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Published by The Hartwood Publishing Group, LLC,
Hartwood Publishing, Phoenix, Arizona
www.hartwoodpublishing.com
Red Velvet Moon
Copyright © 2010 by Theodora Lane
Hartwood Digital Release: April 2019
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Red Velvet Moon by Theodora Lane
Anthony Lobos is the youngest of three brothers, all of whom are werewolves. They work in their family’s dry cleaners and Anthony does the books. Both his brothers have found their mates, and the pressure is on Anthony. He has his heart set on one of their customers. She’s everything he lusts after; beautiful, round, and bursting with life. But he’s been too shy to ask her out.
Daphne Raine has everything she’d hoped for; a thriving restaurant business, a quaint house in a small town, but she’s lacking one thing. A husband. And not just any man--one who will accept her just as she is: big and beautiful. She’s been crushing on Anthony since she moved to the town of Sleeping Dog, but she’s never had any indication he would be interested in her.
When Daphne brings in a red velvet dress stained with blood, can Tony find out the truth about where the blood come from and if he does, will he have to turn his mate in to the police?
Publisher's Note: This book was previously published, but has been reedited for this edition.
Chapter One
Daphne Raine sat in her car outside the Tres Lobos Dry Cleaners and stared at the red velvet dress clutched in her hands.
No one would ever believe how she’d ruined it, and that was fine with her. As far as she was concerned, no one would ever know how the blood on her dress got there.
Bad enough her most favorite dress ever had been ruined, but her dignity and her business’s future had been destroyed right along with it. Oh yeah, her disasters always came in threes.
Her dress.
Her sexual fantasy.
Her fledgling business.
All done in at the same time in a screw-up of epic proportions.
Served her right. Who did she think she was? Wasn’t one fantasy enough? No, she had to get greedy. She was a down-to-earth businesswoman with a love for great food. Eating. Creating. Sharing. And hey, maybe she loved it just a tad too much, but it had given her the ways and means to fulfill her business fantasy of opening her own restaurant.
A business was one thing, but her sexual fantasy? Going for that had been just plain foolish.
Glancing across the parking lot and through the tinted storefront windows, she watched as the door opened and a customer left. No way would she go in while someone else was there. Catching only shapes and movement, she couldn’t tell which of his brothers worked behind the counter today, but she was sure the store was empty of other customers.
Thank God, she’d come in on Antonio’s day off. Facing him with the evidence of her failure would be too much to handle. He was the reason for the whole disaster. She’d been fantasizing about him and flirting with him for the last four months, but to no avail. All she knew about him was his name, that he was one of three brothers who owned the cleaners, and that when she looked at him, her female body parts went all achy and throbbing.
Dark hair, dark eyes, and those adorable retro eyeglasses. She loved the way they slid down his nose as he looked over the clothing she’d bring in, scanning them, checking for stains and tears, and the way he’d push his glasses up with his middle finger. So precise, yet so masculine. Then he’d smile at her and assure her in his deep, sexy voice that he’d make it all right.
She sighed.
She wanted him to make her feel all right. To make the aching in her pussy and the throbbing of her breasts rise to unbearable heights and then explode in the best orgasm of her life. The one that had always been just out of reach. The one they described in the romance novels she read.
The one no man had yet to give her.
Daphne fingered the lush velvet and ran her hand over the blood-stiffened peaks of fabric that had covered her breasts, and inspected the broken button on the halter neck. That would be easy to fix. But getting blood out?
She should have done something about it right away, but she’d been so upset by the “incident,” as she’d come to refer to it, that she’d left the dress lying in a pile on the floor of her bedroom for a week.
Truthfully, she held very little hope she could salvage the dress, but if any place could get it cleaned, it was Tres Lobos Dry Cleaning. Everyone in Sleeping Dog—the small East Texas town she’d moved to just a year ago—sang their praises, and she knew from her own experience they were the best cleaners she’d ever used, bar none. So good, she’d given them the cleaning contract for her new restaurant, Big Mama’s Pizza, before Diego Lobos—one of the brothers and the cleaners’ sales manager—had even approached her.
Tres Lobos had the most handsome owners she’d ever laid eyes on. Each of the three brothers had his own merits, but the one who set her body trembling was the youngest, Antonio. She’d made it a point to bring her personal cleaning in only on his days to work in hopes he’d ask her out.
But he hadn’t. Maybe he didn’t want to get involved with someone who had a business contract with them.
Maybe he didn’t like brunettes.
Or, most likely, he didn’t like full-figured women.
She preferred to use “Rubenesque” to describe herself, but for so many people these days it didn’t bring to mind those luscious, beautiful women the painter Rubens had made famous. Men ogled her ample breasts and round ass secretly, as if there were a law against it, but she’d caught them at it. She knew her body would rate as those men’s guilty pleasure, yet only a few brave souls had ever pursued her.
