Moonlight Danger

by Tina Donahue

  “The hell it is.” He pulled her back. “Let me handle this.”

  “Why should you have to? You would never have gotten involved if it hadn’t been for me. I should have kept my big mouth shut.”

  “If you had, Kent could have burned the community down and killed all of us. I’m glad you spoke up.”

  “I could have battled him on my own. I should have. Can you ever forgive me?”

  “Guys.” Derek folded his hands behind his head. “You both should have come to Rand and me. We have a dead body in the forest, remember?”

  “Totally my fault.” Portia put out her wrists. “Slap the cuffs on me. I’m guilty.”

  Nick pushed her hands down. “It was self-defense. Are you going to tell Jesse and Charlie about this?”

  Dead freaking silence.

  Portia wasn’t certain if that was good or bad. “You’re not going to throw Nick out of the pack are you? For myself, that’s fine.”

  “What?” Nick glared at her. “If you go, so do I.”

  “Neither of you has to leave.” Derek settled his chair on four legs and looked at Portia. “As to Trish’s scent leading you to Kent…do you really think you’re psychic, or have paranormal abilities, or whatever you want to call it?”

  “I don’t know. If it happened once, I suppose it could happen again.”

  “You should get together with Riesa. Compare notes.”

  “I’ll do that. Thanks.”

  “If you sense anything again, you come to us first. No playing Murder She Wrote in your spare time.”

  Nick slung his arm around her shoulders. “She was amazing, but she’ll behave from now on. Won’t you, baby.” He shook her gently.

  She elbowed him. “I’ll try.”

  Hey, that’s all she could promise.

  With that settled, Derek called the meeting, explaining to the pack what had happened, including Portia’s unexpected gift, and that he and Rand would handle matters. Wisely, no one pressed them on particulars. The less they knew…. However, Kent couldn’t simply disappear from the planet with no one wondering why. He had a business.

  Portia straightened in her chair, an idea forming that she couldn’t wait to get to, as soon as this business was done.

  “Okay, that’s it.” Derek pushed back his chair. “Meeting’s over.”

  Fran stood. “Not so fast, I have something to say.”

  Nick groaned softly. Portia warned herself not to react to whatever nasty thing Fran said. Wasn’t worth it. She and Nick were here for life and had to get along with the pack.

  Fran faced her.

  God, this was going to be bad. “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry. I misjudged you. I apologize.” She approached and stuck out her hand. “Can we forget everything, start over, and shake on it?”

  Portia hugged the older woman. “I’m sorry, too, for the mean things I said and that I didn’t catch Kent sooner.”

  “You did an amazing job. May he rot in hell.”

  “I’m sure that’s where he is.”

  Fran patted her back. “Welcome to Moonlight.”

  Forever.

  Epilogue

  Months later….

  The summer day was ungodly hot and humid. Clouds smeared across the sky turning everything hazy white. Luckily, it wasn’t raining or lightning. Portia didn’t want even worse weather spoiling today.

  After zipping her black sundress, she grabbed her black ballet flats. “Babe, you almost done?”

  “I’m hurrying as fast as I can.”

  “The ceremony starts in a few minutes. If we don’t leave soon, everyone’s going to melt by the time we get there.”

  Nick padded from the bath to the closet, his cock swinging, butt cheeks bouncing.

  So drool-worthy, she had to resist touching him. Her poor self-control was the reason they were running late. His, too. Neither had wanted to leave their bed.

  He pushed hangers aside. “Where’s my good shirt?”

  “To the right.”

  “You sure jeans will be okay for this?”

  “They’ll have to be. You don’t have anything else.” She brushed her hair. “Trish won’t mind. What’s important is the pack showing up.”

