by Susan Bliler
Following Nyree into the infirmary, Rohm had expected to scent her anger, but instead he only scented worry, which concerned him. Did she know something he didn’t?
Walking down the corridor to the exam rooms, she saw Dr. Jenny Arkinson standing at the end of the hall, frowning hard. She cast Nyree a disapproving look. “You should have told me!”
Nyree shrugged as she approached. “It’s my business.”
That got the Doctor’s face flushing. “You’re a human, assigned to StoneCrow, Nyree. Don’t ever forget that. And don’t forget that you no longer have any personal business. You belong to the Estate, to Monroe.”
That remark earned a deep growl from Rohm.
Jenny shot Rohm a hard look before she waved a hand between Nyree and Rohm. “This is his business. Follow me.”
Nyree glanced over her shoulder at Rohm. He placed a large hand reassuringly on her hip and steered her into the exam room.
Inside, Jenny snapped on rubber gloves and reached into a cupboard before handing Nyree a small lidded cup and jerked her thumb toward the bathroom. “No worries where Monroe is concerned. I’m sure, once his life is back on track, he’ll take great pleasure in reminding you of what it means to be assigned as a Walker Sentry.” She pursed her lips a moment then, “Directions are on the back of the door.”
Feeling admonished, Nyree slipped into the bathroom with an eye roll that belied the butterflies flitting frantically in her middle. Closing the door behind her, she locked it with a soft snick. She was grateful she’d had way too many glasses of milk with her late lunch. Reading the directions on the back of the door, she made quick work of providing a urine sample for Jen.
Chapter 19
Jenny came in staring at her e-pad. “Results are negative gang. You’re in the clear.”
Hurt tore through Nyree so fast it felt like she’d been shot. If she’d wondered whether she wanted a child, the feeling was answer enough. Glancing up, she found Rohm staring at her. His eyes were hard, and his lips were thinned into a grim line, his look brooding and intense. She knew he was watching her, scrutinizing even the slightest twitch of muscle to determine what she was feeling.
His nostrils flared, and a pained look flashed across his expression before he could banish it. “Nyree,” he started toward her, but she held up a hand.
She didn’t want to hear it, she couldn’t hear it right now. She’d just lost something she hadn’t even realized she’d wanted, and worse, it put a bigger gap between them. Part of her wanted to look up and study him as closely as he studied her, to determine if there was any sign of relief for him. Was some part of him grateful, pleased that they weren’t tied together in that way? She’d never know, because she dipped her head. She couldn’t look at him right now. If she saw the softening in his eyes that matched his voice when he’d said her name, she’d be undone.
Nyree jerked her head in a tight nod. “Thanks, Jen.” She jumped down from the exam table. Jenny’s hand on her forearm stilled her.
“Nyree, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…”
So, Jenny could scent her misery too? Of course she could, the Chief of Surgery was a Walker. Damned heightened senses.
“Let it go, Jen.” Nyree swallowed and lifted her head, pinning the doctor with a hard glare that Nyree prayed was void of all emotion. “I have.” She pulled from Jenny’s grasp and left the exam room. She wasn’t surprised when booted feet followed her. Of course Rohm wouldn’t leave it alone.
Her chest was tight, her throat closing as she battled tears. Her steps quickened. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this, least of all Rohm.
He had other ideas.
A large hand gently gripped her arm and turned her, but instead of confronting her as she expected, Rohm crushed her to him, holding her tight. His strength pulled something from her, and one lone tear streaked silently down her cheek as she fought to keep from crying outright.
“This changes nothing for me, Nyree,” his voice rasped softly, lips grazing her ear. “I saw your face in there, and I…” He swallowed before continuing. “I don’t ever want to see that look on you again. How can I fix this?”
She chuffed a humorless laugh and sniffed. “You don’t need to fix this, Rohm. This one is on me.”
***
Rohm could feel Nyree trying to be strong, trying to throw up walls between them. It wasn’t happening. Not this time.
