Bad Moon Rising (Lunar Mates Book 2) Read online

  She’d stopped trying to read him by his third visit to the bakery. This was the most response she had ever seen from him. He was always calm, often cool, polite but distant, and he never really smiled. She’d like to see him smile, wondered if it lightened the remote look in his eyes. She’d like to see that careful control slip.

  “I should probably ask why you know where I live,” she finally said, the silence making her rash. “It’s kind of weird, you know? And I definitely shouldn’t have agreed to let you drive me home even if Meg and Darius think you're okay. That can’t be safe.”

  If possible his jaw seemed to get harder. She began to think he wasn’t going to answer when he glanced over. She felt him studying her profile in the dark, but waited to return his look until he turned back to the road.

  “You’re safe with me. I trust getting in a car with a strange man isn’t something you do all the time.”

  Trying to lighten the mood, she quipped, “Yeah, well, what’s strange?”

  He pulled into her driveway, turned off the car and looked at her through narrowed eyes. In her fantasies she was often the focus of those eyes, only filled with lust. This look was pure angry predator and she unconsciously shrank back against the door. Instinct told her he'd never harm her physically, but she was certain she had crossed some invisible line in the sand, though damned if she knew what it was. She reached with a slight tremor for the door handle.

  “I need my keys,” she said heart in her throat.

  In a slow deliberate motion he reached for them, not taking his eyes off of her. “I’ll see you in. We need to talk.”

  Talking was just about the last thing she wanted to do with him. It was amazing. Even a little afraid of his mood, she was horny. Maybe more than before she opened her big mouth in the first place. His anger turned her on?

  Sick, Tara. Sick and twisted.

  They did need to talk though, and she needed to think about anything but jumping his bones. He was too damned tempting which was a shame because he was really not interested.

  "Why were you on Meg's deck?"

  He arched his eyebrows. "What makes you think I didn’t just drop by?"

  "I knew when you arrived. You were out there awhile."

  She could see he wanted to ask about that but he didn’t. "Darius asked us to keep an eye on her since he had to go out of town and she's alone out there."

  Either Darius was a paranoid control freak or Trey wasn’t telling her everything. She liked her baby cousin's new boyfriend alright but there was something about him and Trey that niggled at her memory.

  "We should go inside," he said, as if he knew the direction her thoughts had gone and wanted to distract her.

  At the door she held her hand out, but he nudged her out of the way and opened it, crowding in behind her to swing it closed. Light. She needed light. It would break this inappropriate nervous arousal that consumed her. She hoped. She switched on the little lamp on the entry table and turned around to face him, her mouth suddenly dry. She wasn’t thinking clearly or at all maybe. Desire fogged her brain and she had let a man, one her instincts were screaming was dangerous and the source of her craving, into her home. What the hell was she thinking?

  “Well, thanks for seeing me in,” she said. “I have a very early morning tomorrow so we should probably talk later.”

  Taking a deep breath, she mentally prepared herself to kick him out, but when she opened her mouth again, he was there. He used one hand to hold the back of her head, his fingers running through her hair to massage her scalp. It felt so good she didn’t notice as his other arm wrap around her waist and pull her flush up against him. The unexpected contact made her moan, and he bent down, his mouth catching the breath she exhaled.

  She gasped at the rough invasion of his tongue, the sharp nip of his teeth against her lip. He stepped away but she twisted her hands in his shirt and stood on her toes. With a soft growl that turned her on way too much, he picked her up and deepened the kiss briefly, then set her down. He leaned his forehead against hers, breath coming in ragged pants.

  “I’m staying tonight,” he said gruffly. “Where am I sleeping?”

  Fantasy Man staying the night? She tried to blink away the sudden vision of him wrapped, definitely naked, around her.

  “Don’t think about it. Go with your instinct,” he said in a low voice, firm fingers lifting her chin and forcing her to meet his hungry gaze. Answering heat curled through her body and stepping into his embrace, she didn’t think.

  Chapter Three

  “Where's your bedroom?” he asked. And she led him down the hall.

