Black Of Mood (Quentin Black: Shadow Wars #2): Quentin Black World

by JC Andrijeski

Well, looked at the rest of him, I guess would be more accurate.

  I’d noticed in passing that he wore a suit downstairs, but I’d been too distracted with how to act around him to even look at it really. Now I realized it was one I’d never seen before, deep black with tailored lines that emphasized his broad shoulders. Under it, he wore a dark gold shirt that matched his eyes. He looked positively cat-like with the gold drawing out his eyes, emphasizing their color in his perfectly angled face. He adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves as he walked towards me, tugging them down to align with his jacket and straighten them. The tie he wore was black, with faint diagonal stripes.

  I noticed him looking at my clothes, too, a frown touching his lips.

  “Too much?” I said, holding out my arms. “Not enough?”

  Glancing up, he recovered enough to smirk. “I’m probably not the right person to ask that question to, doc.”

  “Oh?” I said. “Who would be?”

  He startled me, catching hold of me abruptly in a half-hug around the waist. He gripped me tighter, pressing against me so that I felt the length of his body, then releasing me enough that both of us could walk. Without saying anything, he began steering me towards the lobby doors of the hotel, walking behind me. Heat flushed off his light and skin as he did.

  I started to wonder just how many drinks he and Angel had before I showed up.

  He gripped me tighter, squeezing me against his body.

  I’m not drunk, he murmured in my head. Not even a little.

  “What’s this mysterious errand of yours?” I said aloud, craning my head back to look at him. “More crime scenes?” Grimacing at the thought, I remembered suddenly that I’d never talked to him about everything I’d learned the night before. I shared as much as I could with Ravi though, so maybe he’d filled him in.

  “He did,” Black said.

  A thread of anger was audible in his voice.

  I glanced up, surprised. Loosening his arms from around me, he didn’t return my gaze. After another pause where I frowned, I let it go.

  “So, what do you think?” I paused, glancing back at him again. “There was another one this morning. Also in Louisiana. Did you see the news? It was on while I was getting dressed. No casualties this time, at least, since they’d already evacuated the area. But they have no idea how they got in, given the military presence there.”

  Black stiffened, glancing down at me. “You know, the outing I had in mind doesn’t actually involve death and mayhem for a change, doc. Or burning oil fields.”

  “Oh.” I shook my head, biting my lip. Had some part of me trying to bait a reaction out of him? Realizing I might have been, I flushed. “Sorry. I thought we were working today.”

  “We will be. Later.” He inclined his head, giving me a bare glance. “Right now, I thought I’d take you up on your offer from last night.”

  I frowned. “Which offer would that be?”

  He laughed, as if in spite of himself, shaking his head. “Well, there are a few I’m considering taking you up on, come to think of it.”

  I smiled back, unable to help it. “So which one were you thinking of for right now?”

  Clicking faintly, he wrapped his arm around me tighter, exuding a warm pulse of amusement. I found myself relaxing, almost without meaning to. It hit me again in a kind of unreal wave, everything Charles and I had talked about. I forced it immediately from my mind, not letting the thought linger, but that sense of unreality remained.

  I held his arms as he led me out of the hotel’s glass doors past a smiling doorman. On the other side of the glass, Dex, Alice, Jori and Arden waited. They took positions around us, covering us on all sides as soon as we hit the outside air. That air was significantly warmer now than it had been when I went running.

  “I wish you’d brought me along for that,” he murmured in my ear.

  I looked up, surprised. “Where? Running?”

  He grunted. “Of course, running. How many other places have you been today?”

  “You were asleep. You needed sleep. I couldn’t sleep, why would I torture you?”

  He inclined his head, a gesture I couldn’t fully read as agreement or not.

  As we waited for the car to pull up, I glanced around at the guards.

  “I miss Kiko,” I said absently.

  Black exuded a pulse of frustration. It was strong enough to surprise me.

  “Me too,” he said, gruff. “I’ve half a mind to order her back out here. But I need her where she is, unfortunately.”

  I looked up at him, frowning. “You do? I thought she went back because her father was sick. That’s what you told me when she left.”

