Moon Promise

by Carmen Fox

  I checked. It was thumping a steady rhythm under my palm, just as he said. “What you’re suggesting, that’s not an easy decision to make.”

  “I’m used to life on my terms, too, and handing the keys over to someone else terrifies me. And one day moving to a different country to help you rule a pack? Scares the shit out of me. But you know what’s worse? Not being with you.”

  The Moon Promise, we learned as children, was a mutual pact. A two-way street. How could I have overlooked that? If I went through with this, Drake was going to be my mate, my life and my soul.

  At long last, a genuine smile worked its way onto my lips. “You’d be mine. Interesting. Very interesting.”

  He chuckled. “I bleed heart for you, and you go on a power trip. Figures.”

  I kissed his cheek. “You’re right. I’m in love with you. Remember that, because I’ll be too self-absorbed to say it as often as you deserve.”

  “I’ll remind you.” He took my hand. “Is that a yes?”

  Oh jeez. It all came down to one question. Could I imagine life without him?

  I glanced at the candle, for no reason other than to avoid looking at him. “That’s a yes.”

  Twenty-seven

  My hands were clammy, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken a free breath, unencumbered by tight lungs. Tonight, the full moon was going to change my life.

  Once we’d made the decision to commit, we didn’t have sex. Instead, we talked. Really talked. About how losing Raven had hurt him. About what a good guy Buck had been—needy, yes, but also helpful. About the changes that lay ahead. And then I’d spent the night, and every night for the past week, in his arms.

  Just the two of us, stripped bare of all pretenses. No more werewolf games. No challenges. No sex.

  How we’d survived was a miracle.

  By day, I threw myself into the preparations for the Moon Festival, which was slated for three days after the full moon. That was the sacrifice I made in order to keep my mind off Drake’s naked chest. Jonah’s gratitude went unspoken, but not unnoticed. The little things he did made his feelings clear enough, like the way he confided in me about his growing affection for Natalie, or the fact that he added my name to the Moon Festival committee’s call sheet.

  All mysteries had been solved. Liza had sent me on my journey in the most cryptic way, and she’d been right not to elaborate. My way forward lay mapped out in front of me, designed by my own hand. One day, I might do the same for my daughter. Would I run into Liza again? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, she’d done her part. Wherever she was, I hoped she’d find happiness, too.

  As for me, the wait to start my new life was finally over.

  We’d kept busy today, Drake and I. We’d cooked a meal together, took a walk through my mother’s old camp, and did about a hundred other things that didn’t involve the words moon or promise.

  By nine o’clock, I was jittery as hell and an emotional wreck. Drake took my hand and gave me that look that just about obliterated my thoughts. “The moon’s ripe, and so are we.”

  Clutching a blanket in his free hand, he led me out of the cottage and into the woods.

  “You know what?” I stumbled after him. “I didn’t tell my dad. Doesn’t he deserve to hear the good news? This decision will affect him, too.”

  “Call him tomorrow. Now quit stalling.”

  Darkness shrouded the world, save for the silver moonbeams that cast weak shadows around us. The temperature had dropped to a tolerable level, but the most stunning aspect of this location, one I’d failed to appreciate before, was the scent around us. The soft, satisfying fragrance of freshly carved wood piggybacked onto the herbal tang of cut grass.

  A smell more like home couldn’t be found on this planet.

  “Where are we going?” I kept pace with Drake, not without sneaking a glance at his ass.

  I’d developed a mild obsession with it—no surprise after our self-imposed celibacy—but it wasn’t the only part of his body I wanted to sink my teeth into. And before the night was out, I’d do exactly that.

  We headed to a large patch of grass surrounded by a circle of trees.

  Here, he spread the blanket and grinned. That guy didn’t have cold feet in the least.

  I glanced at the picnic blanket that wasn’t going to be used for any picnic. “So we’re doing this, huh?”

  He kissed me, sensually and languidly, exploiting my temporary loss of reason to rid me of my clothes. Then he removed his. A mere formality without seduction. Naked, we stood in each other’s arms and let the breeze caress us.

