Chapter 13

Walker

The second Lindsey stormed off I knew it was the opening I'd been waiting for, and since I was quite furious with her, I needed a good run anyway.

I did let the kids know I was running out for a bit and that if anyone came into the house besides me or Lindsey that they should hide until I returned.

Maya had begged me not to, but I knew what I needed to do, and it was time.

"But why? Where are you going?" she asked.

"I need to see the panthers. I won"t be long. I promise."

"No, you can"t," Dante said, grabbing my arm to stop me.

"Look, I have to do this. My team is probably sick with worry. I"m not leaving you guys, I just have to get word to them that I"m safe, okay?"

He shook his head.

"It"s okay," Maya said. "We"ll be alright. We"re used to taking care of ourselves, right Dante?"

My jaw dropped. "You little manipulator. I wouldn"t go if it wasn"t important, and I"m well aware of the fact you can take care of yourself or I"d never leave you alone for even a moment."

"I could tie you up and make you stay," she said.

"You could try."

She gave me an incorrigible look. "My vines will hold you."

"I have no doubt."

"Please don"t make me."

"Please don"t stop me."

She sighed and sat down on the top stair with her elbows on her thighs looking resigned to what was about to happen.

"It"s going to be okay. They"re allies. Uh, friends."

"Not with Lindsey."

"But they are with me."

"Be careful, Walker."

"I will."

"I really hope you know what you"re doing," Dante said skeptically.

"Me too, kid. Me too."

Sensing no more pushback, I ruffled his hair and turned to leave.

Outside, I stripped out of my clothes and left them next to the back porch before shifting.

It took a minute to gain control over my wolf. I wasn"t used to such problems, but all he wanted to do was go after our mate.

Once I swayed his attention back to our mission, we took off with our nose to the ground. It didn"t take long for him to pick up the scent of the panthers. I ran fast through the woods and marsh until it opened back up. Lindsey hadn"t been kidding when she said the borders were very close.

And almost as soon as I entered panther territory, they were on me. I had no way of knowing if Kian was among them as they were all in animal form, but once I"d allowed them to surround me, I shifted and held my arms up in surrender.

"King Dannett. I need to speak with King Dannett, or Kian Dannett. I"m Walker of Westin Force Delta. Most of you probably know me, I escort Jenna Westin down here to see Anita often."

Jenna was a panther, Chase"s mate, and Anita was mated to Kian. The girls were best friends since childhood, so it wasn"t uncommon for Jenna to come down to Louisiana to visit the Dannett Klaw, or rather the Dannett Pride, as their King preferred to call them.

Two men shifted first. One was Kian, and I recognized the other as his friend, Sebastian.

"Kian, Bas, it"s really good to see you both."

"What are you doing here, Walker?" Kian asked.

I chuckled. "Now that"s a long story. But I've lost my phone and need to get word back to my unit that I"m here. It"s been nearly a week since I lost contact, so I know they must be worried. Can you tell them I"m here?"

"Sure, but where are you staying? We can put you up at the house. It"s no problem."

"It"s okay. I"m staying nearby at one of the NOLA wolf manors."

His eyes widened as he shook his head. "No! Not there. It"s not safe."

"It"s safe. I promise."

"There"s a monster staying there. Come on up to the house and I"ll explain everything," Kian suggested.

"I can"t. I have to get back."

"Are you in trouble?"

"No more than usual." I grinned.

"You"re sure? I can help if you are."

"I"m fine. I promise. And I need you to relay that to the team. Let them know I"ll be in touch as soon as possible. I just have a few things to work out first. It"s been a crazy week."

"But the beast," Bas protested.

I growled. "She"s not a beast."

But my words were muted by a loud roar from behind me.

I"d been too preoccupied to sense her arrival. It was a rookie mistake.

Before I could set the record straight and let them know I was okay, Lindsey swooped down and grabbed me in her claws and flew off with me.

"I"m fine. She won"t hurt me," I yelled, but there was no way to know for sure they heard me.

