by Susan Bliler
“W-who?” Shy backed herself into a corner.
Leto growled and flashed his teeth, his canines had elongated. “York!”
Shy was trembling, “H-he’s not here.” She shrieked again when Leto grabbed her and pulled her hard against him.
“I heard you talking to him!”
“I-I wasn’t.” She shook her head vigorously, “I was t-talking to m-myself.”
Sneering down at her, Leto leaned down until his nose touched hers. “Do you always call yourself baby?”
“Leto, please?”
He released her so quickly that she stumbled back and had to throw a hand behind her and slam it against the wall to keep herself from falling.
Leto stalked out of the room. “YORK! Come out!”
Shy eyed the empty door way then slashed her eyes to her clothes folded neatly on the sink. She didn’t know if she should dress or run. She jumped when she heard glass shatter and she raced for the bathroom door, snatching her panties and bra as she went.
In the hall she could hear Leto slamming open doors and growling as he went. Quickly, she dashed toward the front door but didn’t make it.
“SHY!”
Her yelled name had her freezing on the spot. Too afraid to turn and look at him, she stood immobile. She expected to hear loud angry footsteps thundering toward her, but there was only deafening silence before a strong hand curved around her throat from behind then smoothed up to her chin where it gripped tighter and forced her to turn. Tear filled blue eyes met livid black ones.
“Leto?” She’d seen Leto angry, but never like this. He seemed…possessed.
“Where. Is. He?”
Shy licked her dry lips and swallowed hard. She noted that Leto’s eyes locked on her lips and never moved. “He’s not here. He hasn’t been here. I haven’t seen him since the day I was brought here. I…” she blinked and Leto’s eyes left her lips when a tear streaked down her face. “I haven’t done anything Leto. Please let me go.”
The hand that held her jaw released and instead he lifted both hands to gently cup her face.
“I can’t let you go,” he growled inching his face closer to hers. “I can never let you go,” the admission was pained as if it were a truth he didn’t want to admit but could no longer deny.
Confusion struck hard and Shy actually felt bad for him when she saw the agonized expression he bore as he inched still closer. She knew that he hated her…wanted to hate her. Was it possible that he was battling his need to blame her for what had been done to him?
She’d thought of him often since the first day she’d seen him at the Megalya facility. Often? What a joke, she’d thought of him daily and since she’d been at StoneCrow that frequency had increased to nearly hourly.
Shy blinked as his eyes transitioned from an angry black. Liquid smoke swirled in their depths and she caught just a hint of amber and chocolate as his anger slowly receded. He was magnificent. His large frame pressed into hers and made Shy feel small and feminine and in need of protection…his protection.
He studied her as if trying to understand a highly confusing riddle. Was it possible that he was just as afraid of her as she’d been of him? Shy knew he thought she was his enemy. Megalya he’d called her repeatedly. Maybe if she confessed… Maybe if she told him of her involvement with the Megalya and exactly what it entailed. She swallowed hard as her breath mingled with his. Maybe if she told him about the baby. Their baby!
“Leto, I…,” Shy’s words were silenced when Leto’s mouth slanted over her own.
He invaded the confines of her mouth and Shy was shocked by the earthy taste of him. It was enticing.
For a moment she stood immobile until something in his kiss had her reacting, licking him back tentatively at first then with more bravado. His taste was strange, not just the flavor of him but the sensation. It made her tongue tingle and her lips seemed to plump as his imploring lips continued their sensual assault. Without thought Shy’s eyes drifted closed and she lifted her hands to wrap around his neck as Leto easily gripped her hips and lifted her up his body until her legs were wrapped around his waist.
He was strong and virile and the hard length of his body, his firm muscles, and domineering temperament had Shy fighting to think clearly. She wanted Leto, she had from the moment she first laid eyes on him but she knew the feeling wasn’t mutual. So why was he here, kissing her, seducing her?
She felt them moving and part of her was afraid to know where he was taking her. Was this all a ruse to get her off guard and harm her? No, it wouldn’t be. If Leto wanted her dead he could have killed her any number of times over the past few weeks. No, this was something else.
