Hunter's Heart

Chapter 39

For a moment, Quinn tried to focus on the specifics of her dream, but it was like trying to catch smoke with her bare hands. "I don't really remember. Sorry."

Christian watched her for a short while and she could sense his concern deepening as his gaze searched her face, but then he let out a resigned breath and leaned down to kiss her softly. She felt his hand move from her cheek down to the side of her neck and she felt a shiver course through her when his fingers ran over the spot where he had bitten her. The spot was so sensitive and had an unfamiliar wave of desire washing over her.

The Alpha groaned and reluctantly broke the kiss. "As much as I would love to spend more time in this bed with you, little wolf, we should probably get up and get dressed. Liam called a little while ago to let me know he and the others Caine sent to come get us are close to town."

It was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over Quinn, chasing away any wicked thoughts she may have had about how to spend the next few hours with the man.

"What?" she cried in alarm. "How long until they get here?"

Christian shrugged. "Fifteen minutes or so."

A growl ripped itself from Quinn's chest as she shoved the man out of her way and untangled herself from the sheets. Why the hell hadn't he woken her up?

"I wanted to let you sleep," Christian said in answer to her angry thought as he watched her gathering up her clothes from the floor. "I kept you up quite a bit last night."

Quinn paused, her cheeks burning despite her irritation with the man. Images from the night before flashed through her mind and she had to force them aside and make her feet move towards the bathroom to keep from being tempted to go back to him.

Once she was standing under the hot spray of the shower, Quinn closed her eyes and allowed the images and feelings from the night before to surface. As they'd made love Christian had brought feelings out of her that she had never thought she would ever feel. He'd showed her sides of him she hadn't seen before. He'd been gentle and affectionate and passionate and intense. Even as she stood under the spray, she could still vividly remember the way his skin felt against hers as he'd taken her, the way his hands and lips had explored every inch of―

'Careful, little wolf,' she heard Christian say in her mind, interrupting her thoughts. 'You're making it very difficult for me to not come in there and join you. We don't have time for that.'

Quinn bit her lip in embarrassment and focused on trying to erect walls around her thoughts. For a moment, she'd forgotten that she and Christian had their bond back again, this time stronger than ever. With a soft growl, she turned the temperature of the water to cold.

She was just finishing getting dressed when she heard a distinct knocking pattern on the door to their room and then sensed a mix of joy and relief filtered down her bond with Christian. Liam and the others had arrived.

She had barely stepped out of the bathroom when the spectacled man grabbed her up in a bear hug so tight she almost couldn't breathe. Quinn heard Christian's low warning growl and felt his displeasure at someone else touching her and she managed to roll her eyes at him over Liam's shoulder.

'You're mine,' he growled at her, his eyes flashing gold for a moment as his wolf made it's irritation known.

'Of course I am,' she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'And Liam's your brother and already mated, remember? No need to be jealous.'

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Liam exclaimed, ignoring his brother's growl as her around like she weighed nothing. "Soph and I have been going out of our minds worrying about you two."

Liam took a breath to say something more, and then surprisingly froze for a moment, as if he was processing something. Slowly, he put her back on her feet and made a point of stepping away, glancing at his brother as he did so.

"It's about time," he told Christian, a smile spreading across his lips. "Congratulations."

Then Liam looked around the room suddenly and his expression became theatrically disappointed, which made Quinn frown.

"What?" she asked, looking around the room uneasily. Nothing seemed out of place.

"Nothing's ripped up," Liam replied. "No torn sheets, no messed up furniture, not even a single feather."

Quinn pulled a face. What the hell was he talking about now? It was like he was talking gibberish. Looking at him, she saw the twinkling of mischief in his eyes now, which only deepened when he pointedly glanced at the bite mark on her shoulder. Then a vague memory of him teasing Christian about something that involved shredded up pillows and bedding came to mind.

She felt Christian's amusement down their bond as he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close to his body. 'He can smell the air, little wolf. He didn't notice it at first because he was so happy to see us, but his nose can tell what happened in that bed. It also helps that you smell like me now.'

Her face flooded with heat and she found herself wishing the ground beneath her feet would open up and swallow her whole. Sure, she had known that everyone would realize what had happened between her and Christian once they saw the fresh bite marks on their shoulders, but she had never really thought about the other physical tells she would bear. Like scent.

With an embarrassed snarl, she slipped out of Christian's grasp and shoved his brother towards the door, doing her best to ignore his laughter. "Shut up and go wait outside."

With that, she slammed the door shut after him and drooped into one the chairs by the table as Christian stepped into the bathroom, his deep laughter filling the room.