Skin Walkers Conn Read online

  Still not looking at her, Conn pushed her hand away. “Not until your clean.”

  Aries swallowed hard. Conn’s voice sounded different to her, deeper, controlled. She was staring at his profile when his hand slid up under the towel. She gasped and struggled to control her breathing when he growled, “Spread your legs.”

  She wanted to refuse but knew that doing so would make a big deal out of something that was supposed to be quite innocent.

  She eased her legs apart and her breath hitched as Conn’s hand slid closer and closer to her sex. When his fingers finally rubbed against her she was relegated to biting her lip again to prevent a wanton moan from escaping.

  “Wider,” Conn growled.

  Thankful that the pool would prevent him from knowing how wet she had grown, Aries did as he commanded and spread her legs wider.

  At first he was simply cleaning her, brushing his fingers on her outer lips. Then his finger rubbed the hood over her clit and Aries couldn’t control the pants that escaped her as her breathing escalated. His finger rubbed against her so erotically that she tried to close her legs, but his harsh growl had her freezing.

  His fingers left her clit and went back to her folds. She noticed that his breathing too was not erratic. Again he cleaned her, but this time his hand expertly spread her lips wide and then a finger slid through her sex. Aries bucked at the pleasurable sensation even knowing that he now knew how ready and willing she was.

  Aries focused on the wall across the room and tried to convince herself that it was just a bath and that she shouldn’t be reacting so inappropriately to his touch, but when one thick digit slid into her all rationale thought was lost.

  She arched her body and tossed her head back. A low moan escaped her parted lips and was rewarded as Conn inserted a second finger and slowly began to work them inside her. The towel that had been tucked tight against her chest slipped free and dropped into the pool exposing her breasts. Aries knew she should have been mortified, but the pleasure that was roiling through her prevented any such diffidence. Instead she spread her legs wider and clutched Conn’s arm with her good hand as he finger fucked her, drawing his digits nearly all the way out before reinserting them up to his knuckles. His movements were deliciously slow and measured and had Aries grinding her hips to encourage more frantic movement.

  Aries’ eyes were closed and she gasped in surprise when Conn’s mouth drew in one hard nipple. Aries pleaded his name as she was pushed closer and closer to the precipice of rapture.

  Curling his fingers inside her, Conn quickly fingered the spot in her that sent Aries over the edge. She called his name even as her tight channel clamped tightly to his fingers wishing to milk his seed but instead settling on holding his fingers deep inside her until the pleasure that rolled through her crescendoed then slowly began to subside.

  Aries righted her head and her eyes locked with the darker more animalistic ones of Conn. Mortification was instant. She’d just ridden his fingers to completion and had no idea what to say even knowing his fingers were still lodged deep inside her.

  Slowly withdrawing his fingers, Conn lifted them from the pool and Aries’ cheeks flamed to see them still coated with her honey. Conn didn’t take his eyes from hers as he inserted his fingers into his mouth and sucked them clean with an appreciative groan.

  Aries opened her mouth to speak, “I-I…”

  A knock at the door halted her. “Everything all right in there?”

  Aries had never been so relieved to hear Dr. Ames’ voice.

  “Go away!” Conn growled viciously.

  “Just don’t take too long Commander Drago, it’s time for Aries to take her meds.”

  Cursing under his breath, Conn blinked several times and drew in a deep breath. His eyes lightened back to normal and he wrapped the towel around Aries before he lifted her from the water and carried her from the pool. He dried her quickly and removed the plastic from her limbs all while sporting an enormous erection.

  “Sorry I didn’t get to your hair.” He didn’t look up from drying her feet. “Tomorrow.”

  Tomorrow! Aries was terrified of repeating the incident that had just occurred and there was no way in hell she’d let him bathe her again tomorrow. She didn’t respond though and she was dressed and strolled back to her room without another word from Conn.

  Chapter 28

  Sitting in her room, Aries felt deflated at the fact that not only had Conn not been back to bathe her the second night as promised, it had now been a full week without him bathing her or even breaching the subject at all. Wordlessly he showed up to her appointments, refused to make eye contact, then left before Dr. Ames could even finish her examination.

