Kiss of Moonlight (Lucani Lovers Book 1)

by Stephanie Julian

  He wouldn’t need anything if you left.

  It stung that she had nowhere to go. Pathetic.

  What the hell did he want with her? What did he see in her?

  “Tira saw you get shot standing in front of me.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Is that all she saw?”

  She shook her head. “She saw pieces of my past. You knew about my great-grandfather. You knew he had power.”

  He raked a hand through his hair, pushing the strands away from his eyes. “I also know he was a righteous bastard. You didn’t miss a thing not knowing him. Probably better off for not. He wasn’t lucani. He was Etruscan descended and he had enough power to classify him stregone, a male witch. But the reason he moved out here away from everyone was because no one could stand him and he couldn’t stand anyone else. I knew your great-grandmother was an eteri he accidentally made pregnant and when his son was born with no powers, he never bothered with them again. At least, that’s what he told my dad.”

  “My grandfather wasn’t much more compassionate. He kicked my mom out at eighteen when she got pregnant with me and I never knew my grandparents. Mom always said we were better off without them.”

  “Then you were.” He reached out to run a finger along her chin. “You turned out just fine.”

  She smiled as a shiver ran through her body from his touch.

  Why the hell was she even thinking about running away when she should be throwing herself at him?

  But there were other considerations here than just how she felt about him. His life was more important. His secret.

  Her secret, too, apparently.

  “What are you thinking?”

  Kyle’s low-pitched rumble revved her slowly simmering libido. Which just went to prove how completely off-kilter she was as exhaustion crept over her. She wanted stretch out on the couch, close her eyes and take a nap. Just let it all go away, just for a little while.

  “I’m trying to figure out when my life became a runaway train.”

  His expression hardened as he withdrew his hand and wrapped it around the top of his chair. “Are you going to tell me what else Tira had to say?”

  A yawn caught her off guard and she raised her hand to cover her mouth. “I told you. Tira saw you get shot in front of me. In the chest from only a few feet away.” Tears welled but she closed her eyes against them. “There’s no way you could live through that. I don’t want you to have to live through that.”

  He didn’t say anything at first, as if he were trying to come up with a response that would be acceptable to her. “Sweetheart, I’m a lot tougher than I look.”

  She yawned again, shaking her head. “You’re not Superman.”

  He barely lifted his left eyebrow, giving him the look of a pirate. “Says who? Besides, I’m not stupid enough to get shot in the chest.”

  Her smile was almost too hard to pull off, she was so tired. “I didn’t say you were stupid. I’d never say that about you.”

  That wiped away the almost-smirk he had going. Suddenly, he rose, towering over her so she had to bend her neck at an uncomfortable angle to look up at him.

  “Lay down, babe. Take a nap. You’re practically falling asleep on your feet.”

  “Where are you going?”

  He reached behind her to grab the blue blanket on the back of the couch. She hadn’t even noticed it there. Rolling it into a log, he snugged it into the crease between the cushion and the arm. “To talk to Dan. You look ready to pass out and I don’t think you’d appreciate any more of my brand of stress relief.”

  She had to smile at the memory of their bout against his car. “Kyle?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Don’t go far.”

  He nodded but didn’t say anything as she put her head on the makeshift pillow and shut her eyes just as his hand brushed her hair before he walked out.

  * * * * *

  “Tira. Can I talk to you?”

  The little blonde turned a pained expression toward him when he finally caught up with her at the home she shared with her mother.

  “Did you talk to Tamra?” she asked.

  “Yeah, she told me what you said about me taking a bullet for her.”

  Her pained expression changed to one of relief as she sighed. “Thank the Blessed Goddess. I thought I was going to have to break my own rule about readings and tell you myself.”

  “I want to talk to you about the vision. Can we sit for a few minutes?”

  Tira glanced at the door to her home then back at him. “Mom’s not doing real well right now.”

