MoonlightTemptation (8 page)

“I’ll check in with Kyle, make sure he knows we’re coming.”

“Okay.”

Shit, now she heard a wobble in her voice and that was
definitely not acceptable.

Behind her, she heard Ryan moving then his arms circled
around her from behind, pulling her close against his body.

“You’ll be fine, doll,” Ryan said into her ear, his breath
making her shiver slightly. “If it comes to a fight, I think you can take a ten
year old.”

She laughed, as she knew he’d meant for her to do. Warmth
seeped into her. Ryan’s body heat combined with the look in Dane’s eyes made
her stomach clench.

Dane couldn’t hide the heat in his eyes, the desire for her.
Even though he wasn’t touching her, she knew he wanted her.

And the fact Ryan had his arms around her brought out no
jealousy at all. She actually thought it made him want her even more, though
she didn’t think he’d ever say it.

Ryan had absolutely no problem saying what he wanted.

“And later,” he said, “Dane and I will take your mind off
all of this for a little while. I promise.”

Oh my god.

Her thighs clenched and she felt her sex go wet. Just from
the sound of Ryan’s voice and the look in Dane’s eyes.

That had never happened before.

Oh, she’d had sex. As a teen. Some of it while stoned. Some
not. None of it had ever felt right and she couldn’t remember the last time a
man had made her orgasm, which was a pretty damn sorry state of affairs.

“I haven’t had sex in three years. Not since I got out of
rehab.”

Her lips snapped shut as if she could stop the words she’d
already spoken.

Holy shit. Had she really said that?

Her heart stopped before kicking over and beginning to pound
full speed ahead.

She’d completely lost her mind. That was the only
explanation she had for blurting out that information.

Behind her, she felt Ryan still. She could only imagine his
expression mirrored Dane’s.

The man actually looked slack-jawed. As if she’d pulled a
gun and shot him through the heart.

And then, as if she’d opened the floodgates, she couldn’t
stop herself from continuing.

“I haven’t been able to trust anyone enough to let them get
that close.”

Hell, she hadn’t come close to wanting anyone that much.

Until Dane.

“And I’ve never considered going to bed with two men.”

At least, not until she’d met Nica and Tira, two of the
youngest full members of the
boschetta
. Both of them lived with two men.

Nica had fallen for twin brothers, which had blown Evie’s mind
the first time she’d been introduced to Tanner and Jensen. That had seemed
so…weird. Until she’d seen the three of them together.

Then it’d just seemed natural.

Tira had mated best friends, Nic and Duke, who worked with
Evie’s brother. Evie had assumed, wrongly, that the men also had sex with each
other. They didn’t but their relationship was intensified by their love for
Tira.

As she’d grown to know the women, Evie had grown to envy
what she saw as an abundance of love.

She’d never imagined she’d be considering that kind of
relationship. Especially not with Dane.

Whose shock appeared to be wearing off because the heat in
his eyes flared again.

Dane, who never showed much emotion, stared at her with
desire evident on his face.

And Ryan, who might just be the most normal man she’d ever
met, had a hard-on. For her.

She felt the length and thickness of it pressing against her
backside.

These two men wanted her. What she couldn’t figure out was
why.

“Are you considering it now?” Dane asked.

His eyes had narrowed, his expression tense. How did he want
her to answer that?

She hated that she had so much trouble reading Dane. It
confused the hell out of her.

“Should I be?”

After a second, Dane’s mouth quirked into a faint smile and
he actually took a step closer.

She had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact and
her head bumped against Ryan’s chest as his arms tightened the slightest bit.

“That’s a question only you can answer. And I want you to be
positive of your answer before you give it.”

“What if I can’t?”

Dane’s gaze didn’t falter. “You can, Evie. The question is
do you want to?”

She could answer that question right now if she could get
her vocal cords in gear.

Yes. God, yes. Sex with these two men? Who in their right
mind would say no to that?

What she couldn’t understand was why they wanted her.

She was dangerous, damaged, possibly beyond repair.

Dane’s eyes narrowed as if he’d read her mind. He lifted his
hand to brush his fingers across her cheek. His easy caress amazed her.

The man had the softest touch and raised the most heated
response. Flames licked along her nerve endings.

