Skin Walkers Conn (15 page)

On the ground, he kept a firm hold on her ankle even as his men cheered her on.

“Come on Aries.  Kick his ass!”

“You got him girl!”

Conn snarled as he spun her and pulled her under him.  He used his weight to pin her to the floor
and was adjusting his grip on her when she cried out in pain.  Instantly he released her and pushed to his knees over her
bracing his weight with his arms
.  “Aries!”

She was curled into a fetal position, her face hidden by her fall of long hair as she hugged her elbow to her.

His nostrils flared as he inhaled and scented her pain.  She was injured.

“Is she okay?”
James
, Shane, and York all stepped closer.

“I don’t know,” Conn turned to frown at his men.  “Somebody get
help!
”

James
and Shane dashed out of the room
. 

C
onn leaned over Aries
,
brush
ing
the hair away from her face.  Tears glistened on her cheek
s
and he cursed
,
“Fuck!”  His expression twisted in
concern, “
I’m sorry
.  I didn’t mean to…does it hurt
?
”

Aries su
cked in a shaky breath, “Yes.”
Conn turned to his second-in-command.  “York, find me some ice.” 

York disappeared to do Conn’s bidding and when Conn looked back to Aries she was gone.  He heard the unmistakable sound of feet slapping on the gymnasium floor and he paled
.  He’d
been taken. 

Chapter
15

His eyes found her halfway across the gym, almost to the door.
  He shifted
with an
enraged growl and knew his cheetah would stop her from reaching her goal.

Anger lent strength to his burst of speed and as his nails dug deep into the hardwood floor he both pulled and pushed to propel his lithe body forward.
 
He crossed in front of her to block the exit seconds before she could escape. 

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to stop herself, Aries tried to slow but instead crashed into Conn as his cheetah jumped and wrapped
his
arms around her.
  He rolled with her to protect her from the impact
of their fall
.

On the ground, Aries struggled under him pulling free and receding back into the gymnasium.  “You’re a fucking cheater!”

The cheetah growled before it dropped to the ground and the form shifted before her eyes.  Fur receded and limbs elongated until a fully clothed
and fully angry
Conn stood before her.  “
I’m
a cheater?  You’re the one who
feigned injury!
”

“That’s not cheating,” Aries challenged planting
both hands on
her hips, “that’s using my sex to my advantage.” 

Conn moved
before she even realized his intention.
  He caught both her wrists and trapped them behind her back while he frowned down at her, his lips inches from hers.  She struggled in his grip but only succeeded in lodging herself tighter against his body.  A sound emitted from deep in his throat and caused her to still.

She read the unmistakable lust in his eyes and
looked away
. 
She definitely didn’t want to play
this
game with him.

With both her wrists caught behind her in his large hand, he used to the other to grab her jaw and force her eyes to meet his.  “If you want to use your sex to your advantage, you’re going about it in entirely the wrong manner.”

That wasn’t what she’d meant when she made the comment, but now that he pointed it out…  She licked her lips and drew in a deep breath, forcing her breasts tighter against his chest.
She watched his eyes d
rop
to
the exposed
mounds
of her chest and when he dipped his head to where his eyes were looking, she leaned forward and licked his neck.
 

Conn froze, a low purr began rumbling from his chest. 

Oh shit! 
When he lifted his eyes to stare at Aries, she
slid
her eyes to his full lips and
stalled for only a moment before
a
ssaulting
his mouth
with her own
. 

He knew what she was doing, but she tasted so damn sweet that he was willing to let her play
her little game
.  His hand released
both of
hers and she pulled them from behind her
back
to wrap around his neck
. 

His hands slid around her waist then curved down to cup her rounded ass.
He squeezed and lifted her
.  Aries automatically wrapped her
legs around his waist.

The hard ridge of his
cock
settled between her
thighs
and as
he returned her urgent kiss he blindly felt for the wall until he found it
then
pinned
her body between himself and it
.  One strong arm
slid under her ass to hold her up.

***

Fuck!
  She couldn’t think.  Her plan was to do as he’d instructed and use her sex to her advantage, but now that she’d started this game, she couldn’t seem to stop
; w
hat’s worse, she didn’t want to. 

His hard frame pressing up
against hers made her feel safe and
feminine, and those were two
things she hadn’t felt in a
very
long time.
  She moaned against his mouth, her head swimming as she breathed in the earthy scent of him.  It was enticing
and seductive and coupled with the
black licorice taste of him it was nearly too much sensory overload. 
 

Aries drew his tongue between her lips and
sucked
on it. 
There was something addictive about the taste of him, she couldn’t seem to get enough. 

The
sound that
emitted
from
Conn
had her sex creaming.  She hadn’t intended on getting this turned on, but it was him.  He was too sexy, too fucking hot. 
She moaned and ground her hips against his, one hand curled in the black hair at the
nape
of
his neck
as she pressed her lips more firmly to his.

