Blood Ties

24. Reasonable

Quinn stared at the TV not taking anything in. There was sound and color and a smattering of applause every so often, but she wasn’t paying any attention to it. She was numb.

Ever since Adam had left the room abruptly after coming home, she’d been thinking. Had she said something that upset him? Was he not wanting to take the time to get to know her first before mating, pushing her away? She didn’t know, and the questions piled up in her throat like bitter bile ready to spill in an anxious bevy of anxiety and worry.

She took a sip from her bottle of water, letting it slide down her throat slowly. Then she was standing, getting ready to toss the bottle into the recycling before walking down the hallway. Not knowing if he wanted to be alone for the rest of the night, she opened the door to ‘her’ room and started toward the dresser. Sliding open a drawer, she picked out the first thing she saw, a camisole and pants set in light blue, and slipped out of her shirt first.

She’d been dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt for a good portion of the day, but she’d also been walking around and worrying a pattern in the carpet as she moved from one room to the next, trying to find something to occupy her time. It hadn’t worked, but she’d probably burned a few calories in the process. The place was huge.

After slipping on her sleep pants, she wandered over to her phone, checking the battery life and finding it too low to play a game on. She didn’t have a tablet, and the room didn’t boast anything else but a TV mounted on the wall. That would have been a waste of time as nothing interesting was on, so she decided to lie in bed and try to calm her mind, hoping that sleep soon came after.

It didn’t.

She laid in bed for an hour before she was up again. Restless, anxious, afraid to wander down the hall and make too much noise, so she ended up stretching with a music video on in the background. Maybe if she made her body limber and sore, it would cause her to find sleep that much quicker.

But even after she’d stretched, shimmied, and worked herself over trying to become tired, her anxiety hadn’t waned at all. The mindless roar of her heartbeat in her ears hadn’t made the questions vanish from her tongue. It had only annoyingly added more.

That was it. She slipped out of the bedroom after turning off the TV and the lights, closing it behind her before walking and standing outside of Adam’s room. She had the urge to knock, but she’d spent every night in there, even if she felt strange about it now. Bracing herself, she opened the door quietly and stepped in.

Adam was lying there, still but awake, and his head swiveled to hers before blinking. “Quinn? Are you alright?”

She felt like the resulting swallow was loud enough to fill the room and echo off the walls. “I’m fine. I just couldn’t sleep and was hoping I could talk to you.”

Sitting up, he patted the bed for her to come over, and she walked over to the far side before climbing on. She sat with her back against the tall headboard and stilled before looking over at him a few seconds later.

“Quinn?” he prompted her, leaning forward. She breathed slowly in and out, then turned to face him fully.

“What’s wrong? Did I do something to make you cold? You came home and it was like talking to a stranger. I feel like I might have said something to make you want to push me away.”

He stared at her for a moment, studying her face. “Not at all. I just needed some time to think about our mating. You know I want it, but I don’t want to push you. I honestly hoped you would decide to take a year off before going back, but I knew in the end you would probably come up with the decision you made. It’s understandable and even makes sense, but I’m impatient, and instead of sounding like a jackass by trying to convince you to do it my way, I took a step back and gave myself space to work it out. I get why you want to wait, and I understand that you’re not even certain you want to go through with this. I guess knowing that you want to put it off had me scrambling to catch my footing. I didn’t know if this was good or bad or—”

“It’s not bad,” she interjected softly. “I just want to finish what I set out to do first.” She paused. “I’m not saying no, and I feel like I’m so close to saying yes that I don’t want you thinking that I would just say it and then you could turn me. I want some time, even if just to finish my schooling. I…I’ve thought about it, and I think I want to take courses in the summer so I can be turned next year. I can do a play and still take the classes I need to graduate. I’ll be done that much sooner if you can be patient a little longer. Honestly, I can’t say that I don’t like the prospect of becoming yours. But it’s different for me and will take me a little while to get adjusted.”

He moved closer, inching toward her like he was frightened he might startle her like a skittish forest creature. “And I do understand. I just needed the evening alone so I could work through that and try to understand as a human would. I’ve never been one, and I’ve never been in an actual relationship either. This is new to you, but it’s new to me as well.”

She started to move, scampering off the bed in a hurry. “Shoot, I’m sorry! I’ll leave you alone for now. I—”

Her words were cut off when he was suddenly standing there right in front of her with his head close, hands cupping her chin. She stopped breathing, having forgotten how quick and silent he could be.

