MoonlightTemptation (5 page)

Her smile broadened. “Sure. Okay. It’ll be nice to have
someone to run with. I usually head out around seven but we can go later if you
want.”

He usually had his workout in by then and was at the office
by seven-thirty. He’d actually get to sleep in tomorrow. “Seven’s fine. I’ll be
here.”

Then, because he couldn’t resist, he leaned in and stole one
more quick kiss. “Sleep tight, Evie.”

* * * * *

Evie knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep yet, if at all, so
she traded her jeans and blouse for running clothes. The outside temperature
hovered around thirty-five, so she pulled on thick tights and doubled up on the
long-sleeved shirts.

She might be a little cold to start but once she got going
she’d be warm enough.

Stepping out onto the porch, she didn’t bother to lock the
door. No one did here. If anyone who wasn’t expected breached the magical wards
surrounding this little village, the
streghe
would know. She’d set off a
few alarms when she left the two-lane road that led into the village and headed
into the trails winding through the small forest at the edge of the village but
the
streghe
would know it was her.

A few of the older ones probably wished she’d leave and
never come back.

Hell, on any given day, she wished she could go and never
return.

“Can’t always get what you want,” she muttered then drew in
a deep breath of crisp night air before heading out.

She set a deliberately hard pace to start, knowing it was
going to take exhaustion to put her to sleep tonight.

After that dinner, that kiss…

Hell, she might not sleep for a week. Which wouldn’t do
anyone any good because she was a cranky bitch when she didn’t get enough
sleep.

No wonder some of the women went out of their way to avoid
her. She’d been tired pretty much since she got here.

Sure, she had an excuse. Most normal people weren’t kidnapped
by a psycho who stole your blood or woke up after being in a magically induced
coma with magical powers.

She ran faster, though she knew she couldn’t outrun her
memories. But she could shut them down by pushing herself and her body to the
edge.

Since she’d been here these past few months, she’d memorized
these trails. There’d been no snow yet, though it was mid-January. And the
trails were remarkably clear. No tree roots or rocks to trip her up. The frozen
ground jarred her knees and hips but a hot shower would totally take care of
that later.

Right now, she simply enjoyed the burn in her muscles that
forced out all other thoughts.

The waxing moon provided enough light to filter through the
bare tree limbs and show her the way. It also provided enough light to catch a
glimpse of the wolf who ran by her side.

She knew if he hadn’t wanted her to see him, she wouldn’t
have. He wanted her to know he was there.

They ran together for a mile and a half, endorphins clearing
her head of everything but putting one foot in front of the other. Of chasing
the moon and the wolf up the hill.

And when she finally reached the top, where she typically
turned around on her three-mile loop, she stopped to catch her breath and look
out over the little valley that had become her home.

Up here, on a clear day, you could see for miles.

To the west, the city of Reading sprawled along the
Schuylkill River. To the east, the hills and valleys of the Oley Valley, where
her little village was situated. To the north, though she could never see it,
the
lucani
den lay hidden in the woods of Rockland Township.

That’s where Dane lived. Where he should be. Instead of
here, watching over her once again.

Without the buffer of another person between them.

With her hands on her hips, she drew in a deep breath. “Are
you just going to watch from over there or are you going to grow a set and come
stand with me?”

Silence reigned for several seconds until she felt him brush
against her leg.

He was a big animal, larger and heavier than a natural gray
wolf. All the
lucani
were. Cat had tried to explain how the magic had to
distribute the weight of the human body into a wolf body by making the wolf
heavier and larger than a natural wolf.

Evie had never really cared about the mechanics. There were
some things that could just be magic.

“Kind of convenient that it’s too cold for you to shift so
we could talk,” she said. “Of course, that could be good for me. I can talk all
I want and you can’t say a word.”

She looked down to find the wolf had sat next to her. He looked
up with his head cocked to the side, his gaze connected with hers.

She couldn’t hold the connection. Too many conflicting
emotions.