“No, it’s not,” he whispered, fighting the urge to nip her ear.
When Nyree looked up at him he saw nervousness reflected in her eyes. He’d take that over the hurt he’d seen earlier. Hell, he liked her nervous, it was exhilarating. Was she afraid of him, of what she knew he wanted to do to her? Or was she worried about herself and the pull he could feel between them? She couldn’t deny it. There was a string that held their hearts tethered together by a mere whisper, but it’d strengthen with time. Nyree didn’t respond to his words, and he couldn’t remember what it was he’d meant to tell her. His thoughts were on her slight body folded in his arms. He remembered his hands gliding over her delicate hips the night they’d been together. He remembered being awed that something, someone, could be so fierce, and yet so delicate. She was a warrior woman, one he knew was made for him. Even now he could feel her struggling against the arousal he scented in the air. He grinned. Good. He was having the same effect on her that she was having on him.
Dipping low, he ran his nose up the column of her throat and was rewarded with the shuddering release of her breath.
“Rohm,” she breathed, and he knew she’d meant it to come out much more forceful and less needy.
She shoved back.
And there it was, that ragged pain he’d been trying to avoid. What else could she need? He’d been honest with her. He hadn’t for a second denied wanting her… Well, if you didn’t count him discrediting her in front of Monroe and Fatal. Fuck! Is that what this was about?
“Nyree, I told Monroe and Fatal…”
“I know,” she cut him off. “I know you told them about us. You told me that.”
“Then what?” he shook his head, confusion clear on his craggy features.
“We slept together, Rohm, because I begged you to take me. I thought it was what you wanted.”
“It was! I…”
She held up a hand. “At the time it wasn’t what you meant though. You were trying to gift me Zavier and I misunderstood. I asked for something that wasn’t your original intention. Then, when we got back here and you denied me…” She shook her head, looking down.
“I fixed that, Nyree.”
She didn’t look up. “I know you did, but I’m not sure what all of this means. You said you claimed me, but in body only?”
He started shaking his head, but she tore her haunted gaze from him and turned. “Give me a minute. Okay? I need…” What did she need? “I need to talk to Fatal.”
“Fatal?” Rohm growled viciously. “What do you need from him that I can’t give you?”
“The truth.”
“I have never lied to you, Nyree.”
She was shaking her head. “The truth about what’s happening between us.”
“I’ve already told you. You’re mine.”
“I have questions you can’t answer for me, Rohm.” When she looked up, her eyes were imploring. “Answers I need to hear from the ruling Keeper. Let me have this?”
He didn’t want to. He didn’t need Fatal giving his Light advice, but what choice did he have? He doubted he’d ever be able to deny Nyree anything she asked of him. He gave one sharp nod. “Speak to Fatal, and then…”
She cut him off again, and it was grating. She was always doing that, never letting him get out his demands.
“Seven days.”
His brows speared down. “Seven days?”
“I want a week,” she challenged. “I need to talk to him, deal with what he tells me,” she let a slight hand ghost over her belly, “deal with this. Deal with the loss. I want seven days.”
/>
A growl rumbled up from his chest, rattling long and hard. He wanted to tell her ‘no’ and thought on it for long minutes before he finally agreed. “Seven days, Nyree, then I’m coming for you. No more excuses. No more talking. No more running. No more waiting. No more hiding.”
Chapter 20
Nyree sat on the porch of her cabin, staring out at the glittering snow that was now about a foot deep. The sun had only just buried itself in the horizon, but it’s presence that day had brought no warmth to the land. She heaved another great sigh, and it escaped on a cloud. It’d been eight days since she’d seen Rohm. She’d told him she’d needed seven, and when he hadn’t shown up yesterday the rejection stung like a bitch.
