Kiss of Moonlight (17 page)

She
tsked
, starting to lose the sense of dread that had been weighing her down. She wanted him to lighten up just a little, as well. “Wow, you’re so ancient. I had no idea.”

He didn’t rise to her tease. Instead he released her and walked around to sit across from her again, those amber eyes narrowed to slits. “Does that bother you?
The age difference?”

She rolled her eyes. “Do you really think the fact that you’re thirteen years older than me makes me think you’re decrepit? Hello, we had sex twice today already. And I’m sure if I want more, you’ll be able to perform.”

The stunned look on his face made her smile widen and his expression shifted to lustful and predatory. He reached out to run one finger down her cheek, sending shivers through her.

“So brave now,” he murmured. “But you’re playing with fire, sweetheart. Don’t tempt me because you’ll find yourself flat on your back and naked in no time.”

And she wouldn’t mind it at all. Still, a question popped into her head. “Why aren’t you married or mated or whatever you call it already, Kyle? Cat told me a little bit about you and Dan and her mom. Do you still want her?”

His expression lightened the tiniest bit. “I never found a woman I wanted to give that much control of my life to. When a
lucani
finds his mate, they give up some part of their control over their pelt to that person. In some cases, a mate can control your
change,
can control a part of your magic. I’ve never met anyone I’d be willing to give that much power to.”

Yes, she could understand how that would be a problem with Kyle. She opened her mouth to say just that but Kyle’s head swung toward the door. Automatically, she turned as well but didn’t hear anything but his resigned sigh.

“
Shit
.
The second wave’s about to descend.”
Kyle brushed his thumb across her lips, his gaze holding hers steady even as she wanted to bolt.

Everything was coming at her so fast. Tam wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere and just sit.
Alone.

She needed to process information, something she could only do by herself. She felt the walls closing in around her, not threatening, just…confining. Through the ordeal of the rape and its aftermath, talking to so many people about herself and what had happened had given her the first panic attacks of her life.

She’d actually felt like she was dying. Her heart had raced and she couldn’t breathe. Every other second, she felt like she was either going to pass out or puke.

She felt the symptoms now, the shortness of breath, the slight dizziness. If she didn’t get a handle on it soon, she’d have a full-blown attack in minutes.

“Tam.”

She
blinked,
refocusing on Kyle’s narrowed eyes.

She felt her heart beginning to pick up speed and knew he’d be able to tell. She didn’t want him to think she couldn’t handle this, to think she wasn’t strong enough. She hated feeling like she wasn’t strong enough.

But the air in here was getting thin and her lungs felt starved for air.

As if he knew exactly what was happening, Kyle stood and grabbed her hand, pulling her off the chair and heading toward the door.

“Come on, babe. We’re going for a walk.”

In silence, they left the building through the back door. She heard other voices in the distance now, though she had no idea from which direction they were coming. The thick forest of trees into which they walked seemed to distort sound.

What she heard most clearly was the call of birds in the treetops as Kyle led her along a barely visible path that led deeper into the forest, away from the lodge.

Tam followed Kyle, who had no problem picking his way along the trail. She stumbled a few times on the rocks poking through the dirt but Kyle’s firm grip on her hand never let her fall.

As the air cooled and the sunlight dimmed due to the treetops, she let herself do nothing but take in the beauty of the trees and the birdsong.

And in a few minutes, she heard the soft trickle of water.

When Kyle finally stopped, they stood before a huge rock that looked like someone had slammed it into the ground from far above. A trickle of water bubbled out of a tiny fissure at the top and ran down into a pool of water that couldn’t really be called a pond. It was too small.

Ferns crowded around the moss-coated rock and tiny pink flowers covered the surface of the water as if someone had sprinkled confetti.

“I used to come out here after training when I needed to get away from everybody.” Kyle pointed to one of the rocks by the pond that had been worn smooth, so she plopped her butt there and watched him settle onto the ground at the base of the nearest tree. “It’s quiet.”

“And beautiful,” she said, taking a deep breath and feeling the tightness around her chest ease a little more. “It looks like a scene out of a fairy tale.
Like
Tinkerbell
should be flitting around.”

“If you’re out here at twilight, you might actually see some
candela
,” he said. “They’re
fata
, not exactly human-looking. They glow and have wings, kind of like fireflies. They’re hard to describe.”

As Kyle proceeded to tell her about other kinds of
fata
, Tam just sat and breathed, pushing everything but the sound of his voice out of her mind. Her body began to relax until, finally, she felt in control again.

“Kyle, will you show me how you change?”

He didn’t say anything right away, just watched her for several seconds. Then he stood and began to remove his clothes.

Her body began to burn with desire as he uncovered every inch of his gorgeous body. Her gaze traced the breadth of his shoulders and chest, the powerful muscles of his arms and the menacing black ink of his tattoos. Her gaze caught on the ridges of his abs as he pulled his shirt over his head, then fell to watch as he unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them down his strong legs, watching the tattoos there flex and dance.

When he was naked, he knelt on the ground, planted his hands in the forest floor and closed his eyes.

Drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on her forearm, she watched as fuzzy, colored light enveloped him, almost as if he glowed from within. She didn’t want to blink, tried to watch as Kyle began to transform, his human shape vibrating, almost like she was watching bad reception on a television.

She must have blinked though because she missed the moment Kyle went from man to wolf. Or maybe it just happened that fast because between one second and the next, the huge, beautiful black wolf she remembered from the other night at her cabin sat on his haunches on the other side of the pond, watching her with Kyle’s amber eyes.

She’d seen Cat change into her wolf and back into her human body. Cat’s small, black body and pointed, whiskered face had been adorable.

Kyle’s animal was deadly beautiful though not at all frightening. His sleek fur shone blue-black in the sunlight, the wolf’s haughty expression somehow comforting.
And familiar.

