Paragon - Chapter 27: Chapter 27

The engine growled as I pulled up outside the tall glass hotel building. A valet already rushed to my driver side and opened the door.
"Morning ma'am, any bags we can take for you?" He asked.
I stepped out into the heat and gave him a polite smile.
"No. We will not be staying long." I told him simply, turning to Quinn's side and pulling open her door. She met my eyes before getting out and looking to the tall luxury of glass before us.
As soon as I closed the door the car already roared to life and was taken underground. Quinn stepped closer to me and murmured. " Now I'm definitely under dressed."
"You're beautiful." I said simply.
I didn't really think through my response. It was more subconscious than deliberate. But I still heard her heart accelerate and felt her eyes cut to mine. I didn't meet them. I strode forward confidently up the stairs and went through the automatic glass doors.
The dark haired receptionist looked up and gave me a warm smile. I returned it and rested a hand on the cool marble.
"Venetia Demarcus." I told her.
"Of course, one moment please." She said quickly typing into her computer.
Quinn finally arrived beside me and leant an elbow against the desk deliberately eying me. I smirked briefly before turning my attention to the woman behind the desk. I knew she had something to say but I wasn't at liberty to discuss it now... whatever that look meant.
"I have two penthouse rooms for you. One night only." She clarified with a trimmed eyebrow raise.
"Correct." I answered quickly.
She gave another smile and seemed to linger on my face in the way certain mortals did when they were confused about my looks. Predatory but enticing... I cleared my throat and she shook her head slightly with red coating her cheeks. I didn't even notice the smell of her blood. Not with Quinn stood right next to me.
She passed the two cards over the cool stone.
"Will that be under your–usual card?" She said, trying to bring her professionalism back.
I saw Quinn smirking from the corner of my eye.
"Yes, that will be all." I answered briskly, turning from the flustered mortal and taking the cards with me. Quinn followed me on light steps and was silent until we were safely inside the elevator.
"I imagine you get that a lot." Quinn said, failing to contain her smile.
"Whatever do you mean?" I drawled, looking ahead of us.
She glanced at me and saw my militant stance and calm expression. It made her smile more for some reason. I glanced at the numbers flashing upwards towards the top floor hoping that it came faster in this close space–
I felt her inch closer to me in the metal box and clenched my teeth. Why did it always have to be in places with so little space... The heat and desire was freshly ripping its way up my throat like an uncontrolled fire.
"I mean the way people look at you." She whispered with a smile, angling her face in my direction more.
I swallowed and tightened a fist behind my back. Despite it I turned my face calmly to her and met those bright green eyes that never failed to captivate me.
"It's just skin deep." I murmured. Thinking of the many forms desire took. Appearance. Mind. Lust. Bond. What was it Quinn saw?
She tilted her head before me and leaned in. But before she could speak the doors opened and two men in business wear entered talking in Arabic. Quinn stepped back and leant against the back of the lift to allow them space.
They pressed a number for the dining floor. It went on like this for the next five minutes. The painfully familiar stop and start of the lift as it filled and emptied. The same way it had done scarcely a few days before in Quinn's office. The joke did not go over her and she was thoroughly enjoying my impatience.
When we finally arrived on the correct floor we walked down a long corridor with few doors. We found the numbers on the key cards on opposite sides of the hallway. I raised the card before her and she plucked both out of my hand before I had a say in it.
She flashed it before one of the doors and let herself in. I sighed on the threshold knowing she wouldn't negotiate. It seemed like she would test the limit of every boundary I set.
Yet I didn't stop her.
Her hips swayed as she swaggered into the wide luxury of the penthouse. I dragged my eyes off her waist and looked at the accommodation. In honesty it wasn't to my own taste... everything was too new money–everything in this city tended to be.
"Well this is..." She trailed off, looking around the large living area with plush gold trim pillows and thick carpets. "–like a footballer and an actor got together and designed it."
I laughed in surprise and nodded with her.
"They're painfully over the top. Do you want a smaller room?" I asked, tempted to make the call.
