Quinlan: Foster’s Pride – Lion Shapeshifter Romance (Foster's Pride Book 3)

by Kathi S. Barton

  “If you don’t let me come, I’m going to test the theory of how immortal you are.” He laughed—it was almost too sexy for her when he suddenly took her deeper, his body seeming to plow her like she’d been needing for years…hell, her entire life. “More. Please, I want more.”

  He took her. There was no other way for her to describe how he not only brought her to the edge but followed her over until they were both hitting the ground at the same time and exploding.

  Opening her eyes, she saw that at some point, he’d rolled to his back, and she was atop him. His soft snores didn’t bother her so much as how he was holding her like he was afraid she was going to get away. Moving enough, so his hands dropped from her sides, Rogue rolled off Quin to the side of the bed to look at him.

  Christ, he was hers, her mind and body thought. Her heart was so full she wasn’t sure she could have had a single other thing touch it. As he turned and looked at her, his eyes the most beautiful shade of gold she’d ever seen, he took her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

  “I’m broken.” Rogue laughed. “That was far and away the most mind-blowing sex ever had by two people in the world. I don’t think I can do that often. Unless, of course, you liked it so much you’d like me to do it every time. I’d suffer through it. Just for you.”

  “You’re a goof.” He rolled to his side, so he was facing her. “I’m starving. I mean, like I could eat a cow right now, and I’d not have enough.”

  “I know.” He got up, his naked body covered in little bite marks she’d given him. Tiny bruises that were only just making an appearance. “I hope you like fruit. That’s about all we have. Also, some of what appears to be chocolate cake in this thing. I’m not a big fan of chocolate, but I will share it with you.”

  They feasted on the things in the basket. In addition to the cake, which turned out to be white with chocolate frosting, there were small cans of sardines and crackers to eat them on. A roll of summer sausage and some dried fruits. Feeding one another each thing they found, the two of them sipped the champagne. It was the best meal she’d ever had, Rogue told Quin.

  “I have to admit, I’ve never had better myself. But it’s not going to be enough.” He wiggled his brows at her. “However, I’m a little sore. How about we get dressed, go into town, and find us a sinfully expensive seafood place and have a nice dinner? Then walk around on the beach?”

  “Heaven.”

  They ended up getting ice cream first, as their table was going to be a little while. The ice cream was hand-dipped, and they made pigs of themselves as they each ate a single cone. Dinner, too, was delicious. Even when she declared herself full, Rogue managed to eat dessert, having another dish of ice cream with bourbon poured over it and flamed.

  The walk back to the beach house was with the two of them touching and talking about how much they loved one another. Before they were even in the house, Quin took her again, filling her up, making her scream several times as he pressed her against the front door.

  Never had anyone made her feel this way. More than just loved, but also in love. Going to bed with him, they held each other tightly. Quin told her over and over how much he needed her, how much he loved her. Rogue said the same to him. She had no idea how she was going to return home. Return back to where she would have to deal with the life and death of her job. For the first time in her career, Rogue no longer wanted to work. She wanted to spend every waking moment with him.

  ~*~

  They were enjoying the beach, lying in the sun, watching the shrimping boats pull in their catches when he turned to Rogue. He asked her about saving Loman’s life. She eyed him with one eye open and then turned back to looking out over the sea.

  “I asked him about it. Twice. But he never told me. He said he wanted you to tell it. You would tell it the correct way.” She snorted. “He also told me you shook the shit out of him to get him on the right track to keeping his grades up as well.”

  “He wasn’t doing well in his classes. We shared a couple of them, and I’d watch him fuck off while he was in the room. The professors knew who he was and what he was, so they rarely bothered with telling him to drop the class if he wasn’t going to work hard.” Quin said that didn’t sound like life or death. “It wasn’t. Not then. But I’d had enough after…. One night, just after class, a bunch of us were walking back to the dorm. It had been a particularly brutal day, with most of us having second thoughts about what we were doing there. I saw a group of people running past us, but like I said, we were all pretty beaten up by class and didn’t follow them.”

  He picked up several shells and laid them aside. Now that she was telling him, Quin wasn’t so sure he wanted to know. Even finding out that Loman hadn’t given college his best bothered him a great deal.

  “There were five of them beating the shit out of Loman. Cass was there too, but he was already bleeding from a head wound and was unconscious. The men had tied them both up with silver chains. That was my first clue that they knew the Foster brothers weren’t human. The second one was that they made sure they were kept down so they’d not be able to shift and kill them.” He told her they’d have not been able to shift without losing a paw or something worse. “I think I knew that on some level, but not at that time. I was terrified out of my mind for them. Don’t get me wrong, I think Loman deserved what he got for fucking around in class, but this was more personal. It wasn’t until later that I found out they thought Loman and Cass had raped one of the men’s sister. Or something along those lines. Whatever they’d done, what they were having done to them was way out of line for anything other than murder. So, I stepped in and pulled out my gun. I was already carrying by then. It was a dangerous area I lived in at the time, and I wasn’t going to die because some punk was armed, and I wasn’t. So I shot one of the men.”