  God I wish Jenny was here! So far as Aries knew, she was one of only a handful of females at Apex and it was scary and extremely lonely. She missed her long conversations with Jenny and she desperately needed someone to talk to about Conn’s sudden shift in attitude. He’d been so bad that Aries had spent the past few days fighting the urge to run away. It was, after all, what she did best. Problem was her body was still broken and was healing at what Dr. Ames referred to as, ‘an alarmingly slow rate for a Walker’. It had prompted her to share with the doctor Jenny’s theory on why she had no halo.

  Jenny thought that Aries had been born of parents that were both human, with only one parent carrying partial Walker genes. Aries had jokingly asked if Jenny was claiming that one of her parents was a Walker half-breed and Jenny had responded with a curt nod. Jenny thought the Walker genes were so recessed in Aries that not only did she not generate a halo, but it’s why she couldn’t shift for all those years. Apparently, any other Walker would have naturally shifted under periods of great duress, but Aries had to be taught.

  Jenny claimed it also explained the faint scent of pain that Aries always carried. It was her body fighting the Walker genes and her inherent urge to shift. Once Aries had shifted with Remy, Jenny surmised that the scent of pain would now be gone.

  Aries hadn’t noticed and pointed out that Conn hadn’t either. Jenny explained that in her current state Conn wouldn’t notice because she smelled too greatly of pain from the trauma her body was still healing from. Jenny only noticed the scent was gone because she was intentionally trying to pinpoint it but couldn’t find it. She warned that once Aries fully healed Conn too would notice the absence of the scent.

  Jenny had already shared her theory with Conn so it was inevitable that he’d find out that Aries had learned to shift. The thought made Aries sick because she knew he’d ask her when and where it happened and he’d be able to scent any lie she made. She’d be forced to confess that she’d shifted for the first time with Remy and she knew for a fact that Conn would go ballistic. She’d saved Remy once, but doubted she could talk Conn into sparing his life a second time. But who knew, Conn had been so detached from her lately that she doubted whether or not he’d even truly care.

  The door to her room clicked open and Dr. Ames entered, “Mrs. Drago, how are you feeling today?”

  “Bracken,” she corrected. At first she’d hoped of becoming friends with the lovely blonde haired woman whose vivid blue eyes shone brightly through her red-rimmed glasses, but that hope had been short-lived. The Doctor was no-nonsense and was much better with assessing and treating injuries than she was at dispensing any acceptable form of bed-side-manner.

  Dr. Ames stood over Aries and ignored her as she scrolled through her e-tablet. She made a few notations then returned the hand-held device to the pocket of her lab coat before leaning over to pull back on the eyelid of Aries’ still swollen eye before flashing a tiny light into her pupil.

  The door clicked open and Aries didn’t have to look, she knew it was Conn. He always came to her appointments, seemingly unwilling to allow her to be alone with any Walker aside from him.

  Her belly squeezed in excitement at his presence and the giddiness sickened her. Pulling back from the Doctor’s inspection, Aries rubbed gingerly at her sore eye, �
��That hurts.” She frowned darkly at the Doctor then turned her scowl on Conn. “Would you mind leaving?”

  Conn’s brows rose as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes. I would.”

  Aries implored the Doctor, “Can you make him leave? Don’t I have some right of privacy?” She was angry that he’d been avoiding her, and even more angry that it upset her so much. She missed him and it hurt that he’d simply abandoned her. Two can play that game.

  Dr. Ames frowned at her, “But he’s your…”

  “He’s my nothing,” Aries cut in. “I don’t want him here.”

  Dr. Ames turned to eye Conn over her shoulder. “You heard her.” She motioned with her head toward the door.

  Uncrossing his arms, Conn stalked closer to the bed. He didn’t even acknowledge Dr. Ames instead opting to glower at Aries. “I’m not leaving. What’s wrong with you?” He demanded.

