MoonlightTemptation (4 page)

Chapter Two

Evie blinked, her eyes flashing wide as heat kindled between
her legs and in the pit of her stomach.

Her mouth dried at the unexpectedly devastating smile on
Dane’s face.

If she read that smile correctly…

He wanted her.

Holy shit.

That was… What?

Scary? Thrilling? Dumbfounding?

No, that couldn’t be right. She had to be reading him wrong.

For the past hour and a half, Dane hadn’t said more than a
handful of words, usually in response to a specific question from Ryan.

He hadn’t been arrogant or disinterested or cold. He’d just
been…Dane. Quiet. Always watchful with those sharp, dark eyes. Never speaking
unless he had something meaningful to say.

She’d grown used to his prolonged silences.

Now Ryan… From the moment Ryan had suggested a do-over, he’d
allowed her to breathe again. To actually remember what a normal interaction
with a guy should be like.

Of course, she’d never been on a date with two guys.

But this wasn’t a date.

At least, she didn’t think this was a date.

It was dinner.

With the man she lusted after but had come to believe she
could never have.

And a man who made her feel sexy and smart and desirable. A
man she’d fallen for in the space of a few hours.

Ryan was exactly the kind of guy she’d have gone after
before her life had fallen into the land of werewolves and witches.

He laughed, he joked. He teased and flirted.

It’d been a damn long time since she’d flirted with anyone.
Since she’d
wanted
to flirt with anyone.

She hadn’t been sure she remembered how.

Well, she remembered. And she wanted.

But what exactly did she want?

Tilting her head to the side, she let her smile curve just
the corners of her mouth. “So tell me, Dane, where else do you excel?”

Their gazes caught and held, his dark eyes narrowed on hers,
as if he was gauging her reaction to whatever it was he wanted to say. Which
made her wonder what he expected her to do.

Shit, now doubt began to nip at her confidence. She’d never
been completely comfortable in her own skin. Which was why she’d developed an
addiction to heroin.

She dropped her gaze to stare at the table. What the hell
did she think she was doing? She barely had a handle on these new, freaky
powers she’d been cursed with.

And now she thought she could handle this?

With a sigh, she shook her head and started to rise but Dane
reached across the table and grabbed her hand.

Her gaze immediately flew back to his and she swore she saw
anger in his eyes.

“Don’t. Gods damn it.” With an angry huff, he released her
and stood. “I… This is my fault. This dinner wasn’t meant to upset you. Or push
you. I shouldn’t have come. Ryan, I’ll see you back at the house.”

She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but she
didn’t know what to say.

And he’d already made it to the front door. He grabbed the
knob and twisted it with leashed violence. As he strode through, she had a
glimpse of him ripping his shirt over his head and a flash of golden skin.

She registered the ripple and play of sleek muscle before
the door closed behind him. If she looked out the window, she knew she’d see
him stripping off the rest of his clothes.

He had to take off his clothes before he shifted or they’d
be ruined in the transformation.

As with everything, there were rules to magic.

Which was just weird.

“God damn it.” Ryan’s harsh mutter made her turn to him. He
sat at the table, watching her, his expression tight with regret. “I’m sorry,
Evie. This wasn’t…what we—what
I
intended.”

Frankly, she had no idea what they’d intended.

As if she’d flipped a switch, her internal walls began to
rise, shutting off any and all emotion.

Those walls had been her saving grace for so many years.
They’d helped her get clean and helped her stay clean. They’d kept the bad
stuff at bay. The fear, the cravings, the emotions.

So maybe they’d kept some of the good stuff away too but she
had enough drama in her life right now. Why would she even think about
compounding it by getting involved with a guy? And two was definitely out of
the question.

Rising from her seat, she started to gather the plates. Time
to clean up the mess. She was good at it. She’d had a lot of practice.

“Thank you for dinner, Ryan. I appreciate the effort but you
should probably get going. I’m tired and I’m afraid I won’t be much fun.”

“Does that work for you? Shutting down?”

She nearly stumbled over her feet as she headed for the
kitchen but caught herself in time to save the dishes. Still, her hands
trembled as she set them in the sink. After a deep breath, she turned to
confront the man she really didn’t know staring at her.

As her back straightened, her defense mechanisms kicked in.
“You don’t know the first thing about me and I certainly don’t know anything
about you. What the
fuck
are you doing here?”

Ryan had to work to keep the smile off his face as he leaned
back into his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

Here was the Evie he’d wanted to meet all night. The Evie
Dane had told him was under the fear and the uncertainty.

This was the woman who’d beaten a drug addiction and
depression through sheer force of will.

He definitely liked this Evie better.

But it’d taken Dane’s leaving to get her to emerge.

He’d worry about that later. Right now, she’d asked him a
couple of questions.

“You want the unvarnished truth? Or you want me to sugarcoat
it for you?”

She rolled her eyes. “Please. Give it to me straight.”

“Fine. Your friends are worried about you. You’re a
recovering addict who discovered powers you never dreamed about. You’re
terrified you’re going to slip up and hurt someone. How am I doing so far?”

She took a deep breath, her small breasts pressing against
her arms, distracting the hell out of him. If all she needed to do to distract
him was breathe, they were in more trouble than he’d thought.

Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Trouble wasn’t always
bad.

He continued to stare at her, watching that blank slate
she’d forced over her expression begin to crack around the edges. It took a
damn strong will to keep it in place.

“They don’t trust me, do they?” Her voice sounded distant,
unemotional.