  He inclined his head.

  Again, I couldn’t read the meaning there.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said absently. He kissed the back of my neck, shifting his tone. “I’m calling her again today, if you want to send any messages along. I’ll pass on any intel you think she needs to know, too... anything you got from Rory last night, I mean. She’s running the research team out of San Francisco and coordinating with the Colonel.” He scowled a little. “I’m also telling her to hire more fucking women. As soon as possible.”

  I glanced up at him, surprised. “What makes you say that? Did you hear me thinking that?”

  He smiled down at me, clicking softly. “No. But the team seems out of balance, doesn’t it? It’s been pretty testosterone-heavy since the seers came on board.”

  I nodded, rolling my eyes. “Definitely.”

  He chuckled, and I found myself turning over his words, a little thrown by the Kiko conversation, and, if I were being entirely truthful, just the faintest bit jealous. Not jealous of the hiring women part––I fully agreed with him about that––but about Kiko herself. I stuffed the unwelcome emotion at once, but not before I got hit by a mild wave of embarrassment for having it in the first place. I knew he and Kiko were close. Moreover, I knew he trusted her, maybe more than he trusted anyone on his team, including Dex. Or Cowboy.

  I didn’t know the whole story there, or if it had ever been more than that, but I didn’t intend to ever get between the two of them.

  Black chuckled, wrapping his arm around me tighter.

  “What?” I said.

  He shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. “Kiko and I never slept together, doc.”

  My face grew hot. “It’s none of my business.”

  He gripped me tighter, holding me against him. “Sure it is. And we haven’t. I’m not Kiko’s type. She let me know that in no uncertain terms when we first met.” Glancing down at me, he smiled. “Which is good, because after she and I were in our first firefight together, I knew I wanted to hire her, and I don’t fuck people on my payroll.”

  I rolled my eyes, not bothering to point out the obvious.

  “You were different,” he said, squeezing me. “And I didn’t hire you just so I could try to fuck you, despite what you think. I just didn’t let my usual rules get in the way of trying to fuck you. Or hire you.”

  “So the rules... aren’t really rules?” I said, quirking an eyebrow.

  “I altered the rules strategically to accommodate you. Totally different. And definitely a one-time-only thing.”

  I let out a snort and he hugged me against him again.

  The sheer intensity of the affection coming off him threw me a little.

  “Where’s Nick?” I asked, looking around. “I haven’t seen him once today, and he’s usually one of the first ones down to the gym.”

  The car pulled up even as I said it, and Black ushered me to the curb as Arden opened the back door. I barely had time to note it was a limousine this time, not an SUV, then I was sliding over on the seat, pulling the hem of my short dress down as I watched Black watching me. His eyes lingered on my legs as he held onto the door, and I saw his jaw tighten briefly, right before his voice deepened, turning gruff.

  “I’ve got Nick on something else,” he said. Unbuttoning the bottom of his jacket, he
climbed in after me. “I met with him for breakfast. After Charles left.”

  Stiffening, I dimmed my light. “Charles came to see you? This morning?” At his nod, I bit my lip, my voice casual. “What did he want?”

  Black shrugged. “The usual thing.”

  “Which is what?”

  Sighing, Black turned to face me. “He’s worried about vampires infiltrating our camp, Miri. He wants me to let his people do another scan of all the humans... and all of the seers. I pointed out that if we don’t know who’s doing it, we can’t exactly use our own people to conduct the scans, but he wants to try again.”

  “There’s definitely a leak?”

  Black nodded, leaning back on the leather. “Yes. He also gave me the latest findings with some of the tests they’ve been doing. On vampire biology. That kind of thing.”

  I nodded, slowly. “Anything you feel like sharing?”

  “Nothing earth-shattering,” he said, exhaling again. “They’re still working on something to counteract the effects of the venom. Kiko’s got our team in San Francisco coordinating with Charles’ people. Still no luck.”

  “Are they even close?” I said, cautious.

  He shrugged. “You know scientists. They tend to be big on detail and kind of vague when it comes to concrete timeline projections... as well they should be, I suppose. They think they’re making progress, which is all I can ask for, given how little they had to go on until recently.”