“No, no, beautiful girl. I didn’t mean now, but before. I needed the time to fetch a few things from the office. I went to the bar to be alone and met that man who basically told me everything I needed to know.” His head dipped lower, tongue darting out to lick across her lips in a seductive, shameless dance. It pulled a groan from deep in her chest and set her skin tingling. Her fingers were suddenly on his forearms, gripping and flexing like she wanted to pull him closer and push him away at the same time. Like she couldn’t make up her damn mind.

“Adam.” It was a whimper. A plea. Her fingers drew a line up his strong biceps over to his neck, digging into his skin until he was on her, dragging her to his bed—their bed.

He hauled her top off quickly, one perfect inch of her skin bared at a time, his fingers tracing ribs, up the soft curve of her breasts before sliding over her shoulder and gripping her hard. Her skin ached, burned, but it was delicious, and her head wrenched back the moment his mouth was on her n****e, taking it into her mouth with a suck. She grabbed harder, helping him push down her pants until they slithered off the edge of the mattress like a whisper.

Adam had only been in boxers, and he tucked a thumb into one side of them, pushing them hastily down his thick thighs, strong, muscles calves. He nudged her, slipping over skin that became slippery with the dew that beaded over the crown of his c**k. He was glad she was shaved. It made her much more sensitive, and his fingers slid lower, kneading as she writhed beneath him, her hips bucking when she ached to be taken.

“Please, Adam. I want this.”

He did too. God, did he want it, but he knew she needed preparation, and he poised one thick finger against her entrance and stopped, taking in the desperate entreaty in her eyes. Please, give me. I’m ready to take. He could read the words as easily as any script that passed across his desk at work.

He groaned, bit his lip and swallowed down any hesitation he had. “You sure? I’ll need to prepare you. I’ve f****d you with my fingers and tongue, and I’ll need to do that again to get you wet enough to take my c**k inside you.” He paused and became serious. “I won’t hurt you.”

She lifted her head, licking a circle around the tip of his tongue as it stuck out between his parted lips. “Do what you need to. I won’t stop you unless it’s too much. Promise.”

It was what he needed to hear, and he slipped his finger inside the tight channel of her cunt. Wet and warm, he worked into her slowly, feeling her squeeze him, even if it was just one thick finger. He moved in measured increments, dazzled by how her eyelids fluttered, her chest rose in heavy pants, the subtle clench of velvety muscle slowly releasing until he could move inside her finally.

“So goddamn beautiful,” he murmured. He’d braced his elbow on the side of her body, placing a thumb against her bottom lip to rest before slowly f*****g her with his other hand.

Feeling her muscles quiver, he curled his fingers, just enough to brush against her g-spot as he kissed her senseless. He swallowed each of her sounds like they fed his soul, letting her lead just as much as he so he could read her body. When her pelvis tilted against his hand, he added another finger, worked his thumb over her clit in a wild counterpoint that made her tighten around him.

“Adam.” She broke away from the kiss. It was making her too dizzy. “Please, I—oh, f**k. I’m going to come!”

He drove into her harder, pumping his fingers until she was trapping him, barely able to move. “Then take it, Quinn. Grab that pleasure. It’s yours. I want it. Need it. Crave the feel of you clasping around me. I can imagine it’s my c**k and you’re coming all over me, making my balls drip from your sweet, sweet p***y. s**t, I can almost feel that.” His eyes slid closed and he grunted, shoving fingers inside and splaying them wide.

She called out, startled. He panted and opened his eyes when he heard the soft whimper. “Too much?”

She almost giggled. She felt delirious and wanton. “No. I…it was just right, but I was shocked. It’s good. Please more. Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”

That was promising, and he stroked harder, flicking his thumb over her clit between teasing, glancing blows. He growled deep, half-animal and half-man, devouring her sounds and watching the expression on her face change every time he changed his rhythm.

Pretty soon, he felt it. One delicious clench as he loomed over her. Her breath caught, mouth opened, no sound escaping for one delicious moment before climax. With a flick of his wrist, she clutched deep, then released as she wailed her orgasm. Such a loud sound coming from such a small body, but he ate it up, leaning in to suck on her neck, right where he was more certain with every day that passed he would mark her as his with an infinity symbol and his initials. A.P. He would wear hers as well, Q.S., and wear them proudly.

Adam didn’t let up, pushed her higher until she was nearly scrambling away, begging him to stop, telling him it was too much, too good, her voice high and breathy.

He brought her down slow and easy until she was a puddle just dripping all over his fingers. Once he pulled out, he pushed them into her mouth. He felt her falter and then suck on her own juices. It was enough to make him want to beat his chest, plow into her, feel the soft, subtle clench of the last of her orgasm engulfing him.

But he wasn’t done, and slid slowly down her body, intent on licking her up, sucking all of her, inside and out, until she was coming again for him.

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