Tales of Redwind

Dinner Time (Mates for Quinn Short #1)

Quinn

I live to kiss Markus Valentine.

Ever since he literally died and came back brand new with no memories of our short months together, it’s like I am obsessed with him. I mean, I was obsessed before, but it’s all consuming now. I live, sleep and breathe Markus Valentine, even at the expense of our other boyfriend, Grey. Someone, like my best friend in the whole world, Geneva, and our other best friend, Ian, would say I am overcompensating and I should back down before I crashed again, but I can’t do this.

As I sit at the soft sofa in Mark and Grey’s old apartment, the one we practically abandoned when we lost Mark, I trace every movement Mark does in the kitchen area. He’s mincing some herbs for the special sauce he’s cooking us for dinner and he looks completely consumed in what he does, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he practically dances his way around the kitchen. It’s a late January afternoon and the setting sun paints everything in soft golden hues, creating the illusion that the uncharacteristic cold that’s locked the outside world can never reach us here.

My cat, Ruffles hovers around Mark in the hopes to get some treats and I don’t have the heart to put an end to this, because I am pretty sure cats aren’t supposed to eat fried stuff.

Mark catches me watching him and lifts his head from the chopping board, his warm, charming smile making my knees weak and for a long second I forget where I am or who the hell I am. I just stare at him, at the way the sun rays gleam into his messy hair, making the strands seem like liquid gold, framing the most perfect face I have ever seen - masculine, with a sharp jaw and rosy cheeks which make me want to smother them with kisses. Damn him, but ever since he came back he’s been so damn kissable.

He must have noticed how stupid he makes me feel, because the smile turns into a self-satisfied grin, which reminds me of his old, unapologetic self.

“Like what you see?” Marks asks, lifting an eyebrow and putting both his hands on the counter, leans into it to just watch me fumble and fight with the heat rising on my own cheeks.

I am not someone who blushes easily, or at all. I am not the man who lets things get completely out of his control either whether it’s about relationships or not. Yet, Mark has that effect on me - leaving me completely unbalanced, unsure, stupidly in love like a damn teenager. Deep down I know it’s the residues of the same old guilt that make me feel this way. Even though everyone is right and it wasn’t my fault that he was gone for so long, I can’t shake the feeling that it’s all a dream, that I will wake up and find myself back on Geneva’s couch, hollow and alone, Mark gone forever. It’s the same old nightmare that’s been waking me up for months now, the one that makes Grey hold me tightly in his arm, whispering that it’s okay, that this is real, until I fall back into restless slumber till the light hits our windows again. Yet, the feeling’s always there, etched deep at the pit of my stomach, hidden so well that even I can’t truly name it, not consciously at least.

Hating the sudden uncertainty that creeps into my chest, I leave the old grimoire, one full of knowledge about my kind, and kill the distance between Mark and me. I hug him from behind, my hands locking on his chest as I rest my chin on his shoulder. He immediately leans back into me, a satisfied sigh leaving his chest and for a moment we just stay like this.

I take a deep inhale of his scent, as much as it doesn’t appear creepy at least and everything in me melts from it. He smells of fresh soap and a faint hint of citrus that’s so familiar and precious to me that for a moment I feel like I’m stuck in a memory, or one of the unclear visions of the future I used to get before.

“You are tense,” Mark whispers and my grip around him tightens, which only makes him to gasp in satisfaction and lean further into me, his hands on mine over his heart now. Warm and gentle, so familiar and yet, so different than the uptight, chaotic man who once found me in a warehouse and decided to save my life.

“It’s okay now,” I reply in the same quiet tone as his, the words choking on my throat as I instinctively realise how true they actually are.

“Wanna talk about it?” Mark asks and still holding my hands turns to face me so that his a*ss is now pressed against the counter.

As his searching, knowing eyes bore into mine, I get distracted by the idea of bending him over that counter, right next to his precious mushrooms and showing him exactly how okay everything is. But a wise man, also known as my friend Ian, told me that s*ex is great, but it can’t fix a broken thing. And Mark’s just there, patient, waiting, understanding. I don’t want to dump it all on him, because if it wasn’t my fault what happened, it sure as hell isn’t his.

