N. Walters - Quinn's Quest

It was no surprise he’d had the dream tonight. He’d come so close to finding Chris, only to have her slip through his fingers. “I’ll find you,” he whispered his promise to the night.

Beside him, Bethany stirred but didn’t wake. He’d crawled in bed next to her, hoping to offer her some comfort. She’d taken not finding Chris almost as hard as he had. He could only imagine the horror she’d lived through over the past several weeks.

He had no right to be in bed with her, but he wasn’t about to leave. She needed his protection and whatever help and comfort he could give her.

Quinn settled back down and draped his arm over her waist. She was turned away from him, so he snuggled against her back. It occurred to him as he drifted off to sleep that he probably needed her comfort more than she needed his.

Bethany came awake slowly, fighting to reach consciousness through the layers of darkness that offered solace. She had a vague memory of crawling into bed after they’d returned from their failed attempt to find Chrissten. She’d been exhausted and disheartened and had barely managed to shower and eat most of the bowl of beef stew Meredith had pushed on her. Quinn had shown her to this room and urged her to try to sleep.

She’d been too tired to fight him. She knew she’d have to make some decisions today. Her part in this travesty was over and there was nothing else she could do to help. It was time for her to move forward and try to pick up the pieces of her own life.

As much as she had to do, she still made no move to leave the bed. She felt warm and safe and wanted to hold on to that feeling for just a few more moments. Once she left she’d never have Quinn’s arms wrapped around her again.

She’d been left alone during the day, coming awake long enough to go to the bathroom and fall back in bed again, but some time during the night, he’d crawled into bed with her and pulled her into his arms. Her back was pressed against his chest, her backside snug against his rather impressive erection. She was wearing a warm flannel nightgown that Meredith had loaned her. She wasn’t certain if Quinn was wearing anything. From the feel of things, she didn’t think so.

He was still asleep and she didn’t want that to change. Not until she’d had time to think about what she wanted to do about the spark that sizzled between them. She’d never been this attracted to a man before. Already her body was reacting to the feel of his hard, muscled form against hers, the musky, masculine smell filling her nostrils. Her breasts were swollen, her nipples puckered. Her skin ached for his touch. Between her thighs a heavy throbbing began to pulse.

Now she knew that at least part of what was happening was due to her unique biology.

Going into heat . Just thinking about the term was enough to make her crazy. That was something animals did. Not thinking, reasoning human beings.

But then again, she wasn’t entirely human, was she?

She, more than most, knew how life could change in a split second. The kidnapping had brought that concept home to her in a brutal manner. She could have died in the hands of those men, or rather, one crazy man and an equally insane werewolf. She might never have had the opportunity to be with a man again, at least not one of her choosing.

Brian would have raped her. That was a fact. He’d wanted her. She’d seen it in his eyes that last day—the lust, the craving. He would have taken her if she hadn’t escaped when she did. And if it hadn’t been him, then it would have been another werewolf who was working with the good doctor. Chrissten had always suspected there was at least one other male besides Brian and Doctor Morton, and Bethany agreed with her. They’d both scented another male, even if they’d never seen him.

Bethany chewed on her bottom lip. What should she do? What did she want to do with the rest of her life? Did she want to go back home to Detroit? Did she want to go somewhere different? She honestly didn’t know.

And the biggest question of all, did she want to explore these new sexual urges that arose every time Quinn was near?

A large hand began to move over her stomach, making small, slow circles. “Stop thinking so hard.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” And she hadn’t. Now that he was awake she’d have to get up. Her time with Quinn was over. She decided to give herself one more minute. Just one more.

“It’s okay.” His hand began to move in larger circles over the flannel material, almost touching the undersides of her breasts and the top of her pubic bone. She sucked in her breath. Her nipples peaked and it took everything in her not to squirm, to shove her butt harder against Quinn’s erection.

Part of her hated how her body betrayed her, how it spun so out of control. It didn’t matter that she now knew it was biological, something preordained by nature. She’d always been in command of her own life. It was the only way she’d survived this long. This sexual longing was something over which she had no power.

She no longer knew herself. The woman she’d thought she was no longer existed. Bethany finally understood why she’d always felt out of step with the rest of the world, why she’d always been different. She now knew why men had never held much interest for her. She hadn’t really been ready for them yet. If Meredith was to be believed then she was hitting her first sexual peak. That was hard to fathom considering she was twenty-four.

Quinn’s breath warmed the back of her neck. “Talk to me. What are you thinking about?”

She closed her eyes and savored the brush of his lips against her nape. She licked her dry lips, longing to taste his mouth. “It would be easier to tell you what I wasn’t thinking about. My life is crazy.” Lying here together in the dark, with the silence of the early morning surrounding them, it was much easier to talk then it would have otherwise been.

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and kissed the hollow beneath it. “I know everything must seem so strange.” A river of heat snaked down her neck and blasted to her nipples before arrowing to between her thighs.

“Strange.” A low sob broke from her throat, but she quickly gained control. “That’s an understatement. I was kidnapped and held by crazy people for two weeks. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, I don’t know who I am anymore.”

“Shhh,” he soothed. “It’s okay. Everything will be fine. You just have to take things one day at a time.” Quinn continued to touch her. Nothing overtly sexual, but it was getting to her. He stroked her arm, her stomach, the long line of her neck and the edge of her jaw. “How are you feeling now?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. It was odd to have a man touching her like this, treating her as though she were special. She shoved aside that thought. This was only temporary and she’d better remember that.

Bethany took stock of her body. For the first time in weeks she felt almost normal, that is if she ignored the sexual desire pulsing through her. She was hungry, but the fatigue that had plagued her for several weeks was no longer dragging at her, thanks to the fact she’d slept for most of a day and an entire night. “Pretty good.” It would take her a while to put back on the weight she’d lost, but there were no lingering physical affects from her period of captivity.

“Good.” Quinn tugged on her shoulder until she was lying flat on her back with him looming large over her. “I wouldn’t want to take advantage of you.”

With that he leaned down and kissed her. It wasn’t an overpowering kiss, but rather a sweet one. His lips grazed hers, his tongue tracing the bottom curve. His mouth was warm and gentle as he continued to coax her deeper.