Hunters Moon

by Hunter's Moon (lit)

  She grabbed the food bags and headed for the trunk, but decided all the other goodies could wait until later. She wanted to eat first and let Adam continue his explorations.

  She closed the front door tightly behind her and double-locked it, then raced up the stairs with her loot. She could already feel the heaviness in her pelvis, a tingle that settled just below the waistline of her jeans. She couldn't wait for another mind-blowing lesson in sex, Sha-Shiri style.

  She was practically vibrating with need when she burst into the bedroom. It took a moment for the scene before her to fully register and when it did, she dropped the bags and screamed.

  Chapter Nine

  The man in Alli's bedroom was naked, covered in a sheen of sweat and panting heavily. When she turned and bolted across the hallway he lunged after her. She screamed again as his hand closed over her mouth and he pinned her to the wall across from the bedroom door.

  "Stop that noise!" He pressed her between the wall and his muscular chest to quell her trembling. "It's me."

  "What--" She made a desperate attempt to bite the hand that clamped over the lower half of her face. The sweet, salty taste of his skin was vaguely familiar.

  "You who?" she demanded when he pulled his fingers a millimeter away from her lips.

  "Adam."

  "Give me a break--" She heaved against him hard and felt his erection. His scent was as familiar as the taste of his skin, and she finally realized that his eyes were luminous green.

  But the rest of him was utterly and completely unrecognizable.

  His silky, blue-black fur was gone, replaced by smooth human skin in a shade of California tan. He had a cap of black hair, an aquiline nose and the build of Adonis. His rock hard member was certainly familiar too, long, slightly curved and bumping the zipper of her jeans. Just below his right shoulder was a small, white scar.

  "Adam!"

  "Yes." He released his grip and stepped back to give her breathing room. "It's me."

  "What ... d-did you do?"

  "I started to transform, but I don't have enough strength to hold this form yet."

  As Alli watched, Adam's skin darkened. His features morphed and he reverted to his natural appearance. Alli drew in a lung full of air in an attempt to steady the rhythm of her heart.

  "You can do that?"

  "Yes. But once I make a complete transformation, it's permanent. Microbes in my body will restructure my DNA and I'll become human."

  "Why?" She sagged against the wall, lightheaded.

  "It's a defense mechanism. My people hunt on a number of worlds where our presence would not be welcome. As I told you. On rare occasions, we get injured or die during the hunt. We've developed the ability to camouflage ourselves in other forms so that when our bodies are found, if they're found, it doesn't cause a panic. If I had died in the woods, the change would have been automatic, but not so detailed. Your authorities would have found a badly decomposed human body that they would not have been able to identify. It saves the rest of the hunting party from having to risk capture by retrieving a dead or dying companion."

  Alli stared at him, strangely relieved to have him back in his regular feline form.

  "Now I have to add details to my appearance to make it unique. That's why I wanted the picture books, so I could fashion a suitable composite of human male forms."

  "You ... did a good job."

  She followed him back into the bedroom and he handed her a magazine. She sank to the bed with a giggle.

  She'd given him a handful of old magazines from her grandmother's stash in the basement, including National Geographic, a few women's magazines and mixed among them, an issue of Playgirl. He showed her the centerfold.

  "Nice work." She sighed as she closed the book. "But you shouldn't have tried it while you're still recovering from your injury. You should rest for a few more days until you transform."

  "I was hoping I could do it while you were gone, to surprise you."

  "You surprised me." She looked at the bags that lay all over the bedroom floor. At least the food spilling out of them was wrapped and boxed so it was all still edible. She transferred her gaze to him when he brushed his fingers against her cheek.

  "I thought you might prefer a human body ... to copulate with."

  "Oh." She stared at him and something welled up inside her that she thought she'd forgotten how to feel. "I don't have a problem with your body." Not at all, in fact.

  "But humans are so xenophobic."

  "As a rule, I'd say you're right. But come on. Do I seem xenophobic to you?"

  "No." She hadn't thought it possible, but he managed to look contrite. Her heart skipped again.

  "Well, then."

  "Who was the male who followed you home?" His voice changed suddenly and she detected a hint of ... jealousy? Protectiveness?

  "That was Ben. He's the chief of police."

  "The police are law enforcement--government."

  "Yes."

  Adam looked stricken. "Did you tell him?"

  "No!" Alli jumped up and put her hands on Adam's shoulders. "Of course not. In fact, I couldn't wait to get rid of him."

  "He wants you."

  "No shit."

  "I could smell his desire for you." There was an edgy current in his voice and Alli reasoned that Ben's presence might have precipitated Adam's attempt to transform. Did he think he might have to compete for her against a human male?

  "I don't desire him, so it doesn't matter."

  Adam moved to the bed and pulled her down to sit next to him. He stroked her hair and she leaned against his warmth.

  "I don't understand," he said. "You have a male that's interested in mating with you but you live alone and try to avoid him. Why?"

  Alli sighed. "I like solitude. I had a mate once, and he ... hurt me."

  Adam growled inquisitively.

