Ann H (3 page)

She broke the kiss, her head going back
and she pushed harder on his chest. Reed didn’t let her go. He took hold of her
thick, golden hair and pulled it back, exposing her throat and holding her
still. Kissing and nipping on her neck, moving his way to the new mark he left
on her shoulder.

“Stop,” she breathed out right before he
closed his lips on the mark and sucked.

She moaned and the cab of his truck filled
up with her sweet scent. He could smell the wetness and moved her hips so she
grinded herself along his cock. Opening his eyes, he saw the outline of the red
moon. In two days, it would be full and the need with the red moon would be ten
times the normal heat on a regular full moon. What would it do to her? How
would his brother handle it being alone? From the story his grandfather told
him, about his own experience of the full red moon, shifters did all kinds of
crazy things. One of the craziest of them all was sharing. Normally, a shifter
didn’t share, so for Reed to hear that once a century a shifter might share his
mate, or the mate might share him, well it struck him as something he couldn’t
see happening.

“Please stop,” she breathed out again.
“Please.”

Removing his hand from under her shorts
and going right under the shirt to a breast, he squeezed her mound gently. She
gasped, wide blue eyes locked on to his. “I’ll stop for now, but once we’re
alone your mine,” he exhaled.

She swallowed hard and if he wasn’t
mistaken, she shook a little in his arms. With great difficulty, he let her go
and she slid from his lap back onto the seat, fixing her clothes. Reed watched
her as he licked his lips, and pressed on the horn to let Brent know he could
come back.

Brent didn’t say a word. He got back into
the truck, kept his mouth shut and eyes forward while Reed put it back into
gear and took off.

Some time passed before Brent turned
towards Reed. “Tell me you have a plan for this strange moon.”

“I don’t.” Reed caught Jennifer looking
from him to Brent with a questionable look on her face.

“Then we need to come up with one,” Brent
went on.

“I know.”

Brent leaned forward, looking up from the
windshield. “By tomorrow night we should start to feel it.”

“Yep.”

“Reed—”

“I know!” Reed snapped. “I’m thinking
about it.”

“Are the stories true?” Jennifer asked.

Reed didn’t answer her; he tried to
concentrate on driving and finding a place for them to stay for a few nights
while he thought about where they were going next. He didn’t have anything
really planned beyond finding his brother and that bitch who took him.

How long he drove he couldn’t say. When he
turned his head, he saw that both Brent and Jennifer were fast asleep, head
bouncing on the seat behind them. Without a doubt, it had been a long day and
night. He was also tired, but thankfully, the pounding of his damn dick kept
him awake.
 

Reed didn’t want to tell Brent that he was
already feeling the need of the red moon. It started when he discovered this
female hunched in the shadows, watching through a dirty window as Brent was
strung up like a damn piece of meat.
 

He fought it then. Fought the need to
claim her and that hit him like a punch to the gut. He wanted to put her on all
fours and take her like the dog he felt like then, but didn’t and the
temptation sure as shit was there. Not once in his whole life did he want to
rip a female’s clothes off and take her where she stood, or in this case
kneeled.

Also, he’d felt so fucked when she took
off. A fleeing woman always draws a male to his knees, bringing out the animal,
whether he wants it or not. When he took her down and looked into her eyes, he
knew then she was the one. Now that she figured out how to escape him, that one
caught him off guard. Lucky enough, he had her scent and was able to follow her
home. However, discovering that she was the daughter of the man who helped him
find his brother—um, that one he hadn’t decided yet if it was a bonus or not.
Either way, he had her now and had to stop and think of what the next step was
going to be. They had no home, thanks to the fire that bitch set. He knew that
she had hoped he would’ve died with his parents. That only told Reed that the
woman was more dangerous than what he first thought. Guess that old saying you
never under estimate a woman was true after all.

The first ray of light and he found a
place they could stay. It was one of several little one-bedroom cabins that you
could rent by the night or by the week. In a strange way, they reminded Reed of
cabins they rented when Brent and he were little and their parents took them to
the lake for weekend trips.

He pulled in and got out of the truck as
quietly as he could. He didn’t want to wake them up until he knew for sure if
they could get one of the tiny cabins or not.
 

It was quiet, peaceful, just how he wanted
it in order to think. Not many cars were parked, indicating to him that there
was a good chance they both would be able to have a cabin for themselves,
giving Reed the alone time he’d need with his new mate to get to know her.

“Can I help you?” A man came out from a
back room once Reed walked into the lobby. He wasn’t anything special and from
the scent all-human. That still didn’t mean he could trust him. At the moment,
Reed trusted no one.

The lobby was just that, a lobby with a small
microwave, coffee pot, a rack with postcards and the long counter that served
as the check in desk. Reed looked the place over before giving his full
attention to the man. He didn’t feel anything about him that screamed danger.
He wore a pair of jeans, blue t-shirt, he had short salt, and pepper hair and
he held what smelled like a pepper and egg sandwich in his hand.

“I need a couple rooms,” Reed said,
strolling up to the counter. “Preferably way in the back.”

“You’re in luck,” he said, putting his
sandwich down and wiping his hands on his pants. “Some guests just checked out
yesterday and we have three available.” He brought out a thick book, flipping
it open and turning it around for Reed to check in. Without a doubt, this place
still ran by the old ways where you wrote a name and had the old fashion keys.
“You want one bedroom or two?”

“I need two cabins with one room each.”

