MoonlightTemptation (14 page)

And that was completely unacceptable.

He opened his mouth—

“Don’t even say it.” Ryan cut him off before he could speak.
“This is not the time for you to freak out.”

Dane bit back a reply that would have called Ryan’s
paternity into question and possibly damaged their long friendship. Besides, he
knew Ryan was right.

That didn’t mean he could control the way he felt.

And the way he felt about Evie… Hell, he couldn’t even begin
to sort that mess out now.

And that was dangerous. He didn’t have time for messy
emotions. He had research to conduct. A disease to cure. A little boy to save.

Why the fuck did he think he had time for a relationship?
Especially one as complicated as this. He’d made a huge, fucking mis—

Ryan rapped his knuckles on the table, drawing Dane’s
attention back to his best friend. Ryan’s gaze had sharpened to an edge Dane
rarely saw.

“Just tell me one thing, Dane. When you’re with her, does
anything else matter?”

Ryan held him with that stare for several seconds before
returning his gaze back to the veterinarian journal on the table.

And Dane picked up his coffee, cursing Ryan silently.

How the hell did the guy know the one thing to say
guaranteed to throw Dane off-kilter?

Because now that Ryan had said it, Dane couldn’t stop
thinking about it.

With more force than necessary, Dane pushed away from the
table. “I’m going to the lab.”

Ryan didn’t bother to look away from his magazine. “You need
to sleep, Dane.”

No, what he needed was to get a grip.

“Tell Evie I’ll have Alex delivered to her around two.
According to Grace, he should see an immediate improvement after the first
treatment.”

There. That caught Ryan’s attention. He looked up. “So you
already started him on the serum?”

“Yes, at six. He was sleeping when I left at eight. I
shouldn’t have left.”

Ryan’s mouth curved into a smile and it was all Dane could
do not to punch it off his face. Bastard thought he knew him so well.

Thing is, he did.

“Couldn’t stay away, huh?”

Dane’s hands curled into fists at his sides before he forced
them to relax. Ryan was baiting him and he refused to rise to it.

“I don’t have time for his. I need to take a shower and—”

“Then it’s all yours.”

Evie had emerged from the bathroom and was walking toward
him, her expression calm. Icy calm.

She was pissed at him. He smelled it on her, like the scent
of hot chili powder.

And beneath that, her scent. Which just revved up his libido
once again.

She walked over to the counter and stopped next to Ryan, who
didn’t hesitate to put his arm around her and draw her onto his lap. She tensed
for a brief second but Ryan wouldn’t let her freeze up.

Instead, he pressed a kiss just below her ear and she
shivered.

Dane couldn’t help himself. He circled the counter, kissed
her in the exact same spot as Ryan then turned and headed for the shower.

Leaving Evie blinking and Ryan smirking.

And Dane fucking confused as all hell.

Ryan held back a sigh but only barely.

He’d thought he was going to have to punch a little sense
into Dane.

But Dane had surprised him. And Evie too, apparently.

Dane had kissed her and she’d stilled like a stroked cat.

And allowed Ryan to hold her on his lap.

He couldn’t help the analogy. She reminded him of a timid
stray, afraid to let anyone pet her for fear they’d hurt her, yet she was
starved for affection.

Evie gave the sigh he’d held back. “What are we doing here,
Ryan?”

He heard a bit of sharp claw in the question and figured
he’d better have a good answer. “We’re getting to know one another.”

She turned to look him in the eyes. “And then what?”

Good question. “Then we see where it takes us.”

“Do you love him?”

Her question startled a laugh out of him. “Yeah, I do. But
not the ‘Hey, I wanna strip you naked and jump your bones’ kind of way.”

“So…it’s not sexual?”

“And it’s not romantic.”

“And there’s no jealousy over me?”

“Do you want there to be?”

“No. God no! I’m just…”

Ryan smiled at the wide-eyed look of panic on her face.
“Confused?”

She sighed again. “We could start there.”

His smile widened. “Horny?”

She gave him a very female look of exasperation. “I’ve had
more sex in the past twenty-four hours than I’ve had in the past three years.
And don’t look so glad about that. I am not horny. At least, not right this
minute.”