Leto growled into her mouth and the action had Shy abandoning all logic. It didn’t matter why Leto wanted her just that he did.
Shy felt her hands slide across something cold before Leto was pulling back. Afraid to open her eyes and see the anger and regret she knew would be there, she opted to keep her eyes closed as she let her head fall slowly forward. She didn’t want to face the rejection she knew was sure to come.
“Shy?” Leto’s tone was impossibly soft and more gentle than she ever believed him capable of.
She refused to look up but opened her eyes to rapidly blink back the tears of disappointment that formed there. When her vision finally cleared Shy gasped to find Leto on his knees in front of her.
He’d carried her to the dining table and was now on his knees before her. Her legs had been spread when he’d carried her and still clad in only the towel, Shy blushed and tried to close her legs and use the towel to cover her exposed sex that had Leto’s full attention.
Instead of allowing her to cover herself, Leto leaned closer so that his broad shoulders kept her legs spread and then forced them wider apart. His hands reached up and clamped over hers to keep her from hiding herself from him.
Slowly he lifted his eyes to hers. The struggle Shy saw there was heartbreaking. He was fighting something and she could clearly see it, but what?
“Why do you carry my scent?” The words spoken on a whisper were imploring, begging to be answered.
Shy opened her mouth and drew in a shaky breath. It was now or never.
As if sensing she was on the verge of explaining, on the verge of giving him the answers he sought but wasn’t sure he’d want to know, Leto quickly pulled his eyes from hers and focused on her sex before pressing forward and burying his face between her legs.
She knew she was wet. She’d been ever since his lips claimed hers and when she tried to pull back so Leto wouldn’t discover how he affected her, his hands locked on her hips and his nose pressed into her.
Shy arched her back and had no hope of stifling the keening cry of desire that escaped her lips when Leto’s tongue sluiced through her wet folds. He lifted a firm hand to her chest and eased her back until she was flat on the table with Leto still buried between her thighs. His hot tongue seared through her again and she tried to clamp her legs closed to keep from coming at the sheer ecstasy his tongue provoked. His shoulders prevented Shy’s attempt.
Still clamping one hand at her chest to keep the towel from slipping, Shy reached down and pulled on Leto’s hair with her free hand, hoping to put some distance between his exquisite lips and her overheated flesh. Instead he growled and the sensation of the rumble against her pussy had her calling out as her eyes fluttered closed.
“Leto, please?” Shy wasn’t sure if she was pleading for him to stop or to give her more. Her body was on fire and she ached to have him inside her. As if reading her thoughts, Leto’s lips latched over her clit and began to suckle as one strong finger slid into her. It was too much. The sensory overload had Shy literally screaming. Involuntarily she bent both legs and braced her feet on his shoulders. Her hips bucked, urging him to move his tongue faster and he complied. Shy slammed both hands against the table allowing the towel to fall free as she thrust her bare breasts into the air when her back arched and she bit her lip to keep from screami
ng again.
Leto was relentless. His finger began to pump inside her then was joined by a second. He stopped suckling and purred against her sensitive clit and that was all it took for Shy to release her lip and scream as ribbons of ecstasy tore through her. The orgasm had her channel clenching Leto’s fingers, attempting to milk his seed from barren fingers.
Shy’s rock hard nipples were still thrust in the air and Leto’s fingers remained deep inside her when her front door was slammed open.
Leto jerked his fingers free and spun on the intruder, his shoulders hunched as a ferocious growl was forced out of him. He turned to block Shy from view but still she gasped and scrambled to draw the towel up to cover herself as mortification seared her cheeks.
“Did you hurt her?”
Shy peeked around Leto to catch a glimpse of what had to be another Skin Walker. The man was just as large as Leto but where Leto’s hair was long and black; this man’s was shoulder-length and such a light blonde that it was nearly white. Shy’s blush increased when Dr. Jenny Arkinson shoved the man out of the way and barked, “Get out of the way love, I have to get in there.”
