Skin Walkers: Taken (9 page)

Chapter 16

Okay, he’d fucked up, and he knew it. He glanced at the clock on the radio.  He had about forty minutes to make things right, to explain to Nyree why she’d heard him tell the lies he’d told Monroe and Fatal.  She was a captive audience now, should be easy right?  Just in case, he lifted his hand to the door panel and locked the doors.

“I’m not jumping out of a moving vehicle, Rohm.  Regardless of how shitty the company.”

He didn’t respond, just took the time to organize his thoughts.  He knew Walker males handled their Angels delicately.  He was also aware that it had cost them in the past.  After several miles he’d decided on a more direct approach, because Nyree wasn’t like other women.  She was stronger, made of sterner stuff. Besides, he figured after all they’d been through, and all she’d heard, she deserved nothing but the truth. 

“Listen,” he started.  “What you heard me say…”

“Oh, God!” She clamped hands over her ears.  “Save it!  I didn’t agree to ride with you so you could torment me all the way back to StoneCrow.  I heard what I heard.  You feel how you feel.  It is what it is.  Let it ride.”

“It’s not what you think, Nyree.”

She turned to frown at him darkly.  “Seriously.  You don’t need to explain anything to me.  I get it.”  She faced forward again.  “We did what we had to do to survive, right?  If you hadn’t gifted me Zavier who knows what would have happened.”

She wasn’t going to give him the window he needed to preface this the way he wanted, so he dove right in.  “Fatal commanded that no Keeper have any personal relations with any of the females at StoneCrow.  It was an
order
, Nyree.  A
direct
order from the Ruling Keeper that I went against.  We were told to not even touch a female unless it was required for training.  When Fatal finds out that I not only disregarded his order, but that I…that we…”

***

Okay, well, this was new information.  I mean, she knew that Monroe had concerns about the Keepers and their interactions with others.  Hell, they couldn’t even train with Walkers because it always ended in battle, and they couldn’t train with female Walkers because it always ended with Keepers attempting to claim the females.  But she didn’t know that Fatal had given a directive ordering his Keepers to refrain from touching any female.

“So you lied to Fatal to, what?  Keep from getting in trouble?”

“No,” he snapped.  “To buy us some time.”

“Buy us some time?”

“None of us has claimed a female since we’ve arrived.  I don’t know how Fatal will react. I don’t know what this will mean.”

“Whoa!” She held up a hand and turned to face him.  “You didn’t claim me, Rohm.”

He pulled his eyes from the road, pinning them on her.  “I have.”

“No.  We slept together.  That’s all.”

Rohm growled. “You accepted my claim, Nyree.  Zavier and I are a part of you now.  You share my Sentry.”

“I’m not
claimed
!” Nyree countered in a panic.  She couldn’t be…could she? 

“I told you I needed to give you something, you asked for more!  I filled you, long and deep, at
your
request!  You’re mine.  Period!”

“Listen, don’t go all fucking possessive on me right now!” she breathed in a panicky tone.  “I’m freaking out about clearly making bad decisions, and you growling at me is making it worse.”

Rohm turned to frown at her.  “What do you mean, bad decisions?”

She didn’t want to hurt him, so opted to say nothing as she tried to formulate exactly what it was she meant to say.

“You offered yourself to me, and I accepted.  You are mine.  You accepted my bite, and you allowed Zavier to mark you.  You belong to us now.  We
will
be together.”

“You asked me to spread my legs so you could tend my wounds,” she accused.

“And then you asked me to take you,” he countered angrily.  “A Keeper only takes one way, and that is by seeding his mate.  We take no others.  You are my first, and now you’re my last.  My cock will only ever know the inside of you.  And your pussy,” his voice dipped to a snarl, “
my
pussy, will only ever know
my
cock.  We are mated now, Nyree.  Forever.”

Nyree bent forward in her seat, denying the thrill that tore through her at his words as she buried her hands in her hair.  “What in the hell are you talking about?  We shouldn’t have done that!  You didn’t want it, and I misunderstood.  When you said you needed to give me something, I didn’t know that you just meant Zavier. I thought you wanted me!”

His tone was even. “I’ve always wanted you, Nyree.”

She didn’t respond.  Instead, she rocked back and forth.  She’d been hurt mere minutes ago by his denial of a relationship between them, and now he was giving her that and more.  She should be happy…right?  She didn’t feel happy though.  She felt panicky.  Everything was happening too quickly. And how could he just declare that she was his without ever even having asked her?  No, he was just announcing she was his.  She sifted through his words, and after long minutes she asked, “What do you mean, I share your Sentry?”

“Zavier is a part of both of us now.  If you summon him, he will come. I’ll teach you to control it.”