Not even Antonio. She’d never caught him looking, even when she’d tried to get him to notice her. Nope, he was all business, right down to the controlled way he acted, spoke, and dressed. And even that turned her on.
She wanted to make him lose control. To take off those glasses and pin her against the wall, maybe the large window of the shop, with her ass pressed against the cool plate glass, on display for everyone to see. Or bend her over the counter and take her from behind. He’d ravish her.
She needed ravishing.
She exhaled. The store was empty of customers now.
Enough was enough; time to save her dress, at least. There was nothing she could do right now about her business, and there was nothing she could do about making Antonio want her.
She shoved the garment into the plastic bag, got out of her car, strode across the parking lot, and headed to the front door of the cleaners before anyone else showed up.
»»•««
Antonio leaned on the counter and stared at the week’s sales numbers, his mind not on business, but on a certain dark-haired beauty named Daphne Raine. Even her name was sexy as hell.
His cell phone buzzed on the coun
ter next to him, dancing a little to the side. Maximilian. He picked it up. “Hola, Max.”
“Hola, Tony. How’s business?”
“Slow. No wonder you like working in the middle of the week.”
“Thanks for swapping with me. So, did she come in yet?”
Tony rolled his eyes. Okay, Max might be the eldest, but did he have to be in everyone’s business like their abuela? Ever since Max had found his mate, he’d been all over his two brothers like white on rice to get on with their love lives. Diego had found his mate recently, and now all the pressure fell on Tony.
“No, not yet.” He sighed.
“It’s almost closing time,” Max warned.
“I know that.”
“It’s been two weeks.”
“I know that too.” Tony growled. His alpha brother could get Tony’s wolf up faster than anyone, except maybe his other brother, Diego.
“I told you, you should have asked her out sooner. She’s probably taking her stuff somewhere else, like where the guys ask for her phone number.” Max chuckled.
“Shut up.” Tony ended the call and tossed the phone onto the counter. Spinning like a top, it slid across the new smooth aluminum surface toward the edge before he realized it was going to fly off and hit the floor. “Oh shit!”
The bell over the door jingled, and he glanced up to see the woman of his dreams enter. He gasped just as the phone reached the edge and went airborne.
He lunged, slid along the mirrored surface of the low counter, neared the edge, and realized in that split second he would miss the phone.
And in the next, that he couldn’t fly.
The phone hit the floor mere moments before he did, as the woman he’d been pining over for all these months stood in the doorway, eyes wide open and hand over her mouth, watching him totally klutz out.
“Ooph!” He slammed into the floor, his phone shot apart in three pieces across the storefront. One piece bounced off the window, one danced under the chairs, and one, as if he’d aimed it, headed right toward the woman like a missile.
She stopped it with her foot, keeping it from heading out the open door.
“Antonio! You’re here!” she squealed.
“Uh, yeah.” He blinked, trying to focus, but everything blurred.
“Are you okay?” She reached down and picked up a piece of the phone.
“Uh-huh.” That was bright. He sounded as if he were some tongue-tied kid, not a Rice University MBA graduate.
From his vantage point, flat on his back on the floor, he looked up at a Botticelli angel as she leaned over him. Had he died and gone to heaven?
“Nothing broken?” She blinked her green eyes as she sucked on her plump bottom lip. Her black sweater plunged in a deep V and molded over her firm, full breasts, now only an arm’s length away. His wolf struggled to the surface.
He shook his head and whimpered.
“Oh, my God, you are hurt. Where does it hurt?” She kneeled down next to him and began feeling his arms and legs. “Don’t move. I know CPR.”
“I’m not dead, am I?” Didn’t they only use CPR on dead people? His brain couldn’t think when she touched him. Her hands glided over his chest now, and if she went any lower, he’d prove to her that he wasn’t dead. On the edge of shifting, he needed to gain some control or risk showing her his wolf. He could already feel the first hairs sprouting on his chest.
“No, you’re not dead. Maybe a concussion, though. You hit the floor really hard.”
Tony sat up, rubbing his forehead where a large lump formed like an Icelandic volcano under his hand, as he concentrated on staying human. “My phone…”
“It’s not too bad.” Bending over, she reached under the counter and brought out another piece, then went over to the chairs by the window and claimed the last piece.
Each time, Tony couldn’t keep his gaze off her round ass.
Hell yeah, baby got back.
After snapping them back together, she held up the phone. “See? Good as new.”
“I’m so sorry…” He’d managed to cage his wolf at last.
“Here, let me help you.” She kneeled next to him and, using her finger, pushed his glasses up his nose, to seat them perfectly on his face, just as he’d done a thousand times before. “Better?”
He blinked, focused his vision, and looked deep into those incredible green eyes. Inhaling, he got his bearings, and nodded. “Fine.” He climbed to his feet and rubbed the lump. This time, his head hurt to touch it.
