“Hey, easy.” Quince pulled her back and took the pan off the burner. Then he kissed the spot where she’d been burned.
She literally quivered, confused at how much she wanted more from this man. God. Amazing sex was one thing, but this desire to mate, breed and live happily ever after scared the crap out of her.
Quince smiled into her eyes. “Better now?”
“Yeah,” she croaked and tugged her hand back.
He slapped her on the ass. “Good. Now quit screwing around and feed me, woman. You wore me out last night.”
She glared at him, doing her best not to laugh at the arrogant feline now lazing at her kitchen table. He looked so damn cute with his hair sticking up, his eyes still sleepy.
He blinked at her. “Joy is great.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that without hugging him.
“At making bacon,” he added with a smirk. He dodged the tongs she tossed at him and made a sad face. “Joy is great…at pouring her man some coffee?” he asked hopefully.
She let out a put-upon sigh but grinned as she fetched him a cup. When she took it to him, she paused before handing it over. “Don’t get used to this. I’m simply rewarding you for that nice work you did last night.”
“Yes, dear.” He reached for the cup.
Their hands met and their eyes locked. The pleasure radiating in his entire being couldn’t be ignored. Nor could hers.
He took the cup to his lips and drank, never looking away from her. “Ah. Joy is great.”
A great big pushover, she muttered to herself even as she danced away to finish making him breakfast.
“You know,” Quinn said, “when you sleep over at my place, I make a mean omelet and coffee, and I promise a full body massage at your leisure.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. But that’s after I get to make love to you for hours the night before. Just sayin’, so you know what to expect tonight and tomorrow.” And the night after that, his satisfied smile told her.
She couldn’t find it in herself to argue what she wanted too. “Hmm. Well, as long as it’s full service, I guess I can agree to that.” She paused. “Only if I can rub it in Alissa’s face that I’m fucking you and she’s not.”
He choked and spattered coffee all over his chest, then stood to reach for a towel to dry himself off. “Damn, woman. Nice mouth.”
She smirked at his blatant erection, once again pleased to have the upper hand. “I know.”
He only groaned and sat back down. “I don’t suppose we have time for a little fun in your bed before my morning meeting?” At her look, he sighed. “I didn’t think so. But tonight, I promise, you’ll make it up to me.”
“Oh I will, will I?”
His leer should have annoyed her. Instead, his interest complimented her abilities as a woman. As a mate, her cat reminded her.
“Hell, yeah, you will.” He cleared his throat. “And uh, we haven’t exactly talked about it, but, well…”
“Spit it out, Quince.”
“You taking any birth control? Not that I wouldn’t mind having cubs with you, but this is kind of soon for it, you know?”
She grew warm and fuzzy thinking about kids with Quince. “You could always wear a condom.”
He groaned in misery. “If I could think past getting inside you, maybe. But I get near you and all I can think about is sucking those tits and shoving hard up into that fine pussy.” He grinned at her blush. “Yeah, you know it’s true.”
“Okay, okay. As a matter of fact, I already set up an appointment for today. By tonight, I’ll be good to go.” A pride doctor would alleviate her worries. Special birth control would protect her from conceiving right away.
“Good.” He blew out a breath. “Because if you don’t get that shot, I’m afraid I’m going to knock you up sooner than later. And I won’t be sorry about it at all.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that. “So you want bacon and eggs then?”
“Sure.” He ran a hand through his hair, and she turned so that she wouldn’t see that bunched strength in his arms and be tempted to give him a quickie for breakfast. “Make that a pound of bacon. Because it’s either I eat this, or I eat you. And I won’t stop until I fill you up again.”
She glanced over at him and saw his cat staring at her hungrily from Quince’s golden eyes. “Right.” She cleared her throat. “Dead pig coming right up.”
No babies on the menu this morning.
Not yet, her cat corrected. But soon.
Chapter Seven
Monday morning, Quince stared at the records Dana had handed him and turned to Rain. “Does this make sense to you?”
Rain, a tight-lipped male at the best of times, shook his dark head. “No. We should be square on resources. But according to those files, we’re invested in a shell corporation being funneled into one of Lex’s old accounts. Except with Lex dead, who the hell is collecting that money?”
A definite problem Quince’s brain couldn’t handle. “I need you and Oliver to work this out.” Between Oliver’s knowhow and Rain’s incredible mind, the pair should be able to smooth things over before the rest of the pride got wind of more financial problems. Damn it. He thought they’d taken care of these issues.
Rain paused, and his cautious demeanor alerted Quince to pay attention to what the man wasn’t saying.
“What, Rain?”
“Nothing.”
“Not nothing. Say what’s on your mind.”
Jace entered the office without asking. Rarely did he have to knock, because Quince trusted him and Ellis like he used to trust Miles. Like he believed in Joy. At the thought of her, his tension eased a bit.
“Bad time?” Jace asked.
Rain shook his head before Quince could. “No. Actually, you should hear this too.” Then, to Quince’s surprise, Rain moved to the door and locked it.
“Rain?” Jace frowned. “What’s up?”
“We have a problem.” Pulling answers out of Rain was normally like pulling teeth, so for the taciturn feline to speak willingly said volumes.
“Go on.” Quince leaned forward on his desk and watched with Jace as Rain paced back and forth.
“I’ve had my suspicions for a while, but this nails it.” He scowled. “Dana and Willow have been working hard with Joy to deal with the females. Jace and Ellis are too busy putting out fires in their divisions to handle the financials. Plus I just don’t think they have a head for numbers.”
“Thanks, I think,” Jace muttered.
“Quiet,” Quince said, understanding without wanting to what Rain was getting at. “But…?”
“But Oliver fits the bill. To a T.” Rain stopped pacing and swore. “Fuck. I’ve been trying to ignore the obvious, but I can’t any longer. Dana might have been screwing with the numbers. She’s smart and she’s sly enough not to get caught. But she’s solid. She likes things better now. Hell, all the females do. But Oliver… You don’t realize it, but he was in thick with Ronnie.”
“Ronnie Gates?” Quince started. “Lex’s younger brother? He was a stooge.”
“Yeah, but he had access to pussy and drugs. I think Oliver is addicted to meth.”
“No way. I’d be able to tell. We’d be able to smell it on him,” Jace protested.
“Not if he used Hunter’s mist.” Quince had used the spray any number of times when trying to avoid detection.
“And where would he get that?” Jace quieted, then answered his own question. “From Lex and the Hunters he was consorting with. Shit.”
“Are you sure?” Quince had to know.
Rain looked miserable. “I don’t want to be, but it has to be Oliver. And this account isn’t the only one he’s fucking up. He’s started on our West Coast efforts. The joint account.” They had a few investments out West, but the joint account funneled money to their sister pride in California.