Leaning over her, Tobias slid his hands to her shoulders to pull her up from the couch. Pushing her before him, he crowded Curtis out of the doorway as he marched Quinn along the hall.
“Get the car, Curtis. I want Micah, Nicholas, and Stan with us.”
Curtis opened his mouth to speak, one brow rising as his head tipped to the side. Lips drawing shut, he didn’t voice the questions that no doubt plagued him. Ever the good soldier, he veered off from the main hall to collect the men and car at a brisk pace.
Quinn had no such compunctions about asking questions.
“How long do you think it’ll take you? If I could eat lunch with the kids, maybe I could play with them a little afterward, too.” More than half the morning was gone, but there would be a little time before they were put down for their naps. Adam was becoming less and less inclined to nod off with his sister and often tried to remain awake or woke far earlier. It would give Quinn so much more time with him.
“You’re coming with me.”
“What,” Quinn squawked as his arm came to her lower back, pulling her up the stairs when she tried to balk.
“I’m going to need you to change.”
Gruff tone edged in roiling fury, she flinched from the sound as much as the baleful glare that he leveled on her. Uncertain what was going on, where it had all gone wrong, she tried to pull free. Found herself hauled back against him, breath leaving her in a whoosh as she collided with the solid mass of him. The press of his teeth to her shoulder offered no explanation or mercy, threatening to rip through cloth to get at the mangled scar of his mark.
“You put on something decent. Something warm.”
Gone in the next moment, Quinn whirled around to scowl at empty air that still reverberated with the sound of the door slamming shut behind him. By fractions her forehead smoothed, the line of her lips rising to a bewildered grimace. The thought was tempting enough. To go out in the world, to see other people and maybe even to speak with them. It tantalized as much as it terrified, her heartbeat beginning to race as the idea took hold and ran off in every direction it could.
Quinn found herself in the closet, riffling through the thick sweaters and slacks that would make even Dr. Annan proud. She should thank the Gods Tobias gave her more than skirts, despite his insistence she wear them daily around the house. The ease of access was beneficial here, but out there in the city, she doubted he would be so accommodating of the lines of her legs being revealed.
Wriggling into the pale linen pants, she dashed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. In a frenzy as her imagination went wild with thoughts of speaking with people she didn’t even know, she restored some order to her hair in a loose bun. Teeth brushed, water splashed on her face, she wrinkled her nose at the pasty quality of her skin. Tobias didn’t allow her cosmetics, saying he didn’t like the way she looked layered under all the powders and creams.
Jerking her shoulders in a shrug as she perched on the edge of the bed to pull on a pair of soft gray boots, she decided to hope that sun and food would bring some color back to her cheeks. Pale was fine enough during the winter months, but deathly pallid was not a shade she was fond of.
Grinning ear to ear in her excitement, she turned to the door as it swung open while tugging her sweater into place.
Tobias stood silent in the doorway, the evergreen of his gaze sweeping over her. Taking in every minute detail, judging and assessing every inch of her until Quinn began to shift her weight from side to side. Hands strangling one another at her waist, she looked down at herself in objective perusal.
The deep azure of the sweater brought out a blue tone in her eyes and complimented the paleness without making her look deathly. Delicate cables did little to accentuate her chest but added a casual refinement that she rather liked. The linen slacks skimmed over her curves but didn’t snug around her ass as she would have had them do. She could see nothing wrong with the whole of it, no matter what she tried to pick apart.
“I’ll wear something else.”
“It’s… fine.”
Too caught up in her worry he would change his mind, she didn’t see him coming closer. Not until she was against his chest, feet dangling high above the ground as he stole her lips in a sudden assault. Invading her with ease, swamping her in the heat and depth of his arousal, Quinn whined low in her throat.
He released her before she could lose the thread of it all. Feet firm on the ground once more, Tobias slung his arm around her hips and guided her out. Escorting her down the stairs and through the foyer, he led her past armed men that fell into step behind them. Their shadowy figures followed to where the dark sedan waited in the chilly gray haze of late morning. She shivered, glad that he’d made her put on something warmer as the thick fog seeped under her collar to send a chill down her spine. Once Quinn and Tobias were ensconced in the warm leather and wood of the backseat, one guard piled his bulk into the driver’s seat beside Curtis. The others moved on to cars at front and back.
“Bit much for a run to the drugstore, isn’t it,” Quinn murmured as Tobias pulled her in closer to his side.
“No.” Curt and cool, he gave nothing away as he directed the Alpha guard on. The tension riddling his body transferred to hers, but it was everything else that Quinn drowned in.
The same excitement that paraded through her veins was in his, an eagerness so much at odds with his aloof demeanor she had a difficult time aligning the two. Intertwined with it all was a protectiveness that raged and howled, loathing even the very idea of someone else being near his mate.
It was enough to make her head spin and ache, fingers finding her temple to dig at the heavy pounding that scored the inside of her skull.
Noticing her puckered brows and the tight line of her lips, a low growl rumbled from Tobias’ chest. “Are you feeling sick again? We’ll turn around.”
“No, please! I…” Gaze skittering towards the front of the vehicle, Quinn swallowed the words that wanted to pour forth. It was one thing to speak her thoughts in front of Curtis, the Beta was no threat to an Alpha of Tobias’ power and a trusted ally besides. The other guard was an unknown quantity, and she wouldn’t risk belittling Tobias in front of him just for the sake of an argument that would see her locked back in the house anyhow. Instead she squirmed closer, petting at his chest.
Purr little more than a sigh, it was loud enough at least to have Tobias settle back into the charcoal leather. The tumultuous wave of his aggression tempered, letting her breathe and find some path back to her own thoughts. Arm snugging her so tight she couldn’t have moved away if she’d wanted to, she nuzzled his shoulder in gratitude.
To an outsider, she was just an Omega lavishing her Alpha with attention. For once, she didn’t care what it looked like to them. He was giving her precious ground, letting her assert some degree of independence, no matter if it was on a level no one but they knew of. As he calmed even more, allowing her to peer out of the window at the thick banks of trees as they flew past, she smiled.
It took less time than she would have liked to arrive in the city.
