GODDESS OF THE MOON (A Diana Racine Psychic Suspense) (34 page)

“I’m sorry.” He brushed away another tear.

“
Y
our job
may be to make babies;
it’s not
mine.”

Seth didn’t speak for a while. “
After you left―after the last time we were together
―
I’ve been only an organizer because my sperm didn’t take with anyone else. They even harvested it, but
nothing happened
. There’s nothing wrong, but
…
” his gaze locked on Maia’s, “I can only succeed with you.”

H
eat engulf
ed Maia’s
body as if flames licked around her, searing her
flesh
. “This has to stop. You must know that.”

“We’re in too deep. Our culture has been taught from birth, drilled into us.
Rejecting
everything we know is going against family.
Against my father and mother, against my sister
―
your mother.”

Maia bolted to her feet.
“Selene is not my mother
.
My mother threw herself out a window because life was too unbearable
, a
nd
your sister
wait
ed
in the wings with her talons sharpened to drag my father into this abomination. It’s the old story of Faust, isn’t it? Sell your soul to the devil for riches. But this story has a twist
―
sex. Then one day the devil calls in
his
marker. Am I
my father’s marker
, Seth? Am I?”

“Stop
!
”
Seth tipped over his chair when he got up.
“T
his compound
can’t
be exposed. The world wouldn’t understand
our ways
.”

“Do you understand? I grew up in it too. Not from birth like you, but early enough to be indoctrinated. I bought into
the whole package
until I was forced to have a third child.
Then I
found out about
the kidnappings.
It’s
one thing to keep
our ways within the group, quite
another to destroy the lives of others by stealing their babies. Don’t you see how wrong
this
is?”

Seth
raked
his fingers through his hair. Frustration etched his handsome face, the lines deepe
ning
. But he
kept silent
.

“I know
the agony of having my baby
torn from my breast. Now we’re doing it to innocent people.
People who weren’t brought up like we were.
They’re in pain and we’re
the cause
. We
must put an end to this
.”

“Don’t say that to anyone else, Maia. As much as I’d like to keep you here, I want you to stay because you want to, not because the leaders
forbid you to leave
.”

“
Y
ou’ll tell
what I said
because
d
uty is burned into your brain, just as fucking is.
They’ll never let me go.
Not unless you help me.
The
kidnapped babies
must be returned
to their parents.”

“
I need
time to think.
”

He’s wavering.
Could he finally see the evil?

“
The
y
’ll do whatever it takes to stop me.
Even my father.
”
Seth snorted.
“
Especially my father
.
Once I break the code,
everything
’s over
.
F
or everyone.
You know as well as I
that s
ex and riches are powerful incentives.
Incentives my father
and his father before him
used to recruit the
others
.
”

“
P
eople literally sell their souls to the devil, don’t
they?
Just like we did.”

“We had no choice. Besides, Satan is no different than any other god. Instead of guilt, we have pleasure. How can that be wrong? How can love be wrong?” He moved toward her
,
traced h
is fingertips around her nipple
. “It wasn’t wrong between us, and you know it.”

Her skin tingled from his touch
, excitement shimmered down her spine
. “No,” she said, pushing him away. She couldn’t do this, but she was already limp in his presence. She mustn’t
fall
under his spell again. “Please, Seth, no. I can’t.”

“I know you want me,” he said, moving even closer. “I
hear
your
heartbeat,
feel
the tremors when I touch you.”

His hot whispers in her ear sent
pulses to her sex
.
I have
to resist him
. “I can’t. Please stop
,
”
she begged
. “Please.”

He backed away, the hand that caressed her frozen in midair. “I want to make love to you
more than anything else in the world
.”

Seth always had power over her, ever since they were children. She wanted to believe him, but he was a trained seducer, like his sister. “I suppose you’d keep me here forever, making your babies.”

“It would be my pleasure, but only if you want
to
. I won’t force you again. I promise.”

“I can’t do anything until the stolen babies are returned. I won’t.”

He shook his he
ad, but said nothing.

“
W
hat about Anat?” Maia asked. “Will you keep her locked up forever? She’s your niece, Selene’s daughter, my father’s daughter, my half
-
sister.
She and Cal were
the only one
s
who fought the evil from the beginning.
”

“There was no evil here until the new babies. Just love. As for Anat, she’s well cared for. She has everything she needs, and she has her baby.”

“What
?
”
Maia said
, her voice pitched high
.
“
D
id you drug her too?”