  I nodded, keeping my mind still. I knew he was probably referring to the vampires Charles was experimenting on in Germany, especially Grigiore and his pet, Ariana.

  Neutrally, I said, “They’re testing it with seers, too, right? Not just humans?”

  Black glanced at me, his eyes showing him to be only half-listening. “Yes.”

  I nodded, feeling something in my chest briefly constrict. “So?” I said, making my voice deliberately light. “You and ‘Lucky Lucifer’ are now hanging out in early morning meetings? Are you guys officially pals now?”

  He shrugged again, giving me a faint smile. “More or less.”

  I laughed. “You’re going to admit to that?”

  “Well... yes.” Black quirked an eyebrow at me, smiling faintly. “We’re family now, right?” When I made a mock gagging noise, the faint smile turned into a grin. “The family that hunts vampires together, stays together. Right?”

  “Wonderful,” I grunted. “I feel safer already.”

  My words came out with a bite of sarcasm, but truthfully, I was fighting to keep my emotions under control again. It hit me suddenly, that Black likely hadn’t been lying to me––not entirely, anyway––when he said he’d avoided sex with me because he lost control of himself. Now that I was more in his light, I could feel I was struggling with the same thing. I found myself wondering if I’d be handling this differently if I’d learned about it before last night.

  Luckily, I could block Black, when I really wanted.

  I couldn’t easily do it without him noticing, though.

  “So.” I sank deeper into the leather seat, folding my fingers over my solar plexus. “You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going right now?”

  He shook his head, smiling.

  Pursing my lips, I smiled back, unable to help it. “And Nick?” I said. “What’s this super-secret job you have Nick working on?”

  Black shook his head. “No more questions, Miri. No more work talk.”

  I quirked an eyebrow at him, and he exhaled a laugh, clicking at me.

  “Nick’s fine, doc. We found a blueprint in the pile I pulled from the safe. One that’s not an oil reserve. It’s here, in New York. I asked Nick to pull a small team together to check it out. Really small. I basically gave him like three names he could bring. Angel was one of them.”

  I frowned at him for real. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

  He stared at me, eyes narrow. Then, without warning, he moved towards me on the leather seat, sliding his hands around my face once he was close enough.

  “Please,” he murmured, kissing my cheek, then my mouth. “Please, just trust me, Miri. Trust me. And no, it’s not dangerous.” Hesitating, he frowned, as if thinking. “Well. It is dangerous. But no more dangerous than anything else we’ve been doing. So... moderately dangerous.”

  Nodding, I clasped his fingers where he held me. I was having trouble focusing again. I knew that was at least partly from the night before, but that wasn’t all of it. When I grabbed his hands, I noticed a fresh bandage on his wrist, on the opposite arm as before. I bit my lip when I saw it, but said it anyway.

  “Cowboy nick you again?” I said, fingering it.

  He glanced down, frowning faintly. He shook his head. “No, that’s the same one.”

  It wasn’t. I knew it wasn’t.

  I didn’t say anything. I found myself caressing his wrist instead, skirting the white binding with my finger as I traced his skin.

  When he let go of me, leaning back, I found myself following him, moving before my mind caught up with my body. I slid into his lap. Then I had my hands inside his jacket, massaging his chest through his shirt. He didn’t push me away, or try to avoid my touch. He didn’t do any of the things he would have done, just the day before.

  He didn’t say anything either, but leaned back, opening his arms in almost a submissive pose. Feeling him breathing harder under my hands, I felt a stab of guilt and drew back, looking down at him. His eyes were already half out of focus.

  “Black,” I said. “You can tell me no.”

  He shook his head.

  “No more fucking rules.” His voice was gruff, that deeper tone it fell into when he was turned on. “No more rules, Miri. I’m done with it.”

  At my silence, he met my gaze.

