Chapter 10
Chapter ten
Quentin
Quentin noticed a change in Bianca over the weeks after her movie date with her friend.
First of all, she laughed more, which was probably because most days included texts, calls, or visits with Callum, who seemed uniquely skilled at getting past her inhibitions and finding ways to amuse her.
Quentin still thought of the sexy little twink as trouble, but he was good trouble.
It was nice that the two omegas had found each other, and at exactly the right time.
Van had filled the rest of the pack in on Bianca’s encounter with Robert Ferris at the shopping village, and Quentin was impressed with how Callum had handled the whole thing.
The situation turned out much better than if Van had intervened, especially if he’d had any inkling who the guy really was.
That would’ve ended in bloodshed and Quentin wouldn’t have been able to blame him.
Robert Ferris had an ass beating coming. One that was long overdue.
Van had also told his packmates about the claim mark and shared his suspicions about why Bianca had been so uncharacteristically upset when she saw Ferris.
From there, Dante had uncovered enough about the dickhead for the pack to piece together what’d happened between Ferris and Bianca (even without Van’s skillful eavesdropping on her conversation with Callum to help flesh out the details).
Since that cheese dick motherfucker had left Bianca behind, he and his packmate had launched a failed tech startup, followed by an ill-fated foray into cryptocurrency, and were now doing private IT work with limited paper trails.
It seemed pretty sus to Quentin, but rich people always got away with that kind of shit.
Anyway, Ferris seemed to have a legitimate business reason to be in Smyrna City, but if he came near Bianca again, Quentin was going teach that rat fuck the meaning of a no-contact order. The hard way.
Just thinking about what Bianca must’ve gone through after Ferris and Hill abandoned her was enough to make Quentin’s jaw tic and his fists itch for something to break.
He’d had to fight the urge to have Dante find out where the prick was staying so they could pay him a little visit. That wouldn’t have ended well at all.
Quentin had never taken kindly to people fucking with him and his.
Robert Ferris and Frank Hill might not have known it when they’d made their fateful mistake, but they’d fucked over someone who was important to him, and that meant they’d be on his shit list for life.
Eventually, they’d pay the price. They had hurt Bianca. Quentin would make them hurt.
Quentin King had always been honest with himself.
He knew who he was, and what he wasn’t. He wasn’t perfect, but he was real and he didn’t fuck around when his pack’s happiness was at stake.
So, when Quentin realized that Bianca Bonnycastle was their omega, he didn’t waste energy trying to fight it or hide it.
He understood the battle ahead. Bianca was out of their league. Her family wouldn’t like it. Hell, she wouldn’t like it. She’d been fighting the pull between them since the day they met.
None of that mattered. Bianca was theirs. And they were going to have her.
Quentin watched Van chip away at her defenses, showing her how they would hold space for her, respect her brilliance, and build her up.
He watched Dante intrigue and seduce her, with that same suave allure that had always captivated Quentin himself, showing her how it felt to desire and be desired.
And though he had maintained his professional distance, Quentin watched the way she responded to his commands, how she was learning to submit and let him protect her. As he would for the rest of her life.
He knew it was only a matter of time before she’d have to admit to the connection between them, only so long before they all had to acknowledge the absolute perfection of the mixture of their scents in her penthouse.
This thing between them was only growing, and Quentin was fully prepared for the fallout.
He didn’t give a fuck what her family or anyone else had to say about it.
Once she said yes, nothing else would matter.
And Quentin knew she would say yes.
What he didn’t expect, however, was what Bianca said to them a few hours before the masquerade ball. It actually took him so long to process her words that he couldn’t immediately formulate a response. Apparently, Dante was just as thunderstruck, because it was Van who replied first.
“You might have to speak a little slower for the jarheads, BB,” he said cheerfully, his typical carefree grin belied by the excitement Quentin could feel humming through their bond. “My boys are simple folk.”
Though it looked like it pained her to do so, Bianca met Quentin’s gaze before fixing her gorgeous grays on a spot above his head.
