The beast lurking within him was still too close.
Another slow nod, far less smooth, and Tobias began to extricate himself. Fingertips lingering against her cheek, he stepped back to take up position beside Quinn where she remained half sprawled across the now ruined couch. Sticky and clumping, it made the soft fabric cling to her.
“Come. Her neck.” Arm jerking, he waved Dr. Annan in.
Pausing for a deep breath, Dr. Annan entered the room. Slow and steady, careful not to make a single movement that might be misunderstood. Not until she stood in front of Quinn did she become uncertain. She’d have to touch Quinn, and Tobias was not making it appear that would ever be an option.
Filling her lungs, trying to ignore the mingling scents of smoky darkness and acrid fear, Quinn plucked at Tobias’ sleeve. Bringing his attention to her, she quelled the urge to bolt. Danger and violence swam in those eyes, fair begging for an outlet to present itself with the smallest misstep. “Calm down, sweetheart. She can’t help me if she’s too terrified to look.”
He startled. Arm twitching under Quinn’s hand, his brows crashed together. The hard, rigid planes of his features plunged, lips slack as he looked at Quinn. A breathless moment where she thought he would deny Dr. Annan anyhow brushed away with the vague roll of his wrist that brought the Beta doctor forward.
Turning to let Dr. Annan see where the sensation of burning needles pierced her skin the most, cautious fingers tangled with his. Holding on as Dr. Annan poked and prodded, inspecting the ragged wounds that felt as if they bared Quinn’s spine. The first hiss of discomfort might have sent him after the woman, but Quinn’s grip remained strong. Holding him right where he was. Dragging that tight grasp to her chest with a low whine, pinning his hand there against the stammering rhythm of her heart when Dr. Annan pinched at the torn skin.
“She’s almost done, sweetness.” Sounding far more himself, Tobias offered comfort. Held her hand and smoothed back the brittle strands of her hair from her face.
“All right,” Dr. Annan pronounced when she stood back, digging through her medical kit. Some of the color returning to her cheeks as the suffocating miasma of Tobias’ anger lifted some. “I don’t think you need stitches. They need to be cleaned and bandaged, but, um…”
“I need to take a shower.”
“Yes, a bandage would be ruined if I applied it now. So, if you would care to—”
“Out.”
“Tobias,” Quinn whispered in a hiss, cautious in her movements while turning to face the doctor. “Are the kids okay? Did she do anything to them?”
“They’re fine. No symptoms. Checking their blood now.” Dr. Annan slid back a step, shying away from the subterranean darkness that vibrated through Tobias’ chest.
“All right. I can manage to bandage it after I get clean. Thank you, doctor.” Quinn gripped Tobias’ arm, forcing him to change the direction of some of that attention as she demanded he assist her.
With no hesitation on her part, Quinn dragged Tobias after her towards the bathroom. Which was to say, she wrapped his arm in hers, hugging it to her body as she made mincing steps away from the doctor. Murmuring quiet sounds of soothing, she urged Tobias to come with her, though he wouldn’t turn away from Dr. Annan until she slipped out into the hall.
“Now can we please get all of this… I need to get it off.” Desperate, Quinn began stripping as she begged. The plaintive whine grating her nerves though it couldn’t be helped. Flinging the rusty brown and viscous crimson clothing away from her to land in a sodden heap by the door, she backed away towards the shower.
Not until she was shivering on the cold tiles, reaching for the taps, did she understand her mistake.
Tobias was naked and on her in moments. Clothes ripped away, left wherever they fell as he rushed Quinn. Swooping down, he had her thighs cupped in his palms, lifting her until her back smacked into the wall.
Sex and violence were two sides of the same coin for Alphas. She knew that and hadn’t paid any attention to the situation before showing one still high on the violence and chaos he’d wreaked all that naked flesh. Cursing her stupidity, she kept her chin and gaze averted, offering no real resistance. Gave no indication she would be willing but didn’t deny him either.
“I need you, sweetness,” Tobias murmured against her skin, sucking mouth traveling over her neck and shoulder. The heavy weight of his cock slid against her, hips working as he sought entrance. Surprising them both when he added, “Please, Quinn, I need you.”
“We have to get clean first,” Quinn whispered into the cool air, gaze tripping over the taps that were so close and yet miles away. “Please, not with all of this on us. It… I can smell it and—”
Tobias cut her off, shushing her with wordless sounds of comfort. One hand palming her ass, he reached out and cranked the water on. Shielded her from the first icy blast, waiting until it warmed before he turned to let her catch some of the steaming water. Holding her there as he reached blind for the soap, the rough strokes of the bar against her skin turned into frothy pink bubbles while he scrubbed away the worst of it.
Quinn tried to remain passive. Attempted to breathe through the iron band cinching her lungs. Failed with a miserable shudder as she fumbled her soap from the shelf and flipped the top open. Upending the bottle she squeezed, sending the lavender and honey scented liquid dripping down his chest. She didn’t care it was hers, no more than she was bothered that he scrubbed at her with his warm, musky scent. She needed them both to be clean.
As the water ran more clear than red, swirling down the drain and making all those horrors disappear, his touches changed. More to arouse than to remove any trace of the sticky crimson he’d left on her skin. Thumbs brushing over her nipples as he cupped the weight of her breasts, he set his lips against the sensitive spot just behind her ear. Breathing in her scent, he let it out on a quiet, rumbling call that bowed her back and had Quinn’s hands scrabbling over slick shoulders for purchase.
With the first slow rock of his hips, she braced for the rough mounting that would come. Under the perfume of their soap, the bitter scent of hot ash and smoke lingered far too close. Lips set in a hard line as her pussy grew wet with slick, she waited for the first painful thrust.
It never came.
Easing inside of her in cautious inches, his deep reverberation unlocked her joints. Made her warm putty in his firm grip while he kneaded the flesh of her ass, spreading her open to his slow invasion. His rumbling groan against his claiming marks on her shoulder sent a shiver cavorting down her spine. Twisting it up, tingling shocks of pleasure zapping her nerve endings as she twitched her hips in response.
Hilted inside of her, he paused. Rolled his hips to edge that much deeper, the delicious ache against her cervix prompting Quinn to let her head loll on a guttural moan. Waiting until she grew impatient with his lack of movement, he eased back. The slow glide of slick flesh divine, she clung to his hard shaft before he altered course and worked his way back inside. Making her feel all of him with each measured thrust.
Growing frustrated with the crawling pace, Quinn made quiet noises and tried to work her hips. Found them pinned against the hard tile by his large hands, keeping her angled just right for the slow pumps of his hips. Perturbed, her lips slanted down. While happy he wasn’t hurting her, this level of gentleness would never see him releasing the pent up aggression that started it.
