Night Moves (6 page)

“Here? In my house?”

“It’s difficult to get at you physically in your office—or anywhere in that building, for that matter. Trying to run you off the road didn’t work too well, so this is all that’s left. It’s someone with a bitter grudge. The language of the notes clearly expresses that. And they’ve been building a campaign to knock you off balance.”

“So what are you all going to do?”

“Like I said earlier, tonight Luke, Grey, Michael and I are going to be on guard duty.”

He smiled. “The Sentinels.”

“But won’t he see you?” she asked “And why will the alarm be off? Why install it and not use it? Isn’t the purpose to catch whoever this is?”

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He shook his head. “It won’t catch the person unless someone’s here to do it. Besides, when I decided to install it, I hadn’t realised yet I’d be closer to you than your own skin. I had the guys set it up anyway, though. In your line of work you need it. But tonight, the alarm will be off.”

“Why?” she asked again

“So whoever this is can get close enough to the house that we can catch him in the act.

We’ll turn it back on when I come in to go to sleep.”

“But—”

He pressed his fingers to her lips. “Sierra will answer the rest of your questions.”

“Does she work with the agency, too?”

“No. Actually, she and Luke spend most of their time in Maine. We opened up an office there, but Sierra does her own thing. She met Luke when she was an unofficial client. They just happen to be in town, fortunately, and she has…things to say you’ll want to hear.

Meanwhile, it won’t be dark for half an hour, and I don’t want to waste the time arguing.”

While he’d talked, he’d moved close to her again. Now, he was pulling her silk sweater over her head, unzipping her skirt and dragging it down her hips along with her panty hose and tiny panties. He managed to toss them to the side while she tugged at his T-shirt and tried to unfasten his jeans.

“You make me crazy,” he murmured in a raw voice as he helped her with his clothes.

“I’ve never been like this with anyone else. Jesus, Regan. I’m supposed to be protecting you and finding your stalker, and all I can think about is being inside you every minute.”

“Me, too,” she said, struggling for breath. “Oh, God, am I losing my mind?”

“If you are, we both are.”

In a frenzy, he dug a condom out of his pocket and rolled it on. Then neither of them said a word as he moved her up on the bed, settled himself between her thighs and took her mouth in a kiss that stole her senses. One arm cradled her while his other hand trailed down to her breasts, lightly pinched each nipple in turn then slid around to her spine. His fingers traced the cleft of her buttocks, moving up and down the length between her firm cheeks.

“Soon,” he told her, lifting his head. “Soon, I’m going to have my cock in this tight channel back here. I’m going to fill it with my shaft and fuck you until you don’t know your own name. Then you’ll truly belong to me. You hear me, Regan?”

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She could only nod her head, all her breath trapped in her throat, a ribbon of dark lust tightening inside her. She wanted this. She wanted
him
. For one brief second, she wondered if they were just caught up in the seductive sense of danger. The next minute, she couldn’t think at all as he moved his free hand between them down to her clit and rasped his thumb back and forth over it.

Tiny spasms set up in her pussy, and the liquid of her arousal spilled onto her thighs.

“I love your scent,” Brian growled. “Sweet, hot and musky. One tiny little whiff of that aroma and my brain takes a holiday.”

Regan ran her hands over his heated body, touching his broad shoulders, his back, the ridges of his spine, loving the feel of hard muscles beneath taut skin. The hair on his chest chafed her hardened nipples, and she pressed hard against him, trying to rub herself back and forth.

“Not much time for foreplay tonight, darlin’.” His voice was heavy with lust. “Later, I promise I’ll take my time, but right now, I have to be inside you.”

He moved his hand to her cunt, testing her readiness, spread her legs wide and drove into her. This time she was prepared for it, her inner muscles elastic as they accepted the hugeness of him, her body already learning his size and feel and adapting to it. She wrapped her legs around him and locked her ankles at the small of his back, dragging him into her even deeper.

Bracing himself on his forearms, he set a steady pace, in and out, in and out, adjusting his body so the crisp hair above his cock rubbed her clit with every movement forward.

