Kiss of Moonlight (Lucani Lovers Book 1)

by Stephanie Julian

  Tam wasn’t fast enough to cover her expression of shocked hurt. Hadn’t he just promised her they’d deal with whatever happened together? And now he was sending her away.

  “I can’t leave.” Margie shook her head. “Neither can Cat. Maybe Tam could wait out here on the porch for a little.”

  Margie tried to smile but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  And he knew that whatever had happened wasn’t just bad. It was catastrophic.

  He looked at Tam. “I need you to go to the room we were in earlier and stay there. Don’t come out. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  He tried to soften his tone this time but the damage had already been done. He watched her expression go blank as she nodded. He wanted to howl but Dan’s anxiety made his skin crawl. He wanted to pull Tam into his arms but was afraid she’d pull away and he knew if she tried to, he’d hold on.

  And that would make her pull away harder.

  Torn, he did the only thing he could.

  He bent and kissed her, hard. “Go. And don’t come out until I come for you.”

  He watched her hesitate for a brief second then felt a small measure of relief when she walked up the stairs and into the room to the right of the front door.

  “I know what you’re gonna say.” Kyle held up one hand as Dan opened his mouth as soon as she closed the door. “Don’t. Just don’t. Tell me what the fuck’s going on.”

  Dan took a deep breath and shook his head. “Cole collapsed about an hour ago. He nearly died before Margie was able to intervene enough to keep him alive until Cat and Nica got here to help her. No one can figure out what’s wrong.”

  Holy shit. Catastrophic might be too tame.

  Still, Nica Donato was the boschetta’s healer. Cole should be safe in her hands.

  “Doc, Nica and Margie think it’s a spell linked to the bullet he took in New Orleans last month.”

  At the lucani Congress Cole had held. When the Mal had tried to assassinate Cole. And where his sister, Arabella, and her mate, Stephen, had also nearly died in circumstances no one wanted to discuss.

  “Fuck.”

  Dan nodded. “Exactly. Come on. We need to talk to Nica.”

  * * * * *

  Tam had the keys to Kyle’s jeep in her hand. He’d left them on the desk, in plain sight. Practically taunting her.

  But her feet felt like ten-ton weights and the tears she’d held back outside began to stream down her cheeks.

  Now. You have to go now.

  She had no idea how long Kyle would be. She didn’t want to face him if he caught her, couldn’t bear to look in his eyes and see the hurt, the disappointment.

  He’d never understand that she was doing this for him. He’d think she was being foolish.

  She’d left him a note, told him she’d be careful. She trusted him to find whoever was chasing her and that she would stay out of sight until whoever was after her was caught. She’d left her email address so he could contact her when it was safe.

  If he caught the person. And if she didn’t get caught before he could.

  No. No, she had to do this.

  Turning the knob, she opened the door just enough to be able see the surrounding hall and the stairs leading up.

  No one there.

  Taking a deep breath, she stepped out and headed for the front door. She never looked back, just opened it, closed it and sprinted for the Jeep.

  She was nearly there when someone fell out of the tree above the Jeep. No, not fell. He’d landed on his feet. Like a cat.

  Stifling a scream, she froze, her heart knocking against her ribs like a bird trying to escape a cage as the boy straightened.

  No, not a boy. A girl.

  She looked to be around Tam’s age. A few inches taller, a few pounds heavier. All sleek muscle.

  As the girl came closer, Tam saw bright green eyes and hair a stunning mixture of black, grey and auburn that couldn’t be natural, no matter how very natural it looked.

  The girl took her measure in seconds and must have found her unworthy of anything other than her disdain.

  “Kyle’s gonna be pissed if you take his car.” She shrugged and leaned against the front driver’s side bumper. “But that’s no skin off my back.”

  If Tam wanted to take the car, she’d have to get closer to the girl. And Tam wasn’t sure she wouldn’t get bitten, whether this girl was lucani or not.

  “I left him a note. And you can tell him I’ll leave the car for him at the Reading bus station.”