“You’re going to need ice on that. It’s wicked-looking.” She placed the plastic shopping bag she carried on the counter.
“It’s okay. I heal fast. Uh, I mean, I’ll take care of it in a bit. Now, can I help you?” He opened the bag and pulled out a red velvet dress. Real velvet, not the new stuff, this dress was vintage, halter-topped, and full-skirted. Glamorous, rich in looks and feel, a dress he knew she’d look spectacular in, showing off those magnificent breasts. He swallowed to keep from drooling, but God, his wolf wanted to lick her all over.
“It’s badly stained, and I’m afraid it might be ruined. It’s my favorite dress, and I’ll just die if it can’t be fixed.”
“Let’s see what we have before we give up on it.”
She tapped her fingers on the counter, biting her lip as he inspected the dress. Dark splotches covered the halter top, making the fabric stiff. Familiar-looking, but it couldn’t be, could it? He brought the dress to his nose and inhaled, relying on his wolf senses to tell him what had caused the stain.
Human blood.
“Can you get it out?”
Out, out, damned spot.
He glanced up at her. It had to be her blood. He could smell her on the dress, but it made sense that her scent would be all over it. The mixture of vanilla, lavender, and blood tickled his nose, and he sniffed the dress again to isolate the smells.
“This is blood.” He watched her reaction. “Yours?”
“Noooo.” She dragged the word out, as if reluctant to confirm or deny.
“No?” He put the dress down. “Just whose blood is this, and how did so much of it get on your dress?”
She blushed, gulped, and looked all around the shop, avoiding his gaze. He’d never seen anyone look so guilty, but he couldn’t imagine her hurting anyone. It was ridiculous to think she was some sort of serial killer, wasn’t it?
“Well, you know head wounds. They bleed like crazy.” She gave a nervous giggle and rolled her eyes.
“Head wounds?” He gaped at her as his gaze darted between her face and the dress. There had to be a rational explanation that didn’t include a dead body and her doing time.
“Look, maybe I shouldn’t have brought it in. It’s a lost cause. I should just get rid of it.” She reached out to snatch the dress from him, but he caught the end of the dress.
“No, wait!” They stared into each other’s eyes for the longest moment, the garment stretched between them. “I can do it. I can clean it.” Desperate, he didn’t want her to leave, or to fail in her eyes. She’d come to him for help, after all.
He wanted to be her hero.
“I have a duty as a dry cleaner to help those in need.” Oh God, had he really just said that? And with a straight face and without a cape? He sounded like a Saturday morning cartoon hero, and he so wasn’t the type. Not like alpha wolf Max or Diego’s firefighting bravery. He was the geek type. Geeks never got the girl.
“Really?” She gazed at him as if he were all that and a bag of tortilla chips as she leaned toward him, and he couldn’t help but lean in, focused on those full pink lips of hers. No way could she have killed anyone, right? God, he wanted her, and he didn’t care if she had killed someone.
“On one condition.”
She frowned and pulled back a little.
“Tell me what happened. The truth.” Tony placed his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, hoping to reassure her about his intentions.
“The truth?” She paled.
“You can trust me.” God, he sounded like Diego trying to schmooze some pick-up. If he were Max, he’d just order her to do it, and she’d submit to him, but all Tony had to work with was his sincerity.
Their gazes locked, and their breath and time stilled. Could he actually hear her heart beating or was that his?
“Can I really trust you?” She licked her lips and tilted her head at him.
He nodded.
“All right.” She took a deep breath, leaned even closer, and gazed up into his eyes. A slow smile spread over her face. “Well, you see, he needed killin’.”
Chapter Two
Tony’s cell phone buzzed and broke the sweet spell Daphne’s eyes held him in.
Diego.
Not another brother. What was it with those two? For a moment, his glance shot to the front windows to see if they were outside, playing one of their stupid pranks. You’d think now that they had mates, they’d grow up.
Tony growled and snatched up the phone. “Diego, what is it?” he barked.
“Whoa! Down, boy. Did she come in?”
“Yes.”
“No way!”
“Way,” he ground out between his teeth, glancing up at the object of their conversation. She waited, eyebrow cocked.
There was a guffaw. “She’s there now, right?”
“That’s right.” He nodded, even though his brother couldn’t see him.
“Is she pretty?” What did Diego care? He had a mate. And what was with all this yammering?
“Yes.” And she was more than pretty. Gorgeous, in fact.
Every glorious, bodacious inch of her. “Gonna ask her out?”
“Not if I’m on the phone with you.” Tony growled.
“Well, if she shoots you down, I have a friend at the station who might have better luck.” At those words, Tony’s wolf nearly leaped out, ready to fight for his mate. Whoa. His mate? How did that slip out?
“Over my dead body.” Now both her eyebrows shot upward as she listened to Tony’s side of the conversation.
Diego laughed, then wolf-howled into the phone. “All’s fair in love and war, pup.”
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