  Once inside, he shut the door and leaned against it. “Take your clothes off.”

  His voice was soft, but the demand was unmistakable. Her stomach was a furious knot of nerves, but she’d come this far and she wasn’t losing her chance. She reached for the edges of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head, then clutched it in her hand, unsure of what she was seeing in his expression. His cheekbones seemed harder, starker. Was that rigid control lust? Disappointment? She had never inspired great passion in the men in her life. She was too thin, narrow hipped, with small breasts, and no butt. None of the attributes they seemed obsessed with.

  “Keep going,” he encouraged in a raspy voice.

  She dropped the shirt, she reached for the fly on her jeans, and quickly stripped them off. Next came her bra and panties, and then she stood before him, bare and tense. She raised her chin. Fuck him if he didn’t like what he saw. She turned to the bed and pulled the duvet down. She heard the rustle of his clothes and sensed him move.

  Suddenly he stood behind her, his body pressing against hers as he dipped his head to her neck. With light teasing bites, he worked his way up its length, turning her when he reached her chin. He claimed her lips, his tongue delving into her mouth with a hunger that fed her own, consuming her. With a gentle push he had her sprawled on the bed.

  He studied her for long enough to make her worry. More than a minute, less than five? His gaze swept over her, and she prayed he didn’t change his mind. She’d never wanted a man this much, with an intensity that was just this side of painful. Would he ever speak? Finally he came down on top of her, hot and heavy.

  “So beautiful,” he whispered, taking her face in his hands, and then she quit thinking altogether.

  He kissed his way down her neck, pausing at her collarbone, then continued to trail kisses to her breasts. At first, he visited each with reverence as if paying homage, then concentrated on her nipples. He bit, then sucked. She bowed her back trying to get closer, silently demanding more. She was in heaven. Thank God he wasn’t done. Slowly trailing downward, he kissed his way to her stomach. Teeth scraped over her belly button, and he made his way lower. Her hips arched up, trying to find his mouth,. He parted her folds and she forced her eyes open to watch. His were closed as he inhaled deep, like a man intoxicated then his tongue flicked out, tasting her.

  “You taste so good, baby,” he murmured against her, his voice a growl that vibrated against her pussy to her clit making her to jerk towards him.

  “More,” she panted. Pleaded.

  He opened his eyes and gave her a sultry grin she felt clear to her toes. “I've wanted to do this since the first time I met you. I’m not about to rush now, baby.”

  He held her gaze while his tongue darted out and licked her, tasting her again. He pushed one long finger inside her, working it in and out until she bucked against him and cried out at the exquisite sensation. While his fingers continued the sweet torment, he moved to her clitoris. He explored the hard nub with teasing flicks of his tongue and finally, finally, his teeth closed over it. He sucked on her clit and the pleasure built. After what seemed an eternity of waiting for this one man, her orgasm exploded through her. The intensity left her weak and shaking. She'd never come so hard or fast and she wanted to do it again.

  *

  He held onto his control by a very thin thread. His wolf demanded he plunge in
to her, claim her now and irrevocably, but a small sane part of him remembered that he needed, wanted more than a physical relationship.

  She was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. When she came apart on Trey’s tongue he almost joined her. With her taste still on his lips, he leaned up to kiss her again, fingers slowly stroking in and out of her pussy, making sure she was ready for his cock. She was hot and slick. He sucked in a hard breath, imagining her clenching around him.

  He positioned the head of his cock at her entrance and inch by slow inch he sank into her, wanting to savor the sensation. She wrapped her legs around his waist and slid her hands up his chest then over his shoulders to circle his neck.

  "Trey," she whispered. "Move."

  He grinned at the order and did as she asked, slowly. She complained about the pace but it felt too good to rush. He'd waited weeks to get his hands on her, to get her under him. She trembled and breathing sped up. He slid a hand between them and rubbed her clit. Two strokes and she squeezed around him, her channel spasming as she came again. He gritted his teeth, holding completely still for long seconds, before thrusting in a fast pounding rhythm.

