Shadow Walker (20 page)

Pierre laughed and nodded. “He got tired of being called the ‘Old Man.’ We were sad to see him go but glad he still had time to enjoy the rest of his life. Now it’s our job to make sure he can. He has served his time taking care of our families for so long, now it’s time we return the favor.”

“Amazing…a man who made furniture by hand—one of a kind pieces, turns out to be some kind of super-secret super hero?”

At this they all laughed.

“Yeah Dad, that’s something we hadn’t thought of before,” Dean said laughing. He gave Dori a sobering look. “No, seriously. What we do isn’t like that, really…”

“Really?” Casey asked raising a brow. “How quick did Laveaux get Dad and Braedyn here? Less than ten minutes. What they did to get you out of the hospital without raising suspicion? I’d call that pretty super heroic.”

All the men shrugged their shoulders. They’d become used to performing their duties but weren’t used to being thanked for them.

“What you guys did in Vegas a few years back…” Amber said, raising her brows to look at each of them in turn. “
That
was pretty heroic. If you hadn’t stepped in when you did, I have a feeling they would have sent a second team to Walker’s Run, and things wouldn’t be the way they are now.” She felt Dean’s arm tighten around her waist.

All but Dean looked away from her gaze, knowing she spoke the truth. Had they not stepped in, there was a good chance Walker’s Run would have been destroyed for the sake of pride. For her uncle to steal her back.

Dean cleared his throat. “So…who’s hungry?”

She grinned at him. He knew her too well. It was difficult for her to express emotions and even more to go without feeding the constantly starving Tigress.

Dean smiled when Amber placed a mammoth sized sandwich in front of him. He was famished. He couldn’t help but notice her silence while she watched the goings on around them. She only spoke up when addressed or had a strong opinion.

Planted at his side, she caused wonderful sensations each time he moved or brushed against her. Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Desire prodded him, even with the knowledge he shouldn’t give into it. For Christ’s sake, he’d died the night before.

Which is all the reason I should be more thankful
. Taking another bite of his sandwich, he looked at her from the corner of his eye. She was heartily devouring hers with the same gusto one would expect of a starved Tigress.

The entourage had moved into the kitchen with them, and the subject had moved onto the more unpleasant part Dean had known was coming.

“Why can’t I have a more integral part in this?” Casey prodded. She leaned against the counter, holding a cup of coffee. Her green eyes glaring. His little sister was not a very happy camper.

Braedyn shook his head, steadfast with his decision. “Elan still thinks you don’t have control of yourself. Let’s continue to let him think that way. Our goal at the moment would be to protect you, Amber, and Dean. If anything, we need you to remain here in case he slips by us.”

Amber set her half eaten sandwich down and wiped her mouth. “He has taken a blow at me.” She tapped her nails on the table, ticking off her points. “Elan had to have caught my scent on Dean and figured taking him out wouldn’t just affect Casey, but me as well. He assumed this would put me out of the equation. We also need to make sure Peyton has adequate protection.”

The Alpha nodded, listening to his second in command. “I agree.”

His sister frowned at him. “He thinks Dean’s dead,” she said, addressing the room but looking at him.

“There is no way he would be up to par to go back into battle right now,” their father protested from the corner of the kitchen. “We can’t even use him as a decoy, it could undue everything that’s been done—”

She merely nodded and raised her hand, staying the rest of his argument. “I wasn’t suggesting he go out Dad, I was stating a fact. There has to be something, anything we can use to throw Elan off track. I can’t think of anything that could derail him more than seeing someone he thought he’d left for dead.” Casey grunted, crossing her arms like she had when she was much younger. “There
has
to be
something
that Dean and I can do while you are all out there.”

“There is,” their father answered. “You’ll be protecting Aaron and Dori, too. Pierre will also be here, but Casey, while you’ve excelled at controlling the shift of the wolf, we don’t want to take any chances. You are not a fighter by nature—”

She ground her teeth, barely biting back a growl. “No, but the Silver Wolf is,” Casey countered, raising a brow. “She will do
anything
to protect my family and friends, those whom I love.
I will do whatever it takes to keep them safe.
” Her eyes flashed golden and transitioned back to the heated emerald that was her natural shade in an instant.

