Skin Walkers: Monroe

by Bliler, Susan

  ***

  Two weeks ago when she’d met with him in his office, Eden had intended on asking him if she and the children could remain at the estate, at least just long enough for him to ensure no Megalya had tracked Leto and Shy to the state, but after his terrifying behavior, she’d quickly changed her mind. He’d refused every request she’d made through third-parties, having been to leery of approaching him herself. Now, without any other choice, she’d resolved to approaching him herself. It wasn’t an easy task. She was nervous as hell even though she’d rehearsed her lines for days and had struggled to fortify her resolve. She’d promised herself that she wouldn’t be intimidated by him, but one glance and her nerve vanished. Her attraction to him was disorienting. He was everything she hated in a man, arrogant, brutal, uncompromising, yet she wanted him more than she wanted her next breath.

  “Mr. StoneCrow,” she began firmly. When his lips tweaked she knew she’d blown it. He always smiled when he saw through her attempts at formality, or as he liked to refer to them, her feeble attempts at being authoritative.

  “I just wanted to thank you for permitting me and my children to reside here at the estate.”

  He stood and circled the desk and her heart rate kicked up as she wondered if he planned on attacking her again. Her eyes darted to King then back. She was glad the Chief of Security was here. He seemed to be the only one able—or willing—to control the CEO.

  “You’re not leaving,” he turned his back on her to sort some of the paper work on his desk, effectively dismissing her.

  “Uhhh,” dumbfounded she forged on with her pre-planned speech. “It’s Wednesday and we’ll be heading home this Friday. We…”

  He frowned at her over his shoulder, “This isn’t up for discussion, angel. You can’t go.”

  “I wasn’t asking,” she planted her hands on her hips as indignation flared to life.

  “Funny,” he turned to face her slowly, “neither was I.”

  She took a challenging step closer, lifting her chin with borrowed confidence. “I’m not afraid of you, Monroe.”

  Turning on her, he partially shifted. His handsome face morphed, transforming to that of a cheetah with long sharp teeth. His nose wrinkled as it hissed with yellow eyes, mere inches from her face.

  Without any thought, Eden reached up and slapped him hard!

  Shocked, Monroe didn’t move even as King and Gauge tensed, prepared to protect Eden if needed.

  Monroe was stunned immobile even as his balls drew up and the affliction surged forth so strongly that it was staggering. She had no idea what she’d just done. Unbeknownst to Eden, and his fellow Skin Walkers, for a woman to slap a Dominant was to beg for forced submission. It wasn’t an invitation, it was a challenge! She was daring him to dominate her sexually. He had to fight down a revived erection and hoped that his dazed expression would mask the sudden surge of fierce lust that seared through him.

  To his surprise, instead of being fearful or even minutely regretful, Eden crossed her arms over her puffed chest and chastised, “Don’t you pull that shit on me! My children have been doing it for years and let me tell you, CEO, your little kitten’s got nothing on the shit they produce.”

  Behind Monroe, King stifled a laugh while Gauge stalked to the door and exited the room before laughter could be heard bellowing from the adjoining reception area.

  Monroe knew his shocked and gaping cheetah was not even close to evoking the terrifying creature he’d intended. Shifting fully back to himself, he shot King a mutinous look. “Leave us!”

  King sobered, “You sure?”

  “Leave!” Monroe growled hoping to see a little trepidation in Eden’s gaze. There was none.

  King quickly left the room and alone, Monroe advanced and grabbed Eden by the shoulders. In seconds, he had her pinned against the wall, one of his legs between her own as he pinned both of her arms to the wall beside her head.

  “Do you know what I do to women who assault me?”

  “Do you know what I do to men who try to intimidate me?” Her brown eyes sparked with fury and something else.

  His eyes shot to her arms then back and realization dawned. She liked being pinned.

  They frowned at each other for long minutes before Monroe’s hold on her wrists loosened, but he didn’t release her. He’d been surviving on Dr. Arkinson’s damn supplemental concoction and forced nights of sleep, but he was fed up with his affliction. He was in rough shape, but he fought harder than any other Walker to hide his misery from his kind. He didn’t want them to know how badly she’d afflicted him, but by the way his Sentries avoided him as of late, he assumed they knew the truth.

