MoonlightTemptation (9 page)

“So when do you want to start?”

Evie’s smile broke free for exactly two seconds before she
reined it in. “Whenever it’s convenient for everyone else. I don’t exactly have
a regular job.”

Kyle nodded. “You’ll need supplies. I’ll get your brother
to—”

“Ryan can take her for whatever she needs,” Dane said. “I
need him to pick up a few things for me too.”

Kyle’s gaze slid from Dane to Evie for a brief second before
he nodded again. Dane’s back stiffened as he saw the slight smile Kyle didn’t
bother to hide.

“Absolutely. Ryan it is. I’ll have the old school room in
the common building set aside for you. Thanks for offering your time, Evie.”

Now her smile widened and Dane felt his cock harden and
throb. “I can’t wait to get started.”

Chapter Four

Ryan sipped a Coke, sprawled on a chair watching Evie sleep
on the couch in Dane’s living room.

She’d been on her feet most of the day as they’d run around
getting the supplies she wanted for teaching and the more “specialized”
equipment Dane had wanted.

Ryan didn’t mind being the errand boy. Especially since he’d
gotten to spend the time with Evie. And her tentative flirting.

Which had been more damn arousing than outright seduction.

She’d practiced on him and he’d loved it.

The more time he spent with her, the more he fell under her
spell.

She was…sweet. Softhearted. Beautiful.

A little lost.

She made a man want to put his body in front of hers and
protect her from the cold, cruel world.

He didn’t mean to make her sound like a stray but, in a way,
that’s exactly what she was.

And Ryan had a huge, fucking soft spot for strays.

At his practice in Philadelphia, people dropped off their
unwanted pets on the doorstep all the time. Between him and the other vets in
his practice, they managed to find homes for most of them.

Ryan had never had time for a pet, not between his
twelve-hour days at the practice and his teaching gig at Penn.

He’d taken this semester off, though, because he’d felt
burnout creeping up on him. His fuse had been shorter, his attention slipping.
As if he’d been waiting for something to happen.

And when Dane had called to ask him to come, he’d told his
partners he needed a couple of weeks. They’d agreed without a fight. Obviously,
they thought he needed a break too.

What had he been waiting for?

Evie sighed and shifted on the couch, one hand curled under
her pale cheek, eyes tightly closed.

Had he been waiting for her?

What the hell was he doing here?

Dane snapped his fingers and Ryan came running. Wasn’t that
how it always worked?

Although to be fair, Ryan knew if he needed Dane for
anything, Dane would be there, no questions asked.

Friends did that for each other. And he and Dane had a
friendship forged in blood. Dane’s blood.

When the door opened minutes, or maybe it was hours, later,
Evie still slept.

Ryan transferred his gaze to Dane as he slipped silently
into his own house. As if he knew Evie was sleeping.

And he probably did.

Dane looked almost as worn out as Evie did as he walked over
to the couch, stared down at her for several seconds, then looked at Ryan and
jerked his head toward his study, the closest room with a door.

Dane had already slumped into the chair behind his desk when
Ryan got there. One hand rubbed at his temples while the other rooted around
the desk drawer for something. Probably aspirin for a headache.

Ryan closed the door but left enough of a gap that they
could hear her if she woke. Then he sat in the chair on the other side of the
desk, watching Dane dry-swallow two pills.

“I’ve gotta be back in the lab in an hour to see how the
serum’s progressing but I needed some fresh air and something to eat. Is Evie
okay?”

And Dane had wanted to see Evie, though he wouldn’t admit
it. “She’s tired. I’m pretty sure she’s not getting much sleep at night.”

Dane’s gaze narrowed on him. “You don’t think she’s up for
this?”

Ryan shook his head. “I didn’t say that. I don’t know her as
well as you do, Dane. Do you think she’s up for this?”

“I wouldn’t let her do it if I didn’t think she was.”

Ryan had to laugh at that, if only silently. There was Dane
the almighty again, so fucking sure he knew the right solution to every
problem.

“She’s not a child, Dane. And she’s not your possession to
order around.”

