The Moon Rises (43 page)

Gigi slid her hand inside and caressed the seam
of his boxers which made him sigh and fidget away from her.

“Not here. People will know and your cover as a dude
will be blown.”

Sitting on his desk, Gigi pushed her breasts
forward, knowing how much he loved them. His eyes did take notice, but he
frowned.

“I’m all grimy. Plus if we stay in here too long,
they’ll know what we’re doing and our secret will be out.”

Gigi eased back onto the desk in her skirt.
“Everyone thinks you’re gay or a dork, Finn. No one would think you and someone
as hot as me would do it in your office. Let’s take advantage of that misconception.”

Finn grinned and looked ready to say something,
but then Gigi leaned farther back onto the desk and spread her legs. A hint of
a gasp left Finn’s lips.

“Oh, I’m such a dummy,” Gigi said, grinning. “I
left my panties in my purse.”

“I love you, but everyone will know.”

“No, they won’t. Besides we both know you’re
going to say yes. Why waste time when you could be inside me already?”

The slight shudder which rushed over Finn made
Gigi’s smile widen. He stepped forward, standing between her legs which wrapped
around him.

“You’re going to get all dirty,” Finn whispered
just before his lips found hers.

“Don’t care,” Gigi gulped when she finally got a
chance to breathe.

“This is too dangerous,” he said, slipping her
shirt over her head.

“Don’t take this personally, but you need to shut
up and use your mouth for better stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Finn teased as he slipped
off her bra and ran his fingers over her hard nipples.

“Huh?” Gigi mumbled, immediately dumbfounded with
arousal.

Finn laughed and just kissed her neck, tasting
her softly then with more need. Gigi closed her eyes and moaned as quietly as
she could, not wanting to alert the shop to their activities. When she opened
her eyes, Finn’s overalls were around his ankles, soon to be joined by his
boxers. Drinking in the sight of his golden skin rolling over hard muscle, Gigi
shuddered much like Finn did earlier.

“That’s my girl,” he murmured, leaning her back
and taking her nipple into his mouth.

Gigi’s goal one day was to be good at sex. Yet once
Finn started touching her and she became aroused, her brain shut down and she
barely held onto him and kept from drooling all over the place.

When Gigi cried out “yes” as Finn slipped inside
her, he started laughing. She smiled awkwardly and he pulled her closer.

“I still can’t believe you beg me for sex. Seems
backward, don’t it?”

“Huh?” she mumbled again, pulling at his hips as
she rushed towards an orgasm.

“Oh, that’s right. Use my mouth for better
things,” Finn whispered as he latched on and sucked at her throat.

When Finn shifted so his thrusting pressed
against her in just the right way, she covered her mouth to keep from crying
out. No matter all the noisy work in the shop, they would have heard such a
loud moan. Finn stayed nice and steady while she worked her way through the climax.
Once he moved his mouth to hers, his rhythm increased and Gigi tightened her
grip on him, reveling in his every thrust.

Just before Finn climaxed, he slid his fingers
between Gigi’s legs and brought her with him, which almost caused her to alert
the whole neighborhood, let alone the garage, to their activities. Unlike Gigi
who couldn’t have sex and think at the same time, Finn could multitask and
muffled her cries with a kiss.

“That was close,” Gigi giggled when Finn pulled
his mouth away. “I guess I thought a quickie at the office wouldn’t be so good
and I wouldn’t get so loud.”

Finn frowned darkly as he wiped sweat from her
forehead. “Uh, Gigi, I’m sorry, but I don’t do quickies.”

“What?”

Finn grinned and eased out of her. Gazing at her
as she laid back on his desk, he sighed.

“What should I do to you next?”

Gigi gasped and squirmed on the desk like the
kittens did when they thought good food was coming. Finn got the naughtiest
look on his face then he stepped closer.

