Moonlight Temptation

by Stephanie Julian

  “Maybe I was being a dick.”

  Ryan snorted. “So you’ve actually gotten to know the cold fish?”

  Dane swallowed the easy lie that rose to his lips. His best friend deserved better. But this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to continue now. And thankfully, didn’t have to.

  “We’re here, Ryan. Third house on the left.”

  Ryan parked the truck in front of the house Dane had pointed out and shut off the engine.

  Then he turned to face the man he considered his best friend.

  And wondered if he really knew the guy at all.

  “Jesus, Dane. Of course you were being a dick but you come by it honestly. You were spoiled rotten as a child. Your parents treated you like a crown fucking prince, complete with silver spoon.”

  Dane had been an only child for fifteen years before his sister Miranda came along. He’d been groomed to be a doctor since birth and he’d had the brains to justify his parents’ hopes and dreams. Actually, the guy was more than smart. He was fucking brilliant.

  But for all that brilliance, sometimes he could be incredibly stupid.

  “Dane, are you seriously considering marrying a girl because your mother decided she’d be the perfect wife?”

  Dane sighed, staring out the window at the house. “What the hell does it matter who I marry? I’m not looking for love.”

  “Then why the hell do you need a wife?”

  “I told you. I’m sick of coming home to an empty house.”

  “So get a cat. Dude, do you honestly think you’re gonna be happy with a virtual stranger living in your home?”

  “Fuck, Ryan, it’s gotta be better than the nothing I’ve got now.”

  Ryan’s eyes widened. “Dane, what the hell—”

  “No.” Dane held up his hand in classic I am Master Dane, obey me fashion. “No, just forget I said that. Vaffanculo, Ryan, just drop it, okay?”

  Something in Dane’s voice made Ryan stop and take a good, hard look at his friend.

  And for the first time since Dane had been forced to reveal the truth of his life to Ryan, he looked as if he was about to crack around the edges. Strain showed in the tight line of his jaw and the fists now clenched on his thighs.

  For the past decade, Ryan had seen Dane handle every situation with a confidence that never seemed to falter, not even when he was frustrated or pissed off.

  He’d never seen Dane rattled. Not even when Dane had revealed himself to be something other than human. A being straight out of mythology.

  Dane had shaken Ryan’s safe, normal world to its foundations with that news. It’d taken Ryan weeks to come to grips with the fact there were things in the world that couldn’t be explained by the narrow confines of science.

  The fact Dane was one of those things had thrown Ryan’s formerly normal world off-kilter.

  They sat in silence for at least a minute, Dane staring out the window, Ryan staring at Dane.

  Something had changed. Something to do with the woman in that house.

  Dane sighed and opened the door, practically throwing himself out of the car before he grabbed the bags of food from the backseat and headed for the front door.

  With his head down, he looked as if he were headed for the gallows.

  What Ryan couldn’t figure out was why. He didn’t understand Dane’s apocalyptic attitude. She was just a girl. A pretty one, yeah.

  But…

  Maybe Dane knew she could be something more.

  And that definitely made her special.

  Ryan caught up to Dane just before he reached the front door. He wanted to say something, anything to try to ease Dane out of this mood, but Dane reached out to knock before Ryan could open his mouth.

  Fine, they’d play this Dane’s way for now.

  The door opened only seconds later and wary gray eyes met his before flicking to Dane.

  Evie Simmons took a deep breath and straightened, almost as if she were preparing for battle.

  “Dane. I didn’t know you were coming.”

  Dane’s chin tipped back, almost as if she’d hit him. “I know. I hope it’s not too much of an imposition.” He held out the bags of food they’d ordered from The Cellar, a downtown Reading restaurant favored by the Etruscans. “We brought dinner.”

  Christ, Dane looked brittle enough to crack at a harsh word. Surreal didn’t begin to describe the situation.

  Her mouth quirked in what might have been a grin. Or maybe not. “Probably better for everyone that you did. I’m not exactly the world’s best cook.”

  The self-deprecating tone of Evie’s voice drew Ryan’s attention back to the woman. And the attraction he’d felt earlier today hit him broadside.

  He’d never experienced anything like it. Sure, he’d seen a woman and fallen in lust before.

  But that had been different. This…

  “Hello again.” She forced a smile as she stepped away from the door and waved them in with her free hand.

  When Dane hesitated, Ryan stepped through the threshold, forcing Dane to follow so Evie could close the door.

  “I figured we’d eat in the kitchen if that’s okay?”

  “Fine by me,” Ryan said, appreciating the sway of her slim hips as she led them through the house. “Nice place.”

  “Thanks but I can’t take any credit for it. It’s…on loan.” She set the food on the table slightly harder than she should have and the cartons inside shifted and crackled. Her fingers clenched into fists for a second before she turned to both men with another forced smile. “Would you like something to drink?”

  Strain, so obvious in the lines between her eyes and around her pretty mouth, made him sigh.

  “You know, as much as I think a bottle before dinner would really make the conversation flow, the whole addiction thing makes it a problem for me.”

