Secrets of the Moon

by Kristy Centeno

  Because of all the deep analyzing that my brain was doing, and the nagging feeling that something was amiss with Kyran, my mind began to work overtime, making my headache much worse. I laid back down, this time on my side, and closed my eyes, hoping to get some rest.

  I fell into a restless slumber.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  My mind slowly started to focus on the fact that someone was caressing my face. At first, I thought it was just a product of my imagination brought on by the haziness of my still slightly asleep state. But when the hand lowered to gently massage my shoulder, my eyes popped open immediately. I struggled to focus through the fuzziness at the figure looming above me. I rubbed my eyes to clear them of the haze and found to my utmost surprise that Kyran was in the room with me.

  Instinct took over and I bolted to a sitting position and rushed back as far as the headboard would let me go. My eyes widened in suspicion and fear. What was he doing in the room alone with me? Where was everybody else? I looked around the room for any sign of another presence but something told me we were alone. Damn, had I fallen into a trap after all?

  “The others aren’t here.” His voice sounded oddly soft and apologetic. That only served to fuel my fear.

  “Where…where are they?” My hands clamped on to the sheets as I stared up at him.

  “Something very important came up and they had to leave.” His eyes rounded a little and panic really started to set in.

  Leaving me alone with my never-to-be, crazy boyfriend?

  “Why would they leave us alone?”

  “They had no choice.” His irises started turning from silver to gray and I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out. “And they think I’m still locked downstairs.”

  That did it. Those last few words really freaked me out.

  Terrified, I bolted off the bed and ran toward the door. No sooner had I made it off the bed than he grabbed my arm and yanked me backwards into his body. My back was to him, making my neck all the more exposed for him to rip it apart if he so desired.

  “Why do you run?” he hissed against my ear. “I won’t hurt you.”

  “You’ve already hurt me.” More than he could ever know.

  “No…” His tone lowered.

  And he let go of me. I stumbled and had to grab the dresser to steady myself.

  “I didn’t mean to. You ran into me.”

  He backed away like an injured animal, his eyes wide and glowing. His features took on a look of defeat, but I wasn’t about to fall for that expression just yet. He took several steps toward the bed and finally sat down on it, keeping his eyes glued on me.

  “I only meant to scare you, Marjorie, and things just got carried away. Je suis désolé!”

  Is he absolutely out of his ever-loving mind? Carried away? I’ll show him what carried away really looks like.

  “Carried away? Carried away!” How could he say that? My back was full of bruises; I had a gash on the back of my head and a bump the size of an apple. How dare he say he only got a little carried away?

  Furious, I grabbed the nearest hard object I could get my hands on—which happened to be the hairbrush—and hurled it at him. Of course, with his super-fast reflexes, trying to injure him was a big waste of time. He lifted both hands to cover his face from the blow the second he saw it flying his way. The hairbrush hit his open palms instead of his face and landed on his lap a second later.

  “I knew you were a jerk, but what you did last night was way over the top, even for you! You know what, Kyran, screw you! You egotistical, selfish…dog! How dare you scare me like that? Damn you!” I couldn’t help myself, tears started to roll down my cheeks.

  He didn’t move a muscle but he winced at every word I spat.

  “You had me believing you were going to kill me. Why? I thought...I thought…” My voice kept faltering and I had to stop speaking in order to regain some self-control, because by that point I couldn’t even understand my rant.

  “Why? Tell me why you did it! Why did you let me believe you were going to kill me?”

  He looked away then. It seemed as if looking at me directly was too much effort for him. All he did was lower his head and curl his hands into tight fists at his sides.

  “Answer me, Kyran! What kind of sick joke was that? Why did you do it? Did you enjoy seeing me run for my life like a scared animal? Was that it?” I kept closing the gap between us as I spat every word. Soon I was close enough to touch him. “Did you enjoy the show? I was really scared. I was really running for my life! And you have the nerve to sit there and say that you were only trying to scare me!”

  Without warning, Kyran bolted upwards, grabbing my forearms and pushing me gently against the wall. He pinned me to the wall with his body, his face only inches from mine. Kyran’s expression was a mask of emotions that both scared and confused me.

  “Because I can kill you, Marjorie! I wanted to scare you to keep you away from me, to keep you safe. I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t want to get close to me ever again,” he growled. “That whole story my family fed you about the man-eaters is real.” His eyes were glowing again. “They fight so hard to kill werewolves that take innocent lives, but they have a bloodthirsty werewolf living amongst them!”

  When comprehension over what he said reigned over my senses, my knees buckled and only the force of his body pinning mine to the wall kept me from collapsing onto the hardwood floor.

  “No…” My voice was only a whisper but he heard me just the same.

  “Yes, look at me, Marjorie. I’m a monster, a bloodthirsty killer! I’m one of them, one of the man-eaters.”

  I shook my head in denial.

  “You know what I crave more than anything in the world right now?” His face was so close to mine I had no choice but to look at him directly. “I want to taste you, your blood, and your flesh!”

  The anger I felt earlier was quickly replaced by fright.

