Edge of Moonlight (12 page)

I’m getting really sick and tired of feeling like the idiot in a school for geniuses.

Obviously, there are things I don’t know, things I need to know. And I need you to tell me.”

She downed the rest of the whiskey in one gulp then deliberately turned her back on him to put the glass on the counter.

Shaking that gorgeous hair, she began to walk away.

And John’s control snapped.

He practically threw his glass on the counter and snagged her arm, spinning her back to him.

She didn’t gasp in surprise, didn’t fight him at all. She didn’t put her arms around him either.

He needed that. He needed her to cling to him. Or fight him. He wanted her to push him away or grab his head and pull his mouth down to hers.

But she just stared up at him like a sacrificial fucking lamb.

So he dropped his mouth on hers and kissed her. Hard. Put his hands on her shoulders and dragged her against him, until he felt every slight curve of her body pressed against his.

Lips smashed together, he worked at her until she opened to him, until he could slide his tongue into her warm mouth and curl around her tongue. He pushed her deliberately, sucked her breath away and felt even more desperate when she let him.

She stood there and let him kiss her, let him ease the ache in his chest with her lips and her taste and the feel of her body against his.

But he didn’t want her docile. He wanted… No, he
needed
her to respond.

One hand slid to her neck to hold her to him while the other slid from her shoulder to her breast. He cupped the small mound and felt a primal rush when the hard tip of her nipple pressed against his palm and she moaned into his mouth.

Yes. More.

Releasing her neck, he let that hand slide down her back until he reached her ass.

Sleek and firm, her body was made for him to touch her. He wanted to rip her jeans down her legs and bend her over the nearest table.

Just the thought that he would treat her like that should’ve brought him to his senses. Instead, it made him kiss her harder.

And finally,
finally
, she began to come to life.

Her hands, which had been hanging at her sides, reached up to clutch at his back, her slim fingers kneading, stroking. Inflaming. Her mouth moved beneath his, caressed his lips. Her tongue stroked along his.

Gathering her shirt in his hand, he pulled it up until he touched bare skin. She didn’t wear a bra. She didn’t need one. Small but perfect, her breasts drew his attention away from the sweetness of her mouth.

She was so slight it didn’t take much effort to lift her with one hand on her ass so those pretty little nipples were right where he wanted them—at mouth level.

Clutching at his shoulders now, she arched her back as he sucked one hard tip between his lips then closed his teeth around it.

He wasn’t in the mood for foreplay but he had to taste her and he knew from before that she liked his mouth on her tits.

“John.”

His name sounded like a plea from her lips. A plea for more.

God, he wanted more.

“I want you right here, right now,” he murmured between her breasts. “Tell me you want me too.”

“I do. I absolutely do. Right here.”

Nothing else she could have said would’ve been better.

With one last nip at the fleshy side of her breast, making her squirm in his arms, he opened his eyes and focused on the first piece of furniture that would work. The table directly in front of him.

He took the few steps needed to close the distance, set Kaine on her feet and spun her around to face the table.

Bending without any direction from him, she fumbled with the buttons on her jeans as he tore at his own. He had the zipper lowered just as she pushed the material over her hips, baring her beautiful ass.

One of these days, he wanted that ass. Jesus, he hoped he was still around to take it.

Sliding his fingers between her thighs, he felt the wet proof of her desire. God, she was hot and she was gonna be so damn tight. With the jeans restricting how far apart she could spread her legs, she’d feel like a damn vise.

His cock throbbed at the thought, his balls tightening.

He grabbed her high on the inside of her thighs and spread her as far as he could, which wasn’t far at all. In the faint light now spilling through the front windows, he saw the bare lips of her sex glistening with moisture.

The thought flashed through his mind that he should taste her. Drop to his knees, put his mouth on her and get her off.

But his body had moved ahead of his brain. With his cock in his hand, he bent his knees just enough to align the tip of his shaft with her entrance.

He spread her slick heat over the head, let it tease his senses until he couldn’t stand to not be inside her.

Then he thrust.

Kaine’s guttural moan echoed his own as she lifted her ass into him, trying to get him deeper.

Pausing for a few brief seconds, he felt the glove-like fit of her sheath ripple around him. He already felt his climax building in his balls and he knew he wouldn’t last long.

Ecstasy beckoned. Pulling out proved to be difficult, she was that tight.

And synapses all over his body snapped and crackled with sensation. Her sex pumped him like a fist as he pushed back in.

She struggled to open her legs wide, her back arching and her hands grabbing onto the sides of the table to hold herself steady as he thrust into her.

“Christ, Kaine. I’m gonna blow. Are you close?”

“Yes, just don’t stop. Gods, don’t stop.”

Her hoarse words released his restraints and his hips began to pound in time to his raging heartbeat.

He had only one objective. Come in her body, fill her with his seed and make her his. She
was
his.

Spread out before him, pinned to the table, she could only move if he allowed it. He bent over her, covered her with his body as she gripped the edge.

His pace never slowed and now she truly was at his mercy. Through the fever in his body and brain, he recognized the need to mark her somehow.

He had his mouth on her neck before he realized what he was doing and when he bit her, he had the satisfaction of feeling her cry out as she shuddered.

Her orgasm made her sheath clench hard around him, milking him like a fist and he exploded inside her on his next thrust.

With her name on his lips, he pumped his seed deep.

Christ, she felt so damn good.

Because he wasn’t wearing a condom.

The animal in him, the one that had pinned her to this table, howled. Satisfied.

The rational part of his brain couldn’t even begin to care that he’d gone without.

And that could be one hell of a problem.

Still trying to catch her breath, Kaine felt John watching her as they straightened their clothes by the table.

Her body was sated but her brain wouldn’t give her a break. It wanted to analyze every detail of their time together, to break it down and compartmentalize every touch, every sigh, every thrust.

