Shadow Soldier

by Kali Argent

  Moaning and writhing, she called his name, holding tight to his shoulders to anchor herself when she careened over the edge of bliss once again. Deke followed, pistoning his hips in a demanding tempo, chasing his own climax. With a low rumble, he stilled, tense and unyielding, while his cock throbbed within her core, filling her with sticky heat.

  With a grunt, he fell to the side, his back to her and his face pressed hard into the mattress. The high from her release vanished, instantly replaced by concern.

  “Deke?” Curling against his back, she gasped when he snarled and launched himself off the bed. “Deke, answer me. What’s wrong?”

  His blue eyes glowed brightly, his pupils only tiny, vertical slits, and a thin trail of blood trickled down his chin where he’d bitten into his lip with his elongated canines. Pacing from the window to the bed, he flexed and unfurled his fingers, his entire body tight and vibrating.

  “Just give me a minute,” he answered, his tone harsh and ragged.

  Gathering the sheets around her, Roux sat cross-legged on the mattress, wanting to reach out to him, but knowing she’d only make it worse. He needed to claim her, his nature gnawing at him, urging him to complete the bond. While she’d understood intellectually when he’d explained it to her, nothing could have prepared her to witness it firsthand.

  As much as it hurt to know she was the cause of his pain, she wasn’t ready to take that next step, not yet. Maybe never. She’d nearly had a panic attack when she’d signed the six-month lease on her first apartment. Deke wanted forever.

  Hoping to lighten the mood—as well as avoid the subject of their mating bond—Roux sat up a little straighter and pasted on a bright smile.

  “So, about that job…”

  * * * *

  “I feel like pizza for lunch today.” Roux slid the last document into its assigned folder in the filing cabinet and pushed the drawer closed.

  It had been nearly two weeks since she’d started working with Abby in the registration office, and most days, it bored her to tears. She completed and filed a lot of paperwork—in triplicate—things like merchant permits, companion registrations, and business contracts. Once, she’d been asked to give a new resident her inoculations, but her hands had shook so badly, Abby had sent her out of the room.

  Abby looked down at her billowy white blouse and then back to Roux with an arched eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right?”

  Deke had offered and Abby had begged to take Roux shopping, but she’d steadfastly refused. She still had the clothes she’d borrowed from the Bastille, and those would be enough until she could purchase her own things. Since physical money no longer held any value, she was paid in credit at the local businesses. Each hour she worked equaled a hundred credits, which she could exchange for food, clothes, or anything else she wanted.

  That independence had been one of the biggest reasons she’d fought so hard to get the job in the Square. It had taken her nearly a week to wear Deke down, but he’d finally agreed to let her work with Abby at the registration office. He’d probably only consented out of sheer exhaustion, but Roux still called it a win.

  For twenty minutes, she’d stood silently in his kitchen, watching him pace the floor while he ranted—again—about unnecessary risks and irresponsible behavior. After he’d run out of steam, she’d calmly and methodically picked apart every one of his arguments. Finally, she’d won him over with compromise and her trademark stubbornness. She’d work the same hours as Abby, and she wouldn’t leave the office except for lunch. At the end of the day, she’d wait for him to pick her up, and above all, she wouldn’t attempt to be a hero again.

  Then she’d led him to the bedroom, and they’d lost themselves in each other for the rest of the night.

  Deke had moved her meager belongings to his bedroom after their first tryst, and she’d spent every night since wrapped in his arms. She still hadn’t made a decision about him claiming her, but she knew she’d need to soon. Not only was it incredibly unfair to him, but it had also become harder, more painful for him to resist his natural instincts. She either needed to break down that last wall between them, or she needed to let him go.

  Not an easy decision, and not something she wanted to think about right then.

  “Oh, come on, Barbie. You know you want pizza.” She wiggled her eyebrows and grinned. “My treat.”

