Hunter Moon (Lupine Moon Series)

by Lavender, Cait

  His cobalt eyes flitted across my face, searching. “Do you always have to be so tough?”

  My knee-jerk reaction was to yell, but I snuffed down my temper. I didn’t quite manage to rein in my furious glare though. “Yes, otherwise I’d fall apart.”

  I couldn’t bear his intense stare so I shifted my gaze to my slippers. The moment went on for an eternity before Cash broke the silence.

  “I don’t think you should go out again today. I made a few calls to some other wardens and to my lieutenant and we’re organizing an official search of your property. I know this is weighing more heavily on you than you like to show, but you should take it easy today.”

  He sat and waited for me to object. As much as I hated to admit it, I was pretty discouraged that we hadn’t found the murderer the day before. That, along with my nightmare, and I had to admit that I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. So although my heart broke a little at doing nothing, I nodded in agreement. Shock flashed across his face. I smiled and sat down next to him.

  “I may be stubborn, but I’ll listen to sense when I hear it.”

  Cash’s shoulders bounced a little while he chuckled silently to himself. “Funny, I haven’t seen that side of you before.”

  I started to object. He looked at me with a very, very bland expression. I licked my finger and swiped the air.” Okay, point to you. How about now I’ll listen to sense when I hear it?”

  He tilted his head, the corner of his scrumptious mouth quirking up wryly. I couldn’t help myself. I’ve wanted to do it since I met him. I didn’t have the willpower to resist. I leaned forward and pressed my lips against the corner of his. That quirk was just too darn adorable. Cash just sat there and let me explore his mouth with gentle kisses. He tasted like mint and coffee. I dug my fingers in his hair and pulled his lips harder against mine. My tongue begged entrance and he complied. But he stayed still the whole time, the perfect gentleman.

  “If you’re not enjoying this, you could ask me to stop,” I murmured into his mouth. When he didn’t reply, I glanced up and noticed his eyes were shut tight. I pulled myself away. “Okay, mind telling me why you look like you’re in pain?” His eyes stayed closed and he pulled in a few ragged breaths.

  “Because I am.”

  I didn’t usually consider myself one of those girls that had self-esteem issues. I knew I was decent looking. I was smart and independent. But sometimes it didn’t matter how good you felt about yourself. All it took was becoming emotionally invested in one man and you become that girl. I hated that girl. That girl felt like an ugly, fat heifer and popped up on occasions such as these.

  “Oh, Okay.”

  I sat back on the bed, leaning away from Cash. I felt my shoulders falling in on themselves. I pulled my feet up and fiddled with the fuzzy ears on my slippers, wishing Cash would leave so I could crawl underneath a rock and die.

  “Do you have any idea how hard it is not to take you on this bed right now?”

  I was focused on my feet and my humiliation so his words didn’t register right away. I had to press pause and rewind on the little recorder in my head.

  “What?”

  Cash sighed, rubbing his heavy hand down his face. I watched him sideways wondering what he was going to do. “I’m pretty sure Jack wouldn’t appreciate his breakfast nearly as much if he heard you screaming out my name.”

  I let out a shaky laugh thinking he was joking. It died in my throat when he opened his eyes. I gulped. I felt hot coals slide down my skin and settle in my lap. His eyes drew me in until I was lost in their dark, marine depths. A little part of me was screaming who cares about Jack’s eggs! Do it! Do it! Do it! My mouth had gone dry, so I licked my lips.

  All of Cash’s focus shifted to my mouth. I watched his pupils dilate until his irises were more black than blue and I let out small moan of suffering. That’s all he could stand, it seemed. He pushed me down on to the bed, kissing me ferociously. It was only for a few moments though.

  “I’d say get a room, but—”

  Cash stiffened on top of me. More than he was already…that voice said. Bad voice. I was so frustrated I thought I’d explode. I clutched his shirt in a death grip. He groaned and buried his face in my neck. Jack was in the hallway staring at the ceiling in obvious efforts to avoid watching us make out.

  “Jack, I love you. I do.” I was proud that my voice was level. “But if you don’t close that damn door and go away, I’m going to have to do something violent to you.”

