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His snort stirred my hair. “A cheap price to pay for peace, Alys.”
Walker locked the door when we left. He preceded me into the study and stopped when I nudged his back with the knife I’d pocketed at the Dumonts’.
“Don’t ever compel me to silence again,” I said, low and even.
He gazed down at me. The silence stretched, and he nodded.
I sheathed the knife and dropped into one of the chairs. Sighing, he started filling out forms. There was a stack with my name attached to it, printed by Dove from the house unit, but as soon as I sat and my aches rediscovered themselves, I decided it could wait until tomorrow. If I was really lucky, Walker would enjoy filling out forms and we could work out an exchange of labor.
Waiting for food, I put together my persuasive argument. The room was warm, the chair soft, and I relaxed into its embrace. The mostly-healed cut at the edge of my lips tugged as an involuntary smile curled my mouth.
His focus remained entirely on the forms. I’d give him a few minutes before I made my proposal. Close my eyes, perhaps, to gather energy for the discussion.
Cool sheets half woke me as I slid between them. The mattress dipped as warmth pressed against my back, a familiar scent of sage and pine soothing the alarm. A gentle touch, smoothing back my hair, an arm coiled around me without sexual intent.
Strange, but I trusted him, until he showed me he didn’t serve it.
Suspended in this cocoon, no pain intruded. I let warm, soft darkness take me under again.
* * *
Walker’s bedroomhad no exterior windows, and I woke to the faint glow of the wall unit displaying the time and call log. Instead of focusing on the hour or number of messages, I shifted to look at him. Sometime in the night, he’d rolled onto his back and I’d curled against his side. Relaxed in sleep, the stern lines of his face were prominent, without warm eyes or quirky smiles to relieve them. The planes of his chest and stomach made my palms itch to touch him, but I paused.
The hesitation was unaccustomed, but I found myself caring how much sleep he’d had. Which was silly; he could go back to sleep, after. I sighed. But still, I hesitated. It was strange. Walker was the first man I’d ever wanted on an emotional level.
I wasn’t sure what to think about that.
The dimple showed by the side of his mouth while his eyes remained closed. “Still asleep here.” Amusement wrapped his words. “Don’t make me come over there.”
“Well, if you’re going to be that way about it,” I murmured, and rolled on top of him. I wasn’t sure if I was healing faster or he’d done more magic while I slept, but no muscle pain slowed me down. I’d discovered he was ticklish in a few spots, and I was not at all. It made wrestling fun.
He was gentle with me as we rolled together, his smile so bright that it lit his face, making him the most handsome man I’d ever seen. I hated that I wanted more than just to have sex with him. I wanted to kiss him. To make him laugh. To hear his voice as he teased me.
Walker was so fucking beautiful. And amazing. It was hard not to think that he might end up being just another thing in my life that I loved and lost.
His wall unit lit up before we had progressed very far. The red flicker illuminated the side of Walker’s face as he drew back.
“This is my emergency line.” He pulled the sheet up to cover me before he sat up. He didn’t bother to cover himself.
“Acknowledged.” The screen brightened, showing Robert Dumont, jacket unbuttoned, his work office in view behind him.
For some reason, I hadn’t seen Walker naked recently. I’d felt him, of course, but the long lean lines of him were nice to ogle. The view from my angle was mostly back and side, muscle rippling as he crossed his arms.
“Why are you using this number?” asked Walker.
Robert rubbed his eyes. He’d cleaned up, his hair combed again, but his shoulders slumped. “A friend has taken over my filibuster,” he said in a monotone. “I’m calling to let you know I found Kara. She ended up in the President's Guard’s hands—somehow—and they questioned her and found out about the agreement made in the garden by my son’s biological mother. Based on the other party in the agreement, Defense and several other interests are already vested in the weaponization potential of the product of said agreement.”
Robert-speak. He was putting it so that he could say with truth that he’d only discussed government business with an associate - though why Walker? I didn’t want to think about any other government position he might hold, other than accountant. He was probably in intelligence.
So Robert was informing Walker of current debates in the halls of government. What he was actually saying to Walker chilled me, even if it wasn’t unexpected. I hadn’t even conceived the damn baby yet and the government of this place was arguing over who owned him or her.
Poor Kara. She wouldn’t have wanted to tell them; they must have put some really intense pressure on her.
“I see,” said Walker.
“I’ve moved for an adjournment, based on the Vaughn rule and Elise’s injuries, and I’m gathering votes, but it might be best if—” For the first time, his eyes shifted, and he focused on me.
He was fighting for me and my kid to be. It warmed my heart a bit, and the expression on his face made me want to laugh. It was pure Robert ‘no comment’.
