Call Of The Moon (2 page)

“Give me this weekend,” he demanded, meeting her startled gaze. “Anything I want, anything at all, and I give you my word I won’t bind you to me. Not unless you ask me to.” With a gasp, she stiffened and tried to move off his lap, but he held on tight. “That’s crazy,” she said. “You don’t have that kind of control.”

He arched an eyebrow.

“Well, you don’t.” She swallowed. “No werewolf is able to do that.”

“I’m not just any werewolf.” He smiled. “I can handle it. But maybe you can’t. Or maybe you’re going to latch on that as an excuse to keep living in fear.” Her eyes narrowed in anger, and some of the weight lifted from his heart. He’d drag her back to the world of the living by keeping her pissed off if that’s what worked.

“I’m not afraid of you.”

He grinned. “No, I don’t think you are.”

Surprise showed in her eyes, and she cocked her head to one side. “You did that on purpose.”

“Yeah, Chloe. I’m not letting you go. I gave you as much time as I could, and now I’m asking you give
me
time. Let me show how could we can be together.”

“Just for this weekend?”

“Yes.”

“And you won’t bite me?”

He paused. This was the tricky part. “This weekend I won’t bite you.”

“So you’re saying that you want to have sex this weekend and you’re strong enough to control your urge to bind me to you—but after that, all bets are off?” He laughed. She’d gone straight to the point. “I’m saying that I’ll wait as long as I can, and I won

’t bite you this weekend. Unless you ask me to.”

She snorted. “That isn’t going to happen.”

Her words were like a gauntlet tossed at his feet, and he silently vowed that she would. She grew quiet, thinking it over, and he studied her face. The bruises and cuts from the last time he saw her had long since healed, but there was a faint scar next to her right eye. He wondered where her other physical scars were as he gently traced it with his fingertip. Meeting her eyes as he did so, he was thrilled to see a desire growing in her eyes. She may be afraid or reluctant to begin their relationship, but she did want him.

“I missed you,” he said. He watched her expectantly, wondering what she might admit in exchange.

“I might have missed you. Just a little,” she finally answered, smiling slightly.

His heart soared. This was going to work.

She shifted, trying to get into a more comfortable position, and bumped against his erection. She froze, and her eyes flew to his face.

He calmly met her gaze. He couldn’t help what she did to him. His cock had been hard since he’

d first caught her scent at the clearing. Now she smelled of lust and fear.

“Please let me go,” she said. “I’m not kicking you out, but I need…space.” He let her go and watched as she practically jumped across the room. The wolf part of him wanted to stalk her. They had to reach some kind of arrangement soon, because even he had limits.

“What’s it going to be Chloe?” His voice came out harsher than he intended.

She winced.

Chapter Two

“What do you want with me?” Chloe whispered.

She hadn’t meant to voice the question, and ignored the urge to clamp her hands over her unruly mouth. She lifted her chin and met his gaze defiantly. She was a mess. Better he know that right from the start.

He surprised her by smiling, coming to his feet, and walking slowly toward her, as if afraid she might bolt. She ordered her feet not to move, but knew instinctively that wasn’t why she remained still.

She did so because of something in his eyes which shocked her into immobility. Was it tenderness?

Admiration? Or respect?

He stopped in front of her and cupped her face with his palms. He outlined her cheekbones with his thumbs and met her eyes without bothering to conceal his emotions. She’d always thought his were an icy blue, but now they resembled a red hot flame. Butterflies took flight in her belly and her toes curled.

In the past, she’d always made a point not to notice Billy as man. Being bonded to Wyatt had made Billy completely out of her reach, and the experience of that bond convinced her she didn’t want to ever be in that position again. She’d been at Wyatt’s mercy, and he was not a merciful man. Neither was Billy. Logically she knew that most werewolves’ mates were treasured, and that Billy would fall in with the majority. Yet emotionally it was a leap she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to take.

