DARKSIDE OF THE MOON (8 page)

“Skylar.” He growled and caught her elbow.

“What?” She spun around and faced him. Anger flashed behind those blue eyes, and something shifted in his chest. His body heated, and his breathing turned to a pant.

He couldn’t smell her—hell, he couldn’t smell anything. He shouldn’t be feeling this. Not at all. He tried to release his hold on her but couldn’t as his heart thumped loudly in his chest.

He growled low and deep as he pulled her into his arms. The second her body sunk against his, all he wanted was her.

Her lips parted and her pupils dilated. He knew then that she felt it too.

He slammed his mouth across hers, sealing the taste of her onto his mouth and searing it into his brain. She tasted like cherries, and he wanted more. He wanted so much more.

Lust licked every cell of his body until he was trembling with animalistic need.

She didn’t fight him and instead relaxed into his hard embrace. Her hardened nipples pressed into his naked chest through her thin T-shirt. His hand slipped around and up under the back of her shirt to brush her naked skin. Her heated skin grazed his rough palm, and he pressed her closer as he deepened the kiss.

She moaned and then fisted her fingers into his short hair as she sucked his tongue into her sweet mouth.

Fuck, she was going to give him a heart attack before he got inside her.

“Skylar.” Her name hung between them like a soft prayer. He was used to bedding women, but none like her. None like Skylar.

“Stop talking and take my clothes off.” Her feminine hands reached for his towel and pulled. The terry cloth landed in a puddle on the tile floor of the living room. Good thing he’d closed all the curtains; otherwise, they would be giving the public a show.

She glanced down at his straining erection. Her mouth dropped open and she murmured a feminine sound of appreciation.

“It’s my turn.” He tugged her T-shirt over her head and tossed it in the air. A lacy white bra was the only thing covering her beautiful breasts.

He unsnapped her jeans and pulled the fly down in a slow and torturous motion. As much as he wanted her, he didn’t want to hurt her. Judging by the look on her face, she’d not been with a lot of men. Especially men as well-endowed as he.

He shoved her jeans down to her ankles and knelt in front of her. Lifting one leg, she balanced a hand on his shoulder while he pulled her jeans off. He looked up at her. Her red hair curtained her face, and her full lips were parted as she panted. He gave her a wicked smile.

He hooked his thumbs in her white lace thong and tugged it off. He ran the pad of his thumb along the red landscaped landing strip down to her clit. She shivered and gripped his shoulders with both hands, and he felt her legs tremble under his hands.

His heart beat faster as he nudged her legs farther apart. He kept his gaze fixed on hers as he pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her wet heat between her creamy thighs.

Her taste exploded on his tongue as he licked at her wet flesh. He growled like a bear needing more of the sweet honey that only she could give.

“Zane, don’t stop.” She gripped his head and pulled him closer as her legs began to tremble.

He grinned with male satisfaction and continued his assault between her thighs. Hell couldn’t pull him away from her. He was quickly becoming addicted to her. At the moment, he really didn’t give a fuck.

“Oh god,” she cried out as her head fell back against the wall. He gripped her thighs, holding her upright as her orgasm swept over her. He didn’t stop licking and sucking until she was nothing but a quivering mass in his hands.

When she went limp, he steadied her as he stood up. Cradling the back of her neck, he pulled her in for a kiss.

“I think I almost blacked out,” she moaned against his neck.

She was warm and soft and tasted like heaven. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he’d found himself.

Still shaking from the force of her orgasm, Skylar pulled back enough to stare up into Zane’s dangerous ice-blue eyes.

She’d been around him for her growing-up years and had never seen this passionate side of him before. He was always in control—of his emotions, his expression, his future. Now after going down on her, he looked like he was ready for seconds.

His generous mouth curved upward into a sensual smile that belied the dangerous teeth lying on the other side of his lips. He was a bit deceiving if you didn’t know any better. To the casual observer, he looked like any other hot guy.

To the werewolf population, he was a lethal Guardian.

“You taste like sunshine.” He growled low and deep, and it made her skin pebble with desire.

“Yeah, well, let’s see how you taste,” she volleyed back.

His pupils dilated even further until all she could see was black.

