Bottom At Heart
Chapter 19

Quinn wasn’t entirely sure why Floris had asked him along, and as he sat in the car with the silent Alpha, he almost couldn’t help himself from throwing the other man sideways glances. Again, Quinn found himself very annoyed at the sheer perfection that was Floris’s profile. The man really had no business with having lashes that long. Honestly.

“Does this change how you think of Heart?”

Quinn nearly jumped out of his skin at Floris suddenly talking after nearly two hours of grating silence. “What?” He asked, hoping his jolt hadn’t been obvious.

Floris didn’t look at him, his gaze trained on the building ahead of them. “Knowing that Heart is an Omega. Does it change anything.” He repeated.

Quinn saw the tightness in Floris’s shoulders, the way he gripped the steering wheel too tightly. He exhaled. “No, not at all. It actually explains a few things.”

Floris glanced at him, quirking an eyebrow. “Like what?”

“Like why he loved my scent so much. For most Alphas, I smell like nothing.”

“That’s true. Though sometimes you smell like stale crackers.” Floris offered.

Quinn scoffed, glaring at him. “Oh, gee, thanks. I’m so flattered.” He snapped.

Floris smiled a little, and Quinn was suddenly glad for it. He realized that the smirking asshole Floris was vastly preferable to the silent and cold Floris that had occupied the car for the last two hours.

He stretched out, squinting through the darkness. “What are we doing here? Are we here to kill a man?” He asked casually.

Floris chuckled, throwing him a sardonic look and Quinn had to look away before his pants got any tighter. God fucking damn it.

“That remains to be seen. But yes, we are here to deal with this Todd.” A pause that Quinn spent staring very hard at the street outside his window. “So, Heart being an Omega doesn’t bother you?”

Quinn looked at Floris. “Nope. I like Omegas in general. They smell nice. And they’re nice to me, unlike other Ranks.” Quinn gave Floris a pointed look, earning a scoff.

“I’m nice to you,” he argued.

Quinn looked at him in astonishment. “In what universe is telling me I smell like stale crackers nice to me?” He demanded.

Floris sighed, rolling his eyes. “Okay, fine. You don’t smell like stale crackers, at most you kind of smell like soap when you stand next to the air conditioning.” He shot back.

Quinn rolled his eyes. “Be still my heart.” He inhaled, making a face. “At least I’m polite about my Scent. You Alphas, I swear to God. Stinking up everywhere you go.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my Scent, you’re just confused because I actually have one and you’re not used to it.”

“Better be scentless than a stink bomb.”

Floris shot him a smug look. “At least with my scent, I’m getting laid. You’re so uptight you’d probably break if someone bent you over.”

Quinn snarled at him, his growl low and deep in his chest. He wasn’t wrong, that’s what really bothered Quinn. And Floris saying “laid” and “bent over” wasn’t helping with the fact that after two hours with Floris’s scent in an enclosed car, he was so uncomfortably hard, he was nearing the point that if he didn’t do something about it, he’d embarrass himself.

His temper did not improve when Floris looked at him, laughing as his eyebrows shot up. “Are you trying to intimidate me right now? Is that what you’re trying to do? With that weak ass little mewl?”

Quinn felt the growl deepen in his chest, rolling out between his teeth as his arousal and anger raged. “Fuck you,” he hissed.

“Pass, I’m flattered though.”

Quinn had had enough. “Fine, you know what? Suck your own dick.” He slammed open the car door, getting out. The cool air was magic on his feverish skin. He shut the car door to prevent Floris from seeing the very obvious tent in his pants. He stalked away, hardly bothering to look both ways. He hated how Floris could get under his skin so easily. He hated the way the arrogant words had a way of turning him on anyway. Damn it.

He pulled the café door open. A handsome waiter was at the cash register. Quinn paused, inhaling. The man’s scent was…odd. Alpha, yes, but there was an edge to it that Quinn didn’t recognize, and he instantly was on guard.

Quinn came closer, and glanced at the name tag on the waiter. Todd. Ah. Here he was. That explained the scent. It was stronger now that they were only separated by the front desk. Heart’s fear. Clar’s office had reeked of it, and now, here it was, faint on Todd’s skin.

Quinn smiled at the man. “Hi, did I come too late?” He asked.

Todd smiled at him. “Almost. I’m closing up now. So long as your order doesn’t need the kitchen, I can still take your order.”

“Awesome. A friend was telling me about this place. He was here earlier. Mentioned you in particular. That you’re someone I’ve got to see.” Quinn lowered his lashes, before glancing up at Todd.

Todd looked nonplussed for a second, then smiled. “Your friend flatters me. I’m not that much of a looker. Not like you, darling.” He smiled at Quinn, leaning forward to lounge against the counter. Quinn’s skin crawled under the Alpha’s appreciative gaze. “Let me guess, Beta?”

“Yeah,” Quinn smiled a little, easing forward on the counter till his face was near Todd’s. He beckoned. Todd smiled, his gaze turning a little gold. Quinn bent near Todd’s ear, whispering, “My friend though, he was an Omega. He told me all about your time together.”

Todd reared back, disgust and confusion replacing the gold in his gaze. “What the fu-”

Quinn interrupted him mid snarl by grabbing his waitstaff tie, and yanking it, angling it so that Todd’s face slammed into the counter. He howled in pain, staggering back, clutching his nose, which was gushing blood.

“Quinn! What the hell!?”

Quinn glanced over his shoulder as Floris slammed the café door open. He smirked at Floris before hopping up on the counter, swinging his legs over the edge, hopping over to Todd’s side. He grabbed Todd’s tie again, twisting it. “We heard from a shared friend that you’re in town trying to get rich.” Quinn tsked. “You’re wasting your time, friend. Why don’t you crawl back under your rock?”

