Kissed By Moonlight (21 page)

There, I pulled out my phone and put it down by my now cold plate of spaghetti. I kept thinking about what Vick had said, right before I left him in the frat house.

He'd said, "What if next time it's you?"

I thought about that, turning it over in my mind, my body curiously cold. It still hadn't snowed outside yet, but the chill was a bitter one. I always wore a long-sleeved sweater and full jeans each day.

What if tomorrow he transformed before I got him through the door? Then it really would be me. What if for some reason I wasn't around, and it happened to him and
got outside?

Then whoever died because of it... their blood would be on both our hands, then. I wasn't certain Adam could take another murder.

And we still hadn't found Jenn's body.

I brought up
Facebook and looked at her profile. There were messages on her wall from family and friends, imploring her to come back, to let everyone know she was okay.

Those wrenched at my heart, because I knew she wasn't okay. That she'd never respond to any of them ever again. I pulled up her profile picture.

Downstairs, the wolf howled. No matter how many times I heard that sound, I never got used to it. It pierced right through the floorboards and the walls, went into my body and tickled at the base of my spine.

I shut my eyes, waiting for him to finish. It went on far too long. It was a good thing he didn't really have any close neighbors. Anyone who heard it would be calling the cops right away.

I asked myself why I was still doing all this. Why was I helping him at all? Vick watched us, I knew. He let me see him a couple times.

Each instance, our eyes had met. It was a look that said, "Why are you doing this? Leave him alone, and I'll take care of it."

Maybe it was that it all seemed so hopeless. There was no cure for lycanthropy, as far as Adam and I could find out. He was doomed to spend his life like this.

It was a similar feeling to when I first found out about mom's cancer. The doctors had all rated her chance for survival quite low, especially since our insurance made it clear that they wouldn't be covering any of the new and experimental procedures and drugs.

It had all been hopeless, then, too. But then that pharmaceutical company came along, our lifeboat on that stormy sea. Every time I talked to mom on the phone, she sounded a little better, a little stronger.

I guess I was holding out for a similar raft to find Adam and me out there as the waves tossed up about. Right now, I'd settle for some life jackets, or even just a couple pairs of those little arm floaters that little kids liked so much.

Just any sign of hope would do.

My bed was a big, overstuffed black couch in a small study down the hall from the kitchen. Adam had offered me a room upstairs, but it felt so lonely up there, so quiet.

I fluffed my pillow and stared up at the ceiling, hoping to wake up to that glimmer of hope we both needed so badly.

I had a terrible nightmare. I remember being on campus. It was late at night. A few sheer clouds ghosted past a full moon overhead. It was the only light. Not a single
building, or window in any of those buildings, were lit.

And something watched me.
Something with hungry eyes and a terrible desire. I ran, my bare feet pounding on the cold asphalt. I wanted so badly to look back, but I knew if I did I would see it right there on my heels, needing only to stretch out its great arms to grab me up and…

“
Steph? Hey, wake up.”

A hand gently squeezed my shoulder. I knew that voice. I used it to pull myself out of that nightmare, away from those grasping claws.

I opened my eyes to see Adam kneeling beside me, concern furrowing his brow. His bright eyes examined me. He’d thrown on a black housecoat, the belt not tied tightly, letting me see a large slice of his chest. A shaft of sunlight pushed in through a crack in the drapes, so I knew it had to be morning.

“Are you okay?” he said, brushing some hair from my face.

I looked down and saw how I’d kicked my blanket onto the floor. “Yeah, I am now, I guess. Bad dream…”

Sitting up, I yawned, squeezing my eyes shut as I stretched my arms up over my head. The couch was a bit too giving, and a deep soreness emanated from the small of my back.

Then the face of the beast flashed against my eyelids. “Oh!” I said, rocking back, my heart trying to shoot up out of my throat.

Instantly, Adam sat on the couch beside me, holding me. I leaned my body into his, welcoming the simple comfort and strength I felt there.

“Don’t worry, it was just a dream…” Adam said. He hesitated for a moment, then kissed the top of my head.

I wished it was a dream. Monsters like that should exist only in dreams and bad movies.

“How about I get breakfast started?” Adam said, trying to disentangle himself from me.

“No! Don’t go, not yet, please…” I said, grabbing the sleeve of his housecoat and pulling at it. His belt came undone, leaving a long sliver of his naked body exposed.

He sat back down, doing his best to pull the robe shut. That dream was too fresh in my mind, as well as all the other horrors visited on me those past few days. I just wanted to get away from it all, just for a bit.

I told myself that was why I pulled him close for a kiss. His eyes widened in shock for a moment, his lips tense for a second, but then he relaxed and returned my affection.

His lips were hot and soft against mine, and his hands felt good clasped at the small of my back. I don’t know who opened their mouth first, but our tongues met. The kiss got intense, and his hands grew curious, exploring my body.

Heat infused me, and the chill of the nightmare disappeared. Yes, this was good.
So good.

And from there, things spiraled further out of control as the desires of our young bodies took control of the situation. He pulled the old t-shirt I slept in over my head, his fingers eager to squeeze and knead my breasts.

My fingers ran down his stomach and wrapped around his already hard length. He gasped at the touch, then sucked my bottom lip into his mouth and bit down lightly on it.

I was already wet for him when his fingers pushed between my thighs and rubbed up and down my panties. The pressure of his touch had me panting and groaning, arching my head back so that he could kiss my neck. He hadn’t shaved yet, so his stubble prickled at my soft flesh. I kind of liked it.

