Under the Moon's Shadow (16 page)

“I’m being serious.”

Hands raised in self-defense, he shrugged. “So am I.” Just then his cell phone rang. An arrested expression came across his face, and he glanced at Beth. “Hold on,” he told the caller. “Can you hang around for a couple minutes before you leave? I may need a favor.”

“Sure.” She decided to make use of the facilities while he talked to whoever had called. When she came back out he was leaning up against the counter with his arms crossed, a subdued excitement lighting his eyes.

“Well, you’ve certainly perked up. Who was that?”

“Oh, just a girl.” A small, enigmatic smile crossed his mouth. “Look, I need a favor - you’re heading down past Ethan’s house, right?”

Immediately, Beth turned wary. She answered him slowly. “No, and you know that. Why?”

“I’ve got a couple files in the car that I’m supposed to drop off to him today. Any chance you’d do it for me? It’s only a few minutes out of your way.”

“Why can’t you do it?” She loaded her food into a small box and dropped her purse on top. Picking up the box, she edged toward the door with Jason following. He shot her a pleading look as he locked the door and pulled it closed behind them.

“I can’t do it because I need to head the other direction. Now. I told this woman I’d meet her in twenty minutes. Please, Beth? She’s a nice lady, and she might be ‘the one.’ I’ll even do the dishes next weekend after dinner.”

She finally gave in, unable to resist his pleading look. To be fair, he didn’t ask her for favors very often. “You’re sure Ethan’s expecting these files? This isn’t just another attempt at matchmaking?”

“No, this is a real task.” He got the files out of his jeep and placed them on top of her purse in the box. “Thanks, sis.” He gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. “I won’t forget this.”

Watching her brother drive away, she shook her head. “I’m sure you won’t, because I won’t let you,” she grumbled, the words ending on a yawn. After she dropped the files off at Ethan’s, she was heading straight home to take a nap. Chase wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been sleeping well.

~ * * * ~

When she pulled into Ethan’s driveway, she was relieved to see that his truck was the only vehicle present. This was going to be awkward enough without anyone else added to the mix. As she opened the door to get out, he came around the corner of the house, pulling work gloves off as he walked toward her.

“Hey.” She leaned back into the vehicle to get the files. “Jason asked me to drop these off. He said you were expecting them.”

“Thanks. Come on up. Want something to drink?”

She raised her eyebrows, surprised at his friendly attitude. “Sure.” She followed him up the steps and into the old farmhouse.

“Did Jason get a call or something?”

“Well, you could say that, I suppose. A girl called and he dashed off to meet her.”

Ethan gave a short bark of laughter. “Which girl?”

She shrugged. “Who knows? They follow him around like bees go to flowers, so there’s no telling. He did say that she could be ‘the one,’ though.”

“Yeah. Haven’t heard that one before from Jason,” he said, and Beth laughed, agreeing. He led her into the kitchen and went to the sink to wash his hands. Drying them, he opened the refrigerator and asked what she wanted to drink.

“Water’s fine, if you have it.”

“I do.” He handed her a bottle and grabbed a beer for himself, twisting off the cap. He gestured toward the back of the house. “Let’s go out to the porch. This is probably one of the few nice days we’ll have left before it turns cold.”

They went down the hall and out onto the screened-in porch that looked out over the fields surrounding the house. Cattle grazed in the distance, and the dry cornstalks rustled as the wind blew through them. The house was on a small rise with the surrounding countryside spread out around it, and the views were panoramic.

“Have a seat,” Ethan said, taking a spot on the porch swing. Beth gingerly sat beside him and stretched out her legs as he used his foot to set the swing in motion.

“How are the Bolens?”

She shook her head, keeping her gaze on the fields. “Not good. I can’t imagine what they’re going through right now.” She fell silent, and he stretched an arm out along the back of the swing to toy with the ends of her hair. As his fingers brushed the skin of her neck, she shivered.

“Last I heard, they still aren’t sure Reese is going to make it. It might be better for him if he doesn’t.”

