Captured Moon-6 (7 page)

apartment and paced while Rule leaned over the computer in his office.

Every time he’d tried to bring up their mate, Rule had hushed him, intent on the damned screen. Finally, he’d leaned back in the chair, wearing a grin that Lawe knew meant trouble for someone. Rule had stood, waving him over. “Read this,” he’d insisted. And when Lawe balked, knowing it would be impossible to sit long enough to read a few lines much less pages, Rule had insisted. “Abby wrote it.”

So he’d forced himself to sit. To read. And he’d walked around with a damned hard‐on for two very long days. He’d wanted to go back and get her right away, move her into their place, and try every damned one of the things she’d written. He scowled. If Alex had done even a fifth of the things in that book with her, Lawe would rip the cat apart piece by piece and smile while he did it.

He glanced at Abby. She stared out the side window and didn’t turn to meet his gaze. Lost in his own thoughts, he tried to focus on the road.

Rule had stopped him from going to Abby, insisting they could 43

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wait a couple days and after two days of fighting the mate bond, she’d be more than willing to come to them. Well, she wasn’t so damned willing, but at least she didn’t seem to be fighting. Plus, it had given them time to plan. They’d gone online, bought her other books, and it became obvious she’d been interested in them for a long time. Her heroes looked like them, and usually there were two of them, almost always twins. The heroines had a disturbing stubborn, independent streak. He liked Abby’s spirit, but he wasn’t as easygoing as Rule. He didn’t want her getting the idea this was going to be some kind of human relationship like her marriage to the cat.

She’d grown up pack. By the laws of their people, she’d already been claimed, and she understood what that meant. So why was she fighting the bond? Like Rule, he blamed it on Alex. The werepanther had known she wasn’t his mate and married her anyway. Thank God, he hadn’t bound her. Their only option then would have been to kill him, and Lawe doubted Abby would ever forgive that.

He pulled into a parking spot in front of her apartment. After helping her out, he kept a hand on her elbow as he led her to the door, her keys digging into his palm. He unlocked the door and followed her in, his gaze sweeping the small area as she went to her room. He wondered what she’d want to move in with them, doubted it was much. The furniture was a collection of mismatched pieces loaned to her when she’d moved in, mostly from his friends and family. They were the kinds of odds and ends that tended to get passed around.

He sat on the couch and stretched his legs out in front of him, waiting while she packed. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes and grinned. Maybe he should go help. There was no telling what sexy things she might have hidden in a drawer somewhere. He knew one thing he wanted her to bring for sure though, and stood and walked to her door.

He leaned against the frame, smiling as she stood over a pile of clothes on the bed muttering to herself.

“You might as well bring it all.”

Her head jerked up, hand flying to her chest. “Jesus. Don’t sneak up on my like that.”

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He cocked on eyebrow. “Who was sneaking? I was just standing here watching you bitch and complain to yourself.”

“I wasn’t complaining.” She scowled. “I was trying to figure out what I might need.”

He grinned. “Make sure you bring that short robe. The slinky one. I

don’t think you’ll need anything other than that.”

She rolled her eyes, but a grin tugged at the corners of her lips. She turned back to the pile and started sorting things into piles. He took the opportunity to admire her backside. She’d stripped out of her work clothes and put on a tank top and pair of sweat pants that hung low on her hips. They emphasized the round curve of her ass, and he had to fist his hands to keep from reaching for her. Every time she bent down his cock swelled harder. It was a miracle he didn’t burst, but he sure as hell wasn’t a saint. She was on borrowed time.

He growled before he lunged for her, and she whirled around surprise on her face, lighting her eyes. His kiss wasn’t gentle. It was pure dominance, a silent order for submission. He half expected a struggle, but she surprised him, molding her body against his. Her curves pressed close. Sweet. Enticing. His wolf howled for its mate, and Lawe didn’t even try to fight it.

He held her still with one arm around her waist and tugged her pants off with the other hand, lifting her to pull them free of her feet. In two strides, he had her against the wall. Ripping her panties off, he tested her readiness, pushing one finger inside her pussy and finding her wet and welcoming. Thank God, because there was no restraint in him after two days of enforced celibacy. He unsnapped and unzipped his jeans, first toeing off his shoes, shoving the jeans off, and then lifting her higher against the wall.

He entered her in a quick thrust, trying hard to rein in his lust, his need, a little. He didn’t want to hurt her if he got carried away. She clamped around him when he was fully inside her, her pussy wet and hot.

He groaned. He was in real danger of losing all control.

Looking around he spotted an armless chair on the opposite side of

the bed. He straightened, made sure her legs were wrapped securely 45

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around his waist, and walked to the chair. With each step her body shifted, his cock moving a little deeper followed by a small retreat. By the time he sat, only seconds later, he was gritting his teeth against the urge to just take her to the floor and pound out his frustration.

He got comfortable. Let her lower her legs so her feet rested on the floor on either side of them. He put his hands on her hips and leaned his head back to meet her gaze.

“Remember when we were kids, and I taught you how to ride a horse?”

She nodded. Moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. His cock

jerked in response to the sight.

“This time you ride me,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

Her smile was slow to come and sultry. She nodded, lifting herself

so his cock slid out in a long, slow glide until only the head was left in her pussy’s embrace. He fought the need to grab her hips and force her back down. She knew it, too, the vixen. Her grin turned cocky as she slowly lowered herself.

And Rule was worried about damaging her fragile self‐confidence.