  He’d never felt anything so intense. Sex had always been about getting off, relieving tension. This was…he wasn’t sure. Almost too intense he decided, not examining it too closely. It was enough to know he could have it over and over again. His orgasm when it came, didn’t build in the increments he was accustomed to. It overwhelmed him, striking all at once, leaving him spent and deeply satisfied in her arms.

  Chapter Four

  Tara’s alarm went off with a grating beep beep beep at 2:30. She jerked up at glared at the offensive red display, hit the snooze button, and fell back on the bed. Right into Trey. Oh god. She smiled, pleasure licking deliciously at her insides. It hadn’t been a dream after all. Wanting to look her fill before she had to get up and leave, she rolled over to find him propped on one elbow, watching her.

  “Hey,” she said, heat thrumming through her.

  She couldn’t believe it. After the third time he woke her during the night, her fascination with him should be satisfied, but the tenderness between her thighs was certainly at odds with the lust in her blood. She couldn’t help the wince that went through her when his fingers gently fluttered over her pussy.

  “You’re sore,” he said, eyes blazing.

  And she was getting wetter by the second. An anticipatory thrill went through her. He couldn’t miss that little piece of news. Instead of rolling over her, he stood and walked into her tiny bathroom. She heard him rummaging around the cabinet, and wondered for half a second what he was looking for before diving back under the covers. When he lifted the blankets to get back in bed, cool air bit at her skin and goose bumps rose along her body. She shivered when he rolled her easily onto her stomach and dribbled something on her back.

  She yelped. “Hey, that’s cold!”

  “Baby oil,” he grunted. “A backrub might help loosen up stiff and sore muscles,” he whispered close to her ear. "I really just want an excuse to get my hands on you again."

  He stretched out next to her, his body heat seeping into her skin. The shivering subsided while his hands gently traced the contours of her back. “I’m sorry I was so…insatiable.”

  “The best sex of my life and you’re sorry?” she grumbled. Well, wasn’t that just peachy? She buried her nose in the pillow, irritated but enjoying the increasing pressure as he kneaded the sore muscles in her back. “That's just freaking great.”

  “Best sex of your life, huh?” he asked, fingers pushing between her shoulder blades, working out a knot she hadn’t even been aware of it until he touched it. She heard a grin in his voice and her heart flipped. So much for getting him out of her system. That had been a delusional dream. She closed her eyes with a lazy feeling and relaxed into his care.

  “Yeah,” she answered.

  He shifted his body over hers, pressing her into the bed. A delicious feeling of warmth and wellbeing curled through her.

  “So you won’t mind repeating it tonight.”

  His growl was soft as he nuzzled her neck and sent tendrils of anticipation through her. Her sleep and lust fogged brain finally woke up and instinctively withdrew from the possessiveness in his voice. She opened her eyes and with a slow, careful turn met his gaze. Bright blue eyes drilled into hers. They screamed ownership and poked at her memory. Who the fuck was this guy?

  “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” she answered softly.

  One night stands were supposed to end at one night, right? She couldn’t imagine getting used to him, getting used to the craving for him, and then him disappearing. And there was something not right here. She couldn’t ignore that. The growl deepened, sending fear skittering along her nerves. If she didn’t know better, she’d look around for an animal. Make that a menacing animal.

  “It is an excellent idea,” he said roughly, bending to nip her nape sharply. “Tonight.” A scrape of teeth. “And every night.” A bite that made her shudder. “For a very, very long time, Tara.”

  She was panting by the time he captured her lips, the foggy arousal back, in a searing kiss that curled her toes. With a gentle nudge he pinned her on her belly, trailing kisses down her spinal cord while his magical hands worked the sore muscles in her thighs. His mouth and hands met together over her ass. He spread the cheeks, his tongue made one long sweep from the small of her back to her aching clit. The feeling was so exquisite she arched, whether trying to move from his grasp or into it she couldn’t say. He moved between her legs, spreading her thighs to accommodate his broad shoulders and lapped at her, everywhere but the swollen nub of her clitoris. She was lost in bliss, whimpering as the craving for his possession filled her, when he pulled away. Consumed by lust, by the need to come, she tried rolling over, but he easily held her in place.