Wanted to rejoice at the fact that he hadn’t used a condom.

Had he made a conscious choice to go without it? It would imply a certain level of trust if he’d done it consciously.

More likely, he’d been so caught up in the moment, he’d forgotten.

She understood. Every time she touched him, she felt feverish with an almost insane need to have him.

So not good.

“Kaine. Are you alright?” John’s voice was pitched low and held an undercurrent of self-disgust. “Christ, I feel like I attacked you.”

She tilted her head back until she could meet his gaze. “You didn’t. Believe me, I was right there with you.”

He nodded but his expression remained tight. “Good to know. But I still feel like I—” He ran a hand over his head, barely mussing the short strands of hair. “Damn it.”

“Used me?” She shrugged, buttoning the last button on her jeans while trying to hold an impassive front. “If you did, it was mutual.”

He stilled. She actually felt his complete lack of movement and realized she’d taken the wrong tack.

“You know,” his voice sounded way too calm, “I’m getting really sick of this front you put up. I would rather see you get pissed at me than put up this wall.” She forced to hold his gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, you do. I don’t know what the hell to say to you, Kaine. I don’t know what to think about Evie. I don’t know what the fuck I should do here. And I’m typically the one who’s got the god damn plan.”

She saw his frustration, his confusion, and wanted to take it all away. Or, at the very least, ease it. She’d thought sex would help him calm down. Seems she’d just added more weight to what he was already struggling with.

“John. You’ve already done the best thing you can do for Evie. You brought her here. Dane and Nica will figure out what’s going on.”

“And what about you? I feel like I’m making all the wrong moves with you.” He actually cared about her feelings? Blessed Goddess, she wanted to believe. Truly she did. But she couldn’t let herself go there.

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“What if I want to?”

Her breath hitched in her lungs. “Then I’d suggest you wait until you know me better.”

She turned, needing a little space. But he came after her, put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her back against him.

Gods, he was solid and so damn warm, she wanted to bask in his heat. And she wanted to fix this.

“John, you said you had a lead on the woman who kidnapped Evie. What were you talking about?”

He paused, as if considering what to tell her. Or to tell her anything at all.

Finally he took a deep breath and released it in a warm rush by her ear. “The warehouse where Evie was being kept. I found a name on a courier receipt. I could be completely off track that it belongs to the same woman. It may not lead to anything.

But…I may get lucky.”

“What’s the name?”

Again he paused and she wondered if he was going to tell her. If he’d trust her enough to give her more information.

“Grace Bell. Has to be an alias. It’s too simple.”

“True. But it’s something to go on.”

“Yeah.”

Weariness made the normally deep tone of his voice even more husky. And sexy.

She turned, trying not to love the way he kept his arms around her so she couldn’t go far. Glancing up, she noticed the shadows under his eyes. “You’re tired.”

“I’m fine.”

She couldn’t help but smile at the male pride in that statement. “I’m sure you are, but why don’t you sit down on the couch, put your feet up.”

“Why don’t you come with me?”

She wanted to. Damn it, she really wanted to. At least for a few minutes. Then she needed to check on that name. “Sure. There’s no TV but I could put some music on.”

“No need.” He grabbed her hand and led her to the couch. Then he sat down and pulled her down next to him. “I just need a little quiet.” While she would have merely sat there next to him, John leaned back and put his arm around her shoulders again, drawing her into his side. It was so tempting to rest her head on his chest, to lay against him and close her eyes and pretend, for just a few minutes, that they were two normal people getting to know one another.

Not a damaged
lucani
pretending to be something else to a man who was going to be horrified that he’d had sex with her. Multiple times.

But she did it anyway. She curled into his side, her ear against his chest, picking out the strong beat of his heart.

What would he do when he discovered the truth?

And he would. Kyle was going to decide to reverse the spell that had taken John and Evie’s memories. It was the only thing that made sense. To help Evie, Dane and Nica were going to need to know everything about their captivity. And they could only know that if they had their true memories.

And while John handled that, she would track down Grace Bell.

But to do that, she needed John to take another nap. How he’d fought out of the last sleeping spell she’d put on him, she had no idea. She’d been under a lot of stress.

Maybe she’d screwed it up.

This time, she wouldn’t.

“I can practically hear you thinking,” he mumbled above her, the words echoing in his chest. “Tell me.”

Tell him she was a
lucani
versipellis
?

He’d find that out soon enough.

“I’m hoping you don’t think we’re all nuts when the sun sets tonight.” He didn’t answer right away but the steady rise and fall of his chest eased her.

“I’m pretty much a have-to-see-it-to-believe-it guy but I saw things that can only be explained by magic. Does that sound crazy? But yeah, my former teammates would think I was nuts.”

“What about the guys you work with now?”

“Shit, I didn’t even think about that. I better call and let them know I need to take a few days.”

“You don’t need to make that call yet. It’s barely seven.”

“Since we have some time, I want to know more about you. Who are you, Kaine?” She was the woman who loved him.

Which didn’t matter one damn bit because she couldn’t tell him exactly who she was so she could never be anyone to him.

But she could at least help him track down the woman who’d kidnapped him and his sister. The
lucani
wanted that woman too. Needed to know why she was kidnapping
eteri
and infecting them with spells that gave them magical powers.

Needed to shut down this woman who threatened to expose the magical races.

“I’m nobody, really. Just a soldier.”

“For what army?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Then what can you tell me?”

Not much
. “I can tell you that I will do whatever I can to help Evie get better.” Frustration sounded in his harsh sigh.

Yeah, this sucked for both of them.

With a minimum of movement, Kaine maneuvered her body until her legs straddled his and she had both hands on his face. His eyes widened, as if he were startled. Then his hands settled onto her hips as she lowered her lips to his.