“But…what about you?”

“He’s with me, too.  He can only ever be emitted by one of us at a time, but we share him.”

“Oh God,” she muttered.  It sounded as if it was already done, as if she had no say.  Her mind raced as she wondered if that’s what she wanted.  Hearing Rohm’s declaration earlier, that there was nothing between them, that she meant nothing to him, had hurt like nothing else ever had.  Now though, she felt cornered.  It was two extremes.  One minute she was nothing, the next she was his everything.  It was too much.  His words had hurt, because she had felt promise between them that the something they shared could blossom into a real relationship.  Now, they’d just gone from zero to sixty and she wasn’t positive that he wasn’t offering her this because she’d heard him denounce her and he felt regret over the action so was trying to make up for it by claiming her now.

She didn’t speak the rest of the ride, trying to determine if she should be mad at Rohm or mad at herself.  She was…confused. 

Rohm kept flicking worried glances at her, but to his credit he didn’t push.

At the gates of StoneCrow, Bishop waved them through.  Before Rohm could even park the car, Nyree was jerking on the handle, forgetting that he’d locked her in.

Rohm didn’t know what to do.  He wanted to hear Nyree say that she accepted his claim, but knew he’d gone about it all wrong.  From taking her in that damn cage, all the way to declaring to Fatal that she meant nothing to him and her overhearing it.  He hadn’t done one thing right, and that kept him from demanding that she tell him what she was feeling.  Still, when she jerked on the door handle before he’d even parked, he felt panic strike. 

“You running from me, Nyree?  It doesn’t suit you,” he challenged, leveling her with his clear eyes, hoping she didn’t see the dread that was seizing him.  He didn’t want to lose her now, not like this, not for words spoken that he hadn’t even meant.

Nyree met his gaze.  “Not running, Rohm.”  She looked down and fidgeted with the hem of her jacket.  “But my typical knee jerk reaction is to act immediately,
emotionally
.  I need a minute here.  I’m…I’m trying to make a rational decision, trying to think this through instead of doing what I always do and reacting instantaneously.  It hasn’t served me well in the past and I don’t wanna fuck this up.  It feels…
big
.”

She looked up at him, and he got it.  He didn’t like it, but he understood.  He pulled his chin down in a single nod, his eyes never leaving hers.  “I’ll give you the time you need to make up your mind, but know that mine is already set.  I know what I want, Nyree.  It’s you.  You’re already mine.” 

She stared at him a few moments before pulling her eyes from his and turning.

“I won’t wait long,” he warned, as he unlocked the doors.

Nyree climbed from the vehicle, flattening a hand on her belly. She didn’t look back at him, but offered a soft, “I know.” 

Rohm watched as Nyree walked way, and he was left wondering if he’d again pushed her too far. If his declaration had been too much.  He couldn’t blame her.  He’d denounced and claimed her in the same day.  He should have apologized, he realized that now.  To her, he must seem confused, but he wasn’t.  He was simply trying to buy them time where Fatal and Monroe were concerned.  If he could cement his bond with Nyree before either the Dominant Walker or Ruling Keeper found out, then it’d be more difficult for either of the men to attempt to break apart any bond between him and Nyree.

Chapter 17

Commander King Mulholland scrubbed his hand down his face, and Nyree would have laughed at his exasperation if she could have mustered a grin.  She was beat.  Avoiding Rohm, she’d poured herself into helping rebuild the Estate.  Each morning she met the teams out on the grounds and she worked through to sundown, rarely even taking a lunch break.  Now, after a full eight days of work, her muscles whined their protest.  Plus, she had a pounding headache that had arrived two days ago and hadn’t left.  She knew it was the result of hunger, but found that if she took a break from the hard labor for even a quick bite, her thoughts went to Rohm.  She didn’t want to think about him right now.  Sure, she’d told him that she needed time to sort things out, but too much was changing right now.  The Estate was still in shambles. She’d been removed from Keeper training and reassigned back to Remy’s teams, but with him still gone on the hunt for the rest of their missing, King Mulholland was currently in charge. 

In another odd change, Monroe had demanded—out of the blue—that she give up her apartment in the main Estate house and take up residence in one of the many cabins that dotted the backside of the Estate.  The cabins were typically reserved for families or mated couples, so it didn’t make sense.  She’d had her debriefing with Monroe and Fatal several days ago.  Rohm was noticeably absent, but that didn’t mean she’d call out anything he’d said.  Like Rohm, she’d denied that anything had happened between them as cleverly as she could.  She knew Walkers could scent lies, so she’d managed to skirt any direct questions and imply that the closest she and Rohm had gotten was cuddling for warmth.  Monroe had dipped his head in acceptance, while Fatal had simply stared at her with a scowl the entire time.