He laughed again and pressed a kiss to her nape, loving the
shiver that ran through her. “Then why don’t you let me take you back to your
house so you can get changed?”

Nodding, she slid from his lap, a small smile perking up the
corners of her lips. “Fine. Just let me—”

The knock at the door caught them both off guard.

If Evie hadn’t been standing there in nothing but Dane’s shirt,
he would have answered the door. He knew almost everyone in the den and they
all knew him. But he knew Dane wouldn’t want Evie to feel uncomfortable and the
look on her face showed sheer panic.

“Get dressed, Evie, then we’ll leave.”

She nodded and hurried to the bedroom. When he heard the
door close, Ryan walked to the front door and checked the sidelight.

And nearly groaned.

Shit, fuck and double damn. This was sure to send Dane into
conniptions.

His mother had impeccable timing.

Forcing a smile, Ryan opened the door, knowing she had
already scented him. Though a
lucani
’
s
eyesight was pure human,
their sense of smell rivaled a real wolf’s.

“Good morning, Patricia.”

A soft smile lit Patricia Dimitriou’s classically beautiful
face. “Good morning, Ryan. Dane didn’t tell me you were visiting.”

Swinging open the door, he waved in Dane’s mother, allowing
her to press a quick, cool kiss to his cheek.

It’d taken Ryan years to attain that level of affection from
the woman Dane idolized. Patricia was not a cold woman, but she wasn’t
demonstrative, not even with her own children. It wasn’t that she didn’t love
her children, it was just the way she was built.

She’d needed that backbone of steel to take care of a
husband whose body and mind slowly failed while she’d raised two children
basically on her own.

“I just got here yesterday. I’m…taking a vacation.”

“You look like you could use one, dear.” She stopped just
inside the door and cocked her head to the side. “Did you bring someone with
you?”

Shit, he really didn’t want to lie to Dane’s mother and he
didn’t think he could, anyway. So he figured, fuck it. “No, I didn’t. Would you
like some coffee? I’ve got to run but Dane should be out of the shower in a few
minutes.”

Moving to the kitchen, he heard Patricia’s sensible heels
clicking against the hardwood floor almost tentatively as she followed him.

“I only have a few minutes. I stopped on my way into town.
I’m taking Miranda to New York for a show and I thought…”

She turned as Dane emerged from the hall leading back to the
bedrooms. If his smile seemed at all strained, his mother chose to ignore it.

“Good morning, Mother. I didn’t know you were stopping by.”

“I only have a few minutes. Miranda and I are leaving for
New York and I wanted to ask you again if you’d like to come. But I can see you
have other plans.”

Dane nodded, showing no signs of stress. Yes, the man had
inherited more than his eye color from his mother. Patricia Valenti Dimitriou’s
ancestors had long-held titles in the Etruscan hierarchy. And while the
lucani
no longer recognized any title other than king, no one could doubt Patricia and
her children descended from nobility.

That air of supreme confidence Dane wore like a second skin
suited him to a T, just as it did Patricia.

“I’m sure you and Miri will have a good time without me.
You’ll be able to shop to your heart’s content.”

“Yes, your sister will enjoy that.” She paused and Ryan
braced for impact. “I was hoping you would stop by Ione’s. She has some papers
for you to sign for the investments your father left you. She’s brilliant, of
course. Have you met Ione, Ryan? She moved back to the den not long ago. She’d
been living in Philadelphia, working for one of the large brokerage firms
there. But she missed her home and her family. She and Dane have been close
since they were children.”

And there was the twist of the knife in Dane’s soft spot.
His family.

Dane stiffened, though Ryan knew he’d never dress down his
mother. Especially not in front of other people. Though she exasperated him,
Dane worshipped his mother. And she’d set him on a pedestal other mortals would
have fallen off long before now.

“No, I’ve never had the pleasure, though Dane has spoken of
her. It was nice to see you, Patricia, but I’ve got to run in a few minutes.
I’ll let you talk to Dane.”

Ryan’s gaze caught and held Dane’s, who acknowledged Ryan’s
concern with a faint nod. Patricia knew there was another person in the house.
She knew that person was female but she was also smart enough to know what
battles to fight and when.

