“You’re sure?”
It was the uncertainty hidden deep in that question that made her pause. Bent over the bed so far she strained to remain an inch off of the offensive construct, her head snapped up. Pale grays widened, catching the turbulent green of his.
“Why on earth wouldn’t I be?”
He didn’t answer, not with words. Moving faster than Quinn could track, he sat up to catch her under the arms. Dragged her back in against him so she was plastered to his chest. Gripping her ass hard, he carried her towards the bathroom.
“What on earth are you doing now?”
“I still need to bandage your neck.” Any hint of the warm spice of his scent dissipated under the suffocating rush of hot ash and smoke.
Quinn remained pliant when he set her on the counter. Held her hair up out of the way while he inspected the cuts and scratches. Observed the intense male as he patched her up with antibiotic creams and sterile bandages that made her skin itch. All of her work became undone in a matter of minutes.
Tension ratcheting up by degrees with every swift movement, she didn’t have to touch the simmering fury within their bond to know he was working himself up to another fine rage.
“There was no way for anyone to know, Tobias,” Quinn said, modulating voice and words in a way she never did. Soothing and quiet, she tried to placate. “No one even guessed.”
“I shouldn’t have trusted Curtis to check her out.” Delivered in a tone so devoid of emotion it was miles below lifeless, Tobias finished applying the last bandage and pulled Quinn down from the vanity. Smoothing his palms over her hips as if to reassure himself, he turned and left her there.
Quinn shivered as much more than the cool mist lingering in the room worked down her back. Goosebumps prickling the backs of arms and thighs, she hurried after the agitated Alpha. Finding him in the closet sorting through fresh clothing, Quinn leaned against the doorframe to stare in outright confusion.
The beast that attacked Meghan might be long gone, but so was the man who cuddled her after their violent sex. Cool and precise, he acted as if nothing had happened. Watery grays narrowing, she stood to her full height and blocked the door. Lips slanting down when she was further ignored, Quinn grabbed hold of the bond. Gave it a swift pull, drawing on it as she had when ordering the guards out of her way.
Tobias fumbled a suit coat from its hanger, ripping the sleeve as he turned to Quinn. Nostrils flared as the green of his eyes darkened to near black. Simmering just beneath the surface of his aloof exterior was a rage that threatened to burn them both.
“This is one of the things that will be changing. You don’t get to ignore me when it suits you,” Quinn ground out between clenched teeth. She trembled under the strain of trying to control the powerful surge of sensations pounding through her chest but refused to back down.
Chest expanding, he grew larger. Taller as he came at Quinn at speeds that shouldn’t be possible for a man so massive. Large hands catching Quinn at the hips, he lifted her until they were of a height. Showing her the edge of even white teeth, his snarl was quiet.
Pushed into the smooth wood of the door, it stuttered under her trembling. It had nothing to do with fear. The certainty he wouldn’t hurt her still flowed through her veins and it sent her hand to his cheek to caress the hard lines.
“I am still your Alpha, little bird.”
“And I’m your Omega.”
A rush of heat swelled within her chest. Threatened to explode her heart as it stammered and tripped into a furious rhythm not her own. With a low growl he was against her, rubbing his body over hers. Marking his territory.
Hum breathless and off-key as he pushed the air from her lungs, Quinn sifted his hair through her fingers. Nuzzled his neck and shoulder, outright purring when she set her lips to the small red rings claiming him as her own. What began as simple touches and primal need soon escalated. Quinn grinding against the hardness of his stomach, low whines scattering over his shoulder as she licked and sucked at her claiming marks.
“Shall I go around with your slick scenting me then,” Tobias asked, teasing tone gruff and rocky. Palming her ass, he pulled her tighter still, sliding the hard length of his cock between spread cheeks. Leaving a thick trail of his desire no less potent against her skin.
“You are a tasteless ass.” Quinn growled, smacking at his shoulders until he put her down. Hid her smile by turning away to grab at the first outfit that came to hand. Slacks and a simple blouse, it’d do for the moment. Didn’t even consider going to the bathroom to wipe away the tacky film of his excitement from her skin as she wriggled into a pair of underwear and hurried through the rest.
“I’m going to see what’s being done about—”
“Okay, yeah. Going to the kids,” Quinn said in a rush, breezing past him while he tugged on a pristine shirt that hugged his arms in a way that made her knees weak. Uncertain why she would be so distracted by his state of undress or disgruntled as he covered it up, she scurried from the room.
An uneasy walk down the hall brought her face to face with Rebecca once again.
Frigid brown gaze taking Quinn in, her nostrils flared, lips twitching as she caught scent of Tobias on Quinn. Movements exaggerated, she moved aside from the doorway and gestured Quinn inside to find the kids playing. Adam building an unsteady tower while Elise blew raspberries at a bright plastic truck she pushed ahead of her.
“Thank you,” Quinn murmured to Rebecca, smiling as Adam told Elise she was doing it all wrong.
“Just doing my job.” Remaining by the door, Rebecca crossed her arms and looked into the blankness of space. Seeming alert and ready without even trying.
Not until Quinn was sitting cross-legged on the bright rug, watching her children giggle and laugh as they played, did she realize she’d given Meghan no further thought. After watching the woman be ripped open, her entire body nothing but meat and broken pieces, she thought she should feel something. Hatred, betrayal, something other than this hollow emptiness.
Meghan had been there from the very beginning. Taught Quinn to feed and clothe Adam, things she’d carried on to do with Elise. She’d listened to Quinn’s sorrows, soothed her when Tobias abandoned her. How could she reconcile the evil she’d watched unravel with the woman who once rocked her while she sobbed?