“I said, I would like to propose an extension to the services you provide, if you’re amenable to the idea.
Heat tending, ultimately, but with a trial of physical compatibility in advance.
As soon as possible, in fact. I could pay you, of course. ”
“Stow that shit,” Quentin barked, before he could think better of it.
Bianca’s eyes snapped back to his and a flash of…
something crossed her face before she covered it with her usual haughty scowl.
He glared right back, his pride clearing away his temporary confusion.
“We don’t want your money. Not for this.
If you want us to take care of you, you ask, but don’t insult us or yourself like that.
Any alpha who expects more than the pleasure of having you on his knot is a dishonorable piece of shit. ”
Bianca’s expression shifted again, a hint of sadness crossing her face before she smiled tightly. “I apologize. I meant no offense. It has been my experience that everything is transactional.”
“Not with us,” Dante replied, so quietly that Quentin wasn’t sure if he meant for the omega to hear it.
She glanced at him, then quickly away, her cheeks glowing pink.
“I know that you’ve been hired to guard me until I mate.
Given that I am working toward that goal as best I can, I may have very few heat cycles left before then, but I have had trouble finding consistent alphas to tend me and you’re already here and have proven yourselves tolerable—”
Van’s loud guffaw interrupted her words and Bianca glared at him, only succeeding in making him laugh harder. He actually slapped his knee, doubling over for a few seconds, before regaining enough of his composure to manage a few words.
“You sure know how to woo a guy, BB!” he exclaimed, wiping away a tear. “Tell me more about how tolerable we are, please. And conveniently located!”
Bianca flushed again and Quentin took pity on her, even though he liked seeing her flustered. She looked real and warm, not like the hard case she showed the world. She smelled good when she was riled, too. Warm and tangy, like spiced apple cider.
“It makes sense that we take care of you, since we’ll be around, and our presence could make it challenging for another pack to tend you anyway.” Quentin gave his still chuckling packmate a warning look. “Van isn’t as hilarious as he thinks he is, but he does make a good point.”
“That’s a first,” Bianca retorted, deliberately turning away from Van. When she saw Quentin watching her, however, she dropped her gaze, clasping her hands in front of her. The posture looked poised, but Quentin could see her hands trembling.
He moved around the desk, closing the distance between them, intentionally invading her space. When she didn’t back away, he put a finger beneath her chin, forcing her to lift her eyes. He could get lost in their gunmetal gray madness for days and weeks and years. If she would let him.
She just had to want it, to submit. He craved her submission, felt the ache for it coiling low in his belly, pulling him toward her, constantly drawing him in.
He could see her pulse fluttering in her neck, her scent rising and pupils dilating when he leaned closer.
He breathed her in, letting her pheromones fill his lungs.
He lowered his voice, keeping his tone gentle but firm.
“I feel like there’s more you’re not saying.
If I agree to this, I will take care of you the way I take care of my pack, and that means you have to be honest with me.
So, tell me what you really want from us, Countess.
What is it you need that you can’t buy? Because there’s a reason you’re asking us, and it’s not just that we’re convenient. ”
Bianca looked like she would bolt, but Van stopped her with a gentle shake of his head, and a big, goofy smile. “You can be real, BB. It was brave of you to walk in here and take a chance. Don’t quit now.”
To Quentin’s surprise, Bianca took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.
“I have had very little pleasure in my youth, Mr. King. If these are my last months as a single omega, I’d like to enjoy them more than I have in the past, and certainly more than I expect to in the future.
Your pack seems capable of giving me the kind of sex I crave.
I want to feel like a real omega. I want to surrender and be cared for, to stop thinking and just feel and be for once in my life. ”
She stopped again, looking surprised by herself. Quentin felt a strange mixture of rage and sadness at her words. How had no one ever seen this woman for the fucking gift she was? And how had no one ever properly satisfied her?
Perhaps they hadn’t asked the right questions. Quentin never made that mistake. He knew how to get the information he needed. Reluctantly, he moved away from the omega, giving her—and himself—space to think.