Skin Walkers: Monroe (12 page)

“Stop backing up!” 

It was hard, but she forced herself to obey King’s directive.
  Immobile, it took only the blink of an eye for Monroe to be on her.  One hand circled her waist while the other collared her throat and pushed her chin up.  Her heart thundered in her chest as she watched him eyeing her throat.  He leaned down and brushed his nose along the satiny column, and inhaled deeply.  She felt a rumble vibrate his chest.

She didn’t even try to disguise the tremble in her voice. 
“K-King?”

“It’s okay,” King soothed from somewhere behind her.  “Just don’t move.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sentries racing up from downstairs.  They slowed, then stopped completely when they were twenty feet away. 
Oh God, this can’t be good!

“M-Monroe?”
  Her soft voice drew his eyes to hers and she was startled to see no hint of the man she knew.  It was as if he were…possessed!  She wondered if he was going to bite her, choke her, or just simply snap her neck in two.  “Don’t…don’t hurt me,” her voice broke when his eyes returned to her throat.

As if startled by her wo
rds, Monroe jerked back.  His eyes locked on hers.  The need to bind her with his halo and to fuck her raw was imperative and
nothing
was ever imperative to him.  He’d made sure of it.  His entire life had been a trial of endurance, a self-imposed Spartan lifestyle of self-denial.  Intentionally, he’d rarely permitted himself the small and simple pleasures in life for the simple fact that it built character.  Every day he carried the burden of being the Dominant Skin Walker.  He could never show weakness, never stumble, never have an off day.  It was an impossible weight and one he grew weary of carrying.  But right now, touching Eden and knowing she was his to love and to cherish and to share his life…well, his control was tenuous at best, and if she wasn’t careful she’d find herself fucked right there in the hall and he didn’t give a damn who witnessed the claiming. 

The thought was jarring. 
Inside, the man struggled for control.  He was scaring his angel and was not only considering taking her in a manner that would no doubt humiliate her, but would leave her little choice.  He couldn’t,
wouldn’t,
do that to his Eden. 

HIS!
  As if it was a trigger, the need to bind and claim her crashed over him in such a wave of resurgence that it nearly took him to his knees.  If this was the affliction, then it was worse than he ever could have possibly imagined.

He forced his fingers to loosen on the slender column
of his angel’s throat.  She was so fragile, so breakable.  He’d have to be careful.  His other hand remained clamped at her lower back as he spoke to King.  “Get her to my suite.  Lock her in.  She doesn’t leave!”

Eden’s eyes rounded and she gasped.  He couldn’t really mean to have her locked up.

“Consider it done.”

Accusing eyes focused on King as he stepped into view.

“But you’re going to have to let me take her, Crow.”  King’s tone was calm, as if he were trying to sound soothing, cajoling. 

Monroe’s still black eyes jerked to King as he growled, “Don’t touch her!”

“I won’t,” King shook his head quickly.  “I’ll only follow her.  I’ll lock her up.  She won’t escape you.”

Monroe’s nostrils flared and he scented her fear and uncertainty.  It angered h
im that he was the cause but whatever else happened in the next few hours he knew one thing beyond all certainty.  Eden was his and he couldn’t allow her to leave.  It was dangerous outside his walls, outside the shield of his protection.  Anything could happen, but he wouldn’t allow it.  She’d stay close until he could get a grip on himself.  No matter what, he’d keep her safe.

His hand loosened around her waist and when she took a step back he fortified his hold and crushed her to him.  There was no hiding the steel length of his cock as it pressed into her soft
tummy.

“Run from me
, Eden, and I promise you’ll regret it.  If you aren’t in my suite when I get there I will hunt you!  No matter where you are, or who you’re with, I will strip you bare, take you to your knees, and fuck you so thoroughly that your screams of pleasure will serve as notice to all on this goddamn estate that you recognize that you belong to me!”

Eden shuddered at the image.  She should have
been terrified and some small part of her was, but his words sent a punch of lust shooting through her so swiftly that she couldn’t even clench her thighs against the building heat and the sweet nectar that spilled to coat her sex, preparing herself for him on some primal level.

His nostrils flared again and his eyes fluttered closed even as long, sharp
, canines peeked out from his closed lips.  With eyes still closed, he hissed long and low before he commanded, “King!  Move her now!”

“Eden.”  King extended his arm.

When Monroe finally released her, she was too afraid to do anything but step in front of King, bow her head, and walk back upstairs to Monroe’s suite.

Chapter 13

“Fix it!”  Monroe demanded.

