“You are a jealous being.”
A sinister grin came to my face before I pressed a possessive kiss against her lips. “I am,” I agreed, pulling away. “James will be later than ten-thirty tomorrow.”
“What have you done?”
“He’s going to suffer a puncture on his way to the lab.”
“Gray, we’re already starting late.”
“So there’s no harm. You can stay in bed with me until you need to go.”
Quen flushed at the suggestion. “I’m not encouraging this.”
“I don’t need any encouragement,” I said, kissing her again.
“We’re not going to make it inside if you start here,” she mumbled against my lips.
“Ah.” I straightened up. “We have to put a slight pause on those plans. I have a surprise for you.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“I promise you’ll love this one.”
Her fingers laced with mine, body leaning against my arm as I guided her back into the house. The fatigue was evident in the way Quen dragged her feet along the floor, barely picking them up.
“I hope the surprise is food or coffee because I have some things I want to look into,” she said, looking up at me with a hopeful expression.
“Better, darling.”
She scoffed. “There is nothing better than those two things.”
“I’m going to try not to take offence at that,” I muttered, pushing open the living room door and gesturing her inside. The gasp that came from her made me laugh.
“Cassidy?” she said, looking straight at her brother. “Cass?”
He stood up from the sofa and Quentin launched herself across the room.
“Quen! Wait!” I called.
Of course, my soulbound didn’t listen to me. Why the fuck would she? She collided with her brother and I was behind her in seconds as she read him. They stood frozen for a few moments before Quentin pushed away from him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, eyes wide.
Cass stared at her. “What just happened?”
“Oh, Gods,” she squeaked.
“Breathe,” I warned her, but the panic of her brother finding out had taken hold and gentle gold wisps fluttered around her fingertips.
I wrapped my arms around her so that she didn’t bolt. When Quentin was caught off guard without a plan, she defaulted to running. It happened when Gareth found out about us and I was sure she would do it again if given the chance.
“You just read, Cassidy,” I explained softly.
Cassidy’s questions could wait. Calming Quentin was my priority. Making her feel comfortable in her own skin had become my job, and I took pride in it since I was the only one who could successfully handle the task.
“You saw his successes,” I continued. “My money would be on the fact that Cassidy is so successful comes down to having you in his life.”
“He’s had a lot of success, Gray.”