  The girl shook her head slowly, looking at her as if she had three heads and snakes for hair. “It’s your funeral. I just don’t understand why the hell you’d want to leave him. I’ve never seen him with another woman, much less an eteri.”

  That last word sounded like such a slur, Tam’s back stiffened even as her heart broke just a little more. “Then I guess you should be happy I’m leaving.”

  “Like I said, no skin off my teeth. I’ll let him know where to pick up the car. But,” she paused, almost as if she didn’t want to say anymore but couldn’t help herself, “you’re an idiot. You’re not gonna last two days out there without anyone to watch your back.”

  Tam’s teeth gritted. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  The girl rolled her eyes. “Please. You think you’re gonna run and hide and whoever’s after your ass won’t be able to find you? You’re kidding yourself.”

  Was she?

  Probably, yeah.

  Christ, what the hell was she going to do?

  “If I were you, I’d go back to lodge, like a good little girl and wait for Kyle to figure out what to do.”

  Okay, now she was getting pissed.

  Tam’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the other girl.

  “Who the hell are you and who shoved that stick up our ass?”

  Rather than get angry, the other girl started to laugh.

  “I’m Kaine. And I guess the answer to that is it’s always been there.”

  “Must be painful.”

  She shrugged. “I’m used to it. So did you really think leaving was a good idea?”

  Tam slumped against the Jeep door, letting her head hit the glass. “No. But…I don’t want Kyle to be hurt. And if I stay, he will be.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Tira saw it.”

  Tam had no idea why she was spilling her guts to this girl. Probably because she had no one else to talk to.

  “Hmm,” Kaine said. “Okay, I see your point. But he told you were practically impossible to hurt, right?”

  “That doesn’t mean I want to take a chance with his life.”

  “Hmm.”

  Turning, Tam glared at Kaine, still staring at her with a smirk. “So what the hell am I supposed to do?”

  The other girl shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. But I know someone who might.”

  Hope flared, even as Tam tried to temper it. “Why are you helping me?”

  Kaine’s smirk intensified. “Because I’m not a total bitch.”

  Grimacing, Tam shook her head, mostly at herself. “Sorry. It’s been a weird couple of days.”

  “And that’s not gonna stop if you stick around. You sure you want to?”

  Do I?

  The thought made her stop and think.

  But it didn’t take her long to realize that this time with Kyle had been the first time in her life she’d felt like she belonged.

  With a guy who could turn into a wolf and a world where magic is real.

  “Absolutely.”

  Finally Kaine smiled, transforming her smirk into a welcoming grin. “Good. Then come with me. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

  * * * * *

  After talking to Doc in the hall, Kyle slipped into Cole’s room.

  Cat, Margie and Nica sat beside the bed. Nica had her eyes closed and her hands on Cole’s wounded leg. And Cole lay there, looking like he was dead.

  Margie immediately stood and walked to him,
as far from the bed as she could get.

  “He’s stable at the moment. Nica’s been able to figure out the bullet that hit Cole infected him with a spell that’s definitely Mal. She’s been able to clean up some of it but curing him completely is going to take a little more power than she has on her own.”

  “And that means what?” Kyle prompted when Margie paused. “

  “That means calling in reinforcements from another boschetta.”

  What the hell? “Another? Where the hell is there another one? I thought yours was the only one left in the states.”

  Margie grimaced. “Not exactly.” She held up her hand, cutting of his immediate reply. “And before you start interrogating me, just…believe me when I say you’ll be told everything. Just not now. Quinn’s bringing her in. They’ll be here in a few minutes. Dorian will be here in a few minutes, too. But Dorian insists we keep everyone else in the dark.”

  Probably for the best. If the lucani thought they might lose Cole… Probably incite a riot.

  Ready to interrogate her further, Kyle cut off when the door opened and Quinn stepped through the door. Alone.

  Younger than Kyle and looking younger still, Quinn was Cole’s tribunus, second in command of the army, and one of Cole’s best friends.