  There, that got her attention. “I… I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Her gaze flipped back to Dane, stiff and still behind him. “I just…”

  He was going to kill Dane when he got him alone. Or, at the very least, break a few bones. The guy could heal them in minutes, anyway.

  “Hey, Evie, you know what? I think we need a do-over.” He held out his hand, which she took with a bemused smile. “Hi, I’m Ryan. I’m a veterinarian from Philadelphia. I’m thirty years old, single and my best friend is this guy,” he nodded toward Dane, “which doesn’t say a lot for my taste in friends, I know. Try not to hold it against me.”

  There was her smile, tentative but transformative. Damn, the girl was pretty.

  “One night in vet school, I found a wolf in the alley behind my apartment building. After I removed the bullet from its leg, that wolf became Dane.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder in Dane’s general direction. “Now he’s got a stick up his ass tonight for some reason, but he’s not such a bad guy when you get to know him. He’s actually a damn good friend who stands by you when you need him most. He doesn’t judge, even when you’re a recovering Vicodin addict like me.”

  Her smile faded but she maintained eye contact, her gaze thoughtful.

  “You and I,” he continued, “have a lot in common. Dane asked me to come because he knew that and he actually does want to help. Now it’s time to eat.”

  Dane had no idea how Ryan had managed it, but he’d put Evie at ease.

  For the past hour and a half, Ryan and Evie had sat on opposite sides of the table. Talking, occasionally laughing, relaxed into their chairs after finishing the meal he and Ryan had picked up.

  Evie hadn’t been expecting him so it made sense to bring dinner for the three of them rather than stress her out about not having made enough. He hated to screw up her plans but he’d tried to minimize the chaos he’d caused with his appearance.

  Although, he hadn’t made much of an impact on the situation so far.

  He’d sat on his side of the square table, silently watching. Trying not to make it obvious he couldn’t take his eyes off her. How her laughter made his blood flow thic
k and hot through his veins and how every time she looked his way, he wanted to make her smile at him.

  Dane could count on one hand the number of times he’d heard Evie laugh before tonight. Hell, he could’ve counted on one finger.

  And now he had a hard-on listening to her. Thankfully, no one would notice because Ryan and Evie were engrossed in conversation about global warming.

  He wasn’t surprised they had the same opinion, that the industrialized countries of the world were killing the planet. Tree huggers, both of them.

  Dane admired their stance but his life was consumed by saving people, not trees.

  And he knew if he opened his mouth and said that, Evie would tell him there wouldn’t be any people if there weren’t any trees.

  He considered entering the conversation just so she’d turn those beautiful eyes his way and take him to task for not wanting to chain himself to a redwood.

  But he enjoyed watching her much more than verbally sparring with her.

  Right now, he just wanted to sit here and listen to her talk.

  Which was pretty damn pathetic.

  Fighting back the need to shake his head, he transferred his gaze to Ryan.

  It’s been a while since he’d seen Ryan in action. Five years, at least, since the last time they’d hit a bar and picked up a woman.

  Dane had memories of late nights in a dark bar on South Street in Philadelphia. Nights when Dane would have a few beers as Ryan chose their prey for the night then seduced her back to his apartment where he and Dane would fuck her all night long.

  The women were always more than willing and they left the next morning sated. But they never had the same woman twice.

  They’d been too busy with school to have love lives. Both of them too driven to want the distraction of a full-time relationship.

  It was why their unique arrangement had worked.

  If they got Evie into a bed—

  No. Damn it, he shouldn’t be thinking of Evie in those terms.

  He shouldn’t even fucking be here. What the hell had he been thinking—

  “So Dane gets the professor to recant in front of the whole class and forces him to change everyone’s grade. The guy never looked at Dane again for the rest of the semester.”

  Vaffanculo. Dane caught the challenge in Ryan’s eyes and realized he’d just been put on notice. Do or die time.

  Ryan was no idiot. He knew exactly why Dane had invited him. The unspoken reason he was here.

  And when Evie flashed him one of her so-very-rare smiles, he knew he couldn’t lie to himself any more.

  He knew exactly why he’d come tonight.

  “So Dane saved the semester, huh? Sounds like he’s a regular Superman.”

  “Oh, the man definitely has a God complex.” Ryan’s smile broadened as he turned to Dane with a look he knew well. “But he has his uses.”

  Put up or shut up.

  Evie turned to Dane with a look he would have sworn was surprise. Almost as if she’d forgotten he was there.

  Which shouldn’t surprise him. He figured she’d been trying to forget him since the moment he’d walked through the door.

  He unnerved her. Which made sense.

  He’d been her first. Her first lucani. She’d screamed when she’d seen him transform from man to wolf. She’d screamed herself hoarse and it’d taken two days for her to be able to look him in the eyes after that.

  And now he wanted to seduce her?

  He was delusional. Certifiable. The best thing he could do for her would be to walk away.

  Yeah, well, fuck that.

  “That’s because I’m damn good at what I do,” he said. “And I don’t only mean in the office.”

  Chapter Two

  Evie blinked, her eyes flashing wide as heat kindled between her legs and in the pit of her stomach.

  Her mouth dried at the unexpectedly devastating smile on Dane’s face.