  They were holding a service for her today in Moonlight, laying her bones to rest here. Portia and Nick had searched for weeks, unable to find each one. The odor was finally gone, no longer helping them. Although Trish had moved on, Portia wanted a nice place for her earthly remains. Nick helped with cleaning the bones they had, arranging them carefully in a white enameled box lined with yellow satin—Trish’s favorite color according to her old Facebook page. It wasn’t the best funeral but would have to do. Even with Jesse and Charlie’s help, only two relatives turned up. Trish’s mother had died years ago from an overdose. Once her father learned he wouldn’t be responsible for burial costs, he was disinterested in anything having to do with his child. He’d told Portia to do what she wanted with the remains. Not his problem.

  Wasn’t right. Everyone should have family, someone who worried about them.

  The pack had become Trish’s relations. She’d helped them stop Kent and would always be in their hearts.

  Walt’s, too. He’d sent a beautiful arrangement for today, yellow roses and baby’s breath. Shortly after the meeting in Moonlight Diner, Portia had contacted him about Kent’s passing.

  He never asked how the man had died. Whatever Derek, Rand, Charlie, or Jesse had done about the matter, it never made the news. Given Kent’s toxic personality, no one missed him either.

  There was his business, though. She’d approached Walt about coming back to run things. Who better to see to the area’s needs, especially since Kent had cheated him out of his share. Walt had returned a month ago and had everything running smoothly again, happier than he’d ever been.

  “Done.” Nick tossed his comb on the dresser. Strands of his midnight hair dangled over his forehead, others curled obediently on his neck and behind his ears.

  Far too tamed and perfect. She liked his hair bed-mussed, cheeks bristly, his beautiful body buck-naked, his hard-on massive enough to make women swoon, telling them how lucky she was. She’d always be grateful for finding him, with him loving her in return. “You shouldn’t have shaved.”

  “Now you tell me.” He winked. “You look good enough to eat.”

  “For dessert, after the gathering at Fran’s place. She and Olive are putting out a spread.”

  “Who would’ve thought.”

  No kidding. Olive and Fran were motherly now, adopting Portia and Nick as their “kids.” The ladies were still intrusive, but meant well.

  He held out his hand. “You ready for this?”

  “Never. I wish we were going to Trish’s wedding instead. But this will have to do.”

  “She’ll never be without home or family again.”

  “Neither will we.”

  Smiling, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her outside into the moist breeze.

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  Hot Moon Rising Book 1

  Wolf Moon by Desiree Holt

  Chapter One

  The rain always depressed Alexa Martin, underscoring the isolation she lived with. Scant moments ago, she’d returned from running through the trees behind her house. Concealed by the darkness, she’d given in to the urge she’d been suppressing for two days. Now, in a fleece robe, with a towel wrapped around her head, she sat curled up on the window seat in her living room. Thick drops of liquid ran down the glass like tiny waterfalls. If only there was a way she could wash away the problems in her life and make it clean and free again.

  Why did I think everything would be fine when I moved to Florida? Running from our clan’s alpha really didn’t change anything except to put distance between me and everything I’ve ever known.

  “You know I cannot allow your relationship with a human,” the alpha had told h
er in his forbidding voice. “He will turn on you when he knows the truth. Worse yet, he could expose you and the rest of us. Is that what you want?”

  He was right, damn him.

  She had deliberately shape-shifted in front of Ray, hoping for acceptance, but she’d seen nothing but horror in his eyes.

  “What are you?” Disgust had filled his voice. “Some kind of freak? No, get away from me,” he’d shouted when she moved toward him. “Do not touch me.”

  “You should have listened to your elders,” the alpha told her afterward. “I have no objection to marriage, but only with our own kind. We must perpetuate our clan. Lance is ready and waiting to make you his wife.”

  “I will never marry Lance, old man,” she told him with vehemence. “He may be handsome and powerful, but he is well-known for his cruelty.”

  So, she ran as far as she could, tucking away in a hidden corner of the universe where she was sure the clan would never find her.

  The slam of a car door drew her attention to the driveway separating her house from the one next to it.

  Jesse’s home.