  Aries’ lip curled, “What’s wrong with you?” She turned her face to stare at the wall speaking to Dr. Ames. “You’re not examining me until he’s gone.”

  “I’m not leaving Aries. Get over it.” Conn’s words were spoken on a low growl.

  “Get over yourself. I don’t need you here babysitting me. As a matter of fact, I don’t need you for anything.”

  Dr. Ames tried to interject, “If I may..”

  “No,” Conn snapped, “you may not.” The Doctor gasped when Conn grabbed her arm and pulled her to the door, “As a matter of fact, I’d like to be alone with my angel.” He opened the door and shoved Dr. Ames out with a sarcastic, “If you don’t mind.”

  “Wait, I’m…”

  Conn closed the door in the Doctor’s face, then turned to find Aries shaking her head, “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  He crossed the room in a flash and leaned over her. His nostrils flared as he scented her.

  “Stop it!” Aries pushed his chest with her good hand, “Stop smelling me!”

  “What in the hell is going on? I scent your anger, but I don’t understand its source.”

  She wanted him gone. If he was so willing to abandon her at the first opportunity then she wanted him to do so fully. As much as she knew it would hurt she didn’t want him coming back, not even to check on her health. “I told you I don’t want you here. What’s so hard to understand.” She reached up and locked slender fingers around the halo, “And take this damn thing off me.”

  Conn drew in a deep breath then expelled it slowly before pulling a chair to her bedside and sitting. “Talk. I want to know what’s going on and I want to know the truth.”

  “I want to know the truth! Why are you here?” She fought to keep her lip from trembling, but knew Conn had seen it when his eyes dipped to her lips and his features instantly softened. She jerked her head away to stare at the opposite wall. “I don’t want you coming here anymore. I want your halo off. I want you to stay away from me.”

  He grabbed her good hand and she jerked it free, wincing at the pain the movement brought.

  “Damn it Aries!”

  She turned to him when she heard his chair crash back against the wall as he rose with a ferocity.

  “I’m not going to let you push me away. Now tell me what in the hell is wrong with you so I can fix it!”

  Angry tears stung the back of her eyes. “You!” She pointed a finger at him, “You are what’s wrong with me. You drag me to StoneCrow to sell me then help me escape. We made love and I know it was for a purpose but it still meant something to me, but clearly I’m the only one that it meant anything to. You can’t even stand to be around me anymore and it…it…” she struggled searching for the right word to describe the turmoil she’d been going through. “It hurts Conn! And you only make it worse when you come here and I get my hopes up that you’ll stop being an ass and start acting like the old you.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, “But you never do. You’re a jerk and I don’t want to have to deal with it anymore.”

  She bit her lip to keep from prattling on. She hadn’t intended on telling him as much and she knew her face was flushed from the revelation.

  The door opened and Dr. Ames poked her head in.

  “Get out!” Conn growled.

  The Doctor looked from Conn to Aries before quickly disappearing back out the door.

  “Look at me,” the deep timber of his voice drew her eyes to his. He paced back and forth at the foot of her bed before stopping and bracing his arms on the foot rail to face her with an angry sneer. “Don’t you ever, and I mean ever, think that what we shared at my bunker meant anything less to me then it did to you.” He spoke through gritted teeth, “It meant more!” He jerked his hands from the foot rail and stood. “I’m sorry I’ve hurt you. It was unintentional.” He dipped his head but kept his eyes locked on hers, “I will do better!”

  Aries could only watch as he turned and exited the room with a loud slam of the door. She barely caught his, “I’ll do better” portion of the speech because her mind was still reeling at his revelation that their night of lovemaking had not only meant something to him, but in his eyes it meant more to him than it did to her.

  When Dr. Ames cautiously entered a few moments later and asked if Aries was alright, Aries could only nod.

  Chapter 29

  Another four weeks passed with Aries still in the infirmary.