The gentleness of his hands on her face and the feel of his big, solid body so close to hers were stirring old feelings within her. Wyatt shouldn’t have been her mate, yet he bound her to him anyway and the chemical mix had accomplished its goal. She may have hated his guts, but she had craved his body—

and loathed herself for it. Billy may not have bitten her yet, but he was her true mate and she felt a rush of lust in response to his close proximity.

Forcing her feet to move, she slipped free of him and walked to the large window overlooking the backyard. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared out into the night, trying to come to grips with both the past and the future. She closed her eyes and remembered.

She and Billy had grown up in the same pack, but he was five years older, so they’d never moved in the same circles. By the time she was a teenager, she was certain he was the one for her, but he was being trained for a Beta position and he never noticed her. She’d gone off to college and had fun, convincing herself her attraction to him was all in her head. She spent her breaks traveling, and never saw him on the rare occasions she made it home. After graduation, she worked in Atlanta for a few months but soon grew restless. She felt like something major was missing in her life. So eventually, she went home, where she found the pack in turmoil over Brant’s death and a plotting Wyatt spotted her.

Suddenly, she was overcome by despair and anger. She should have sought out Billy immediately instead of spending weeks trying to get her bearings and to figure out how to best get his attention. Wyatt stole a piece of her life and she was damned lucky to be free of him. But how long was she going to let him continue to rule her?

Billy came up behind her and she smiled at the rustling sound he made, certain he’d made it on purpose to avoid spooking her. When his hands settled on her shoulders, she jumped anyway.

“Shh,” he murmured.

His body heat sunk into her as he slowly kneaded the knotted muscles in her neck and shoulders.

She relaxed against him with a soft moan.

“I knew when I was a teenager, you know.” There was an edge of accusation in her voice. Some of her anger from the last few months settled on him. “But you never once noticed me.” His fingers—those magic fingers—stilled for a moment. Even though he was touching her through the thin cotton of her shirt, they fanned the growing heat of her arousal. She wanted to feel him skin to skin, to see what else they could do.

“I wouldn’t have touched you when you were a teenager. I would have left if I had to,” he said lightly. No doubt he had been thinking about the age difference. “I would have come back when you were a few years older.”

“When I was in college? That would have been a successful return,” she said.

“Nolan would have told me where you were.” His voice carried a smile. “The only reason I stayed away so long was because of—”

He left Wyatt’s name unsaid, although it hung in the air between them. Anger and tension again coiled within Chloe’s body.

“We’ll have to talk about him eventually,” she said.

“Yeah. But not right now. I have a better idea.”

He ran his hands up and down her arms, then leaned down and kissed her throat. She felt a jolt from her lips to her pussy, which creamed in response. She groaned. With his werewolf senses, there was no way he’d miss that. He spun her around.

She expected to see a triumphant grin on her face, but instead found him watching her, his eyes serious.

“What’s it going to be, Chloe? I’ve given you the best offer I can.” She remembered the couples at the party with a sudden yearning. She wanted her life back—

including the future she should have had.

She took a deep breath, and answered him, “Okay. This weekend. No biting.” He exhaled a deep sigh and muttered “thank god” under his breath. Yet his eyes narrowed on her face, giving her the impression that she’d just made a deal with the big bad wolf. She took an involuntary step back.

He pulled his shirt off over his head, and she thought her eyes might bug out. The words
oh my
god
and
ripped
flitted through her mind. His broad shoulders narrowed down to a slim, chiseled stomach. Her mouth watered, but nerves made her sarcastic.

“Just want to jump right to it, huh?” she asked.

He laughed and caught her hand, pulling her close but leaving room between them. “God. I need you, so yes. I need you to touch me, Chloe. I need to feel your hands on me.” The hunger in his eyes was intense and raw. She couldn’t deny her body’s response, but she secretly hoped he would give her mind time to catch up. She wanted to touch him, however, to discover how all that masculine perfection felt. So she reached up with her other hand.

To her surprise, he caught her fingers. Her gaze flew to his.

“What?” she asked.

“Don’t you have a bedroom?”