She’d had her meeting with Fatal, and the ruling Keeper had eased her concerns that Rohm was only attempting to mate her because she’d offered herself to him. Fatal had admitted that while Keepers typically did see what they wanted and act on that impulse, their claiming wasn’t without merit. He’d told her that if Rohm had claimed her it wasn’t simply because he could, but because it was something he and his beast wanted. He’d also informed her that because they were now mated, Rohm’s loyalty would know no bounds. She was welcomed by Fatal into his Keeper family and surprisingly the Ruling Keeper had wished she and Rohm well in their new life together.
She’d left feeling dazed which only heightened to apprehension when she’d immediately been summoned to the Monroe’s office.
He’d inquired into her post-kidnapping status, then shot right to the heart of the matter. He wanted to know if she needed Rohm removed from the Estate. He’d seemed overly agitated, and much more curt than usual, even offering to have all Keepers removed.
Everyone knew the Domina had been injured during the attack, and apparently she was still not well.
When Monroe asked if she wanted the Keepers removed, he’d seemed almost hopeful. She’d denied that they were a problem and assured him they shouldn’t be forced out. Monroe verified—just as Rohm had stated—that he warned Fatal to keep his men in line, to keep them from touching any females on the Estate. He wanted to know what happened between her and Rohm, and whether it was consensual or forced on her by either the Megalya or Rohm himself. She told the truth. Things were already tenuous between the Walkers and Keepers without adding any speculation to the fire. It had been embarrassing admitting to Monroe that she’d asked Rohm to take her. It was even worse when she had to explain the misunderstanding that he’d been trying to gift her Zavier and not himself. To his credit, Monroe didn’t push for more than she was willing to give. He did, however, ask that she keep him apprised of her situation with Rohm and the other Keepers. Monroe had explained that, to his knowledge, no Keeper had taken a mate since they’d arrived in the States, and it was imperative that he know if there was any cause for alarm or further protection where the females on the Estate were concerned. Like the good Sentry she was, Nyree promised to keep Monroe in the loop, via Dr. Arkinson, who she’d be visiting on a weekly basis for examination. Monroe was more than a little curious about Rohm’s gifting of Zavier to her. He wanted to know if she had been changed physically by the acceptance of the Soul Sentry, and Jenny would be completing tests to find out.
Now, Nyree stared out at the landscape and wondered if she’d lost Rohm for good by sending him away. She believed him now, believed he meant every word he’d said about claiming her, about wanting her. Fatal had made it clear that he’d been aware of Rohm’s interest in her from the start, but that he’d threatened not just Rohm, but all his Keepers should they go against his dictate and attempt to take a female. Fatal said he understood Rohm’s defiance. The circumstances were unusual, and had a female asked any of his Keepers to take her in the manner that Nyree described, he doubted there would be a one who could be strong enough to resist.
Keepers weren’t like Skin Walkers, they owned literally nothing. Homes, money, personal items were unimportant. They valued their hive, their brethren, and nothing….nothing…was more significant to a Keeper than claiming a mate. They’d been denied that right since arriving, but the scent of Nyree on Rohm and him on her, the knowledge that she carried Zavier within her, had given Fatal’s Keepers hope. She saw it in the way they’d looked at her reverently as she’d worked beside them to help rebuild the Estate. It was present when she strained to complete a difficult job and Keepers rushed to her aid, shoving Walkers aside and nearly inciting several fights. It was that reverence that had hope still lingering, that Rohm would come back to her. Watching the sun set on another day though, had just a little of that hope diminishing.
Another pent up breath left her in a cloud as she rubbed her palms on her jean clad knees. “Where are you, Rohmulus?”
Shoving up off her knees, she pulled her coat tighter around herself and was turning for the door when she suddenly stilled. Something had her body going rigid, the fine hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, and her chest tingling with warmth. Turning, she eyed the grounds.
She saw pale snow gleaming with crystalline winks, and nothing else. She held her breath and listened. A great huff had her narrowing her eyes, looking harder as the snow ruffled in the distance. There was something there, but even squinting she couldn’t make it out.
