Blood Ties

15. Redeemed

After checking out UCLA’s campus and visiting the registrar the next day, they came back to Adam’s home and decided on a late lunch. They’d spent a good part of the morning at the college and were just arriving back in Beverly Hills about 1 PM. Adam had cooked breakfast for Quinn while he drank blood, and she hadn’t even flinched when they both brushed their teeth in his en suite together afterwards. When he spat out his toothpaste, it was tinged pink, even though the Crest he used was obviously a pale mint color.

“Did you want to watch the second movie in the trilogy we watched the other night?” Adam asked after they’d placed the dirty dishes inside the dishwasher. Quinn had liked the first movie Cassie had ever written the script for and was curious about the second installment of the trilogy, Redemption. There was also a third movie and a 2-hour cable TV special, but he wanted her to see them all in order.

“Yeah, absolutely.” She gazed around the empty living room looking puzzled. “Where did everyone go?”

Adam shrugged his shoulders. “Dad’s probably with Mom downtown. He said they’re going to stay at a condo they own to give us some privacy, but I think he wants to speak to the HOA in charge. No one’s been there in ages, and it needs to be cleaned. The HOA has very strict policies about who can come in and out of the building because of who lives there, and they want to see if they can get them to hurry up the cleaning process so they can move in soonest. They hate crowding me here, and my mom prefers a solitary setting when she writes. Before she met Dad, she used to write alone in her bedroom in NorCal, or when only Dad was around after they met. She gets distracted easily, so when Charlie and I were babies, Dad used to play with us when she was working, since he no longer went into the office. He had his assistant, Jones, to keep in touch with all the time, and the guy was more than adequate for the job. If we were irritable enough, he’d take us to the playground or park and let us get all our pent-up energy out. Always passed out on the way home, to hear him tell it.

“Anyway, my mom prefers her ‘happy place’ when she’s creating, and I guess that’s in an office, on the couch, in bed, or wherever else it is, so long as she can concentrate. Dad could be near or far, for all that it matters. Their bond doesn’t cause any distraction for her, so he could float on by or disappear entirely and she’d still be able to work. I guess it makes sense. The bond relaxes as much as it can arouse in intimate settings. It’s the perfect leavener for nearly every situation. Stressed out? Unhappy? Anxious? Stick with your mate and they’ll see you through. It’s not difficult. Hell, you don’t even have to try at all. All you gotta do it be. Recenter yourself with their proximity. It’s better than any mood-altering drug out there.”

The whole time he spoke, he was rooting through discs to find Redemption. He had copies of all his mother’s movies, even some of the uncut versions that had scenes that didn’t make it to the big screen. Adam eventually pulled out the correct disc, thought for a split-second, and then grabbed the third movie in the trilogy, Provocation, just in case she wanted to binge the rest of the series. It was still early, and he didn’t expect his parents to be back for a while since they said they were going to visit Michael and Delia after they were done downtown at the condo.

“What about Charlie?” Quinn sat down on the couch and put her feet on the cushiony ottoman in front of her.

“At a friend’s house, I think,” Adam responded. “I texted her from the university, so I think she’s probably going to be with her friend Damon. Surprisingly enough, he’s a shifter. The two species don’t always mix.”

Quinn blinked before speaking. “Shifter?”

“Yup. Wolf shifter, to be exact.” He popped the disc into the Blu-ray player and stepped back before picking up the remote. “There are different kinds of shifters, though wolves are the most common. Cougar, horse, pinniped, woodpecker. Granted most animals have a shifter variety to their name, you rarely hear of smaller rodents like moles and rats. I don’t think I’d want to go from human to guinea pig unless I was trying to escape.”

He moved back toward the couch, his arm pointed toward the TV as the screen for Redemption flickered on and all the options became available on the main screen.

“Does anyone actually listen to the director’s speaking over the movie option?”

“That’s the commentary track, though it’s more common in the director’s cut versions. I have listened to one before, but only because they actually used some of the actors in it instead of the director. It was insightful, but I’d seen the movie so many times that I could have recited half of it.” He clicked the option to play and settled back next to Quinn as an arial shot of a suburban sprawl centered in on a quaint bar in the heart of Silicon Valley.

“This movie’s about that Carl guy, right? The one that bet Aiden to sleep with his secretary?”

“Spot on. Mom said she started the script for Impulse as a standalone, but had the idea from a friend about writing a second movie based on Carl. She felt he came off wrong in the first movie. He’s not a bad guy, just didn’t know what he was looking for in a woman. Human romances can be complicated and difficult, from what I’ve noticed in the movies. They don’t get that instant connection usually, so it’s primarily a physical attraction at first. They see a gorgeous female and it speaks to their d**k more so than their heart. It’s why I wouldn’t normally go for the romance my mother writes, but as she was human first, it makes sense.”

“Plus, Constance in the first movie was pretty dowdy, at the onset. I think Aiden felt more for her emotionally than physically at first.”

Adam c****d his head a bit before looking over at her. “You might be right. She hid her s*x appeal well in the beginning—with the exception of those two brothers she f****d in the beginning of the movie. It was all conservative dress and professionalism otherwise.”

“She had a mental health disorder that a lot of people see as a stigma,” Quinn pointed out. “s*x addiction was not widely accepted at the time. In some circles today, it still isn’t.”