She hesitated, and Billy thought he was going to have to bring up the bargain right away, but she turned and led him down a short hall. Her ass swung in an unconscious siren’s call and his inner wolf growled its approval. She opened a door and stepped inside, and he followed her in. She stood at the end of the bed, a vision that made his cock impossibly hard. She had the kind of body most men would kill for and most women hated to have. A perfectly rounded butt, full high breasts, and a waist his hands would easily span. Her black curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

He longed to see it hanging free over her shoulders.

“Take down your hair,” he said.

She pulled out the elastic and pushed her hair away from her face as it fell free.
Glorious.

“Now, take off your clothes,” he ordered. She hesitated so long he thought she might refuse.

“You did agree, Chloe. Anything I ask for.”

He smelled her spike of fear and pushed away the urge to offer her an out. He could undress her himself, but it was better to establish his dominance now, better to begin building some kind of trust. He hoped like hell it didn’t backfire on him.

She finally reached for the edge of her T-shirt, and he sighed in relief. She yanked it off with a jerk and went straight for the snap on her jeans. He wanted to tell her to slow down, but sensed she might revolt. He wouldn’t be able to deal with that in the gentle manner she needed right now, so he bit his tongue.

She kicked off her flip-flops, pushed her jeans down in a rush, and hesitated. The room was dim but he had exceptional eyesight, even for a werewolf. He caught his breath at the number of scars crisscrossing her belly. His inner wolf howled in outrage. Someone had marked her.

“Come here, Chloe.” His voice was gruff with rage.

Her fear was palpable, but to her credit she didn’t hesitate. When she stood before him, he dropped to his knees and set his hands on her hips. Her scent hit him like a freight train and for a moment he was dizzy. Then his eyes again lit on the scars, and he leaned over to kiss them. Up close, he recognized them as having come from the fury of a whip. He fought back the dual urges to cry and rage.

He’d failed to protect her. That she would agree to spend the weekend with him told him more about her than anything. She may not recognize it, but she was filled with strength. He wanted to help her discover that about herself.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I should have warned you. They’re ugly.” Her voice held self-loathing and fear. He hated to force her to face her old life.

“Maybe so, but they’re still a part of you. Proof of your courage, and my cowardice,” he said.

She jerked away. “What are you talking about? They don’t have anything to do with you.” Did she really believe that? He stood with a sigh and pushed a hand through his hair. “I deluded myself into believing that Wyatt wasn’t treating you that badly, that until I saw some kind of proof that he was, you’d be better off if I just left him alone.”

He stood before her, barely brushing against her, and yet despite his anger, despite the seriousness of their conversation, her body responded. He heard the pounding of her heart, the scent of her arousal a heavy perfume in the air. It was a small thing to rejoice over, but at the moment he’d take anything he could get. He took a deep breath and refocused on their conversation, lifting a hand to caress her face as he did so. She turned into it, rubbing her cheek against his palm and his heart swelled.

“It was my failure,” he said softly. “You’ll never be without protection again. You’ll never be in that kind of danger again.”

He gave in to the temptation and pulled her closer. Wrapping his arms around her, he thought he might come before he actually got inside her. Her full breasts pressed against his chest and all his blood rushed straight to his cock.

“I though you weren’t going to bite me,” she accused. “I didn’t ask for protection.” He laughed, and joy and a sense of rightness consumed him. “Honey, everyone knows you belong to me. Surely you already knew that.”

“I don’t belong to anybody,” she grumbled.

His generosity only went so far. He lifted her chin and met her gaze. “That’s just a formality, and you know it.”

He expected her to stiffen again and try to pull away. Instead, she rolled her eyes.

“Is that supposed to scare me? Because you’re not as intimidating as you think.” He arched an eyebrow. “So you trust me after all?”

“I trust you not to bite me this weekend.”

Her eyes shifted away and he knew she was thinking about running away come Monday morning. He growled and she flinched, her eyes clashing with his.

“You aren’t going to disappear on me.”

“Of course not,” she answered nervously. She shifted against him, rose onto her tiptoes, and dropped a kiss on his lips.