And Ryan knew this was a battle she didn’t think she could
lose.

Pushing through the bedroom door and shutting it behind him,
he found Evie, fully dressed, staring out the window. She wore another of
Dane’s t-shirts and the jeans she’d worn yesterday.

Damn it, he should have thought further ahead and had her
bring a bag yesterday but he probably would’ve scared her off. And maybe
getting out of here would help her regain a little composure before she met
with her students.

But first they needed to wait for Dane to get rid of his
mother before they could leave.

Evie didn’t turn when she heard Ryan enter the room.

She didn’t speak either. The
lucani
had amazing
hearing and she figured Dane wouldn’t want his mother to hear anything she had
to say.

Which wasn’t fair. He hadn’t ordered her to stay in here and
avoid his mother.

She was the one who’d cowered in here as if she were
ashamed. Ashamed of what she’d done with these two men.

She wasn’t. She refused to be.

And yet…

Dane’s mother was out there.

She’d never met the woman, but she’d heard about her from
Tira and Nica. Apparently Patricia Dimitriou had a stick up her ass about Dane
marrying the perfect woman, which meant mating a woman with pure
lucani
blood.

And Evie certainly didn’t fall into that category. Of course,
just because they’d had sex didn’t mean mating was next on the list.

Hell, she didn’t think Dane wanted to mate with anyone.

She couldn’t imagine he’d want to give up his autonomy. Not
for anyone.

And yet last night and this morning, he’d made love to her
as if he couldn’t keep his hands off her.

The situation was enough to make her head explode.

Stifling a sigh, she felt Ryan squeeze her shoulder before
he headed for the bathroom, closing the door behind him then turning on the
shower.

Ryan hadn’t finished by the time Dane opened the door, so it
couldn’t have been that long.

“Evie.”

She turned, wondering why she felt so damn hurt.

It wasn’t as if he’d told her to stay in the room. She’d
made that decision herself.

But Dane’s expression gave her nothing to go on. She had no
idea what he was thinking.

“I must go check on Alex. Are you—” He sighed and ran a hand
over his head, barely messing the short strands. She’d realized last night she
loved running her hands over it.

“I’m fine. I understand. Ryan’s going to take me home to
change. I’ll drive myself back to meet the boys.”

“I want—” His jaw clenched. “I’d like you to come back
tonight. To stay here tonight.”

Her hands went to her hips as her gaze narrowed down to
glare at him. “Is that a question? Or a demand?”

His eyes closed for a brief second before he took a deep
breath. “It’s a request.”

Her stomach erupted with butterflies. An acceptance leaped
onto her tongue but she bit it back. Yes, she wanted to come back tonight. But
she also didn’t want to appear too eager.

“Dane…this has all happened so—”

He closed the space between them in two steps, wrapped his
hand around the back of her neck and closed his mouth over hers. His kiss stole
her breath and, amazingly, calmed the butterflies in her stomach.

Opening her mouth, she drew in his heat, let it warm her.
She flicked her tongue against his lips and nearly melted when he groaned into
her mouth. He kissed her, hard and fast, and when he released her, she nearly
swooned.

Damn the man. He left her breathless.

But he certainly wasn’t unaffected by her.

His cheeks held a dark flush and his breath sawed in and out
of his lungs.

“Come back tonight.”

He didn’t even pretend to make it a question but she nodded
anyway.

“Good. I’ve got to check on Alex. I’ll see you when I bring
him for class.”

Then he turned and left.

And her lips curved in a smile she couldn’t contain.

* * * * *

“So, do you want to talk about last night? Or do you just
want me to ignore the fact you didn’t come home? And that it looks like you won’t
be back tonight either.”

Cat sprawled on Evie’s bed, her smile wide as she watched
Evie throw clothes in a bag.

Evie’s own smile couldn’t be contained. “Yes, I want to talk
about last night. No, I’m not coming back tonight. I can’t
wait
to talk
about last night because I just don’t know what to think.”

“About what?”

“About what they want from me.” With a groan, Evie dropped
the bag on the floor and fell onto the bed next to Cat. “Is this a
relationship? Or just sex? Is it only a fling or—”