  Staring at her now, he fought the urge to fist a hand up her skirt and slide his fingers into her sex just so he could lift them to his lips and finally taste her. The thought, coupled with the sudden scent of her desire, stole all control. She was aroused by his display and she’d dressed this way for a reason. She was his and he was done waiting!

  When Monroe stepped back, Eden was certain he’d come to his senses, but his hands never left her and she was hoisted over his broad shoulder. He turned quickly and stalked with her across the office.

  “What are you doing? Put me down!”

  The door that connected his office to his bedroom suite was shoved open and then closed just as sharply behind them. Luckily for her, Eden didn’t fight when he bent and tossed her on his bed. Instead, she simply stared up at him dazed.

  “What in the hell are you doing?” She used a hand to shove long strands of glossy, black, hair out of her eyes, while the other jerked her skirt down.

  She was feigning composure, but Monroe caught the slight tremble in her hand, the quiver in her voice. She was seconds away from losing it.

  Closing his eyes he inhaled slowly and nearly dropped to his knees. Her typical sweetgrass and rain scent was infused with a wild desire that was as untamed as Montana itself. It was a firestorm of need and longing, but the wild desire wasn’t what nearly grounded him. It was her own terror at the realization that she wanted him. No! That wasn’t it at all. His eyes snapped open and studied her. She wasn’t terrified that she wanted him so damn badly. He drew her scent in deeper, his nose flaring to take in as much as possible. There! She was terrified of him finding out. She was fighting to hide from him, and the poor little dove had no idea she’d already failed.

  He inhaled again and his cock twitched in impatient demand even as his balls drew up tighter. The smell of her futile fight against what was about to happen was the most powerful scent in the world because once he breached her, once he claimed and fucked her raw, she’d never hide from him again. The scent would die tonight along with her trepidation. Next time, she’d come to him!

  “Get undressed,” he commanded as he removed his jacket then his tie before laying them calmly on a chair that sat at a small table in the bedroom.

  “What? No!” She got to her feet and crossed to the door. She grabbed the handle.

  “Leave this room Eden and I’ll follow you and fuck you the first place you stop.”

  She scowled at him over her shoulder. “You can’t be serious!”

  He was already removing his shirt and toeing off his expensive shoes. “Try me, angel.”

  She spun on him with a flush searing her cheeks that she was trying to convince herself was from anger and not excitement. She tried and failed to keep her eyes from raking over his chiseled torso and thickly corded length of his bare arms. He was a god! She licked her suddenly dry lips and her gaze jerked to his when she heard him growl.

  Monroe’s eyes locked with hers and his lips tilted mockingly when he dropped his hands to the button of his slacks and popped it free before inching down his zipper. Eden’s cheeks flared brighter and he could only imagine the flush that would cover her naked body when he was tunneling into her.

  “D-don’t take those off,” she commanded even as her eyes dipped to watch him hook his thumbs into his slacks and push down. The slacks
and his briefs slid over lean hips.

  When his cock sprang free and pointed at her, Eden’s lips parted and her breath caught. He was long and thick and appeared to be hard as velvety steel.

  “Get undressed,” he demanded, drawing her gaze back to his.

  “N-no. That isn’t going to happen.”

  “I’m going to share some information with you, Eden.” He merely watched her. “You know that you are my angel. I know that you are my angel. We both know that I’m the Dominant Skin Walker. What you don’t know,” he stalked closer with lethal grace, “is that being Dominant gives me certain tastes, certain cravings, and desires. It also means that things other Walkers see as offensive, I see as foreplay.” He was standing in front of her now, the hard point of his cock pushing into her belly as he reached up and gently fisted a handful of her hair, noting that her breathing had accelerated and the scent of her arousal had grown so strong it would have been stifling to any other Walker. To him, it smelled like home.