She turned to look at him as she heard an unfamiliar note in his voice. When he saw her questioning look, he shrugged, tugging on her ponytail. He sat the beer bottle on a nearby table and sat back, resting his head on the back of the swing, then turned his head and watched her watch him.

“Had any more suspicious packages show up?”

She accepted the change of subject graciously. “Nope, nothing. No phone calls, no flowers, no more pictures of myself. None of my missing underwear.” As soon as the last part left her mouth, she cringed. Feeling her cheeks heat up, she turned her gaze back to the fields. “I don’t know what to think. Maybe it was just a really bad joke.”

“Doesn’t feel like much of a joke, if you ask me. Feels more like a sick pervert with a vendetta.”

“Whatever and whoever it is, maybe they’ll go away and leave me alone. God knows we could all use some good news around here.” She sighed. “I probably should go. You’re busy.”

“You headed out to the farm?”

“Not today. That’s where I just came from. Mom and Dad are taking food to everyone.” Not wanting to leave, she played with the drawstring on her hooded jacket. “The guy that Reese hit - did they find his family?” Beth had covered the story for the paper, and Ethan had been there, as well.

“Not yet. His neighbors told the cops who went to do the notification that he and his wife were separated, and they didn’t know where she had gone and taken their kids. They’re still looking.”

She closed her eyes against the sadness of it. “That’s horrible. To be killed and be so estranged from the people in your life that they can’t be found to be notified about your death.”

“It happens, more than you’d think these days.” He tugged gently on the end of her ponytail again. “Don’t go to sleep on me, blondie.” She opened her eyes and gave him a little smile, swatting at his hand. He captured her hand in his.

“I wasn’t going to sleep.” Her heart thudded heavily as he kept her hand in his, playing with her fingernails. Her denial was interrupted by a yawn, and he laughed as she blushed. Standing, he tugged her up after him.

“Come on, I’ll walk you out.” She went past him into the house, rubbing her neck as she walked.

“I’ve got this hideous kink in my neck that I just can’t seem to get out. I fell asleep on the couch last night. Well, this morning, really. I can’t get the sight of that windshield out of my head. It’s there every time I close my eyes, that jagged hole Taylor must have gone through...”

As her voice trailed off, she felt his warm hands close gently on her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. He used his thumbs to trace her muscles and found the knot that had formed at the base of her neck. Kneading gently, he slowly worked until the muscles relaxed, and she sighed with pleasure and relief.

Ethan shifted his weight, bringing his body closer to hers. He turned her so that they were facing each other and rested his hands on her shoulders. Beth drew in a shaky breath, her gaze going to meet his. She raised her hands to grasp his wrists, but didn’t push him away.

His face was grim. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I was leaving. You stopped me.” The words were a bare whisper. He moved his hands up to the base of her neck, where his thumbs brushed lightly over the pulse that raced in the hollow of her throat.

“I don’t think I’m strong enough to let you walk out of here today.” He slid one hand up to cup her face, using it to draw her closer to him.

“Nobody says you have to be strong.” She moved her hands to his chest, smoothing his t-shirt across the muscles. Her touch was light, cautious, and closing his eyes with a muted groan, Ethan rested his forehead against hers. Her hands touched his face, the fingertips brushing against his cheeks before they moved down and followed the line of his jaw.

Ethan’s eyes flew open at the touch, so dark they were almost black, and her hands stilled. “Beth, I’m sorry. I can’t let you go.” With that, he bent his head and took her mouth in a desperate kiss, crushing her to him. One hand gripped her head and the other formed a tight band around her hips. She moaned, pressing as close to him as she could.

He broke away for a moment and stared down at her. “If you want to walk away, now’s the time,” he warned.

She shook her head as she pulled him back down to her. “I don’t want to walk away.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely positive.” When she pressed her lips to his, she felt his control break. Lifting her, he backed her against the wall and held her in place with his body as they kissed. Trailing his mouth down her jaw, he grasped her hips and curved his hands around to her buttocks, drawing their lower bodies into contact as he surged against her. As his mouth reached the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder, he bit down lightly and drew a startled, breathy moan from her. When he drew back, she almost cried out from the loss.