  The Coalition had shut down communication systems shortly after the Purge, mean no phones, no Internet, not even broadband radios. However, the ruling family had created an intercity network within Trinity Grove that allowed merchants to communicate via emails. It only worked between computers on the same network, but it felt so normal, Roux decided not to condemn the lack of outside communication.

  That morning, she’d received notice that a record of her credits had been transferred to all the local businesses. Roux had already planned to go shopping after work, but she didn’t know if she could wait that long. It would be nice to own something she hadn’t had to beg, borrow, or steal to obtain.

  “Oh, fine,” Abby relented with her signature smile. “If I ruin this shirt, you’re buying me a new one, though.”

  “Deal.” Roux grabbed the woman’s hand and practically dragged her toward the exit. “Get the lead out, lady. I’m starving.”

  “What has gotten into you? I swear, you’re like a different person lately.”

  Roux felt different. She couldn’t pinpoint what exactly had changed, but she’d bet her shiny, new credits it had everything to do with Deke. When he walked into a room, she swore the everything brightened just a little. While his overprotectiveness sometimes frustrated her, she understood it came from a place of genuine care and concern. God help her, she found it sweet.

  “Roux? Hello?”

  Coming out of her thoughts, Roux blinked a few times, surprised to find they’d already arrived at Moon Pie. Deke had told her a werewolf owned the restaurant, and the name had something to do with the Dean Martin song about moons, pizza pies, and love. Honestly, though, she didn’t get it.

  “Yeah, sorry,” she answered, reaching out to hold the door open for Abby. “Lost in thought.”

  “Different person,” Abby muttered under her breath as she sashayed into the restaurant.

  “I’m really not that dif— Deke?” Roux brushed her wild curls away from her face and smiled. “What are you doing here?”

  Rising from the bench he’d been occupying just inside the doorway, he rubbed his hands together as he approached them. “I thought I’d join you ladies for lunch.”

  “You mean you thought you’d check up on me,” Roux corrected, but she couldn’t be angry with him. “Fine, but I’m getting pineapple on my pizza.”

  Clearly unconcerned about those watching, Deke slid an arm around her waist and pulled her to his chest. “Whatever you want,” he agreed, his gaze locked on her lips. “I missed you, kitten.”

  “Yes, well, that happens.” She couldn’t breathe. Every bit of oxygen had been sucked out of the room, and she had a mind to complain to management about it. “What are you doing? People are watching.”

  “Let them watch.”

  The rough, gravelly quality of his voice stoked the embers burning in her belly, and she could barely remember her argument. “Why are you here?”

  Deke chuckled, the sound low and sexy. “You already asked me that.”

  Right, she remembered that. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to kiss you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m selfish, and I missed you.” He leaned in a little closer, tilting her chin up as he skimmed his nose along the column of her throat. “You are so beautiful, kitten.”

  Then his mouth closed over hers, and his tongue delved between her lips to tangle with her own. Everything around them faded away—the noise, the people, the smell of baking pizza dough—and Roux struggled to remain upright when her head started to spin.

  “Sweet baby Jesus,�
� Abby grumbled from beside them. “Get a freakin’ room, you two.”

  Deke laughed, but Roux’s cheeks burned, and she hid her face against his chest. “Okay, so why are you really here?” she demanded, her voice muffled against his black shirt.

  “I thought you’d want to know that your friends are moving into the house across the street tomorrow.”

  “What? Why? How?” Roux jerked back and stared up at him. “Really?”

  Deke laughed again and kissed her brow. “Yes, really. I thought maybe we could invite them over, help ease the transition a little.”

  “We could have a barbeque,” Abby chimed in, clapping her hands together enthusiastically. “Oh, this will be fun.”

  Somehow, having Cade and Deke in the same room didn’t feel like Roux’s idea of fun. “Yeah,” she answered dully, anxiety already setting in, “it should be memorable.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Saturday morning dawned clear and sunny, the sky a flawless shade of blue that reminded Roux of the color of Deke’s eyes. As they moved closer to fall, the heat had finally abated, giving way to more moderate temperatures. Though still nervous about the evening’s gathering, she had to admit it was a perfect day for a barbeque.