  If she read that smile correctly…

  He wanted her.

  Holy shit.

  That was… What?

  Scary? Thrilling? Dumbfounding?

  No, that couldn’t be right. She had to be reading him wrong.

  For the past hour and a half, Dane hadn’t said more than a handful of words, usually in response to a specific question from Ryan.

  He hadn’t been arrogant or disinterested or cold. He’d just been…Dane. Quiet. Always watchful with those sharp, dark eyes. Never speaking unless he had something meaningful to say.

  She’d grown used to his prolonged silences.

  Now Ryan… From the moment Ryan had suggested a do-over, he’d allowed her to breathe again. To actually remember what a normal interaction with a guy should be like.

  Of course, she’d never been on a date with two guys.

  But this wasn’t a date.

  At least, she didn’t think this was a date.

  It was dinner.

  With the man she lusted after but had come to believe she could never have.

  And a man who made her feel sexy and smart and desirable. A man she’d fallen for in the space of a few hours.

  Ryan was exactly the kind of guy she’d have gone after before her life had fallen into the land of werewolves and witches.

  He laughed, he joked. He teased and flirted.

  It’d been a damn long time since she’d flirted with anyone. Since she’d wanted to flirt with anyone.

  She hadn’t been sure she remembered how.

  Well, she remembered. And she wanted.

  But what exactly did she want?

  Tilting her head to the side, she let her smile curve just the corners of her mouth. “So tell me, Dane, where else do you excel?”

  Their gazes caught and held, his dark eyes narrowed on hers, as if he was gauging her reaction to whatever it was he wanted to say. Which made her wonder what he expected her to do.

  Shit, now doubt began to nip at her confidence. She’d never been completely comfortable in her own skin. Which was why she’d developed an addiction to heroin.

  She dropped her gaze to stare at the table. What the hell did she think she was doing? She barely had a handle on these new, freaky powers she’d been cursed with.

  And now she thought she could handle this?

  With a sigh, she shook her head and started to rise but Dane reached across the table and grabbed her hand.

  Her gaze immediately flew back to his and she swore she saw anger in his eyes.

  “Don’t. Gods damn it.” With an angry huff, he released her and stood. “I… This is my fault. This dinner wasn’t meant to upset you. Or push you. I shouldn’t have come. Ryan, I’ll see you back at the house.”

  She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but she didn’t know what to say.

  And he’d already made it to the front door. He grabbed the knob and twisted it with leashed violence. As he strode through, she had a glimpse of him ripping his shirt over his head and a flash of golden skin.

  She registered the ripple and play of sleek muscle before the door closed behind him. If she looked out the window, she knew she’d see him stripping off the rest of his clothes.

  He had to take off his clothes before he shifted or they’d be ruined in the transformation.

  As with everything, there were rules to magic.

  Which was just weird.

  “God damn it.” Ryan’s harsh mutter made her turn to him. He sat at the table, watching her, his expression tight with regret. “I’m sorry, Evie. This wasn’t…what we—what I intended.”

  Frankly, she had no idea what they’d intended.

  As if she’d flipped a switch, her internal walls began to rise, shutting off any and all emotion.

  Those walls had been her saving grace for so many years. They’d helped her get clean and helped her stay clean. They’d kept the bad stuff at bay. The fear, the cravings, the emotions.

  So maybe they’d kept some of the good stuff away too but she had enough drama in her life right now. Why
would she even think about compounding it by getting involved with a guy? And two was definitely out of the question.

  Rising from her seat, she started to gather the plates. Time to clean up the mess. She was good at it. She’d had a lot of practice.

  “Thank you for dinner, Ryan. I appreciate the effort but you should probably get going. I’m tired and I’m afraid I won’t be much fun.”

  “Does that work for you? Shutting down?”

  She nearly stumbled over her feet as she headed for the kitchen but caught herself in time to save the dishes. Still, her hands trembled as she set them in the sink. After a deep breath, she turned to confront the man she really didn’t know staring at her.

  As her back straightened, her defense mechanisms kicked in. “You don’t know the first thing about me and I certainly don’t know anything about you. What the fuck are you doing here?”

  Ryan had to work to keep the smile off his face as he leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

  Here was the Evie he’d wanted to meet all night. The Evie Dane had told him was under the fear and the uncertainty.

  This was the woman who’d beaten a drug addiction and depression through sheer force of will.

  He definitely liked this Evie better.

  But it’d taken Dane’s leaving to get her to emerge.

  He’d worry about that later. Right now, she’d asked him a couple of questions.

  “You want the unvarnished truth? Or you want me to sugarcoat it for you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Please. Give it to me straight.”

  “Fine. Your friends are worried about you. You’re a recovering addict who discovered powers you never dreamed about. You’re terrified you’re going to slip up and hurt someone. How am I doing so far?”

  She took a deep breath, her small breasts pressing against her arms, distracting the hell out of him. If all she needed to do to distract him was breathe, they were in more trouble than he’d thought.

  Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Trouble wasn’t always bad.

  He continued to stare at her, watching that blank slate she’d forced over her expression begin to crack around the edges. It took a damn strong will to keep it in place.