Heart of a Lion by Lacey Thorn

Chapter Twenty

Quinn had tuned out most of Abby and Jess’ conversation as they walked toward Tah’s room. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see him. She knew he wouldn’t blame her for what had happened, but that didn’t mean the guilt wouldn’t hit her hard. Luckily, for her at least, Tah wasn’t in his room. Jess had followed on Abby’s heels as she’d left to find her errant mate, mumbling the whole way about damn lions and stubborn men who didn’t listen to common sense.

“Quinn.”

Her father called her name as she pondered if she should follow Abby and Jess, go look for Amia, or head back to Tony’s and get Emery from Jonah. She still couldn’t believe Mitch had talked her into letting his friend watch Emery while they were gone. But Jonah had been surprisingly good with her son.

“How’re you feeling?” her dad asked as he joined her. “Any more issues? How’s your side? Everything healing okay? Where’s my grandson? I didn’t see him downstairs with the other kiddos.”

Quinn laughed. She’d missed her dad’s energy when she’d been gone for so long. She’d missed a lot. Without answering any of his questions, she leaned in and hugged him tight, loving the way he hugged her back even harder. Neither of them said anything. Instead, they both relished the ability to comfort one another.

“Are you feeling better, my girl?”

“I’m almost back to a hundred percent again.”

“Quinn?” he admonished. “You had major surgery, including a cesarean with a partial hysterectomy. You should still be in bed as far as I’m concerned.”

“If I were human,” she reminded him and watched his gaze grow heavy. “Don’t. We can’t go back and change anything.”

She knew he wished again that Talbot had never gotten his hands on her. That she’d never left. Never become little more than a science experiment for a madman with designs of creating his own shifter. Or so it seemed.

“You should still take it easy,” her father admonished.

“Where are you off, too?” she asked, finally noting the bag he must have dropped when she’d initiated their hug.

“I’m heading over to check on one of the coyote’s mates. She’s close to her delivery date. I promised I’d be by to check on her. It’s her first pregnancy and she’s already had some complications.”

That was her father. He was an amazing doctor, one who always did what he could for all his patients.

“How long will you be gone?”

“Depends on how close she is to delivery. The coyote alpha asked me if I’d check in more often as she approached her due date. I won’t be far, though, and I can be back quickly if you need me.”

“I always need you, Dad, but I’m not going anywhere. Plus, I can appreciate how much it would mean to her to have you there.”

“I always need you, too,” he told her, giving her another squeeze followed by a kiss on her brow. “I’ll be back before you know it. Maybe, we can spend some time together, just the three of us. Or four of us as the case may be.”

“Four,” she agreed with a smile.

“Four it is. I’ll find you as soon as I get back.”

“Be safe,” Quinn ordered. “I love you.”

Her father paused with his hand stretched toward his bag. He pulled it back and hugged her tight again. “I love you, baby girl. I love you so much. I…”

“It’s okay,” she whispered as he choked up on emotion. His face was wet with tears. “I swear. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here waiting when you get back.”

“See that you are,” he told her, running his hand over her head the way he had when she was a little girl. Then he said the words that had her choking on tears of her own. “Your mother would be so proud of you.”

“Dad.”

“She would, and she’d love that gorgeous baby boy of yours.”

“I wish he could have known her,” Quinn admitted.

“We’ll tell him all about her. Plus, I have boxes of pictures from when you were growing up. Pictures from when your mother and I first met and started dating. Some of us when we were younger. Some with your grandparents.”

“I’d love to see those.”

“As soon as I get back.”

“As soon as you get back,” she agreed. “Stay safe.”

“I will. I’ll have Griffin with me. I’ve been training him. The boy’s a natural healer. No formal schooling, but between Professor Mueller and I, we’ve been teaching him everything we know. He’s a fast learner. He’ll make an amazing doctor.”

She vaguely remembered meeting Griffin once in passing. Mostly because she’d been with Ariel and he’d stopped by to talk to the other woman. Apparently, the two were close friends. Ariel said they’d gone through a lot together. Looked like Griffin was important to her dad, as well. She’d have to make an effort to get to know him better. She needed to do that with all the pride in general and the men who worked with Mitch. After she dealt with Talbot.

“How could he not with you as a mentor?” she teased.

“Are you still interested in medicine?”

