~1

Quinn

“Are you okay?”

Those three words floated into my subconscious like a cluster of magical stars, lighting me up from deep within.

I found it hard to breathe. Was it simply standing next to the hottest man I’d ever laid eyes on, or because I hurt everywhere?

Turning my head just a shy fraction, I was shocked to see sharp gray eyes watching me intensely. My breath caught and I looked away. 

It might be a dream, after all. I couldn't believe I'd meet such eye candy in black tees and simple jeans on the same morning I was almost…raped.

But then, I wished this entire morning had been a dream. Not just him. 

“You don't have to answer that, you know.” 

God. Even his voice was, I don't know, coffee and whiskey all at once? Rough and calming, each quiet rumble rousing every hair on my skin. 

Goosebumps scattered across my skin, and I shivered. “No, I'm not okay.”

He was silent, but I could feel his eyes on me, hot as hell. 

A shudder raced through my veins as I lifted my gaze to the sky, my eyes burning with unshed pain. I bit my lower lip, tasting the metallic warm liquid that leaked from it. 

“I'm not okay,” I repeated. “I'm exhausted, bruised everywhere.” I scoffed, shaking my head. “I came home after a long day at work, but I couldn't sleep because I ached everywhere. Then I step out to try to get some air, only to get jumped by some creep.”

I shut my eyes against the memory of fat hands groping my breasts and stinking breath on my face. It was still too vivid to toss into oblivion.

He was silent for a long moment. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small silver flask. 

I watched, curious, as he uncorked the screw and took a sip from it. 

“Here,” he extended the flask to me, “you'll feel better after a strong sip. Trust me.”

Trust you? Of course. You're my charming Sentinel, after all. 

Why wouldn't I trust a dashing man that had swooped in to save me from the claws of a stinking creep in the dead of the morning? 

Our fingers brushed as I took the flask, and my eyes couldn't help straying to the thick, tattooed muscles that lined his arms. 

“Thank you,” I murmured before I tipped my head and drank from the same spot where his hot lips had been just a moment ago. 

Oh, it burned. The alcohol seared my cracked lip and my throat as it went in and down. But fuck, I felt better. Three more sips and it felt like I was floating. 

I heaved a sigh and turned to face the sea beneath the bridge where we stood, the wind tousling my hair in my face. “You know, I just want to be free. Free and…whole.”

My gaze penetrated the waters, my mind drifting to the earlier moments of the day that still had me in shock. Way before the almost-rape.

It was hard to grasp such betrayal, especially from the people who you least expect it from.

A gasp rose to my throat when I felt a pair of strong arms around my shoulders. I stiffened, distracted by the feel of his body against mine, hard muscles against soft curves. 

What was he doing?

I turned to face my sentinel, my heart thrashing wild against my ribcage. “What…?”

“You looked so sad.” His gray eyes blazed like silver darts as they searched my face. “I thought you might need a hug.”

My heart lurched in excitement, my tongue too heavy to move.

He sighed heavily and leaned in close. An intoxicating smell wafted from him, spicy and sweaty, forcing my back against the railing of the bridge.

“I understand how you feel, love. No one should have to go through what you did, this morning.”

I trembled as his thumb traced the liquid lines on my lips, the gesture so swift and instantly arousing. 

“But,” he wiped the alcohol traces with a clean swipe and pressed his thumb against my slightly parted lips, “I won't let you waste a drop of such divine whiskey.”

I laughed, my heart racing with every moment in the company of this beautiful stranger. 

His eyes crinkled at the corners a moment before he pushed his thumb into my mouth. “So, taste every drop.”

I relaxed my mouth and took his thumb in, excitement and apprehension burning in my loins. I couldn't find the nerve to stop and consider what I was doing with this stranger on a bridge. I just knew I didn't want to stop. 

A groan deeper than my voice rumbled between us as I suckled his thumb with apt concentration, and his gray eyes darkened just a sliver. “You know how to use that pretty mouth, huh?” 

I said nothing as he pulled away, inhaling the musky smell that lingered. 

He leaned against the railing and casually shoved his hands in his pocket, like he didn't just have his thumb down my throat without warning, rousing all the nerve ends in my body and sending heat exploding across my skin. 

What was it about this man? I knew this blazing heat in my insides wasn't just about him saving me this morning. It was something more, and I was very much tempted to dip my hand in the fire.

“I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up when you did.”

He looked at me, his lips curled up in a hint of a smirk. “Of course you do. That bastard would have had his way with you, forcefully.”

I heaved another shuddering breath. “Yes. Well, thank you—”

“You don't have to.” Those gray eyes slid to me again, setting my insides ablaze as they caressed my face. “No one should have to go through that. Not a pretty face like that.”

He eased off the railing and combed long fingers through the brown locks of hair on his head. “Keep it,” he nodded at the flask in my hand. Then he walked past me with a smile that implied I was probably never seeing him again.

For some reason, I panicked at that very thought. 

I whirled, watching him as he walked away. Every ripple in his back left me in a trance, the clench of his butt muscles in his lazy strides, his broad shoulders, those tattooed arms.. that… breathtaking face.

God. I couldn't just let such a man walk away, could I? I didn't mind that he was a stranger that had happened to appear while I was almost assaulted. 

I wanted this man. 

I ran after him before I could stop to think for myself, grabbing his arm.

He turned to look at me, gray eyes gleaming so attractively I wanted to stare into them forever.

“Is there a problem?” he asked with a slight raise of his brow. 

Struggling to catch my breath, I held my head higher and met his gaze. “Would you like to sleep with me?”