The man nodded, turned, and grabbed two
keys from a hook. “The cabins are around the back. They both have kitchens, one
bathroom, one queen size bed and a nice view of the lake behind us.”

“Great.”

“How long will you be staying?”

“Let’s go for three days and see if I need
them longer.”

He nodded and wrote up the total. “You
traveling?”

“Something like that. How much?”

“Three nights for two, that will be four
hundred.”

Reed reached into his pocket and brought
out a thick wad of cash. He counted out the total then took the keys. “You have
any place close to get food and maybe some clothing? We lost everything when
the house caught on fire.”

“Ah, understand that,” he nodded, taking
the money. “Up the road about two miles is a small outlet mall. Should have
everything you need.”

“Thanks,” Reed nodded, as he turned, and
left the lobby. Back in the truck, the two were still sleeping. Reed got in as
quietly as he could then he slammed the door shut, waking his brother. “Have a
nice nap?”

“Where are we?” Brent asked first.

Reed started the truck back up, putting it
in gear; he pulled away from the main building, and headed for the cabins. “To
our new home for the next couple of days.”

He found the cabins, pulled up to one, and
got out, taking hold of Jennifer’s wrists to pull her out. They were very
small. Brent followed him up to one. Reed unlocked the door, opened it, and
sort of gave Jennifer a shove inside.

The place gave him the feeling that they
were in a damn hotel instead of a cabin near a lake. Everything was done in
wood—the walls, furniture, and everything. Even the dishes that were resting in
an open space under the sink had the rustic cabin look and feel to them. There
were tin dishes and cooking utensils along with tin pots and pans. The queen
size bed sat at the far end of the open space, frame built out of wood. At the
foot of it was a small table with two chairs and across from that a sofa and
small television set. The bathroom was modern, but the floor and walls were
still made from wood.

“Take a seat,” Reed told Jennifer.

She backed away from him towards the sofa
where she took a seat, but she didn’t take her eyes off him.

“You got a plan then?” Brent asked.

Reed tore his eyes from Jennifer and gave
his brother all his attention. “No, not really. We’re going to stay here for a
couple days. I want you to head up the road and find this outlet mall. Get some
food and her some clothes. What size are you?” he asked her.

“Ten jean, large shirt,” she answered.

“Jeans and shirts for her,” Reed said.
“What about shoe size?”

“Seven.”

“Get her some shoes also. You’re going to
need more clothes as well.” Reed brought out more cash, handing it to Brent. He
also gave him two different sets of keys. “I want the truck keys brought back
to me. The other is for your house next door. When you get back we’re going to
talk.”

“Got it and I’ll cook.” Brent smiled. He
gave Jennifer a quick glance before going back out the door, leaving Reed alone
with her. The second the door closed, she was up on her feet.

“Okay what the hell is going on?” she
demanded. “Why’d you take me from my home and mark me?”

“Because you’re my mate.”

“Bullshit!”

He raised one eyebrow. “You don’t believe
me?”

“No, I don’t.” She crossed her arms over
her chest and instantly his eyes followed her movement. Hunger hit him, his
cock pressed hard against the zipper of his jeans. “I think you just kidnapped
me.”

“Then I guess I’m going to have to show
you that this is for life, baby.”

“I don’t even know you,” she huffed. “How
the hell can you say something like that to a person you don’t even know.”

“Because in the next couple of days,
sweetheart, we’re going to get to know each other very well.”

“If you’re thinking what I think you’re
thinking, well…um, forget it!”

Reed smiled. His instincts were screaming
at him that something hidden was about to become known. Something that his new
mate didn’t want him to find out.

“What are you afraid of?” He also crossed
his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes on her but keeping the smile in
place. “What little secret do you have?”

Her face colored. “I don’t have anything
to tell you and I’m not afraid of you. You just keep those damn paws to
yourself.”

“And if I don’t?” he smirked.

She opened her mouth, but nothing came
out. Her face however did get redder and for a split second, he felt sorry for
her and her predicament.

“Why don’t you try to get a little rest,”
he said. “It might be a while before Brent comes back and I’m about to drop.”

“Then why don’t you go to sleep then and
leave me the hell alone.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” He shook his head
and began to advance on her. Jennifer backed up. When he reached for her, she
slapped at his hands. “You’re going to make this difficult aren’t you?” he
sighed.

“Leave me alone!”

He got a hold of her, turned her around,
and picked her up. She kicked at him as he made his way back to the bed. With a
little struggle, the robe came off and with it the tie around her waist. Reed
used it to tie her wrists together, not tight enough to cut off circulation,
but enough to keep her still. He then tied the other end of the tie to his own
wrist and he jerked her close.

“Now we both can take a small nap,” he
said. “After that we can deal with this rare moon together.”

“Forget it. You’re not touching me in that
way.”

Again, Reed smiled, this time very big.
“Oh I think I know what that secret is now. And I must say I’m going to know
tonight.”

She yanked on the tie, but didn’t get it
out of his hand. “There isn’t going to be a tonight. Nothing is going to happen
between us.”

He yanked back on it, brought her close
once more. “Guess we’ll see, sweetheart.” He dropped to the bed, taking her
with him and she fell on top of him. “Oh and I will tell you that you being on
top is my favorite position.”

She growled and pushed away, moving as far
from him on the bed as the tie that connected them would let her. Reed
chuckled, raised one arm up under his head, and closed his eyes for a short
nap. He was without a doubt going to need it, especially if what he was feeling
had anything to do with that damn red moon. An early heat was something he
wasn’t expecting but would deal with it with great pleasure.