Skin Walkers: Monroe (9 page)

“Micah.”

The boys head snapped up, his eyes expectant. 

“Keep an eye on the kids,” Monroe ordered, seeing how it pleased the eldest to
not only be singled out from the group but given a semblance of authority over the little ones.

Micah nodded solemnly and pulled the ear buds from his ears while turning his focus on the
children.

Monroe couldn’t help his flare of self-satisfaction.  Over the weeks that Eden had been confined to the infirmary, he’d
come to learn how to deal with her children.  So used to manipulating adults, he’d never thought he’d get the hang of dealing with children, but he had.  

Nodding to Lilly, he exited the suite and made his way to the infirmary.  A few short minutes later
, he was standing in Eden’s exam room frowning with his arms crossed over his chest, while the fingers of one hand pulled at his bottom lip in worry.

Bo
th Eden’s tibia and fibula were crushed under the pressure of the spring trap. The damage had been so severe that surgery had been required and steel rodding had been put in place to hold the alignment of the bone.  Today she was finally getting her walking cast and Monroe was highly opposed to the idea.  It was too soon in his estimation; he didn’t care how Eden or Chief of Surgery Jenny Arkinson argued.

“Are we doing this or not?”  Jenny demanded in annoyance, holding the black and gray walking cast in her hands.

“Yes!” Eden replied, her gaze narrowing on Monroe as sharp pinpoints of fury exploded in her chocolate eyes.

“We need more x-rays,” Monroe countered speaking more to himself than to Jenny or Eden.

Jenny exhaled, her shoulders rising and falling sharply with the action.  “Christ’s sake Monroe!  We’ve already taken more than necessary.  If she gets anymore radiation exposure she’s going to glow green!”

Perfect brows speared down as his expression darkened.  His eyes held Eden’s.

“I know you’re worried, but she’s been working really hard for this.  Physical therapy, water exercises, her own private specialists.  You haven’t spared a damn expense and it was all so we could get to this point.  Right?”  Her brows hiked as she prodded, “Come on, you and I both know she’s doing this with or without your approval.”

Jenny was right and he hated it.  No matter what he said or how he protested, Eden would do as she pleased and he had no right to stop her. 

As if to cement Jenny’s claim, Eden spoke with determined affirmation.  “I
am
walking out of here today.  My kid’s won’t be visiting me in this damn infirmary again!”

Monroe’s eyes slid from Eden to Jenny and he gave an imperceptible nod.

“Yes!” Jenny’s fist punched the air.

The next hour was spent preparing Eden and getting her fitted with her cast.  It was hard to endure.  Every wince, every sharp intake of breath, every
barely disguised show of pain and he was ready to call the whole damn thing off.

When Eden finally took her first step and grinned, Monroe’s scowl deepened. 
He could scent only the faintest hint of pain but it was enough.

“You’re hurting,” he accused
gritting his teeth at her damn stubborn nature.  He only wanted to protect her, to shelter her from pain and here she sat hating him for it.

“No
, I’m not!” The scent of her lie mingled with the scent of her pain and he wanted to howl.  He couldn’t even call her on it because he’d have to explain how he knew, so instead he relegated to what he knew best…barking orders.

“King, clear a path from here to her suite.  I’m taking her up.” 

King disappeared out the door. 

“Jenny, I want a nurse on-call on the third floor.  Put her in one of the west wing suites.  Make sure she has all the supplies and pain meds she’ll need to make Eden comfortable.
  Get it done now.”

“Aye, aye,” Jenny gave him a mock salute as she turned to grin at a beaming Eden before exiting the room.

“And you,” Monroe growled as he turned to Eden now that they were alone.  “You are going to sit your pretty little ass in that wheel chair,” he jabbed his finger to where the contraption sat in the corner, “and let me usher you upstairs.”  When she opened her mouth to protest he held up a hand, “And if you refuse, if you balk for even a blink, I’m having you confined to this fucking exam room for the next four weeks until
I’m
certain your healed enough to be moved!”

Eden clamped her mouth shut and scowled up at him. 

Wordlessly, Monroe retrieved the chair, assisted Eden into the seat and with painstaking caution, took the slowest walk from the infirmary to the lobby elevator that he’d ever taken in his life. 

C
hapter 11

Eden was delighted to be back with the children.  It seemed as if they’d grown so much in the few short weeks she’d been
stuck in the infirmary and while they’d visited her daily, it wasn’t the same. 

Sitting in her wheel chair with Monroe standing close behind her, she hadn’t even had a chance to get up before the
kids rushed to her.  They were mindful of her injured leg as they all spoke at once.

“
Me an’ Ransum an’ Peyton have our own room…”

“Mama!”

“Cole said we have to be in charge of Peyton until you was better.”