  “Last chance,” he whispered. “We can wait if this is happening too soon for you. There will be more full moons after tonight.”

  The feel of his skin under my palm calmed and excited me in equal measures. “I’d considered finding someone, someone I didn’t hate, one day, but that wasn’t supposed to happen for a long time. You messed up my plan.”

  He rested his arms on my shoulder and regarded me with an air of mischief. “I bet it was a good plan. You probably have a diagram on the wall of your office.”

  “It’s color coded, too.”

  “But now that I’m here...” He tilted his head.

  “Yes. Now that you’re here...”

  We stood, separate in our nakedness but united in our decision.

  He gently nudged me back to look at me. “Don’t be scared, 'kay?”

  “Who says I’m scared?”

  Actually, the tremble in my voice said it pretty clearly.

  Drake tightened his jaw, and then leaned forward until our foreheads touched. “Sweet Kensi. My love is yours, and with it, my future. I will foreswear all others, from now until eternity. You are my true and rightful mate forever, and this I swear by the moon.”

  The wind didn’t blow. The trees didn’t rustle. Where was the resistance against his words? The objections to keep him at arm’s length?

  None remained. For the first time in my life, my doubts were silent.

  “Sweet Drake. My love is yours, and with it, my future. I will foreswear all others, from now until eternity. You are my true and rightful mate forever.” I inhaled deeply, not to play for time, but to make sure my voice wouldn’t break. “And this I swear by the moon.”

  Our breaths came strong, fast.

  He straightened, and traced my lips with his thumb. “You’re shivering.”

  Understatement. I was a walking rattle. My entire body had turned into a cabinet assembly kit without the screws. “You’re surprised? This is a big deal. Plus, it’s actually a little cold, when only this morning it was over a hundred degrees. Oh, and I’m naked.”

  “That you are.” He lowered himself onto the blanket and beckoned for me to join him. “Now stop panicking. And you’ll get used to the weather around here. It changes faster than your moods.”

  I kneeled by his side and shoved him. “Your seduction technique sucks.”

  He kissed me gently, while at the same time, reclining me onto my back. The touch of his lips and the play of his tongue took away the shakes and infused me with an entirely different energy.

  Then he cupped my face with his hands. “Are you going to take over again tonight, or are you going to trust me?”

  “Trust you with what?”

  “Your heart.” He slid one hand down my body and observed its journey along my curves. “Don’t get me wrong. I love it when you’re in charge. It’s none of the work and twice the reward. But I don’t want you to use sex to put up walls between us.”

  “I won’t.” I slung my hands around his neck and coaxed him fully on top of me. “See?”

  His frame didn’t only warm my skin, it also pushed heat into spots that lay far, far deeper.

  For another moment, we kissed and nothing else. Our hands didn’t wander, our legs didn’t move. This moment was all about his weight on me, the feel of his mouth, and about teasing wet kisses that made my core vibrate.

  He parted my lips, paved the way
for his tongue. Flashes of lightning coursed through me, and it was at that moment that the full impact of our decision dawned on me. This bliss, this unerring knowledge that my world was in kilter and I’d never want for love or affection again, would be inscribed into my soul. More permanent than the tattoo on Drake’s arm. My obstinacy, my neuroses, my guilty pleasures—he’d uncover each in time, just as I’d learn his quirks, in the glow of eternal love.

  When we separated, Drake’s eyes, almost entirely silver tonight, watched. Not watched, communicated. And his unspoken words made the heat pool into my cheeks. His next kiss was fluid, a tender touch that sent a flutter through my stomach. It flipped a switch that made my legs open, and he swiftly arranged himself between them.

  He was primed, ready to go, yet he slid his hand along my breast, my waist, my hip with languid certainty. Our fingers scouted each other’s shapes, each bump and each kink receiving special attention.

  I was getting wetter by the minute, but wasn’t prepared to beg for him.

  Yet.

  “Say when you’re ready, princess.”