  “I guess Jesse was right,” he said, his eyes full of laughter, “You do need to get laid. I’ll see you guys later.” Cash and I remained frozen until we heard the front door close and Jack’s truck start up and drive away.

  “If you keep telling other men you love them, I might start to get jealous,” said Cash.

  His voice was muffled since his face was still pressed against my neck. I could hear the laughter in it though. I grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his face to mine. His eyes were twinkling. I laughed and didn’t stop until I had tears tracking down my face. Cash chuckled too and he rolled off of me, pulling me on top of his chest.

  “Well—” I said wiggling my eyebrows. “Since Jack’s breakfast is no longer in danger, care to pick up where we left off?” I kissed him gently but when he wasn’t kissing back, I pulled away. “What?” Cash toyed with a strand of my hair and didn’t meet my eyes.

  “Oh, we’re going to do this again, are we?” I rolled off of him and sat up. “You never told me what that whole talk was about either. What’s up with that?”

  “I was hoping you’d forget?” He was looking at my ceiling. His voice was hopeful, like he was trying to be funny. I went with it and tapped my head.

  “Mind like a steel trap. You said you wanted to talk. So talk!”

  He moved like he was going to stand up. Afraid he’d try to make a break for it, I pushed him back on the bed and straddled him with all my weight. I couldn’t ignore the little zings of pleasure from the contact. I put my hands on his shoulders. His eyes glazed over and he ran his hands up and down my thighs.

  “Talk—huh...” he mumbled absently.

  “Yes. Talk. Unless you want to finish what we started—?”

  His hands stilled on my legs. “What do you want to know?” His voice was so guarded, I was suspicious.

  “How you knew I am a virgin. And some elaboration about the whole ‘you’re mine’ business would be nice.”

  “You are mine.” He growled, his face serious.

  I laughed. “Oh really? I don’t even know what we—” I motioned between us, “are. Now you’re marking your territory? I hardly know anything about you. We’ve only known each other for a few weeks, for Pete’s sake!”

  “My name is Cash Mason Newcomb. I was born and raised in Laramie, Wyoming. My mother’s name is Ruby, my father’s is Clive. I have three brothers: Beau, Guy and James.” He rattled of the names so fast I had to concentrate hard to keep up.

  “That’s funny, I figured one of your brothers would be named ‘Rope’.” I smiled, referring to the two famous rodeo roper brothers.

  “Har har,” he said dryly, rolling his eyes.

  “How old are you?” I fired.

  He hesitated. “Twenty nine.”

  “What, did you have to think about it?” I laughed. He just shrugged. “Where do you live?”

  “I’ve got a little place off of Road 810.”

  “How did you know I was a virgin?” I threw that out there, hoping that he might get caught off guard. He was not, it seemed.

  He was still staring at the ceiling. “I guess I just sort of assumed.”

  I’m no mentalist, but I knew he was lying. I grabbed his face and made him look me in the eye. “Tell me the truth.”

  His irises were so perfectly clear and blue. I stared back at him until he answered me in a quiet voice. “I just knew. That’s all I can say.”

  Not very satisfying, but it was better than him jogging out of the door.
Something in his features was still tense and wary, so I tried to lighten the mood.” You haven’t asked me about the wolf lately. I’ve seen him around quite a bit.” I expected him to laugh at me. I didn’t expect to see his face become cagier. “I actually think he’s someone’s pet. He’s pretty friendly.”

  “I doubt he’s anyone’s pet,” he grumbled.

  Cash sounded irritated so I let it drop. I didn’t think telling him that I’d named the wolf ‘Fang’ or let him sleep in my bed would make matters better.

  “It’ll take a couple days before I get the other wardens organized to search your place. You should lay low until we do. I don’t want that bastard to have another chance to try and kill you.”

  “I’ll do my best.” I said sarcastically. “Actually, I’m going to need some cowboys to come over and help me cut the calves out of the herd. My spring calves are getting too big, and the mother’s need a break for a couple months. Janet at the auction said beef prices were high.” I hoped they continued to stay that way. My whole year revolved around that sale.

  I needed to give Jim, my cattle broker, a head’s up that I was ready to sell a few loads of calves. Harris usually bid on them, which was fine by me because they tended to pay top market price. If beef prices stayed high, I might be able to relax a bit financially.