“You know I’m pissed off at you, right? You know I want to
scream at you and tell you to fuck off? So why the hell am I standing here next
to you, waiting for you to tell me it’s all going to be okay?”

The wolf huffed and shook his head, his snout bumping
against the fist clenched at her side.

She knew better than to pet one of the
lucani
unless
they invited you to. Unless they did exactly what Dane was doing.

She wanted to but couldn’t get her fist to unclench.

“I thought I was doing okay, you know,” she blurted out. “I
thought, finally, maybe things were starting to level out. But I was just
kidding myself, wasn’t I?”

The wolf shook his head again, his deep yip a very definite
denial.

Then she felt that tingle, that oh-so-recognizable crawl of
sensation along her skin that signaled the use of magic. Dane was shifting,
calling forth the magic of the earth to give him the power to shift back into
his human form.

Since it was considered bad manners to watch, she waited
until she felt Dane’s hand on her shoulder.

The warmth of it seeped through the layers of her clothing
and into her quickly chilling skin.

“You’re go-going to fr-freeze out here.” She could barely
get the words out through the lump in her throat.

“Then conjure me clothes.” His deep, steady voice made her
thigh muscles clench and her eyelids flutter closed. “I know you can do it.”

She wanted to sob but was afraid if she started, she
wouldn’t stop. And she didn’t want him to see how weak she was right now. Even
though he had to be able to sense it.

“Then you’re the only one,” she said. “Ronia and Kotev think
I’m worthless.”

The elder
streghe
thought she couldn’t do anything
right.

“And I know you’re not.”

The quiet assurance in his voice filled her with warmth,
even as she started to shake. And not from the cold.

She wanted him to hold her. And she knew he wouldn’t.

“I kissed him,” she blurted out. “I kissed Ryan.”

“More like he kissed you.”

Had Dane watched? She shook her head. “Why?”

That one word held so many questions.

“He’ll be good for you, Evie. You need someone to talk to,
someone who—”

“Isn’t you.”

She felt him tense, all coiled strength and frustration. Then
she distinctly heard him mutter, “Fuck.”

Right before he grabbed her by the upper arms and pulled her
against him.

Shock held her immobile as he bent his head and crushed his
lips against hers.

Dane’s kiss was nothing like Ryan’s. Which was the only observation
she made before her brain short-circuited and went blank.

She barely even registered the fact he was naked and still
was warm enough to heat her through her clothes. She only knew he’d finally
kissed her.

She had no idea what to expect. She hadn’t allowed herself
to imagine.

Now she only wanted to feel.

Hard, hot, forceful. His lips demanded a response and she
gave him what he wanted.

She opened her mouth so he could slide his tongue against
hers. So he could inhale and devour her.

God, it seemed as if she’d waited forever for him to kiss
her. She’d thought he never would.

Now… Now she practically tasted the leashed emotion pouring
out of him.

He wasn’t immune to her.

And she wanted him more.

She struggled against his grip but he wouldn’t release her
so she could plaster herself against him like she wanted.

And she wanted. It felt like a fever in her blood, a
compulsion.

Every flick of his tongue against hers took her breath away,
every slide of his lips on hers made her want more.

She sucked on his tongue, bit at his lips.

And when he broke off the kiss as abruptly as he’d started
it, she cried out, reaching for him as he stepped away from her.

She nearly stumbled but his hands steadied her as she tried
to make the world tilt back on its axis.

She stared up at Dane, feeling some satisfaction from his
dazed expression. His dark eyes appeared black in the light of the moon and his
expression was shadowed. She wanted to examine his expression, figure out what
he was thinking.

As if he knew, he ran a hand through his short, dark hair
and turned away from her.

And her gaze traveled down the naked length of him.

The man was absolutely gorgeous. Long, lean, tight from his
strong, broad shoulders to an ass so fine she wanted to sink her teeth into it.
Or, at the very least, pet it. And his thighs… She got lightheaded just staring
at his muscled thighs.