  From where she sat, she could see Jesse Farrell’s lean, muscular body running through the rain to his porch.

  One a.m.

  She could set her clock by him.

  His shift with the Palmetto County Sheriff’s Department ended at midnight. Unless paperwork kept him longer than usual, he’d stop for coffee and a hamburger on the way home. At one o’clock, he’d be pulling into the driveway. Alexa never failed to notice the fatigue that slowed his steps or the tension in his posture.

  What bothered her the most were the feelings she was developing for him, feelings that went far beyond worries for his safety. She’d thought hiding away in this small Southern town was the answer to her problem. A top researcher, her website brought her many clients and allowed her to work from home.

  Then I saw Jesse, and I was right in the fire again.

  She found herself wandering out into her backyard when he was working in his, carrying a pitcher of iced tea or lemonade. From there, it was nothing more than a short step to inviting him to dinner. Or over to watch television on his nights off.

  Fool! Stupid! Idiot!

  Little by little, she found herself pulled more and more to him. At night, she dreamed about him in her bed. Naked. Hot. His big hands touching every part of her body. His hard shaft plunging into her. His sensual mouth devouring her. She would awaken in a state of high arousal, her nipples painful points, the pulse in her cunt throbbing, and liquid seeping onto her thighs.

  The last thing I need is to fall in love with another human.

  Love! The forbidden word.

  Yet, she felt it barreling down on her like a steamroller, and she didn’t know how to get out of the way. She was lost, either way.

  Alexa shivered.

  Can it, girlfriend. You were in trouble the moment you first talked to him. Go make yourself a cup of tea. Chamomile. Nice and soothing. Something to stifle these feelings that are definitely going to get you in trouble.

  Sighing, she unfolded herself from the seat and headed for the kitchen.

  The sound of the doorbell startled Alexa. On tiptoe, she peered through the peephole. She was stunned to see Jesse on her porch, dripping wet and shifting from one foot to the other.

  She yanked the door open. “What’s wrong? It’s pouring rain. Why aren’t you inside?”

  “Can I come in, please?”

  “Oh, sure. Come on.” Yes, bring your fantastic body into my house.

  “Sorry to bother you. I left my key on the counter this morning.” He raked his wet hair back from his forehead. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

  Jesse always carried his car keys separately.

  “In case I’m ever attacked,” he’d explained, “I don’t want anyone having a key to my house. I can keep an extra one of yours, too, if you want.”

  Another link to him she should avoid.

  “I’ll get it,” she told him, “but come into the kitchen. You look like a drowned rat, and you must be freezing. At least get that wet shirt off and let me make you some coffee.”

  “I’ll drip all over your place,” he protested.

  “Tile floors are easy to mop.” She took his hand. “Come on. I’d feel terrible if you got pneumonia and I could have prevented it.”

  In the kitchen, she flipped the switch on the coffeemaker while he took off his shirt. Then she handed him a large towel from the stack in the laundry room.

  “You look exhausted. Bad night?” Her heart pinched at the weary sight of him.

  Jesse scrubbed a hand over his face. “Every night’s bad with the gangs. We’ve got a couple of new ones out there ramping up their so-called initiation requirements. That makes it pretty tense on the streets.”

  He was a member of the sheriff’s gang task force, a thankless and dangerous job. On the night streets, he was a shadowy figure in jeans and T-shirt, looking to stop trouble before it started. Even in a county as small as Palmetto, gangs were a big problem, many of them migrating south from Tampa.

  She’d taken to waiting up for him, knowing she’d be unable to rest until he was home safely. If only she could find a way to protect him. Well, there was one, if she transformed. But she had no idea how he’d feel about a giant wolf following him around the county.

  She ran a critical eye over him, noting his soaked jeans, and pulled out another towel. “You’d better take off the rest of those clothes and let me put everything in the dryer. Coffee should be ready in a minute.”

  “I’m all right, Alexa. Honest. The only thing I need is to get some sleep.”