  The more he knew about her, the more he admired her. Rogue wasn’t just a person out to make a living in the world, but she was trying her best to stay alive, make a difference, and make sure the underdog—his brothers, in this case—were safe, no matter how she felt about them.

  “I thought they would scatter, but of course, you have stupid bravery when there is more than one dick in the bunch. So they fired back. I ended up killing two more of the men and injuring one, and then the one that was left tossed his guns down with the keys to the chains on your brothers and took off.” He knew she’d been hurt too, but she skipped over that. That would be like her, he thought. Making things seem a lot less terrible than they really were. “Once I made sure they were both alive, I called the police and an ambulance. I don’t think either of them had the strength to shift, but I wouldn’t have allowed them to do it anyway. I had three dead men around us, and I wanted to prove I had to in order to save the two idiots.”

  They sat there for several minutes, neither of them saying anything as they watched the sun kiss the water on the other side of the ocean. The colors were such that he doubted even the best painter in the world would be able to capture them. They were there and gone so quickly. It was like a glimpse into something amazing. When it was just to the point where the darkness was about all they had, she spoke again.

  “I don’t think to this day they know how close they were to being killed. Loman might have known, but Cass doesn’t. His head wound was deep enough that the doctor told me he could see his brain matter. Without him being able to shift for a few days, it was touch and go for him for a while.” He asked about Loman. “He’d lost a great deal of blood. I mean, like more than even a shifter could stand to lose. I called in some favors and had some shifter buddies of mine give him a little of themselves. I didn’t hate Loman. I want you to know that. He was a fuck off before this, and I didn’t care for his actions. But I did know he had a family and that his mother would have been heartbroken if anything happened to him. She was all he talked about when he was screwing around in the classes. How she was the best cook in the world, and how much
he missed being with her.”

  “Does Loman know about the other blood?” She said she’d told him while they were helping, but she wasn’t sure he was up to hearing it. “What sort of blood? I’m grateful you did it and would ask you again to do so, but just for my own sake, what does he have to deal with someday? Like when his mate comes around.”

  “Vampire. Fae. I think Brook knows one of them. Jasper Shades.” He nodded and smiled. “You think he’ll be pissed off about that part? I don’t care. I can take him on if need be, but I really don’t want to lose a friend over saving his life.”

  “He won’t be pissed off. And yes, Brook knows Jasper. We all do. Does Jasper know you’re here? That you’re my mate?” She asked him if he thought he’d care. “I don’t know. But he is mated to Parker’s sister. They have a set of twin boys. I think I’d mention it to him sometime to see what kind of things Loman might want to watch for. Anything else?”

  “No. Mostly it was Jasper that helped. The vampire didn’t want to get involved with a lion, so he only gave him just a little. Things weren’t as soft and cuddly back then as they are now with vampires. They didn’t like being put into a position where they might be beholden to someone, or vice-versa. Even I was a little leery of other shifters.” He nodded and stood up. “Why did you ask about it? I don’t mind telling you, but why did you ask me and not your brother?”

  “He would have done the same thing you did when you told the story. Glossed over the parts where he was in it. I’m sure you were hurt. I’m also sure you were in the hospital for some time afterwards.” She said it wasn’t that bad. “No. I think it was really bad, and that the men who came to help you were there for you, and you asked them to help Cass and Loman. Correct?”

  “So?” He laughed and pulled her up off the chair she’d been sitting in. “You’re very handsome. And sexy. I don’t think I tell you that often enough. I love you. Very much so.”

  “And I love you, my darling. Once we’re home, we’re going to figure out a schedule that allows us more time to do things like this. Getting away. Taking a break from stress.” She said she’d love that. “Good. We’ll make sure we do it then. Also, when the children come, I want to do this with them too. Not put off taking time for them because we have to work. I want them to enjoy being with us as much as we can.”

  “I’d love that. Making sure they know they’re welcome on trips we take, even when business has to be a part of it. I don’t mean just our children, but I’d very much like to include all the nieces and nephews too. I’ve missed Gabe growing up by working so much. I’d very much like to have them spending time with our kids too.” He said he’d enjoy taking her dad and Lexi as well. “I think they’d have to get their own cabin or something.”

  “I have the money. I mean, to get us something to travel in if you wish.” She frowned at him. “When my grandma first came here this time, she gave each of us an envelope to use for something fun. I’ve never spent mine. I have thought about it off and on since I met you, but now that we’re talking about it, I think it would be so much more fun if we were to get us a big travel camper and live like heathens. I think they call it glamping. You know, glamorous camping kind of thing.” She laughed and said she’d love that.

  “I know a couple of people that camp. I think they have more fun with their kids being able to roam around in the big bus-looking thing than they do cooped up in the back of a car. Yes, let’s do it. As soon as we get back. I think we still have time for a few trips before fall comes around.” They were still talking about it when they went into town for dinner. He was enjoying the fresh seafood and told her that. “We can come here when we want. The Feds have a couple of dark houses—not safe houses, but dark houses—that other agents use when they need some time off like us. I think I’ll put in for it a few times a year. Is that all right?”