  “Where’s the— Holy shit!”

  Kyle nearly choked on his tongue when a woman materialized out of thin air beside Quin.

  Shedding her cloak, she hurried to the bed and Kyle only got a glimpse of long dark hair before he turned to Quinn.

  “What the fuck?”

  Blond hair longer than normal and blue eyes worried, Quinn shook his head. “Sorry but we didn’t want anyone to see her and wonder what’s going on.”

  “Who is she?” Kyle asked, his gaze automatically going back to the bed where the women were speaking in low tones.

  “Her name’s Serena. She’s…” Quinn paused and Kyle scented his frustration. “She’s a damn strong strega. If she can’t help Cole, no one can. And she will.”

  “That doesn’t tell me who she is.”

  Quinn grimaced but didn’t look away. “No, it doesn’t. When she’s saved Cole, she’ll tell you herself, I swear. Just let her work. Trust me. Cole’s in good hands.”

  “So are you here to tell me who I’m supposed to be hunting? Who did this?”

  “No, because we’re not exactly sure who did the shooting. We’re working on it.”

  “And who, exactly, is ‘we’?”

  Another grim look. “That’s a long story I don’t have time to go into right now.”

  “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately and I’m getting pretty fucking sick of it.”

  Quinn winced. “Yeah, sorry. I know it sucks but Cole’s gotta be the one to tell you.”

  Kyle looked over Quinn’s shoulder to the bed.

  “Let’s hope he gets a chance to.”

  * * * * *

  “So where exactly are we going?” Tam asked as she followed along behind Kaine.

  “To my dad’s place. He’s not home and we can make a call there without being overheard.”

  And that was the extent of their conversation as Kaine led her back into the forest and along a well-worn path. They came across no one on their way and it took them several minutes to get where they were going.

  Which turned out to be a rustic cabin that had to be as far from the main lodge as it could get without leaving lucani property.

  Kaine opened the door without a key and walked straight to the old-fashioned, hard-wired black phone sitting on the counter.

  “Hi, I need to talk to Sal. Yeah. Thanks.”

  Kaine hadn’t dialed but Tam was learning that nothing surprised her anymore, especially nothing as mundane as a phone that worked without entering a number.

  “Hey, Sal. Do you have a few minutes? There’s someone you need to meet. Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks. I’m at my dad’s place. No, we haven’t changed anything. Okay. See you in a few.”

  Then Kaine hung up and turned back sank onto the couch. “Maybe you should sit down.”

  “Will it take a while for him to get here?”

  Kaine huffed out a short laugh. “Not exactly. But you might want to take a load off.”

  “Why—”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Tam noticed…something. Turning, she saw what looked like heat rising from hot asphalt. The air near the door got wavy, blurry. And then a child stepped out of the air and into the room.

  Her mouth dropped open and she reached for the nearest solid object when her knees almost buckled.

  “Holy crap.”

  The whatever-he-was gave her a look before putting his hands on his hips and glaring at Kaine, who wasn’t even trying to hide her amusement.

  “You didn’t tell me I was meeting an eteri, kiddo. Woulda dressed for the occasion.”

  “Sorry.” Kaine’s laughter rang through her voice. “Couldn’t resist. And you gotta admit, the look on her face is totally worth it.”

  Tam couldn’t tear her gaze away from the newcomer to glare at Kaine. She had to figure out what she was seeing.

  But what her eyes were telling her and what her brain could comprehend were two different things.

  You’ve seen a human turn into a wolf. Why would meeting a faun be any different?

  Drawing in a deep breath, she forced her knees to hold and took a few steps forward. “Are you an actual faun?”

  A smile lit the male’s face and he took a few steps forward on his hooves. Yes, he had hooves. And goat legs. From the waist up, he was all man. Washboard abs, broad chest and shoulders and a handsome face. With little black horns peeking out from his curly black hair.