He really hated that. “No, I didn’t say that. I said they’re
worried. And can you honestly tell me you’re not worried too? Worried about
slipping back into old habits?”

She blinked and hurt flashed through her eyes. “They think
I’m going to use again.”

He rose from his chair, unable to stay seated any longer,
and walked to her side by the sink. He didn’t give in to the urge to touch her.
Not yet. “How long have you been clean, Evie?”

Her lips trembled but when she spoke, her tone was steady.
“Three years, eight months, five days.”

He let his hands settle on her shoulders, drawing her
closer. Unable not to. “I’ve got almost ten years under my belt. Some days are
better than others. Some days I don’t remember what it was like to have that
monkey on my back. Some days, I think about it more than I should. Those are
usually the days I’m stressed about something else. Work, life, family. When it
gets bad, I call Dane. When it gets bad, who do you call?”

She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

“You won’t talk to your brother, because you don’t want to
worry him. I get that. And you don’t want to scare Cat. She’s barely seventeen.
Besides, she wouldn’t understand, would she?”

Evie shook her head. “She’s wise beyond her years in some
areas and innocent as a baby in others.”

“And I left innocent behind a long time ago.”

He bent to kiss her, giving her no time to back away. He
felt her take a deep breath, as if preparing to submerge herself in water, just
before his lips landed on hers.

Her eyelids fell as if she were blocking out the sight of
him but she didn’t pull away. Beneath his hands, she stilled, even as her lips
parted for him.

He’d only meant to taste her. He hadn’t meant to devour her.

But as soon as she opened to him, lust roared up with a
vengeance. He crushed her soft lips beneath his, slid his tongue into her mouth
and proceeded to lose all common sense.

Sweet, hot. Christ, she was sweet.

She let him kiss her, let him tilt her head so he could
slide his tongue between those soft lips and plunder her mouth. Her
acquiescence made his cock throb and harden.

He drew back, only centimeters, to draw in air but dived
right back in, opening her mouth wider, kissing her harder.

The fingers of one hand threaded through the short strands
of her hair, soft, silky, baby-fine.

He wanted to rub it against his chest, his thighs. Let it
brush against his cock.

Lust burned low in his gut, flashed hotter and brighter,
then spread like quicksilver. He crowded closer to her, drew her body against
his, seeking her heat.

Even fully clothed, she burned against him. Her breasts
nestled against his chest, small but firm mounds he wanted to get his mouth on.
They’d barely fill his palm, but
fuck
, he wanted to suck on her nipples
and hear her cry out his name.

He wanted to watch as Dane stripped her naked, bent her over
the arm of a chair and fucked her. And when he couldn’t wait any longer to
touch her, he’d sink his cock between her pretty lips and let her suck him off.

As if she’d read his thoughts, she moaned and wrapped her
arms around his shoulders. Her hands, so small and delicate, gripped him
tightly, short fingernails digging into the bunched muscles.

He wanted to order her to put her hands under his shirt. To
scrape those short little nails along his skin while he spread her legs and
sank into her heat.

Groaning low in his throat, he felt her shiver against him.
Her tongue flicked against his, tentative.

He didn’t want tentative. He wanted the Evie who’d pulled
herself through a hellacious ordeal. The woman strong enough to put up with
him. And strong enough to stand up to Dane.

His hips pressed forward, seeking to rub his cock between
her legs but she was too short.

So he let his hands slide down her back until he reached her
waist. Then he spread his hands on her hips and lifted her.

She weighed practically nothing, slight and tiny and… Aw
hell, this was moving too damn fast.

Still, his arms tightened around her as he lifted her
higher, encouraging her to wrap her legs around his waist. She might not weigh
more than a hundred pounds but she was wiry strong.

Her mound brushed against his cock through the layers of their
clothing then pressed against it. The pressure made him groan. He arched
forward, rubbing against her, seeking just a little relief from the burning
lust.

He couldn’t do what he wanted and strip her down. Not yet.
She wasn’t ready for that.

He needed to pull back, to let them both cool down a little.

But it took him several minutes before he could drag his
mouth away from hers.

She tasted too good, felt too good in his arms. Every soft
inch of her pressed against him.

When he finally managed to get a few inches between their
lips, he had to take one more kiss before he made a move to release her.

She immediately released her legs from around his waist and
stood, taking a step away from him. Her head dropped but he reached out and
tugged on her hair to get her to open her eyes and look up at him.

The dazed passion on her face made his gut clench and his
balls tighten even further.

“Evie.”

She took a deep breath, her lips parting to allow her to get
more air. As if she couldn’t.

She blinked once, twice, then shook her head. As if trying
to get her bearings.

Join the club.

His brain had a few glitches at the moment and, if he stayed
any longer, he’d kiss her again. He might not want to leave at all.

And that would be rushing things.

More than they already were.

God damn Dane.

If he’d been here… Hell, if he’d stayed, maybe they wouldn’t
have stopped.

“Evie, are you okay?”

She raised her eyebrows, those delicate arches perfectly
conveying her emotional state. Confused arousal.

Then she took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. “I’m
fine.”

And maybe she really was. He wasn’t convinced she was as
damaged as Dane seemed to think.

He smiled and watched her gaze dip down to his mouth for a
brief second. “Glad to hear it. So, I’ll see you tomorrow. Dane said you like
to run. I thought we could meet up and do a few miles.”

It took her a few seconds to nod but when she did, her smile
made a tentative return appearance. “What’s your pace?”

“I can hold my own at an eight-minute mile.”