And fuck, he was a lot more gorgeous up close.
Quinn's eyes shone like the surface of a black mirror. We were so close that I could see my own reflection in them.
"Um." Quinn's voice was quiet, almost breathless. "Farley, you, uh..."
I was too caught up in the relief of my shift and the strange joy of looking at his face that I didn't understand what he was saying until I looked down.
I was on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
I hadn't noticed while I was in finch form—how could I, obviously?—but Quinn was smaller than me. He was splayed out now, prone, his hair forming a red halo.
My brain had await, what's the problem?moment. Then it realigned itself with reality.
"Shit," I mumbled, backing off. My cheeks were hot. "Sorry. Accident."
Kind of a happy accident. I'd be lying to myself if I said I didn't like it. This stupid ball of feelings I had towards Quinn was starting to get ridiculous. I couldn't let this go on.
But I also didn't want it to stop.
"D-don't worry about it," Quinn said. His voice was thinner than usual.
"I didn't mean to freak you out."
"No, no, you didn't. It's my..." He shook his head and let out a small laugh. "It's just that, you smellamazingin human form."
I stared at him for a long time before realizing I should probably stop. Especially with how hot the skin felt all over my body.
I stood up and stretched, careful to face away from Quinn first. Shifters weren't uptight about nudity but for some reason I felt embarrassed. Maybe it was because I hadn't been in my human skin for a long time.
It didn't help that I'd gotten semi-hard from landing on top of Quinn, either. He didn't need to see that.
I cleared my throat. "Thanks. Appreciate your help. A lot."
Quinn stood and brushed the dust off himself. "I'm only glad to help. You're going out of your way to help me, too, after all."
My organs turned to ice.I'd forgotten about the other lie I was juggling. The one about Mistral.
Fuck, I'm the worst.
But I couldn't tell Quinn about that yet. Not when everything felt so good between us.
My pride twisted into cowardice. I kept the truth to myself and promised I'd tell him eventually—sooner rather than later.
Just not now.
8
Quinn
If my heartdidn't stop pounding soon, I was worried it might blow up.
Farley was hot. Sexy. There was no way around it. As a finch, he was small and fluffy. He was an adorable little ball of feathers that fit perfectly in my hands.
As a man, though...
He was taller than me, broader-shouldered and more muscular. His brown hair was short cropped and windswept. His strong jaw was decidedly masculine.
Oh, and he smelledamazing,which I'd so helpfully blurted out to him earlier.