  “Having you here is killing me!” He lifted his head and inhaled sharply. “Your scent is so damn…you…smell so appetizing.” His nostrils flared. “One day soon, I’ll kill someone and then my own family will have to do what they failed to do before.”

  His fingers dug into my forearms but I could scarcely feel it. I was more focused on what he was saying than anything else.

  “I can’t take this anymore, Marjorie, its torture!”

  “What…is…what can’t you take?”

  “Having you here with me.” He closed his eyes and lowered his head so that our foreheads touched. “My body wants to make love to you, but my killer instinct wants to kill you!”

  Oh God, those are words you never want to hear together in the same sentence. He was losing control and I had to do something to stop it.

  “Is this what you want? To kill me?” I asked, wanting to test him.

  “No! I don’t want to hurt you at all. I…”

  He pushed his body closer to mine, to where I had no space to move in any direction. The hard contours of his body molded against the soft contours of mine. I could see the battle in his eyes; I could actually feel how much he was fighting to keep his body under control.

  “I want…you.” He kissed me then.

  His lips brutalized mine in a kiss so harsh my lips swelled underneath the pressure of his. I wanted to struggle and push him away but I was afraid that by squirming like a distressed animal, I would only trigger his killer instinct further.

  The brutality of the kiss he forced on me didn’t last very long; soon it changed from fierce to soft and yielding. There was no mistaking how hard Kyran was working to control his emotions, and that brought some measure of comfort to me.

  “I…can’t do this.” He pulled back long enough for me to catch my breath.

  “Kyran…can’t you fight it?”

  His eyes changed to where they were no longer Kyran’s but that of a predator. It scared me to see such a drastic change in eyes that were completely human just seconds before.

  “What d
o you think I’m doing?”

  Confused, I could only stare at him. The muscles on his neck bulged and it was then I noticed that he was fighting the beast that was trying to come to the surface. His bloodlust had risen to dangerous levels and his body was begging to change and end the torture it was going through.

  Desperate to save us both, I came up with an idea to help us before Kyran ended up killing me and tainting his soul forever.

  “Kyran, I’m here with you. Kyran, focus on my voice, please.”

  I pushed forward so that I could brush my lips against his. When he made no move to stop me I continued, silently praying that I wouldn’t get my head ripped off in the process.

  “Don’t focus on anything but my voice, Kyran. Listen to me…feel me.”

  When he released my arms, I circled them around his neck and pulled him down so that I could kiss him. The alluring French werewolf complied, keeping his body still as I explored his mouth with my tongue. I didn’t let the fact that he stood as stiff as a piece of wood deter me one bit. Instead, I focused on his mouth and kissed him with as much bravado as I could muster under the circumstances. When he accepted the invasion of my tongue in his mouth and warmly returned the gesture, I was no longer as frightened. And when his arms wrapped around my waist, I let my guard down completely and relaxed.

  As he backed up toward the bed, I followed. In one abrupt movement, he let his body drop down, bringing me along with him. In little more than a few seconds I found myself on top of him, straddling his hips as I deepened the kiss to further distract him from lusting over my blood. After all, what better way is there to distract a man than to entice him with a very sensual kiss? He responded just like I suspected any male would, with plenty of passion and sexual determination.

  “Marjorie…”

  There was a hint of warning when he whispered my name but it wasn’t enough to force me to a stop. Instead, I pushed myself into his body, molding us together in a way that only two people who were intimate with each other should be. A soft, barely audible growl escaped his lips when I broke off the kiss. I stared down at his silver orbs and smiled.

  When this plan had rushed through my head, I figured that a few kisses would distract him from the catastrophe that was seconds away from showing its ugly face. And so far I could pat myself on the back for succeeding. However, the problem was that he wasn’t the only one distracted…because now I was too.

  When Kyran’s strong hands started to push my top up, exposing my abdomen, I allowed it. When they found their way down to my hips and he gripped them tightly, rocking them back and forth against his pelvis, I didn’t put up a fight. The intensity of his actions was overwhelming, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. This was the first time I’d ever let a guy touch me so intimately. Had I been completely aware of how wanton I was behaving, I probably would have had some doubts about what we were doing, but as I lay in his arms, our bodies touching in places I was barely aware of until that moment, nothing mattered anymore.

  As I allowed his callused hands to explore my back, another growl escaped his lips but instead of instigating fear within me, it lured me to him like a moth to the light. The sound, so foreign yet so familiar, called out to me somehow. It was almost as if some primal part of me understood the sound, recognized it even. The third time his chest rumbled, my entire body shook all over as if some invisible wave of warmth invaded my flesh and spread throughout in rapid waves. That was the first sense of apprehension I’d had since we began to kiss. Something wasn’t quite right with the way my body reacted to his and that fact sent sparks of awareness to my brain.

  Why do I feel so weird right now? Why do I feel like something within me is waking up? Is this what lust is supposed to feel like? Is this what arousal does to your body?