Using her position as leverage and gripping his shoulders, Regan adjusted to his rhythm, hips thrusting, meeting him stroke for stroke. Her body was like a live wire, filled with an electrical charge, nerves firing, pulses pounding. She felt as if somehow Brian had tapped into a basic element of her nature, raw and greedy. Nothing existed at that moment except the two of them and the magical ride to the top of the mountain.

When they exploded, it was like the eruption of a volcano, her hot liquid bathing his sheathed cock, the muscles of her cunt spasming around him and pulling on him. Her blood pounded in her ears, and her whole body convulsed like the tightening of a giant fist.

Even when the intensity of the orgasm began to abate, she was loathe to unhook her legs from Brian’s waist, to somehow disconnect them. His hot breath washed over her as he NIGHT MOVES

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struggled to draw air into his lungs, and she wasn’t sure whose heart she heard thundering, his or her own.

Long minutes passed before he lifted himself and slowly withdrew. Bending his head, he showered kisses onto her stomach and in a line from hip to hip. Then he slid off the bed, and she heard him moving around in the bathroom, no doubt disposing of the condom. In a moment, he was back, sitting beside her on the bed and lifting her into his embrace.

“It’s dark,” he said, inclining his head towards the window and the blackness beyond.

“I have to go. Go downstairs and be with Sierra, okay?” His kiss was brief but hard. “I’ll be back inside before dawn. Turn off your phone up here. If it rings, Sierra will answer it. If it’s a real call, she’ll just give it to you. We’ll see what shows up on the caller ID.”

“But—”

He pressed fingers to her lips. “If your stalker calls again, I don’t want you getting the call. So no questions. Not now. I have to get going.”

He dressed hastily, unlocked and opened the door and disappeared into the hallway.

Regan switched off the ringer on her phone as Brian had instructed. Then she pulled jeans from her closet and a light sweater from her drawer, slid her feet into soft moccasins, and went into the bathroom to brush her hair and repair her face. Her muscles were sore from the day’s activity with Brian, but she didn’t want to take the time to shower now.

She stared at herself in the mirror. The person looking back at her had a face that was flushed rosy and eyes sparkling with a bright light.

“I might as well wear a sign saying ‘recently fucked’,” she muttered to herself.

Finally, she made her way downstairs. Sierra sat at the kitchen table, a worn book lying face down next to her. Someone had made a fresh pot of coffee, and Sierra had filled a mug for each of them.

“Is everyone outside now?” Regan asked.

Sierra nodded. “Doing their thing. All the woods in back of your house make it dangerous for you but help the guys to conceal themselves.”

Regan sipped her coffee. “One of the reasons I bought the house was because it backed up to a conservation area. I never thought I’d have to worry about it hiding a stalker.” She put her mug down, carefully choosing her words. She hardly knew this woman, and NIGHT MOVES

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wondered what on earth she could have to say that was so important. “So, how long have you and Luke been married?”

“Six months.” Sierra flashed a grin. “Six wonderful months, I might add. We met in Maine. He was taking some down time, and I was enjoying the cabin my grandfather left me and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. We were married four weeks later.”

Regan studied her. “Such a short time? Did you really know what you wanted that fast?”

“Oh, yes. I knew the first night we were together. We were meant to be mated.”

Regan’s eyebrows rose. “Mated?”

Sierra nodded. “There was something inside both of us that knew we were meant to be together. We had some… issues to resolve, but that didn’t take us long.”

“Then you won’t think I’m crazy if I tell you I feel the same way with Brian. As if we’re bonded forever.” She shook her head. “I know this sounds crazy, but the first time he touched me the word ‘forever’ flashed through my brain.”

Now Sierra laughed. “I don’t think you’re crazy at all. And I know Brian feels the same way. When he stepped out of your courtroom for a while this afternoon, he called Luke and talked to him at great length.” She paused and wet her lips. “Did Brian tell you he’d asked me along tonight to talk to you?”