Smiling, Eden held up a hand, “Whoa!  Not every
body at once.”  She was elated and more than a little surprised to see Micah standing behind the children, listening to their stories with interest and actually being a member of the family.  Taking it all in, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.  Monroe had done with Micah in eight short weeks what she’d been unable to do in over two years.

“Enough,” Monroe laughed.  “Let’s let mama see her room.”

Peyton squealed and dashed down the hallway followed by Ransum and Cole, who yelled officiously, “No running inside!”

“Hi Eden,” Micah offered when the room was finally silent.

Smiling up at him, Eden offered a soft, “Hi baby.”  She knew he hated the endearment.  He’d told her a thousand times, but she couldn’t keep herself from using it.  He
was
her baby.  They all were and whether he wanted to accept it or not he was part of her heart.

Wordlessly, Monroe turned the chair to push her down the long corridor that led to the bedrooms.  One door was wide open and as they passed she saw
Ransum and Cole building a Lego castle on the carpet in the center of the large room while Peyton jerked a stuffed bear off a tiny, pink quilt covered, bed before approaching the boys and plucking a Lego off the top of their structure, sending it crashing down.  “Awwww, Peyton!”

Passing a closed door, Micah piped up from somewhere behind her.  “You can see my room if you want.”

She smiled knowing from the way he’d said it that he wanted her to see. 

Monroe brushed her shoulders as he reached down and pushed the door open.  Unlike his too small room at home, this one was huge.  No gamer posters adorned the walls or dirty clothes littered the floo
r.  It was clean and very young-adult.  The colors were black and gray with vibrant red used as accent on the bed and window coverings.  The bed looked like it was King size and next to it sat a desk with a computer surrounded by scattered CD’s and magazines. 

Eden swallowed at the lump that formed in her throat.  It was more than she’d ever been able to provide. 
“Very nice room, Micah.  Thank you for keeping it picked up.”

“Responsibility begets reward,” he stated but she knew the words were Monroe’s and not his own.

“Hmm,” her lips pursed in disapproval.  How much teaching had Monroe done while she was down?

The chair started moving again and
at the end of the hall, Monroe pushed her into a room that was larger than her entire cabin.  The grandeur of the space was breathtaking.  Dark, ornately carved wood lined the ceilings and was the same design and material used in the dresser, nightstands, and four-poster bed.  A purple and white, satin, quilt covered the largest mattress she’d ever seen and even though the bed was huge, the space didn’t feel cramped.  On the contrary, the room felt immense, almost too big. 

A sound caught her attention and her gaze slid to her right where a fire burned invitingly in the large hearth
and it was difficult to tear her eyes away from it to take in the rest of the room.

The plush carpet was
a muted lavender and beautiful purple irises in expensive looking vases dotted the room.  Sheer curtains covered what appeared to be French doors that led out to a balcony.

“Monroe, it’s…”  There was no hiding the awe in her voice.  It was the most beautiful room she’d ever
seen.

“Bathroom’s through there,” he pointed to a closed door.  “I had them put in handicap accessible doors so the chair can fit through if you need it.”

Eden’s eyes that were still sweeping the room stopped abruptly.  She had to blink hard to get his words to register.  “You had them put in doors?”

As if it were nothing
, he left her side to cross to the French doors and peel back the curtains to allow some light to filter through.  “Yes.  This suite was actually two.  I had them combined so there’d be enough space for you and the kids.”

Holy shit! 
Panic flared to life.  She couldn’t afford this!  It would mean several year’s worth of playing catch-up just to cover the damn hospital bills in town!

Monroe turned his attention from the
slowly thawing grounds outside to see that Eden had paled dangerously. 

“Shit!” he closed the distance between them in seconds.  He was on his knees and
grabbing her hand as he spoke, “Damn it Eden, I knew it was too soon!  Don’t worry, Jenny’s on her way.”

How could Jenny be on her way?
  She pulled her hand back and blinked hard, “I-I’m fine.”

“Don’t lie to me
, Eden.  Any fool can see that something’s wrong.”

“It’s not…  I’m fine,” her brows bunched.  “
it’s just.”  Her words were covered over when Jenny dashed into the room.

“Where is she?  What happened?”

Confusion hit hard. 
How could she…

“
It must be the stress of the activity, she looks pale.”

Eden’s wane appearance vanished in an instant when angry color flooded her cheeks.  “I’m fine,” she ground out again.  “I was surprised is
all!”

“Surprised?” Jenny clamped her fingers around Eden’s wrist to take her pulse.  “Surprised by what?”

Rolling her eyes, Eden huffed out in frustration.  “This!  This room, this suite, the stay in the infirmary, the surgery in town.  It’s all a bit…
expensive!”

Jenny’s grip loosened and she peeked up at Monroe knowing
ly.  “Uh-huh,” she cleared her throat.  “You appear to be fine, I’ll just leave you two to…” she ducked her head and left the room closing the door behind her.

