“Yes, I will.” She squeezed her mother’s hands. “I promise.”
A young blonde who looked as if she’d hastily dressed came down the sweeping staircase. “I have the blue room ready, Mrs. Henderson.”
“Very good. Please take Mr. Wallace up there and make sure he has everything he needs to be comfortable.”
“Yes, Mrs. Henderson.” She glanced at Quentin. “If you’ll follow me, sir, I’ll get you settled in.”
He picked up his duffle bag. “Before I go, what’s your plan, Nadia?”
“I’ll contact the sentry at the gate around five in the morning to see if Theo’s back yet. If so, I’ll go to his room and call him out. If he’s not home at five, I’ll wait in his room until he gets there. This needs to be dealt with quickly and quietly.”
“Text me when you know what’s happening.”
“I will.” She looked over at her mother. “And once this is handled, I’m hiring Aidan’s security company to figure out a reasonable and humane way to contain Theo. He’s a threat to us all.”
Eunice swallowed. “I know. But he’s—”
“Family. I get that, but he’s dangerous and we can’t pretend he’s not.” She put a comforting arm around her mother. “Go on to bed, Mom. Try to rest. Everything will be fine.”
“How about walking me to my bedroom?”
“I can come and talk to you in a few minutes, if you want, but first I’m going to show Quentin to his room. I have a few things to discuss with him about tomorrow morning. Brianna, you can go back to bed. Thanks for making up the room.”
“You’re welcome, Miss Henderson.” Brianna hurried off, obviously happy to get back to her warm bed.
Quentin hadn’t expected Nadia to make that move, but he liked it. Obviously Eunice hadn’t expected it, either, and he doubted she liked it at all.
She looked at Nadia as if seeing her clearly for the first time. “I always knew you were capable, but I’ve never seen you act so . . . commanding.”
“I couldn’t, Mom,” she said softly. “That was Dad’s job.”
Eunice’s shoulders sagged. “I hope you’ll find a way to help your father feel useful. The way Theo talked to him was humiliating, as if he’s old and used up.”
“That’s nonsense.” Nadia gave her mom a gentle squeeze. “Trust me. We’ll set things right again.”
“I’m sure you will. And you don’t need to come to my room later. We should all get some rest.” She smiled at her daughter, but before she started toward the stairs, she shot a warning glance at Quentin. “I hope you sleep well.”
“Thank you.” He waited until she was out of earshot before turning back to Nadia. “She’s worried about me. She thinks I’m going to convince you to mate below your station.”
Nadia’s eyes sparkled. “Yes, but she doesn’t know you the way I do. She has no idea what a noble, self-sacrificing werewolf you are.”
At the gleam in her eye, his groin tightened. “Not all that self-sacrificing. How remote is your room from the one I’ve been banished to?”
She grinned at him. “Extremely remote.”
“Your mom did that to keep us apart, didn’t she?”
“Yeah.” She linked her arm through his. “But I think her plan is about to backfire.”
CHAPTER SIX
Nadia realized that whatever happened the next morning, it wouldn’t be a whole lot of fun. She’d worked to sound confident and in control for her mother’s sake, but she fought an undercurrent of agitation that meant she wouldn’t get much sleep if she went straight to her room.
However, if she went straight to Quentin’s room, she might, just might, end up relaxed enough to fall asleep.
“You know I’m shamelessly using your hard body to work off my excess tension,” she said as they walked down the long hallway toward the room he’d been assigned.
He laughed. “Yeah, and I’m really upset about that, too. I can’t imagine anything worse than having you use me for sex. Oh, wait, yes, I can. Not having you use me for sex. That would be worse.”
“I wouldn’t put it past my mother to check my room in a little while to find out if I’m in it.”
“And then what? Would she traipse all the way down here to confirm her suspicions?”
“No. She hates embarrassing scenes. She’ll just find a private moment tomorrow to give me a lecture about your unsuitability and my duty to my pack. I’ll assure her that what you and I share is only . . . temporary.” She felt a painful little twist somewhere in the region of her heart.
