Red Moon Rising (9 page)

Bree moaned into James’ mouth.  Every time his fingers
pulled on her nipples, it sent a throb of pleasure straight to the area between
her thighs.  She rubbed against him as he continued to torment her nipples
until they had darkened to a deep red and were swollen and rock hard.

“Oh please!”  She cried.  “It aches so much.”

“Spread your legs honey.”  He whispered into her ear.

She parted her legs as he slipped his hand into the
waistband of her pants.  She leaned against him and moved restlessly.  His
shirt slipped from her arm, revealing smears of blood and her smooth skin.  No
trace of the cut remained, but neither of them noticed as his fingers circled
the curls between her thighs before slipping further down.

She moaned, her pelvis arching into his hand at the first
feel of his warm fingers against her skin.  He parted the lips of her pussy and
found her clit.  He rubbed the swollen button lightly as he licked and kissed
her throat.  He rubbed her clit more firmly as her hands dropped to his large
thighs, and her fingers dug into the fabric of his pants.

“Does that help with the ache?”  He whispered into her ear.

“Yes!  No!  I don’t know…”  She moaned.

His other hand cupped her left breast, squeezing the firm
flesh as he circled her clit with his fingers. 

Bree moaned again.  Her eyes were clamped shut, and all she
could feel was James’ rough fingers against her clit and his warm mouth on the
sensitive skin of her throat.  Her breath was coming in harsh pants and her
hips were thrusting against his hand frantically.

She suddenly grew silent, and then her body was arching up
off his lap as her first ever orgasm rushed through her.  She twisted and
writhed, and he wrapped one arm around her waist to prevent her from falling off
his lap.

She collapsed against him and he slipped his hand from her
pants and stroked her flat stomach.  Her ass was against his cock and he rubbed
it lightly against her.  When she didn’t object he shifted her until she was
sitting on his lap sideways.  He stared at her sweet face.  Her eyes were
squeezed shut and her cheeks were flushed pink.  He kissed her swollen mouth as
he undid his pants and slipped his cock out.  He took her hand and guided it to
his throbbing shaft.

“Touch me Bree.”  He whispered.

Her cheeks flushed brightly.  She bit at her lower lip
before wrapping her slender fingers around him, and moving her hand hesitantly
back and forth.  He groaned loudly and, without opening her eyes, she
whispered, “Does that hurt?”

“No.”  He bit out.  “It definitely doesn’t hurt.”

She took a deep breath and bent her head before opening her
eyes.  Her mouth opened slightly, and her hand squeezed involuntarily around
his cock as she studied it.  She ran her thumb over the top of it, frowning a
little at the moisture she felt.

James groaned lightly.  Her gentle touch was driving him mad
with need.  He had never been with someone as innocent as her, and he reminded
himself that he needed to go slow.  He would never forgive himself if he hurt
her.  It was taking all of his willpower not to throw her down on the bed, part
her pale thighs and bury himself deep inside of her.  She would be warm and wet
and so tight.  He groaned again as the need grew inside of him and his cock
swelled in her hand.

Bree inhaled sharply.  Touching James’ cock was like nothing
she had ever imagined.  She was fascinated by how soft and smooth the skin
was.  It moved in her hand, a hard bar of steel that throbbed and pulsed.

She looked up at him.  His eyes were glowing green and the
beard was thick on his face.  She had a fleeting image of Draken, his eyes
glowing like James’, and she shrieked with fear and scrambled off of his lap.

He stood, tucking his cock into his pants hurriedly, and
took a few steps towards her.  “Bree, my love?  What’s wrong?”

“Stay away from me.”  She moaned.  She covered her naked
breasts with her arms and backed away from him.

James smiled at her reassuringly as he moved slowly towards
her.  “It’s okay Bree.  Just relax and – “

“I’m sorry.”  She whimpered.  “I’m so sorry but I can’t – I
shouldn’t do this with someone like you.”

He recoiled as if she had slapped him.  A look of hurt
crossed his face and she gave a small cry of dismay.

“I’m sorry James.  I – “

“It’s fine Bree.”  He said dismissively before walking
towards the door of his bedroom.

“How’s your arm?”  He reached for the handle on the door.

“I – I’m sorry what?”

He looked at her, his face cold and distant, and she blinked
back the sudden tears.  “Your arm?  Is it healed?”

She had completely forgotten about her arm and she glanced
quickly at it.  “Yes, it’s fine.”

He nodded and opened the door.

“James wait!”

“What is it?”  He gave her an impatient look.