Running his hand up her back, he pulled her into his straining erection. With his free hand, he twisted a piece of her hair around his finger, lifted it to his nose, and inhaled. He frowned as if remembering he couldn’t scent her.

She ran her fingertips across his furrowed brow.

“Which sense would you rather have? Smell or taste?”

A wicked grin stretched his lips. “If it involves tasting you, definitely taste.”

Her heart thumped in her chest at his words, and her stomach warmed. She’d never wanted anyone like she wanted Zane, yet the ghosts of her past were edging their way forward from the corners of her mind like wisps of steam.

Not this again. I will not be a prisoner of what he did. I’m not that little girl anymore.

Zane leaned down; his warm breath tickled her cheek and sent licks of delicious pleasure deep within her stomach. “You’re beautiful.”

She sucked in a breath to try to calm the vibrational arousal racing through every inch of her body.

“I’ve been called a lot of things, but beautiful is not one of them.” She chortled nervously as she licked her dry lips.

He leaned back, capturing her gaze with a hardened one. “That can’t be true.”

Her face heated and she shifted her weight. She should never have said anything. He probably thought she was an insecure woman looking for a compliment.

She took a deep breath and grabbed his hand. “I think we started a job that needs finishing.” She tugged on his hand as she took a step toward her bedroom.

“Didn’t feel like a job to me.” He grinned, making her body heat with lust.

She didn’t think she’d ever needed a male as much as she needed him right now.

Once they were inside her bedroom, he spun her around in his arms.

“You taste like heaven.” He leaned down and covered her mouth with his. His tongue snaked between her parted lips and licked every inch of her mouth like she was dessert.

When he finally pulled away, she couldn’t breathe.

“You’ve certainly changed since I last saw you, Skylar.” His gaze roamed down her body like a heated caress.

Those ghosts that had hung back in the shadows of her mind lurched forward. She sucked in a deep breath at his words. Cold reality skittered across her flesh, and she pushed him away and wrapped her arms around herself like a shield.

“I had to grow up pretty fast, Zane. Not everyone was born with a silver spoon in their mouth like you.”

“I didn’t mean . . .” He narrowed his eyes and reached for her, but she shook her head, not letting him finish.

“It doesn’t matter. This was a mistake. We are a mistake.” She took a step back from his warmth, determined to be strong.

She didn’t need this right now. Getting involved with a man—even just for one hot night would complicate her plans for the future. She needed a clear head, and whenever she was around Zane, he made her head spin

“Are you scared of me?” He cocked his head and shot her a heated gaze.

“Of course not.”
I’m scared of letting you see me. Emotional scars aren’t that sexy to a male like you who could have the finest female in the state.

Though the words were silent, they brought tears to her eyes.

Her heart rate shot up as she grabbed her robe and escaped into the kitchen, putting much-needed distance between them.She’d gotten the apartment because it was safe and the price was right. At the time she hadn’t cared that it wasn’t that big. But with Zane standing in the middle of the room and taking up space with his huge muscles and sexy vibe, it seemed the size of a shoebox.

Securing her robe, she opened the refrigerator and pulled out two beers. She shoved one at him as she passed him on her way to her bedroom.

What she needed was a shower. A very cold shower to wash his scent off her and clear her mind.

He caught her arm before she made it into the bathroom and spun her around. She knew she needed to get away, but the warmth coming off his hard, naked body was too much of a temptation for her to step away.

He was going to be her kryptonite.

“Skylar, talk to me.”

“Zane, I don’t…”

Knock, knock, knock.

Zane tensed, and Skylar cut her eyes up at him.

“Skylar, is everything okay in there?” Mrs. Nelson called out from the other side of the door.

Skylar rolled her eyes to the ceiling and let out a sigh. She mouthed “Be quiet” to him as he made his way into the bedroom and closed the door.

Taking a deep breath, she strolled over to the door. Before reaching for the doorknob, she cut a glance over her shoulder to make sure Zane had stayed in the bedroom. The last thing she needed was for Mrs. Nelson to see she had a visitor. That old lady would want to know everything about Zane from his blood type to his shoe size. Not to mention that if she suspected he was staying with her, that old bat wouldn’t hesitate for one second to rat her out to her landlord.