  “Cade!” she called, entering through the front door of the house across the street without knocking. “Brody! Greg! Denny!”

  Denny stepped around the corner, his customary bowtie looking as prim and perfect as ever. A bright smile lit his lined face, and he adjusted his glasses as he entered the living room. He looked good, younger, no longer ravaged by malnutrition, and in her heart, Roux knew the city they’d distrusted so much in the beginning had saved their lives.

  “Roux, it’s good to see you.” He hurried forward, wrapping her into a warm, fatherly hug. “You look beautiful, dear. Trinity Grove is clearly agreeing with you.”

  “It has its charms,” she answered, her mind straying to Deke. “Where’s everyone else?”

  “On the back deck.” He lowered his voice and leaned closer. “They still haven’t quite adjusted to being confined indoors.”

  Roux’s face fell, and her chest constricted. “They don’t want to stay.”

  Denny mirrored her frown and shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I thought things would get better.”

  “But they’re not.” Roux couldn’t make them stay, but she had to try. “Let me talk to them.”

  The men hadn’t shared quite the same experience she’d had in Trinity Grove. Without Deke and Abby, Roux imagined she’d still be plotting ways to escape as well. She didn’t like all of the guards, but Deke had introduced her to other members of the Revenant, and she no longer looked at the Gemini as monsters. Well, not all of them.

  Crossing through the living room and the kitchen, she exited the open back door and stepped out onto the wooden deck. “What trouble are you guys plotting without me?”

  Cade pushed away from the railing, his smile reaching all the way to his honey-brown eyes. “Roux.” Three strides closed the distance between them, and he lifted Roux into his arms, crushing her tightly as he spun in circles. “Where the hell have you been? I haven’t seen you in weeks.”

  His hair looked longer than it had the last time she’d seen him, the brown tresses flowing past his shoulders in soft waves. He, too, had lost the gauntness, and his once ashen skin glowed bronze in the sunlight. He truly was handsome, striking even, but he did nothing for her beyond a passing appreciation.

  “I got a job,” she answered, brushing her hair away from her face when he placed her on her feet. “I’m working at the registration office.”

  “A job?” Greg asked, pulling her into a hug as well. “You’re staying?”

  “I am.”

  His golden stubble scuffed against her cheek, and he’d cut his hair so that the short locks spiked out in every direction. Like the others, he’d gained enough weight since his arrival to be deemed healthy, and Roux couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a genuine smile from him.

  “You can’t be serious,” Cade scoffed. “I don’t know what bullshit they’ve been feeding you, Roux, but this place—”

  “Saved our lives,” she interrupted, glaring back at him. “You do what you want, Cade. I’m staying.”

  “Can I get my hug in before you two kill each other?” Brody rose from the ugliest green lawn chair she’d ever seen and wound his arms around her shoulders in a tight hug. “It’s good to see you, Roux. I think what Cade is trying to say is that he missed you. We all missed you.”

  Brody’s inky-black hair had grown as well, still as shaggy and unkempt as she remembered it, but the controlled-chaos look worked for him. His eyes, the same bright green as hers, danced with mischief as he looked back and forth between her and Cade. Out of all of her friends—and she could finally admit that was what they meant to her—Brody had changed the most. He seemed happy, less burdened, and the physical transformation stunned her.

  “Good god,” she muttered, staring up at him. “What the hell did they feed you in the Bastille?”

  “There’s a gym in the basement, next to the infirmary. I took advantage.” He winked at her, laughing when Cade grunted.

  “Okay, back to this bullshit about you staying here.” Planting his feet shoulder-width apart, Cade crossed his arms over his chest.