  Even at this stage, hard as a rock, he remained attentive. Nudging, not pushing. Suggesting, not forcing.

  My skin hummed under his exploration, and my hips squirmed for him.

  A crack ripped through the air. I froze. “What was that?”

  “The woods.” He smiled. “You’ve lived in the city for too long.”

  The tension flowed from my shoulders. “Yeah. Guess I’ll have to get used to living in the woods again.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll turn you into a yokel like me in no time.” He peppered soft kisses across my neck.

  I sighed, but in a way to let him know I was relishing his attention. Drake had learned my secret spots, and he used his knowledge with lethal precision. His hands grazed where lightness sent a shiver down my back. Rubbed where pressure brought stars to my eyes.

  Finally, my body melted into an ocean of lava, hungry to claim him. My need for my mate tipped into a yearning that shook my soul.

  I seized his shoulder, buried my hand in his hair, slid my heel up along his leg. My need for him was too great, too urgent to leave the pace up to him. I wanted him now. No more delays. He drew me closer, skin against skin, feeding off my mouth with a hunger that wouldn’t be sated. Never again would we go our separate ways. We’d spend every free moment in our embrace, where the firmness of his chest made my heart gallop, and the feel of his length promised a bliss no other man could.

  “I’m ready,” I whispered. And I so was. The heat between my legs pulsed like a beacon, guiding him.

  “Thank God.” He grabbed my knee, slid his shaft along my wet nub, then drove into me.

  The force with which he entered me stopped my lungs. My mouth opened for a moan. Within the flicker of a flame, he’d slid out and pumped back in.

  So fast. No reaction time. Mind blown.

  “You’re testing my sanity.” I breathed in his scent, all freshness and sweat and arousal.

  “Sanity’s overrated.” He kept me between his elbows and used his legs and butt to thrust back in, probing, searching.

  A delicious thump here, a teasing blow there kept me in a state of constant arousal. No let-up. No break. Move after move, he honed in on my spot.

  Another near miss, and I prodded his hip, shifted aside. I had to get on top, guide him—

  A moan ripped through my lungs. And another, as he struck bull’s eye again.

  “Found it then?” He chuckled.

  I arched my back. “Ye-es.”

  He built up a new rhythm, unhurried now, calculated, and with devastating aim.

  “Don’t stop.” My voice quivered. “God. Don’t stop.”

  I dug my nails into his back, couldn’t let go. This was better. Oh hell. Much better than calling the shots.

  “You’ve no idea how this feels.” His voice was labored, his forehead wet.

  “Yes, I do.” I wiped his brow, while waves of bliss melted my lower half. “If only I’d known...”

  He gave a triumphant grin and bent my knees sideways to open me further.

  His girth spread my walls, bumped my spot, while his length massaged my clit, until I was a sweaty, trembling mess. The exquisite ache in my core toyed with my sense of self, as nothing I’d ever known existed anymore. Just he and I, under the full moon. I snapped for air, clenched my thighs around him, drew him into me until his balls squished against me. If I could, I’d take them in, too, anything to have him fill me to the brink.

  He firmed his hand around my thigh. “My show, so take it easy.”

  “Are you freaking kidding me?” But I relaxed against the sensations until I was awash with the whirl of breathless anticipation. Any minute now, I’d die the sweetest of deaths, or would bear witness to something truly religious.

  The tingles rushed into the deepest reaches of my mind. I lifted my head for a kiss. He rocked his hips, gave me nothing I wanted yet all I needed, when finally, we reached perfect sync. He moved his mouth across my body to my breast. Sparks fired on the surface of my skin, in the deepest cells of my core. The to and fro left room for nothing but the staggering heights he pushed me to.

  “Oh mm-hmm,” I mumbled repeatedly, too far out of my mind to even form words.

  Sway by sway, the tension amplified until finally, loudly, almost painfully, I came undone. I rode my orgasm with my legs locked around him. Seconds became moments. More thuds thrust into me, and Drake’s shoulders tautened under my hands. He grunted deep, once, twice, then all but collapsed on top of me, spent.