His
free hand slid up and pulled the strap of her slip.  It fell down her shoulder and exposed one breast.  His rough hand found it and massaged it in his firm grip.  Aries had to gasp and pulled back, throwing her head back against the wall and arching into him as his teeth nipped the
satiny
column of her throat.

It’s how York found them when he returned to the gymnasium.  “
Uhhhh
….”

Both Conn and Aries sna
pped their attention to him as
he stood holding up a bag of rapidly melting ice.
York’s eyes traveled down his C
ommander and their captive then back up.

Conn growled and jerked the strap of Aries’ slip back up.  “Stand fast soldier!”

York snapped to attention, dropping the ice and locking his gaze on the far wall.

Aries unwrapped her legs from Conn’s hips and he was setting her on the ground when
James
and Shane raced in. 

“Jenny’s right behind us!”
James
sucked in a breath and stared at Aries in shock.  “Is she okay?”

One corner of Conn’s mouth lifted, “She’s fine. 
Tell
Jenny it was a false alarm.”

Shane
focused on the wall, contacting Jenny through the mist, while
James
’
features twisted
in confusion.  “But I scented her pain.”

“I know,” Conn clamped a hand firmly around her wrist.  “She’s
always
in pain.  Remember?”

James
smiled knowingly and nodded, “Oh yeah.”  His eyes snagged on York then
and he titled his head to stare at the other man who still stood at attention. 
His
eyes went back to Aries then Conn.  His nostrils flared and he looked back at Aries knowingly.  He studied the area where they stood and smiled, “Did she make it out the door
XO
?”

Conn growled and jerked her closer to him, “No!  But she tried.”  He stalked
toward
the door pulling Aries with him, “At ease York!”

Chapter
16

Conn pulled her down the hall and she tried to stop several times, but her
slippered
feet only slid on the glossy linoleum.

“Where are you taking me?”

Annoyed at her constant tugging Conn slowed long enough to pick her up an
d throw her over his shoulder without responding.

Aries
gasped and lifted a hand to pull the back of her short slip down over her ass
to keep from flashing anyone they might encounter
.  Her other hand clamped to the front of her slip to keep her breasts from falling loose.  “Conn!” she bit out, “Put me down!”

He smiled to himself, satisfied that her hands were too busy trying to maintain
her modesty
to struggle against him. 

When he got back to the main estate house and entered the front door he bent and dropped her off his shoulder before clamping both hands around her upper arms and
pulling
her close.  “It’s a school day.  The children will be milling about.  Don’t cause a scene.”

Aries swallowed down her objection as a group of teenagers raced past.
  Conn led her to the elevator and once inside he pulled her to the far back corner when a handful of what she guessed were eight to ten year olds entered.  She was silent as she lifted her head to watch the
floor levels
bing
their succession.
When she felt eyes on her, she dropped her head to stare at a little blonde haired girl who was watching them intently.
  The girls face was cherub round with bright beady eyes and a mere smudge of a nose.

“Are you in trouble?”

Aries smiled weakly and shook her head
at the girl
.  “No.”

The little girl looked at Conn, “You’re hurting her.”

Conn loosened his grip but frowned at the girl.  “No I’m not.”

The little girl’s bottom lip jutted out, “I can smell it!
”  Her frown faded momentarily as Aries watched her little mind working.  “Is she a bad woman?”

Conn lifted his head to stare at the numbers that indicated their current location.  “No, she’s just…under surveillance.”

“Oh,” the little girl turned sad and tears formed in her eyes as she stared at Aries, “You’re on
e of the ones who doesn’t like us.  You think we should die.”

“No,” Aries gasped, “I don’t think that!”  She turned to frown at Conn
, elbowing him hard in the ribs
before turning her attention back to the little girl
.  “I like your people very much.”

Conn grunted and shot Aries a
dirty
look.

The little girl sniffed and looked at Conn, “Is she yours?”

“Yes.” He didn’t look at the girl.

She pointed up at him, “Then how come she’s not wearing your halo?”

Conn dropped his eyes to the girl and gritted out, “She’s my…
guest
, not my angel.”

The blonde smiled, “She’s pretty.  If you want her you should
claim her.  My dad says a
Walker
can’t wait forever to claim his angel
cuz
angels are hard to find, especially pretty ones.”

Aries felt her cheeks flaming
at the compliment. 
Halo
?  Angel?
 

“If you don’t want her for your angel, my uncle Remy will take her.”

Conn gritted his teeth and eyed the elevator numbers
before urging
, “Christ, come on!”

The girl tugged on Aries’ slip and
Aries
bent a knee to get eye level with the girl who whispered, “If he’s hurting you, my daddy will stop him.”

“That’s very nice of you, but I’m okay
sweetheart
.”  Aries smiled, “What’s your name?”