Shadow Walker (3 page)

She jerked her arm again only to have him grab the other. Gritting her teeth at the press of his hard body against hers, Amber glared up at him. “Not…willingly,” she ground out. “I don't want to hurt you Dean, and I don't know if I'll be able to help that or not, especially if you don't let me go,
now
.”

Realization sparked in his eyes. He loosened his grip for a moment, moving his body back from her. Just when she tried to pull away, Dean lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. She stiffened for a moment, and then jerked her arms out of his hands. She grabbed the front of his shirt, and wrapping her hands in the material, pulled him closer while her nails completely shredded it.

Pushing her back against the wall, Dean pressed his body to hers. Amber trembled as she ran her hands down his chest to his waist. Her patience was nonexistent when she attempted to fumble with his belt. She gripped the buckle, ripped it from the belt, and flung it across the room. Biting his tongue, she shoved him to the couch.

Dean sat back, eyeing her.

Amber could almost see her own reflection in his eyes while she stalked him. Heat flushed her body with excitement, and she could feel the Tigress rise in anticipation of their joining.

The pulse in his neck throbbed. He took a steadying breath.

Amber eyed his perfect, sculpted chest, stomach, and arms. With a grin, she noticed the tattoo Casey had mentioned. On his right shoulder was a picture of a white tiger peering through a thatch of bamboo. She licked her lips and traced the edge with her finger.

“Your sister mentioned you liked tigers.”

The muscles in his arm twitched at her caress. Desire burned in his eyes. “You could say I've had a fascination with them for a long time. Casey's fixation has always been the wolf.” He stood and moved closer to her. Pulling her to him, his hands lifting her sweater.

Amber ground her teeth when his lips trailed down the side of her neck while his warm hands caressed her back. Lacking the patience necessary for him to undress them both, she yanked down his jeans and shorts and used magic to remove her clothing. Shoving him back onto the couch she straddled his thighs. Her lips branded his and she growled, wrapping her arms around his thick, broad shoulders. For the first time since becoming a Were-tiger, she felt tiny like her human frame suggested.

The flame of her desire burned brighter when Dean's hand went to her waist, pulling her to him. She gasped, feeling the true size of him brush against her. He may have been human, but he could sure give the bear she'd been with during her last heat, a run for his money. Sinking her fingers into his hair, Amber pulled his head back, exposing his throat. She ran her tongue from the collarbone up the carotid artery, then back to his Adams apple, which she gave a gentle nip with her teeth.

Slipping his hands around her rear, Dean stood. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on. The heat rose, like the fire was going to burn her from the inside out. Unable to get enough of his mouth, she licked his lips.

Dean knew what a female Were went through during her heat and knew if he didn't satisfy Amber, she could go on to the next willing participant. Being a man of pride, he’d no plan of letting her do so and was determined to prove he had the prowess of any animal.

She growled when he leaned her against the wall. “Come on, let’s stop playing.” Her hiss traveled down his spine.

“I've every intention of giving you what you need to get your head back on straight. So you'll just have to show a little patience here.” His hands roamed her body. She wriggled against him, driving him insane.

“I've
never
denounced a lover, no matter his prowess,” she breathed when he took one of her nipples into his mouth. Amber hissed and sunk her fingers into his hair.

“Then you've not had a
good
lover before.” He kissed her again, and carrying her to the couch, laid her back, determined to take his time and please her properly.

In every moan of pleasure or bite of her nails, Dean knew he brought Amber to new heights of pleasure she'd never been taken to before.

When finally lowering himself between her thighs, he tried to repress a shiver of his own excitement. She gasped, and her entire body tightened beneath him at his entrance. Dean groaned and strove for control while a series of powerful orgasms wracked her body. She was, however, the Tigress in heat, when all too soon she brought him to the edge and beyond. He heard the animal bellow out her pleasure. While they curled together on the rug near the couch, Amber literally purred and nuzzled his neck before she closed her eyes.

