Walk on the Striped Side (10 page)

“Oh Elena…”

She braced her hands on Gage’s
lower back and lifted herself up a little so that she could see Chloe still
standing in the room with a huge smile on her face. Delta, Lulu, Alec and
Gage’s grandmother were smiling at her as well, but her Aunts were both
frowning.

She looked back to her oldest
sister to see she was giving Elena a little finger wave as she announced to the
room, “He’s
doin
’ her.”

CHAPTER-TEN

Gage

His distressed mate hung limply
over his shoulder until he reached the doorway to the room. As he was about to
exit it, her sister Chloe opened her big mouth. That was when his mate went
from docile to a kicking, screaming ball of fury. It was a good thing that he
had such a good grip on her legs, because otherwise she might have kicked him
in the nuts. She still managed to get in some good kidney shots. If he’d been
human those punches would have knocked the wind right out of him, forcing him
to drop her. A fact that must have frustrated her, because when he didn’t do
anything but grunt, it seemed to piss her off that much more. He carried her
out of the house and out to his truck.

He managed to open the truck’s
passenger door without her kicking anything but him, and then he quickly
reached in and opened his glove box. He grabbed the one thing of Elena’s that
he’d kept after she left him. Her Military Police issued hand cuffs. It had
been a rare sentimental move on his part, but when he’d seen the mess she’d
left at his place, he knew he was about to put those handcuffs of hers to good
use.

Popping open the rotating arms with
one hand, he used his other hand to sling her down into the passenger seat in
front of him. Refusing to give up on her violent protest against him, she kept
punching. Now aiming at his chest, stomach and the arm that wasn’t holding her,
but that was okay because it kept her distracted from what he was doing. As
fast as he could, he slapped the first side of the open handcuffs down on her
left wrist, then reached over, pulling her wrist with him, and snapped the
other side of the handcuffs shut on his steering wheel.

The minute she heard the ratchet
clicking shut, she stilled. Staring at her left hand secured to the steering
wheel in shock. Gage didn’t waste a second. He slammed her truck door shut and
moved at an inhuman speed around the front of the vehicle so that a second
later he was opening his driver’s side door. After he got in and slammed his
own door shut he decided to sit there and wait for the oncoming explosion. It
was time Elena realized that he meant every word he’d said. She was
never
leaving
his side again. And he’d had absolutely no qualms saying that in a room filled
with their family because he
abso
-fucking-
lutely
meant it.

He didn’t have to wait long for her
to start her shit. “Tell me you just didn’t do that.” She angrily whispered.

“Didn’t do what?” Gage asked,
playing dumb.

“Tell me that you didn’t just handcuff
me to your steering wheel.”

He was looking straight at her, but
she refused to meet his gaze. Choosing to stare at her wrist in shock instead.
He couldn’t help but wonder if she was hoping that if she glared at the
handcuffs hard enough that laser beams would miraculously shoot out of her eyes
and cut the confining metal off like she was Superman or some shit. “Can’t do
that Elena, because I did handcuff you to my steering wheel.”

Trying to jerk her captive hand
away, Gage smelled her blood the instant the hard metal handcuffs broke through
her skin.

“Stop doing that! You’re hurting
yourself.” He ground out as he grabbed the now injured wrist.

Elena shrieked. “Then
uncuff
me jackass!”

Taking the key out of his pocket,
where he had placed it back at his house, Gage waved it in front of Elena’s
face for a moment before inserting it into the handcuffs. He heard her sigh in
relief and ignored it. She was only going to get angrier when she saw what he
did next. Unlocking the side attached to the steering wheel he repositioned the
free cuff around his right wrist and snapped it closed. Then, before his ornery
little human could say anything, he held up their captive hands in the air
between them.

“You must not have been paying
attention back in that room when I told you that you were never leaving my side
again. Pay attention now
mate
, because I meant what I said. You will
spend the rest of your days with me.”

“You’re off your fucking rocker,
aren’t you? And stop calling me that!” She screamed.

Oh, he knew what she meant, but he
was having so much fun riling her up that he just couldn’t help himself.
“Calling you what?”