Dr.
Jenny Arkinson, shook her head.  “I can’t
fix
it, you know that.”  She sat at the desk in her dimly lit office and watched him pace back and forth.  “I can temper some of the effects.  It’s the best I can do.”

“I’m out of control!” he snarled, stopping to sneer at her.  “I could’ve hurt her!”

“You’d never hurt her,” Jenny supplied lamely, “she’s your angel.  It goes against every instinct you possess.”

“You didn’t see me Jen.”

The use of a nickname was surprising and had her brows hiking.  The CEO was all business, all the time, but as he stood in her office practically begging her to eradicate something he’d enjoyed seeing others inflicted with…  Her lips tweaked as she dropped her head to feign studying his lab results for the umpteenth time. 
Good for him! 
God, how the women and mated Walkers had yearned for this day to come.  Monroe deserved to know exactly what it was he’d forced so many of his own kind to face.  He deserved an epic affliction and that’s exactly what was coming. 

As the Dominant Walker in North America, his symptoms were more than heightened
; they were off the chart.  His compulsion to keep her secluded was a first.  Typically, Walker’s merely needed to be in their angel’s presence, but not Monroe.  He didn’t want Eden near anyone else.  When King had arrived at the Infirmary to inform him that Eden had been sequestered, he’d nearly ripped the Chief of Security’s hands off as he jerked them to his nose to ensure King hadn’t laid a single finger on his angel. 

He started pacing again and plowed a hand roughly into his hair.  “Tell me again
,” his tone was laced with impatience.  “I’m having difficulty concentrating.”

Jenny didn’t bother hiding her smile this time.  “That’s because your thoughts are consumed with claiming your angel.  The affliction has set in Mr.
StoneCrow.  You have but only one recourse now.”  Her smile broadened when she saw him pale. 
Just desserts!

It was well known that while he encouraged his Walkers to claim their mates, he was reluctant to do so himself.  It was understandable.  Heavy was the head that wore the crown, and his
particular crown was made up of more thorns than jewels.  Eden would be in danger, as would her children, by something as simple as mere association.  They’d be targeted simply for belonging to Monroe.  It was a fate he’d hoped to not only spare himself, but his angel as well.

“Give me the serum,” he demanded.

Jenny shook her head, “It won’t do you any good.”

“And why the hell not,” he snarled turning on her as his eyes flashed dangerously.

“Because,” she stood and planted her hands on her desk, leaning toward him, “you’re not suffering from the affects of failure to eat or sleep.  You’re suffering from your need to claim.”  She lifted her hands helplessly, “My serum doesn’t work for that.”

He knew it was true.  Damn!  He’d find no easy out here, no putting off or tamping down the need that coursed through his veins with such fiery demand that he felt like his skin was on fire.

“You need to go to her,” King spoke up from near the door.  “She’s alone and terrified, Crow.”

His expression softened. 
His poor angel.  What had he done?  He’d practically attacked her and in her eyes it had been for no apparent reason.  She must think him mad.  He was afraid to ask but forced the words out anyway.  “Did she say anything?”

“She just asked…”

When Kings stalled, Monroe pinned him with an angry frown.

“She just asked if you were going to hurt her.  She asked me to protect her children.”

If Monroe wasn’t mistaken, his Chief of Security, lead Sentry, and best friend was pissed at him for how he’d handled things so far.  King was right.  He needed to go to Eden, to comfort her and explain himself.

Turning, he stalked determinedly to the door. “I’m going to my suite.  I don’t want to be disturbed.  King,” he barked, “check on the children.”

“Done.”

***

Eden paced the large confines of Monroe’s suite.  Her leg ached from her mad dash of earlier but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.  Her gut was still in knots as she tried to decipher exactly what it was that she had done wrong.  Her eyes shot to the door as she wrung her hands.  She wondered if the children were okay.  King had promised to check on them and to protect them, but she wasn’t comfortable leaving their safety in another’s hands.  Several times she’d considered throwing the door open and stalking down to their quarters, but if Monroe meant what he’d said then he’d take her in front of them and she couldn’t allow it.

The door opened and she backed up, putting herself in position between several tables
where she’d mentally noted items that she could use as weapons.  Her stance was tense when Monroe entered.

He looked like hell.  His tie was long gone, his shirt was ripped and partially un
-tucked, his hair was disheveled, and his face looked haggard.  She couldn’t help but ask, “A-are you okay?”