Lawe almost snorted, but he was too busy forcing himself to be still, to letting her have control of the situation. To watching as she again smoothly, slowly lifted herself and repeated the torturous, slow slide back down the length of his cock.

What had started out as an experiment to slow things down in an

effort not to get carried away and hurt her turned into something else entirely. He lifted one hand from her hip and pulled the band holding her hair in place free. It swung around her shoulders, over her breasts.

Teasing the nipples. He stretched up to catch one in his mouth and was rewarded by her low groan as he sucked the tip between his teeth. She continued her slow, sinuous ride up and down his cock. He was in hell, but she clearly liked it, and that was enough for now. He forced the wolf down, reluctantly released her nipple, and leaned back to watch.

She’d thrown her head back, and her hair tickled his thighs. Her eyes were closed, her face relaxed and sweet and smiling as she worked him. Her breathing, fast and deep, forced her breasts up and down in a 46

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rhythm at odds with the movements of her body. Something very far from simple lust wormed its way through his heart, and suddenly, letting her have this slow gentle exploration felt a little dangerous. He wanted to fuck her, needed to fuck her, and then let the wolf run. He’d have to speak to Rule about changing their plans. A weekend in the country sounded damned good at this point. The local park wasn’t going to cut it.

Abby wasn’t sure what changed, but it changed fast. One minute,

she was slowly riding Lawe on the chair and loving every minute of it, and the next she was flat on her back on the floor. Not that she didn’t love every minute of that, too, but she’d felt something almost like a communion before, and this was all about proving who had control. It wasn’t her.

He thrust hard and fast, building a driving rhythm while reaching

a hand between their bodies and flicking a finger over her clitoris. The orgasm she’d been trying so hard to hold back earlier, trying to draw the pleasure out, rushed through her. She came with a cry, shuddered as she rode out the climax, and he came, too. He slumped over her, pushing her firmly to the floor, and she drew soft circles on his back with her fingertips while she tried to catch her breath and slow her racing heart.

He’d let her have control for bit. Been considerate and sweet and restrained. She’d liked that. It had given her hope. What changed? Made him take over like that? She turned her head so she could look at him. His eyes were closed, his jaw clenched hard, and she knew it wouldn’t do her any good to ask. She sighed and shoved at his shoulders. He grunted and cracked one eye open.

“What?”

“Let me up,” she grumbled.

He opened the other eye. “Why?”

Why? Was he serious? Anger made her head pound. This was why

she didn’t want a mate. Much less two.

“Because I want up?” she said sarcastically. “Because I don’t like being crushed into the floor? Carpet burn? Any of those work for you?”

She shoved at him again, and this time he rolled away. She stood stiffly, groaned when she felt the wetness between her legs and stepped 47

Captured Moon by Loribelle Hunt

into the bathroom. When it looked like he might follow, she slammed the door shut and locked it. She leaned back against the door and resisted the urge to bang her head.

It had been tempting for a moment, this weekend with them. But in

the end, it would never work out. Her father had been dominant but not overly controlling, never had to monitor her mother’s every move. She knew plenty of werewolf couples where that was the norm. Rule and Lawe would never allow her any freedom, any independence. They’d expect to have command over her life.

She squeezed her eyes shut.
Damn, damn, damn.
Why hadn’t they waited? Why couldn’t they have waited to mark her? There was no way to break that bond, she knew. And living with it, but separate? Freaking near impossible. She stood and walked to the shower, turning both handles so water blasted out. When it warmed, she stepped in and reached for the soap. Closed her eyes.

Stay or leave, her heart would break. The question was which of those women would she be able to face in the mirror? The one who stayed because the bond was too hard to fight, or the one who needed more than a bond that demanded nothing but sexual dominance and gratification?

She didn’t even notice the tears until Lawe stepped in. She’d forgotten how proficient he was at picking locks.

He brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, washing them away. He watched her face carefully, searching for answers she didn’t offer, but made no comment.

“I spoke to Rule. Small change of plans.”

Her heart skipped a beat, and she ruthlessly repressed a surge of hope. She didn’t think there was a chance in hell they were going to give her time to think things over.

“What change?”

She stepped away and leaned her head back under the water to rinse the shampoo from her hair. His eyes darkened, gaze growing hooded with lust before she realized how she’d exposed herself. He didn’t pounce, though. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed.

“We’re going to drive out to the farm for the weekend. So get a 48

Captured Moon by Loribelle Hunt

move on it.” He pulled her out of the spray and stepped under it himself, reaching for the soap sitting on a high shelf. “He’s going to meet us out there.”

She exited the shower, then the room. Dried and dressed. She didn’t even think about what she was doing. She grabbed the bag of clothes, her laptop bag, and Lawe’s keys. The shower was still running when she stepped out the front door.

* * * * *

“What the fuck do mean, she’s gone?”

Lawe sighed and dragged his hand over his face before he

answered into the phone. “She took my keys while I was in the shower, and she isn’t answering her cell phone.”

Rule growled. “What did you do, Lawe?”

The hackles on the back of his neck stood up. Like he’d hurt their

mate? Intentionally run her off? “Nothing that serious. She’s running scared, and it isn’t because of us.”

As usual, his brother was easily able to follow the direction of his thoughts. “She wouldn’t have gone to Alex, and beating the shit out of him, while satisfying, won’t help.”

“Fuck.”

Rule laughed, but it was bitter rather than amused. “Yeah.

Something like that.” Silence stretched for a minute before he continued.

“Where would she go?”

Lawe groaned. Like he would know? He’d done nothing but

misjudge her for weeks. They both had. Especially the last few days.