Moonlight Temptation

by Stephanie Julian

  “They don’t trust me, do they?” Her voice sounded distant, unemotional.

  He really hated that. “No, I didn’t say that. I said they’re worried. And can you honestly tell me you’re not worried too? Worried about slipping back into old habits?”

  She blinked and hurt flashed through her eyes. “They think I’m going to use again.”

  He rose from his chair, unable to stay seated any longer, and walked to her side by the sink. He didn’t give in to the urge to touch her. Not yet. “How long have you been clean, Evie?”

  Her lips trembled but when she spoke, her tone was steady. “Three years, eight months, five days.”

  He let his hands settle on her shoulders, drawing her closer. Unable not to. “I’ve got almost ten years under my belt. Some days are better than others. Some days I don’t remember what it was like to have that monkey on my back. Some days, I think about it more than I should. Those are usually the days I’m stressed about something else. Work, life, family. When it gets bad, I call Dane. When it gets bad, who do you call?”

  She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

  “You won’t talk to your brother, because you don’t want to worry him. I get that. And you don’t want to scare Cat. She’s barely seventeen. Besides, she wouldn’t understand, would she?”

  Evie shook her head. “She’s wise beyond her years in some areas and innocent as a baby in others.”

  “And I left innocent behind a long time ago.”

  He bent to kiss her, giving her no time to back away. He felt her take a deep breath, as if preparing to submerge herself in water, just before his lips landed on hers.

  Her eyelids fell as if she were blocking out the sight of him but she didn’t pull away. Beneath his hands, she stilled, even as her lips parted for him.

  He’d only meant to taste her. He hadn’t meant to devour her.

  But as soon as she opened to him, lust roared up with a vengeance. He crushed her soft lips beneath his, slid his tongue into her mouth and proceeded to lose all common sense.

  Sweet, hot. Christ, she was sweet.

  She let him kiss her, let him tilt her head so he could slide his tongue between those soft lips and plunder her mouth. Her acquiescence made his cock throb and harden.

  He drew back, only centimeters, to draw in air but dived right back in, opening her mouth wider, kissing her harder.

  The fingers of one hand threaded through the short strands of her hair, soft, silky, baby-fine.

  He wanted to rub it against his chest, his thighs. Let it brush against his cock.

  Lust burned low in his gut, flashed hotter and brighter, then spread like quicksilver. He crowded closer to her, drew her body against his, seeking her heat.

  Even fully clothed, she burned against him. Her breasts nestled against his chest, small but firm mounds he wanted to get his mouth on. They’d barely fill his palm, but fuck, he wanted to suck on her nipples and hear her cry out his name.

  He wanted to watch as Dane stripped her naked, bent her over the arm of a chair and fucked her. And when he couldn’t wait any longer to touch her, he’d sink his cock between her pretty lips and let her suck him off.

  As if she’d read his thoughts, she moaned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Her hands, so small and delicate, gripped him tightly, short fingernails digging into the bunched muscles.

  He wanted to order her to put her hands under his shirt. To scrape those short little nails along his skin while he spread her legs and sank into her heat.

  Groaning low in his throat, he felt her shiver against him. Her tongue flicked against his, tentative.

  He didn’t want tentative. He wanted the Evie who’d pulled herself through a hellacious ordeal. The woman strong enough to put up with him. And strong enough to stand up to Dane.

  His hips pressed forward, seeking to rub his cock between her legs but she was too short.

  So he let his hands slide down her back until he reached her waist. Then he spread his hands on her hips and lifted her.

  She weighed practically nothing, slight and tiny and… Aw hell, this was moving too damn fast.

  Still, his arms tightened around her as he lifted her higher, encouraging her to wrap her legs around his waist. She might not weigh more than a hundred pounds but she was wiry strong.

  Her mound brushed against his cock through the layers of their clothing then pressed against it. The pressure made him groan. He arched forward, rubbing against her, seeking just a little relief from the burning lust.

  He couldn’t do what he wanted and strip her down. Not yet. She wasn’t ready for that.

  He needed to pull back, to let them both cool down a little.

  But it took him several minutes before he could drag his mouth away from hers.

  She tasted too good, felt too good in his arms. Every soft inch of her pressed against him.

  When he finally managed to get a few inches between their lips, he had to take one more kiss before he made a move to release her.

  She immediately released her legs from around his waist and stood, taking a step away from him. Her head dropped but he reached out and tugged on her hair to get her to open her eyes and look up at him.

  The dazed passion on her face made his gut clench and his balls tighten even further.

  “Evie.”

  She took a deep breath, her lips parting to allow her to get more air. As if she couldn’t.

  She blinked once, twice, then shook her head. As if trying to get her bearings.

  Join the club.

  His brain had a few glitches at the moment and, if he stayed any longer, he’d kiss her again. He might not want to leave at all.

  And that would be rushing things.

  More than they already were.

  God damn Dane.

  If he’d been here… Hell, if he’d stayed, maybe they wouldn’t have stopped.

  “Evie, are you okay?”

  She raised her eyebrows, those delicate arches perfectly conveying her emotional state. Confused arousal.

