Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
QUINN
My focus is stopping the blood loss, as opposed to making sure he recovers from his injury.
From an ethical point of view, I’m not breaching any of the core principles of the Hippocratic oath.
From a personal point of view, I’m only doing what needs to be done to keep someone who set out to intentionally hurt me alive.
In my opinion, he’s lucky I have such strong morals, or he would have been in absolute agony as he bled out.
I look up at Kade, who’s been quietly assisting.
“That’s about all I can do. When Sergey or his second-in-command returns, they can decide if they want to call a doctor or take him to a hospital.
I’m not calling an ambulance, especially when there are wild dogs outside.
I’d be mortified if someone trying to do their job got hurt. ”
“That’s fair,” Kade says as he starts gathering everything we’ve used.
Santiago walks back into the room as I’m finishing up, good timing on his part. He hasn’t been sitting around, doing nothing. He excused himself as soon as I started, saying he’d find the fuse box to turn back on the power, deal with the other bodies, and make the house as secure as possible.
I needed him to go, though. The two of them here together, after the day I’ve had, have sent me spiraling. It’s a lot to take in, and I haven’t even started unpacking that the two of them are here yet. So, I do what I know I’m good at, which is saving lives.
Without question, there’s a story about how the two of them got together, then arrived here, but we haven’t had much of a chance to say more than a few words yet. We will, though, because I want to know everything.
Now that my would-be attacker isn’t going to die, I need to eat; it’s all I’ve been able to think about for the last ten minutes.
I’m sure some people would be grossed out, thinking of food while staring at the inside of someone’s broken knee, but when you work around blood and guts and see death as often as I have, you become somewhat desensitized.
Standing up, I purposely look at them both. “I'm going to take a quick shower. Can we meet in the small downstairs kitchen? I made roasted chicken.”
I don’t need to explain where the kitchen is. Kade already explained that’s how he entered the house before I told him to shut up and let me work.
The black dog follows me. He’s become my shadow since Santiago and Kade showed up. It’s odd how quickly our interaction has changed. He scared the shit out of me not that long ago, but now I feel like he’s always been around, kind of like a friend.
He follows me inside my bedroom and I firmly shut the door behind us. I leave the door to my bathroom wide open as I undress for my shower. It’s not like my shadow is going to let Kade or Santiago come anywhere near me, anyway. He snapped at Kade once, and once was enough of a warning.
Grabbing for my body wash, it takes a second to realize it’s not my usual brand.
Popping the lid, almost immediately the bathroom is full of the smell of the owner of my furry companions.
It’s not as good as his actual scent, but the mix of the woody, smoky, and leather notes of the body wash have my nipples tightening as his bite on my hand practically glows silver.
“Fuck’s sake, Quinn,” I grumble, flicking the water to cold, hoping to douse the flames. I’d like to get my butt downstairs and eat my weight in food without smelling like I need to get laid. “Pull yourself together.”
It doesn’t work. It does the opposite, and when the throb becomes way too hard to ignore, I flick the shower back to warm, knowing I have to deal with my latest issue. I sit on my butt, grabbing the handheld shower and playing with the setting until the water pressure hits just right.
And in the safety of my bathroom, I don’t even bother feeling bad about needing to come. It might be biology, and perhaps I’m being a slave to my body, but at the same time, knowing I can bring myself relief is a sign of my strength. I’ve learned to lean in to things that make me feel like myself.
As I soap up my breasts, my hands shake in eagerness. My nipples are like hard peaks already, and my pussy throbs. I close my eyes, sinking into memories, and follow the trail of slippery bubbles down my body.
My skin is warm, and the way my hand glides stirs the building pressure between my legs. I shift the showerhead, making the water trickle over my pussy, and the added sensation causes a warm and gentle throbbing.
One touch, and my fingers are gliding through the gathering slick.
My mind is full of images of Kade and Santiago and the Alpha whose name I don’t know.
My hips move, spurred on by memory and need, and the pulse of the water pressure adds to the building pleasure.
Teasing myself with two fingers, I alternate, dipping them inside my pussy, then stroking myself slowly, adding the pulse of the water so it cascades against my clit.
I kneel, my fingers sinking in deeper, my body moving as I fight against my thoughts.
