Kiss of Moonlight (Lucani Lovers Book 1)

by Stephanie Julian

  “Yes, that’s the room I saw,” Tira said, bemusement in her voice. “How’d you find it?”

  “I had a little help from a friend. Thanks again for everything, I really appreciate it.”

  Tira’s laugh held little amusement as it came through the phone line. “Sorry I couldn’t be more help. Take care.”

  Tam hung up and sank down onto the only upholstered chair in the whole tiny house. If she wasn’t so worried about Kyle’s safety, she’d be much more intrigued by the tiny house Sal had brought her to yesterday. After she’d left Kyle.

  She knew he still wasn’t happy about the plan but, after he’d had that abrupt change of heart yesterday, he’d put everything in motion pretty fast.

  He’d agreed to meet them at this tiny cabin somewhere on Hawk Mountain. He’d asked them to give him an hour before they left so he could talk to a few people and put a few things in place.

  She still had no idea what problem he and Dan had been dealing with earlier. She figured she might never know. Because she wasn’t sure he’d talk to her again.

  Damn it. She couldn’t think about this now.

  Right before he left several minutes ago, Sal had said it could be a few days until whoever was hunting her showed up again. But he didn’t think it would be that long. He thought something about the wards on the lucani property had interfered with whatever spell her stalker had used to track her but now that she’d left, that spell would be activated again.

  And whoever was after her would show up pretty damn quick.

  Shaking her head, she wondered if she’d ever get used to the fact that spells and werewolves were part of her life.

  Maybe they won’t be after this.

  Walking to the window, she stared into the forest surrounding the cabin.

  Would she be able to see Kyle?

  Probably not. That was the whole purpose of being stealthy. So that no one knew he was there. Probably for the best, anyway. She needed to think.

  Even though she was pretty sure she knew what she needed to do when she was finally safe.

  * * * * *

  Wearing his pelt, Kyle had found a place in the woods close enough to the cabin that he could hear and see anyone approaching from the front or the back.

  He’d run most of the way from the den to here, trying to outpace the anger and the fear.

  All it made him was tired. And that could be deadly.

  Mostly, he was angry with himself. He still wasn’t sure this was the best plan and he hated that Tam was in the crosshairs of the kidnapper again. But he was also smart enough to realize he’d nearly made a huge mistake.

  He’d wanted to put her in a cage. A protective one but still a cage. And she’d been understandably upset.

  Had he lost her? Would she leave him? What the hell would he do if she did?

  He wouldn’t give up without a fight. That was for damn sure.

  What if she’s had enough of you?

  Grr.

  And how fucking long would he have to wait until someone made a move against Tam so he could kill them?

  He watched the tiny cabin all day, regaining his strength. Trying to cool his temper and calm his anxiety. He’d seen her through the windows occasionally but she never looked in his direction. He wanted to pace but didn’t want to lose sight of the cabin or stray out of hearing range.

  Then, around ten that night, his ears pricked up. Footsteps in the forest. Getting closer.

  He throttled a growl and forced himself to lie in wait until they got closer, clearing his mind of everything but his intense focus on the intruders.

  His jaw ached with the desire to crush the throat of whoever out there was threatening Tam.

  Forcing himself to hold steady, he let his gaze sharpen on the dark shadows of the trees, looking for movement.

  He saw nothing for several minutes, could only hear that faint whisper of footsteps.

  Two men. Kyle bared his teeth. Not even a challenge.

  Finally, he caught their scent on the barely there breeze. Several minutes later, he saw dark shadows moving through the trees. They stopped several hundred yards from the cabin. Kyle figured they were making sure she was alone.

  When they started moving forward again, he moved, too. He couldn’t wait to show the bastards how wrong they were about Tam being alone.

  The only problem was, he had to let them get closer to the cabin to be sure he could take out one and grab the other before he got away.

  But he wouldn’t fail. Wouldn’t allow himself to fail.

  Creeping closer, he watched as the men reached the tiny clearing around the cabin.

  Then he made his move.

  * * * * *

  Tam had been watching her windows all day.

  She didn’t know if she’d actually be able to see anyone but she’d be damned if she sat there like a lump, waiting for someone to attack her. And waiting for Kyle to save her.

  Which was why she’d asked Sal for a baseball bat. She’d never used as gun and was afraid, if she shot at one of the bad guys, she’d accidentally hit Kyle or anyone else coming to help her.

  But she’d played softball in high school and she had a good, solid swing.

  Sal had laughed and said no problem. The bat had been on the bed when she’d got here.

  Now, she moved between the front window and the back, trying not to make it obvious that she was keeping an eye out.

  As it was, she missed them until they were nearly at the front door.

  Her breath caught in her throat. Even though she knew Kyle was out there and that he’d protect her to the death…that’s exactly what she was worried about.

  His death.

  Pushing that thought out of her head, she grabbed her bat and made sure she stood just far enough away from the door that it wouldn’t hit her when it opened.

  And took a deep breath.

  Kyle had hoped to take the men by surprise and hit both of them at the same time.

  He missed only because one of the guys must have heard him coming and sprang for the door.