“Yes, but I can’t imagine about what.”

Sierra picked up the book and flipped it over. Regan could see now how old it really was, the covering frayed in places. Across the front, in gold script, was written,
The Legend of
the Wolf.
“How much do you know about wolves and shifters?”

Regan nearly dropped her mug. “You mean like
werewolves?
”

“Werewolves are an old myth started by people centuries ago. Shifters are an ancient race of people who evolved through generations into what they are today. Humans who have a specific gene that allows them to change—shift—into wolf form.”

Now Regan was sure she was losing her mind. Wolves? Shifters? She thought back to the logo on the business card and the shadowy form she’d seen lurking around the office building.

“Are you telling me Luke is a…a…wolfman?”

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Sierra nodded. “The first time I saw him was in his wolf form, as a matter of fact.”

“My God.” Regan felt a chill sweep through her. “That means Brian is, too.” She stood up so quickly she almost knocked her chair over. “I think I need something stronger than coffee.”

In her family room, she opened the cupboard that held her liquor and brought a bottle of bourbon back to the kitchen. Dropping ice cubes into a glass, she poured herself a healthy shot and took a quick swallow, choking slightly as it burned the back of her throat.

Sierra was beside her at once, arm around her shoulders. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to shock you so badly, but sometimes you can’t work your way into these things.”

Regan flapped her hand in the air and caught her breath. “Give me a minute, and I’ll be fine.” She held out the bottle. “Would you like some?”

“No.” Sierra smiled at her. “Coffee’s fine. Come. Sit down again.”

Regan took a smaller sip of her drink. “Tell me. Weren’t you shocked when Luke told you? Did you see him shift? Have you ever,” she dropped her voice, “made love when he was in wolf form?”

The other woman laughed. “Yes, yes, and no. All the partners in the agency are shifters.

They’re all that’s left of a pack from Minnesota that once numbered in the hundreds but were decimated by hunters when they ran at night as wolves.”

She went on to explain how they’d eventually migrated to Texas and were reaching out to find others like themselves. How, rather than be repelled by Luke’s admission, she’d been fascinated.

“I’ve always been intrigued by wolves,” she explained. “And really, when he’s in his human form, he is a truly magnificent male specimen.”

“What about children? Don’t you want to have a family?”

“Of course. Our children are called Halflings, and if they are born with the gene, they can be given medicine to repress it. But eventually, we’d like to re-establish a pack large enough that our children will have friends and accept their genetic differences.”

Regan pulled the book towards her and flipped it open, leafing slowly though the pages. Her heart was racing, but she was shocked to realise it wasn’t from fear but from fascination. From the knowledge that the man who had taken over her life was a rare and incredible being.

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“No wonder he talked about mating,” she said.

“Brian asked me to leave the book with you. It’s the one Luke brought for me to read right after we met.” She stood up and held out her hand. “Come with me. Let me show you something.”

She turned out the lights in the kitchen and tugged Regan by the hand to the sliding door, opening the vertical blinds just a fraction.

“Look,” she said. “Watch carefully in the yard.”

Regan stared through the narrow slit in the blinds, her eyes open wide.

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With only moonlight to see by, if she hadn’t been watching carefully, Regan would have missed the dark shapes. Four of them, moving stealthily among the tall side hedges and into the thick trees at the back of the yard.

“I hope my neighbours don’t spot them,” she said.

“The guys are really good about not being seen. And if anyone does lay eyes on them, they’ll just think it’s a big dog. Most people don’t even know what wolves look like.”

The more the impossible realisation took shape in her mind, the more questions Regan had. Sierra willingly answered even the most intimate ones, until finally Regan felt the tight knot that had formed inside her unravel and a thrill of excitement take its place. She began to leaf through the book again, studying the history of shape shifters, until her eyes began to droop.

”Why don’t you go on up to bed?” Sierra suggested. “I’ll curl up on your couch. The guys won’t be in until dawn.”

“I think I will, if you don’t mind. I still have work tomorrow. I don’t know how Brian will keep going.”