Benjamin, Karen - Creole Moon (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Karen Benjamin

  The elevator stopped on the top floor of the casino, the doors opening onto a circular room that provided a panoramic view of Salinas harbor and the cloud-high mountains overshadowing it. Centered in the middle of the room was a massive oak desk with an ornate high-backed chair behind it. Two similar, but smaller chairs were positioned in front. The view, the room, everything had a raw beauty about it, much like the man walking at her side. Hell on wheels is what Ma’mon would have called him, and her eyes would have danced with wicked delight when she said it. Yep, Ma’mon would have liked him, but then again, the old woman never did have good taste when it came to men.

  I heard that, cher. You just mad ’cause you finally met a man who makes all your female parts sing.

  Go away, Ma’mon. I need to stay focused and your buzzing about in my head isn’t helping—and he does not make my female parts sing!

  The old woman cackled with glee and Alisha broke the link, slamming into place an impenetrable wall around her mind. She loved the old woman dearly, but she had a bad habit of popping into her head at the most inopportune times.

  She glanced at Blackmane, hoping he hadn’t picked up on the fact she’d been having a psychic conversation in her head. And though his expression hadn’t changed, she’d bet half her magic he’d known.

  He waved a hand toward one of the chairs and waited until she sat down to speak.

  “You look nothing like Alan Leveau,” he said, taking a seat behind the desk. “You call him brother, but you can’t be blood kin.”

  “That’s a no brainer,” she quipped, with a roll of her eyes. “Alan looks like his ancestors arrived on the Mayflower and I look as if mine came in the cargo hold. We claim each other as kin, and that’s all you need to know.”

  His eyes darkened, slashed at her face, and Alisha wanted to kick herself. What the hell was wrong with her? Pissing off the man who held her brother’s life in his hands was not a good idea, but something about him rubbed her the wrong way. Maybe it was the way he watched her, as if he knew something she didn’t, or maybe it was the feel of his magic. Yeah, that was probably it. The guy was more than Wulfren and she was reacting to his weird mojo.

  “Your tone offends me. You will keep a civil tongue in your mouth or I’ll end this conversation before it gets started. Is that clear, Ms. Leveau?”

  She nodded. “Clear enough, and to answer to your question, I met Alan in a New Orleans orphanage. He was six, I was twelve, and the state foster system didn’t know what to do with either of us. We looked normal but every prospective foster home we were placed in sent us back within a week. Most of them made up lies about us being a bad influence on their other kids, but the truth is we creeped them out.”

  “Supernaturals in the human foster system.” He arched a dark eyebrow in disbelief. “How the hell did that happen? And how did you manage to hide what you were?”

  “It wasn’t easy, but it helped that my powers were dormant until I learned to summon them. It was more difficult for Alan. He craved red meat, and whenever the moon was full he’d spend hours staring at it. Once he hit puberty, everything got worse. He wouldn’t talk to anyone but me, and the changes in his body, like facial hair sprouting when the moon was full, became hard to hide. So we ran away and ended up living on the streets of New Orleans. I don’t know what would have happened to us if we hadn’t met Ma’mon. Being Wiccan, she recognized what we were and took us in. She helped us to understand what we were, and introduced us to the hidden world of Others. She passed into the light two years ago, and since then it’s been just the two of us.”

  “What you’ve said answers some of the questions I have about your brother, but unfortunately it changes nothing. Your brother is in jail, awaiting execution, and at this late date there’s little you can do about it.”

  She leaned forward, her eyes locking with his. “Say that again, because I thought you just said my brother is going to be executed.”

  He nodded. “Your brother killed one of the locals living on the island.”

  “My brother isn’t a killer.”

  He snorted. “Your brother is Wulfren. We’re all killers.” He leaned back in his chair, his hooded black eyes watchful, reminding Alisha that a massive predator lurked just beneath his skin. “Your brother got a fair trial. There’s no question of his guilt.”

  “The jury made a mistake.”

  “Not likely. There may not have been any witnesses to the actual crime, but your brother’s scent was all over the victim.”

  “You convicted my brother on circumstantial evidence?” Alisha rose to her feet, her body rigid with anger. “I’ve heard enough. My brother isn’t going to be put to death under the orders of some kangaroo court. Take me to see him. Now.”

  “Or what?” he snapped, pushing out of his chair to tower above her. “I warned you once about keeping a civil tongue in your mouth. Use that tone again with me, and I’ll show you why witches fear my kind.”

  “Witches may fear your kind, but Sosye never have. You’d do well to remember that your hairy-ass ancestors knew better than to mess with us. They called us warrior bitches, and I’ve always considered it a backhanded compliment, and damn good thinking for a species that greet each other by sniffing their privates.”

  Black eyes met brown in silent challenge for a long moment. He growled low in his throat, his face dark with anger. She lit up the room with a flash of her magic, and glared right back at him. He was an asshole, a cave-dwelling, hairy-ass Neanderthal that needed taking down a notch. But a little voice inside her head whispered that he was the kind of man she had dreamed about, but never thought she’d find. He didn’t fear her magic, wouldn’t hesitate to tell her what he thought, and sure as hell wouldn’t let her boss him around. She felt attracted and repelled by him at the same time. But most of all, she wondered what it would be like to be his. To have all that strength and passion focused solely on satisfying her every need. He made her pulse jump and her body flush with need just by looking at her. And even in her anger, she couldn’t help but admire his devilish good looks.