  Snarling, he went straight for the throat of the man he’d tackled, hearing the satisfying crunch of bones breaking as he bit down.

  Then he heard the door burst apart, wood shrapnel flying like bullets.

  And he heard Tam shout in frustrated rage.

  With a shake, he tossed the limp body away and ran for the cabin.

  The other guy was already in the house and fear gave Kyle an extra burst of adrenaline. He got there just in time to see Tam swing something at her attacker.

  She didn’t exactly hurt him but she must have stunned him enough that he took a step back, giving Kyle the opportunity to lunge for him.

  He bit down hard on the man’s shoulder, heard him grunt in pain. Then the guy, who had to be at least six-five and two-sixty, reached over his shoulder and ripped Kyle away from him by his scruff.

  In a split second, Kyle called back his pelt. The vicious wrench of pain nearly forced him to stop but he pushed through when he realized the guy was inches away from Tam.

  He hadn’t even completed the shift when he jumped at the guy again, tearing him away from Tam with hands still tipped in claws.

  The man turned and he heard Tam shout. He had no idea what but he yelled, “Run! Get the hell out!”

  She didn’t have time to obey because another man walked through the door.

  With a burst of strength, he shoved the guy he had his claws in toward the second guy, who stumbled as the other man hit him.

  As the gun went off.

  Kyle had a second to recognize the muted pop of a silencer before the bullet hit his shoulder. The quick blaze of pain made him stumble back a few steps before he regained his footing. He shook off the pain as fast as it’d hit him. Not excruciating, which meant not silver. That meant manageable.

  He charged both men, surprising the gunman who didn’t have time to get off another shot. As he took them, Kyle caught sight of Tam out of the corner of
his eye.

  She hadn’t moved and her expression… Fuck. She looked stunned.

  Then he saw the blood, splattered on her chest and arms.

  Fear threatened to consume his sanity. It stole his breath. And hard on its heels was the urge to kill whoever had hurt her. With an inhuman snarl, he smashed the gunman’s head into the plaster wall so hard the guy slumped to the ground, unconscious. But it gave the other man the opportunity to go after Tam, still frozen behind him, one hand raised to her mouth.

  She looked ready to scream but no sound emerged until the man grabbed for her.

  Enraged, he launched himself at Tam’s attacker, claws extended, ready to rip his throat out when Tam wrenched herself away and took a swing at the guy’s head with the baseball bat she’d been holding behind her.

  Swinging it like she was going for a home run, Tam smacked the guy in the chest, nearly hitting Kyle in the process. At the last second, Kyle managed to avoid her by pulling himself to the side, banging his gun-shot shoulder on the wall and slumping to the ground as pain blasted through body.

  He fought against the blackness on the edges of his vision, fighting the yawning darkness that wanted to swallow him. He refused to leave Tam undefended. He growled and forced himself back onto his feet. Every step hurt but he made his way to her, standing over the now-unconscious body of her attacker.

  She must’ve connected directly with the guy’s head.

  Turning, he looked at her. For a second, he thought she was in shock.

  “Tam.”

  “Yeah.

  She sounded out of breath but she didn’t sound terrified.

  He wanted to ask her if she was okay. Wanted to grab her and take her home and lock her in his bedroom.

  He couldn’t do either.

  “Are you hurt?”

  She blinked, her gaze dropping to his shoulder.

  “No. But you are. Oh my god, Kyle. You were shot.”

  He looked down. Oh shit.

  His knees wobbled. What the hell? He’d been shot before.

  Tam reached for his uninjured arm. “Come on. You should sit.”

  “I’m fine.” And he would be. As soon as he shifted and jumpstarted the healing process.

  He took a step forward and his head started to pound.

  Whoa. Maybe he’d lost a little more blood than he’d thought. And if the pounding in his head was any indication…

  No, the pounding wasn’t in his head. It was outside.

  With a burst of strength, he flew to his feet, shoving Tam behind him.

  He nearly didn’t recognize Nic and Duke, who skidded to a stop at the sight of him.

  “Whoa! Kyle, it’s us. Don’t pounce, man.” Nic held up his hands in surrender, realizing how close Kyle was to mauling him.

  “Well, shit.” Duke’s mouth curled in disappointment as he caught sight of the men on the floor. “Looks like you didn’t leave any fun for us.”

  Kyle shook his head, trying to get rid of the fuzziness. “What the hell are you two doing here?”

  “Sal sent us.” They spoke in perfect unison then flipped an identical finger at each other.

  Kyle’s gaze narrowed. “And why did Sal send you?”

  “Backup.” Nic nodded at the unconscious, maybe dead, men. “Guess you didn’t need any.”

  They hadn’t. But they might have. He should’ve had backup. “Thanks. Now be useful. Take these two back to the den. We need to question them. Tam and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  As Nic and Duke bickered about who was going to run back to the truck parked a few miles away, Kyle took Tam’s arm and led her into the small bedroom at the back of the cabin. Closing the door, he turned to face her, staring back at him with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “You’re shot.” Her voice trembled and tears ran down her cheeks but he could smell her anger. And it confused the hell out of him.

  “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re shot. You’re bleeding.”