  How about in my bed?

  “I told you. Go to sleep like that and you really will get sick.”

  “Alexa, I….”

  She grinned at him. “I finally have a chance to get you naked in my house. Don’t give me a hard time.”

  Something primitive flashed in his eyes at her words, and the muscles of his face tautened. He took his wallet out of his jeans and flipped it onto the counter. Still holding her gaze, he undid the snap, lowered the zipper, and slid the wet denim down his legs, along with his boxers.

  In seconds, he was unselfconsciously naked. Alexa’s face flushed. She quickly handed him the second towel and turned toward the laundry room. “I’ll go dump all this stuff in the dryer.”

  Her hands shook slightly as she dropped the clothes into the dryer and set it on the spin cycle.

  Am I out of my mind? Jesse Farrell naked in my kitchen, wrapped only in two of my towels?

  Correction. One towel—slung low on his hips and knotted at the side. When she came back into the kitchen, he was still using the other one to dry his hair.

  He winked at Alexa. “I’ve sure waited a long time for you to get me naked, darlin’.”

  “Don’t get any ideas,” she tried to joke. “I’m just doing my Good Samaritan thing. Want a shot of something in your coffee to take the chill off?”

  “No thanks. Sounds good, but straight from the pot.”

  When she turned to hand him the mug, he was so close behind her the hot liquid nearly sloshed over the rim. “S-Sorry.”

  His scent drifted past her nose, musk and citrus and the clean smell of the rain. Her wolf sense of smell went on high alert. She tried to inch away from him, but he had her trapped between his body and the counter.

  Oh my God! His body!

  Exactly as she had imagined it. Lean, hard, muscled, with thick curls of dark hair covering his chest and narrowing to a point beneath the top edge of the towel. And his face. Lines of exhaustion carved into the rugged planes accented the sensuous mouth and the slightly crooked nose. But his eyes dominated everything. God, she could get lost in those dark whiskey-colored eyes fringed by thick lashes.

  Alexa had to stop herself from licking her lips.

  He’s not for you.

  But oh, how she wanted him. In her heart as well as her bed. Most definitely in her life.

&n
bsp; He’s not for you.

  The words echoed again in her head.

  “You must be exhausted,” she murmured, searching for conversation. “Your clothes should be dry in a minute. Why don’t you take your coffee to the table and sit down.”

  “I like the view better from here.” His voice was like warm syrup sliding over her.

  “Jesse, I—”

  “You what?” He set his coffee mug on the counter and leaned forward, his hands on either side of her. “Do you know how many times I’ve watched you out there in what passes for a backyard here? Seen you in those shorts and T-shirts that hug this round little body? How many times I’ve stood and talked to you hoping you wouldn’t notice what a hard-on you gave me? How many nights I’ve dreamed of taking your body into my bed and doing the most exciting things to it? With it?”

  “Y-You have?”

  “Sitting in your house eating dinner with you and watching television has been an exercise in self-control worthy of an award. You have no idea how I’ve been fantasizing about you.”

  She placed her palms on his chest and realized instantly what a mistake that was. Electricity sizzled through her fingertips and shot its way through her body. Her nipples, already hard, were now like tiny granite pebbles. Liquid dripped from her cunt and trickled down the inside of her thighs. Embarrassed, she squeezed her legs together.

  “Don’t fantasize about me, Jesse. There are things you don’t know.”

  Don’t give me the chance to love you.

  His eyes were like twin flames, all signs of teasing gone. “Afraid of me, Alexa?”

  His words sent shivers skittering along her spine. She swallowed twice before she could answer him.

  “W-What should I be afraid of?”

  “Maybe this.”

  He bent his head and captured her mouth with his, a soft kiss that gradually turned hard and demanding. His tongue swept the warm, wet cavern of her mouth like a flame, scorching her everywhere it touched. His hands held her firmly to him, crushing her breasts against his bare chest. The length of his erection pressed into the softness of her belly.