  When I maneuvered myself deeper into his lap, his arm curled around me, tightening before he yanked me up against him. He looked down at the pale blue dress I wore, pulling at the thin fabric with his fingers. He tugged at the neckline, then followed the curve of my body, pausing to cup a breast in one hand, squeezing gently. Heat flushed over my body, but I didn’t move, sitting perfectly still in his lap. That harder expression returned to his face as he stared at me again, his eyes drifting down to look at the high heels strapped to my feet and ankles.

  “Was Angel right?” he said, gruff. “Did you wear that for me last night?”

  Puzzled, I nodded. “Of course.”

  “And this?” He pulled at the dress’s fabric again. “Who is this for?”

  Shaking my head, I slid my arms around his neck, curling my fingers into his hair. “Who’d you wear the suit for?” I teased, pursing my lips. “You must have known I’d like it.”

  “Jonas picked it.” His gaze sharpened. “Why would I think you’d like it?”

  “Because it makes your eyes stand out,” I said, smiling. “Of course I’d like it.”

  “My ‘freaky’ eyes?” He grunted. “You don’t like my eyes, Miriam. You never have.”

  I blinked, staring down at him in surprise. Realizing he was quoting me back at myself, when I’d teased him about his eye color over a year ago on a plane, I frowned. Damned seers and their photographic memories. I’d noticed those memories had a tendency to strip out context selectively, especially when one of us was in a mood.

  Still, maybe Black really hadn’t known I was joking.

  I stroked his hair back, hooking it around his ear with my fingers.

  “I love your eyes, Black,” I said seriously. “I’ve always loved them. They’re stunning. Absolutely gorgeous.”

  He stared up at me. Pain flickered through him, coiling around me like a snake, tugging at my light. That intensity I’d felt on him before still lived hotly in his light’s strands, and I had trouble thinking past that, too. His thoughts wrapped into that heat, and both wrapped into me, coaxing me closer, bringing me deeper into him. His hands tightened right before he gripped my thigh, wanting me closer physically, too.

  When he pressed up
against me, my pain worsened, making it hard to focus.

  I found myself remembering the night before.

  I remembered his face, how he’d looked after I let him come.

  Pain stabbed at my chest, slanting out my vision.

  “Why did you leave me alone this morning?” he said, his voice carrying a faint edge. “You must have known I’d want you to wake me up.”

  I tugged on his hair, smiling. “How would I know that?”

  He tightened his hold on my thigh, yanking me closer again. “I’ve dragged you to the gym with me just about every morning since we got here. Do you want me to stop?”

  I shook my head, clicking at him softly. Another pulse of heat left him when I did, that one carrying a harder thread of pain.

  Swallowing, I shrugged. “You’ve also gotten up about a hundred times without me,” I reminded him. “Sword fighting, remember? At two in the morning?”

  But he wasn’t about to be put off.

  “Were you afraid I’d try to fuck you again?” His eyes narrowed as he studied my face. “Or did you really want to train with someone else? Ravi? Cowboy?”

  Hearing the probing in his voice, I shook my head, tugging at the buttons on his shirt.

  When I felt him waiting, I shook my head again.

  “No,” I said, exhaling. “It wasn’t that complicated, Black. I just figured I should get out of there... burn off some excess energy.”

  Thinking about that, I remembered watching him sleep. I’d woken up with him naked, half wrapped around me, exhausted-looking, with a bandaged wrist, wet-bed hair and beard scruff––but the look on his face had been pure contentment, for the first time in weeks. His light had been open. I watched him like that for what must have been twenty minutes.

  I’d been tempted to do more than look, truthfully, which is part of why I left.

  Shoving the images out of my mind that wanted to rise, I met his gaze, then looked back at his shirt.

  “So you didn’t wear this for me?” I said, drawing his eyes down to my fingers. I tugged lightly at the gold fabric of his collar. “Who’s it for then? Your Wall Street buddies?”

  He looked past me, towards the front of the vehicle.

  I followed his gaze over my shoulder, to the back of Dex’s and Arden’s heads, then to the row of taxis visible through the windshield. I turned back when Black shifted under me. I watched as he leaned over to hit a button on the right-side door. A mechanical sound whirred softly behind me and I glanced over my shoulder a second time, right as the panel separating the front from the back began to rise.