The Twin Moon (The Moon Series) (22 page)

“Andy, I think you know who might have done this.”
Ian’s voice was cool, as if all the warmth had gone out of it.
He sounded angry.

“You mean Rich?
Do you really think so?
I mean he’s a lot of things, but why would he poison a dog.
It doesn’t make sense.”
Andy shook her head in disbelief.

“To hurt you.
To get rid of your protection.
Any number of reasons.
This guy is bad news.
I hate that he knows where you live.”

“What am I supposed to do?
I call the police every time something happens
,
but they never catch him.
I’m scared, Ian.”
Fear rose up inside Andy stabbing at her gut with sharp c
laws that made her wrap her arm
around her stomach.

“I don’t know, baby.
I’ll think of something.
You just stay safe until I can see you again okay?”
Ian’s voice was calm, soothing and soft.
“Call me when you’re done at the vet and I’ll come over.
Maybe we can cook dinner and watch a movie instead of going out tonight.”

“That sounds nice.
I’ll pick up some stuff on my way home.
Do you like Italian?
I could make lasagna.”
Thinking of something else made Andy’s nerves quiet a little.

“Sure, that sounds great.
I’ll see you later.”
Ian hung up.

Andy made her way back inside and Rosie
came
to embrace her.
“Is he going to be okay?”

“The vet says he’s bleeding internally.
He’s been poisoned.
It was rat poison.
The vet says it’s common, but deadly.
How did this happen?”
Rosie wiped tears from her eyes with a Kleenex.

“I talked to Ian.
He sa
id he thinks it was Rich.
I’m so sorry. I never thought he’d do something like this.”
Andy shook her head as she fished inside her purse for another tissue for
her best friend
.

“He broke your arm
,
amiga
,
of course he’s capable of this.
I just feel bad for Dallas.
He’s just a dog and it’s not his fault.
Oh, my poor baby.”
Rosie burst into fresh tears.

“It’s all right, the vet will fix him.”
If
he can.
What if he couldn’t?
Guilt burned inside Andy’s chest and made a hole in her.
She would never forgive herself if that dog died.
Andy handed Rosie the new tissue.
“Here, honey, let’s sit back down.”

Andy spent the rest of the day with Rosie at the vet until finally he came out.
He was tall and had silver hair.

“Well, he’s stable so far.
I’ve given him Vitamin K but he’s going to have to stay here until we see if he’s going to make it.
Unfortunately
,
we aren’t out of the woods yet.”
The doctor ran a hand through his thinning hair.
“He had blood in his lungs and we have him on oxygen.
We will be giving him regular doses of the antidote and monitoring him closely.”

“Can I see him?”
Rosie stared up at the man as she twisted her tissue into pieces.

“Not yet, he needs rest and to be kept calm.
Go home and get some sleep.
If he makes it through the night we’ll let you see him tomorrow.”
With that the vet left the waiting room and Rosie just stared after him.

“He’ll be okay
,
Rosie.”
Andy wrapped her arm around her shoulder and walked her through the front door.
The whole day was just sad.

When Ian arrived later that evening Andy was s
till beating herself up about the dog
.

“How could I have not noticed?
I feel like such a fool.”
Andy shook her head as she took the lasagna out of the oven.
The whole house smelled of tomatoes and roasted garlic.

“Andy, it was easy to miss. I
t’s not like the whole yard was covered in green poop.
It was a few pieces at the far end of the yard.”
Ian sat at the table his arms propped on the edge a glass of Coke between them.

“But I should have known.
What if he dies, Ian? What am I going to tell Rosie then?
This is all my fault.
If Rich would just leave me alone she wouldn’t have brought Dallas over to protect me.”
Andy visibly ground her teeth.
She
turned away from setting the lasagna on the counter to put the bread in the oven.
“She’s my best friend and that dog is like her child.”

“It’ll be okay.
I know you feel bad about it, but you can’t control what Rich does.
He’s obviously getting more violent.
That’s why I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Ian ran his fingers through his hair.
He wasn’t sure if this was the best move to make
,
but he was ready to lay it on the line with Andy.
After all the sess
ions with Gavin Ian
need
ed
to suck it up and deal with the fact that his mate was a human.
There was nothing wrong with that and he could take care of her no matter what.
He would
t
ake a st
e
p he was ready to make even if she wasn’t.
“I know this is
fast
, but I don’t think you should stay here by yourself.”

“You think I don’t know that?
I sleep with one eye open always waiting to see what’s going to happen next.”
Andy flung her arms wide, the spatula she held went sailing across the room.
“Damn it.
I’m not safe in my own house.”
She stomped over to where the spatula had landed to retrieve it as a tear rolled down her cheek.
She
breathed
,
she hiccupped and th
e tears rolled fro
m her eyes.
Andy swiped
at them.
“I just want to be safe again. I
s that
too
much to ask?”