“Honestly? I don’t know how it happened or with whom. I told her
with her beauty and brilliance she’d have to conceive
sooner or later
. She has visitors. I’d say Cal Easley, but I don’t think so for other
reasons
. I
f
she knows whose baby it is, she’s not telling, and her visitors say she didn’t have sex with them. One of them is lying.” He turned to her. “Maybe you can find out.”

Even if she found out,
Maia
wouldn’t tell Seth.
Anat, beautiful Anat
.
S
o different from
Maia
.
“Let me see her
, a
nd
I demand to
see my children.” She paused.
“Our children.”

* * * * *

S
elene
sidled next to Silas
into the cushy down of the sofa and flung one long leg over the other. “Do you really think Maia will behave, Silas? She hasn’t been herself lately.”

“What do you want me to do? Lock her up lik
e Anat and throw away the key?”

She
coyly twirled a strand of hair around her finger.
“It’s an idea.”

Selene’s tone indicated she was joking, but Silas knew her too well to be taken in. “
A
month or two at the compound will do the trick
.
”

“If Seth can’t handle her we might have to resort to something drastic. He’s the only one who holds sway over her. She can’t resist him.”

“That’s because the Cranes are irresistible, my dear
, b
ut even Seth may have trouble this time, like last. She doesn’t want another child. Not even with your baby brother.”

“Wait and see.”

“I can’t keep her locked up. I won’t. No one knows about Anat and the others, but Maia has a job. She has a life, such as it is.
Dione
sister will ask questions.
D
o I tell my other daughter her sister won’t be coming back?”

“
W
hat if some nosy reporter starts digging?
Not to mention Diana Racine and
her
cop lover, especially after that fiasco with those two street thugs. They could blow everything to bits. We can’t allow that to happen. We have to control them.”

“We
will, but first things first.”

“Is that why you’re arranging these readings?”

“Of course.
She’s Diana, Goddess of the Moon
,
daring and curious
, unable
to resist tempting fate. It’s as much a part of her as her gift. Besides, your father wants her.”

“I don’t know why. She’s such a puny little thing with none of the attributes to make
a man happy.”

“
Phillip
doesn’t want her like that.
Y
our mother would
never
consent to a
nother
woman.”
He
slid his hand into the warm notch between her legs. “Is that all you think about?”

“Yes.
Pleasing
a man has been my destiny since the day I was born
, just
like my mother from her birth. I don’t hear any complaints from you, considering your hand is in my crotch.”

“
B
ecause you’re irresistible.”

Selene inched closer until she was almost on top of him. She unbuttoned his shirt and eased her hand inside. “If Daddy wants Diana Racine, he shall have her. And I shall have you. Isn’t that what you want, darling?” She buried her face into his chest, nibbling his
nipples
,
biting hard until she drew blood, which she
sucked with unabashed delight.

“
Oooh
,
yesss
,” Compton murmured, pain stimulating the swelling in his loins. “Angel of Darknes
s, what you do makes me crazy.”

She stood up and slipped out of her skirt and blouse, revealing skin the color of rich cream and breasts that swelled over a low-cut lacy black bra. She wore no panties. “
R
elax,” she pur
red, “and let me pleasure you.”

“You’re so cruel. I’m about to burst, but you know that.” Compton’s eyes closed and his head
lolled back in ecstasy. “You beautiful witch
,” he said, reaching around her back to the snaps on her bra. Her skin felt like the velvet touch of an orchid
petal
on his fingertips, and he caressed her back in long strokes
as he inhaled
the sweet scent of sex. She pulled back, as she always did,
teasing
him
into desiring
more
of her.
Le
aving him breathless.

“I saw the way that cop looked at you the other night. I saw his hard-on. He couldn’t resist you any more than I can.”

“
Hmm, I’m not so sure
,” she said, stroking herself. “I think he was playing the game.”

“You found him attractive, didn’t you?”

“Yes.
The color of his skin, his strange
,
exotic eyes.
He’s an incredibly
sexy
man.
What’s more
irresistible
is he doesn’t seem to know it.
”

“And you wanted him.”

“Yes. I liked the way he moved, like a cat. I imagine he’d be an excellent partner in bed. Does that turn you on?”

“
T
hinking of you with a man
outside our group
has an erotic effect on me. I could watch you fuck him
, b
ut then I’d have to kill him. I couldn’t let anyone live who had taken you.”
He drew her near, put his lips to her breasts, then his tongue, then his teeth. Her moan
hinted of
pain
but also
pleasure,
and
he felt himself grow
harder.