She sank down into the bed and rolled over, facing away from me. She knew I’d gone to see Erik and Sloan today. It should have put me in a better mood, but all it’d done was tie me in knots and Scott had read the room.
As a God, it was no surprise that I could read her mood, but when she returned the gesture, it always caught me off guard. More than once, she’d dialled back her temper after I’d returned from a council meeting. Like she didn’t want to continue to poke the bear. Almost like she cared.
Suddenly, I placed an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against my body so that we spooned, needing her close. I buried my face in her hair and placed a kiss on the back of her head.
“I’m sorry I made you so angry,” I whispered.
I still didn’t understand it, but the radio silence had driven me insane. If she wanted an apology, then she could have it. In the privacy of her home, in the intimacy of us pressed together, I folded.
Scott relaxed in my arms, and slowly she turned around to face me. I didn’t let go of her but loosened my grip to allow her to move. We laid there, face to face, tips of our noses touching. Her long eyelashes brushed against my skin, leaving a faint ticklish sensation.
“Tell me everything next time,” she breathed.
“I will,” I agreed.
“I’m not a possession.”
“I know.” I didn’t want to fight with her tonight. After a few moments, I asked her, “Do you want to be here, Quentin?”
Her name rolled off my tongue. I enjoyed being able to address her by a moniker she refused everyone else. Despite her refusal at being a possession, I’d marked her as mine and that meant I had privileges others were denied.
She looked at me curiously. “Like, on the planet?”
“No. Nothing so deep. I can’t cope with that tonight. Do you want to be here? With me, right now?”
“Yes,” she said firmly. “I don’t do things unless I want to.”
Nodding, I bridged the gap, kissing her. Quentin’s hand rested on the side of my face as she returned the gesture. Legs tangled together as we laid there, making out and allowing the physicality to ground us.
“You should get some sleep,” I told her, breaking away.
It could have so easily turned into something more. Pinned beneath my body, I could have made Quentin scream my name and left us both satisfied, but the conversation with Erik and Sloan kept me sober.
“So should you,” she replied, brushing her lips against mine.
The gentleness stirred something inside my chest. I didn’t know how to handle softness when my life was encompassed by poor decisions and viciousness.
“I’m an immortal being who doesn’t necessarily need sleep.”
“I will if you do,” she compromised, her fingers trailing down my cheek.
I closed my eyes and chuckled quietly. “Alright. Goodnight, Quentin.”
“Night, Gray.”
Leaving my arm around her waist, I waited. Her breathing slowed, and her stream of consciousness stopped.
Opening my eyes again, I took her in. Funnily enough, this was the most peaceful she’d ever looked. Scott was a ball of energy most of the time. She was either working or at Sal’s. Even when she afforded herself time to watch Netflix, her mind was still ticking. It was like something inside of her refused to stop and I wished I knew what drove her to constant unease.
Cautiously, I brushed some hair from her face, and she stirred, an arm coming around me as she nestled against my body. Affectionate wouldn’t be a word used to describe her. Not unless you’d caught glimpses of it the way I had. She hugged Sophie tightly, squeezed her brother’s hand, cried when Charlotte shared happy news. Behind all the walls and armour, Quentin was a woman filled with love who gave it away sparingly.
The longer I looked at her, the more I was sure that Sloan was going mad.
This woman may have been extraordinary by mortal standards, but there wasn’t a single thing I could find that would make her divine.
She was messy and unorganised. She had the worst temper I’d encountered. She was never on time for anything other than work. Divinity equated perfection and Quentin wasn’t perfect. She was a fucking mess.
“For your sake, Quentin, I really hope I’m right.”