He raised a hand to touch her face and traced her lips with his fingers. His eyes flared when she turned her head and nipped at him, catching the tip of a finger between her teeth.

“Last chance to change your mind,” he warned.

She could feel the tension in his body as he pressed against her, his hand planted on the wall behind her head. A ruddy flush was spread across his cheeks, and his pupils had widened, the irises just a narrow band of color around them.

Gently, she pushed against his chest. Though he hid it quickly, she saw the dark flash of disappointment that crossed his face. As he stepped back from her and her feet touched the floor, she grabbed his hands and squeezed tightly before letting her hands trail away from his. Calling on every last bit of courage she possessed, she turned and walked down the hall and into the front of the house. She paused at the foot of the stairs and turned to look back at him. Standing where she had left him, he stared after her.

She drew in a fortifying breath and started up the stairs, telling Ethan without words what her decision was. Her heart gave an extra thump at the look of stunned disbelief that crossed his face as it dawned on him she wasn’t leaving. He dashed up the stairs and caught up with her as she reached the landing that led down the upstairs hall. Holding her hands out, he took them, pulling her close for a hard kiss. He groaned and pulled back enough to steer her into his bedroom.

As it started to sink in that she was really in Ethan’s bedroom, her heart was pounding so hard she was sure he had to hear it. When he reached for the zipper of her hoodie, she spoke. A painful blush raced across her cheeks.

“It’s been a while for me.” She touched his hands, stopping him. “I’m a little nervous.”

She was amazed to see his hand shake as he raised it to her face and tipped her chin up. “Believe it or not, so am I.” He took a deep breath and made a visible effort to slow down. “I guess we’ll have to take this slowly.”

“You might want to lock the front door, then.”

A nervous-sounding chuckle escaped him. “Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea.” He turned and headed out of the bedroom. “I’ll be right back.”

Watching him go, she released a tense breath and pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair, letting the blonde tresses fall around her shoulders as she shrugged out of her jacket. She sent a quick prayer heavenward that she was making the right choice, knowing there was a certain irony about asking God to bless her decision to have sex without the benefit of marriage.

As he came back up the stairs, she clasped her hands together at her waist, not sure what to do with herself. He walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him, and Beth realized that, right or wrong, good idea or not, the choice of leaving had only ever been an illusion. From the moment she had walked in the door, a part of her had known what was going to happen. She had a brief moment to wonder if Ethan had known as well, and then his mouth was settling hungrily on hers. The last thought that flew out of her head was that there would be time later to find out.

Chapter Twenty One

 The ringing of Ethan’s cell phone woke them up. With a muted curse, he reached to the floor and grabbed his pants. He hit the button that would send the call to voice mail and let his head fall back onto the pillow.

“What time is it?” Beth asked as she sat up, the sheet clutched to her chest. She pushed the hair out of her face, and as Ethan turned the lamp on beside the bed, she grabbed his discarded t-shirt from the end of the bed and tugged it on. As she scrambled out of bed, she kept the hem pulled down.

“Six thirty. We’ve been asleep for a couple of hours.”

“Oh. Okay. Excuse me.” Cheeks flushed, she hurried into the bathroom and closed the door quietly behind her.

Lying on the bed, Ethan was left to stare at the closed door. The reality of what they had done hit his conscience hard, and he sat up, cursing himself for being a fool. After he pulled his jeans on, he gathered Beth’s clothes together and put them on the bed, keeping her shirt in his hands. He sat down and held the shirt to his face, eyes closed as he inhaled. When he heard the toilet flush, he laid the shirt down with the rest of her clothes. His mind raced as he tried to figure out how to handle the change his relationship with Beth had undergone, but the answer just wouldn’t come.

~ * * * ~

Inside the bathroom, Beth was having second thoughts of her own. She didn’t know what to expect when she went back into the bedroom. When she opened the door, he was sitting on the side of the bed, hands clasped between his knees. He looked up when she came out, and for a moment, she just stood in the doorway, tugging the edge of the shirt down over her thighs.