She turned on her heel. "No, since we'll be sharing it." She smirked.
I rolled my eyes and leant back against the wall. "Why do I feel like I'm going to be attacked at any moment." I muttered.
"Can't imagine why." She drawled, shrugging out of her hoodie and going for the bathroom. I stared after her and heard the shower faucet turn on. I frowned.
"Quinn, the door?" I asked, over the rushing water.
"Yes it has a door!" She answered me with a laugh as I heard clothes fall to the floor.
"I mean–would you like me to close it?" I asked, exasperated.
There was a pause around the corner before I heard her step under the water.
"No! I'm fine detective!"
I growled under my breath and strode towards the kitchen. If I had to stand there thinking about the way she endlessly tried to tease me I would break something. I decided on making the mortal late brunch.
The knife was quick in my hand as I found fruit and various other things in the fridge. There was also endless room service for such things but I needed the distraction. I was pouring the orange juice into an overly detailed glass when she cut off my thoughts.
"Hey Fletcher!"
I paused and set down the glass.
"Yeah?"
"Could you get me a towel?" She called in total innocence.
I froze and stared ahead in disbelief. Something much darker and more powerful was filling my thoughts again and I took a measured breath.
"They should have towels in there!" I retorted, gripping the granite of the counter before me.
"Nope! Can't see any!" She laughed. "Guess I'll just come out then–"
"No! Absolutely not!" I cut her off striding for the front door and keeping my eyes firmly away from the bathroom. "I will get you some from the other room."
I heard her laugh even when I entered the hallway quickly. Was everything going to be this difficult? What ever happened to the god damn ground rules we were supposed to have? Did she not realise she toyed with her life every time–
I soon found a pile of towels in different sizes and took them all.
Then I entered our room again and paused on the threshold of the steaming bathroom.
"I'm going to just leave these–"
Quinn strode around the corner entirely unconcerned and entirely naked. My body went rigid and I had no control over where my eyes drifted down her perfect curves. She moved with casual elegance and plucked them from my frozen arms with an easy smile.
"Look at that, room service." She murmured, before turning her bare back and legs and everything else to me and strutting back around the corner.
"You can pick up your jaw now detective!" She called.
I dropped the rest of the towels without a word and rushed back out into air that wasn't hot and steaming and full of a gleaming, baking Quinn Adams that was driving every sense I had into madness. I would never get that image... that sculpted body with perfect curves, breasts–everything out of my head now.
I ripped a glass vial out of my jacket and tore open the cap without hesitating. I only had this for an emergency. I was already needing it.
The small amount of rich red life filled my mouth and the overwhelming urge to go into that bathroom and sink my teeth into her evaporated. I set it down and breathed in slowly. Then opened my eyes and walked to the disposal bin.
When I shut the counter draw Quinn emerged around the corner wrapped in a white towel. It only made her skin glow more starkly against it and I suddenly realised my emergency use was a waste of time.
"You made me breakfast?" She asked with a grin.
I tried to mutter something out but my eyes were on her collarbones and the gleam her skin still had from the water. "Yes." I finally spoke.
Quinn was either totally oblivious to my utter stupor or she was pretending not to notice. But either way she seemed to be enjoying her day. She paced over to the counter and plucked the plate of fruit from it with a polite smile.
Then took a piece of fruit and bit into it slowly with a low hum. I gripped the stone again and sighed through my nose.
"Quinn."
"Detective." She answered, taking another bite of fruit before using her tongue to catch a drop on the corner of her mouth. I stared at it for a moment before placing both hands together slowly.
"I know what you are doing. It is not funny." I stated slowly, watching her innocent expression grow as well as the darker look. It was like two sides of a coin meeting in her expression. But one was lying.
"Eating?" She quipped.
"Who eats fruit like that?" I demanded, looking at her tongue as it traced her lip again.
This made her giggle and I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You don't make it easy do you."
She placed the plate down and I was still watching the floor when I saw her stand before me. I didn't raise my eyes. If I took them off the floor–off her legs that drew closer I knew where this would go.