  “Take that slap for example. Other Walkers would have been offended or insulted. To a Dominant, your slap tells me one thing. You need, and want, to be forced into submission.”

  She sucked in a breath and tried to back up a step.

  “But not by the man,” he tilted his head to regard her with predatory interest. “You want your sopping panties ripped from your body. You want to be pinned helpless, to be taken hard and deep by the beast that you know I am!”

  A tremor coursed through Eden’s body at the images that came to mind and her knees nearly gave way. Why did her head suddenly feel fuzzy with a sense of euphoria?

  “Is it true Eden? Do you need to be tamed sexually?”

  “N-no!”

  He released her hair and circled her slowly to stand at her back while excitement and anticipation kept her immobile. From behind, two strong hands rounded over her shoulders and his hands flattened to slide down the front of her blouse, skimming her peaked nipples.

  Not wanting to show any emotion, Eden bit her lip to keep from moaning at the erotic sensation of his hands on her. Behind her, he inhaled loudly and growled, the vibrations rumbling against her back. He pushed closer, his erection pressing into the material of her skirt and pushing it between her cheeks.

  “Do you want to be tamed sexually?”

  “No.” Her denial came out on a soft moan as her head rolled back and to the side allowing him to plant his lips at the bend at her shoulder.

  “Do you know what happens to little girls that tell lies?”

  Her response was to lean back into him further as his hands slowly undid the buttons of her blouse.

  “They get punished,” he supplied as he trailed kisses up the satiny column of her throat. He smiled against her warm flesh when he felt her tremble. He finished unbuttoning her blouse and stepped back, taking his warm strength with him.

  Eden’s eyes snapped open and she blanched, appalled at her own reaction.

  Monroe crossed from behind her to sit naked on the edge of his bed.

  “Undress.”

  Her hands went to the buttons of her blouse and started re-buttoning her shirt.

  “Stop,” he commanded and her hands froze as her eyes met his. “Angel, I’m trying to give you the chance to be a good girl, but you keep defying me.” He tilted his head mockingly, “You lied when you said you didn’t want to be tamed, didn’t you? Your behavior tells me you want to be punished.”

  “Y-you won’t hurt me.”

  “Of course I won’t.” His eyes softened for a moment. “My punishment for you will never be about pain, angel, only pleasure.” He turned serious. “One way or the other, I am going to fuck you tonight, Eden StCloud. You just need to decide if it’s going to be slow and easy, or fast and hard. Do you want me to strip you bare, lay you on this bed and caress your body, licking you to pinnacle before I slide my dick into you so slowly that you’ll beg me to fuck you harder? Or do you want it rough from the go? I’ll gladly shred your pretty little outfit, lift you off the floor and impale you where you stand. Your nails will mark my skin so as to show that you’ve claimed me as yours, and I’ll fuck you so hard and deep that you’ll scream my name until you can scream no more.”

  Her knees went weak and she had to fight to stay on her feet.

  “Undress!”

  She bit her lip and glanced at the door.

  “Run,” he warned, “and I’ll bend you over my desk and take you slow and easy.” His smile was wicked. “I think about fucking that sweet ass more than you’ll ever know.”

  Eden debated for long moments before finally lifting shaky fingers to undo the few buttons she’d refastened. Slender fingers reached up and she jerked her shirt off.

  “Slowly!” Monroe demanded

  She wanted to glare at him but was afraid to meet his eyes. She was cursing herself for the stupid outfit and her damned need for him to see her as sexy. Look what it had gotten her! She’d elicited a reaction and she’d gotten one. Only he was much more savagely erotic than any of her fantasies about him had ever been. He wasn’t all that she’d hoped for and he wasn’t as sexually demanding as she’d envisioned while she’d touched herself alone at night. He was more!

  For the past few weeks, he’d been all she’d thought about and he haunted her dreams. She relived that moment on the stairs a thousand times and it had reappeared in her dreams, only when it did, the Monroe there didn’t threaten her. He’d jerked her pants down and fucked here then and there for all the Sentries to see and she’d relished every second of it. On more than one occasion, she’d actually woken up as orgasm shuttled through her. Her need for him had driven her to make the poor decision to approach him dressed like a sexy little siren. Damn!