  Then she took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. “I’m fine.”

  And maybe she really was. He wasn’t convinced she was as damaged as Dane seemed to think.

  He smiled and watched her gaze dip down to his mouth for a brief second. “Glad to hear it. So, I’ll see you tomorrow. Dane said you like to run. I thought we could meet up and do a few miles.”

  It took her a few seconds to nod but when she did, her smile made a tentative return appearance. “What’s your pace?”

  “I can hold my own at an eight-minute mile.”

  Her smile broadened. “Sure. Okay. It’ll be nice to have someone to run with. I usually head out around seven but we can go later if you want.”

  He usually had his workout in by then and was at the office by seven-thirty. He’d actually get to sleep in tomorrow. “Seven’s fine. I’ll be here.”

  Then, because he couldn’t resist, he leaned in and stole one more quick kiss. “Sleep tight, Evie.”

  * * * * *

  Evie knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep yet, if at all, so she traded her jeans and blouse for running clothes. The outside temperature hovered around thirty-five, so she pulled on thick tights and doubled up on the long-sleeved shirts.

  She might be a little cold to start but once she got going she’d be warm enough.

  Stepping out onto the porch, she didn’t bother to lock the door. No one did here. If anyone who wasn’t expected breached the magical wards surrounding this little village, the streghe would know. She’d set off a few alarms when she left the two-lane road that led into the village and headed into the trails winding through the small forest at the edge of the village but the streghe would know it was her.

  A few of the older ones probably wished she’d leave and never come back.

  Hell, on any given day, she wished she could go and never return.

  “Can’t always get what you want,” she muttered then drew in a deep breath of
crisp night air before heading out.

  She set a deliberately hard pace to start, knowing it was going to take exhaustion to put her to sleep tonight.

  After that dinner, that kiss…

  Hell, she might not sleep for a week. Which wouldn’t do anyone any good because she was a cranky bitch when she didn’t get enough sleep.

  No wonder some of the women went out of their way to avoid her. She’d been tired pretty much since she got here.

  Sure, she had an excuse. Most normal people weren’t kidnapped by a psycho who stole your blood or woke up after being in a magically induced coma with magical powers.

  She ran faster, though she knew she couldn’t outrun her memories. But she could shut them down by pushing herself and her body to the edge.

  Since she’d been here these past few months, she’d memorized these trails. There’d been no snow yet, though it was mid-January. And the trails were remarkably clear. No tree roots or rocks to trip her up. The frozen ground jarred her knees and hips but a hot shower would totally take care of that later.

  Right now, she simply enjoyed the burn in her muscles that forced out all other thoughts.

  The waxing moon provided enough light to filter through the bare tree limbs and show her the way. It also provided enough light to catch a glimpse of the wolf who ran by her side.

  She knew if he hadn’t wanted her to see him, she wouldn’t have. He wanted her to know he was there.

  They ran together for a mile and a half, endorphins clearing her head of everything but putting one foot in front of the other. Of chasing the moon and the wolf up the hill.

  And when she finally reached the top, where she typically turned around on her three-mile loop, she stopped to catch her breath and look out over the little valley that had become her home.

  Up here, on a clear day, you could see for miles.

  To the west, the city of Reading sprawled along the Schuylkill River. To the east, the hills and valleys of the Oley Valley, where her little village was situated. To the north, though she could never see it, the lucani den lay hidden in the woods of Rockland Township.

  That’s where Dane lived. Where he should be. Instead of here, watching over her once again.

  Without the buffer of another person between them.

  With her hands on her hips, she drew in a deep breath. “Are you just going to watch from over there or are you going to grow a set and come stand with me?”

  Silence reigned for several seconds until she felt him brush against her leg.

  He was a big animal, larger and heavier than a natural gray wolf. All the lucani were. Cat had tried to explain how the magic had to distribute the weight of the human body into a wolf body by making the wolf heavier and larger than a natural wolf.

  Evie had never really cared about the mechanics. There were some things that could just be magic.

  “Kind of convenient that it’s too cold for you to shift so we could talk,” she said. “Of course, that could be good for me. I can talk all I want and you can’t say a word.”

  She looked down to find the wolf had sat next to her. He looked up with his head cocked to the side, his gaze connected with hers.

  She couldn’t hold the connection. Too many conflicting emotions.

  “You know I’m pissed off at you, right? You know I want to scream at you and tell you to fuck off? So why the hell am I standing here next to you, waiting for you to tell me it’s all going to be okay?”

  The wolf huffed and shook his head, his snout bumping against the fist clenched at her side.

  She knew better than to pet one of the lucani unless they invited you to. Unless they did exactly what Dane was doing.

  She wanted to but couldn’t get her fist to unclench.

  “I thought I was doing okay, you know,” she blurted out. “I thought, finally, maybe things were starting to level out. But I was just kidding myself, wasn’t I?”

  The wolf shook his head again, his deep yip a very definite denial.

  Then she felt that tingle, that oh-so-recognizable crawl of sensation along her skin that signaled the use of magic. Dane was shifting, calling forth the magic of the earth to give him the power to shift back into his human form.