  While Conn visited more frequently, it wasn’t what she’d intended when she’d confronted him about abandoning her. If anything, it was more insulting because he actually seemed pleased with himself for what he clearly considered an extra effort on his part. Meanwhile, Aries was beyond stir-crazy. The bland paint color and muted tones of the room were frustratingly blah, and the days seemed to drag on.

  God what I’d give to go for a walk outside.

  She’d asked Conn to take her out of the infirmary, but his answer was always the same. He gave her one of three excuses, which were all basically the same, she was still healing. She’d argued that fresh air would help her heal faster, so he’d had her moved to a room with a window. She’d wanted to strangle him.

  She’d finally gotten the cast removed from her leg and she actually enjoyed the physical therapy because it was the only time of day she was permitted outside of her room.

  Conn had been prevented from attending therapy with her after he’d attacked her physical therapist. He’d entered the room to discover the therapist on his knees behind Aries. Her arms were braced on two bars on either side of her as she shuffled across the soft mat under her feet. The physical therapist had his hands braced on her legs just under her ass. Apparently, it was too intimate a touch for Conn.

  Dr. Ames threatened to have him banned from the infirmary permanently if he couldn’t learn to control his jealousy. In the end, Aries knew a compromise had been reached. Conn no longer accompanied her to physical therapy, but her male therapist had been replaced by a female.

  His actions were infuriating, but mostly confusing. He clearly didn’t want her, but apparently didn’t want anyone else to have her either. It didn’t make sense. Any hope Aries had of them being more than whatever in the hell they were was rapidly dying.

  Frowning at the wall, Aries was planning her escape when the door to her exam room opened.

  Conn entered looking handsome as ever. Her heart gave a little start at his presence just as it always did when he was near, but she quickly tamped it down. She knew nothing would change. He’d stay a few minutes, inquire into her health, make a few menial observations about the weather then leave.

  She hated the room, hated the infirmary, and was growing to hate Conn for keeping her trapped in the dull and lonely confines.

  His smile had her watching him warily.

  “Morning beautiful.”

  She’d asked him repeatedly not to call her that, but he refused. Ignoring his jovial mood, she turned her head away from him hoping he’d take the hint and just leave.

  “What?” he teased, “No smile for your favorite Walker?”

  She
didn’t look at him. “You are not my favorite Walker. And if you want me to smile then tell me something funny.”

  “How about I tell you something that’ll make you happy instead?”

  She shrugged and sighed heavily, truly not caring what he had to say.

  “I’m moving you to the ranch house today.”

  That got her attention. She turned her head quickly to pin him with assessing eyes. “If you’re lying to me, I’m going to hurt you.”

  Conn laughed. “It’s not a lie. You just got medical clearance and your room has been ready for weeks.

  She couldn’t help the excitement that bubbled to the surface. She sat up straighter. “What do we have to do? Sign paperwork? Wait for Dr. Ames? Get some sort of release?”

  Shaking his head Conn crossed to hold open the door.

  James pushed a wheel chair into the room, smiling brightly. “You’re chariot m’lady.”

  Not wanting to get too excited, Aries looked from James to Conn hopefully.

  Conn smiled, crossed his thick arms over his chest and simply nodded.

  She threw the blanket off her legs but before she could turn to place her feet over the edge of the bed Conn was at her side lifting her from the bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled brightly, unable to contain her delight. She was going to the ranch house. She didn’t know what it was or where it was, but she did know it was a change, which meant that it was good.

  Gently, Conn placed her in the wheel chair then grabbed the blankets from her bed. He peeled them apart, placing one over her lap and wrapping the other around her shoulders.

  Aries was practically bouncing in her seat.

  James laughed behind her. “You were right XO. She is pretty excited.”

  “Well then, let’s not let her down.” Conn held out an arm and ushered the duo out the door. In the hall he took the lead and led them through several doors before he finally pushed open a set of large double doors.

  Cold air hit Aries head on. Her hair blew back and her breath come out in a great puff. She’d missed the cold. The chill was refreshing, stimulating. Even as James pushed her out onto the shoveled sidewalk, she felt the blood rush through her in an attempt to heat her chilling limbs.