“Do you know how good you are for my ego?” he
teased as he kissed her shoulder. “I’m standing here like a dork with my pants
around my ankles and I have the hottest chick in the Circle cooing over me.
You’re magic. You can make loser little brothers feel like studs.”

Gigi licked her lips, unable to really speak, but
from her spot on the desk – satisfied, yet wanting more - Finn was no dork. He
was gorgeous and thorough and he always said things which made her feel special
and his mouth was very good for things other than talking.

“I could be with Declan, but I’m not. Now stop
talking about dorky little brothers and make your girlfriend scream,” she
whispered as her tongue dancing along his chest. “Oh, and I love you.”

“Magic. That’s what you are. And I love you too,”
Finn murmured and she felt him rigid against her.

Gigi thought to say something sassy, but he
leaned her back and sucked her nipple into his mouth and she was done talking
for a while. No, Finn didn’t do quickies, not even during the lunch hour at his
work place.

Finn studied the menu, knowing what he wanted. He
did wonder if maybe he should eat light and save his appetite for any leftovers
Gigi might have at the apartment. He was almost as crazy about her cooking as
he was about Gigi herself.

Anton entered the restaurant and the place
shifted just slightly, taking on a new air. Females glanced in the Alpha’s
direction while males avoided glancing. The waitresses stood a little taller
and the manager hurried to the back to remind the chef to do a good job. It was
weird to see such a reaction even after all these years.

Finn remembered when Anton was just a guy from the
neighborhood. Even then, Anton received plenty of attention from girls while
guys either admired him or challenged him to make a name for themselves. No one
ever challenged Anton and won. Finn suspected no one ever would until the day
Anton and Declan finally faced each other.

Finn didn’t want to think about Anton and Declan
trying to kill each other for territory, but it was on his mind a lot lately.
Maybe it was on Anton’s mind too because he looked depressed when he joined
Finn.

“You okay?” Finn asked and suddenly Anton’s
expression shifted into a pleasantly bland façade.

“I’m just tired. Roger returning should have
calmed things down. Everyone’s riled up now about those flying monsters and
missing waitresses and the Season coming.”

“Yeah, what the hell are those flying monsters?”

“Necromancer magic. Tobin and Murphy swear it’s
not them.”

“Do you believe them?”

“Those things tried to kill Gigi twice. I believe
Tobin and Murphy aren’t behind it because they’re enchanted by her. She plays
with their ghoul kids. They wouldn’t hurt her. Kidnap and enslave her, sure,
but tear her apart? No. If it’s not them, we have to assume there’s another
necromancer in the Circle.”

“Can’t they find him?”

“Apparently not. The witches can’t either. The Circle
hides the magic.”

Finn thought about Gigi killing the flying
monster and wondered what she might be hiding from him. He knew she wasn’t
telling him the whole truth because Gigi always got an especially blank expression
when she was holding back.

“Were you there the night the monster attacked
Justine and Gigi?”

Studying the menu, Anton nodded. “Weirdest shit
I’ve ever seen. I saw one of them the night she got hurt, but this one was
alive and flying. Crazy.”

Dullness lingered over Anton’s tone and Finn
again wondered why his friend seemed so depressed. Remembering how Anton stood
up Gigi, Finn wondered if maybe the Alpha was losing it.

Anton had always been a little off and Finn
figured it was because Olga Volkov was always more interested in being a fear enforcer
than a mother. After her death, during all those years as a kid with only his
uncles who had no use for childrearing, Anton relied on Declan and Finn to be
his family. Then he lost Declan. For almost eight years, besides Finn, Anton
was alone. Many times Finn felt on edge and isolated in the Circle, not part of
the pack, yet not really his own male.

Anton felt alone too, but with the extra burden of
being in charge while also being unable to have a family. Finn always assumed
Anton would crack under the pressure and decide to get married and take his
chances. It instead looked like Anton was just cracking period.

“Have you seen Gigi lately?” Anton asked, after
ordering.