  “Please, Trey, you’re killing me here,” she begged.

  Fingers dancing over her clit. Teasing. His breath fanned hotly over her ass and her sex and her clitoris. She groaned, imagining all the raunchy things he could do to her. That she wanted him to do to her. She also knew he was a control freak and she was at his mercy. That might be awesome for her future orgasms, but it wasn’t so good for her independence. Right now, she didn’t care much.

  “You want this?” he asked pushing one finger slowly in her clenching channel.

  “Yes,” she said, moaning.

  Adding a swirl of his tongue over her clit, he asked, “Tonight?”

  “Yes.” This time it was a hiss, and she arched her hips up. How did he do this to her?

  “Every night,” he said, moving his thumb to slowly circle over her clitoris.

  “More,” she begged, reaching for an orgasm that was so damned close with barely a caress from him, and holding tight onto the twisted sheets.

  Trey pushed another finger into her pussy, pressing hard and faster against her, and finally made her come. He didn’t wait for the shudders racking her body to subside. Pulling her out of the bed with firm yet gentle hands, he bent her over the dresser standing next to it. She didn’t get the chance to brace herself before he pushed his cock into her. He clasped her hands, arms wrapped under her belly, and waited until she met his gaze in the mirror. She pushed back against him, the heat still racing through her blood, but he easily held her still. She gasped as he withdrew and plunged deep.

  “Mine.” He growled again, holding her dazed eyes in the mirror.

  She nodded, refusing to give voice to the part of her that agreed , her body burning for him while her brain screamed caution. When she moved back against him, he held her closer, teeth clamped on her shoulder. Instead of finding the show of dominance a turn off, she started to pulse around his cock. His thrusts began as a slow steady rhythm, building to pound into her with long, sure strokes. She felt the tightening in his body heralding his orgasm as another rolled through her.

  They collapsed panting together across the dresser and she tried to grapple with
what had just happened. Though it was incredible--she felt incredible at least--it almost felt like a punishment. As if he planned to use mind-blowing sex to get his way or deal with perceived defiance.

  Without speaking, he withdrew and carried her to the shower, gently cleaning her body and then his, while she stood under the now lukewarm water and watched. He toweled them off in silence and before she knew it, they were entering the back door of the darkened bakery. He left her studying the gleaming surfaces to make coffee, and she quickly lost herself in the morning routine.

  *

  Trey inhaled the scent of rich coffee and counted to ten. The aroma calmed him more than the counting, but at the same time reminded him of his differences. Most werewolves hated coffee. The smell was overwhelming their senses. So he liked coffee. So what? He was a loner in a wolf pack. Not so unusual. And a mate not in control of his urges. Also not so unusual.

  He groaned, the sound soft and carrying only to his own ears, and he faced the root of what bothered him. Tara didn’t know who he was, or what he was. Would she be able to accept him when she found out? Or would she be one of the rare mates who tried to go her separate way, unable to deal with the predator in her life?

  When she’d questioned their future, he had felt his wolf rise up and take control. After a taste of her, he knew he couldn’t let her go. The hunter in him would never give her up. A part of him was ashamed that he would treat his mate so roughly, but the other side sat back supremely satisfied. If he was a cat, he’d still be purring.

  Pouring two cups, he listened to pots banging behind the kitchen door, wondering if she was still knotted with tension from the drive over. He smirked. He'd be more than happy to take care of that for her. He pushed quietly through the swinging door and took a moment to look her over. She was lovely, wearing low-slung jeans and a t-shirt, but the dark circles under her eyes made him angry at himself and guilt stabbed him. He'd done that. Tonight he’d have to be more in control, make sure she got enough sleep. He sighed, wishing things were already settled between them. He knew he was in for a fight.