“I’m very sorry.  I didn’t mean for it to come out the way
it sounded.  It’s not that I don’t – “

He cut her off.  “I said it was fine Bree.  Apology accepted
and don’t worry – I won’t touch you again.”

He slipped out of the room and closed the door firmly behind
him.  Bree started to cry in earnest as she sank to the floor and buried her
head in her hands.  She was an idiot.  She had only been frightened for a
moment.  In her heart she knew that James was nothing like Draken, and
scrambling away from him had been an involuntary reaction.  Her fear had
dissipated by the time she was standing across the room from him.  In its place
was shame. 

If Kaden knew what she was doing he would be disgusted and
angry with her.  Lycans had kept them prisoners; they had tortured them and
starved them and used them for sport.  It wouldn’t matter to Kaden that James
and his family were different.  His hatred for the Lycans ran deep and if he
knew that she trusted them, if he knew she had almost had sex with one, he
would never forgive her.

She crept to James’ bed and climbed into it, burying herself
completely under the covers as she sobbed quietly.  She had hurt James’ badly,
she had seen it in his face, and knowing that she had hurt him and that he
would never touch her again made her chest ache.

She closed her eyes.  The look on James’ face flickered through
her mind again, and she curled into a tight ball and sobbed bitterly.  She
deserved his anger.

Bree stiffened and cocked her head to the side as adrenaline
rushed through her body.  She listened intently and when there was only silence,
she relaxed and continued to stuff her clothes into the large leather bag.  Tia
stared at her curiously from the bed, obviously wondering why she was up when
it was still dark.

The last four days had been horrible.  She had expected
James to be angry with her but he had shown no anger at all.  Instead, he had
looked at her with a terrible coldness that chilled her to the core.  The first
day she had tried to engage him in hesitant conversation.  He spoke to her but
in an oddly disconnected manner.  She hadn’t tried again.  She would have
preferred anger over the cold calmness that radiated from him. 

It was as though she meant nothing to him at all which, Bree
decided, she didn’t.  She was really nothing more than a roll in the hay for
him.  When she had turned him down and insulted him, he had simply lost
interest. 

She didn’t blame him for his coldness.  What had happened
between them was completely her fault.  She had asked him to kiss her, to touch
her, and when he did she freaked out and basically called him a monster to his
face. 

He had stopped teaching her to ride.  The day after she had
rejected him, he hadn’t shown up at the barn for their morning lesson.  She had
waited for nearly half an hour, pacing nervously back and forth until she
admitted the truth to herself.  He wasn’t going to show up.

She sighed and buckled the leather bag shut.  Her
conversation with Sophia this morning had helped a little.  She had been
lugging a basket of wet and heavy laundry out to hang on the line when she had
literally run into James.  Struggling to carry the heavy basket, stumbling a
little on the frozen ground, she had run straight into him as she rounded the
corner of the house.  She had fallen backwards, landing on her tailbone with a
hard thud, as the basket tipped out of her hands and the wet laundry spilled on
to the ground.

“I’m so sorry!”  She had gasped.

He’d grunted in reply and continued on his way without
helping her up.  She had been kneeling on the cold ground, gathering the
spilled laundry up and blinking back hot tears, when Sophia had knelt beside
her.

“Are you okay Bree?”  She had asked kindly.

“Oh yes.  I tripped over my own feet.  I’m so clumsy.”  Bree
had smiled brightly at her.

“No you didn’t.  I saw my brother run into you.”  Sophia had
replied.

“I ran into him.  It was my fault entirely.”

She had stood and lugged the basket to the clothesline. 
Sophia had followed her and taken her arm gently.

“Bree, will you tell me what happened between you and my
brother?  You’re obviously upset, and everyone can see his coldness towards
you.”

Tired and upset and desperately needing someone to confide
in, she had told Sophia everything that had happened, her words spilling out in
short bursts in between bouts of crying.  Sophia had comforted her and had
offered to speak to her brother, but Bree had begged her not to.

“I hurt him badly.”  She had sighed miserably.  “I said an
awful thing to him that I didn’t really mean, and now I don’t know how to make
it better.”

“Why did you say it, if you didn’t mean it?”  Sophia had
asked.

Without thinking, she had blurted out, “Because if Kaden
knew – “

She had stopped and given Sophia a cautious look.  “I was
just frightened.  His eyes were glowing and it scared me and I wasn’t
thinking.  But I swear I didn’t mean it.”

