Victoria stared at Rocky. “I’m not leaving him.”
“You cannot expect to stay in the barn, sweetheart.” Quincy held his hand out to her. “Come on back to the house.”
“I’m not leaving him, Quinn.”
Quincy crossed his arms in frustration. “Where are you going to sleep?”
“Here.”
“In the barn?”
She shook her head, inadvertently releasing her hair from its pins. “Right here.”
“Out of the question,” he argued.
“I am not leaving.”
Hunkering down next to her, he swept her hair behind her shoulder. “You are not sleeping in the stall, Victoria.”
“Yes, I am.”
“You’re coming back to the house and sleeping in our bed. Don’t make me throw you over my shoulder.”
“If you force me, Quincy, I won’t forgive you.” She sniffed. “Ever.”
“Victoria, don’t be ridiculous.”
She tipped her tear-streamed face up. “I am not leaving him. Please don’t make me choose between the two of you tonight. You won’t win.”
* * *
Quincy ran his hands through his hair as he stood and walked out of the stall. He paced up and down the aisle of the barn, trying to figure out what he should do, but within minutes, Sophie and Jamie walked through the doors, interrupting his internal debate.
Sophie walked over to the stall and poked her head in. “Hey, you,” she said.
“Hi,” Victoria said.
“I brought blankets and a pillow for you.” Sophie held up her burdens.
Victoria let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”
“For what reason?” Quincy asked.
“For her to sleep here,” Sophie answered.
“It’s a damned conspiracy,” he grumbled.
Sophie chuckled. “I’d do the same if it were Samson.”
“You and I can take turns guarding her, Quinn,” Jamie offered.
“No need,” Quincy said, and made his way back inside the stall. “I’ll stay with her.”
“All right, I’ll get a couple of pistols for you then.”
“Do you think that’s necessary, baby?” Sophie asked.
“Someone poisoned that horse. It wasn’t an accident, and since none of the other horses are sick, I can only assume it’s personal,” Jamie answered.
Sophie frowned. “Oh.”
“Who, Quincy?” Victoria asked.
Quincy shook his head. “I don’t know. Most of the previous attacks have been on Christopher and Clayton, and I’m at a loss as to who would want to hurt you or me. I haven’t begun my work with the cabinet yet. We’ll figure it out, sweetheart. You just worry about Rocky for the moment.”
Sophie let herself into the stall. Jamie reached for her. “Ten-Cow.”
“Pleeeze. He won’t hurt me. He can barely move.” Sophie turned to Victoria. “Where do you want these?”
“Here, please.”
Sophie arranged the blankets so that Victoria could lie at Rocky’s neck.
Quincy grabbed for one of the blankets. “What are you doing? You cannot sleep there, Victoria. What if he stands up and tramples you?”
“He won’t.”
“Rebel.”
“He won’t, Gus.”
“Sweetheart, you haven’t eaten,” Quincy said. “Come inside and eat.”
Victoria shook her head. “No.”
Quincy let out a deep sigh. Jamie laid a hand on his shoulder. “Quinn, Sophie and I will organize trays for you and Victoria. You worry about the horse and we’ll worry about you.”
“Thank you,” Quincy said quietly.
The couple left the barn and Quincy was once again left alone with Victoria. “I don’t like this, Rebel.”
“I know, honey, but I can’t leave him.”
Jamie and Sophie brought trays for the couple and they ate, even though Victoria still refused to leave the stall. Lying on the blankets after eating very little, she stretched next to Rocky, draping her arm over his neck. She fell asleep quickly. Quincy didn’t have as much luck.
* * *
The prod of a wet nose and then the nudging of a soft lip awakened Victoria. She opened her eyes and found herself staring at Rocky’s muzzle. He was standing, and she smiled as she stroked his face.
“You’re standing up, clever boy.” Jumping to her feet, she checked his eyes and let out a quiet squeal. “No more yellow! Quinn!”