He
hid a wince at the fear he scented and the cautious way she regarded him.  She looked ready to bolt at the slightest hint of danger.  “I’m…fine.”  His voice sounded rough so he cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair in hopes of taming it.  “How are you?”

Her eyes flicked to the door behind him then back.  “I’m ready to leave.”

Shit!
  His mate was terrified of him. He took a step toward her and felt rejection bite hard when she backed up. “Angel, I’d never hurt you.”  His eyes were soft, imploring.

She
lifted a small hand to her throat, and he knew she was remembering the way he’d grabbed her in the hall. 

“I was
…” afflicted sounded esoteric.  As he struggled for the proper explanation he watched her inch closer to one of the side tables.  His gaze followed her and he knew what she was thinking.  The heavy, silver, candelabra sitting in the center of the table had been a gift from Conn and Aries.  A show of gratitude for being allowed to stay on at StoneCrow until their daughter, Wynter, was older.  They wanted to be near other children for their child’s sake.  The weighty object would make a great weapon.

“I was stricken,” he began again. “The Doc says it’s a rare form of virus.  I apologize for my behavior.  It was…”  Again he stalled to find the right word.

“Terrifying!”  Eden supplied but didn’t move, her eyes alone darted to the door.  “Am I free to go?”

NO!
  The beasts inside snarled and something must have flashed in his gaze because Eden stepped back and reached for the candelabra. 

“Go to the children,” he ground out.  “But you can’t leave the estate.  It’s too late.”
  The lateness of the hour was an excuse.  Now that he knew she was his, he’d never let her leave.  It took every ounce of his power to step away from the door.  He watched her and she waited.

After several tense moments,
Eden set the candelabra down and began slowly inching toward the door, all the while keeping her gaze focused on him.  When she got to the door she twisted the handle as if she didn’t think he’d allow it.  Her gaze darted between the door and him and when he made no move and the door clicked open, she flung it aside and hurried out of the room and down the hall to her children.

Alone in his suite, Monroe threw his head back and roared not caring who heard.  The beast had finally found his beauty and just as in the fairy tale, she wanted nothing to do with him because of the monster that he was.

Chapter 14

It had been two weeks since he’d seen Eden.  Well, since she’d seen him.  He spied on her daily…and nightly.  She was never made aware of his presence, but he was always there.  Today, she’d requested a meeting and he knew the topic.  She wanted to leave. 
She’d made requests through King, Aries, and even Lilly, but all were ignored.  She thought she was taking his children—and that’s how he thought of them—and waltzing off of the estate and out of his life as if there existed no tie that bound them to each other.  She was sorely mistaken.

He scented her before there was even a light tap on the door
to his office.  He shifted uncomfortably at the growing erection that tightened the material at his lap. 
Damn!
  She was already affecting him and she wasn’t even in the damn room? 

“Enter,” he commanded
.  He didn’t dismiss Gauge and King from where they stood at either end of his desk.  They’d been briefing him on York’s mission to the Philippines where the Walker Sentry was tasked with locating and retrieving Shy’s estranged sister.

Eden entered and Monroe
casually lifted his head from the e-pad that sat atop his desk.  He intended to pass over her with a cursory glance but he did a double take and his eyes locked on the sight of her.  The first thing he noted was that her walking cast was gone. 

She was dressed in a
flowing, white, skirt and matching sleeveless, blouse.  Her slender legs looked smooth and the scarring to her once injured leg was surprisingly sexy as hell.  She looked like a battle worn siren, and she was.  Who else would surge forth into the frigid depths of a Montana blizzard to rescue an injured wolf and to track two armed offenders?  His eyes swirled with hunger as he drank her in.  Her hair hung free, down past her trim waist.  He’d never seen her look so sexy.  She was barefoot and her crimson tipped, dainty, toes instantly had him wondering what the rest of her would look like bare.  Controlling himself now was going to be much harder then he imagined, especially considering that the affliction had set in full force. 

The affliction, so donned by the Walkers, was an instantaneous animalistic attraction to their destined mate.  Designed to force Walkers to recognize that their female holds some significance to them, they are incapacitated at the Walker’s recognition of his angel
…afflicted.  Triggered by his primal understanding that he has found his mate, a Walker will forego eating, drinking, and sleeping until the claiming is complete.  A Walker’s preoccupation with claiming, mating, and binding his angel with his halo is all consuming, an animalistic phenomena to ensures that only the seed of the strongest and most virile of the male Walker species is passed on.  Survival of the fittest.  Walker men were even known to challenge other males that got in close proximity to their unclaimed mates.