  "He hit me, broke bones sometimes. I got so I was scared to do anything that might provoke him. When my grandmother died and left me this house and some money to get by for a few years, I decided I needed to leave. I worked up the courage to hit him back. I didn't stop hitting him until he was unconscious. I was lucky they didn't lock me up, too."

  "Why would they do that for defending yourself?"

  "It's the way of things sometimes. I was fortunate that some other women that he'd hurt before he met me were willing to testify against him. It helped that he also was wanted by the police for other crimes--he stole things. He went to jail and I ran away." Alli took a deep shuddering breath. Her body may have stopped at the farmhouse, but her emotions had been running ever since, still looking for a safe place to hide.

  Adam nuzzled her neck and wrapped his arms around her. "This Ben, looks like your mate? Is that why you avoid him?"

  "No, it's not a physical resemblance. I just ... I didn't want to trust another man and get hurt again."

  "You could live among females."

  She laughed. "I suppose I could. But I wanted just to be alone, to hide from everyone and keep a low profile if I could. I was afraid that one day he would get out of jail and come looking for me and I didn't want anyone else to get hurt."

  "Why would your government let him go free when he hurts females and steals things?"

  "Because ... that's the way it is sometimes. The punishments for crimes here rarely last forever. We believe in giving people a second chance."

  "He doesn't deserve one."

  "You don't have to tell me that."

  Adam sniffed the cool breeze coming through the window and pulled Alli tighter against his body. She felt herself melting into him and for the first time in longer than she could remember, she found herself willing to be protected, willing to trust. Nothing would happen to her if she was in his arms.

  "This police chief--Ben, wants to protect you."

  "He does. But that's his job."

  "Maybe you should let him. Trust him to take care of you."

  "No..." Alli turned and looked into Adam's eyes. "I
can take care of myself. I don't need another man to run my life." There was a surge of that old anger in her voice. The defiance that had almost gotten her killed in the process of freeing her from her nightmare marriage.

  "You need a male sometimes ... though." Adam said. His fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt and the gentle touch lit her skin on fire.

  "Yeah..."

  "Like now."

  "Yes." Alli dropped her head onto Adam's shoulder and arched her back while he played beneath her shirt, edging his demanding fingers closer and closer to her breasts.

  "I can transform again for a short time, if you like," he breathed in her ear.

  "No, I don't want you to. Not yet. Eventually you should make the change permanent. Since you're stranded here, you'll have a much better life if you look like one of us. But right now, I want you like this."

  "You do? A human body would not excite you more?"

  "No."

  Adam growled and lifted her off the bed. He shifted so he was in front of her and gently pushed her down onto the blankets.

  "I tho-thought you were hungry," she said. Her breath caught as he began pulling her clothes off.

  "I am hungry, for you."

  Chapter Ten

  When she was naked and spread beneath him, he straddled her again but held his weight aloft with his powerful thighs.

  He touched her, caressed her breasts and molded them until her nipples stood erect. He rasped his tongue across her body, dipping into her navel and swirling around each nipple until she thought she'd die from the aching pleasure.

  When she was almost near her first release, he gently flipped her over onto her stomach again. She gasped as he raised her hips and guided his erection into her from behind. Once, twice, he penetrated to the hilt, then pulled out completely, leaving her desperate for him. He pressed one hand to the small of her back to steady her while he used his fingers to bring her to the very edge.

  She arched and bucked against his hands when he pushed two fingers into her and she moaned when he drew them out slowly. Finally she cried out when the wave of her first climax washed over her. As she reveled in the uncontrolled flexing and release of her inner muscles, he guided her slowly down to the bed. While she writhed in languid torment, he entered her hard and fast and started the second wave of pulsing need.

  His tongue laved the skin of her back as he rocked her hips. Each movement brought him deeper until he filled her to the breaking point. Her second orgasm shattered over her and he held her hips, sealing her tightly to him as his engorged organ began to grow even larger and the pressure on her inner walls became unbearably sweet.

  Once again he went still and she fought the urge to buck beneath him and force him to take her harder. She waited, holding her breath until his burning seed burst into her. When he began his frenzied thrusts again, the sensation was smooth as silk now that she was so wet inside. She clutched the blankets and held on as he worked her to the breaking point. Then he pulled out of her once more, leaving her seconds from release.

  He gently turned her aching body over. She was so close that she didn't dare move. She sucked in a breath and held it as he spread her legs wide and positioned his still throbbing organ at her entrance.

  "I want to watch you," he said, his voice ragged with his own desire. "I want to see it in your eyes."

  Alli could only nod. She tensed, her muscles like bowstrings. Whatever he did now would set her off.

  When he pushed inside her sensitive folds one last time, it wasn't for his own release but only for hers. He let her feel each inch of him until his body finally pressed against her, grinding into the sensitive node of flesh at the juncture of her thighs. She arched and cried out as the exquisite wave broke over her, then she curled her body around him and rocked against him until the electric pulse inside finally eased. He settled his body on top of her and stilled her frantic movements with gentle caresses.

