Venus Moon (3 page)

Using the arm beneath her for leverage, he tugged her forward. If possible, she pulled him even deeper. His hips rolled as his thumb and forefinger worked her clit harder and harder.

The ribbon of desire inside her that had been coiled so tightly unwound, and her cunt muscles clamped down on him with such force she heard him gasp.

“Look at me,” he commanded as his hips pistoned in their demanding rhythm. “Do it, Liana.”

With great effort, she opened her eyes and saw him staring down at her.

“Now, Liana. Let go…
now
!

Not that she could have stopped it. He pinched her clit hard, thrust one last time, and she exploded, a burst of power consuming her body. They tumbled over the edge of the cliff together, falling through a swatch of black velvet. He wrapped his other arm around her and clutched her to him as their bodies shattered in the moonlight, his heart battering her ribs. Or was it hers? It was impossible to tell. She’d been grabbed by a cyclone and tossed about like a leaf in the wind. Spasms racked her over and over, tearing at her muscles, draining her of every drop of energy.

And all the while, he held her gaze, eyes boring into her as if he could see into her very soul.

At last it was done, the energy flowing out of them, bodies limp and spent, glued together as they hauled air into tortured lungs.

The next thing she felt was the light dusting of kisses as his lips traveled over her face, his tongue licking the seam of her lips, his teeth nipping her earlobes. She sighed, an exhalation of air that seemed to have been dragged up from her very toes.

“You okay?” Charlie asked, his voice still uneven, his breathing still slightly ragged.

She shifted beneath him. “More than okay.” She studied what she could see of his face. “And you?”

His white teeth gleamed in the moonlight as a slow smile curved his lips. “Oh, darlin’. I’m better than I’ve ever been in my life.”

With great care, he slid his arms out from beneath her before pulling his cock from the clasp of her pussy. As sore as she felt, she was still bereft by the loss of his presence inside her, the absence of his powerful shaft filling her. Driving her. Bringing her to a climax of epic proportions.

He placed an open-mouthed kiss on her clit before standing, one that gave birth to another wave of tiny undulations. She caught her breath at the last pulse beats in her cunt then watched him dispose of the condom in the remnants of the wrapper. He tucked it into his jeans, obviously to deal with later, then stretched out beside her again. He slid an arm beneath her and tucked her head against his shoulder, his free hand caressing every part of her body he could reach.

Liana had never felt so satiated, so replete, in her life. So emotionally fulfilled. And so scared. Would he be back? Would he want more from her than sex? When he cleared his throat, she tried not to tense in anticipation.

“Problem?” he asked, his warm breath fanning her cheek.

She shook her head. “How could I have a problem? This was unbelievable.
You’re
unbelievable.”

“Good.” He was so silent she could almost hear the gears shifting in his brain. “Listen, Liana….”

She pressed her fingers against his lips. “Don’t say it. Please.”

He took a closer look at her face. “Don’t say what? What’s the matter?”

“It’s all right, Charlie. You didn’t force me into anything. This was my choice. And I know—”

“Know what?” He sat up so fast his arm yanked out from under her. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“It’s one thing to intellectually know about shifters. Even to see them. But it’s hard to—”

“You must think I’m some piece of shit.” He was angry, his voice harsh. “You think all I wanted was a quick fuck with someone who’s…different and then I’m going to run away? Even after a year, you don’t know me very well.”

“I just—”

He bent his head and kissed her, hard. “I was about to ask you if I could come by again tomorrow night. And not just for sex. To talk. To spend more time together.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I know it’s late. Jesse and I don’t get the primo shift. But I was hoping…. Damn it, anyway.”

This was the last thing he’d expected, but he should have known. He remembered how hard it had been for Jesse at first. But also how quickly he and Alexa got past their…differences.

Liana sat up and put her small hands on either side of his face as he willed the anger to leave him.

“Charlie, I’m just letting you know you have an out if you want it.”

“Well, I don’t, damn it. I want more. Much more. How does
that
sound to you?”

She kissed him then, and he felt her lips smile against his. “It sounds wonderful.”

“I love you in both forms, Liana. Yeah, that’s right. Love. I haven’t been hanging out here for a year just because of some sick fascination. I
love
you.”

She took one of his hands and pressed it against her left breast. “Feel how hard my heart beats?”

He nodded.

“That means I love you, too. But let’s not wait until tomorrow night. Come into the house with me. We’ll talk and hang out together.” She touched her mouth to his again. “And have more wonderful sex. But right now, we’d better get inside. When I strip you naked again, I want the sight all to myself.”

She rose lightly to her feet and held out a hand to him. He gathered his clothes and the quilt and followed her to the back porch. A strange peace had stolen over him, the first he’d had since he and Jesse had started working on the gang task force, putting their lives out there every night.

Inside the house, she stopped, tugging at his hand.

“In case you wanted to know, I won’t shift any more tonight. It takes energy, and you certainly made sure I used up plenty of it.” She grinned at him.

“It won’t scare me if you do,” he told her in a low voice. “The only thing that could scare me is if you told me you didn’t love me.”

She threw her arms around him and pressed her body to his. “No worries on that score, big boy. The wolf and me—you’ve got us for life.”