He smoothed the dark curls from her cheek and looked down at her in quiet adoration. The tiny little package of dynamite in his arms had managed to do something no other woman had. She had opened a place in his heart he’d been sure would never open.

* * * *

Amber sighed and rolled over. Dean stirred in the bed next to her. He had turned over sometime during the night, and his back was to her. This was the first time she'd ever let a man share her bed for longer than the time it took for her
attempt
at satisfaction. She had to admit, Dean had
more
than satisfied her, which was the only reason he’d been allowed to stay.
Not
because he was her best friend’s brother.

Looking at the inside of her left wrist, Amber gave a disappointed sigh. No burning sensation, no marks. It had been a slight hope against hope. But she wasn’t lucky enough to have found her life mate just yet.

She lifted her hand to touch his shoulder and stopped herself short. There was no reason to get attached if the fates hadn't chosen them to be. Rolling onto her side with her back to him, she tried to go back to sleep.

* * * *

Dean rubbed his eyes. The sunlight shining in the window blinded him. Blinking, he rolled onto his stomach and looked at Amber. She was asleep on her back, her dark, curly hair framing her face. A few pieces fanned out across her breasts. The sheet only covered her from the waist down. Her left arm was tucked beneath her head with her right curled across her stomach. She was an alluring sight. Dean felt himself stir again at the mere thought of touching her.

Reaching out, he stroked a few soft curls from her face and smiled when she turned toward him and opened her eyes. “Morning,” he said unable to hold back a gentle smile.

“I'm
so not
a morning person,” she mumbled, stretching lithe as any tiger.

Dean laughed. “Me either.” He snuggled closer and reached out with his empathy to see how his touch would be welcomed.

“You're lucky,” she whispered. “You're the first man I've not kicked from my bed in the middle of the night.” Amber made no attempt to hide her nudity when she curled onto her side, facing him, the sheet sliding from her hip with the movement.

He moistened his lips, looking her over. Drawing his arm back to rest on his thigh, he didn’t touch her. Things were different in the light of day. Sensing sadness, Dean couldn't understand. “Why are you sad?”

Her soft brown eyes hardened. She pulled the sheet over herself and looked away from him. “Please. Don't try to read me.”

Shaking his head, he sighed. “I'm sorry.” He sat up. “Asking for too much, too soon, I guess.” Dean set his feet on the floor, facing the window with the rising sun.

* * * *

Amber watched the sun's rays glow around him and smiled to herself. He was a handsome sight. She wanted to reach out to him and draw him back into the bed with her. To just enjoy a few more minutes. “Don't leave yet,” she whispered when he began to lift the covers.

Throwing back her question from the night before, he breathed, “What do you expect of
me
, Amber?”

“Please, just a few more minutes.” The emotion in her voice was something foreign to her. She had dropped all of her walls last night during their joining and found she lacked the energy to put them back up.

“Why?”

She clenched her fists. “Why must you question everything? You're an empath. Don't you ever just go with the flow? Roll with the punches? See what happens instead of questioning everything?” Letting out an exasperated breath, she sat up, staring at his back. “Look, I can't promise you anything other than I would never with intent bring you physical harm. I hardly have control over my own emotions much less having to think about someone else's. To break it down as simply as possible—I am a bitch. I can be cruel, mean, nasty, and vicious. I'm a tiger, we're not known for our compassion.” With only silence for an answer, she rose reluctantly from the bed and went into the bathroom to shower.

It took a few moments until the water heated to the right temperature. She waited with dread to hear the front door slam when Dean left. The time they’d spent together had been enjoyable, but if it wasn’t meant to be, why push it? Grinding her teeth, Amber fought the burn of tears and the lump that rose in her throat. She stepped into the tub.

The curtain was whisked back. Dean was there. A muscle ticked in his jaw, anger glowed in his eyes. The tears she’d been trying in vain to control betrayed her and streamed down her cheeks. He stepped into the tub and pulled her close. At first she tried to resist, then sagged against him, burying her face in his chest. Her warm tears mixed with the spray of the shower.