  “Marjorie…”

  His husky tone riled my blood, inciting me to continue with my explorations. Like a woman possessed by some unknown force, I sat up and buried my hands under his black shirt. In one quick jerk, I pulled it from his hot body, depriving him of that one garment at once. As I roamed his chest with my more than willing fingers, he squeezed his eyes shut and lay very still. The man never moved, not even when my hands skimmed the length of his torso or caressed every ripple of muscle. However, his fingers did quite a number on Josephine’s bedspread when they curled into the comforter and his nails slashed through the material with incredible ease. The sight, however worrisome it might have seemed to anyone else, did not bother me as much as it should have.

  Guided by instinct rather than experience, I lowered my head to his chest and planted a kiss just above his right nipple. He jerked sideways, his eyes popping open at once, and rewarded me with a wicked grin. The more I persisted with showering his chest with kisses, the harder he gripped the comforter.

  “You’re killing me.” His whisper was low and gruff and full of warning.

  I wanted to smile but I was concerned now that maybe I was pushing him too far. What if, while on the verge of passion, he shifted and killed me instead of making love to me? What if my antics worked up to a certain point and then he could no longer control himself? Once his large hands lost their grip on the comforter and he brought them up to explore my abdomen, taking great care in touching just under my breasts but not quite touching them, all doubts fled my mind.

  Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better or more complicated, Kyran took hold of my waist and switched our positions so that he was on top. He took a moment to look at me, his eyes glowing with an intense luster that spoke of desire and passion, before his lips devoured mine. Sparks of electricity coursed through my body and centered in that part of my anatomy I’d never paid much attention to and which was now reminding me that I was in fact a woman.

  Soon, he shifted his attention from my mouth to my neck, where he kissed and licked feverishly, causing me to shiver and my skin to break out in goose bumps. My body was now burning, feeling as if it was on fire. Fortunately for me, Kyran was the one who lit the flame consuming me.

  It wasn’t long before I craved more contact. With him touching me the way he was now, how could I not want more? In my lust-filled haze, I reached out for him, trying to pull him closer, when he suddenly tensed and pulled back from me. Confused, I opened my eyes to look at him, only to notice his solemn expression. Before I could even ask why the sudden change, he pushed himself completely off me and the bed, then backed away as far as the wall would let him.

  Feeling oddly cold after his body abandoned mine, I sat up and started to ask what forced him away from me when the door suddenly burst open and Alexis plowed in, his face a mask of unconcealed anger.

  “Kyran, you stay away from her!” he shouted. “I warned you!”

  Blushing, I tried to salvage my modesty by pulling my tank top down and sitting up straight. Luckily for me, Alexis was too busy confronting Kyran to notice my embarrassment in being caught in a very compromising situation.

  “I didn’t hurt her.” Kyran’s voice was so low I barely heard him speak.

  “You hurt her and I’ll kill you myself!”

  I’d never seen the always cheerful Alexis this angry before. It both scared and astonished me to see him so completely out of it.

  As I rose from the bed to stop Alexis from advancing toward Kyran, Marquis and Gage came running into Josephine’s room. Adding to my mortification, Marquis took a moment to observe the bed, then the shirtless Kyran, then me, and I wanted to die right then and there. Even though he said no words, his eyes spoke volumes. He knew what we were up to before they’d rushed into the house.

  “Kyran, do you have some kind of death wish?” I was surprised Marquis would speak like that to his own brother.

  “Marquis, that isn’t necessary, we…just…”

  “Had you come just a few minutes later—”

  Kyran didn’t have time to finish his sentence because Alexis grabbed him by the neck and shoved him against the wall before he could utter any more words. />
  “You do want to die, don’t you? If you do what I think you have in mind, I’ll kill you!”

  “Stop, Alexis!” I shouted.

  I tried to intervene but Gage held me back as Marquis stepped in to break Alexis away from Kyran, who didn’t attempt to defend himself. Marquis broke them apart and stepped in between the twins.

  “Enough! Both of you! Gage, take Marjorie downstairs to your sister and Simone. Kyran and I have to talk.”

  Without waiting for a reply from me, Gage softly pulled me out of the room and led me downstairs toward the sitting area. We sat on the empty couch next to the door. Since I was too embarrassed to face anyone, I lowered my head to avoid looking at Josephine and Simone directly.

  “Are you all right, Marjie?”

  I had no choice but to face them. “I’m fine…” Feeling a little embarrassed, I diverted my eyes from them. “Nothing happened.” She nodded and sat back on the chair. “Gage, you took the car back home, right?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

  Gage nodded. “Yes.”

  “Did anyone see you?”

  “No, everyone was still sleeping when I slipped in. I left everything exactly where Alexis told me to. Heck, I even rumpled your bed a little to make it look like you slept there.” His lips split into a grin.

  Despite the tense situation, I laughed. And that broke the ice, because everyone laughed with me.

  “Thanks for that.”

  He nodded, still smiling.

  “I think it’s time I go home. I mean, you guys probably have much to talk about and—” I fidgeted with the hem of my top, my nervousness apparent even to me.

  “We’ll take you home whenever you wish, but don’t feel like you have to rush out, Marjorie.” Simone said.