Now, she slipped the leather bag across her chest and
adjusted it against her hip.  She reached for the sword that was leaning
against the wall.  She had insisted that Nicky continue to train her on the
sword and yesterday, under the pretense of practicing later on her own, she had
taken it to her room.

She slipped it into the leather sheath belted around her
waist, and then glanced around the room.  She had moved out of James’ room and
into one of the empty guest rooms the night she had hurt him.  There was
nothing left in the room that belonged to her, and she took a deep breath and
smiled at the small dog sitting on the bed.

“Be a good girl Tia.”  She whispered as she buried her face
against the dog’s small body.  “I love you so much.”

The dog whined a little and she kissed the top of her head. 
“I’m sorry Tia but I can’t stay here anymore.  I can’t stand that I’ve hurt him
so badly, and I miss the way he used to look at me.  Besides, I need to rescue
Kaden.”

The dog cocked its head at her and she sighed softly.  “Don’t
look at me like that Tia.  I might be back for you someday.  And if I am, I’ll
have Kaden with me.  You’d like that girl.  I know you miss him.”

The dog rolled on to her back and, tears slipping down her
cheeks, Bree rubbed her belly for a few minutes before standing.  The dog
jumped to her feet, her tail wagging hopefully, and Bree wiped the tears from
her cheeks and said firmly, “No.  Stay Tia.  It’s not long until morning and
Leta will come looking for you.”

She walked to the door of the bedroom and, without looking
back, slipped out of the room. 

* * *

She had been walking for nearly two hours when she realized
she was being followed.  She continued to walk, her ears straining to hear the
light rustling coming from her left as her hand dropped to her sword and
tightened on it. 

She took a deep breath and whirled around, pulling her sword
free and holding it in front of her.  With a bravery she didn’t feel, she
called out loudly, “I know you’re there.  Come out right now.”

There was nothing but silence in reply, and as the seconds
spun into minutes she began to feel a little foolish.  The noise had probably
been nothing more than a deer.  She searched through the trees, squinting in
the dim light, and adrenaline flooded through her veins when she saw the figure
duck out from behind a large tree.  It stepped forward and she raised her sword
threateningly. 

“Bree, it’s me.”

Her mouth dropped open and she stared in shock at the young
boy emerging from the trees.  “Gods be damned!  Evan, what are you doing here?”

He regarded her solemnly.  “I was in the common room and I
saw you leave.  I decided to follow you.”

“What were you doing up at that hour?”  She frowned.

“Why are you walking in the opposite direction of Vanden?” 
He countered.

She groaned.  “Evan, do you know how stupid it was to follow
me?”

He shrugged.  “I want to know where you’re going.  Why did you
leave without saying goodbye?”

“Evan!  This is madness!  You need to turn around and go
home right now.”  She glared at him.

He looked around.  “It’s dangerous in the woods Bree.  You
can’t go alone.

She wanted to scream with frustration.  Evan was right – it
was dangerous in the woods.  He might be a Lycan, but he was only fifteen and
she’d never forgive herself if something happened to him.

“Come on.”  She grabbed his arm and began to drag him back
towards his home.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m going to take you back until we’re a few miles from
your home, and then you’re going the rest of your way by yourself.”  She
snapped.  “Your family will be worried sick about you by now.”

“I’m not going back without you.”  He said stubbornly.

“Evan!  This is not a joke, do you understand me?  I have
somewhere I need to go, and I can’t stay at your home any longer.  Someone
needs me and it’s very important that I help him.  Okay?”

“We can help you.  Just tell us what you need us to do.” 
Evan replied.

“No!  You don’t – “

She stopped as he suddenly stiffened and lifted his head
into the air.  He inhaled deeply and she looked around nervously.

“What is it?”

He looked at her and her stomach dropped at the look of panic
on his young face.  “Faeries.  I can smell them.”

Her hand tightened on her sword and she lifted it in front
of her as she stepped in front of Evan.  “How close are they?”

“I – I do not know.  We need to go Bree.  Right now.”  His
voice was shaking with fear, and she gripped his arm tightly.

“Evan, listen carefully.  I want you to shift and run
towards your home.  I’ll hold the faeries off.  Run as fast as you can and do
not look back, do you hear me?”  She muttered fiercely.

“I can’t leave you!”  He whispered.

“You can and you will!”  She shook him lightly.  “Shift Evan
- right now.”

A low and ugly laugh drifted through the trees.  “Too late
my pretty.”

Bree turned, herding Evan behind her as four fairies flew
out from the trees.  She held her sword in front of her and willed her hand not
to shake. 