She paused at her dad’s question. Once upon a time, she’d thought about going to school to follow in her dad’s footsteps. Once she’d discovered shifters, she’d asked her dad a million questions on what she’d need to study to help them. Now, the thought of dealing with wounds and broken bones and, god forbid, a surgery of any kind made her break out in a cold sweat.

“Hey, it’s okay.” His arms came around her again. “I shouldn’t have asked that. Of course, you don’t want that path. I wasn’t thinking.”

“I’m all right.” She patted his arms as she eased out of them. “I haven’t really thought about what I want to do now.”

Now that she had a future to think about. Something long term instead of getting through the next few minutes, the next few hours, just one more day. Not once since she’d escaped had she given a passing thought to what her future might hold. She’d merely hoped she had one. One with her son and Mitch. Now, it felt as if she could think past that. Plan for something more than the next moment.

“We can talk about that when you get back, too,” she offered. “Maybe, you can help me find a way that I could contribute around here.”

“Honey, you need to focus on recovering and spending time with your son. No one expects you to do more than that right now.”

Quinn smiled. “And you better get going. You’ve got a pregnant lady to check on.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised then gave her another kiss and was gone.

She watched until he was out of sight. He was wrong, though. Recovering and taking care of Emery weren’t all she had to do. She’d paid attention to how the pride worked. Everyone had their role to play within their group, and she wanted one of her own. She needed to find her place within the pride and contribute. Maybe speaking with Talbot and pressing for the answers they desperately needed would be a start. Then she’d have to think of what she could do to help out.

“Hey, I was hoping to run into you.”

She turned to watch as Mitch walked closer. She was in love with him. Sometime during their long conversations while snuggled together in bed, she’d fallen for him. He spoke to her as if she were the most important person in the room. If she were honest, She’d started falling when he’d asked her consent prior to touching her when they’d first met. Then every moment with him after. All of them, big and small. He was… There was no word to describe how she felt about him.

Moving into him, she gripped his shoulders and tugged him down, not stopping until his lips met hers. Then it was on. What words couldn’t convey, lips and tongues could. They crashed together. Soft and slow at first until the tide engulfed them, sucking them in. Then they devoured. Licking and nipping and sucking as they consumed one another. He was hard against her. Muscles tensed and bulging, but her focus was on the part of him between his thighs. The masculinity that hadn’t been as noticeable when they’d first touched.

Yes, she’d felt him. Numerous times, both when falling asleep and when waking. He’d never made a big deal of it, so neither had she. This time, she rubbed against him, trying to climb so they aligned perfectly. His fingers covered her ass, lifting her as he turned. Her back hit the wall, and Mitch covered her front. She bucked, wrapping her legs around his waist, while her fingers tunneled through his hair.

Mitch stilled, and she skimmed her lips along his jaw then up his neck to nibble on his ear. His hands clenched on her ass before he tapped his fingers as if trying to get her attention.

“Quinn.”

Her name was like a purr to her ears. The throat that cleared behind them wasn’t. Neither was Tony’s voice.

“Maybe, you two should find a room to take care of things before we make plans for later.”

She growled. Mitch dropped his head into the curve of her neck. Tony laughed.

“I swear. One of these times, I’m going to kill you, Tony,” Quinn groused as Mitch eased her down his body then held her until her feet were steady under her.

“Funny you should mention killing.”

Tony stood there with a grin, fingers stuffed in his front pockets as he watched her and Mitch.

“Tony.” The warning in Mitch’s tone was impossible to miss. Her gaze bounced back and forth between them.

“What are you two up to?” she demanded.

She tried to step away from Mitch, but his arm anchored her to his side, and she needed his touch. The man calmed her, which was important when she was in Tony’s immediate vicinity. He made her blood boil. She’d wondered if there was any familial scent shared between him and Talbot, and if that could be why Tony got to her, but she was too mindful of his feelings about that connection to mention the possibility. Still. The question popped into her head whenever he was around.

“Nothing, love,” Tony offered then grinned wider at her growl.

“Mitch.”

“I have a plan to get the most out of Talbot. I spoke with Tony, and he agrees.”

“Why do I feel like I won’t like this?” God, she wanted to wipe that smirky grin off Tony’s arrogant face.

“Probably because I love it,” Tony stated.

“Stop baiting me and spit it out,” she warned.

“I told Tony—”

Mitch started to speak but Tony interrupted, speaking over him. “I get to kill you, Quinn. What’s not to love about that!”