“Nah,” I reply, avoiding his eyes as I break away from him. “Whatcha cooking?”

Mark gets busy again, even though there is a frown on his face now. “Gonna get me distracted with that angelic charm of yours, mate?”

“I got plenty of ways to distract you if I wanted to, mate,” I reply, grabbing an apple from the fruit ball and chomping down on it. The sweet and sour taste erupts on my tongue and for a second I wonder how much better it would be if I could taste it from Mark’s hot skin. Later, I remind myself. We have a date night, plus Grey’s still out for work and somehow, no matter how much I love Mark, I need Grey here with us too if I want to feel complete.

Mark lifts his head from his work again, those deep blue eyes searching me again. With a soft sigh he leaves everything he’s doing and grabs a towel to dry up his hands. The next thing I know he gently cups my face, his thumb tracing my jawline. There is a frown on his forehead and he seems more serious now.

“Quinn, we promised each other to never keeps to ourselves,” he starts, his words gentle and filled with understanding. “Clearly there is something bothering you and I’ve been waiting for you to open up and tell us what’s going on your own terms, but…”

“It’s nothing, really,” I cut him off, suddenly feeling embarrassed because damn it, but this is the stupidest f*ucking thing in the world. He’s here, he’s mine, and Grey’s, and there is nothing wrong with us.

“It is something, Quinn,” Mark insists, that warm gentle hand of his still on me. “Tell me.”

My heart skips a beat and the frustration of the last few weeks, ever since I realised it was happening, comes crashing down on me again. But how do I even say that out loud, when it’s so stupid and petty? Yet, it’s everything I want but don’t know how to ask for.

I look away, feeling my cheeks heat up again and not because of Mark’s touch. Just last year I’d be all about sass and nonchalance, but Mark’s death turned everything upside down and now I am just one needy, insecure mess. I don’t have even the slightest idea how to get back on track.

My lips flutter as my heart starts beating like crazy now as I start to loose my breath and I am more than sure my cheeks are crimson red at this point.

“I am no longer your sunshine,” I mutter, feeling like the lamest fool that’s ever walked this world. What even means that?

Mark startles at my words. He literally freezes, his brows furrowing in confusion as he blinks wordlessly a few times. “What do you mean?”

Suddenly I wonder whether if the earth opened up and swallowed me it would be enough to hide myself. Probably not. Probably I should charm myself out of this planet altogether so I won’t ever have to meet any other person and be reminded of this horrific moment. Of how Mark stares at me, having no clue what I am talking about, or how flushed I am. Yet, once started, I can’t stop no matter what, no one can call me a quitter at least I guess.

“You used to call me your sunshine. Said I lit up your world like the sun. And now I am just… Quinn. I told you, it’s stupid.”

When I finally muster the courage to look up at him, he looks so taken aback, so lost and sad and my heart immediately starts breaking, because what the hell was I thinking spitting this s*hit our and bringing pain to him.

“I’d forgotten,” Mark whispers. “I remember most things, but I’d forgotten this was how I called you. But, Quinn, you are my sunshine,” he smiles gently as he leans into me. “Back before I found my way to you, I used to sit alone and stare outside, feeling like I was missing my sun. that entire sun was so dry and hot, yet I felt cold because my sun was lost to me. Those were my exact thoughts.”

A small smile lands on my lips at that and I am feeling suddenly warm and light, and a little goofy.

“Baby, sunshine,” Mark whispers against my lips. “You and Grey, you mean the world to me. And yeah, I am a little off at times, but you know that, right?”

“I do, I just… kiss me, Mark, please.”

And he does. He kisses all my worries better, his lips soft and sweet against mine at first, until they aren’t. Mark kisses like his entire life depends on the dance of our tongues.