The last thing she needed was another pair of eyes on her.

Gripping the doorknob in her hand, she flung open the door.

“Mrs. Nelson. What can I do for you?” She plastered a hard smile on her face and met the woman’s beady gaze. She cocked her head around Skylar’s shoulder, trying to get a look inside.

“I thought I heard noises. I know you don’t have a TV, so that couldn’t be it.” She swung her gaze back to Skylar. It held an intensity she wasn’t used to feeling from the frail lady.

“I had the radio on. That’s probably what you heard.” She forced herself to hold the woman’s gaze.

“Didn’t sound like a radio to me. Much too loud.” Her eyes narrowed into snake-like slits.

“Oh, well, it’s my new sound system. It can get pretty loud.” She gave her neighbor a sheepish grin. “I’m so sorry to have bothered you with it. I’ll make sure I keep it turned down.” Skylar eased the door closed, but the woman put her foot in the way, preventing it from shutting.

“Are you okay, Skylar? You’re acting a little strange.”

“I’m just exhausted. Been busting my ass to get this job finished.”

Mrs. Nelson frowned her disapproval at the coarse language.

“Sorry. I meant ‘butt.’” Skylar blushed.

“Hmmm. Well, try to keep it down. You don’t want to be known as the troublemaking neighbor, do you? Why, just look at how everyone avoids Samantha in 243 after that whole debacle. Good girls are quickly becoming a thing of the past. You don’t want to get a bad reputation, do you?”A low rumble came from behind her bedroom door. Skylar forced out a laugh.

“As you can hear, I think my plumbing is acting up again. Better go check on it.” She slammed the door in the old woman’s face. Leaning back against the door, she let out a sigh.

Her bedroom door eased open and Zane stood there looking pretty pissed off.

She held her fingers up to her lips and turned to take a look out the peephole. Mrs. Nelson closed her door behind her.

Spinning around, she leveled a glare at him. “I told you to be quiet,” she hissed.

“And I don’t like how that old hag talked to you.” He curled his fingers into fists as anger shot from behind his eyes.

“I learned a long time ago to ignore people’s opinions of me.” She shrugged and headed into the kitchen.

“It’s never okay for people to talk shit, Sky.”

Her heart tumbled in her chest at his endearment for her. It had been a long time since she’d heard him call her by that nickname.

“Whatever. Look, we have bigger issues at hand.” She waved her hand up and down his body. “You apparently have a problem with not being in control of your shift. And I am on an impossible deadline to get the house finished.”

She shoved past him into the bathroom. Before she shut the door, she looked at him. “Which is another reason we can’t happen. We don’t fit into each other’s world. We can’t ever happen, Zane.”

***

“What the fuck just happened?” Zane murmured.

One second he was a breath away from sinking himself into heaven, and the next she was cold as a snowdrift.

No woman had ever turned him down. Ever.

Stomping into the kitchen, he opened the fridge and pulled out another beer. He frowned as he surveyed her meager shelves which contained only sandwich meat, leftover lasagna, a package of sliced cheese, eggs, bacon, and a six-pack of beer. No wonder she was so thin. The girl needed to eat.

He popped the top of the glass bottle and turned it up. He downed half the beer before he heard the shower turn on in the bathroom.

His dick hardened further as he imagined Skylar stepping into the tub, the water glistening off her perfect, silky skin. She’d probably lean her head back and let the water cascade off her auburn hair and down her slender back. He imagined her arching into the stream as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Lost in his vivid image of her, he leaned back against the kitchen counter and closed his eyes. She would be soaping up the washcloth and then caressing her breasts until they were soapy mounds. She’d run the cloth down across her flat stomach and make little circles before inching down farther until she touched her sensitive flesh between her long legs.

His eyes popped open and he downed the beer. His body was on fire and on edge, and if he didn’t do something, he was going to go crazy.

“Fuck it.” He slammed the empty beer bottle down on the counter. Reaching for a stack of napkins, he grabbed a handful. Walking into the living room, he planted himself on the couch and leaned back. Taking his hard dick in his hand, he began to stroke, imagining it was her hand around him instead.