“Shh…” Dean whispered.

She pulled away and turned her back to him. “I'm sorry.” The water sprayed over her head washing the tears from her face.

He put a gentle hand to her waist and stepped close behind her. She relaxed again when his arms slid around her. “You've
nothing
to be sorry for.”

Amber closed her eyes, stroking the strong arms that held her firm and safe. Reaching up to caress his scruffy cheek, he kissed her temple. His lips trailed down her cheek and over to the corner of her mouth. Her body reacted to his again. Turning her head, his mouth caressed hers.

No man had ever affected her like this. Sex was something that was tolerated to soothe the heat the Tigress caused. It had never meant anything in the past. She’d never derived any sort of pleasure from it and couldn't comprehend why things were so different now.

She turned to him, sliding her hands up his defined chest and looked into his eyes. What was it about this man who towered over her and made her feel so secure, when other men his size had before only drawn her rage? The twins she'd killed a week before were much larger than he. Of course, their good looks hadn't been lost on her, either. They had been
perfect
.

He wasn't. There was a scar on his upper lip. Dean was incredible, though. A rugged handsome, but not magazine perfect. Most Weres, supernatural and paranormal creatures, were so incredibly good looking it should have been a sin to be born that way.

Dean was not invulnerable. The scar on his lip attested to it. Scarring on a Were was unusual unless the injury happened prior to puberty. That was why she still carried the scars on her side and stomach from where her mother had tried to kill her as a child.

“Stop thinking,” Dean whispered, pressing her against the wall. “If you think too much you can't feel.”

“Maybe that's my problem.” She looked in his eyes, and he reached down, lifting her.

“Just close your eyes and concentrate only on what you’re feeling, if only for a few minutes.” He kissed her again.

Sliding her hands into his hair, pulling him closer, she groaned when he eased into her once more. Resting her forehead against his, Amber closed her eyes. Heeding his advice—feeling.

And oh…he felt so good.

Dean yawned, rolling over, and his eyes focused on the clock on Amber's nightstand—11:52 p.m. He lay on the pillows, propped on his side, watching Amber sleep. She was on her back, one arm draped across her stomach, the other resting across her hip. Her dark hair fell in curls around her face.

Unable to restrain himself, he reached over and stroked her cheek. She didn't pull away from his touch, but nuzzled his hand. Smiling he leaned over, giving her a tender kiss. Amber's hands rose up and caressed his neck and shoulders.

When he pulled back, Amber opened her eyes, the edge of her mouth ticked up. “Do you sleep?”

“Very little. I don’t need a whole lot in order to function. The marines taught me how to do that.” He couldn't help but smile when she snuggled her body against his.

“So if I curl up to you, you won't mind?” she asked, batting her long lashes at him.

Stroking a few strands of hair from her face, he looked in her eyes. “You can curl against me anytime.” Purring, she wrapped herself around him, nibbling at his neck. Closing his eyes, he felt his cock rise and wondered how anyone could handle this much sex in just two days’ time. They had moved into the final day of Amber’s heat, and the thought brought a pang of sadness to him.

Amber furrowed her brows when she looked up at him. “What's the matter?”

“Nothing…”

“Don't lie to me, please.” She sat up, looking him in the eyes. “
Please
?”

Dean swallowed and looked down from her penetrating gaze for a moment. “Today is the last day of your heat. I kind of…don't want it to end. And I don't just mean for the sex. It’s been great. This closeness…we've shared, that’s what I'm going to miss. It’s something I've not had with another woman. I’m just not looking forward to letting you go.”

Amber looked down from his eyes. “It has gone by very fast.” Biting her lower lip, she pulled her knees to her chest. “Normally by now, I'm trying to go on and pretend my heat is over.”

“Has it ever worked?”

“I pretend it does and grit my way through the third day when everything returns to normal. This is the first time I've…” She ran a finger over his lips. “This is the first time I've not wanted to leave my bed.”