Jenny took one step before her eyes locked on the scene. Her mouth fell open and she gaped at Shy and Leto before the Walker behind her reached up and grabbed her arm. “I’m pretty sure we’re not needed.”
Jenny slammed her mouth closed and blushed herself before dropping her eyes. “Shy we heard a scream. Are you o-okay?”
Leto growled again and took a step toward Jenny and the Walker at the door. “Get. Out!”
The Walker pulled Jenny back until she was behind him. “We had to make sure she was okay Leto. We thought…” The man had the audacity to smile, “Well, we didn’t think she’d be screaming from pleasure.”
“Oh shut up.” Jenny slapped the man on the back. “Come on Bishop, let’s leave them alone.”
Shy could no longer see Jenny behind Bishop but she did hear the offered, “Sorry to have interrupted.” Then just as quickly as it was opened, the door closed.
Unsure what to say or how to react to what had just happened between them, Shy opted to keep her mouth closed and allow Leto to take the lead. Guilt gnawed at her for not being more forceful when she’d attempted to make Leto stop. The will and desire to stop him had fled almost as soon as his touch had gentled.
Staring at his back she watched his shoulders rise and fall rapidly and whether the action was a result of what they’d just shared or the confrontation with Jenny and her apparent mate, Bishop, Shy wasn’t sure.
“Leto?” She whispered the word so quietly that when he kept his back to her she wondered if he’d even heard her. Shy inched toward the edge of the table but stopped when Leto spun and stalked toward her. Eyes rounding at the anger on his face, she gripped the towel tighter to her and shrunk back.
He was in her face, close, but refused to touch her as he growled, “If you seek release you will come to me. Stay away from York unless you want me to kill him!”
Then he stalked out the door and was gone.
Seek release? “Oh my God!” A hand reached up to clamp over her face as another wave of humiliation washed over her.
***
In the hall, Leto strode to the rail that ran along the second floor before he shifted and dropped in puma form to the first floor. His nails clawed into the plush carpet as he rocketed himself toward the front door. He needed to leave, to run, to do something, anything to cure the ache in his balls.
The animals raged inside him, demanding submission…Shy’s submission. He wanted her under him, he wanted her wrapped around his dick, and he wanted her screaming his name. He wanted her and he had to get away from her before he forced what he wanted from her in an act he knew she’d never forgive.
He tucked his head and slammed his shoulder into the front doors as he raced through then he dashed across the lawn, cut across the parking lot, and cleared the few hundred feet to the thick tree line where he disappeared.
As he ran he went over everything that had just happened. When he’d gone to her suite he’d had no intentions of doing anything with Shy. His sole purpose had been to murder York, but when he wasn’t there and Shy was wearing… He stopped his thoughts abruptly. The memories caused his balls ache and his dick hardened unbearably. Licking his lips his paws slid to halt when he realized the taste of her was still there. The sweet taste of her syrup had him shifting again. This time the puma’s short hair bushed out as the large gray wolf tossed his head back and howled for all his worth.
Chapter 18
Leto hated taking orders especially from Monroe StoneCrow. It hadn’t taken him long to realize the CEO and his Chief of Security had set him up. Somehow they knew that the threat of another Walker claiming Shy would send him racing to her prepared to claim her himself. And he had been. If Jenny and Bishop hadn’t shown up… Shame seared him for the hundredth time since his previous night’s escapades. He’d given in to his baser animal need to taste Shy and if he hadn’t been stopped he would have most likely claimed her and bound her.
It had to be part of the Megalya experiment that he was now certain Shy and the Megalya were running on him. When in her presence he couldn’t deny her. Even knowing that she’s an admitted Megalya, even detesting her very existence when he thought of her, but one second in a room with her and his eyes were riveted to her. Not that she’d ever know. She always kept her head down, too afraid or ashamed to meet his challenging gaze.
Stalking down the hall to Monroe’s office, Leto again attempted to fortify his resolve. I will not look at her. I will not trust her. I will not want her.