  The breeze licked the parts of my skin that weren’t protected by him. The cool air dried my face and brought oxygen to my overworked lungs.

  At long last, I slid my rubbery legs onto the ground and spread my arms as my muscles turned to water.

  Drake lifted his head. “Still alive?”

  I mm-hmm-ed. “That was quite something.”

  “Hell yeah. Can I assume the country lad pleased the princess?”

  “Are you kidding? Your moves should be patented. You’d make a killing.”

  “How about we keep them our secret?” The tenderness in his voice nearly brought me to tears.

  This surge of emotion, this love I felt for him, was alien and yet familiar. Shit. I was totally whipped.

  I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight. “By the way, I see you more as the stable boy.”

  “Whatever gets you off.” He buried his nose and chin in the crook of my neck.

  My mate. Drake of all people was my mate.

  Who’d have thought?

  Twenty-eight

  We lay under the trees’ canopy, the swollen moon high above us, legs and arms intertwined. Our sweat-soaked bodies still trembled from exertion.

  I placed my hand on his chest. “They say the only time a man thinks clearly are the five minutes after he comes. The one time he’s not scheming to get a woman into bed. So how about it? Are you regretting taking the Moon Promise?”

  His heart pounded with force. Good. I had no intention of losing him to a heart murmur. Or ever.

  His eyes shimmered almost as bright as the moon. “With my thoughts clear, I promise you I’m not. I love you.” His expression shifted into pensive. “Of course the next time I say these words, I’ll be trying to get you into bed again.”

  “Not the worst prospect, but here’s the small print.” I patted his cheek. “If I agree to have sex with you more or less whenever you want, you’d better work your ass off to make me enjoy it.”

  “For someone who’s subjugated herself, you have a pretty big mouth.”

  “Submitted. Voluntarily. Temporarily.” I grinned. “Besides, isn’t a big mouth an asset in a woman?”

  “I hope it will turn out in my favor, yes.”

  We interlocked hands and let the breeze tickle our bodies. I’d never had sex outside before. Going by this occasion, it wouldn’t be the last time. Being one with nature had intensified my link with Dr
ake. The freedom and total abandon of our joining built into a physical and mental climax like no other.

  I swiveled my head to the moon. “I feel more connected to you, but physically, nothing has changed. What if it didn’t work?” I closed my eyes. “What if you’ve promised your future to a useless dud?”

  “You’ll never be useless to me. If nothing happens, then nothing happens. But give it time. I don’t know if the shift is meant to be immediate. Maybe you have to wait until the next full moon.”

  I blew a raspberry. “Waiting sucks.”

  “You know you can never tell anyone you’re a direct descendant of the First Ones. If other werewolves hear about this, they might try to get to you.”

  “Why?”

  “To make babies with you.”

  “I’m mated to you now.”

  “And I’ll protect you any way I know how.” He placed his hands over my mouth. “Even if you are perfectly capable of kicking ass yourself, I know.” His kicking ass came as a poor imitation of my voice.

  My stomach rumbled without sound and tightened into a dense ball. I should have had a few of the chocolates Drake kept around the house for me.

  Man might live off air and love alone, but woman won’t. At least not this one.

  “What about Jonah? Shouldn’t he know?”

  “Definitely not.”

  “He’s your alpha. Your friend.” I dug the heel of my hand into my stomach, pushing the cramp down.

  “And I wish him all the best and will serve him as a protector until we leave. But you are my mate.”

  Pain exploded in my core, forcing me into a ball. Black and white flashes burst before my eyes as an unbearable burn decimated my nervous system.

  “Kensi?” Drake’s muffled voice barely grazed me.

  My throat twisted, my tongue swelled to twice its size. I turned onto the side to force myself onto my hands and knees, but my knees were gone.

  How? Dreams disappeared, chocolates did, but knees?

  Another wave of agony rippled through me. I moaned, too weak for a scream.

  “Let it happen, Kensi. Breathe. Come on.”