Page 34 of Pleasure and Mane
Quinn didn't stop, her own body humming with pleasure at the sounds he made. When he finally came, she swallowed, the act feeling primal and intimate, a claiming of sorts. She then stood up, her body pressed against his as he caught his breath.
"You're going to be the death of me," he muttered, though his smile was all satisfaction.
They stepped out of the shower, and Caius handed her a towel, his eyes lingering on her body as she dried off. She left the bathroom and retrieved her discarded clothes off the floor, quickly getting dressed in her lace bra and panties and her tailored navy dress and slipping her heels back on.
"I'm going to my suite to change for the day," she said, though she couldn't help the pang of disappointment at leaving his sanctuary. "I'll meet you in the library in twenty minutes."
Caius looked equally disappointed, but he nodded. "I know we need to figure this mystery out," he said. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to spend the rest of the day scheming to get you back in my bed."
Quinn laughed, the sound light and carefree. "I'll hold you to that," she said, kissing him on the cheek before slipping out of his room. Her heart was still racing, and her body was still humming from their time together, but her mind was already shifting to the task at hand. Vincent Keale wasn't going to get away with what he'd done. Not if she could help it.
Twenty minutes later, Quinn stepped into the library wearing a green blouse and dark jeans, her hair still damp from their shared shower. The scent of leather and old books enveloped her, but this time the library felt welcoming rather than intimidating. She paused near the doorway, her eyes finding Caius already seated at the large oak table in the center of the room.
Three days.The thought hit her like lightning. Three days ago, she'd been sitting in that leather armchair by the fireplace when he'd stormed in here, all growling Alpha male energy and territorial fury about her unauthorized presence. Now here he was in a fitted gray t-shirt and dark jeans, looking relaxed and gorgeous, having just brought her to heights of pleasure she'd never imagined possible.
Her cheeks flushed at the memory of his hands on her body and the way he'd worshipped her in the shower. The rational part of her brain tried to kick in—you just gave your virginity to a man you met three days ago—but she pushed it aside. Nothing about this situation followed logic. Nothing about fated mates could be explained by her ordered world of medical training and scientific reasoning.
Maybe that's exactly the point.
For thirty-four years, she'd let her practical mind dictate every decision. Where to go to school, what career to pursue, and which patients to prioritize. She'd chosen midwifery over her dream of writing because it was safe, stable, and respectable. She'd pushed away every man who'd shown interest becauserelationships were messy complications that didn't fit into her meticulously planned life.
And where had all that careful planning gotten her? Alone in a Denver bungalow, working herself to exhaustion, with no one to share her life with.
"You're thinking too hard," Caius observed, his blue eyes studying her with that intense focus that made her pulse skip. "I can practically see the wheels turning from here."
Quinn moved toward the table, drawn by the warmth in his voice. "I'm just processing how much has changed since the last time we were in this room together."
"When I was being a complete ass and treating you like an intruder?" he said, his expression sheepish. "I'm still sorry about that, by the way."
"Don't be." She settled into the chair beside him, close enough that their knees brushed. "You were protecting your family and your secrets. I understand that now."
Caius reached across the table and opened an ancient leather-bound tome, its pages yellowed with age. "These are our oldest records," he said, his voice taking on a reverent tone. "Dating back to when our pride first settled in Leon over three centuries ago. Very few people have seen these—not even all of my pride members know they exist."
Quinn's breath caught. The weight of his trust settled over her like a warm blanket. For him to share something this sacred, this vital to his people's history, especially with a human... Her heart swelled with an emotion she couldn't quite name.
"Thank you," she whispered, meaning it more than he could know. "For trusting me with this."
His fingers found hers, intertwining their hands. "You're my mate, Quinn. My other half. There's nothing I wouldn't share with you."
The simple statement sent warmth cascading through her entire body. This connection between them transcended anything she'd ever experienced—deeper than friendship, more profound than mere attraction. It was as if she'd been walking around her entire life with a piece of her soul missing, and now she'd finally found it.
Together, they pored over the genealogy logs, medical records, and birth documentation spanning generations. Quinn traced family lines with her finger, noting patterns in bloodlines, pregnancy durations, and birth outcomes. Her medical training kicked in as she analyzed the data with a clinical eye.
"Everything appears normal," she murmured, flipping through page after page of meticulous record-keeping. "Different ages and different stages of pregnancy when the losses occurred. No genetic markers that would suggest hereditary conditions."
Caius leaned closer, his masculine scent making it hard to concentrate. "So we're back to Vincent as our primary suspect."
"It's looking that way, but we can't rule out other possibilities yet." Quinn sat back in her chair, her mind working through the variables. "We need to test everything—the water supply, soil composition, and food sources. If there's an environmental factor we're missing, we need to find it before more women get hurt."
"Whatever you need," Caius said immediately, his Alpha instincts flaring to life. "I'll have samples collected within the hour."
Quinn smiled at his immediate response to protect his people. This was the man she was falling for—strong, decisive, and completely devoted to those under his care. And now, miraculously, that protection extended to her.
FOURTEEN
CAIUS
Caius pulled out his phone from his jeans pocket and fired off a text to Bertram as the bright sunlight poured into the library windows that morning. Quinn sat beside him at the oak table, her green blouse bringing out the stunning color of her eyes, and he found himself stealing glances at her even as he typed.