"Are you... hungry?" Quinn murmured, near me.
I flexed my hand and held my breath.
"I'm good." I got out.
Her body moved nearer still until I could see the white of her towel and the dangerously close nature of it. Of her body that was still damp. Her scent that was so sweet and demanding to be explored and tasted. I edged back against the cool metal of the fridge.
"You're killing me. Quinn." I grit out, still avoiding lifting my eyes any higher.
"It's hard not to think about you either when you kiss me like that." She answered in a low voice.
"That was–it was..." I lost the answer in my mouth. She stole it from me when she moved closer yet again until my body had no where to escape. Until she pressed the warmth of her body against my shirt. I felt the soft cotton of the towel, I felt the damp of her glistening skin, and then I felt her chest press softly against mine.
"It seems to me–" She whispered, "–like you can handle more than you think."
I pressed my head back against the fridge and willed every piece of me to just push her away. Stop breaking the boundaries I held so tightly for a reason. She was inviting disaster–
"Fletcher." She said quietly. "Look at me."
I still could not. If I moved I would act. If I looked down at her barely clothed body I wouldn't have anything left to stop myself. She watched my face intently for a few more seconds before stepping back with a sigh. She made to turn away but I caught her wrist with a cool hand.
"Wait." I breathed.
She looked back to me and I finally met her eyes. She was as stunning as I feared. But I wouldn't let it consume me. I took a step closer to her and dropped my head down to near my face to hers. She didn't move and she didn't seem to breathe either. I was as much testing my own resolve as I was hers now.
Our faces were inches apart and my instincts wanted to rip the towel away and take her in my arms. It wasn't only the endless bloodlust that wanted it–I wanted her.
I kept my breathing even, being sure to accept the rich and overpowering scent of her. Then I slowly dipped my head down and pressed my lips against her collarbone. As I had wanted to the moment I saw her in that bathroom. She sighed against me but made no move to press me.
Her skin was smooth and begging to be explored.
But I drew my head back and met her eyes briefly. They didn't hold the conflict I'm sure my own had. They were resolved and darker. A dangerous look that told me she wanted much more. More than I was sure I could give her.
She took my hand slowly as she watched me and placed it lightly on her hip. I didn't break her steady gaze as she did the same with my other hand. But when she moved her hands behind my neck and drew her lips close to my own I had to fight the monster in me again. The demon that demanded she be consumed. But a more powerful side of me was winning the inner turmoil. The side that liked her smile and the way she saw the world. The way I looked beside her in that photograph. That side wanted more–
"When you touch me–it's so much harder to fight." I got out, keeping my hands firmly on her hips and not moving her an inch.
She watched me carefully and nodded slowly. "I noticed last night. You changed when I did."
"I don't know if it's getting easier or not." I admitted, flickering between those forest green eyes.
But the answer seemed clear to her as she moved her lips to the side of my face and whispered close to me. "So, touch me."
I gripped the towel around her a little tighter and she pressed closer to my body making my thoughts cloud again. "If I go too far it–I can't–"
"Just. Stop overthinking." She murmured. She drew her hand back from my neck and took my own in hers as she led me to the sofa. I honestly tried my best not to over analyse every aspect of what she was saying. What she meant. The way her body looked, the way it felt and the way it–
She pushed me lightly down onto the cushions and climbed carefully onto my lap with her legs on either side. My blood had never felt colder than it did now. Every part of me was hyperaware of her. From the heat between her legs that pressed against me to the way her damp hair fell in waves down one side of her shoulder. I was losing my sanity quickly.
Her hands returned to my neck as did the dark look of desire in her eyes.
She didn't need to say anything else. My body responded to her and took her hips again before I kissed her slowly. Taking her lower lip in my own as her breathing increased around me. I could kiss her like this. I could handle this–
When her hips moved deliberately against me I knew I was a fool. My grip tightened on her and I kissed her more deeply quickly feeling the fire between us start again. Only so much worse. So much more powerful. Her fingers went through my hair and her teeth grazed my lip making a low sound leave my throat.