“You don’t need to answer that now. And we can’t do anything
about it now anyway. We need to go.”

Alex. She’d almost forgotten about the little boy who needed
her. The dying little boy who she might actually be able to help.

* * * * *

Ryan watched Dane watch Evie as a little boy who looked
deathly ill wheeled his chair into an examination room.

Ryan hadn’t met Alex Bell yet. Though he’d discussed the
boy’s health issues with Dane, he knew there was a lot more to the situation
than Dane had told him. Such as why the boy was being held in a jail.

Yes, the building might look like a cottage from the
outside, but Ryan had been around Dane long enough to know the feel of magic.

And this building was infused with it. Ryan actually swore
he could feel invisible walls surround him when he’d walked into the
observation room.

Dane had told Ryan to wait here while he and Evie talked
with Alex. He’d be able to see and hear everything.

Unspoken but clear to Ryan had been Dane’s request that he
observe.

Ryan had no human medical training but the tenets of
diagnoses were the same.

And Dane had told Ryan just enough to realize that Dane
thought the boy might have something similar to a disease that ravaged some
lucani
.

Similar in ways to Lou Gehrig’s disease, the
lucani
wasting disease had no cure and no one had ever been able to discover who would
be affected or how it worked.

Dane had been studying the disease for years. Since before
his father had died of it.

Which explained a hell of lot about Dane, Ryan had always
thought.

“Hello again, Alex.”

“Hey, Dr. Dane. I just saw you this morning.” The boy
smiled, genuinely happy to see Dane. Ryan didn’t know if he was more surprised
by that or by the open affection on Dane’s face for the boy.

“I know, but I wanted you to meet a friend of mine. Alex,
this is Evie Simmons. Evie, meet Alex Bell.”

Evie smiled at the boy, but Ryan could see her discomfort in
the stiff lines of her body. “Hello, Alex. It’s nice to meet you.”

The boy’s smile dimmed just a little as he picked up on
Evie’s nerves. At that moment, he looked even younger than his ten years. “Hi,”
he said tentatively. “Are you sick too? Is Dr. Dane your doctor?”

Evie shook her head, a short, sharp motion. Maybe Evie
hadn’t been ready for this meeting after all.

“No, I’m not sick.” With a visible effort, Evie took a deep
breath then sat at the table across from Alex. “I’m sorry to hear you are.”

The little boy shrugged his thin shoulders. “It’s okay.
Mostly. Dr. Dane’s been trying to help me get better. My mom says if anyone
can, he can do it.”

Ryan saw surprise cross Dane’s face before he controlled it.
Amazingly, Evie barely flinched at the mention of Grace Bell.

“Dr. Dane’s very good at what he does.” Evie pointed at
Alex’s chair. “Do you like the Hardy Boys? I used to read them too. I liked
them even better than Nancy Drew.”

The boy’s face lit up again and Evie’s posture softened
enough to allow her smile to become more natural. “They’re the best. Dane and
Tam bring me all sorts of books. I used to read a lot more with my teacher
but…” Alex’s gaze slid away. “I haven’t seen her for a while.”

Since Alex and Grace had been confined here at the den.
Christ, what a mess for this poor little boy to be stuck in.

“Miss Terri taught me math too and science. My mom’s good at
science but she doesn’t teach me much about that now. She said I need a new
book anyway so…”

“You don’t have a teacher here?” Evie asked as she shot a
look at Dane.

The boy shook his head, dropping his gaze so he couldn’t see
Dane. As if he was afraid Dane would be angry with him. “No, but that’s okay.
Mom’s good at math and English too.”

“You know.” Evie laid her arms on the table, her smile
softening even more. “I went to school to be a teacher. I never finished but I
plan to go back some time and get my degree. Do you think you’d be willing to
help me, Alex? Would you be willing to let me practice my teaching skills on
you?”

Damn, the girl had a heart a mile wide.

Ryan realized he was grinning about the same time he noticed
the exact same look on Dane’s face. Dane covered his faster.

Alex’s eyes widened. “Could we really do that? I mean, would
it be okay, Dr. Dane?”

Alex and Evie both turned to Dane at the same time, Alex’s
expression hopeful, Evie’s determined. As if she expected Dane to say no.