Lindsey flew us out over the river and circled around the house and property four times before she was convinced it was okay to land.

I was furious with her.

"What the hell, babe. They"re friends," I yelled the second she unceremoniously dropped me onto one of the large second story balconies.

I was pissed. Couldn"t she understand that there were a lot of people out looking for me and no doubt very worried?

My team hadn"t been with me. They"d entrusted me to Bravo, and I"d been kidnapped right in front of their eyes. I knew that wasn"t any of their faults, but Michael and the guys didn"t. Something like that could cause all kinds of dissension within the Force. And I knew my boys. They were all going to blame themselves for not being there, even if there was nothing they could have done to stop this. And honestly, I wouldn"t have wanted them to because it gave me time to truly get to know my mate.

Clearly, she wasn"t perfect, and we had some boundary issues to address still.

I crossed my arms over my chest and stood there staring her down as she landed and shifted.

Her blue eyes nearly glowed with anger.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she yelled.

"Me? What was that all about? You can"t just fly in and take me away every damn time you feel like it."

"What were you doing there? Why were you talking to them?"

"Why do you think?"

She took a step back. "You sold me out?"

"What? No! That had nothing to do with you, Lindsey. I had to let my team know where I am. The only way I could think to do that was to elicit the help of the panthers. They"re allies, not enemies. They can get in touch with Michael and let him know I"m okay. That was it."

She shook her head. "They can"t know where you are. Are you insane? They"ll come after me, Walker."

"Would you stop saying that? You don"t know them the way I do. You don"t know all the shit we"ve seen out there. You think you"re the first Experiment we"ve come across?"

She jerked back like I"d just slapped her in the face. I immediately regretted my words.

"Lindsey, wait. Babe. Stop."

"Don't you babe me," she said, but her voice cracked, and I felt horrible for hurting her.

"Come here," I said. When she didn"t move, I realized I spoke louder and harsher than I'd meant to. I could feel her pulling away from me, and it scared the shit out of me. "Lindsey, come here."

Her eyes widened, but she silently obeyed.

"We"re going to be okay," I told her, kissing her hard like my life depended on it, because I was pretty sure it did.

Even the thought of her leaving me caused a sharp pain and emptiness inside that I knew I would never survive long term. I needed her, and with a desperation I hadn"t known existed, I set about showing her just how much.

When her arms wrapped around me, my lips softened on a sigh of relief.

"I need you," I told her in a strained voice.

She deepened the kiss, telling me she needed me too.

We were both already naked and it would be so easy to take her right there on the balcony, but despite my driving need for her, I also felt a responsibility to make her first time was perfect.

I lifted her into my arms, cradling her as I carried her inside. I saw the rose painting above the bed and knew we were in her room. Perfect.

Carrying her like she was the most precious and fragile thing in the world, I walked to the bed and gently laid her down. For just a moment, I stood over her, just looking at her. She was a tiny thing, and I towered over her by a good eight inches, quite in contrast to our animal forms. But somehow, we fit together perfectly.

"You"re so beautiful," I told her, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her.

She squirmed and moved to cover herself, but I reached for her hand and brought it up to my lips, pressing a kiss into her palm.

Her mouth opened to say something, but there were no words.

Setting her hand back down, I lightly caressed her skin, watching for her reactions as I touched her. Her breath hitched as I trailed the back of my hand down her side.

I lowered myself to her, kissing her softly, but not letting myself get lost there as I left light kisses along her cheek to whisper in her ear, "Perfect," before following a path down her neck.

She moaned as I sucked hard on the exact spot I would someday mark her as mine. But today wasn"t that day.

"Walker," she whispered as I dipped my head lower to one breast while allowing my hand to explore the other.

She nearly launched herself off the bed when I tickled her with my tongue, swirling it around her nipple.

Her drawn out moan made me smile and relax. She was showing me she wanted this as much as I did. That encouraged me to be bolder as I spread her legs and licked her in the most sacred places.

"Oh God!" she fisted her hands in my hair and held me there like she was afraid I would stop.