She wanted him to turn so she could ogle the rest of him.
But he didn’t oblige.

He just stood there, naked, in the thirty-degree weather,
seemingly unaffected. “You need to go back now, Evie. It’s cold. We’ll discuss
this tomorrow.”

“Dane…”

Before she had a chance to finish, he began his
transformation, leaving her blinking at the spot where he’d been.

A
lucani
’
s
shift isn’t instantaneous. It takes
several seconds but the human eye can’t comprehend it. It becomes fuzzy. Almost
as if reality blurred.

And it was.

Dane’s wolf gave a full-body shake before he set off back
down the trail.

When she didn’t move, he stopped to glance back over his
shoulder.

He wouldn’t leave her alone here. But he’d walked out of her
home and left her with Ryan.

Questions. Always more questions.

With a sigh, she took off after him.

* * * * *

“So, how are we going to play this one?”

Dane closed the front door to his home behind him, not bothering
to lock it.

The
lucani
maintained guards at all times around the
perimeter of the den. The collection of houses spread over a five-hundred-acre
tract in the woods of Rockland Township had better security than the White
House.

And more deadly.

Only one road led in and out of the property, though once
you got in, lanes shot off to different houses and complexes throughout the
site.

If you weren’t Etruscan and you somehow managed to find your
way into the heart of the den, where the community building sat… Well, no one
had ever gotten there so they hadn’t had to worry about it.

And since Dane had been excused from the mandatory stint in
the
lucani
army because he’d been in med school, he’d never learned the
contingency plan.

There were only a few outsiders who had leave from the
lucani
king to come and go without escort.

At this moment, Dane regretted getting Ryan that free pass.

Ryan sprawled on Dane’s black leather couch in the living
area at the front of the house, watching a race on TV. Not a car race. An
actual footrace.

“Why the hell would you want to watch people sprint around a
track for thirty seconds?” Dane bypassed the living area and headed straight
for the kitchen at the rear of the house “Isn’t there a hockey game on?”

When he returned to the living area with a can of high-test
Coke, Ryan had muted the TV and switched his focus to Dane.

“For a doctor, you’re pretty damn bloodthirsty.”

Ryan lifted his mug and took a sip of what Dane figured was
strong black coffee. The guy had an iron stomach and never had a problem
sleeping, no matter what he ingested.

“You forget I’ve got fangs and claws occasionally.”

“I never forget that.” Ryan’s eyes narrowed and Dane’s back
automatically tried to straighten. “I kissed her but you know that already.”

Dane sank into the chair across from the couch and forced
himself to relax. “Yeah. I knew. I did too.”

Ryan nodded, his gaze steady but the hint of a smile played
around his lips. “So how are we going to play this?”

“I don’t want to
play
this.” Dane tried to keep the
frustration out of his voice. And failed miserably. “This isn’t a game.”

Ryan’s tone never varied from calm. “I know that but that
doesn’t answer my question. I saw how you looked at her.”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

Ryan just shook his head as he leaned forward, resting his
elbows on his knees. “Yeah, you do. I’ve never know you to be a coward, Dane,
but you’re acting like you’ve got your tail tucked between your legs right
now.”

“Fuck you, Ry—”

“No.” Finally, a little heat crept into Ryan’s voice. “No
fucking way, Dane. You don’t get to dismiss this. Not now. I know why you
brought me here. Christ, I know
exactly
why I’m here. You want her.
You’re fucking dying for her but you can’t get past the fact that she’s not
lucani
.
You think if we share her, that’s not the same as having her yourself.”

“No, that’s bull—”

“No, it’s not. I’m right. I even get it. Kind of. I’ve met
your mom. I get it. You call me in and it gives you the freedom to call
whatever happens with Evie a fling. It allows you to pull away whenever you
want, knowing I’ll be there to pick up the pieces. I’ve seen you do this
before. I
know
you.”