Braedyn placed a gentle hand on her arm. “We’re not contradicting you. I saw what you could do even before you had any semblance of control. Elan is going to expect that we will be keeping you back and protected, seeing otherwise he would know something is up. He will be assuming Amber will be with you, like before.”

Sliding her plate to the side when her name was mentioned, Amber’s eyes lit up. “So I’m off babysitting detail?”

Dean clenched his fist on the table, not happy with the way this conversation was going. He opened his mouth, but the Alpha held up a hand, asking for another moment to plead his case. With a deep breath, Dean nodded, allowing him to continue.

“You know Elan like I do, Amber. You have battled at his side. He is desperate, and I don’t know what to expect of him. There is no one else I would rather have at my back.”

“I don’t agree—” Peyton protested, walking over to the table.

Dean shook his head and knew it was up to him to settle this disagreement. Amber was not a pawn to be fought over. “Dad, she’s an assassin. Do you remember what we walked into in Vegas? Imagine that coming at you, heavily pissed off because you’d killed her lover.” He smirked, catching the flush that pinked her cheeks. Though he wanted to make sure she was safe, Dean knew Amber was needed out there more. “She’s one of the best Dad, and you’d be a fool to talk her out of it.”

“I’m sorry, guess I’m still a little old fashioned when it comes to letting women onto the front lines,” his father apologized.

Amber smiled and gave him a playful wink. “It’s all good, Peyton. You’ll still be able to walk me down the aisle.”

After a round of much needed laughter, they settled down and began to hammer out a battle plan. So far he’d acted alone, but other scents had been picked up. Elan had managed a few lackeys in his down time. They needed to be prepared.

The afternoon had been filled with plotting and planning. Going over everything until it was like breathing and walking, just another extension of who they were. Dean knew too many people crowded into one room made Amber nervous. When she’d reached her limit, she excused herself and procured one of the rooms upstairs for a few minutes of peace.

Dean gave her time to get settled before searching for her. If she was taking a nap, there was no reason why he couldn’t snuggle up and enjoy one as well.

The Sorenson mansion contained too many guest suites, sitting rooms, and geez, a library on each floor. Was that
really
necessary? After about the fifth room, the telltale sound of a shower informed him where she was. Closing the door behind himself, he thumbed the lock, too.

Creeping through the room, he stood in the doorway, watching her through the large glass encased shower. Clenching his jaw and letting out a measured breath, Dean tried to calm the wave of desire that slammed into him.

The water must have felt good because she leaned against the tile under the spray for a few minutes before turning it off. Dean placed himself just outside the shower door, and opened it, holding the towel out for her.

“I’m
trying
not to look.”

Amber laughed and stepped out. He wrapped her in the towel and smiled. “What are you doing up here?”

His gaze lingered over her. She was a damned sexy sight wrapped in nothing but a towel, her long, curly, wet locks drooping over her shoulder. He cleared his throat. “My intention was to sneak in and have a cat nap with you. I didn’t know you were in the shower…and then, I guess I couldn’t help myself.” The muscle in his jaw twitched.

“Maybe you should go back into the bedroom while I dry off and dress?”

How noble of the Tigress to try and place his health before…He placed a hand against his chest, weighing against the possibility of pain. “I’m still not feeling any—”

Laughing again, she used the edge of the towel to wipe the water from her face. “Do you really want to press your luck? You may need what reserves you have built up.”

He chewed his lip, thinking over his options.

She grinned and pointed to the bedroom. “Go, I’ll be out in a minute.”

With a sigh, he backed out, closing the door. Sitting on the foot of the bed, he kicked off his boots and pulled off the heavy flannel shirt. Dean knew he should be cautious and not try and press his luck, but found himself
incredibly
amorous from watching her shower.

The bathroom door opened. Amber came out. Her hair had been wrung through and towel dried, but she was still wearing the towel.

“I…I left my clothes out here.”

Dean saw her bag was on the floor in the corner of the room. Someone had swung by the hotel and retrieved their things. Raising a brow, he looked at her. “You don’t wear clothes to sleep.”