I wasn"t going anywhere.

Exploring Lindsey's body and discovering her likes and dislikes was a heady experience. I wasn"t even sure she knew what she liked until I showed her.

She"d been hesitant and skittish with me so many times that I wasn"t expecting her to be quite so responsive. But she threw caution to the wind and allowed herself a moment to stop thinking and worrying and just feel.

"So good," she moaned.

I smiled and could feel her core starting to tighten. I should have let her finish, but I couldn"t. I wanted her so badly.

When I kissed my way back up, she whined in protest.

"Please, don"t stop."

I chuckled. "I"m going to make you feel so good."

She was so wet and ready for me that I doubted she"d even feel the pain of her first time.

Gently, I pressed myself inside her.

She gasped and her eyes flew open as she grabbed my arms to steady herself.

Buried to the hilt with one last thrust, I froze and looked down at her.

"Are you okay?"

"No," she cried, and I started to pull away, but her hips bucked of their own accord. "Please. I need . . . I need . . . something."

I grinned and kissed her as I set a steady rhythm of lovemaking.

She shook her head and mewled. "More. Faster. Harder."

"Yes ma"am."

I gave myself over to the sensations as I thrust into her hard and fast until I wasn"t certain I could take even a second longer. I felt so connected to her in that moment and knew she was close to her climax too.

She wrapped her legs tightly around my waist and pushed into me as she let out a feral cry and shook beneath me.

I growled and gave her two last thrusts before I followed her over the cliff.

Sweaty and breathless, I laid there stunned.

I"d always enjoyed sex, but it had never felt like this before.

I collapsed down on top of her and rolled to the side to take my weight off of her.

"Holy shit. That was amazing," I said.

Lindsey was still trying to catch her breath when there was a knock at the door.

"Lindsey, are you okay?" Maya asked.

I started to chuckle, but she smacked me, and the look she shot me told me to shut up.

"I"m fine," she said in a higher pitched voice than usual.

The blush on her cheeks quickly spread down her chest, and I followed the path with my hand to fondle her.

She slapped me away.

"Stop it," she warned.

I just grinned and kissed her breast, causing her to launch herself off the bed in a blur.

"Channeling cheetah power is not fair. Get back over here."

It was too late, she was already getting dressed as I laid there and pouted.

I suddenly knew what the guys meant about kids being little cock blockers. It was okay though, because if this was what it felt like being with my true mate, then sign me up right now, because I was ready to bite and claim her.

"Are you okay?" I asked her seriously.

Her jaw opened and then shut in confusion.

"Was it not okay for you?" she asked softly.

I jumped off the bed and went to her, needing to reassure her.

"It"s never been that good before. You"re perfect."

There was a hopeful look on her face that nearly crushed my heart.

"You may have some explaining to do about the birds and the bees with those two though."

"Me? Why me?"

"They weren"t checking to make sure I was okay."

"Because they heard me and know this is my room. Shit! They shouldn't see you coming out of here."

"Pretty sure they already know I"m in here."

"They might suspect, but they don"t need us to confirm it," she grumbled. "And where the hell are your clothes?"

I chuckled. "By the back porch."

She groaned and then opened a secret panel in the wall next to her wardrobe to reveal a small staircase.

"Go on, get up there."

I rolled my eyes, but it also felt like she"d just given me the keys to her place or something. I hadn"t know that staircase was there or that it led right into her room. But I was certain to make a habit of using it for as long as we were staying here.

Begrudgingly, I listened if only to give her a few moments to herself after what we'd just done.

Damn, I couldn"t stop smiling.

Just as I finished dressing, there was a scream from downstairs. My heart stopped and I flew down the stairs.

"What"s wrong?" I asked, seeing my girls standing around Dante.

"Sometimes when he gets really strong visions they look like seizures," Lindsey explained as she gently lowered him to the ground and rolled him to the side.

We stood around watching him until his body stilled.

He sat up and pointed to me with wide teary eyes. "What have you done?!?"