Monroe had
been unable to eat or drink anything and was forced to succumb to Dr. Arkinson’s injectable concoction of nutrients and supplements.  For the sake of his Walkers, he also visited the infirmary nightly to be drugged to sleep.  It was uncomfortable and when he rose each morning there was never relief.  The affliction greeted him and he felt no revitalization from the forced sleep.  It was a health precaution that he chose to endure, but it was getting old fast.  The only thing more pressing to him now than eating or sleeping was claiming his mate.  He wanted Eden and he wanted her now! 

***

Two weeks ago when she’d met with him in his office, Eden had intended on asking him if she and the children could remain at the estate, at least just long enough for him to ensure no Megalya had tracked Leto and Shy to the state, but after his terrifying behavior, she’d quickly changed her mind.  He’d refused every request she’d made through third-parties, having been to leery of approaching him herself.  Now, without any other choice, she’d resolved to approaching him herself.  It wasn’t an easy task.  She was nervous as hell even though she’d rehearsed her lines for days and had struggled to fortify her resolve.  She’d promised herself that she wouldn’t be intimidated by him, but one glance and her nerve vanished.  Her attraction to him was disorienting.  He was everything she hated in a man, arrogant, brutal, uncompromising, yet she wanted him more than she wanted her next breath.

“Mr.
StoneCrow,” she began firmly.  When his lips tweaked she knew she’d blown it.  He always smiled when he saw through her attempts at formality, or as he liked to refer to them, her feeble attempts at being authoritative.

“I just wanted to thank you for permitting me and my children to reside here at the estate.” 

He stood and circled the desk and her heart rate kicked up as she wondered if he planned on attacking her again.  Her eyes darted to King then back.  She was glad the Chief of Security was here.  He seemed to be the only one able—or willing—to control the CEO.

“You’re not leaving,” he turned his back on her to sort some of the paper work on his desk, effectively dismissing her.

“Uhhh,” dumbfounded she forged on with her pre-planned speech.  “It’s Wednesday and we’ll be heading home this Friday.  We…”

He frowned at her over his shoulder, “This isn’t up for discussion, angel. You can’t go.”

“I wasn’t asking,” she planted her hands on her hips as indignation flared to life.

“Funny,” he turned to face her slowly, “neither was I.”

She took a challenging step closer, lifting her chin with borrowed confidence.  “I’m not afraid of you, Monroe.”

Turning on her, he
partially shifted.  His handsome face morphed, transforming to that of a cheetah with long sharp teeth.  His nose wrinkled as it hissed with yellow eyes, mere inches from her face.

Without any thought, E
den reached up and slapped him hard!

Shocked, Monroe didn’t move even as King and
Gauge tensed, prepared to protect Eden if needed. 

Monroe
was stunned immobile even as his balls drew up and the affliction surged forth so strongly that it was staggering.  She had no idea what she’d just done.  Unbeknownst to Eden, and his fellow Skin Walkers, for a woman to slap a Dominant was to beg for forced submission.  It wasn’t an invitation, it was a challenge!  She was daring him to dominate her sexually.  He had to fight down a revived erection and hoped that his dazed expression would mask the sudden surge of fierce lust that seared through him. 

To his surprise
, instead of being fearful or even minutely regretful, Eden crossed her arms over her puffed chest and chastised, “Don’t you pull that shit on me!  My children have been doing it for years and let me tell you,
CEO
, your little kitten’s got nothing on the shit they produce.”

Behind Monroe, King stifled a laugh
while Gauge stalked to the door and exited the room before laughter could be heard bellowing from the adjoining reception area. 

Monroe knew his shocked and gaping cheetah was not even close to evoking the
terrifying creature he’d intended.  Shifting fully back to himself, he shot King a mutinous look.  “Leave us!”

King sobered, “You sure
?”

“Leave
!” Monroe growled hoping to see a little trepidation in Eden’s gaze.  There was none.

King quickly left the room and alone, Monroe advanced and grabbed Eden by the shoulders.  In
seconds, he had her pinned against the wall, one of his legs between her own as he pinned both of her arms to the wall beside her head.

“Do you know what I do to
women who assault me?”

“Do you know what I do to men who try to intimidate me?”
Her brown eyes sparked with fury and something else.

His eyes shot to her arms then back and realization dawned.  She liked being pinned.