Another chuff, and then she felt him before her eyes even registered Zavier’s great white form tromping toward her.
Nyree placed a hand on her chest, where warmth emanated in a gentle wave as she stepped down off the porch, sinking to her knees in the snow. “Zavier?”
He kept stalking closer and closer, then her eyes picked up movement behind him. She watched as wind whipped Rohm’s white hair back, his crystalline eyes locked on her. He looked like a great God of the snow. They belonged here in this Northern wonderland, he and Zavier. She felt a tinge of sadness swell within her as she thought of them having to exist in the tropical climate of the Philippines for as long as they had.
As if in response to her thought, Zavier lopped through the snow in clear delight, stopping to roll to his back and squirm before rising back to his feet as snow shed down off his fur. When he got closer to her, Zavier bumped her leg with his head, chuffing a beastly breath against her before looking back over his shoulder at Rohm. Zavier turned just as Rohm approached, romping back to play in the deep snow.
Unsure what to say, Nyree offered, “Hello, Rohm.”
He responded with, “Time’s up Nyree. I gave you what you wanted. Now, it’s my turn.”
One second in his in his presence and she was feeling vulnerable and needy. Her body was aching to give him what he wanted, and she hoped beyond all hope that it was her, all of her. The time away from him had solidified one thing for her, and that was the knowledge that she wanted Rohm. She wanted him whether she knew him or not, whether he knew her, or even wanted to get to know her. Her body was desperate for his, almost as desperate as her heart was for the man…the Keeper. “Wh-what do you want, Rohm?”
“I want to see you naked,” he replied.
Nyree blushed. “You’ve already seen me naked…mostly.”
“No. I haven’t.”
She frowned. “I’m sorry it was so unmemorable, but we have slept together.”
Now he was frowning. “I’ll never forget the gift of your body, Nyree. It was the single most significant moment of my existence, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about seeing you naked, not your skin. I want to know your dreams, your hopes, your fears. I want to know where you grew up, what your favorite things are, what’s wounded you. I want to know what you love and what you hate. What inspires you, Nyree? What scares you? I want to know what makes your blood boil, and what makes your heart sing. This. This is what I mean when I say I want to see you naked.”
Her knees nearly buckled with the admission. How did he know? How could he know that that was all she’d been waiting for, hoping for? She’d wanted him to want more than just her body, and that’s what he was asking for.
She’d been afra
id he wasn’t coming back, afraid she’d scared him off. Just as she’d felt he’d denied her, she’d denied him by sending him away, by not believing his words. Not wanting anything else between them, she had one more question she needed answered. “Did you tell Fatal and Monroe what had happened before or after you discovered they already knew?” She watched his expression tighten, his eyes narrow. She saw it the second he understood what she was really asking.
“I didn’t come clean because I was cornered into it. I confessed, and then Fatal revealed that he already knew. I’m done hiding you, Nyree. I’m finished hiding what you are to me.”
“And what’s that?” she challenged, wanting to slap herself when his expression darkened.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.” His voice was deep the sound visceral as it cut to her core, sending arousal dumping into her belly. A zing of excitement tore through Nyree and she backed up a step, knowing what it would do to the predator in him.
“Nyree,” he warned on a growl. “Run from me this time, and I will chase you.”
The threat had her heart racing even as a wicked grin took her lips.
Chapter 21
Nyree’s jerked her gaze to Zavier. “What about him?” she challenged. “He’s part of me too, right?” She grinned. “You wouldn’t let Rohm get me, would you Zavier?”
As if torn, Zavier glanced between her and Rohm before snorting a confused sound.
Rohm threw his arms wide and his chest shimmered before Zavier stood and leapt for his chest, disappearing as Rohm growled and closed his eyes, seating his Soul Sentry within him.
“Aww,” Nyree pouted. “Big cheater. Why’d you do that?”