Hearing her husband groan, she peeked her head over the stall door and found him lying on his back across two bales of hay, one leg raised and his arm over his eyes. She let herself out of the stall and knelt beside him. “Wake up, honey. Rocky’s standing and he looks much better.” She stroked his face.
He smiled sleepily and kissed her palm. “He’s up?”
“Yes, he’s standing. The yellow in his eyes is almost completely gone, as well. He’s perfect.”
He sat up and pulled her onto his lap, kissing her deeply. “Good.”
“Did you sleep?” she asked.
“Not as well as you.”
Victoria grinned. “And you thought he’d trample me. I slept like a baby until he nudged me awake.”
She heard a whinny and Rocky stuck his head out of the stall. Victoria giggled and Quincy groaned as she climbed off his lap and went to her horse. She pulled a sugar cube out of her pocket and gave it to him. “I’m surprised you didn’t root around in my pocket for this, boy.” She stroked his face. “You’re such a clever horse.”
Wrapping an arm around her waist from behind, Quincy kissed her neck.
“I can’t believe one feeding worked,” she said.
Quincy sighed. “Three.”
“What?”
“Three. I fed him twice while you slept,” he admitted.
She turned and wound her arms around his neck. “You did? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Because you haven’t gotten any sleep of late.”
“Neither have you, honey, or was I enjoying the company of another naked man?”
He chuckled.
“Thank you,” she whispered and kissed him.
“My pleasure.”
“You are such a liar, my love. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” Moving her hand down his chest, she slid further down to the waistband of his pants, slipping her hand inside. She grinned when she was rewarded with his sharp intake of breath. “I will, however, show you later.”
“Good morning.”
Quincy groaned and Victoria whipped around, making sure she was standing fully in front of Quincy as Jamie entered the barn. “Hi, Jamie.”
Jamie moved toward them. “How’s Rocky?”
“He’s perfectly fine.” She worked on keeping her voice even as Quincy shifted behind her. “Whoever did this didn’t give him enough to kill him, because typically it takes a lot of B-1 to counteract the effects.”
Quincy seemed to find his voice within a few seconds. “He seems to have shaken the effects off during the night.”
“Well, that’s something, at least. What would you like Richard and me to do? Obviously, there will be a guard posted at all times, but if you need anything further, let me know.”
Victoria nodded. “I’d like to be in charge of his feed.”
“Yes, that’s fine,” Jamie agreed.
“And I’d appreciate it if you would only have trusted men watch him.”
“Absolutely.”
“That’s really it.” She gave Rocky another sugar cube. “I’ll check on him more often and if you and Richard could do the same, I’d appreciate it.”
“Of course.”
Victoria met three of the men Jamie deemed trustworthy and agreed they would be good choices to guard Rocky. She organized his feed and water and then Quincy took her back to the Wades’ home.
No one had expected the couple back for another day, but Sophie was quick to organize a room for them and Victoria insisted they go there first, delighted to find a bath
waiting for her. She began pulling her clothes off immediately.
Quincy, on the other hand, pulled his boots and shirt off and dropped, exhausted, onto the bed. Victoria climbed onto the bed with him, choosing to forego the bath for a little while. “Honey?” she whispered.
He didn’t open his eyes. “Hm?”
“How tired are you?” she asked as she straddled his hips and leaned over to kiss his chest.
He opened one eye and then groaned.
Victoria frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re wearing my favorite color—spilling out of it, I might add—and you ask me how tired I am?”
She giggled. “I didn’t know blue was your favorite color.”
“How’s your hand?” he asked, ignoring her comment.
She sighed. “It’s fine.”
“Mm, hmm,” he mumbled as he sat up and rested his hands on her hips.
“You don’t believe me?” she asked with feigned shock.
“Let me look at it.”
She shoved her hand behind her back.
“Rebel.”
“Yes?”