King’s words jerked her from her reverie.  “Damn it, Nyree!  I’m trying to ask nicely here, but I can make it an order.  I
am
your Commanding Officer.”

She sighed and dropped her shovel, arms shaking from fatigue.  “Alright, Commander.  I’ll go.”

“Good,” King huffed out, planting hands on hips to stare down at her.  “I don’t want to see you back out here for four days.  Understood?”

Apparently, her exhaustion and malnourishment hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Yes, Sir.”

Turning, she wiped sweaty palms on her BDU’s and smiled at several of her team as she passed.  They’d all been taking alternating shifts of four days on and four days off while she’d been working straight through, but apparently that was at an end.

It was cold now, full-on winter in Montana, and the snow crunched under her feet while flakes drifted down from the sky.  If there was a plus side to being moved to the cabins, it was that hers was equipped with a hearth and a Jacuzzi tub.  Plan of action?  Build a fire, long hot bath, food, and sleep.  It sounded glorious.

Walking behind the main estate house, she waved to a group of kids who had a bonfire roaring in the communal area.  Part of her wanted to stop to warm her hands, but she was running out of energy fast and her last reserves would go toward bathing and cooking.

On the porch of her cabin she stomped her feet before stepping inside.  She’d left the heat on a toasty seventy-four, but once she stripped out of her coat, hat, and scarf she realized that the thin sheen of sweat on her body left her shivering.

Okay, fire first.

The cabin was small, but perfect.  The front door entered straight into a small sitting room that had two leather sofas in an ‘L’ shape facing the hearth, with a flat screen TV hung above it.  It was an open floor plan, so only a granite-topped island separated the living room from the kitchen filled with exquisite dark tile and all black appliances.  She assumed it was because she had no family or mate, but her cabin didn’t have a dining area.  Tall barstools were situated under the lip of the island, and that’s where she sat to eat.

Squatting in front of the hearth in her socked feet, Nyree crumpled old newspaper she kept stacked beside her basket of wood.  Setting the newspaper balls in the center of the hearth, she stacked thinner pieces of kindling and lit a match.  It took a second to catch, but once the kindling was going bright, she stacked bigger logs on top, made sure they caught, then disappeared from the small front room, down a hall on the side of the kitchen that led to her bedroom and the bathroom. 

Nyree stripped on the way, pulling her sweat soaked shirt over her head and tucking it under her elbow, then reaching behind to unclip her bra, letting it hang loose as her hands went to work unhooking her belt.

The bathroom was large enough for her Jacuzzi tub, toilet, sink, and an over/under washer and dryer.  Standing in front of the unit, she stuffed her dirty work clothes into the washer and turned it on before padding to the tub and letting it fill with steamy water.  Her stomach grumbled it’s annoyance at being put off.  She snagged two towels, laying one on the rim of the tub and rolling one to tuck behind her neck as she slipped into the hot bath, shut off the water, and relaxed back, closing her eyes with a contented sigh.

These were the moments, these alone with nothing to do moments, when thoughts of Rohm filled her head.  She wondered where he was, what he was doing.  Most of the Keepers—including Rohm—had been staying in rooms built over the gymnasium.  That structure had taken a hit during the attacks on the Estate, so she wasn’t quite sure where the Keepers were now being housed. She’d also made a conscious effort not to ask.  Now though, she wondered. 

Rohm had declared she was his, but she hadn’t caught a glimpse of him since she told him she needed time.  Part of her was upset by that.  If she really were his, wouldn’t he seek her out?  He’d said he wouldn’t give her too much time, but apparently he’d changed his mind.  Meanwhile, she couldn’t figure out if she was playing hard to get, or if she really did want this space.  The only thing she knew for certain was that she missed him.  The scent of him, the warmth from his big body when he’d held her at night, had become addicting in the few nights they’d been held captive.  She missed Zavier too. 

That had her chin lowering as she lifted a wet hand to trace down between her breasts.  Rohm had said Zavier was a part of her now.  She wondered if she could summon him, but opted not to try while in the bath. The last time she’d emitted him, she’d nearly blacked out, and wouldn’t that just be her luck?  Passing out and drowning in her own tub before she got any resolution with Rohm wasn’t something she wanted, so she forced thoughts of him and Zavier aside and concentrated on what she’d make herself for dinner. She desperately wanted ooey gooey lasagna; however, she knew her belly wouldn’t tolerate the prep and cooking time. 
Hmm, peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
  Not filing enough.  She did have some steaks in her fridge, along with a head of Romaine and a pop-tube of French loaf that she could bake while she cooked her steak and tossed a salad together. 
Sold!
 