They frowned at each other for long minutes before Monroe’s hold on her wrists loosened, but he didn’t release her.  He’d been surviving on Dr. Arkinson’s damn supplemental concoction and forced nights of sleep, but he was fed up with his affliction.  He was in rough shape, but he fought harder than any other Walker to hide his misery from his kind.  He didn’t want them to know how badly she’d afflicted him, but by the way his Sentries avoided him as of late, he assumed they knew the truth.

Staring at her now, he fought the urge to
fist a hand up her skirt and slide his fingers into her sex just so he could lift them to his lips and finally taste her.  The thought, coupled with the sudden scent of her desire, stole all control.  She was aroused by his display and she’d dressed this way for a reason.  She was his and he was done waiting!

When Monroe stepped back, Eden was certain he’d come to his senses, but his ha
nds never left her and she was hoisted over his broad shoulder.  He turned quickly and stalked with her across the office.

“What are you doing?  Put me down!”

The door that connected his office to his bedroom suite was shoved open and then closed just as sharply behind them.  Luckily for her, Eden didn’t fight when he bent and tossed her on his bed.  Instead, she simply stared up at him dazed.

“What in the hell are you doing?”  She used a hand to shove long strands of glos
sy, black, hair out of her eyes, while the other jerked her skirt down. 

She was feigning composure, but Monroe caught the slight tremble in her hand, the quiver in her voice
.  She was seconds away from losing it. 

Closing his eyes he inhaled slowly and nearly
dropped to his knees.  Her typical sweetgrass and rain scent was infused with a wild desire that was as untamed as Montana itself.  It was a firestorm of need and longing, but the wild desire wasn’t what nearly grounded him.  It was her own terror at the realization that she wanted him.  No!  That wasn’t it at all.  His eyes snapped open and studied her.  She wasn’t terrified that she wanted him so damn badly.  He drew her scent in deeper, his nose flaring to take in as much as possible.  There!  She was terrified of him finding out.  She was fighting to hide from him, and the poor little dove had no idea she’d already failed. 

He inhaled again and his cock twitched in
impatient demand even as his balls drew up tighter.  The smell of her futile fight against what was about to happen was the most powerful scent in the world because once he breached her, once he claimed and fucked her raw, she’d never hide from him again.  The scent would die tonight along with her trepidation.  Next time,
she’d
come to him!   

“Get undressed,” he
commanded as he removed his jacket then his tie before laying them calmly on a chair that sat at a small table in the bedroom.

“What?  No!” She got to her feet and crossed to the door.  She grabbed the handle.

“Leave this room Eden and I’ll follow you and fuck you the first place you stop.”

She scowled at him over her shoulder.  “You can’t be serious!”

He was already removing his shirt and toeing off his expensive shoes.  “Try me, angel.”

She spun on him with a flush searing her cheeks that she was trying to convince herself was from anger and not excitement.
She tried and failed to keep her eyes from raking over his chiseled torso and thickly corded length of his bare arms.  He was a god!  She licked her suddenly dry lips and her gaze jerked to his when she heard him growl.

Monroe’s
eyes locked with hers and his lips tilted mockingly when he dropped his hands to the button of his slacks and popped it free before inching down his zipper.  Eden’s cheeks flared brighter and he could only imagine the flush that would cover her naked body when he was tunneling into her.

“D-don’t take those off,”
she commanded even as her eyes dipped to watch him hook his thumbs into his slacks and push down.  The slacks and his briefs slid over lean hips.

When his cock sprang free and pointed at her, Eden’s lips parted and her breath caught.  He was long and thick and appeared to be hard as velvety
steel.

“Get undressed,” he demanded, drawing her gaze back to his.

“N-no.  That isn’t going to happen.”

“I’m going to share some information with you
, Eden.”  He merely watched her.  “You know that you are my angel.  I know that you are my angel.  We both know that I’m the Dominant Skin Walker.  What you don’t know,” he stalked closer with lethal grace, “is that being Dominant gives me certain tastes, certain cravings, and desires.  It also means that things other Walkers see as offensive, I see as foreplay.”  He was standing in front of her now, the hard point of his cock pushing into her belly as he reached up and gently fisted a handful of her hair, noting that her breathing had accelerated and the scent of her arousal had grown so strong it would have been stifling to any other Walker.  To him, it smelled like home.

“Take that slap for example.  Other Walkers would have been offended or insulted.  To a Dominant, your slap tells me one thing.  You need
, and
want,
to be forced into submission.”

She sucked in a breath and tried to back up a step.

“But not by the man,” he tilted his head to regard her with predatory interest.  “You want your sopping panties ripped from your body.  You want to be pinned helpless, to be taken hard and deep by the beast that you know I am!”