“Don’t let me hear you ever call yourself a chicken again, Quinn Morris. And don’t ever scare the shit out of me like that again. I’d never survive the rest of art history without you. I’m so glad you’re all right.”
Quinn took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right; you’d never survive without me in art history.”
Ingrid giggled as Darnell wrapped his arms around both of them and hugged. “Daggone, Miss, Quinn. You tougher ’n I’ll ever be. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for ya. I don’t know what that crazy lady did, but she sealed the whole dang place after Marty and Wanda got through. Not even my magic could get me in here.”
Thank God. Thank God Marty and Wanda had made it through.
Archibald stuck his head between them all and grazed Quinn’s cheek with his knuckles. “I’m going to prepare the best chocolate cake you’ve ever eaten in honor of such a fierce warrior! But for now, we must make haste, family! Darnell, you get the shovel. Ingrid, locate a broom, would you?”
As they broke apart, each heading off to begin cleaning up, Quinn bent at the waist and breathed. The horror of those spikes in her hands hitting her once again.
But Nina patted her on the back, wrapping an arm around her neck and pulling her upward, dropping her chin to the top of Quinn’s head. “Jesus fuck and a sidecar, Mini-Goddess. You’re a GD badass, and you tried to save my boy Carl. Can’t ever say thank you enough.”
Quinn inhaled the scent of Nina, full of cinnamon and cloves, and rested her cheek on the vampire’s shoulder, tears stinging her eyes. “Do you feel all gooey on the inside right now, Nina?” she teased, her voice gruff, her throat tight.
“Like a goddamn toasted marshmallow, Love Maker,” she replied, hoarse and low.
Quinn squeezed her arm and pulled back, her eyes catching sight of Carl’s missing hand. “Carl! Your hand, buddy!”
But Carl was busy picking through the rubble with Khristos, using his one hand to dig furiously through her shredded pillows and crumbled rock, grunting until he found whatever he was looking for.
He pulled something tattered from the remains of the mess and held it up, giving her his endearing lopsided grin.
She fell to her knees in front of him with a sob, right there in the middle of the mess, and hugged him hard.
It was a book. He’d tried to take out the cyclops with a copy of Jane Eyre.
“Carl,” she whispered against his cold cheek. “Thank you. You were so brave.”
He thumped Quinn on the back once more as Nina helped him up, giving Khristos’s shoulder a squeeze. “Thanks for looking out for my Carl and Goddess-Lite, dude. You might not have any supernatural powers, but that was some damn tackle.” She looked to Carl then, her eyes soft. “Now, c’mon, buddy, looks like we got some duct-taping to do.” Leading Carl off, she left Quinn and Khristos alone.
Her chest throbbed, her heart pounded. As Eris had spiked her hands to the wall, one painful hammer to the metal at a time, Quinn had only one thought during those torturous moments.
She’d never see Khristos again. She’d never hear his voice, never laugh with him, never see his smile. Never get back the chance to say to him what she’d really been afraid of when she’d sent him away.
And it had been more unbearable than death.
Grabbing his hand, she looked up at him, cupping his jaw and running her thumb over the sharp, stubbled plane. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I sent you away. I’m sorry…” she sobbed.
He pulled her hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to her palm. “I don’t care if we end up being nothing alike, Quinn Morris. I don’t care if you like to read poetry and I’d rather let a semi run me over twice. I don’t care if you think this all happened too fast. I don’t care if you still aren’t convinced that anything deep can happen in so little time. I don’t even care that you like those stupid pillows on your bed that are, by the way, of absolutely no use to anyone if you can’t put your head on them. And I don’t care if you don’t want to hear me object to them. That’s just who I am. But that’s who you are, too, and I want to wholeheartedly object to the idea that because we only just met, we can’t feel this connected. When I saw you nailed to that damn wall…” He paused, his eyes grim, his tone gruff.
His lips thinned and he clenched his jaw before he continued. “When I saw you, I knew none of it mattered. None of it. Know why it doesn’t matter? Because I saw my life flash right there in front of my damn eyes. And I’ve had some lifetimes. It’s a lotta life. I want to try this thing with you, Quinn, and in all my years, I’ve never said that to any other woman. I’m not the wrong damn life choice. I’m the right one. So just damn well say yes.”
Her throat constricted and her eyes filled with tears before she stood on tiptoe and brought her lips just inches from his. “Yes,” she whispered before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him for all she was worth.