“Maybe she’ll believe you. She wasn’t about to believe me.”
“She was too secure for too long, thinking Aidan and I would be a couple and she didn’t have to worry about my future. That’s probably one reason she and my dad were so determined that Theo would step up and become alpha material. I wasn’t going to be available to fill that role.”
“So now she has to be the mother tiger, protecting you from the nasty Wallace cousin who wants to get into your knickers.”
“I hope you still do. This is the longest damn hall in the world. But believe it or not, we’re here.” She walked through an open door on their left and swept her arm in a circle. “Behold, the blue room, a.k.a. Siberia.”
He glanced around. “It’s not so bad.”
“Oh, it’s nice. All the guest rooms at Henderson House are nice. But it’s far away from everything—the kitchen, the dining room, the library, the pool, the billiards room, the—”
“Which makes it perfect.” He closed the door and turned the lock before dropping his duffle. Unbuttoning his shirt, he walked toward her. “We can make all the noise we want.”
“So we can.” Desire, hot and demanding, took control. She lowered the side zipper on her dress and wrenched it quickly over her head.
His gaze roamed over her black lace bra and panties and he smiled. “For me?”
“No, for me. When I wear these, I feel more seductive.” She reached for the front clasp of her bra.
“They might be overkill.” His hands closed over hers and his breathing was uneven. “I’m already seduced out of my mind just being alone in this bedroom with you.” Gently he moved her hands. “I want to take it off. It doesn’t look all that complicated.”
“Especially for someone with practice.”
He looked into her eyes as he expertly opened the clasp. “Good choice of words. I’ve been practicing up for you.” Sliding his hands inside the black lace, he cupped her br**sts. “You’re my Carnegie Hall.”
She laughed because it was a funny thing to say, a salute to a classic New York joke. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.
But she was touched, too. He’d said, in effect, that she was his ultimate romantic dream. He cherished being with her in a way that no male—Were or human—ever had. Given half a chance, she could get used to that.
She could definitely get used to the way he touched her, the calluses on his work-roughened hands creating erotic friction as he stroked her br**sts. She leaned into his caress like a spoiled kitten. “We were going to shift and make love as Weres tonight.” She moaned softly. “I guess we could still—”
“Not now.” He stepped closer and lowered his head to her breast. “Next time.”
As his mouth—warm, moist, and insistent—settled over her pouting nipple, she wondered if there would be a next time. Then she pushed the thought aside. They had this moment, and she wouldn’t ruin it by worrying about the future. Tunneling her fingers through his thick russet hair, she held him to her breast as pleasure rocketed through her.
He cupped her bottom with one hand and slipped the other inside the delicate lace of her panties. She shivered in anticipation as he made contact with her heat. Pressing his thumb against her trigger point, he pushed two fingers into her slick heat.
Her body answered without hesitation as she rocked forward to intensify the sensation. He lifted his mouth from her breast and looked into her eyes as his fingers continued their magic.
Holding his gaze, she allowed him to see her at her most vulnerable because she trusted him as she’d never trusted a lover before. Her surrender drew near. So near.
He was breathing nearly as fast as she was. “I love how your eyes get dark before you come,” he murmured. “Like storm clouds.”
She gasped. “The storm is . . . close.”
“Good.” He thrust deeper. “Let me hear you, Nadia. Let me hear you come.”
She’d been raised to elegance and restraint, but Quentin awakened something wild and daring in her. She cried out as the first spasm hit, and cried again, louder still, as her cli**x arrived in all its glory. At that moment, she might have yelled. Yes, she probably did. It was that good.
Dizzy and trembling, she was vaguely aware that he’d lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. Tomorrow she would have to be the strong one, the Were in charge, but tonight, she gladly gave control over to Quentin, who seemed to know exactly what she needed and how to deliver it.