Dane didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he shut his eyes and
let his head fall back against the chair. “I never said she was. I just don’t
want her to get hurt.”

“How the hell can tutoring three children hurt her? You’re
the one who’s going to hurt her.”

That got a response. “Fuck off, Ryan,” Dane practically
growled. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I see the way she stares at you, Dane. And I see the way
you look at her when you think no one’s watching. Why can’t you just admit you
want her?”

“Of course I want her.
Vaffanculo
, why the
fuck
do you think I’m jumping through fucking hoops for her?”

“Then why do you keep pushing me away?”

Dane froze, his gaze cutting behind Ryan to the door. And
Evie.

Ryan turned, and his first instinct was to go to her. To
wrap his arms around her, put his mouth on hers and kiss her.

She looked like a woman on a mission. Confused but
determined.

And Ryan could only hope that meant the ache in his gut and
the stiffness of his cock were about to be relieved.

If Dane didn’t manage to fuck this up.

“Evie…”

She walked into the room as she did every place she entered.
Slowly, as if entering a minefield.

And maybe she felt this was. Hell, Ryan felt his own muscles
tense.

“I really thought you hated me, Dane, after I called your
wolf that first time.” Her expression held so much regret, mixed with a
tentative longing. “I know how much you hate losing control.”

Stress made Dane’s voice lower than normal. “I don’t hate
you, Evie. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

“Then why do you act like I’m a leper? Like you can’t wait
to be away from me? Why did you call your best friend to come babysit me?”

“Ryan’s not here to babysit you. Gods damn it, Evie, I don’t
think you need a babysitter.”

“Then why?” She turned to Ryan with an apologetic look,
pleading with him to understand. Ryan gave her what she wanted. He nodded,
encouraging her to go on. And when she smiled at him before turning back to
Dane, his blood began to heat. “Why did you bring another man here to sleep
with me?”

Brave Evie.

And smart too. She was getting to Dane. Ryan could see his
composure begin to slip, his frustration and his lust combining to bring down
all those nice walls he used to keep everyone at a distance.

“Because I knew you’d connect with him.” Dane practically
spit out the words. “I knew he’d be good for you in a way I can’t be. Make no
mistake. I want you, Evie. So does Ryan. But if you don’t want to get involved
with both of us, if that’s not what you want, then say so now and I’ll walk out
the door.”

“You could do that? Just leave like there’s nothing between
us?”

Dane’s lips twisted into a frown. “No.
Vaffanculo
,
Evie, you don’t know me as well as you think you do. I can’t be what you need.
Yes, I want you. But this is the only way this will work.”

“With Ryan as a buffer?”

“Yes.”

She shook her head, hands on her hips, her mouth a stubborn
line that made Ryan’s smile widen. “Why?”

Dane shot out of his chair with a speed that defied logic.
Evie barely had time to be frightened, much less cringe.

And Ryan wasn’t sure she would have. Her chin tilted up so
she could look Dane in the eyes, her feet planted.

“Because I don’t trust myself not to scare you!”

Well, shit. She’d pushed Dane to the edge of his limit
because that was the secret Dane held closest. The one he’d confided to Ryan
one night after a few too many beers and just as many shots.

Ryan watched Evie process that, think it through then come
to her conclusion.

“Then I guess you better be glad I’m not afraid of you.”

Without waiting for him to respond, she fisted his shirt and
pulled him down, close enough that she could reach his mouth if she stood on
her toes.

Dane closed his eyes and let her kiss him. Ryan saw the
control he tried to exert over himself, the way his hands fisted at his sides
for a brief second before grabbing her hips and lifting her against him.

Her feet left the floor as Dane pulled her up his body, his
mouth slanting over hers with a growl Ryan heard loud and clear.

He’d surrendered.

Ryan’s own desire spiked like a fever as he watched Dane
kiss Evie, watched Dane cup the back of her head and move her so he could get
deeper into her mouth.

He watched Evie succumb, her body melting into Dane’s.

His cock throbbed and filled, anticipation building.

Ryan liked to watch before joining in. And this promised to
be a hell of a show.

