and did not even deign to acknowledge her.
Restless shifting as she gathered the towel closer and refused to swallow the thick fluid he continued to pump into her open mouth was as much response as she was given. The desire to bite down, to sink her teeth into sensitive flesh was all encompassing, but the thought of what punishment he might carve out of her flesh for such an atrocity stayed her temper. It wasn’t just her anymore.
Instead she waited him out, turning her head aside as soon as he released her. Wondering at the lack of her response and the way the bond jangled and grated, she worked the last of the thick creaminess from her lips and wiped her mouth on the ready towel. Shying away as he stooped with lungs working like bellows, Quinn slipped past him to the sink. Cold water cleansed his scent from her skin, hand rough as she scrubbed away the slick film. Wounded pride still had her huddling under the towel, covering as much of her nakedness as she could with the soiled cloth as she continued her morning rituals.
Coming up behind her and pinning her against the sink, Kahler leaned down to make wordless sounds of satisfaction against her hair. Pretending he did not feel the way her spine snapped rigid, goosebumps and fear prickling across her bare skin. Fingers brushing over her cheek, he dared to kiss her temple before reaching past her for his toothbrush.
Concentrating on every movement as she dressed in yet more pants and a long-sleeved shirt, the only concession to the heat of summer outdoors was the thin, smooth material of both. As she finished getting ready, Quinn was spared having to engage with him again. She kept quiet as he bustled around the room, his spirits high as he talked to the silent room of his expectation from today’s appointment.