“Yes, we play cards with Michael and Ella.”

Anton nodded. “She changed her shifts to earlier
in the evening and I haven’t seen her in days,” he said, sounding incredibly
tired. “And I think she only comes into the office when Melanie tells her I’m
out. I haven’t seen her since the night the monster attacked her.”

“She seems fine,” Finn said awkwardly. “I think
she was excited about killing the monster and she still hopes to find Sara.”

Anton nodded with a tight, incredibly fake smile.
“I’m glad she’s okay.”

“I know you stood her up,” Finn blurted out, hating
to say the words because he was conflicted between his love for the girl of his
dreams and the love he felt for a guy who was a big brother to him all his
life. “She can’t hold a grudge long, Anton. It’s not Gigi’s way.”

Anton eyed Finn. “She told you that?”

“We’re friends.”

“You wanted her though. You went on a date.”

“Yeah.”

“But now you’re just over her?”

Finn hated to lie, especially to Anton and
Declan. He didn’t even think he could successfully lie to them. He would try
though because losing Gigi wasn’t an option.

“No, not over her. I just can’t be with her
romantically, so I spend time with her as a friend and wish it was more. It can
feel stupid obsessing over her, but letting her go emotionally is impossible.
She’s special.”

Anton nodded. “That’s why I want to marry her.”

Finn flinched, suddenly wanting to leave the
restaurant and run home to Gigi. No, even more, he wanted to hide away with
Gigi and keep her from being in the same room with Anton who was acting weird
and lonely and desperate.

“What about the whole Alphas don’t have mates
thing?”

“Fuck it. I want to marry her which is why I
stood her up. I wasn’t ready to take that leap.”

“Then why ask her out in the first place?”

“Because everyone wants her and I was worried
someone would take her before I was ready. I thought I could just move slowly.
Go on some dates and court her for a while, then after I was sure what would happen
with the war, I could make things permanent. The night of our date though I
knew I was fooling myself. I wouldn’t let her go once she was in my bed. I’d
keep her and marry her without even knowing if I’d be alive in six months. I
would have jumped right in though, so instead I bailed.”

“I guess you made the right decision then.”

Anton looked at him and panic again stabbed at
Finn’s heart.

“No, I didn’t.”

“I know she’s special, but the war’s coming. If
something happened to you, it would kill her. She’s not strong enough to handle
losing someone she loves. I told her Sara might be alive and I think that’s the
only reason she gets out of bed each day. The idea of Sara being gone for good
was too much. If she was with you and you died, she wouldn’t know how to cope.”

Anton sighed and Finn was struck by how exhausted
his old friend sounded.

“I would give up my pack for her.”

Maybe it was the fear of losing Gigi to Anton or
maybe he really was the voice of reason, but Finn refused to let the Alpha walk
away from everything he had worked for all these years.

“You would leave your pack right before a war? The
witches have an alliance with you. Who would protect the pack if you left?”

Anton frowned. “I wouldn’t just walk away. I
would hand off the pack to Declan. My pack will end up in his hands anyway, but
only after who knows how many of them are killed in the war. This way my people
live and I can have the life I want.”

“And you think everyone would just let you live
your life here in the Circle? Alphas don’t just walk away from their packs.
When Silas wanted out, he had to leave his home and come here to be free. Gigi
can’t leave the Circle. It’s part of the rules in her head.”

“Then we live in the Circle and just deal with
the consequences of me leaving the pack,” Anton said casually as if it were a
done deal.

Finn nodded, feeling defeated as his mind played
out the scenario where Anton showed up at Gigi’s apartment, declared his love
and intentions, and the two of them walked off into the sunset. Finn couldn’t
compete with Anton. Even after the Alpha stood up Gigi and Finn spent the last
week courting her. Even after Finn told Gigi he loved her and she said she
loved him too. No matter what Gigi and Finn shared, she would walk away if she
could have Anton.