Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)(28)

“I broke my own law by keeping you, but I gave you back to him before I took everything.” I looked up, snarling. “I did the right thing!”

The same crushing weight I’d felt when I stalked from my bedroom the morning I sent Tess away, pushed me into the seat. I’d never felt so hopeless, so helpless, so alone as I did when I watched her plane take off.

Tess slid toward me, capturing my hand and running a gentle thumb over my knuckles. “I know you did the right thing. You wanted to protect me from you.” Her voice helped ease the immobilizing weight in my chest. I risked looking at her.

“The thing is I didn’t need protecting.” She flashed me a bright smile, dispelling the angst between us. “I would love to go to dinner with you, Q.”

Gravity shifted. Again. I dragged Tess into my lap, wrapping my arms tight around her. In my embrace, I held the moon and stars and planets. I held my future f*cking happiness, and I’d kill myself if I ever f*cked it up.

Tess wiggled in my lap, doing crazy things to my already swelling cock. “You don’t have to starve me either, you know.”

I snorted, dropping my head to inhale her crisp scent. In a moment of blinding honesty, I whispered, “Thank you. I’m still learning the correct etiquette for asking a woman out on a date.”

She shifted, looking at me with wide eyes. “You’ve never—”

I shrugged. “How can I when I save broken slaves and pay professionals?” Merde, I just admitted to using whores. Fuck me.

Thoughts scattered over her face, a minor trace of disgust flickered in her eyes. She swallowed, visibly chasing the thoughts away. With an unsteady hand, she caressed my cheek, murmuring, “In that case, I’ll make sure this is the best date you’ve ever had.”

*****

“Wow. This is amazing,” Tess said, eyes wide as she took in the lobby of Moineau Holdings.

The floor was covered in tiny mosaics in greys and browns and blacks, depicting a perfect cloud of sparrows. The walls were white marble, so polished they bounced sunlight into every corner, highlighting a mishmash of paintings, sculptures, and water features.

I encouraged local artists to display and sell their work. I charged no commission, and it had become an unnamed art gallery and place to be seen.

Tess bewitched me as she inched forward, soaking in the impressiveness of the lobby.

Tonight.

Tonight I would take her out to dinner, and we’d have our first deep conversation about trivial things. I wanted to hear all her dreams and make them a reality. I wanted to crack her open and know every dark secret.

“This is all yours?” Tess broke into my daydream. Her face held awe while her eyes hid pain and unhappiness.

Why the f*ck is she unhappy?

“It belongs to my company. Yes.” I motioned for her to go to the left, and placed my hand on the small of her back to propel her forward. Such an innocent touch. So why did my cock twitch and my mouth water to taste her again?

We strode through the semi-crowded lobby to my private elevator. She asked, “Just how much do you own, Q?”

I swiped my clearance identification and pressed the lift button, before turning to face her. “Does it matter?” I cocked an eyebrow, watching her closely. It obviously mattered a big f*cking deal.

Her eyes darted from mine as she bit her lip.

My stomach twisted. “Whatever is mine is yours. I signed the contract in blood, remember?” The memory of her arriving from Australia, sprouting all sorts of delicious promises, and slicing our palms with the paperknife to seal the deal, entered my mind. The confounding connection I’d felt when our blood smeared together had rocked me to my bestial centre.

The lift pinged, and Tess stepped inside in a daze.

The moment the doors closed, I imprisoned her chin with my fingers. “Don’t. Whatever you’re doing. Stop it.”

She gave me a sad smile. “I’m just blown away. You’ll have to give me time to get used to it.” Her eyes dropped, but then met mine again with a vivid question in their grey depths. “Why me? Why did you let me into your life?”

I scowled, wanting to strike her for ever asking such a dumbass question. I never thought a woman could make me hate my wealth. My ability to do what I did was the one thing I lived for. But right then, I wanted to be penniless if it made Tess more comfortable.

I let go of her chin, running my fingers down her throat, along the valley of her breasts, over her stomach, veering toward her hip. I clenched my fingers hard around her hipbone, making her squeak.

Instantly the awareness between us sprung to a fever pitch. The lift filled with thick tension and my body grew heavy with lust. “You already know the answer, esclave.” I rocked my hand against the five perfect fingernail marks. I knew they were there; I watched them bleed as I f*cked Tess in the helicopter.

I branded her with yet another mark, all in the name of taming the beast, reminding him that she may hide our violent nature from others, but her skin bore the truth beneath her clothes.

“Q…” Tess battled with giving in to the burn of my fingers, or fighting me off. I didn’t know which would win, and we stared, glared for a millennium, while I waited for her decision.

Taking the decision from her hands, I growled, “You need to accept this is all yours. I need you too badly to let you go.” I backed her up against the mirrored wall. “Tell me why I need you, Tess. You know the truth.”