“Let me look.” He pulled on her arm and she reluctantly let him look at her hand. She winced as he started to unwrap the bandage. “Rebel, it’s red.” Shifting his body so she was no longer straddling him, he lifted her and set her on a chair.
“How long has it been hurting?” he asked as he knelt down in front of her.
Victoria raised an eyebrow. “Who said it hurt?”
“Rebel. Look me in the eye and tell me how long it has been like this.”
She huffed and leaned back in the chair. “It started last night.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was a little distracted.”
“By a horse,” Quincy grumbled.
“Gus!”
“What, Victoria? Rocky is a horse, you are my wife. You are more important.” She gave him a huge grin. Quincy frowned. “Why are you smiling?”
“I just like hearing you call me your wife.”
He stood, poured some water from a pitcher into the porcelain bowl on the bureau, and soaked a strip of cloth. “Well, wife, as I said, you are more important than a horse.”
“He isn’t just a horse, and he was dying, Quincy. I was only in a moderate amount of pain.”
“I should lock you up,” he said. “Perhaps Sam could house you in his prison for a few days.”
“Oh funny, ha, ha,” she grumbled. “Wait, who’s Sam?”
Quincy knelt in front of her again. “He’s a friend who happens to be head of security for one of our specialized holding facilities.”
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You could tie me to the bed.”
He groaned as he kissed her. “I’m getting Michael.”
She crossed her arms in frustration. “Fine. Would you get me a robe first, please?”
“Of course,” he said, and opened the wardrobe.
“Quincy?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“After Michael looks at my hand, can I please rip your clothes off and do unspeakable things to you?”
Quincy leaned back so he could see her around the door of the wardrobe. “Yes, you may.”
“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
MICHAEL CLEANED AND bandaged Victoria’s hand and then left the couple alone. Quincy helped Victoria climb into the tub and left her with a promise to return shortly. If they were going to stay with the Fords, he needed to get a few things from the Maddens’ home, including clothing, so he made his way next door. As he walked into the foyer, he ran into his brother.
“What are you doing here?” Christopher asked.
“We need clean clothes.”
“Ah. Well, we’re in the process of packing things up to go home, but I think one of your bags is up in Victoria’s old room.”
“Thank you. Is everything ready?”
Christopher nodded. “Yes. We’ll leave tomorrow, if that’s all right with you?”
“Yes, that’s great. Can your stable accommodate Rocky?” Quincy asked.
“Right, Victoria’s horse. I had forgotten about him,” Christopher admitted and thought for a moment. “Yes. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good. She’d kill me if we didn’t make room.”
Christopher laughed. “We’ll need to organize train passage for him, but I’ll take care of that today. Just go and be with your wife.”
“Thank you. I’ll owe you one.”
Quincy ran up the stairs, located the bag, then made his way back to the Wades’, walking into the room to find Victoria in tears. He dropped the bag.
“What’s happened?” he asked as he rushed to the tub.
Victoria sniffed. “Nothing. I’m just an idiot.”
“Why are you an idiot, sweetheart?”
“I was trying to climb out of the tub, but I kept slipping and I couldn’t grab the sides with both hands and then I got my bandage wet and now my hand hurts.”
Quincy grabbed a towel. “Come on, I’ll help you out.” Taking her good hand so she could stand, he wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her effortlessly from the tub. He wrapped a towel around her and then settled her in a chair. “Let me look at your hand.”
Shoving it at him, palm up, Victoria winced as he unwrapped the now soaked bandage and gently peeled the fabric from the wound. “Michael left some balm. We’ll rewrap it and you’ll be good as new.” She nodded, although tears slipped onto her face, so he kissed her gently. “Will you live?”
“I don’t know,” she grumbled.
He leaned back slightly. “How will you do unspeakable things to me if you don’t live, Rebel?”
“Maybe I will speak of them and then they won’t be unspeakable.”