  They liked my calves because I tried really hard to keep them fat and healthy. The same couldn’t always be said of some of the other ranchers I knew. If I was lucky, Harris Ranch would use their trucks to pick up the calves as well, saving me hundreds of dollars in fuel.

  “I’ll help you. I can ride and I’m decent with a rope,” Cash tossed out casually. He fidgeted with the corner of my bedspread with long, strong fingers.

  I grinned at him. “What, so you can make sure none of the other cowboys make a move on me?” I saw him wince a little. “Will you choke them out too? I’m not sure you could handle all of them.”

  If Cash wasn’t a 6’4” gorgeous hunk of man I’d say he pouted at that comment. He turned to glare at me and I giggled. How awesome is that? He’s jealous!

  “No,” he said, his voice sullen.” I just wanted to help you. But if you don’t want me to—” Nice, he’d turned the tables on me. I was positive he just wanted to keep other guys away. What, is he going to pee on my front porch next?

  “I figured you’d be busy working with the other wardens trying to save lil’ ol’ me.” I batted my eyelashes at him. He tried not to smile, but I could see the corners of his mouth lifting.

  “I guess you’re right.”

  His eyes told me I was right about more than one thing. There was a fire burning behind his baby blues. Oh…roast me over those flames any day. I leaned over to kiss his smiling lips when his cell phone rang. He closed the distance between us and gave me a quick peck before digging the phone out of his pocket.

  “Newcomb,” he answered briskly, with a smile in his voice and a matching grin on his face. As soon as the person on the other line spoke, however, his face clouded over with irritation. I leaned back on my elbow and watched him, curious.

  “No. Absolutely not!” His voice was deep with anger. “This is not a good time for you to be pulling this kind of crap with me.” He glanced my way before standing to pace my room from wall to wall.

  “I don’t care what he says, you can’t come here. No, I have a drug bust going down and—” He stopped and looked at me, eyes raking over me as I lay on the bed. “No, you just can’t.” He started back up pacing again. Who is he talking to? I wondered. I thought only I could make him this pissed off.

  He was so beautiful. Cash walked back and forth with a grace that revealed his athleticism. He looked like a caged animal, muscles in his legs flexing underneath his slacks. And that butt… I sighed to myself, feeling my skin tingle. How did this man make me so lusty all the time? I felt like a teenager.

  Cash raised his eyes off the floor and snapped to my face. He caught me ogling him and I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks and chest. Cash shot me a knowing grin and made me even hotter. The smile was fleeting, though. His scowl returned with a vengeance when he continued arguing on the phone. Finally, he snapped it shut with a growl and sat on the bed next to me.

  “Well,” I said, trying to keep my voice casual “since I wasn’t on the other end of that call, I’m curious about who could’ve made you so upset.” The small smile he gave me was less of a reaction than I’d been shooting for.

  “It was my little brother, James. He wants to come and visit.” He said the last part with the same amount of disgust he’d use if he was talking about someone murdering puppies. My eyebrows shot up. I thought I had the market cornered on dysfunctional families.

  “Why is that such a bad thing? When did you see him last?”

  Cash gave me a sidelong look.” It’s been a while. And it’s a bad thing because I wanted to spend time getting to know you,” He punctuated that by sliding his hand up my thigh. “And if he catches one whiff of you he’ll try to steal you away.” His voice was grim. I couldn’t help myself.

  I laughed in delight. “Listen to you! You make me out like I’m a glass of cold water surrounded by dehydrated barbarians! Believe me when I tell you most guys don’t make it past my prickly demeanor.” He smiled again, but he didn’t look convinced.

  “You don’t know my brother. James is a charmer and better looking than me.” I didn’t believe that could be possible. Cash was by far the hottest man I’d ever laid eyes on. “Plus, he doesn’t fight fair.” His face was so somber I couldn’t help but let out a giggle.

  “You mean breaking into my house and sleeping in my bed without my permission, twice, was fighting fair?” I let the incredulity drip off my words. I was rewarded with a dimpled grin. I’m pretty sure I blacked out for a few seconds. Cash having dimples was definitely not fighting fair. I was helpless against their power. Resistance is futile, that small voice hissed.