Decided, Nyree hurried to wash and condition her hair, scrub the hard day’s work from her body, then step from the tub.  She rubbed the towel over her hair before drying off then wrapping it around her body.  She could practically smell her steak.  Salivating now, she bypassed her room to go straight to the kitchen to pre-heat the oven, slamming to a halt when she saw a massive set of shoulders hunched over her stove. 

She hadn’t imagined the scent of food, Rohm was in her kitchen cooking.

“Rohm?”

He turned slowly as if he knew she’d been watching him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked softly, almost afraid she was having hunger hallucinations.

“Cooking,” he answered plainly, then went back to whatever it was he was doing.

Nyree’s chin jerked down.  She definitely didn’t want to have this conversation in nothing but a towel, so she rushed to her room to quickly pull on a bra and panties before covering herself with a tank top and comfortable lounge pants.  Ducking into the bathroom, she ran a brush through her hair, braiding it quickly before grabbing a tube of lipstick, dabbing a bit on her finger and rubbing it on her lips for a hint of color.  She considered doing more, but didn’t want to look too made up.

When she got back to the kitchen, Rohm was setting out silverware on the island alongside a tall glass of milk.  He pointed toward the seat.  “Sit.”

Nyree swallowed hard and did as he commanded.  “Rohm? 
Why
are you here?”  

His response was to set a plate in front of her.  He’d cooked the steak she had and it smelled wonderful.  Beside the steak was a mountain of macaroni and cheese and a pile of steamed peas and carrots.

She grabbed her fork and looked up. “You not eating?”

“Already ate.”  He wiped his hands on a towel, frowning down at her.  “Eat.”

She bristled but took a bite, asking around her mac and cheese, “Why are you so angry?”

He stopped wiping and braced his arms on the countertop opposite her. “You’ve been starving yourself, and working too damn much.  Why?”

She took another big bite of the macaroni and cheese to keep from answering, shrugging as she dipped her eyes to study her plate.  She didn’t want to admit that he had her tied up in knots.  Swallowing her food, she lifted her glass and took a long swallow of milk. 

   “I had a meeting with Fatal shortly after you met with him and Monroe.  I told them everything.”

She stilled with her glass halfway to the table, her interest piqued.  “And?”

“And they already knew.”

Her hands stalled halfway to the silverware beside her plate as she glanced at him wondering what that would mean for them.  Taking up her knife, she cut into her steak feigning indifference.  She took a bite of the steak and suddenly her worry fled.  She wanted to moan as succulent juices spilled into her mouth.
Damn, Rohm can cook!
  She knew she should be focusing on the news he’d just given her, but the food was so good, and her starved belly growled its appreciation.  She popped another bite of steak into her mouth and chewed, stopping to ask, “How?”

“The second Fatal saw you…
scented
you, he knew.  He sensed Zavier inside you.”

“Ooooh.” She nodded slowly.  So, he’d only come clean because he’d been caught.  The knowledge stung.  She was tempted to throw that fact in his face, but held back because it wasn’t just his denouncement of her that had wounded her.  No, it was the fact that he’d laid claim to her without really knowing her.  She’d thought on his last words to her for countless nights. 

“
I know what I want, Nyree.  It’s you.  You’re already mine.  I won’t wait long
,” he’d warned.

She’d replied with, “
I know
.”  And she did know.  She’d trained with Rohm long enough to know that when he wanted something he went after it, but she didn’t want to be chased like that.  She didn’t want him coming after her because she was something he simply wanted.  She wanted him to
need
her, and how could he need her if he didn’t even know her?  Hell, they’d fiercely disliked each other up to the point where they’d been taken.

Setting down her utensils, she took up her napkin and wiped at her lips.  “I know you said you wouldn’t wait long, but…”

“Yeah.” He bit out the word, cutting her off as he pushed off the counter where he’d been standing with his thick arms crossed over his broad chest.  “Not staying.  Not here to force anything.  Just wanted you fed.”  He stalked toward the door. “Get some sleep, Nyree, and I suggest you start taking better care of yourself.  You carry Zavier now, and it’s taxing housing a Soul Sentry.  I can feel when he’s worn, hungry…
needing
.”  He jerked the door open and turned to frown at her over his shoulder.  “I know you want time, but decide soon.  My patience wears thin.” 

“Decide,” she rushed out before he could leave.  “So I have a choice?  If I don’t want this claiming, I can refute it?”

Rohm’s lips pressed into a thin line and she stared at her long moments before answering.  “You can choose whether or not you’re happy about it.  Regardless, I am yours.”  The door closed firmly behind him as Rohm left her cabin.