But if Ryan knew Dane at all, then he knew Dane had probably
orchestrated this. The guy was scary smart like that.

Ryan ragged on Dane constantly about his penchant for
manipulating events to his own satisfaction. But damn, the guy surprised him
sometimes.

As if thinking about it, Dane finally nodded. “I think we
can arrange that, Alex. If you’re sure that’s what you want.”

Alex nodded so hard, Ryan worried the kid might hurt
himself. “That would be awesome. Can we start tomorrow?” He looked back to
Evie, almost as if he was afraid she’d changed her mind. “I mean, if it’s okay
with you, Miss Evie?”

Evie reached out to lay her hand over Alex’s, her smile
brilliant. “Absolutely. Thank you, Alex. You’re doing me a big favor.”

* * * * *

“You want to what?”

Kyle Rossini looked between Evie and Dane with utter
confusion. Not much threw the
lucani
king’s lead assassin. The last time
Dane had seen the guy poleaxed, he’d been watching his mate, Tam, pledge herself
to him and the
lucani
at their mating ceremony.

Otherwise, the guy was solid as a hundred-year-old oak.

Evie took a deep breath and repeated her last statement.
“I’d like to become Alex’s tutor. After high school— After I got out of rehab,
I attended Kutztown University with the intent of getting my degree in
elementary education. I don’t have my degree, yet,” and in that statement, Dane
heard the promise she’d made to herself, “but before I was kidnapped, I worked
at a preschool. I believe I can handle all of Alex’s subjects if we have the
right books. The boy needs to continue his schooling. He’s actually looking
forward to it.”

Kyle’s brows lifted above topaz eyes, his surprise evident
as Evie stood in Kyle’s living room to plead her case. “And you’d be okay with
this?”

Evie actually smiled for a few brief seconds. “I wouldn’t be
standing here if I didn’t want to.”

Kyle turned to Dane. “And the boy’s physically fit for
this?”

Dane nodded. “He will be once we start the treatments. I’ve
already started processing Evie’s blood.”

Kyle’s eyes narrowed on Evie’s again, looking for her
response.

She didn’t flinch.

Warmth spread through Dane’s blood, not the heat of passion
but something softer. He realized he was proud of her.

As if he had a right to be proud of her.

As if she was his.

And don’t you think she is?

Dane felt his heart skip a beat at that.

“You honestly think you’ll be able to duplicate Grace’s
serum?” Kyle’s question forced Dane to get his head back in the conversation.

“I know I can. She’s given me all her notes. Whatever else
the woman is, she loves her son. She’d never knowingly harm him.”

Kyle leaned back into the wooden dining room chair then
looked at his mate who’d been sitting quietly by his side. Dane had never known
Kyle to ask for advice from anyone before Tam. He’d been the proverbial lone
wolf.

Now the love Dane saw in Kyle’s eyes every time he looked at
his younger mate was evident.

“You think this is a good thing, don’t you?”

Tam nodded. “I think it’s too long in coming. The boy’s been
here six months. He needs to have some kind of schooling. He also needs to
socialize with kids his own age.” Tam smiled at Evie. “And, if it’s okay with
Evie, I’d like to suggest she be allowed to get Alex together with Michael and
Jason for a few classes. I know Michael’s mom, Miki, would love the break every
now and then. And Jason is only seven but the boy is scary smart. His mom told
me he’s reading on a fifth-grade level and she’s afraid she won’t be able to
keep up with him.”

Kyle sighed, shaking his head. “We used to employ a
full-time teacher for the den, a
lucani
the pack put through college,
but she got too old to teach a few years ago and there were so few kids living
here, we figured homeschooling would be fine. We don’t send our kids to public
schools for obvious reasons.”

Dane had turned to watch Evie as Kyle spoke. She’d sucked in
her lower lip and had her teeth lodged there now. She wanted this but she tried
to hide it, as if because she wanted it, it’d be taken away.

Gods damn, he’d make sure Kyle agreed and if he didn’t, Dane
would go to Cole himself.

There was absolutely no harm in allowing her to teach the
children. Alex couldn’t— No, Alex wouldn’t hurt anyone. Dane would stake his
medical degree on that. Kyle had to—