“MATE! Stop calling me mate you
moron!”

Starting the truck, he put his free
hand on the steering wheel and started to back out of the Amazon’s driveway.
“Can’t do that either.”

As he shifted the truck from
reverse to drive and shoved the gas petal to the floor she spit out. “Can’t or
won’t, cat?”

“Won’t.”

She let out a scream so loud, primal
and outraged that he was pretty sure her Amazonian ancestors heard it from the
grave. He’d never seen her so pissed before. The cab of his truck filled with
her spiced chocolate smell and his cock responded by threatening to bust out of
his jeans. Jesus, but the smell of her right now was enough to make him horny
for at least a week. Yeah, she was infuriated on a level that any sane man
would steer clear of, but she was also aroused. Part of her might want to beat
him bloody, but with the strong smell of lust currently coming off her, Gage
also knew there was another part of her that wanted to fuck him senseless. It
was time for him to get her home, naked and willing. Before she tried to kill
him.

Twenty minutes later he parked his
truck in front of his home and turned the engine off. Looking over at Elena,
whom was sitting perfectly still and unbelievably quiet, he tried hard not to
become nervous. Elena was a lot of things. Strong, beautiful, hard headed, but
one thing she was not was quiet. Since his mate had been unnaturally silent
from the moment that Amazonian scream had died on her lips, he figured that
meant one thing. She was plotting. He’d known Generals and Heads of State that
were practically geniuses in strategy over the centuries of his life. None of
them were as dangerous as his woman on a mission. All he could do was hope that
some way, somehow, he got through to her tonight.

Lifting the console between them,
he then opened his door and got out of the truck. Reaching back across the seat
so that he could grab her, he dragged her to his now vacated seat. Once he had
her situated right in front of him, Gage wrapped one arm under her legs and his
other arm around her back, causing Elena’s handcuffed arm into an awkward bent
angle against her back. Making sure not to hurt her, he lifted her stiff form
until she was cradled in his arms. He waited for her to try and fight him
again, but nothing. Maybe his ornery mate knew that with the handcuffs
connecting them she didn’t have much of a chance anyways. Kicking his truck
door shut, he walked her to the front door and angled them both so the hand
behind her back clutching his keys could unlock and open the door. After he
walked into his home with the crunching of kitty litter underneath his boots as
the only sound to be heard. He’d thought for sure she might break down and
giggle when she heard that, but nothing.

As he kicked the door to his house
shut behind them, she finally spoke through her clenched teeth. “You can put me
down now.”

“Don’t want to.”

“And I don’t want to be handcuffed
to you, so that should prove that we can’t always get what we want. Put me down
cat.”

He grunted. “You into the Rolling
Stones now? I’ve got that album you know. I could put it on if you want to hear
it.”

Elena started bucking in his hold,
trying to force him to drop her. Silly human. As if she could force him to do
anything. He tightened his grip on her to keep her secure against him and
quickened his steps towards the hallway that led to his bedroom. Her frustration
gave way to an explosion of angry words.

“You mother fuckin’, ball
lickin
’, hairball
coughin
’,
oversized ally cat, douche
juicin
’ bastard!”

“Douche
juicin
’?
That doesn’t sound very appealing. I hear there are creams for that if you need
them babe.” Gage crossed the threshold to his bedroom and walked over to the
corner where he had his large king sized bed against the wall. He set his
wiggling woman on the edge of the bed and then turned her body so that she
faced him.

Quick as lightening, Elena brought
her knee up, trying her best to land a blow to his nuts. He was prepared for
the move though, so he blocked the strike and then used his body to pin hers to
the bed. Frustrated, Elena spat out between her teeth, “Do they have a cream to
cure
Asshatism
? I could finally get rid of you then.”

That last comment caused an
unexpected laugh to escape him. He couldn’t help but laugh really. His woman
was so determined to kick him to the curb that she wasn’t letting what he was
telling her sink into that thick skull of hers. She was never getting rid of
him. That was okay, because he’d just figured out how he was going to prove it
to her. Unfortunately it didn’t involve his earlier plans of getting her naked
and screaming his name, but he could wait a little longer for that. Getting up
on his knees which were straddling her body, he picked her up and moved her
bodily higher up the bed so that they could lay down comfortably.