  She dropped her blouse on the floor and unzipped the side of her skirt before looping her fingers in the sides and inching down. When she got only an inch or two Monroe stopped her.

  “Panties too,” he demanded.

  Her head snapped up as she bit out, “I won’t be your sex slave, Monroe!”

  “Of course you will,” there was no smile. He wasn’t toying with her. He was letting her know her boundaries and that he refused to compromise. “You’ll be whatever I ask you to be. Whatever I need you to be.”

  He was pushing her, challenging her, he knew it, but it had to be done. He had to know how far she was willing to go. He had to know if she could be what he needed and desired most of all. He knew beyond all certainty that the kernels of surrender existed deep within her. He’d seen it when she’d lied to protect the children, she wanted help with them, but it was more than that. The heat he’d seen in her eyes when he’d had her pinned to the wall made him a believer. She needed a mate to lean on, a mate to help shoulder her burdens, but what she needed—even if she wouldn’t admit it herself—was a mate that would allow her to be what she wanted to be sexually…dominated! All Monroe had to do was produce enough heat and that kernel of submission would burst inside her and she’d know what she’d been missing all along. Him!

  “It’s not degrading to be my whore, angel. To do my bidding and to do it on demand while on your knees, and begging for it, is sweet submission. It’s what the mate of a Dominant must be. I’m an animal after all,” he growled the words, shifting partially to lend an animalistic rumble to his tone. “You need to surrender to be mine. You need to crawl on that bed on your hands and knees, plant yourself on all fours, and spread your sex wide so that this Alpha can mount you and show you why he’s the leader, the dominant, the one who will be obeyed.”

  Eden flicked her gaze to the bed and clamped her legs tighter together, lest he see the proof of her arousal now sliding down her inner thighs as she shoved her skirt and panties down her calves. Her bra came off next and she scowled at him, “I won’t submit.” She swallowed hard when he smiled, knowing that the very fact that she was standing before him naked said otherwise. She’d never wanted anything more in her life than to surrender to this Walker. She had faith though that her pride wo
uld never allow it.

  “Of course you will, but not easily. Not the first time anyway. The first time you’ll want to fight against being dominated. It’s in your nature, and one of the very reasons why you are my one true mate. Cowering acquiescence would never satisfy me. Only you Eden, only you my angel, would ever be truly able to gratify my needs. Just like losing your virginity, like having a throbbing cock surge into your sweet untried cunt, this too will hurt a little. The pain won’t be physical,” he smiled, “unless you want it to be. Your first submission will sting your pride, but it will lend to easier, more pleasurable sex the next time. Just like your first fuck, this’ll be a gift you’ll never forget giving, but make no mistake, you will be made to give me what I want.”

  “Forced you mean,” she glared at him openly.

  He smiled at her lasciviously, “Coerced, angel. It’s only forced if it’s something you don’t want to do. You want this. We both do. We’ve wanted it since the moment we laid eyes on each other.” He’d been cautious earlier, careful to not frighten her into retreating from him, but the steadily increasing scent of her need emboldened him. He knew he had her. She was his!

  Monroe was so damn self-assured that Eden wanted to snatch up her clothes and stomp from the room. There were only two problems with that. One, she’d have to bend over to get her clothes and two, he’d just follow her out and fuck her wherever she stopped…at least those were the excuses she was going with. She wanted to scream at him and demand to know why he couldn’t just make love to her like any other man would have, like she dreamed he would. Had he wooed her and asked her up after a nice, quiet dinner, she’d probably have fallen into his bed willingly. Bullshit! There was no probably about it. She’d been fantasizing about Monroe StoneCrow since the day he’d shown up on her door step looking like a millionaire playboy. Still, her desire to have him didn’t mean he had to demean her and that’s what he was trying to do…wasn’t it? What am I doing? Suddenly, she felt too vulnerable. She couldn’t do this.