  Which was probably an understatement. Tira’s mom hadn’t been “doing well” for the past year but she’d been managing her increasing psychosis until about a month ago. From what Kyle had heard from Margie and Cat, Tira’s mom, Suvera, had pretty much lost the battle for her sanity. It happened to seers occasionally, when the visions overwhelmed them. When they could no longer control when and what they saw.

  “How about we step outside?”

  She smiled at him gratefully. The girl was a beauty, all blonde hair, blue eyes and stacked body. She had the air of a seer, not quite all there. You’d think she was a classic dumb blonde if you didn’t know her. But that far-off look she sometimes got had nothing to do with a deficiency in her mental capacity.

  As they started down the street, he had a brief second to wonder about the fact that he’d never even considered asking her out. Too young.

  Tam was three years younger.

  Vaffanculo. In his head, he heard mocking laughter and silently told himself to shut the fuck up.

  “Can you describe the vision for me?” He waited until they were out of hearing distance of her home. “In detail? Anything at all, no matter how insignificant.”

  Tira cocked her head to the side, her gaze turning inward. Kyle took her elbow, knowing she wasn’t watching where she was walking.

  “Well, I don’t recognize the room you’re in but it looks like a living room. Blue couch, white walls, small television on a table. No paintings on the wall, no pictures.” Tira shook her head as if coming out of a trance and Kyle released her when she looked up at him, her grimace apologetic. “That’s all the detail I saw. I was so focused on Tam and you, I didn’t really take notice of anything else.”

  He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “That rules out my place and any place I know. I’m guessing you didn’t see the shooter.”

  She shook her head. “Not at all. I don’t think it’s that far in the future, though. Neither of you look any older. I’m sorry, Kyle. Tam’s fear almost overwhelmed me. I did get the sense that she was surprised to see you but I could be mistaking that with her shock at seeing you shot. I’m just not sure.”

  Which basically told him nothing except he was going to take a bullet for Tam. That didn’t surprise him. He’d stand in front of her no matter what.

  And his body’s natural defenses would protect him from any regular bullet unless it was a direct shot to the heart or the brain. And even then a lucani could survive if they got treatment fast enough.

  Yes, a silver bullet could do lasting damage. But most people didn’t carry silver bullets.

  So when did Tira’s vision happen? And where?

  “Kyle?”

  Dragging himself out of his thoughts, he forced himself to focus on Tira. “What?”

  “There was one piece I didn’t tell Tamra because it didn’t have anything to do with her. It was only a flash, just a few seconds. I saw Cat crying and you were standing behind her, looking like you didn’t have any idea what to do.”

  Kyle frowned. “Why was she crying?”

  Tira shook her head. “I have no idea. Like I said, it was just a flash but she seemed heartbroken. I know she’s a teenager and everything is a tragedy when you’re that age but Cat’s always been so level-headed. I just thought you’d want to know.”

  * * * * *

  Tam woke when the door to the room opened and closed.

  She sa
t up, running her fingers through her hair before she caught Kyle’s topaz gaze and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  He paused for a moment, his hand still on the doorknob. “What do you mean?”

  “The look on your face. What happened?”

  He shook his head as he leaned back against the door. His hair fell around his face in midnight shadows, his eyes laser-sharp on hers. His chest rose and fell, his t-shirt loose, but not loose enough to hide his muscular pecs. With his arms crossed, his biceps bulged and she knew her hands couldn’t encompass it.

  And those jeans… Low on his hips, tight on his thighs and way too explicitly cupped around his impressive package.

  He was everything she never thought she’d want.

  She’d never had the white-dress fantasy, not even as a kid. Never dreamed of meeting Prince Charming, walking down the aisle and moving to a little house with a picket fence.

  No, she’d dreamed about a good job, a small apartment and a car that didn’t break down every other week. Guys hadn’t figured into her plans.

  After her attack, she hadn’t dreamed at all. She’d been too preoccupied with holding onto her sanity and getting through each day.

  Now, this man made her shiver with his touch. He made her want a happily-ever-after.