  Roux really didn’t want to argue, not now. “Look, I just came over to check on you and invite you guys to a barbeque tonight. We can discuss how this is none of your business later.”

  “You’re still staying with the captain?” Brody asked, his tone void of judgment or accusation.

  “Yeah, right across the street. So, don’t be a stranger.”

  “You’re living with him?” A cruel sneer curled Cade’s upper lip. “Gone native?”

  Sad more than angry, Roux just sighed and turned to go back into the house. Stopping just inside the kitchen, she glanced over her shoulder, pinning Cade with an icy stare.

  “The party starts at six. I hope you’ll be there.”

  “Tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”

  Cade didn’t speak from a place of jealousy. After living with Deke, she knew the difference. No, his disdain rested solely in her choice of partners, but she didn’t need his approval.

  “Six o’clock,” she repeated before turning her back on him and walking away.

  * * * *

  Roux had barely spoken since she’d returned from seeing her friends, and while she assured him everything was fine, Deke didn’t buy it. He’d seen the way Cade looked at her, the way his eyes tracked her across the dining hall at the Bastille. If it wouldn’t completely break Roux’s heart, he’d snap the asshole in half and call it a day.

  Despite all her protests, he knew the group of men living across the street had been more than just a means of survival. They’d been and still were her friends, and in some ways, her family. So, he’d requested they be relocated to the house across the street, to keep them close to Roux. Not a full day after they’d moved in, and he already regretted it.

  She’d come home reeking of the other males, and it had taken everything in him not to strip her down right there in the kitchen and take her against the wall. If she hadn’t been fighting back tears when she’d walked through the front door, he might have done it anyway.

  “You had one job,” Roux grumbled, stomping down the deck stairs and across the yard.

  Deke finished spreading the coals and closed the lid on the grill. “Yes, you said pick up beer.”

  “I said pick up drinks, Deke. Drinks!”

  He shrugged. “There’s tap water.”

  Her face turned an interesting shade of red, and he worried for a moment that the top of her head would explode. The venom in her stare could have dropped a wild buffalo at twenty paces, but he loved that fiery temper. It did, however, seem like a bit of an overreaction to beer.

  Moving away from the grill, he reached for her, but stopped when she leapt ba
ck and threw her hands up to block him. “Stop! You’ll ruin my shirt.”

  The shimmering purple material clung to her like a new lover, draping over one shoulder and lacing up the back. She’d matched it with the tiniest pair of faded denim shorts and a pair of white flip-flops with purple flowers in the center of the Y-shaped straps. His girl looked good enough to eat, and he had serious doubts about making it through the evening without murdering someone.

  Brushing his hands off on his jeans, he held them up for her inspection and winked. She shook her head, but didn’t resist when he reached for her again, folding her into his arms.

  “Kitten, relax. Everything is going to be perfect.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” The stiffness in her posture dissolved, and she relaxed into him with a shuddering sigh. “I’ve never hosted a party before.”

  “You already know everyone who’s coming. You look beautiful. We have plenty of food.”

  “But no drinks.”

  Deke chuckled into her hair. “There are a couple of cases of soda and bottled water in the garage. Seriously, everything is going to be fine.”

  With her arms still around his waist, she leaned back and craned her neck to look up at him. “And if it’s not?”

  “Then fuck everyone else. All I care about is that you’re happy.”

  She nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. It faded quickly, and her brow creased to form a shallow V just above the bridge of her nose while she scratched her fingernails against the denim of her shorts.

  “What is it?” Using the tip of his index finger, he traced a path from her hairline to the tip of her nose. “What’s going on in that brain of yours?”

  The expression cleared, and she shook her head, giving him a smile so fake it could have been painted on with watercolors. “Nothing. You’re right. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  The doorbell rang before he could prod further, echoing through the backyard from the speaker box over the sliding patio door. Roux jumped out of his arms like a startled colt, smoothed the wrinkles from her blouse, and hurried off to greet their guests.