“If you do not want to die today, you would be wise to fly
away right now.”  She could hear the tremor in her voice.  Evidently the
faeries could too because they grinned at each other and landed softly on the
ground in front of them.

“Ooh, you’re a brave one then aren’t you my pretty?”  One of
the faeries, his face pierced in multiple places with bits of human bones,
grinned at her.  His teeth were covered with dirt and moss, and his large
leathery wings flapped gently as he rose a few inches into the air.

Another of the faeries moved a little closer, she could
barely make out his features through all the markings on his face, and she
stepped back.  She dropped her bag on the ground and pushed Evan back towards
the trees.

“We don’t care much for the taste of dog,” the faerie said,
“but since you’re too tiny for the four of us to share we’ll have to roast him
up as well.”

The others grinned, and one of them raised the sharp spear
he was holding into the air and hooted loudly.  “I get dibs on tasting her
first!”

Behind her, Evan was growling softly and continuously and
she could feel his arm swelling under her hand.  She dropped his arm and took a
quick look at him.  His eyes had switched from their normal light green to a
glowing, brilliant shade of emerald.  As his clothes exploded from his body and
he shifted into a brown wolf, she screamed at him to run and charged at the
faeries.

They weren’t expecting her to attack them and as she ran
forward, slashing at the closest one with her sword, they scrambled backwards
in surprise.  She stabbed one in the leg, and he howled with pain as she
sprinted past him and threw herself at the largest of the faeries.  She hit him
hard and he tumbled to the ground, pulling her down on top of him.

Panting with fear and adrenaline, she raised her sword and
thrust it into his side.  He screamed with surprise and pain, and she gave her
own short howl of pain when she felt the sharp blade of a spear pierce through
her skin.

She twisted away quickly, rolling off the faerie and wincing
as she landed on the frozen ground.  One of the faeries had stabbed her in the
back just below her right shoulder blade, but the adrenaline in her body made
the pain insignificant.

The faerie fell on her, his hands reaching for her throat.  They
tightened around her and he leaned down until his face was inches from hers and
inhaled.  A feeling of heaviness overtook her and before she could succumb to
it, she reached up and jammed her thumbs into both of its eyes. 

He screamed in agony as her thumbs punctured his eyeballs
and she yanked viciously.  His eyes popped out with a gruesome sucking sound and
he released her and staggered away, clapping his hands over his eyes.  Thick,
black blood was pouring from between his fingers, and he made inarticulate
grunts of pain as he thrashed blindly through the trees.

Crying and panting, she snatched her sword up and staggered
to her feet.  She could hear Evan barking as he launched himself at one of the
faeries.  He landed with a hard thud on its back and it fell to the ground. 
Howling, Evan bit into one of its leathery wings and pulled.  There was a wet
ripping sound as Evan tore half its wing off.  He backed away, the wing hanging
from his teeth, as the faerie screamed in agony and crawled towards its
brothers. 

The faerie she had stabbed in the thigh flew towards Evan. 
He dropped on top of him and Bree screamed when he stabbed his spear deep into the
young Lycan’s side.  Evan shrieked with pain as the largest faerie, his side
bleeding from her sword, landed beside them and stabbed his spear into his
flank.

Bree looked down.  The faerie she had blinded had dropped
his spear, and she reached down and grabbed it.  She couldn’t defeat both of
them but if she could get the largest one away from Evan, he might be able to
kill the other and escape.  She knew she was going to die but as she sprinted
towards Evan and the faeries, the knowledge of her own imminent death brought
no fear.  Instead, she felt only a cold acceptance.

She took in a deep, gasping breath of air, and shrieked her
final war cry to the forest before throwing herself at the large faerie.  She
landed with a heavy thud on his back.  The feel of his smooth leathery wing
beating against her face made her gag, and she shoved the faerie’s spear deep
into one wing.

He screamed in agony and bucked like a wild beast under
her.  She stabbed at him with her sword, but he twisted and turned before
hurling his body backwards.  He slammed her into a tree.  Her breath exploded
from her lungs in a hard, hot rush, and she lost her grip on her sword and
slithered to the ground.

He turned and glared at her, his lips curling back, and
reached behind his broad body.  He tore the spear from his wing and splintered
it in half before snapping his teeth at her like a dog.

“I’m not going to take your essence you stupid little girl. 
I want you alive and conscious when I roast you like a pig.”  He spat.  “You
will suffer more than any human has ever suffered before.”