“I don’t want to make this difficult for you…”

He shook his head. “Well, that was pretty much a moot point once I walked into the bathroom and saw you naked.” Rising from the bed, Dean walked over to her. She clutched the towel just over her breasts. Giving the back of her hand a gentle stroke, he moved to her shoulder.

Amber closed her eyes and let out a breath. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Do you want me?” he inquired caressing the other arm, watching her reaction.

“You know I do.”

Leaning close, he saw a few water beads on her shoulder she’d failed to dry and blew, just before licking them off.

“Dean, I don’t want to hurt you and…” She hissed when his lips closed over her ear lobe, giving it a tender nip. “I don’t know if I can be…gentle.” Opening her eyes, Amber looked into his. Concern and worry wrinkled her brow.

Pulling her close, he kissed her. The restraint she used waned sooner than he’d expected. The towel drifted to the floor, but Amber still refrained from touching him. He moved his hands to her waist, tracing delicate designs in the small of her back. Her soft moan spurred further exploration.

She shivered when he moved to her neck, rubbing the scruff of his two-day beard, remembering how it had turned her on before. Moaning, her hands sought the tail of his shirt and lifted it over his head.

He saw the fear in her eyes when she inspected his wounds. Chancing a glance himself, Dean noted while there were still angry slash marks, the gashes were sealed and the stitches looked like they’d already come out. She studied his torso, moving her fingers around the edges.

Dean laughed, capturing her hands in his. “That tickles, babe. I’m okay, see?” Flexing the muscles in his chest, he ran her hands down his belly so she could feel it, too. Her fingers hooked in his waistband, pulling him closer.

* * * *

Amber had to admit he looked healed, save for the thick red scars. “Your sister does good work,” she said, tracing the edge of one of the angriest looking. The muscles twitched beneath her gentle touch. Now that the fear of hurting him any further was assuaged, she felt better for allowing his seduction.

“Apparently,” he murmured between kisses, leading her back toward the bed.

Locking her gaze on his, she tugged at his waistband. The zipper and button were undone in one quick motion. He smiled when her fingers toyed in the crisp hairs that trailed downward before pushing his jeans and shorts over his hips.

Dean sank to his knees and closed his eyes, nuzzling her taught tummy. The roughness of his scruff made goose bumps rise all over her body. He kissed the edge of the scars that ran from her bellybutton around her right side. The painful reminder of a mother’s fear for her being trapped in the same life she’d been forced to live.

His tongue sank into her navel. Her knees buckled, and Amber gasped. He laughed, holding her in place.

“Don’t do that again,” she hissed, gritting her teeth against a quiver that ran up her spine while Dean moved his way back up to her breasts. The warmth he created in her knocked the blistery shower she’d just taken off the scale.

The gentle strokes of his large, calloused hands combined with his tongue laving across a nipple brought forth a moan. It was unbelievable how much she’d missed his touch over the last few days. How was it possible to become so attached to someone in such a brief amount of time? There was no doubt in her mind they’d known each other just as intimately in another life.

Gasping, she fisted her hands on his shoulders when he bit down on her nipple. She pulled his mouth to hers, needing to taste him, to feel his tongue glide against hers.

His hands moved up her body, over her tummy, her breasts, pausing to tug at her nipples. Then they switched, roving over her shoulders, around her neck, and then burrowed into her hair. Hot breath bathed her face, and he leaned in to kiss her. Amber melted against the press of him, and they tumbled onto the bed.

Her tiny human form was never more apparent than when she was with him. In his arms she felt protected, desired, and adored. He could kiss her senseless and set fire to whatever was left. They rolled, and she sprawled over him, letting her hands roam. She returned every teasing lick, tug, and caress.

When their lips met again, things had changed. No longer were their kisses playful and teasing. She inhaled deeply when Dean rolled her onto her back, thrusting into her in the same move. Digging her nails into his shoulders, a deep groan escaped her. He worked a slow, grinding pace that drove her wild. Biting her lip in order to remain quiet, she matched his strokes.