"Quinn–" I breathed heavily.
She responded by releasing my lip and dropping her hands to my neck again.
"Sorry." She whispered, before meeting my lips again. It was just as lustful as the first time. If not more. She knew what she wanted and she knew I wanted the same. The problem was the damn lethal desire in it all.
My mind was clouding more and my actions felt less and less under control as she breathed in lust above me. She pressed her body closer to mine and drew her mouth back to breathe near my ear, "I want to feel your hands on me."
I gripped the fabric of the towel more than her and tried to draw on any self control I had left. I was stronger than this. I could handle it if she wasn't assaulting my own skin. But the risk if I didn't–even for a moment.
"Quinn–I can't." I grit out.
She trailed her lips along the side of my face and down my neck making everything harder. They were so god damn smooth and the heat of her body was too inviting–
"Just tonight." She whispered, almost desperately against my skin. "–I know you want this."
I clenched my jaw and let my hands drift down her hips as I tried to find away out of my conflict. Her body always responded to any minute change in mine and she moved with my hands like her body was begging for them to move lower. She had no idea how much I wanted her.
"Far too much." I murmured, trying to keep my grip on the world.
But it seemed like she had already made her mind up for both of us. When she moved her lips back to mine she took my hand and placed it on her bare thigh making my instincts louder than any other part of me. If it wasn't for that vial of blood I knew I would be drinking hers already. But there was a slither of restraint left in me.
So I let her guide my hand up her leg and did not stop when she pushed her hands through my hair again. Her heart was beating so fast against me and the heat of her invaded every part of me. But I drifted my hand up beneath the towel until I could feel the hot centre of her.
She dragged in a ragged breath when my fingers pressed against her. Her hips pressed into my hand more demanding the feel of them against her. She moved her head to the side to take in another lustful breath when I circled my fingers around her wet arousal. My teeth were sharp in my mouth and I knew I had to help her reach her end before I ended things permanently.
I sank two fingers deep into her and she sucked in another breath breathing onto my shoulder as her hips rocked against my hand. I let my thumb tease the most sensitive part of her while my fingers drew deftly back and inside. Her breathing turned into moans quickly and I felt my body tighten in response. It urged me to sink my teeth into her–her neck so close.
"Tara." She groaned into my shoulder as I increased the pace in response. My own defences were crashing around us and she didn't know how close I was to letting the demon out. I grit my teeth as she sank herself against me more and panted harder.
The moment I thought it would all end there and I would give in, she cried in pleasure against my skin and her legs tightened around me. Deliciously. Desirably. So very mortal...
She was still recovering from her ecstasy when I took her in my hands and pressed her down against the sofa. Surprise lit her eyes from my speed and her heart still beat in such a way that I had to taste it. I pressed both hands on either side of her head while she still panted heavily and dropped my lips to her neck. The points of my teeth grazed her neck and she stilled beneath me.
But I just wanted that rich beating blood. Only a taste.
"Fletcher?" Quinn breathed.
I ran my tongue along her skin savouring it. Every taste before I would drink her like wine.
"Fletcher." She said more clearly, more demanding. It was trying to pull me back. Back to a place where I cared for a mortal more than just–
A hand grabbed my jaw and made me meet a pair of the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. They were so green. Like a forest in the summer–like Quinn's.
Quinn.
I growled loudly and yanked myself off her as rapidly as I had pressed her down.
"Fuck." I snarled, gripping my hair and pacing back as far as the room would allow. I tried to calm my vicious cold blood. Tried to draw in the teeth that were sharp in my mouth but her scent was all over me. Her arousal clear in the air.
It was too much. Far too much.
"Fletcher I'm sorry I–"
"I need some space." I told her quickly before grabbing a key card and rushing out the door.
There wouldn't be enough space in the world to get that desire out of me. To wash away the taste and feel of her. Not even a lifetime would do it. I decided on the next best available thing. I opened the opposite room and threw myself under a heavy pour of water with my clothes still on. I stood as every inch of me was covered in water and dragging the impossible scent of Quinn Adams off my body.