Dark Moon (16 page)

“Come back to bed.”  He led her to their bedroom and she crawled under the sheet and quilt.  He stretched out behind her and put his arms around her, nuzzling the back of her neck affectionately.  Warmth surged through her and the nausea in her belly disappeared as he stroked her upper chest lightly.

“Better?”  He asked.

She nodded.  “Thank you, honey.”

“You’re welcome.”  They lay in companionable silence for a while.  Bree watched as the sun peeked over the horizon, her thoughts turning to Kaden.  She hoped he was feeling better this morning.

“What’s wrong, little one?”  James kissed her cheek.

“I’m worried about Kaden.  He nearly died yesterday and he found out that Ian was a Lycan.”

She sighed.  “I should have told him Ian was a Lycan.”

“It wasn’t your information to tell, Bree.  Ian could have told him.”  James replied.

“I guess.”  She smiled at him before admiring the ring on her finger.  “I can’t believe we’ll be married soon.”

“Aye,” he pulled her closer, “and then you’ll be stuck with me forever.”

She laughed.  “Stuck isn’t the word I would use, James.”

He grinned at her.  “I suppose not.  Speaking of being married, we should start thinking about what kind of house you would like.”

She stared out the window.  “Aye, I suppose.”

He turned her gently on to her back and stared down at her.  “What?”

“Nothing.”

He gave her a dry look.  “Tell me, little one.”

She shrugged.  “I guess the thought of living away from mama and the rest of your family makes me a little sad.”

He stared thoughtfully at her.  “You do not dream of having your own home?”

She shrugged again.  “I don’t know.  Not really, I guess.  Is that strange?”

He shook his head but she continued anyway.  “Maybe it’s because I’ve always wished for a big family.  Or maybe it’s just because living here with your family has been the happiest time of my life.  I love all of them so much.”

“They love you too.”  James kissed the tip of her nose and rested his forehead against hers.

“Do you think we could find something close to them?”  She asked timidly.  “I don’t want to be too far away from mama or from Leta.”

James lifted his head and smiled at her.  “Little one, we can stay here for as long as you’d like.  We don’t need to find our own house until you’re ready.”

“But will your parents not want us to find our own place once we are married?”  Bree asked.

James laughed.  “You forget that Lycans live in packs, Bree.  We are happiest when we are together.”

“Truly?”

“Aye.  Trust me – no one in my family will find it strange if we live here after we are married.”

She smiled happily at him.  “Thank you, James.”

He nodded.  “In fact, I could talk to dad about building a house on his lands.  The property is large enough that we could build our own place within walking distance of this one.  That way we can have our own space but you’ll still be close to mama.”

Her eyes widened with delight and she hugged him impulsively.  “I would love that so much.  Do you think Tristan would agree to it?”

“Aye, I know he would.”

She hugged him again and then crawled over him and began to dress.  He tucked his hands behind his head and watched with interest as she pulled her nightgown over her head.

“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “if we had our own place, you wouldn’t even have to wear clothes.  That’s one argument for building our own home.”

She giggled and finished dressing.  “Aye, except I would freeze to death.”

He sat on the side of the bed and pulled her between his legs, kissing her chest lightly.  “I’ll keep you warm enough.”

She kissed the top of his head as his hands squeezed her ass playfully.  “Come back to bed, little one.”

She gave him an apologetic look.  “I thought I might check on Kaden.”

He squeezed her ass once more and then released her.  “Do you want me to come with you?”

She shook her head.  “No, that’s fine.  I think it might be better if I talk to him alone.  I know he’s upset.”

“Alright.  I’ll see you at breakfast then?”

“Aye.  Thank you, my love.”

“For what?”  He asked curiously.

She smiled.  “Just for being you, I guess.”

* * *

Kaden groaned and threaded his hands through Sophia’s long dark hair.  “Gods, little Lycan.  Do you know how many times I’ve dreamed about this?”

Sophia looked up at him, her mouth red and swollen, and grinned.  “Is it as good as you imagined?”

“Better.”  He groaned.  “Occasionally in my dreams, I might have worried about your teeth.”

She burst out laughing and squeezed her fingers around the base of his cock.  “Don’t worry, human.  I have a firm ‘no teeth’ rule when I’m sucking cock.”