Monroe eyes darkened in impatience, “How can you be concerned with something
as insignificant as money at a time like this?”

Eden’s mouth fell open, “
As insignificant as money?  Sorry, but it’s not insignificant to those of us that don’t have much of it.”

Crossing strong arms over his chest he watched her.  “Your bills have been paid Eden.  I took care of it.”

“Like hell you did!”  She was pushing up from the chair and it took every ounce of Monroe’s strength to not rush to her aid.  “I pay my own way!”

“Stop bei
ng so dramatic,” he chastised, inching closer, “it’s only money.”

“I’m not going to allow you to pay my bills.  It’s not happening.”

His smile turned mocking as, unable to control himself any longer, he reached out to help her steady herself. “It’s already done.”

“Damn it Monroe!  Why are you doing this?”  She
shrugged him off, hobbled to the bed, and sat.  “I don’t want to be in anyone’s debt.”

“You’re not.”

“Yes, I’m in yours now!”  Her eyes raked over him, “And I’m certain it’s a place I don’t want to be.”

“Afraid?” he challenged.

Her pride warred with logic.  Hell yes she was afraid.  She didn’t want to be in Monroe StoneCrow’s debt any more than she wanted to be in his home.

“Look, we should clear some things up right now,” chocolate eyes scanned t
he luxurious room.  “I appreciate all you’ve done for me.  You took in my kids and you saved my life, but this,” she waved at the room.  “I’ve been cleared from medical.  My kids and I need to return home.”

Monroe crossed his arms over his chest, “You’re right, we should clear some
things up.  First, you’ve been released from medical, not cleared.  There’s a difference.  Second, those kids have been traumatized enough by nearly losing their mother.  I’ll not permit you to stress them further by leaving before you’re fully healed, or by wasting money on silly little bills when it could be better used to feed and clothe them.  Finally,” he inched closer to her, “You
do
owe me.”

Eden’s cheeks flamed at the declaration.

“But not for the paid bills, angel.  I could give a shit less about the money.  You owe me for saving your life.”  As if it had been decided he exhaled proudly, “You’re going to accept my hospitality and remain here at the estate until…”

“Until what?” she demanded, “Until
you
decide that I’m better?”

“No,” his lips twisted, “until the
children
decide that you’re ready to go.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she accused, “look at this place!  If it’s up to them, we’ll never leave!”

Monroe smiled victoriously, “Then so be it.”

Damn
you!
  Eden seethed as she glared at him, “Not above using my kids as leverage?”

He closed the distance between them so quickly that Eden was shocked.  A firm hand gripped her chin as he dropped his head, his lips a mere
breath away from her own as he studied her.  “Just be satisfied, angel, that I don’t use your debt to get what I really want.”

The declaration had her stifling a shudder. 
What he really wants?
  There was no mistaking the look in his eyes.  Lust!

Her
eyes dropped to his lips, her own parting as she wondered if he was going to kiss her. 
Hoped
he was going to kiss her. 

He didn’t.  H
e released her abruptly to stalk from the room.

***

By the gods, he wanted her!  How had it happened?  When?  Monroe speared a hand through his hair as he strode determinedly back to his office.  He had to put some distance between himself and Eden StCloud because if he stayed near her another second he would bend her over and paddle her sweet ass for thinking she could challenge him.  The worst part was she had no idea what a turn on it was to be challenged by his female. 
His female?
  Shit, when had he started thinking of her that way? 

Inside his office he dropped into his chair and ignored the work on his desk to frown at the door.  He was calculating in his head the number of days until Eden healed and he’d be able to spread her legs wide and bury himself inside her.
  He wanted to fuck her more then he wanted to breathe.  He ground his teeth together as he realized he shouldn’t want her so badly.  She wasn’t his; there was no affliction.  His expression darkened as he realized a part of him was disappointed with the fact that his halo hadn’t flashed and whined its signal that she was his angel.  Still, he wanted her.

He’d been intrigued by her the moment they
’d met.  When she’d been injured, he’d taken advantage of the opportunity to get her and her family on his estate.  Ever since then, he’d been sticking close.  He had her guarded when he wasn’t around to protect her himself, but he tried to spend as much time with her as possible while not neglecting the children. 

The children
.
  The thought of them made him smile.  They were great kids with excellent manners.  Eden had done well in raising them and he felt a little jealous and annoyed at her ability to garner herself a family without the need for a mate. 
And Walker children nonetheless!
  All this time she’d been doing what he wanted for his own kind.  She was living a peaceful existence out among the world with children who had such rare and unique gifts that the task should have been impossible for a surrogate mother who wasn’t of the kind. 

He tried to ignore the pounding in his dick and the uncomfortable way his pants were suddenly too tight.
  Spearing a hand into his hair, he growled.  Perhaps bringing Eden and the children here wasn’t such a good idea after all.