She wondered if he objected to being petted. The other night on the porch he hadn’t seemed to mind.

He didn’t move and she wondered if he thought she was scared.

“It doesn’t freak me out,” she said.
“The magic.
I’m actually thrilled to know there’s real magic in the world, that it’s not all darkness and gloom. It doesn’t even freak me out that you can turn yourself into a wolf. Does that mean I’m not normal to start?”

Kyle yipped and shook his entire body, his tail hitting the ground in an angry thump.

She held up one hand. “No, just listen.”

His head tilted again and she knew if he had eyebrows, they’d be arched.

Warmth filled her at the thought that she knew him so well in so short a time.

Could you really fall in love with someone at first sight? Or even over the course of a day?

And did it matter since she had to leave so he wouldn’t be hurt?

She still hadn’t figured out how she was going to sneak away. Not without bawling her eyes out.

Cat would be so hurt if Tam left without saying goodbye but she’d still have her father.

“I’ll never betray your secrets, Kyle. Not to anyone. I don’t really have any friends. My family is gone. I’ve never blabbed to other people about my life or my problems. I just wasn’t raised that way.”

The wolf huffed, rose to his paws then walked over to her and rubbed against her legs. His fur felt like rough velvet on her skin, sending shivers of sensation through her.

His snout bumped against her arm then nuzzled her cheek, his whiskers tickling.

“You really are beautiful, but you know that, don’t you?”

He shook his head, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t a denial. He seemed to be preening.

She smiled as he let her pet him, just sat there with his snout pointed up as she ran her hands down his back.

After several minutes, he gave a full-body shake, took several steps away from her then threw his head back and howled. And between one blink and the next, the outline of his body grew hazy again.

His transformation seemed to go slower this time, or maybe her eyes were becoming accustomed to what they were seeing.

She thought she actually caught the moments when his body passed from wolf to man and the expression of agony on Kyle’s face as he changed.

Then Kyle sat there again, naked and beautiful and staring at her with blazing amber eyes.

He didn’t move right away, just watched her, as if waiting for her to run screaming. Instead, she rose and closed the few feet between them. Reaching out, she ran her hand through his silky hair, almost as if she were petting him again. He tilted his head back, his eyes half closed as she scraped her nails on his scalp.

She wanted him, wanted to have him right here and now.

She didn’t think he’d object.

Sinking down onto her knees, she combed her other hand into his hair and pulled him to her, molding her lips on his and kissing him. Surprisingly, he let her, didn’t try to take over. He let her brush her lips against his before settling against them and sliding her tongue into his mouth. She licked at his teeth, wrapped her tongue around his and felt him groan deep in his chest.

His hands came up to settle on her waist, tightening on her hips before reaching down to slide under her skirt to get to her skin. His hands had nearly reached her cleft when she pulled away and looked into his eyes. He froze.

Her hands had settled on his shoulders but now they slid down his arms en route to his cock. She could feel the heat of it through the thin material of her dress, a branding iron against her stomach.

She wrapped one hand around the rigid length while the other cupped his heavy sac. He groaned again, his hands splaying over her hips, fingers tightening as if she might try to get away.

Pumping her hands up and down his shaft, she showed him without words that she was going nowhere.

Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his chest. His musky male scent inflamed her desire, making her hunger for him a beast clawing to get out. Bending farther, her lips reached his navel and she flicked out her tongue to taste the bead of sweat she found there.

“Tam.”

Kyle’s voice sounded rough, almost wild, but she ignored him as she bent farther, scooting back an inch so she could get her mouth where she wanted it.

Positioned over the tip of his cock.

She swore he was holding his breath, his hands almost painful on her hips. Before he could speak, she parted her lips and took him inside. He tasted salty, the skin stretched tight and oh so hot.

She wanted more and slid down until his cock hit the back of her throat, then retreated back to the tip.

He started breathing again in a rush and pulled his hands from beneath her dress to cup her head. She wanted to make him crazy, wanted him to feel as out of control as she felt when he made love to her.

She flattened her tongue along the shaft when she took him deep then swirled around the tip as she pulled back. His cock hardened even more and moisture seeped from the tip, tasting uniquely like Kyle.

“Tam.”

She knew what he wanted to tell her, and she tightened her hands on his hips so he couldn’t pull away.
Letting him know her intentions.

He’d given her so
much,
she wanted to give him this in return. Wanted it for
herself
.
Wanted to make him cry out her name as she brought him to orgasm.

And he did, as his cock jerked in her mouth and warm salty liquid spurted from him. She swallowed it all, not releasing his cock until he’d spent completely.

When she finally raised her head, she had only a glimpse of the carnal pleasure on his face before he grabbed her, laid her flat on the soft mossy patch and threw her skirt up over her belly.

Lifting her hips off the ground, he bent until he could put his mouth over her pussy, giving her only one, long slow lick before plunging his tongue into her sheath and fucking her with it.

Wicked flicks of his tongue against her clit alternated with the plunges. She reached for his shoulders, needing to touch his skin, to make sure he didn’t stop.

This man made her feel so much more alive than she ever had. Before her attack, she’d only been living half a life. Afterward, she hadn’t even had that.

Now, here with him, she burned with desire.

Closing her eyes, she saw flashes of light, almost like the magic that surrounded Kyle when he shifted. Her body tightened to the point of pain then shuddered and broke apart as she climaxed.

Practically panting, she let her hands flop to the ground as Kyle stretched out beside her on his back then lifted her so she sprawled over his body.

“I know you’d never betray us, Tam.”

Quiet confidence filled his voice and she couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry.

“
Everything’ll
be okay, hon.
We’ll
do this together. I won’t let anything happen to you.”