Ian stood and came over to her wrapping her in his arms.
“No, baby, it’s not and you are safe.
You have me now.
I can stay with you.
I can be here when he shows up.
You don’t need to be alone.”
Ian kissed her hair as she held onto him.
His heart broke at her tears.
He hated to see her like this
vulnerable
and fearful.
She was stronger than this.

Andy pushed back and stared up
at him
.
“I can’t ask you to do that, Ian.
I can’t.
You’ve barely known me a week and already I’ve dragged you into my problems.
I’m so sorry.”
She pushed away from him and returned to the stove, dropping the spatula in the sink.
“I’ll understand if this is the last time we see each other.”
Andy bent to take the bread out of the oven.
She kept her
back to him as if blocking him
out.
Andy set the bread down on the stove and closed the oven door.
Then she wiped her eyes with her hands.
Andy turned to face him and he
made sure he was
right behind her.
He wouldn’t allow her to push him away ev
en if
she thought that was what would be best.
It wasn’t what was best for either of them.

“I’m not going anywhere.”
His voice was a low rumble as he grabbed her by the shoulders
.
A
menace he didn’t mean to have rolled through his body making his body hair stand on end.
She was his mate
and he’d be damned if he’d lose
her so easily.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you Andy.
I want to be here.
Right here… with you.
I’m not afraid of Rich.”
Why couldn’t she understand that?
He wanted to crush her to him and take her lips.
Claim her as his and prove to her he was exactly where he needed to be.

“But Ian.”
Andy didn’t look at him. S
he dropped her gaze and looked at his chest, which was moving fast in and out.

“No, buts.
You and me, Andy.
I… I wanted to tell you that first night on the phone, but I knew you wouldn’t believe me if I did.
Look at me.
Please.
I need you to look in my eyes.”
Anticipation swirled around in his head making him dizzy as he zeroed in on her face, willing her gaze to his.
He wanted to see her brown eyes as he spoke the words that echoed through his head as deep as his heart beat and just as demanding.

Andy raised her gaze to his and her breath caught as if she saw what he was about to say.

“I love you.
I knew it the moment I saw you.
There will never be anyone else for me.”
Ian was dead serious.
He held onto Andy’s arms as he said the words and her mouth opened. His heart thundered in his chest anxiously awaiting her reaction.

Andy’s mouth gaped like a fish out of w
ater a few times.
“What?”

“You
heard me.” Ian held the gaze of
those beautiful brown eyes flecked with green. She moved all at once.

Her hands found his hair and on tip toe Andy smashed her mouth to Ian’s.
Her lips were warm as they moved over his and seemed to convey things that her tongue obviously would not.
Ian groaned as he was swallowed up by her kiss and seeking hands falling fast into the desire that burned through his blood.
Ian picked Andy up in his arms and strode to her bedroom.

It was night now the sun had finally set and the moon
had risen
. Andy’s room was pitch black
, but with his W
ere vision he was able to see every inch of her as he laid her on the queen
size
bed.
Ian went to the curtain and pulled back the heavy drapes so the
soft light
shone through the sheers bathing the room in the full blue glow.
Never before had he wanted a female like he did Andy and tonight
,
on the mating moon
,
he would claim his mate.
Hunger burned through his chest hot and heavy.
His cock
throbbed
behind his zipper.

“You look
amazing
in the moonlight.”
He pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor as he knelt on the bed beside her.
She wore a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
Nothing special
,
but on her it looked gorgeous.
Her full breast
s
pulled the t-shirt tight across her chest and the shorts bared her long
tanned
legs.
“I want to make love to you.”
Ian kissed her lips a
gentle kiss that conveyed his love.
Slowly he slid his tongue over her mouth and she opened for him.
Her arms went around his neck as he settled down next to her, his hand finding her waist and then the hem of her shirt.
He explored her mouth
with a un
hurried easy glide of his tongue.
Andy pushed back with hers tasting him in return.
He cu
pped her breast through her bra and
her nipple pebbled underneath.
Ian pushed the bra aside to explore her with his fingers as he kissed her.
He teased her
pink tips
first pinching it easily between h
is fingers then twisting gently.
Andy gasped and broke the kiss.

“I want to taste you.
Take your shirt off for me.”
Ian kept his hand in place as she struggled with the shirt tossing it behind her on the bed.
Ian bent his head and licked her nipple in a long slow stroke.

“Ian.”
His name on her lips had him
pulsing even more inside his jeans.
Ian suckled her
peak
between his lips as she clutched at his head.
Her velvet skin rolled easily over his tongue as his sucked and teased her between his lips.
He slipped his hand behind her and worked the clasp on her bra, removing the bra slowly by pulling it down her arms and tossing it over the edge of the bed.
Her plump breasts were bathed in moonlight, a pale creamy blue.
He licked her slowly working one side at a time with his tongue, lips and teeth.
Edible, she was simply edible and scented with wild roses tonight.
Excitement and desire danced through him pushing him to take her faster.
The moon pulled on his veins making his skin tingle and his body burn.
He needed to be deep inside of her to have her cinched down tight around his cock, but he wanted to make this right.
He wanted to take it slow for her.