Evie opened her mouth to Dane and let the desire she tasted
in his kiss blow through her.

It felt like a bomb blast, a concussion of sensation. It
should terrify her. Only, she felt no fear.

Heat boiled through her body, spreading from between her
legs to her breasts, where her nipples tightened into diamond-hard tips, aching
to be touched.

She arched, rubbing them against Dane’s hard chest, and felt
as well as heard his low groan rumble through him.

If she were standing, her knees would have buckled at the
hungry, almost desperate sound he made.

His mouth ate at hers, hard and demanding. He held nothing
back and, if she let him, he’d completely consume her. He’d kiss her and bend
her to his will. He’d demand she give everything to him.

Not that he wouldn’t give to her in return. She had no doubt
he’d make her come.

But he wanted her complete acquiescence so he could control
his reaction.

And behind her, Ryan watched.

She swore she felt his gaze on them, hot, hungry. Stoking
the desire.

The anticipation made her skin tingle, waiting…

Drowning beneath Dane’s kiss, she couldn’t catch her breath.
Tearing her lips away from Dane’s, she sucked in a deep breath, only to have it
catch in her throat when his lips moved to her neck.

He bit her, stinging little nips that made her sex spasm and
her hands slide around his shoulders to hold on. Her head fell back, giving his
lips more space to roam.

Heat poured from his body, seeping into her skin, making her
long for skin-to-skin contact and one hand slipped into the collar of his crisp
white button-down in search of it.

As her fingers began a tentative exploration, it was his
turn to shudder. He stilled, his breath a harsh rasp against the sensitive skin
of her collarbone.

She stroked her fingers into the indentation at the base of
his throat, felt the motion beneath her fingers as he swallowed.

His hands tightened on her hips until she swore she felt
every single finger like a brand on her body.

She smiled, knowing he responded to her every action.

As his head lifted, she let hers tilt to the side, allowing
her the angle to lick at his skin, dipping into that indentation.

Salty, warm. She wanted to bite him.

So she did. Opened her mouth over his throbbing artery and
bit him. Not hard enough to hurt, or even to mark.

Just enough for him to growl out her name.

She was so intent on drawing a response from Dane that she
missed Ryan’s approach.

His hand on her shoulder caused her to gasp and draw in a
deep breath. Possessive, Ryan threaded his other hand into her hair, lifting it
away from her nape and putting his mouth on her skin.

The heat coming off Dane’s body doubled as she shivered
against him, her thoughts splintering, unable to process all the sensory
information.

Dane’s hands on her hips. Ryan’s hand in her hair, tugging
her head back so she looked up at Dane.

Dane’s eyes darkened as he watched her respond to Ryan’s
mouth sliding along her neck.

She wanted to close her eyes so she could wallow in the
sensation but the look in Dane’s eyes mesmerized her. No man had ever looked at
her like that.

And she’d never shaken so hard with desire she thought she
might pass out.

When Dane lowered her to her feet, she wobbled for a second
before Ryan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him.

Ryan’s erection pressed like a hot iron against her ass and
she arched her back until he ground his hips into her.

“You like it, don’t you?” Ryan whispered in her ear, making
her shiver as his breath shimmered across her skin. “The thought of the three
of us together makes you hot, doesn’t it?”

She could barely breathe, much less find the strength to
answer his questions. She could only nod and press her body more fully against
Ryan’s.

“I want you to take Dane’s clothes off, honey. Go ahead, he
won’t bite. Unless you ask him to.”

The thought of Dane naked made her pussy ache. Her fingers
curled into fists before she lifted them to the buttons on his shirt.

With her eyes glued to Dane’s, and so very aware of Ryan’s
solid heat behind her, she began to work the little white buttons through the
holes.

Dane stood so still before her and, if she hadn’t been able
to watch his eyes, she might have thought he didn’t enjoy the feel of her hands
on him.

But his eyes burned, hard-edged lust written in the taut
lines of his face and the bulge of his erection through his slacks.

The man looked good in anything but the thought of stripping
him out of his dress pants and shirt thrilled her like nothing else could.