  Since it was considered bad manners to watch, she waited until she felt Dane’s hand on her shoulder.

  The warmth of it seeped through the layers of her clothing and into her quickly chilling skin.

  “You’re go-going to fr-freeze out here.” She could barely get the words out through the lump in her throat.

  “Then conjure me clothes.” His deep, steady voice made her thigh muscles clench and her eyelids flutter closed. “I know you can do it.”

  She wanted to sob but was afraid if she started, she wouldn’t stop. And she didn’t want him to see how weak she was right now. Even though he had to be able to sense it.

  “Then you’re the only one,” she said. “Ronia and Kotev think I’m worthless.”

  The elder streghe thought she couldn’t do anything right.

  “And I know you’re not.”

  The quiet assurance in his voice filled her with warmth, even as she started to shake. And not from the cold.

  She wanted him to hold her. And she knew he wouldn’t.

  “I kissed him,” she blurted out. “I kissed Ryan.”

  “More like he kissed you.”

  Had Dane watched? She shook her head. “Why?”

  That one word held so many questions.

  “He’ll be good for you, Evie. You need someone to talk to, someone who—”

  “Isn’t you.”

  She felt him tense, all coiled strength and frustration. Then she distinctly heard him mutter, “Fuck.”

  Right before he grabbed her by the upper arms and pulled her against him.

  Shock held her immobile as he bent his head and crushed his lips against hers.

  Dane’s kiss was nothing like Ryan’s. Which was the only observation she made before her brain short-circuited and went blank.

  She barely even registered the fact he was naked and still was warm enough to heat her through her clothes. She only knew he’d finally kissed her.

  She had no idea what to expect. She hadn’t allowed herself to imagine.

  Now she only wanted to feel.

  Hard, hot, forceful. His lips demanded a response and she gave him what he wanted.

  She opened her mouth so he could slide his tongue against hers. So he could inhale and devour her.

  God, it seemed as if she’d waited forever for him to kiss her. She’d thought he never would.

  Now… Now she practically tasted the leashed emotion pouring out of him.

  He wasn’t immune to her.

  And she wanted him more.

  She struggled against his grip but he wouldn’t release her so she could plaster herself against him like she wanted.

  And she wanted. It felt like a fever in her blood, a compulsion.

  Every flick of his tongue against hers took her breath away, every slide of his lips on hers made her want more.

  She sucked on his tongue, bit at his lips.

  And when he broke off the kiss as abruptly as he’d started it, she cried out, reaching for him as he stepped away from her.

  She nearly stumbled but his hands steadied her as she tried to make the world tilt back on its axis.

  She stared up at Dane, feeling some satisfaction from his dazed expression. His dark eyes appeared black in the light of the moon and his expression was shadowed. She wanted to examine his expression, figure out what he was thinking.

  As if he knew, he ran a hand through his short, dark hair and turned away from her.

  And her gaze traveled down the naked length of him.

  The man was absolutely gorgeous. Long, lean, tight from his strong, broad shoulders to an ass so fine she wanted to sink her teeth into it. Or, at the very least, pet it. And his thighs… She got lightheaded just staring at his muscled thighs.

  She wanted him
to turn so she could ogle the rest of him. But he didn’t oblige.

  He just stood there, naked, in the thirty-degree weather, seemingly unaffected. “You need to go back now, Evie. It’s cold. We’ll discuss this tomorrow.”

  “Dane…”

  Before she had a chance to finish, he began his transformation, leaving her blinking at the spot where he’d been.

  A lucani’s shift isn’t instantaneous. It takes several seconds but the human eye can’t comprehend it. It becomes fuzzy. Almost as if reality blurred.

  And it was.

  Dane’s wolf gave a full-body shake before he set off back down the trail.

  When she didn’t move, he stopped to glance back over his shoulder.

  He wouldn’t leave her alone here. But he’d walked out of her home and left her with Ryan.

  Questions. Always more questions.

  With a sigh, she took off after him.

  * * * * *

  “So, how are we going to play this one?”

  Dane closed the front door to his home behind him, not bothering to lock it.

  The lucani maintained guards at all times around the perimeter of the den. The collection of houses spread over a five-hundred-acre tract in the woods of Rockland Township had better security than the White House.

  And more deadly.

  Only one road led in and out of the property, though once you got in, lanes shot off to different houses and complexes throughout the site.

  If you weren’t Etruscan and you somehow managed to find your way into the heart of the den, where the community building sat… Well, no one had ever gotten there so they hadn’t had to worry about it.

  And since Dane had been excused from the mandatory stint in the lucani army because he’d been in med school, he’d never learned the contingency plan.

  There were only a few outsiders who had leave from the lucani king to come and go without escort.

  At this moment, Dane regretted getting Ryan that free pass.

  Ryan sprawled on Dane’s black leather couch in the living area at the front of the house, watching a race on TV. Not a car race. An actual footrace.

  “Why the hell would you want to watch people sprint around a track for thirty seconds?” Dane bypassed the living area and headed straight for the kitchen at the rear of the house “Isn’t there a hockey game on?”