His hands tightened in her hair when she slid her mouth over his cock again.  He watched as she sucked the head lightly, her hands stroking his shaft with firm, long strokes.  Sophia on her knees with her mouth around his cock, and the early morning light shining on her perfect tanned body was not a sight he would ever forget.

She took more of his cock into her mouth.  The feel of her warm, wet tongue as it licked along his shaft was almost enough to make him come.  He groaned again as she sucked enthusiastically.

He jerked in alarm when Bree’s voice floated up to him.

“Kaden?  Are you awake?”

He cleared this throat, giving Sophia a frantic look as she sat back on her heels and grinned up at him.

“Aye, Bree.  I – I’m awake.”

Sophia winked at him and rubbed her thumb over the head of his cock.  He glared at her and tried to pull away but she tightened her hand around his cock and held him firmly.

“Can I come up and talk with you?”

“Now is not a good time, Bree.”  He called loudly.

His sister sighed and he gave Sophia another look of panic when Bree started up the ladder.  “Kaden, I know you’re upset.  You need to talk about what happened yesterday.”

“Bree, we can talk about it later.  I just, I need a few minutes.”  He said desperately.

“You can’t avoid me forever.”  Bree said stubbornly.  “Why don’t you come for a walk with me and we’ll – “

“Bree, perhaps Kaden could take a walk with you after breakfast.”  Sophia said loudly.

Kaden groaned and slapped his face into his hand.  There was a moment of silence and then Bree, her voice coloured with a mixture of amusement and embarrassment, said, “Aye, that’s fine.”

“Thanks, Bree.”  Sophia said cheerfully.

“Um, you’re welcome.”  Bree replied.  “I’ll see you both at breakfast then?”

“Aye, you will.”  Sophia answered.

Kaden made another low groan as Sophia took his cock into her mouth again.  It had started to soften during his conversation with his sister, but at the feel of Sophia’s hot mouth, it stiffened immediately.  Dimly, he heard the sound of the barn door closing and he wrapped his hands in Sophia’s hair and tugged her mouth away.

“Sophia, you should not have said anything.”

“Why not?”

“Because I think we should keep this between the two of us.  I’m not sure it’s wise for everyone else to know.”

She smiled gently at him.  “Kaden, it will be impossible to keep it between the two of us.  My family are Lycans.  The moment you are around them, they’ll know we’ve mated.  They’ll be able to smell it on the both of us.”

He groaned with embarrassment and she rubbed his hip soothingly.  “Do not worry about it.”

“Sophia, I’m sorry but we need to talk about what’s happening between us.”

She nodded.  “I know.  But first, I’m going to suck your cock until you come in my mouth.  Then you’re going to make me come.  And then we’ll talk.”

He inhaled sharply as she leaned forward and licked his cock.  “I don’t want to take advantage of you, little Lycan.”

“You’re not.”  She said firmly.  She looked up at him, her eyes glowing softly.  “You’re not the only one who has dreamed about this, Kaden.  Only, in my dreams you do a lot less arguing.”

Chapter 14

Terrence knocked lightly on Draken’s bedroom door.

“Enter.”

He took a deep breath and opened the door.  He stood nervously on the threshold as Draken climbed out of the bed.  Naked, Draken crossed the room and took his pants from where they were draped on the chair.  He slipped into them and poured himself a glass of wine.

“You’ve been gone a long time, Terrence.”

“You gave me a difficult task.”

The Lycan snorted.  “Is that your way of saying you failed?”

“No.”

Draken returned to the bed and shook the woman still curled under the covers.  “Leave us.”

“My lord, I thought you wanted me to spend the night with you.”  She pouted.

“I said leave us!”  Draken suddenly snarled, his eyes glowing a dark red.

The woman whined nervously, her own eyes lightening to a bright yellow, before she slid from the bed.  Draken gave her an impatient look as she pulled her clothes on quickly.  He pushed her away when she tried to kiss him, and she gave another high-pitched whine.

“Do not be angry with me, my lord.”  She whimpered.

“Go quickly before you feel my claws on that pretty backside of yours.”  He snapped.

Without looking at Terrence she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Draken rolled his eyes.  “Gods, they’re all the same.  Whining, simpering fools.”  He stared blankly at the darkness outside his window for a moment.  “It’s why I want her, Terrence.  She’s…different.  She wouldn’t whine for my attention and lay under me like a dead cow.”