Knowing he couldn’t trust her not
to try and kick his teeth in, he used his hand not attached to the handcuffs to
help pry her legs open and then laid his body between those luscious limbs of
hers. He was a big, heavy bastard, so he didn’t want to completely cover her.
Instead, he situated himself so that his head was pillowed on her chest, his
left arm wrapped around her waist underneath them, and the fingers of his right
hand were interlaced with hers.

Elena stiffened under him as he
finally got comfortable on top of her. She was probably expecting him to put
the moves on her. Which he fortunately realized would have been an
exponentially dumb move on his part. She would use anything against him now.
Including the act of sex. She might give into her body’s desires to have him,
but the minute they were done she’d say it was meaningless. She’d also probably
sprout some ridiculous shit like he only wanted her for a release of bodily
fluids.

So, no sex for them. No matter how
much he wanted to be buried balls deep in this woman, he would wait until she
knew that she was so much more to him than a quick fuck. Elena was everything
to him, and he was going to find a way to make her figure that out even if it
killed him. As he lay there on top of her stiff body and waiting for her to
relax, he anticipated whatever barb she would throw at him next. After several
minutes ticked by, he realized none was coming.

Hoping to pierce that impenetrable
barrier that she’d encased her emotions in since she’d left him, he told her
exactly what he was feeling. “I missed you.”

Elena gave an
unlady
like snort, but didn’t say anything.

“I didn’t mean what I said the day
you left.”

A depreciating laugh came from her,
but she continued to give him the silent treatment.

Tightening his left arm around her
waist, he squeezed gently, trying to offer her a hug of comfort. Although, she’d
probably rather have bamboo shoots shoved underneath her fingernails than
receive any kind of comfort from him. And didn’t that sting his pride a bit
that his mate would more than likely prefer to endure unimaginable pain than be
with him?

He had no one to blame but himself.

Trying to move away from his
negative thoughts and stick with his goal of making Elena love him again, he
kept going. “There was a reason I said what I said.”

“Because you were telling the
truth?” She deadpanned.

Gage shook his head no, which
caused the side of his face to rub back and forth on the spot between her
breasts. “Nope. I was lying when I pretended to tell Alec on the phone that you
were nothing more than a lay.”

Her breath hitched. “What do you
mean pretended to tell him? I heard you talking to him through the door Gage.”

He shook his head no again because
it gave him a reason to rub the side of his face across that intimate spot of
her body repeatedly. Gage only wished that instead of through her shirt he had
been able to mark his scent on her skin. They weren’t ready for shirtless yet,
so he’d have to be satisfied with this for the time being. “Nope. You heard
what I wanted you to hear. I pretended to be on the phone with Alec. Just like
I said hurtful things because I knew you were awake and listening. I was trying
to make you think I didn’t care so you would leave me.”

There was a short silent pause and
he wondered what she was thinking. Knowing how stubborn his mate could be, he
was betting she was trying to find some way to twist the truth up in her head
to keep protecting herself from him.

“Pretending to have a conversation
with your brother? That sounds a bit farfetched Gage. The more likely scenario
is that you hate that your easy lay caught you in a conversation you didn’t
want to be overheard.”

See? Twisted.

Hey knew he was going to have to
prevail to the logical part of her brain now. “How long have you known about
Others
Elena?”

“Four months, why?”

“Since you’ve learned of our existence
in that time, do you feel you’ve learned a sufficient amount about shifters
abilities and anatomies?”

“Enough to get me by. What does
this have to do with what we were talking about?”

“So you understand that we have
pronounced sensory abilities compared to humans?”

“Yeah, I get that you’ve got some
animal genetics. So what purr boy?” She huffed.

He smiled. He’d never say it to her
face, but sometimes she really did remind him of a kitten with her fur all
ruffled up in ire. “So then you concede that it would have been easy for me to
hear you up and moving about in my bedroom through a closed door?”