  And he was a werewolf.

  Maybe she needed to buy herself a red cape.

  His gaze narrowed. “Tam, are you okay?”

  She couldn’t contain her smile at the image in her head—her in a red cape and nothing else and Kyle chasing after her. Not as a wolf, though. No, he was all man. And naked.

  Damn, the man looked like a god naked.

  She continued to smile up at him as she considered telling him to lock the door and strip. Would he do it?

  Or would he think she only wanted him for sex?

  Her smile fading, she swung her legs over the side of the couch and planted her feet on the floor.

  Back to reality, where there were men searching for her so some unknown woman could do unknown bad things to her.

  And where this man she… What? Loved? How could she love someone she’d just met? It made no sense.

  Being a werewolf made sense?

  Oh, just shut the hell up.

  Kyle would be safe if she left.

  And she’d be alone. Again.

  “Hey, what are you thinking?”

  If she was going to disappear, she wanted one more memory of him.

  Meeting his gaze again, she held out her hand to him and waited with baited breath for him to take it. He didn’t make her wait long. He pushed away from the door and took her hand, lacing their fingers together as he stood in front of her.

  “You sleep okay?” His husky voice made her nipples tighten and burn, her legs clench.

  Her gaze level with his stomach, she let it drop just a few inches to his crotch. She swore she saw his cock twitch against his zipper.

  “Tam?”

  His voice had dropped at least an octave, and she knew what she needed.

  Lifting her free hand, she slid it under his shirt to his waistband, letting her fingers trace the button. He wasn’t wearing a belt so she wouldn’t have to contend with that.

  “Tam.” His voice sounded distinctly strangled now as his fingers tightened around hers.

  She lifted her gaze to his. “Can I touch you?”

  His jaw clenched and his eyes darkened to burnished gold as he stared at her. “You can have anything you want, sweetheart. Haven’t you realized that yet?”

  Her heart began to beat in a furious rhythm and all the air vanished from the room. No one had ever said that to her before and she’d never imagined how freeing it could be to hear.

  Anything she wanted?

  She wanted him. Only him.

  Brushing her fingers against the skin of his waist, she watched him suck in a breath, as if she’d burned him.

  But he didn’t move.

  Releasing his hand, she slid both of hers under his shirt and stroked her fingers up his sides, feeling his silky, hot skin beneath hers.

  “Will you take your shirt off for me?”

  He didn’t hesitate, just reached over his shoulders with one hand and pulled the shirt over his head. And took her breath away.

  He truly was a work of art, honed to male perfection.

  From his broad shoulders to his six-pack abs to his trim waist, all that naked skin beckoned. Lifting her hand, she traced the hard ridge of each abdominal with her fingers, working her way up to his nipples.

  She loved how his chest rose and fell so rapidly, obviously aroused by her touch. The dark hair on his pecs tickled her palms as she tweaked his already hard nipples between her fingers.

  He must’ve liked it because his hands clenched into fists at his side as he sucked in a deep breath and didn’t move.

  She certainly enjoyed it, the soft curls intensifying the heat bubbling in her gut.

  Leaning closer, she rubbed the tip of her nose against the flat plane of his stomach just above his belly button, breathing in his scent. Musky male and a hint of the herbal soap he’d used earlier in the shower. Her eyes wanted to flicker closed, her mouth wanted to bite into that hard flesh then lick away the hurt. To drown in his taste.

  Her gaze dropped from his chest past his stomach back to the button on his jeans. Her hands followed, brushing down his torso to his jeans.

  The warm material made her fingers curl into the waistband, almost but not quite touching the button.

  His harsh breathing sounded like music to her ears, egging her on. She wanted him to beg her to rip open his jeans and take him in her mouth.

  Her tongue peeked out to lick her lips and he groaned, low and deep.

  “Tam, baby.”

  He didn’t say anything else but she heard the plea in those words.

  She let her fingers graze the button again before beginning to work it through the little hole. Her knuckles rubbed against the erect flesh confined behind the zipper and when he groaned, she couldn’t help but smile.