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Wolf Moon
by Desiree Holt

Chapter One

The rain always depressed Alexa Martin, underscoring the isolation she lived with. Scant moments ago, she’d returned from running through the trees behind her house. Concealed by the darkness, she’d given in to the urge she’d been suppressing for two days. Now, in a fleece robe, with a towel wrapped around her head, she sat curled up on the window seat in her living room. Thick drops of liquid ran down the glass like tiny waterfalls. If only there was a way she could wash away the problems in her life and make it clean and free again.

Why did I think everything would be fine when I moved to Florida? Running from our clan’s alpha really didn’t change anything except to put distance between me and everything I’ve ever known.

“You know I cannot allow your relationship with a human,” the alpha had told her in his forbidding voice. “He will turn on you when he knows the truth. Worse yet, he could expose you and the rest of us. Is that what you want?”

He was right, damn him.

She had deliberately shape-shifted in front of Ray, hoping for acceptance, but she’d seen nothing but horror in his eyes.

“What are you?” Disgust had filled his voice. “Some kind of freak? No, get away from me,” he’d shouted when she moved toward him. “Do not touch me.”

“You should have listened to your elders,” the alpha told her afterward. “I have no objection to marriage, but only with our own kind. We must perpetuate our clan. Lance is ready and waiting to make you his wife.”

“I will never marry Lance, old man,” she told him with vehemence. “He may be handsome and powerful, but he is well-known for his cruelty.”

So, she ran as far as she could, tucking away in a hidden corner of the universe where she was sure the clan would never find her.

The slam of a car door drew her attention to the driveway separating her house from the one next to it.

Jesse’s home.

From where she sat, she could see Jesse Farrell’s lean, muscular body running through the rain to his porch.

One a.m.

She could set her clock by him.

His shift with the Palmetto County Sheriff’s Department ended at midnight. Unless paperwork kept him longer than usual, he’d stop for coffee and a hamburger on the way home. At one o’clock, he’d be pulling into the driveway. Alexa never failed to notice the fatigue that slowed his steps or the tension in his posture.

What bothered her the most were the feelings she was developing for him, feelings that went far beyond worries for his safety. She’d thought hiding away in this small Southern town was the answer to her problem. A top researcher, her website brought her many clients and allowed her to work from home.

Then I saw Jesse, and I was right in the fire again.

She found herself wandering out into her backyard when he was working in his, carrying a pitcher of iced tea or lemonade. From there, it was nothing more than a short step to inviting him to dinner. Or over to watch television on his nights off.

Fool! Stupid! Idiot!

Little by little, she found herself pulled more and more to him. At night, she dreamed about him in her bed. Naked. Hot. His big hands touching every part of her body. His hard shaft plunging into her. His sensual mouth devouring her. She would awaken in a state of high arousal, her nipples painful points, the pulse in her cunt throbbing, and liquid seeping onto her thighs.

The last thing I need is to fall in love with another human.

Love!
The forbidden word.

Yet, she felt it barreling down on her like a steamroller, and she didn’t know how to get out of the way. She was lost, either way.

Alexa shivered.

Can it, girlfriend. You were in trouble the moment you first talked to him. Go make yourself a cup of tea. Chamomile. Nice and soothing. Something to stifle these feelings that are definitely going to get you in trouble.

Sighing, she unfolded herself from the seat and headed for the kitchen.

The sound of the doorbell startled Alexa. On tiptoe, she peered through the peephole. She was stunned to see Jesse on her porch, dripping wet and shifting from one foot to the other.

She yanked the door open. “What’s wrong? It’s pouring rain. Why aren’t you inside?”

“Can I come in, please?”

“Oh, sure. Come on.”
Yes, bring your fantastic body into my house.

“Sorry to bother you. I left my key on the counter this morning.” He raked his wet hair back from his forehead. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Jesse always carried his car keys separately.

“In case I’m ever attacked,” he’d explained, “I don’t want anyone having a key to my house. I can keep an extra one of yours, too, if you want.”

Another link to him she should avoid.

“I’ll get it,” she told him, “but come into the kitchen. You look like a drowned rat, and you must be freezing. At least get that wet shirt off and let me make you some coffee.”

“I’ll drip all over your place,” he protested.

“Tile floors are easy to mop.” She took his hand. “Come on. I’d feel terrible if you got pneumonia and I could have prevented it.”

In the kitchen, she flipped the switch on the coffeemaker while he took off his shirt. Then she handed him a large towel from the stack in the laundry room.

“You look exhausted. Bad night?” Her heart pinched at the weary sight of him.

Jesse scrubbed a hand over his face. “Every night’s bad with the gangs. We’ve got a couple of new ones out there ramping up their so-called initiation requirements. That makes it pretty tense on the streets.”

He was a member of the sheriff’s gang task force, a thankless and dangerous job. On the night streets, he was a shadowy figure in jeans and T-shirt, looking to stop trouble before it started. Even in a county as small as Palmetto, gangs were a big problem, many of them migrating south from Tampa.

She’d taken to waiting up for him, knowing she’d be unable to rest until he was home safely. If only she could find a way to protect him. Well, there was one, if she transformed. But she had no idea how he’d feel about a giant wolf following him around the county.

She ran a critical eye over him, noting his soaked jeans, and pulled out another towel. “You’d better take off the rest of those clothes and let me put everything in the dryer. Coffee should be ready in a minute.”

“I’m all right, Alexa. Honest. The only thing I need is to get some sleep.”

How about in my bed?

“I told you. Go to sleep like that and you really
will
get sick.”

“Alexa, I….”

She grinned at him. “I finally have a chance to get you naked in my house. Don’t give me a hard time.”