  “The name’s Salvatorus and I’m a salbinelli. Not a faun. They’re English. And prissy. I’m not prissy.”

  “No, but he can get pissy.” Kaine said. “Just don’t get between him and his cigars.”

  “Ignore the brat.” Sal closed the last few feet between them and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you…”

  “Uh, Tamra. Tam. Just call me…Tam.”

  She shook his hand, tried not to show her surprise at his firm grip. And tried not to stare at his legs.

  When what she really wanted to do was pet him, just to see if –

  “So Tam, what can I do for you?”

  Do for her? She blinked. Oh yeah.

  After they’d sat on the couch—Sal’s hooves not reaching the floor—she forced herself to concentrate. She told Sal everything, from the rape that’d brought her to her great-grandfather’s cabin to her dilemma over whether to run and hide and leave Kyle behind so he wouldn’t be hurt.

  When she finished, Sal grunted, his gaze narrowed as if he were looking at something no one else could see.

  At this point, she figured anything was possible.

  “Hmm, well, I see where you’d think it might be a good idea to run. But it’s really not a good idea. Just putting off the inevitable, if you ask me.”

  Tam sighed. “So what do you suggest?”

  “Describe the place Tira saw again, where Kyle gets shot.” Sal’s gaze pinpointed on her again. “Try to remember exactly what she told you.”

  When she was finished, Sal nodded. “Now, don’t get your hopes up, but I’m pretty sure I know where that is.”

  Kaine leaned forward. “Seriously? Where? Can we set up an ambush? What about—”

  “Slow your roll, kid. It’s not gonna be that easy. First off, we need to talk to the people who own it. And second…” he sighed. “I have a feeling Kyle’s not gonna be that anxious to use you as bait.”

  A few minutes later, and Sal was proved.

  Kyle stormed through the door, obviously frustrated. Tension in every line of his body.

  “Kaine, gods damn it, I am going to knock you back down to legionnaire, I swear.” Then he turned to Tam. “And you can’t just go wandering away—”

  “I’m pretty sure I don’t belong to you and can do anything I damn well please.”


  She attempted to keep her voice at a reasonable level, tried not to yell. But she wasn’t a child. She wasn’t feeble-minded or stupid. And she certainly wasn’t his property.

  That last bit almost slipped out before she bit her tongue. She could understand that he was upset. That he was worried. But she was not about to let him walk all over her and dictate her life.

  After a short pause, he ran a hand through his hair, the muscles in his jaw flexing and the tendons in his neck standing out in stark relief.

  “That’s not what I meant.” His words sounded like he’d forced them through gritted teeth.

  “That’s exactly what it sounded like to me.”

  On the other side of the room, Sal and Kaine tried to blend into the wall. At any other time, Tam would want to do the same. But now…

  Too much hung in the balance.

  “I’m not letting you be used as bait.”

  Let her. He wouldn’t let her. As if she had to get his approval.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kaine wince and Sal look up at the ceiling and shake his head. But neither of them stepped in to fight this battle for her.

  At least they gave her credit for having a brain and free will.

  When she didn’t respond immediately, Kyle took a deep breath and shook his head. “We’ll come up with another plan. At least now we have something to go on.”

  “No.”

  His gaze narrowed. “No what?”

  Forcing herself to unclench her hands, she rested them on her hips. “No. This is the plan. If you don’t want to be involved in it, I will understand. But this is what I’ve decided. I’ll go with Sal and, when the men show up to take me, we’ll take them instead.”

  Kyle started to pace. “Vaffanculo. This is—” Stopping with a jerk, he blew out a hard breath and turned to Sal. “You honestly think this is the best way to handle this?”

  “Yeah, I do.” Sal lifted his eyebrows. “But I’m not the one you should be talking to right now.”

  After a few seconds, Kyle turned back to her and she had no idea how to read his expression. “You want to finish this? Fine. Let’s do it.”

  She had a feeling he wasn’t only talking about the kidnapper on her ass.

  Chapter Eight