He didn’t bother knocking when Monroe’s words floated to him through the mist, “Enter.”
Inside, Leto frowned at the CEO as he sat behind his desk flanked by both Conn and King.
“What?” The single word came out harshly.
“And a good day to you,” Monroe scoffed without looking up from his paperwork. “Have a seat.” He motioned with his pen toward a black leather couch that sat facing its twin, separated by a glass-topped table.
“I’ll stand,” Leto responded shortly. “What’s so important you felt compelled to interrupt my afternoon meal?”
Monroe looked up then, a slow knowing smile spreading across his features. “There was no meal Leto. There hasn’t been in days.” The CEO leaned back and laced his fingers behind his full head of blue black hair. “I’d hoped to remedy that yesterday but as I understand your claiming was interrupted.” His smiled faltered, “For that I apologize. Dr. Arkinson should have known better than to interfere.” Monroe dropped his hands and shrugged as he loosed a resigned sigh, “Nonetheless, she knows now.”
“Cut the shit Monroe. What do you want?”
Steepling his fingers over his pile of paperwork, Monroe’s expression while appearing solemn didn’t fool Leto. He didn’t miss the flash of a quirk at the CEO’s lips.
“The truth is you won’t last much longer in your state. I can’t allow a Walker to meet his demise due to his own…obstinance.”
Leto tensed. Was he going to be challenged?
All eyes flicked to the door when it was clicked open and Aries Drago stepped through with Shy on her heels.
Leto’s heart hammered ferociously at the mere sight of her.
***
Monroe sat at his desk with Conn and King standing on either side of him. Having been summoned and escorted by Aries, Shy stopped just inside the door when she saw Leto leaning against the far wall.
It had only been a day since she’d allowed him to bring her to release and Shy’s cheeks flamed instantly at the erotic memory. Quickly, Shy ducked her head to keep the others from noticing even as her sex creamed with renewed desire.
Leto’s massive arms were crossed over his broad chest and his eyes pinned her as she entered. His disdain for her was back in full force and was evident in the ever-present scowl on his face. Her eyes touched briefly on his before her gaze swept down, long auburn lashes v
eiling her uncertainty even as her body heated.
Shy felt Aries’ reassuring hand on her shoulder. Fortified, Shy swallowed down her trepidation and slowly entered the office concentrating on the carpet as she walked.
“Shy, please have a seat.” Monroe motioned toward two black leather couches that sat facing each other, separated by a glass topped table in the center of the room.
Shy moved to stand behind one of the sofas. She could feel Leto’s eyes on her and her hand instinctively went to her belly before her fingers curled into the smooth cotton of her shirt. “Wh-what’s happening?”
Monroe cleared his throat, “As you know when you and Leto were extracted from Megalya, boxes of intel were also seized. There’s one piece of intel that I feel is imperative for Leto to witness to gain true understanding of the situation.”
Shy chanced a glance at Leto. His cold brown eyes were still narrowed on her. Quickly, she turned to Monroe, “What does that have to do with me?”
Monroe lifted a remote from his desk and pointed it at the large flat screen TV that hung on the far wall. “You’ll see.”
The large screen flashed to life and Shy watched as a full color image of the Megalya facility came into focus on the screen. She knew the room that appeared. She’d worked in it often.
Several computers lined one wall, while along the other shelves of glass tubing and vials hung in rows the length of the room. The length of the counter beneath the glass held several microscopes, a calorimeter, and heated water bath. Nestled into the wall on either side of the counter was an operant conditioning chamber and a fume cupboard.
The scientists that milled about in white lab coats had been Shy’s colleagues. Shy gritted her teeth as a man stepped into view of the camera.
Dr. Chambers had been the lead scientist at Megalya, and had been the one who’d ordered Shy’s identity erased after they imprisoned her to use as part of their experiments.
The camera panned to the far right and centered on a panel of darkened glass. A light in the opposite room flicked on and illuminated the room housed on the other side of the glass partition. The small room held a single exam table with restraints attached for legs, arms, waist, and head.