Adam took a moment to fully shrug out of his robe, and to pull my panties off. He lay beside me, his fingers parting my lower lips, getting all slicked with my juices, while I stroked him.

My body urged me to roll onto my side a little and let him slip between my legs, deep into my aching sex. The desire hurt, I wanted to feel him naked inside me so badly,
nothing but our flesh touching.

But somewhere I found the strength to tell him to go get something before we went any further. He came back with another blue-wrapped condom and started tearing it open before I took it from.

“Hey…” he said. He shut up when I pulled the condom out and rolled it down his shaft myself, rubbing his hardness the whole time.

“I need you now,” I told him, every word of it true. It was strange, in many ways he was the cause of my nightmare, the cause of my recent pain. But he was also the only thing that could hold it at bay. I didn’t care what Vick said, or how dangerous Adam might truly be.

At that moment, I needed only to be with him.

So he came back onto the couch, supporting himself over me on his hands, all the muscles in his arms standing out. I spread my legs apart for him.

This time lacked the intensity of our lust in the kitchen that night, but it didn’t need it. He guided himself against me. I wrapped my legs around his back and urged him forward, both of us sucking in a breath as he sank into me.

Our groans continued as he rhythmically slipped back and then thrust into me, my legs pulling him in a little harder than he wanted.

We kissed again, my fingernails lightly scratching at his broad shoulder blades. Each time he entered me, my walls tightened around him a little when I thought of how nice he felt in there. How big and hard and hot.

His rhythm got faster as his desire got hotter. Every thrust added to the tight, hot ball low in my stomach, bringing me closer and closer. What started out nice and slow, loving even, quickly spiraled into our bodies slapping together, the couch squealing against the floor as it shifted beneath the force of his efforts.

It really hit home when his face began to contort, almost as though he was in pain. At first, I thought he was about to transform again. Then, feeling him get harder inside me, I knew what was about to happen.

“Come on, Adam. That’s it, give it to me. I want it. I want it all…” I said, almost shocking myself. I’d never really considered myself a dirty talker. But it was true. I wanted him to reach his climax. My thoughts went back to our encounter in the kitchen, and the way it felt when he finally went over the edge.

Nibbling on his earlobe did it. He arched his back up, his toes scrabbling at the cushion to push himself as deeply into my as he could.

When his shaft jerked inside me, I climaxed.

“Adam!” I said, feeling my walls bear down on him uncontrollably, trying to keep him trapped deep inside as his seed spurted from him.

His body tensed with each jerk of his member, and an expression almost like pain twisted his face. It was the sexiest, most arousing thing I’d ever seen.

It’s me, I’m doing that to him!
I kept thinking.

My body shook, alternating between intense, burning heat and chilling cold, between relaxation and tension. Until finally my arching back collapsed, and Adam went limp over me. It felt good, satisfying, to have his weight pressing down on me.

I wanted to whisper into his ear, but couldn’t, my mind completely at a loss for words.

We lay together like that until he finally began softening inside me. It was nice to
have him there; I could actually feel his pulse through his member. We kissed as we parted.

Adam handed me my shirt and panties, then shrugged back into his robe, making sure to tie the knot of his belt properly this time.

“Breakfast?” he said.

“Please.”

He met my eyes for a moment, then dropped his gaze to the floor. As I watched him leave the room, a cold, creeping dread started in my stomach again. It was going to be a bad day, I could just tell. No matter that it had started out so nicely. It was just the eye of the storm.

Chapter 30

As per our usual arrangement, Adam dropped me off at my dorm the next morning. He looked haggard and hopeless, all the blood gone from his face as I stepped out of the car.

The campus seemed especially busy today. I had to jump out of the way as a gaggle of students made their way past on the sidewalk, ignoring me as they spoke excitedly among themselves.

I walked up the path towards my dorm, looking around, feeling a little strange. Something was really off, today.

All the students moved about in groups no smaller than three or four.
If it was an all-girl group, then six or seven seemed more the minimum.

And through all that was the quiet. Yeah, there were tons of people around, but they all whispered to each other so that a car driving by in the distance was enough noise to wash them out.

It was all so unnerving that I speed-walked up to my room and closed the door behind me. Class was coming up in about forty five minutes, and in that time I had to shower, change, and try to get as much of the reading done as I could manage.

I
grabbed up my shower supplies, bundling them all in my towel, when my cell buzzed.

I had it on silent, but the sudden noise still startled me. I grabbed it up from my desk and frowned down at the number. It was one I didn't recognize.

Who had my number? And why were they calling now? The phone buzzed against my palm as I bit my lip, looking down at it. Should I answer? What if it was Eric ready with another disgusting pickup line or offer?

That was ridiculous. How could he get my number?

Shaking my head at my own ideas, I hit the answer button and held the cell to my ear.

"Hello?" I said.

"Uh, yeah. Hi?" a girl's voice said. It sounded somewhat familiar. "Is this Stephanie?"

"...Yes?" I said, shifting my bundle in my arm, trying to find a comfortable position for it.

"Oh, hey! This is Michelle Stein."

"Who?"

"I lived down the hall from Jenn. Look, I, like, just wanted to say I'm really sorry about all that. If it was my friend, I just don't know how I'd handle it. I'd flip."

I remembered her now, one of the blonde girls in Jenn's dorm. I'd given my number to her to call in case she saw or heard from Jenn. Was Michelle the one with the straight hair, or the curls? I couldn't remember.

Sitting down on the bed I hadn't slept on in a week, I shifted the cell to my other ear. A sick feeling started building in my stomach. My mind couldn't help connecting what was going on outside to this phone call, though I didn't really see any logical reason for them to be counted together.