  “Warrior bitches,” he murmured, a dark eyebrow raised in disbelief. “The way I heard it, your ancestors spent much of the war clutching my ancestors’ hairy asses as they screamed with pleasure.” A self-satisfied smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “It seemed the Sosye had no defense against our superior weapons.”

  Patronizing pig. There was more than a grain of truth in what he said, but that didn’t mean she wanted to hear it, and certainly not from him. Unbidden, a picture of a large knife slicing downward to relieve him of his superior weapon formed in her mind. It was a comforting thought, meant to take the edge off her anger, but when he flung a hand up in a defensive move while his other hand swept down to protect his groin, she realized she’d projected the image into his mind. She immediately regretted her actions, and she dropped her gaze to the floor to keep him from seeing the laughter in her eyes. What was it with men and their willies? The way they carried on you’d think they really were the family jewels.

  “Are you laughing at me, Ms. Leveau?” His voice held a sharp edge, a clear indication he was far from amused.

  “Sorry.” She raised her eyes to his and did her best to look contrite. “I didn’t do that intentionally, but you have to admit your reaction was kind of funny.”

  “Was that meant to be an apology?”

  She gave him her best “why can’t we just get along” smile and as far as she was concerned that was the end of it, which was is why she was totally unprepared when he leapt over the top of his desk with the agility she associated more with cats than wolves. She did her best to scramble out of the way, but he moved with preternatural speed. Her chair went in one direction, she in another, and he landed atop her with enough force to knock the air from her lungs. She tried to spin another vision, but she was having so much trouble breathing, she couldn’t focus. He took the opportunity to grasp both her hands in one of his, and pinned them above her head.

&
nbsp; He brought his face within inches of hers and a low sound, similar to the rumble of thunder just before a cloud burst, rose from deep within his chest. With his eyes ringed with a red haze, his face hardened with suppressed rage, and an impressive set of canines on display, he was a nightmare come to life. She should have been terrified out of her mind. At the very least, she should have been doing anything she could to get him off her. But God help her, the wild savage beauty of his face and the feel of his hard body pinning her to the floor filled her with a sexual need that swept over her body like a tsunami. Maybe once she got her brain back, she could make sense of her body’s reaction to him, but at the moment, all she could do was feel.

  “Got nothing to say, Sosye?” he taunted, pulling back to stare down at her. “Well, I do. You lose.” He shoved a muscled thigh between her legs and with his free hand, jerked her skirt up to expose her barely there red lace panties. She gasped with outrage, and then bit her bottom lip to keep from moaning in reaction to his touch.

  “Nice.” He extended a finger, and Alisha swallowed around the lump in her throat as he hooked his finger in the edge of her panties and slid it upward, slicing them on one side and then on the other. “It pleases me to discover that beneath your brashness, there’s a womanly side to you that likes to wear sexy underwear.” His eyes hardened, the red haze intensifying. “But I’m still going to punish you. You need to learn obedience and teaching you is going to be a pleasure.”

  She stiffened, her mind latching onto the word obedience like a bull staring at a matadors red cape. “Obedience! You can take your obedience and shove it up your hairy ass. And get the hell off me.” She tried to squirm from beneath him. “You weigh a ton!”

  “So much anger,” he murmured, giving her a sly look that smoldered with enough heat to curl her toes. “But I don’t think all that anger is on account of your brother.”

  “I don’t care what you think,” she snapped. “Just get off me and I’ll be happy to clarify the issue. No need for you to hurt yourself trying to think.”

  He gave her a look, filled with masculine superiority and amusement. “I know when a woman wants me, even though she refuses to admit it.” He lowered his head, his intention to kiss her clear, and she turned her face to the side. Undeterred, he followed her movement and captured her lips with a dominance that irritated and aroused her all at the same time. She tried to bite him, but it was a halfhearted effort at best. He kissed her, and she allowed it, because heaven help her, nothing had ever felt so good.

  When he finally pulled away, they were both breathing as if they’d run a marathon. She hated the fact she’d enjoyed his kiss, but since she wasn’t the only one battling to bring their emotions under control, she was kind of pleased. And why not? The man clearly liked kissing her and unless he’d shoved a night stick down his pants, he wasn’t as in control as he wanted her to think. Power was power. And when you were dealing with the biggest badass to ever lead the North American Wulfren pack, a girl had to be thankful for anything that gave her an edge.

  “So this is how it’s going to be,” he said, watching her from beneath his hooded lids. “You’ve discovered that I’m not immune to your feminine power and that pleased little smile on your face tells me you aren’t above using it to gain the upper hand.”

  Her smile widened into a grin. She couldn’t help it. The Supreme Leader of the North American Wulfren Clan, and arguably one of the hottest men on planet, had a thang for her. Who’d a thought it?

  Her smile quickly turned into a scowl when he moved a hand to the junction of her thighs and rubbed a large finger over her moist folds.