Todd gripped Quinn’s wrist, nails digging into his skin. Quinn didn’t even flinch. “Don’t tell me that a pathetic Beta is the best he could do? Figures though,” Todd spat blood into Quinn’s face, “whore trash like him would have to beg for table scraps.”

Quinn heard the very dangerous sound of an angry Floris coming from behind him. He raised his hand up, and smiled at Todd. “I’m his boyfriend’s assistant actually. And that’s his bodyguard.” Quinn grabbed Todd’s wrist, and twisted it, flipping Todd around, bending his arm so far back it creaked dangerously, and Todd cried out. He bent over behind Todd, whispering in his ear, “And I’m the nice one. So be a good boy and get the fuck out of Center City. If we ever hear from you again, I’ll let my friend here talk to you. And he’s a bit more of a murder first, questions second kinda guy.” Quinn gripped Todd’s chin, twisting his face to look at Floris. Whatever Todd saw seemed to do the trick, because the blood drained from his face.

Quinn reached around, feeling Todd’s pockets. He found the man’s phone, and took it out. “Nice phone.” He said, throwing it over his shoulder. Todd flinched at the shattering sound. Quinn got out his wallet next. “Floris, what’s a one-way ticket to boondocks cost?” He asked, forcing Todd to his knees by twisting his arm sharply. He then half turned, sitting on Todd’s back, exerting his full weight down. He riffled through the wallet.

“Maybe fifty?”

Quinn hummed, and took out all the cash in Todd’s wallet before tossing the wallet over his shoulder. “Let’s give him thirty and see what happens. The closest station is a forty-minute walk, and it’s getting late. You better be gone by tomorrow or I’ll feed you to Floris. Capisce?”

He looked down at Todd, and as Todd opened his mouth to answer, he stuffed the bills in his mouth, shoving them in deep enough to make Todd gag. “Good.” He stood, and dusted off his hands. He finally met Floris’s gaze as he rounded the counter. Floris was looking at him with a complicated expression, with shock at the forefront of the emotion cocktail. Quinn walked by him, grabbing a handful of napkins from a table dispenser. “I think we should be good here. Drop me off at my apartment, yeah?”

He threw out the bloody napkins and walked out the café door. Floris looked after him, biting his lip. This was the second time that Quinn had surprised him and gotten him semi-hard. Something about Quinn so effortlessly taking down the Alpha really did it for him. It was like finding a game cheat code. It also made him desperate to peel off Quinn’s tightly buttoned shirt just to take a good look at the Beta body that was capable of forcing an Alpha to his knees. For science, of course.

With a final glance back at the counter, Floris walked out into the cool evening. Quinn was already back at the car, sliding into the passenger side. Floris looked both ways and crossed over to the car. He got in, and started it. He wanted to ask, but at the same time he wanted for Quinn to bring it up.

He was no disappointed. “Sorry if that’s not how you were going to handle it.”

He glanced at Quinn and nearly wrecked the car. Quinn had his fingers in his tie knot and was slowly working it loose. Thank god they reached a red light so Floris could watch as Quinn loosened the tie, his long fingers wiggling in the knot before undoing it, and sliding the tie free from around his neck. The soft rasp of his silk tie against his cotton shirt was somehow deafening in the car.

Floris held his breath as Quinn wedged a finger into the collar of his shirt. No fucking way. Quinn worked it for a long moment, but sadly dropped his hand to his lap. Floris looked up and moved forward as the light turned green.

“That was how I was going to handle it, honestly.” He shrugged. He glanced at Quinn again.

“That’s good. But, for the record, I agree with Heart.”

Floris glanced at him, frowning. “How do you mean?”

“It sucks, but this is out there. People are going to recognize him. People are going to figure it out. Better to get out in front of it than be accused of lying.”

Floris sucked in a deep breath. “I know, but you weren’t there that night. I was fourteen, taking the late train home. I got off the stop and I could smell something…wrong. I followed it and found him.” Floris clenched the wheel at the memory. “He was covered in vomit and Slick, sobbing in the bathroom, curled up in a ball.” He exhaled. “I’ve protected him for thirteen years, Quinn.”

“And you’re going to continue to protect him. That’s not going to change.”

Floris glanced at Quinn. His gaze was the softest that Floris had ever seen directed at him. It gentled the Beta’s sharp little face. He looked back at the road. “You’re right. I guess I’m just used to being special. Just him and me, you know?”

“Kind of. This next left, please.”

Floris nodded, and they faded into comfortable silence. He pulled up in front of Quinn’s apartment building. Quinn leaned back to grab his briefcase from the back. This brought him closer than normal to Floris, and Floris was surprised by the light laundry detergent smell. He couldn’t tell if it was Quinn or his clothes.

“You smell like Tide Pods,” he blurted out.

“Oh, for the love of God.” Quinn snapped, sitting back into his seat empty handed, his gaze glittering. He grabbed Floris’s hand, and Floris stared as Quinn sucked on his own wrist before turning his wrist to rub the damp skin on Floris’s wrist. “There. That’s my scent. Now fuck off. I have a headache.”

He got out of the car, grabbing his briefcase from the back, slamming both doors. Floris watched as the Beta stomped off into the glamourous high rise. He looked down at his wrist, which still felt damp from Quinn’s saliva. Against his better judgement, he raised his wrist to his nose.

The scent was warm, a little sweet. A lot like fresh cotton left to air dry in a spring meadow. It was delicate but definitely there. Before he could stop himself, Floris darted his tongue out, brushing it against the scent. He lowered his wrist, and smiled at the building before driving away.

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