Walker (Bowen Boys, #1)(6)

And lovely she was. A small, pert nose, high cheekbones, as well as full, lush lips that he wanted so desperately to kiss. The swelling had gone down considerably and in its place was a woman he could look at and wanted to for the rest of his life. He leaned back in the chair and thought about her and the relationship that could never be. Everything about her made him want to strip down and crawl into bed with her and never leave.

Khan hadn’t actually forbidden it, but he had been very vocal in that he didn’t want her here. He could understand him to a point and his brother, oldest of them all, was the new leader. But neither Khan nor the rest of them, with the exception of his mother and father, knew that she was his mate. He doubted very much that it would make a difference to Khan either.

But the fact remained she was his other half. Standing up, he leaned over her and smelled her. He tried to tell himself it was to see if any of her wounds were infected, but knew it for the lie that it was. He wanted her scent and nothing more. Leaving her before he did something incredibly stupid like lick her throat, he closed the door softly behind him. His mother was standing in the hall when he looked up.

“She’s sleeping again. I didn’t give her anything for pain because she might use that to leave—”

“Did you talk to her? Did you tell her what she is to you?”

He shook his head, frankly tired of telling her that he wasn’t going to claim her.

“She’ll be gone soon enough and then what are you going to do?”

He kissed his mom’s forehead and stepped back. “Nothing. I have to go into town and check on a patient. Don’t wait up for me.”

“What kind of patient needs you for that long? Walker Bowen, answer me this minute.” He stopped on the stairs and turned to look at her. She had always been very perceptive and now was no different. “If you think going to another woman will solve your problem in that room then you’re just as na?ve as your brother.”

“Stay out of this, Mom. This is between her and me, and I will do what I want. I’m a grown man who knows what I’m about. And have been for some time.” He looked down the stairs to avoid seeing the look in her eyes. “I won’t be coming back until she’s able to move on her own. She’s well enough in her healing that she only needs to rest and heal.”

He was down the stairs and out the door before he changed his mind. His mom said his name a couple of times, but he didn’t turn back. He felt like shit enough and didn’t need her compounding it. It didn’t help him that his brother Dylan was leaning against his truck when he came out.

“Wanna go for a quick run?”

Walker shook his head.

“Then how about we go into town, get roaring drunk, f*ck a few girls, and hole up at my place for a few days while Khan cools off? He’s pissed again.”

Walker got into his truck and Dylan in the passenger side. “What about now? I swear to Christ, I’m thinking about hiring someone to get him laid so he’ll relax. Maybe if he does then he’ll see that we’re grown men and not his children.”

Both men laughed and Walker pulled out into traffic off the compound. He was about a mile out when he turned to his brother and saw that he was staring at him. Dylan, like their mom, was very good at simply waiting until someone fessed up to whatever they had done. Walker shifted on the seat and tried not to give in. But he needed to tell someone and Dylan wouldn’t tell if he asked him not to.

“She’s my mate. The girl sleeping in my bed right now? She’s my mate.” Dylan nodded and Walker wasn’t sure if he meant he knew or to continue. Walker continued. “Her name is Caitlynne McCray. She told Dad when he asked, but to me she’s… I’m not going to claim her.”

“Because of Khan.”

It wasn’t a question, but Walker nodded anyway.

“Thought so. You may not have claimed her, but you do smell like her a little. So how does that work? You not claiming her?”

He shrugged. “When she’s better, she’ll go back to wherever she came from and I’ll go about my business.”

“You think that’ll be all it takes?”

Walker didn’t know and said so.

“I don’t. I’m pretty sure that once you find her it’s either claim or go f*cking nut ball on her. I read somewhere that a male didn’t claim his mate for whatever reason and he simply went insane until he did. Then it wasn’t pretty. He was in such bad shape that he ended up raping her and it was all she wrote after that.”

Walker looked at his brother then back at the road. “Where the hell do you get this shit? He wouldn’t be able to rape her, he wouldn’t be able…you’re making that shit up.”

“Nope. Mom has those books that she’s always pushing us to read. The ones about the traits and traditions of our kind? You should read the second one…or the third, I can’t remember, but it talks about all sorts of reasons for a mate to claim and what happens when you don’t.”

Walker didn’t ask where they books were because he knew. Right now, book three was in his home, given to him by their mom a few days ago. He hadn’t planned on reading it, but now thought that he should give it a try. He looked over at Dylan when he laughed.

“And trying to f*ck her out of your system won’t work either. I can’t remember why, but I don’t think you can get any satisfaction from anyone but her.”