“Aye, my lord.”

Draken sat down in front of the fireplace and nodded for Terrence to join him.  The Lycan sat in the chair next to him and cleared his throat nervously.

“Tell me why it’s taken you so long.”  Draken sipped at his wine.

“I couldn’t go too closely to their home.  They undoubtedly are keeping watch for us, and I couldn’t risk the chance of them catching my scent.”

“No, I suppose not.”

“There is a town about half a day from their home.  I stayed there for a few days and – “

“This town - is it mostly humans or Lycans?”

“Humans.  But they seem to be ambivalent to Lycans. There were a few Lycans living in the town itself.”

Draken took another sip of wine and Terrence shifted in his chair.  “The Lycans showed up in the town while I was there.”

Draken stared into the fire.  “Did they see you?”

He shook his head.  “No.  The slave is marrying the Red.”

“Is she now?  And how did you find this out?”

Terrence shrugged.  “It was easy enough to conceal my scent in a town full of humans and horses and other Lycans.  I followed them for a while.  The slave was trying on dresses and there was talk amongst them about the wedding.”

“Was she there?” Draken asked softly.

“Aye, my lord.  She was.”

Draken’s nostrils flared and he finished his wine in two large gulps.  “How did she look?  Is she as beautiful as I remember?”

“Aye.”

Draken smiled.  “I dream about her, Terrence.  Every woman I have taken to my bed pales in comparison to her.  She is meant to be mine.  I can feel it in my very bones.”

Terrence gave Draken an alarmed look.  He had known the Lycan for many years, and he had never seen him react this way to a woman.  She had turned into an obsession for his pack leader, and he felt a trickle of fear slither down his spine.

“My lord, I know you are determined to have this Sophia but it will be very difficult to take her.  I do not believe it is wise to risk the lives of your pack over her.  These Lycans are – are powerful.  We were lucky to survive our last encounter with them.”

Draken’s face turned red and a low snarl emitted from his chest.  “This is twice now you’ve tried to tell me what to do, Terrence.”

“My lord,” Terrence protested, “I’m only trying to do what is best for our pack.  Your need for the Lycan has blinded you to – “

With a growl of rage, Draken leaped from his chair.  He grabbed Terrence around the throat and lifted him out of his chair.  He squeezed brutally for a moment and then threw the terrified Lycan across the room.  Terrence crashed into the wall and crumpled to the ground.  Draken loomed over him, his face covered in hair and his eyes glowing bright red. 

His body enlarged and the seam of his pants ripped with a soft purring noise.  “I will have this woman as mine.  Do you understand, Terrence?”

Coughing and choking, Terrence nodded as Draken crouched over him.  “We leave for this town first thing tomorrow.”

“My lord?”  Terrence whispered.

“We will wait in the town for them to return.  When she does, we will take her and kill the others.”

“They may not come back.”  Terrence whispered again.

“They will.”  Draken growled confidently.  “I will wait for years if I have to.”

He stood and, leaving Terrence lying on the floor, returned to the fireplace and sat down.  He stared moodily into the flames and sipped at his wine.

* * *

“Hello Sophia.”

“Hello mama.”

Avery closed Sophia’s bedroom door and crossed the room.  She lay down on the bed behind Sophia and put her arm around her waist before kissing the back of Sophia’s head.

“What’s wrong, my love?”

“Nothing.”  Sophia sighed.

Avery didn’t reply and Sophia leaned into her mother as Avery stroked her dark hair. 

“Mama?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you fall in love with papa right away?”

“Perhaps not right away but it did not take very long.”  Avery smiled.

They were silent for a while and then Avery asked, “Did something happen with you and Kaden?  Things seemed awkward between the two of you at lunch.”

Sophia sighed.  “I was worried about him last night and so I went to the hayloft to check on him.  I just wanted to make sure he was okay, to – to comfort him, you know?”

“Aye, I do know.”  Avery replied.

“I um – comforted him and then this morning we…”

She trailed off and sighed deeply.

“Did you have a fight, my love?”  Avery asked gently.

Sophia shook her head. “No.  I almost feel like it would have been better if we had.  We were both very calm and matter-of-fact about why it wouldn’t work between us.  We agreed that it should be a one-time thing and that was it.”