They’re here. They shouldn’t be, I’m happy they are, I’m confused by their presence.
Pressing the showerhead hard up against my pussy, I shut down the noise in my head and give in, letting sweet desire-filled thoughts of them be the final push I need.
A deep moan falls past my lips as I squeeze my eyes shut, rollicking in the waves of pleasure for as long as possible. In that one moment, everything is beautiful and simple.
With endorphins and happy thoughts hazing out everything else, I load up on the body wash again, washing away the proof of what I did.
With fresh clothes on, the afterglow of a descent orgasm, and the dogs next to me, I feel a hundred times better. And ready to listen.
It’s odd. Even though I’ve been here such a short time, it’s like the house and I have history now.
The earlier stress of being alone in Sergey’s house is no longer a big deal when you compare it to what I just survived.
But, weirdly, it’s not being attacked that has me leaning against the doorjamb, taking in the very domesticated scene.
“Come on, Quinn, get your butt in here and sit down. You can stare at my good looks like you always do after a hard day at the office while I feed you,” Kade says without turning around.
I do what he says. I’m not surprised he knew I was here; he’s always been like that.
I could say it’s due to the deep connection we share because we’re scent matched, but I won’t.
I’m still trying to ignore the fact he’s around—now more than ever, considering I’m in Russia and about to marry Sergey.
Stepping into the kitchen, I take in how they dealt with my attacker—it’s oddly amusing in a macabre way. They rolled him up in the carpet, propping him up to sitting and placed in the small alcove that leads to the back door.
He looks like he’s in pain, but I’ve done all I can for him, plus Santiago is much more worthy of my attention.
He’s taken off his suit jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves, showing off his forearms. He’s as attractive as Kade is, and seeing them together feeds smutty thoughts of what the three of us could do together. Jesus, they mess me up.
“You good, bebe?” Santiago purrs, interrupting my dirty daydream. His eyes are heated, making the amber color look more like pools of warm caramel.
I get all tongue-tied, blushing bright pink. I drop my eyes to the plate of food he has ready for me in his hands.
“I’m hungry, okay?” I growl softly, lifting my gaze and making a point of staring at him, then at Kade.
They might be mine, but I can’t let them get comfortable with the concept. It’s way too dangerous for all of us.
Looking down at the table, I realize they haven’t set themselves a plate. “Don’t make me eat by myself.”
Santiago tips his head down, almost shyly. “We didn’t want to intrude.” I stare at him and watch the shy look on his face twist into a benevolent smirk. “Any more than we already have.”
I’m less subtle. “Yeah, right. I’ll get some water and snacks for the dogs while you serve yourselves.”
I’m not giving in; I’m working with what I’ve got and trying not to make it harder than it’s going to be.
“Whose dogs are they?” Kade asks casually, already reading where I am in terms of needing space but answers too.
“Sergey’s second-in-command, I guess.”
“Who?”
I shrug. The need to know more takes a back seat as I get busy trying to find something I can give the dogs.
I find a small bag of treats. For big dogs who clearly need lots of food, it’s a bit of a sign that these dogs get their rewards in other ways.
The Alpha I saw doesn’t look like a snuggler, but maybe he is.
As I hold up the treats, the dogs sit ramrod straight. I drop a little biscuit thing into two bowls, then put a bowl in front of each of them. Nalla thumps her tail, while the black dog stares me down, like he’s once again trying to tell me something.
They need the code word to release them again. Sadly for them, I can’t remember what I said for the life of me. Admittedly, it feels like eons ago now and not the few hours it was.
Santiago walks over, and I damn him for scrambling my brain with his light-filled energy and accompanying smirk. It’s a bad combination because I melt at it every damn time, which isn’t great when I’m fighting to keep distance between us and racking my brain for the word…and coming up blank.
He looks at me, concerned. “Are you alright?”
I slump down. “I can’t remember what I have to say to get them to eat.”
With a quick wink, he looks down at the dogs and snaps aggressively, “Okay.”
The dogs go from statue still to snapping at their treat as fast as lightning. I’m stuck staring at Santiago, because how the hell does he know their release word?
He grins again. “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”
“Yeah, right.”