When his weight crashed into her again, she offered a broken hum. Contentment filling the spaces between panting gasps and the remnants of quieting growls. Closing her eyes, she thought she might have told Tobias she loved him.
It might have just been in her head though.
Chapter Fifteen
Quinn’s gasp turned to a hiss before she managed to clear the gummy film from her lashes as Tobias shifted above her.
“Stop! Fuck,” she whispered in a hoarse croak, slapping at his arm when he did it again.
“Too heavy.”
“M’fine. Just stop.”
“Are you all right,” he asked, so quiet she almost didn’t hear him despite the fact he was mere inches away.
“I’ll be fine when you stop trying to move,” Quinn grumbled while threading her fingers through his. Cradling his large palm and rubbing her thumb in slow sweeps over his knuckles.
“You’re sure?” Tensed and too distracted to accept her touch, he tried to lift more of his weight from Quinn’s back. Jostled the knot still lodged inside of her body’s tight grip.
“Love of the Gods,” she muttered. Clenched aching muscle around him with a shiver and a purr as a ragged pulse of lingering bliss scraped up her spine. “See? Fine.”
“Fuck,” he breathed, voice strained as if she caused him true pain. “Don’t do that.”
Settling into the bed, Quinn dozed as she waited for the knot to abate. Staring at the blurry shapes of their entwined hands, she didn’t pay attention to the fact she still touched him. It didn’t matter that he was as calm as he ever was now. The soothing caress was as much for her as for him in these languid moments of quiet before the world intruded once more.
“Fuck, the kids,” Quinn squeaked, jostling under his bulk and earning herself a wrenching pain that twisted through her midsection.
“They’re fine. Rebecca has them.”
“An Alpha guard with my babies? No.”
“She has children of her own, little bird. Rebecca can handle them fine.” Now he settled his weight on her, crushing her will to move along with the breath to argue.
“Ruined my nest again,” she huffed, free hand shoving at a fold of sheet tumbled close to her face.
“You’ll make a new one.”
His purr called her to rest, but too awake with the dull throb of pain centered low in her hips still, Quinn played with his fingers. Examining the texture of the roughened calluses, the weight and heft of each digit compared to her own.
Spine trying to lengthen when he took hold of her, Quinn’s gaze skittered away. Unhappy she’d been caught out fondling him, no matter he’d been paying attention the entire time. Ignoring the smooth glide of his thumb over her hand, she clicked her tongue when he dragged it to his lips. Pretended she didn’t feel the shiver that twitched her shoulders when he placed a kiss to her palm.
Though Quinn’s cheeks warmed at the rush of fluid wetting her thighs and the bedding beneath, neither moved when the knot diminished. He nuzzled the sensitive spot beneath her ear and abraded her skin with the delicious rasp of stubble. Fingers winding around one another in ever more complicated patterns as each tried to come out on top. Until Quinn couldn’t contain her humor and let it out a husky chuckle when he pinned her hand with deft ease.
“Things will have to change,” she murmured, reality edging further in with every measured breath. A chill snaked down her spine, its sobering effect sinuous as it spread through her limbs.
“We’ll get a new nanny—”
“No. Absolutely not. I’m raising my kids, no one else.” Angling her chin to peer at him over her shoulder through the tangled mass of damp hair, she sent both eyebrows high and set her lips in a tight purse. “A lot of other things have to change, too.”
“Not now.” He rolled off of her then, but before she could miss his heat and weight, Tobias dragged Quinn into his side. Wrapped her in his arms so that she sprawled across his body. Scrubbing his fingertips against her scalp, he soothed. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“Fine.” Said on a gusty sigh, Quinn tried to relax. Willed the tension working back into her shoulders away. It was no use.
Disentangling his fingers from her hair, she sat up and viewed the rumpled chaos of the bedding. Muttered and grumbled as she began to rearrange the stiff folds and limp drifts into something more pleasing. Giving up when none of it would do, she bounced off the bed and stalked towards the closet, intent on changing it all out. Returning with arms full, she gave Tobias wide eyes when he continued to lounge, his bulk sprawled across too much of the mattress for her to do anything.
“Are you all right,” he asked, the rich timbre offering a soothing resonance. Arm held out, he invited her back in against his body.
“I’m fine.” Pale brows slamming into a hard line, Quinn gave a terse shake of her head. Beginning to tug and pull at the bedding, she huffed and groaned when he still didn’t move.