  “And I’m still breathing and in no danger of dying. You could’ve been killed.”

  She shook her head. “I had faith that you’d keep me safe. But you don’t have faith in me. Do you?”

  “Of course I do.”

  He reached for her, needed to hold her, but she took a step back.

  “No, you think I’m this porcelain doll you want to keep on a shelf.”

  “Tam, no—”

  “Yes, you do. And that’s not going to work.”

  Her pale blue eyes filled with tears and he reached for her again. He needed to hold her, feel her warmth and the rise and fall of her chest against his.

  This time, she let him. Her arms wound around his waist as he pulled her against him, her face pressing into uninjured shoulder. She stayed there for several seconds but he knew, any second now, she’d pull away.

  Dread made his heart race. And when she did pull away, he had to force himself to let her go.

  “We need to get you back to the den.” She kept staring at the gunshot. “I don’t have anything here to clean your wound.”

  “And are you going to stay?”

  She wouldn’t meet his gaze. “We don’t need to talk about that now.”

  Yeah, he thought they did. But they’d wait until they got back to his place.

  And then he’d make his case for her to stay. Forever.

  * * * * *

  Tam knew it was time for her to go back to the real world.

  The world where there were no werewolves or women who could tell your future or people who wanted to kidnap her.

  A world without Kyle.

  She bit her tongue to prevent tears from forming, didn’t want him to think she was weak.

  “Do you think she’s still going to come after me?”

  Kyle’s hands tightened around the steering wheel of her Honda as he drove them back to his place.

  “I don’t have any idea.” He took a deep breath. “Which is why I think you should stay.”

  “I can’t. I need to tell the college whether I’ll be back. And I promised my mom I’d finish my degree.”

  He paused. “There are nursing colleges around here.”

  Yes, there were. A pretty good one at the Reading Hospital.

  “I know. But…”

  How the hell did she explain that she needed to stand on her own two feet without Kyle directly behind her, caging her in under the pretense of protection?

  How did she tell this man that she loved him but didn’t want to stay?

  Because she was pretty sure she loved him. And leaving him might actually make her physically ill.

  And there was still a kidnapper out there who wanted her for…something.

  “I have one semester left and Drexel is holding a spot for me. I’m not sure I’d be able to get a spot in another program this late.”

  She wanted to finish her degree. She wanted her life to be normal again—

  Well, no. She didn’t want an ordinary life. She wanted an extraordinary life. One she’d have with Kyle. But not one where he felt she should spend her life under his protection.

  “Tam, you’re still not safe—”

  “Wait. Just…let me finish. I made a promise I refuse to break. And I have to finish for me, too. I’ll talk to the school. Because of what—because of the rape,” she forced herself to say the word and found it still made her furious but it didn’t make her physical ill, “the dean told me there were measures they could take to ensure my safety. I’ll use another name, dye my hair. Most of my classmates have already graduated and I’ll only have one real class. The rest of my credits will be independent study and senior seminar. It’s only four months.”

  His hands tightened on the steering wheel so hard, she thought she heard the plastic creak. “I can’t come with you.”

  “I don’t need you to come with me. I need you to trust me. I can’t live my life cowering in a cabin in the woods. This is the second time someone’s come for me and failed
. Whoever is after me isn’t going to find me here. And I’ll make sure there’s no record of my name to track down at school. This is my life. And I’m sick of not living it.”

  He didn’t say anything for several seconds and she figured that was it. He’d say good riddance to her and her problems and walk away before she complicated his life any more than she already had.

  Finally, he drew in a deep breath. “I’ve got a friend in Philly. I’ll give you his name and his number. If you need anything, anything at all, you can call him, day or night.”

  And what if she wanted to call him?

  Yeah, and what was that you were saying about living your life without him caging you in?

  Can’t have it both ways.

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  “And I wa—hope you’ll let me have someone take a look at your room, make sure it’s secure.”

  “Okay.” Shit, was he really going to let her just walk out of his life. And, damn, was she bipolar or what? “Kyle—”

  “When do you want to leave?”

  Her heart contracted into a painful little ball in her chest. “I’ll call the dean tomorrow. Classes start in two weeks.”

  Kyle responded with a quick nod. “Then I guess we better get you ready to leave.”

  Chapter Nine

  A month later

  “So are you going to tell me what’s eating at you?”

  Cole sat in his bed at the lodge, playing cards flipping through his fingers like he was performing a magic trick. He’d been playing poker with Cat for the past hour until Kyle had stopped to give a status update.

  Cat had taken one look at Kyle’s face, said goodbye to Cole and headed out the door after a brief hug for Kyle.

  His daughter had been the picture of dejection ever since Tam had left. She hadn’t said anything to Kyle but he figured that was because he felt pretty much the same. Only he’d been a prick who’d realized he should just stay the fuck away from everyone for the time being.

  So he’d thrown himself into trying to find whoever had shot Cole. Which just made him more frustrated.

  “We still don’t have a clue who ordered the hit. I’ve had Nic and Duke working round the clock.”

  Cole nodded, his dark gaze locked onto Kyle’s. The lucani king wasn’t much older than Tam but wise beyond his years. Just like Tam.