  "I've never seen a female so beautiful," he whispered when he rolled off of her and positioned her against him. "Your body excites me more than any Sha-Shiri female I've been with."

  Alli slid her tired gaze to his. "And you've been with a lot?"

  "Several."

  "Ah." She couldn't let that bother her. But there was something she had to know. "Do you have a mate on Sha-Shiri? And children?"

  "No..." He hesitated and she feared he might be lying. If he did, he could never go back to them, so it might be best to try to forget. When he spoke again, his voice held a hint of regret. "The mate I had, did not want me to come to earth to hunt. It angered her that I wanted to go because she felt it was too dangerous. She refused to wait for my return and told me she would find another mate while I was gone."

  "I'm sorry."

  "I'm not. If she were waiting for me to return, I would have held myself away from you and not allowed this to happen."

  "Oh. Well, then I'm not sorry either."

  Alli threw one leg over his thigh and molded her body to his to allow the incredible heat of his skin to soak into her tired muscles. She'd never been so pleasantly sore before, never felt so luxuriously sated. Lying in his arms was the most incredible feeling she had ever known and she didn't want it to end.

  She was thinking about learning more Sha-Shiri sexual techniques when she fell asleep. She dreamed of him and when she woke Adam was rubbing his splayed hand between her legs. His tongue traced a maddening line from her jaw to her breast and the need sprang up in her again.

  This time when he took her, it was different. He rose above her in the dark and penetrated her gently. He moved slowly in and out until she was wet and hot and pleading for more, and then he tilted her hips up with his strong hands and locked his thickening erection deep inside her. He stayed there unmoving for a long time allowing her to feel the incredible sensation as he elongated farther and farther. His eyes were luminescent and heavy lidded when he brought his body down across hers and did something he'd never done before.

  He kissed her. Parting her lips with his, he explored her mouth with his tongue, delving deep as he made small movements with his hips. She locked her legs around his waist and arched into him and this time when he exploded into her, they came together in a joint wave that left them both spent and panting.

  The next time Alli woke, she was alone.

  Chapter Eleven

  The faint breeze that stirred the bedroom curtains carried the strange scent of ozone. Alli listened to the uncharacteristic silence and it took her a moment to realize the crickets and tree frogs had gone mute. She couldn't see the clock from her position, but figured it might be just before dawn, that moment of transition when the night music ended and the day began.

  She uncurled her body and stretched, figuring if Adam had more exploring to do, it would have to wait a few hours for her heart beat to settle. She was too wired to go at it again right now.

  She didn't hear anything from the bathroom across the hall. Maybe he'd gone in search of a pre-breakfast snack in the kitchen. That would be nice. It was about time he brought her something to eat.

  She'd never asked him if females on Sha-Shiri were submissive or dominant but she was certainly going to let him know that here on earth he'd be expected to become proficient at a number of household chores.

  After a few more moments she rose and tentatively pulled her clothes on. Her body felt strangely supple to her as she skimmed into a pair of shorts and a tank top. This kind of exhaustion was far better than the way she felt after a run. For the first time in a long time she felt sensuous and sexy. She had Adam to thank for that. She also felt protective and possessive. She hoped he wasn't off somewhere draining his strength by trying to transform too soon. She realized she couldn't bear the thought of him in pain again.

  Once again a mass of conflicting emotions, Alli padded down the stairs to the kitchen. She was disappointed to find it empty. The door to the basement was locked, as was the front door. The entire house was dark and silent and Adam was nowhere.
>
  Panic gripped her when she found the door to the mudroom standing open to the back garden.

  He'd gone outside.

  Worry and anger rose in her as she slipped her feet into an old pair of moccasins she kept in the mudroom. He had to know how dangerous it was to go prowling around outside, even in the dead of night, unless he'd already managed to transform completely into human form. The thought disappointed her.

  She wanted to watch him change because she wanted to remember his real form, his exquisitely smooth skin and his feral countenance. The human body he'd patterned was fine--a handsome face, a perfectly formed body, but something in her responded so viscerally to his Sha-Shiri form. She was afraid that when he changed again, he would become nothing more than another man to her, a form she'd spent a long time mistrusting and hating.

  She could accept Adam in his alien form because he was something she had never experienced before and therefore carried no bad memories. She realized if she could watch him change she might be able to overcome the aversion and maybe she would always see him in her mind as he truly was.

  The back door clattered shut and Allie made her way through the garden. The back gate stood open and she let her gaze follow the path that led up the hillside and away from her property. In a copse of trees halfway up the slope, she saw it.

  A green light glowed from within the tightly spaced birch trunks. Adam had to be there. The light was the color of his eyes.

  Alli took off running. She hit the old road at a sprint, ignoring the fact that the moon hadn't risen yet and she could barely see. When she was halfway up the slope, she called for him.

  There was no response. Alli pushed her tired body to its limits and ran until the cool September air burned her lungs. When she finally reached the tree line, she steadied herself against one of the pale trunks. She fought the urge to double over to ease the stitch in her side.

  There were shadowy forms moving through the trees, their outlines blurred against the brilliant glow from within.