He’s playing with me, taunting me, making me beg for more. Once he’s done with me, a whole lot of minutes later, I am breathless, my lips swollen, and my d*ick painfully hard. It’s like in the time he was gone he did master the game of edging to perfection and can’t wait to show off his new skills even in situations like this where I act like a needy mess and yet he allows it, because well, he loves me. Like I said, I am addicted to his kisses.

This is how Grey finds me - starry eyed as I sit on the barstool and take in each and every movement Mark does, relishing in the discomfort that my hard d*ick brings. I don’t even try to hide it under the counter and Mark’s gaze does trail off to my crotch on a few occasions, the view making him loose his train of thought, so he has to remake the sauce.

The moment Grey walks into the room, his dark eyes are immediately drawn to me too. He takes his coat off and goes to pull Mark into a kiss and damn those guys, but seeing them make out will always be the hottest thing ever. There’s something so satisfying in the way Mark just leans into Grey, like completely giving himself away to the bigger man, and the way Grey dominates that kiss of theirs? It makes my toes curl just f*ucking watch them, knowing how much better it is going to be once we are all in bed and it will be Grey who’d give himself to us, begging to be f*ucked again and again.

Right now he ends the kiss and his gleaming dark eyes focus on me with a wide grin.

“You look hot,” he says and gives me the same devastating kiss.

Correction. It’s not just Mark’s kisses I am addicted to. Grey’s are just as addicting.

As we part, my lips stretch into a wide smile, my heart full and warm for once. “You are hot too, big guy.”

Grey eyes me with those big, starry eyes of his, and he looks kind of like he wants to devour me. At the notion, my d*ick twitches with attention again and I have to readjust in my seat for more comfort. I am wearing Mark’s black sweatpants and they are loose on me, but definitely not enough to hide my hard-on.

The moment Grey notices, a wide, predatory grin blossoms on his lips. “Someone’s been busy…” he notes with a raised brow, his expression one of complete satisfaction.

“Well, our sunshine here felt a little insecure,” Mark chimes in with his usual, nonchalant tone, which warms my soul, because damn it, it’s just like old times. “Had to remind him why he shouldn’t be.”

“Shut up, I am not insecure,” I murmur, my cheeks burning again. Damn it, it’s too hot in this damn room, like why on earth do we have the stove and the heater on at the same time? Who cares if it’s almost minus 10 degrees Celsius outside? I don’t.

Grey’s eyes bore into mine and he looks damn serious when he speaks. “You are the least insecure person I know in the world. And you have everything to back that statement too.”

For a moment I remember again the dark months we spent after Mark left. How I was so lost into my head, I almost pushed him away with how messed up I felt then. How I almost ruined everything until he begged me with tears in his eyes to not leave him too.

On instinct I stand up and wrap myself around my Grey, holding him tight into me, my legs wrapping around his waist. “You smell like like winter,” I whisper into the crook of his neck.

Grey holds me tight, his hands squeezing the base of my a*ss as he leaves a soft kiss on my neck before his lips move to my cheek. For a moment we stay like this, just entwined with each other, relishing in the delight of being so close, no walls or secrets, or fears, standing between us.

“So, are you two gonna f*uck first, or are having dinner?” Mark asks somewhere behind us and both Grey and me chuckle as he lets me down slowly. “I mean, I am down either way. You two are scorching when you get so needy.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Like you aren’t just as needy as we are.”

“Well, sunshine,” he enunciates the word, his eyes gleaming as he says it, “that’s how you love me, no?”

“I love you no matter what,” I reply with a wink, suddenly feeling lighter. Damn those guys, but both of them together always find a way to make me forget all the dark thoughts that tend to haunt me from time to time.

“Yeah, you do,” Mark grins. “Now get your pretty a*ss busy and help me fix the table for dinner. You,” he turns to Grey with a taunting smile. “Go get yourself cleaned up and presentable for my food. We are having steak.”

“I prefer to have both of you for dinner,” Grey says but he’s already on his way to the bathroom.

Before he leaves though, I call after him and Mark, who’s busy plating our food. “Babes? After dinner I am going to get f*ucked by both of you. At the same time. You are aware of that, right?”