  Anticipation made her mouth dry and her thighs clench with need.

  She wanted it fast and hard but she also wanted to linger. She couldn’t have both. She knew that—

  As if he couldn’t take not touching her any longer, he slid his fingers into her hair and cupped her head. His desire to pull her closer showed in the tight muscles of his arms.

  But he resisted. His fingers started a seductive massage, making her body want to melt into him. Instead, she forced the button free and eased down the zipper.

  His erection sprang out of the gap, hard and tempting. The head gleamed, the skin taut and dark. Her mouth watered as she stared at it, perfectly positioned to take in her mouth.

  She drew in a deep breath, releasing it in a rush that made Kyle groan. “Damn, baby. Suck me. I can’t get enough of your mouth.”

  The harsh sound of his voice shivered through her. Leaning closer, her hands on his hips, she parted her lips and let the tip slip inside.

  Her eyes closed and she inhaled his scent as his taste coated her tongue. Hot, a little salty and so, so smooth.

  Her mouth sank further, enclosing more of his flesh. Her tongue flattened around him as she took him deeper then curled around the tip as she pulled back.

  Intoxicated with him, she sucked on him like he was her favorite candy. On the next downward glide, she scraped her teeth lightly along the skin, making him groan deep in his chest. The vibration actually echoed in his cock, which pulsed against the roof of her mouth.

  “Tam.”

  She sucked him harder, deeper. Didn’t want to stop. She wanted him to lose his control. To give him pleasure.

  “Tam, baby, I’m gonna come in your mouth if you don’t stop. And I’d rather come with your pussy wrapped me.”

  The explicit words made her moan. Yes. God, yes, she wanted that, too.

  She drew on him one last time, her cheeks hollowing before she pulled back to the tip and released him. But not be
fore giving one last swirl of her tongue around the tip.

  As soon as she released him, his hands slid from her hair and he pushed her back into the couch cushions, his gaze fixed on hers. Shoving his jeans down his legs with one hand, he gathered her skirt and pooled it on her belly, exposing her. His gaze dropped to stare at her mound. His stare made her that much wetter.

  Exposed and so horny she hurt, she stretched out to touch him but couldn’t reach.

  “Kyle…”

  He wrapped one hand around his cock and gave a slow pump. Her mouth dried as her sex convulsed with need.

  “I want to see you touch yourself.” His rough tone scraped over her senses. “Come on, Tam. Use your fingers on your clit.”

  All sense of modesty gone, she did exactly what he wanted because she was so turned on, she had to come no matter what.

  Spreading her legs wider, she slid her fingers between her legs, stroking over the hard, sensitive clit and down to the wet, hot lips of her labia. Letting her fingers play for a few seconds, she then drew back to her clit and fingered the tiny bundle of nerves. Zings of electricity shot through her body and her eyes drifted shut as she rubbed herself. Her sheath tightened, yearning for him to fill her.

  “Kyle, I need you inside. Now.”

  “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

  She opened her eyes in time to see the raw lust in Kyle’s expression harden his features even more. As he sank to his knees, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her off the couch. He’d already sheathed himself in a condom, she realized, as he lay back on the floor and positioned her directly over his erection. Settling herself on her knees above him, dress held at her waist, she watched him take his cock in one hand and point it up, rubbing it back and forth between her pussy lips, coating the head in her moisture.

  “So hot, so wet.” His voice made her lower body seize in what felt like the beginning of an orgasm. Could she come just from the sound of his voice?

  With Kyle, anything was possible.

  “Tinia’s teat, babe. You’re so fucking beautiful.”

  Her eyes widened at the complete sincerity in his voice but she didn’t have time to take it in because he pushed into her and sank deep.

  She cried out in ecstasy at the friction of his penetration, her head falling back so she stared at the ceiling. Already close to orgasm, her body clutched around him as he lifted her off his cock with his strong arms then let her slid back down.