  “You’re smiling now, but never forget, this thing between us works both ways. But don’t let that stop you. I like a woman who fights dirty. No limits out of bed means none in bed.” He gave her a dark look, his black eyes promising forbidden pleasures, and her traitorous body flushed with pleasure.

  “Can we discuss this in a vertical position? Sort of level the playing field.”

  “Now why would I want to do that?” He slid his thumb over the hard nub nestled at the junction of her thighs. “Your lesson in obedience is just beginning.”

  “Bastard,” she whispered, fighting the need to arch up against his hand. “This isn’t fair.”

  “Fairness has nothing to do with it. Fate is a bitch who deals the cards and at the moment, she’s stacked the deck in my favor.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.” He raked his fingers through the curls nestled at the apex of her thighs, feeding the burn he’d ignited in her body. “Brace yourself, little witch, time to take things to the next level.”

  Oh shit! Why had she ever taunted the man? In a blinding move, he released her hands and shoved her top up, exposing the wisps of red lace that covered her breast. Her eyes locked with his, and he maintained eye contact with her, even as he lowered his head and latched onto her nipple. Unable to look away, she watched as he suckled at her breast, leaving a moist circle on the lace covering her nipples. It felt good. Damn good, and she closed her eyes and arched up into his touch. Somewhere, in a small corner of her mind, she realized she should be pushing him away, but every time she tied to tell him to stop, she ended up moaning with pleasure.

  With her last ounce of self-preservation, she attempted to call forth another vision, this time projecting an image of him being burned alive. As visions went, it was a particularly nasty one, rooted in the Wulfren deep-seated hatred of fire, but she ran into a psychic block in his mind and was forced to retreat.

  “Bad Sosye,” he admonished, raising his head to look down at her. “You just earned yourself an ass spanking. But I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

  “You are not touching my butt,” she managed to get out, ignoring the way her pulse leapt at his words. “What are you, some kind of pervert?”

  He shot her a wicked look, full of innuendo, and she closed her eyes briefly and sighed.

  “Don’t answer that. You made your point. You can handle anything I throw at you.” Even to her own ears, she sounded defeated, and she stiffened her spine. “And I admit I’m attracted to you, but whatever there is between us will have to wait. My brother needs me, and he’s running out of time. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish our discussion sitting in a chair.

  The smile left his face and he stared at her for a long moment, his expression giving nothing of his thoughts away. Then he rolled off her and rose swiftly to his feet. He offered her a hand up, but, still feeling the sting from her capitulation, she ignored it and came to her feet on her own. She adjusted her clothing, snatched up what was left of her red lace panties and did her best to keep from blushing as she tossed them into the nearest waste basket.

  “What the hell are you anyway? You didn’t just block my vision, you threw me out of your mind. No one’s ever been able to do that before, and I’ve tested my gift on some of the strongest of our kind.”

  He shrugged, the look on his face saying it was all the answer she was going to get for now. She let the matter drop, but she knew the strength of her magic, and it would take that and then some to stop one of her visions from taking hold. Blackmane was definitely more than he appeared.

  He righted her chair, and waited for her to sit down before he took a seat on the edge of his desk, sitting close enough that she had to breathe through her mouth to keep from inhaling his unique scent. He smelled good, like the woods after a summer rain. Maybe it was the way he always smelled, or maybe he was doing that Wulfren pheromone thing she’d been warned about. No matter, she wasn’t going to risk it. She might look like a slack-jawed idiot, breathing through her mouth, but it was better than panting like a hussy while she tried to fight off his effect on her.

  “I have a proposal,” he said, his eyes mere slits as he watched her from beneath his heavy lids. “If you’re ready to listen.”

  She nodded. The ball was in his court and they both knew it. No sense wast
ing time pretending otherwise.

  “As I’ve said, your brother is due to be executed in two days, but I can delay his execution for a price.”

  Slimy bastard. So much for the lauded Wulfren sense of integrity and honor. “Name it, but I warn you. Just because you managed to win the first battle doesn’t mean you’ll win the war.”

  He nodded, but the dark gleam in his eyes said it all. He had plans, and she was in no position to deny him.

  “I can delay your brother’s execution…two, maybe three weeks. That should be enough time for you to do your own investigation into his case. It’s possible you might find something to overturn the verdict, but I’ll be honest with you. It’s highly unlikely.”

  Her heart jumped at the possibility of delaying her brother’s execution, but she did her best not to show it. She wasn’t in any position to bargain, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. “I’ll need more time if I’m going to prove his innocence.”

  He shook his head. “There are Wulfren laws that even I must follow, Alisha. Remember, your brother has been found guilty by a jury of his peers. I can only bend Wulfren law. I can’t break it.”

  So now that he’d gotten into her panties, she was Alisha?

  “I’m not so sure I buy that, Lucas. I’ve heard it said you do pretty much what you want to do if the spirit moves you.”

  He responded with a low rumble of displeasure, and she deliberately rolled her eyes, knowing it would irk him. “No offense intended. I was just pushing to see if that as the big kahuna around here you might be willing to give me a little more time, but I get it. The issue is closed for negotiation. When can I see my brother?”