Quincy chuckled and then cleaned and bound her hand. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her cheek. “Why don’t you climb into bed and I’ll take a quick bath.”
She nodded and let the towel drop to the floor. She was superb, and Quincy groaned as he removed his clothes and stepped into the tub. “I’m going to smell like oranges, sweetheart. I hope you don’t mind.”
She giggled quietly and climbed into the bed. “I don’t mind what you smell like. Just be naked when you climb in here.”
“Are you dictating, Victoria?”
She yawned. Loudly. “Yes, I am. You should be well versed in how it sounds.”
He smiled and submerged himself, spending a few minutes relaxing in the cool water. When he was finished, he stepped out of the tub and toweled off. Climbing into the bed, he scooted over to pull Victoria into his arms and almost laughed out loud.
She was sound asleep.
Considering how tired he was from his sleepless night, he knew it was probably just as well, so he kissed her shoulder, wrapped his arm around her waist, and promptly fell asleep beside her.
* * *
Victoria woke hours later when she felt Quincy’s arm squeeze her in his sleep. She rolled over to face him and found him awake and staring at her.
“Hi.” She wrapped an arm around his waist.
“Hi.”
“I thought you might still be dreaming.”
Quincy kissed her neck. “Not with that precious backside tempting me.”
“I’m sorry I fell asleep.”
Quincy chuckled. “I’m glad you did. I have to admit, I was exhausted.”
She kissed his chest. “My poor Gus. Am I wearing you out already?”
“Never,” he said, and kissed her.
“What time is it?”
He moved his mouth down her neck. “I have no idea, why?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Me too.” He slid one hand to her hip.
Victoria sighed, her hunger quickly forgotten. Quincy kissed her neck... someone pounded on the door.
“Seriously?” Victoria snapped.
Quincy stopped with a groan, took a steadying breath, and climbed slowly from the be
d. Making his way to the door, he called, “Yes?”
“It’s time for Rocky to be fed and lunch will be served in twenty minutes.”
“Thank you, Jamie,” Quincy grumbled and then turned to Victoria. “We’ll have to take this up later, I suppose.”
“No way, Josē. I want something... anything. A quickie. I don’t care.”
“A quickie?”
Sitting up, she let the sheet slip to her waist. “Come here.”
He chuckled quietly. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”
“It’s definitely possible. It’ll be proved, I suppose, after a lifetime of being married to me. You can confirm it on our twentieth wedding anniversary, and then our fiftieth, and so forth. Now, come and make love to your wife.”
Quincy didn’t hesitate, climbing onto the mattress and kissing her gently. Victoria, however, didn’t want gentle, pushing him onto his back and straddling him. “You have too many clothes on.”
He moved to unbutton his shirt, but she grabbed his hands and moved them over his head. “I’m doing this.”
“I apologize, Madam,” he retorted.
She grinned, leaning down to run her tongue over his lips. “Behave.”
“If I don’t?”
She raised an eyebrow. “There will be consequences.”
“I look forward to them.”
Victoria chuckled. “I’ll have to make them interesting, then.”
She kissed her way down his body, removing clothes as she went, ending at his cock already hard and waiting. Licking the wetness from the tip, she slid her mouth down its length and fisted the base gently with her good hand.
His hands slid into her hair and he gripped her head as she took him deeper, squeezing his cock as she sucked.
Before she could go any further, however, Quincy had her on her back and was rolling a nipple between his fingers as he slammed into her.
“I was enjoying that,” she complained.
He buried himself deeper. “And you’re not this?”
“I didn’t say that.” She arched to get closer with a sigh. “But you will be dealt with later.”
“Can’t. Wait.” He thrust with every word and Victoria gripped his shoulders as he slammed into her over and over.
“Now, Quinn,” she rasped as her orgasm swamped her.
Quincy wasn’t far behind and he kissed her deeply as he pulsed inside of her.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I needed that.”
The Rebel Bride (Civil War Brides Series, #5) Page 24