Adam snaked an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side and thinking. “Still isn’t, I guess. Even today, there are still some boomers that feel it’s just an excuse to cheat or get laid constantly. There will always be those who don’t believe the science behind some mental disorders. No hush, love. The movie is starting.”

They sat watching for a little bit, taking a break halfway through to make some popcorn and get something to drink. Before pushing play for the second half of the movie, Adam leaned in and pecked Quinn’s mouth, taking time to lick some butter and salt off her lips. She gasped in surprise.

“Sorry,” he apologized gruffly. “Couldn’t seem to help it, honestly.”

She blinked back at him before her mouth popped opened tentatively. “It’s okay. It just surprised me is all.”

“Still, I shouldn’t be pushing my luck with you. This is, after all, at your discretion, not mine.”

“Really, it’s okay,” she assured him, leaning closer. “I actually like it when you kiss me. It gives me butterflies in my belly. It’s different. Never felt anything like it before, not even with my first boyfriend in high school. I…I really enjoy it. Like, a lot.” She blushed prettily, some of the light freckles on her cheeks blending in with her pink-tinted skin. It was adorable, and Adam leaned in further until he was breathing almost directly against her mouth.

“Is that so? I hope that’s an indirect offer to steal a kiss from you whenever the spirit moves me, sweetheart, because you can be sure I will take full advantage of that in the future if so.”

Her skin turned an even darker pink, the apples deepening and flush spreading until her whole face was awash with color. It was endearing, and he covered her mouth with his, feeling the warmth of her cheeks as his lips sealed tightly against hers. His tongue flicked out, licking across the seam of her lips before she was parting them, ever so slightly. When she opened wider, welcoming him in, he took full advantage and swept his tongue deeper, licking every inch inside until her breath caught in her throat.

He took that as a good sign, pulled her onto his lap so she straddled him. His c**k was already hard just from the taste and warmth of her mouth, and her long bohemian-style dress bunched up around her thighs, giving him an ample amount of pale skin to smooth over with his hands. He did, his hands bunching the material up around her hips as she rotated her pelvis just slightly. It was enough to draw a groan from deep within his chest until he smelled the wetness wafting from between her thighs. Quinn was turned on. He didn’t need to touch her to know. It was in her scent, and it drove him crazy.

She leaned in, letting him feel the press of her soft breasts against him, the wanton squirm of her hips as he ate at her mouth, sucked her lips and tongue, simply devoured her sounds.

“Adam.” That one word was so damn close to a whimper, his c**k could have punched through his jeans with ease if he hadn’t had adjusted the angle so it didn’t bend his d**k. The long, hard length rubbed enticingly against her clothed p***y, and she gave a soft keening sob as his hands slid up from her waist to her chest. Since she wasn’t exactly complaining, he cupped her breasts, finding the hard points of her n*****s through her thin shirt and rubbing his thumbs until she was circling her hips in tighter circles. Finally, their kiss broke, and Adam’s lust-filled gaze caught her hooded eyes.

“I need to touch you,” he told her before swallowing and licking his dry lips. “Can I touch you, love? I promise make you feel good.”

She took a deep, gasping breath before nodding slowly. Quinn wasn’t sure if she meant under her bra or panties, but she was so wet, she prayed it was the latter.

“Yes.”

He almost groaned—wanted to so badly. His right hand slid in measured steps, gently pushing the fabric of her dress aside and feeling the warm cotton panties she wore beneath them. He stroked over her folds through her underwear, finding it damp before pressed harder where her clit was. She shivered and moaned right as he pushed the panel aside and stroked the soft flesh beneath it.

“f**k, you’re soaking.” If she was embarrassed about it, it wasn’t enough to stop her from needing more, and she churned her hips faster, biting her lip against another loud moan. “No, don’t stop those sweet sounds of yours. I f*****g need them, Quinn.”

His finger slid down until he was cupping her entire p***y, rubbing soft circles on her clit with his thumbs as he inserted one, then two fingers inside her. He stroked her front walls smoothly, making the muscles clench around him. She immediately gripped his neck, and he started to use his other hand to pull her head down so he could taste her lips again.

She ground down on him, harder and harder until he was f*****g into her tight little cunt, swearing to himself that it was a miracle he was able to get inside her with two fingers with the way she was squeezing him. When he gave her the tiniest fraction more pressure against her, he felt her tighten, then starting to pulse.

“Oh, f**k—Adam!” she cried out as the force of her orgasm took over. She felt in splinter inside her, rippling out to her fingers and toes, her p***y contracting around him until Adam damn near came just watching her fall apart for him. Stroking her slowly to elongate her response to him, he finally eased his fingers out of her, slipping them inside his mouth to clean off. She watched with an open mouth, blinked a couple of times.

When he was done, he eased her back onto the couch and got up, walking into the hallway before the sound of water running was heard. When he came back out, he was holding a washcloth in one hand, smiling slightly before moving over and separating her thighs.

He washed her gently between her thighs before leaning in and kissing her on the mouth. She tasted her own arousal on his tongue, wrapping her arms around him to pull him close. When the kiss broke, she looked at him, her gaze fixed and hazy.

“Let me just get rid of the washcloth and we’ll watch the rest of the movie.”

She could only nod, because she was still a little out of breath.