  “It’s wonderful. I think we could even use it when we get to go onto my job. Quarter horses are in all kinds of races that we’d be able to go do. I haven’t spoken to Robby about those, but I’m sure he’d like me to be there. This is getting more exciting all the time.”

  He was also liking the fact that they’d be together as a family when the kids came along. Or they adopted. In fact, when she pulled up the website of some campers near where they were, they decided to spend their last day there just looking for one they might like to use. He had a feeling they were going to be buying it and having it delivered to their home.

  Not that he minded. His figuring was with all the dealerships around, they might even be able to get just what they wanted without having to order something. He knew they were going about this all wrong. Researching anything they’d need seemed to be something that neither of them wanted to invest any time in. But he thought that sometimes it was fun just to wing it. He didn’t wing things very well usually. However, he thought this would be just the amount of fun the two of them needed.

  By the time they were finished with dinner, they had a list of options they had decided they needed and things they didn’t. According to the videos they’d watched, they knew storage was going to be something that, while it would seem as if there was plenty, it would never be enough. Especially when it came to having children in the home with them.

  “You do realize we’re going to have to get all kinds of things for the camper too?” He asked her what. “Well, linens. Also, we’ll need to make sure we have all sorts of things to eat. Snacks and such. I love travelling and having snacks to eat.”

  “I did notice when we stop someplace you usually get something to eat. Even if we’re headed to dinner.” She kissed him on the mouth as she stepped into an ice cream shop. “See. Right there is what I’m talking about.”

  “Do you care?” He shook his head, telling her he loved her with all his heart. “And I need to keep up my strength so I can keep up with you. You’re wearing me to the bones.”

  “You love that too.” Christ, he loved this woman and didn’t want to return to the real world. Just being with her over the last few days had been so nice he didn’t want to return to reality. Not ever.

  They were leaving the day after tomorrow. Things were going to have to be put aside for a couple of days after getting there too. Neither of them had spoken about the list of shit that was going on, and he was all right with that. But soon, they’d have to deal with it. He just hoped it didn’t take too much to settle up. Like the issues with Missy Tyler and Robin Quarter.

  They would take care of those two things first, and he had a feeling the rest of it would simply fall into place. At least that’s what he had hopes for. But with this family dynamics, who the hell knew what was going to happen daily? Laughing to himself, he took Rogue’s hand into his as they walked along the boardwalk. For now, he just didn’t care about anything but this woman.

  Chapter 6

  Robby didn’t know what he could say to the young woman across from him. He’d thought of her as a child when he offered her the job. It was a lark on his part, but his mind was now working on all the things she’d told him. Also, some of the things he was almost too afraid to ask her about.

  “Do you believe me?” He told Billy he did. He was just thinking. “Uncle Quin said you weren’t a chatterbox and that you’d appreciate me not being one either. But I’m very nervous right now. Could you at least smile or something so I know you’re not going to pull out a gun and kill me with it?”

  “Good lord, child. I’d never do that. You’ve been honest with me. Honesty is always the best way to go. But this thing with my son? Well, it’s going to take me a minute or two to think on it.” He looked at her then, straight in the eye as she’d done with him when she’d spoken to him. “I think I knew he was screwing around with the horses and such. Not to the point you’re telling me about, but that don’t mean I’m not believing you. It’s hard to…well, he’s my son no matter what comes of this.”

  “Yes, sir.” Billy
looked over at her Aunt Rogue, a woman he’d come to admire more than he could remember ever thinking of a person he’d only just met. “This is a lot to give you at one time. I understand that. I only came here to tell you about the way I can talk to your horses. But you asked me what they’d told me, and I will never lie to you. I understand this might be something that will keep me from working for you—the knowledge that I’m not a normal kid. But I—”

  “Listen, kid. There ain’t a soul in this world that is normal. I don’t know why that word even applies to anything anymore. Normal went out the window the day Adam was created. Nothing is just as it seems either. There are always things that will change, or even just tweak something, and it becomes the new normal.” Robby laughed a little. “I like you, Billy. A great deal. You’re smart, honest, and you have a good head on your shoulders. I like that in any person, male or female. And I want you to work for me, more now than before. You can tell me things I’d never get from that uncle of yours or even a man that has been training my horses as long as I’ve been selling them. Things that will make me a better horse owner and a man who cares about the animals that put bread on my table. You remember this when you’re out there and one of them people is telling you they’re normal. They ain’t, no more than you and me are. Now. I’ve had me a bit of thinking time, and I want you to tell me once again how you know about Robin and the pigs. Then I’ve got me some things I’ll ask you about it, so I have my ducks all planted in the same row. All right?”

  She told him, leaving out nothing at all this time. When he asked her a few things, she not only had the answers for him on most of them, but she was true to her word and told him honestly what she knew and what she didn’t. There wasn’t much of the latter, however.

  “Now, these here pigs. Do you know what farm they’re on?” She told him they were on his place. “I figured you were going to say that. I’ll have to find them. Unless, of course, you have an idea where they are.”