Page 89 of Aberrant Monsters
He cleared his throat. “I brought him some towels.”
“That was super nice of you.” I grinned at him.
“You could take a leaf out of his book, August. Look how tidy he is.”
“That used to work on me when I was a teenager. I’m a woman now. I hold down a job and catch monsters so if I want to leave my dirty socks on the floor, I can.” I sniffed and pushed my chin up, stalking past him.
His mutters about cheeky nieces followed me out into the corridor.
Ah, nostalgia was a panacea for a confused heart. I always knew where I stood with Uncle Fred and that was a huge comfort, but as I headed to the dining room to speak to Quentin, the fact that I knew very little about my handler needled.
This was the man I was supposed to rely on. The man meant to be on hand to answer questions and find information when I needed it. My go-between and my advocate.
It was time to pay a little more attention to my meticulous house guest.
* * *
The clangof metal on metal greeted me as I approached the dining room. I stepped through the door as Quentin lowered the barbell piled with weights into the cradle above him.
He lay beneath it, hands still clasping the metal bar, chest heaving for long seconds before he sat up and looked my way.
“August, is everything okay?” He studied me with concern, probably because I had my mouth open in surprise, because yes, he certainly had an impressive physique. I’d have to be dead not to notice the rippling muscle that belonged on the cover of a health magazine. “August?”
“I’m abs…Absolutely fine.” Shit, pull it together, woman. “I was hoping we could chat?” I smiled politely, keeping my eyes on his face.
It wasn’t right to ogle. I’d hate it if someone ogled me while I was working out, more so because I looked sweaty and gross, but still.
“Of course.” He grabbed a towel and patted his face before slinging the towel around his neck and padding over.
“What did you want to talk about?”
Oh boy, the tough stuff. “Something happened last night.” I relayed the shortened, no-sexy-details version of what had happened at Underdog.
Quentin listened without interrupting me, which I was grateful for. There was no judgment in his expression, another tick in his favor.
Once I was done, he gave me a stern look to rival Uncle Fred. “You didn’t tell me about the need for sexual energy. You should have made me aware.”
“It’s not exactly something to be proud of.”
He sighed. “I can see why you would have been reticent. I’m glad you came to me now. I’ll pass this information on to the Order.”
“Does it mean I’m changing faster than the others?”
“I don’t know,” Quentin said. “You’re in control of your faculties.”
I looked away. “It didn’t feel like that last night.”
“August, you found a way to satiate your hunger without harming anyone. That’s huge. The others…not so much.”
“They had hunger too?”
“Yes, but for blood and flesh just like their aberrants did. Your manifestations are different. I’ll speak to Genevieve tonight and let you know what she says.”
“Thank you, Quentin. If they have a way to separate us, then please, make them give it to me now, sooner rather than later.”
He pressed his lips together. “I’ll see what I can do. They still haven’t gotten back to me about the contract, so I’ll bring that up too.”
“We can change that. If they help us now, I’ll continue to work for them until the thirteen eldritch are found. Just…please.”