  He simply said “All’s fair,” and leveled that oceanic gaze of his on me. Dimples and crazy gorgeous blue eyes… I had to lay my head down before I passed out.

  “You know,” I said teasingly, eyes locked on the quilt across my bed, “the second half of that saying is ‘in love and war.’” I heard him chuckle before he crawled over and knelt over me. “Why are you so sure you’re going to fight a war over me?” I smiled up at him. A few wavy, brown locks of his hair fell forward around his cheeks. His eyes caressed my face as he stared down at me.

  I saw laughter in their blue depths, along with something that made my eyes go wide. He loves you, a little voice whispered in my head. His lips curled up into a small smile, almost like he knew what I had thought. My jaw dropped as realization dawned. He laughed, that rumbly chuckle deep in his chest, and I felt my panties get moist.

  “There couldn’t be a better reason to fight for than you, Shells. That’s why I’m sure. And I’ll be damned if I let another man swoop in and steal you away now that I’ve found you.”

  The way he said it sounded like he’d searched for me for decades. I didn’t know if I was glad he hadn’t said he loved me. I was pretty sure I would have run like a spooked horse, but I got the feeling he was the type of man that loved a good chase.

  Chapter Seventeen

  After Cash begged off claiming he had to go to work, I got myself dressed and checked fence and my cattle for several hours. I still didn’t have any proof he actually did anything. I didn’t see any signs of my murderer/stalker. My thighs were still a little sore from riding double the previous day, and my usually comfy saddle felt like concrete so it wasn’t too long before I called it quits and steered my quarter horse home.

  Exhausted, and with every muscle screaming in protest, I walked to my trailer from the barn having unsaddled Roanie and rubbed him down. My mind was absorbed in the magical fantasy of ibuprofen and a hot bath so I didn’t notice the black BMW 7 series sitting in my driveway until I nearly bumped into it. I frowned and examined the seventy thousand dollar vehicle and tried t
o puzzle out to who it could belong. I didn’t have to wait long.

  “Oh there you are!” exclaimed a falsely cheerful voice behind me.

  I spun around and saw my cousins Harry and Trisha standing on my front porch. They walked down my stairs like they owned the joint and my naturally quick temper burst into life. Why’d they come? Probably trying to gauge how much money they could get for the ranch if the win.

  I leaned against the magnificent specimen of German engineering knowing full well that it would drive Harry crazy. I hope the rivets scratch its pretty paint job, I thought viciously.

  “You’re trespassing on private property and its well within my rights to call the sheriff.” I said barely containing the growl in my voice. Harry glanced at Trisha and they exchanged a smug satisfied look.

  “Now, is that any way to treat family? Honestly, Shelby, I thought Grant raised you better than that.”

  I was positive, down to my toenails, that Harry would sue me into oblivion, if not throw my ass in jail. Otherwise, I would have broken his nose right then.

  “As of the day you decided to take me to court and dared to suggest that I might have coerced Grandpa into leaving me the ranch, you and Trisha are no longer my family,” I snapped, letting loose all the venom I felt burning through my veins. Time to prune the family tree.

  I shimmied my butt against the bimmer in hopes the brass dug into Harry’s clear coat and glared at them. “Frankly I’m surprised you two had the balls to drive up here. Oh wait, Trisha. You’ve got your husband’s in a jar on your desk, isn’t that right?”

  The superior smile on her face disappeared and she looked like she was sucking on a lemon. I glanced at Harry and caught his lips twitching. I wiggled my rear again against the car I stood and walked past them toward my trailer, or tried to, until Harry grabbed my upper arm and pulled me to a stop.

  “Get your f—” I started to hiss.

  Harry interrupted me. “We were just making sure you are capable of taking care of this big ranch all by yourself. It’d be terrible if the stress started to get to you. Plus, we heard someone was murdered?” He tilted his head in mock commiseration and my fingers itched to make acquaintance with his shnozz. It would probably make it more attractive, my shoulder angel rationalized. I tried to free my arm, but his fingers tightened almost to the point of pain. I was far too angry to care.