Moonrise Read online

  She glanced around, but he could tell from her eyes that she wasn’t in the mood to stop what she was doing. There was a grim determination about her and she wasn’t going to quit now unless forced to.

  Her shirt only fell to her navel and did nothing to hide the slit between her legs. He wanted to spread her lips and slide his tongue over her pussy almost as badly as he wanted to fuck her.

  He’d never felt this fierce with a woman, not ever. The only other person who had grabbed him by the dick and refused to let go was Michael.

  Selene rubbed her pussy as if it was the last time she’d ever get to do so, or maybe just the first time she’d done so in a very long time. Her lips were parted, her face flushed, her white-blonde hair falling in disarray around her slender shoulders.

  It was the sexiest picture he’d ever seen.

  Michael, you should be here.

  Her quiet little moans heralded her fast approaching orgasm. He was helpless to do more than watch as he masturbated himself to climax with her, if not in her.

  “Oh!” she shouted, and before he could blink she’d ripped her shirt over her head. Her bra followed it into a pile of leaves, and naked except for her jeans around her feet, she went back to touching herself, and it was finally too much for him.

  He could not resist, didn’t want to resist. Thoughts of moving too soon were but annoying memories. He strode toward her, his cock jutting proud and angry, leading the way.

  She opened her eyes and instead of screaming and running away, forcing him to chase her, she simply waited for him, her eyes all sorts of haunted.

  Someday he’d kill the man who put that look in her eyes. Right now he could only touch her, taste her, take what fate had given him.

  He was a slave to his nature.

  But then she smiled and opened her arms, and even if she wasn’t aware of it, he could see the recognition in her eyes. She knew him, like he knew her.

  Mates.

  Mates long lost but finally, finally they’d found each other.

  He grabbed her to him, for one short moment matching her smile with his own, and then because he couldn’t take time to free her ankles from the confining restraints of her jeans and boots, he turned her around and rammed his cock into her from behind.

  Her cries were music creating the tempo for his thrusts, and he finally released his growls as he plunged inside her.

  She would have fallen, indeed would have rammed into the tree had he not held her. He took a moment to pray she could take him without pain as he gave up all thoughts and just fucked her.

  It took every bit of restraint he had not to let his beast take charge, as the animal screamed and fought ferociously to be freed. But in the end, he came, his hot seed almost hurting him as it exploded from his cock, and into her small, pale body.

  She belonged to him now.

  And he belonged to her.

  It might take a while, but eventually she’d let him in.

  Chapter 4

  Selene pulled her jeans up, the warmth of his semen quickly turning cold as she searched for her top. Her cheeks were flushed, not just from the passion she’d just experienced, but from the immediate rise of embarrassment and good sense.

  What had she done?

  She couldn’t look at him. She crept behind the tree and dressed, her hands shaky, tears threatening. Oh, the bastard. He’d taken advantage of her … her idiocy, and working for him would be impossible, of course.

  She shoved her hair out of her eyes and stayed behind the tree, leaning her forehead against the rough bark.

  “Selene,” he said, his voice soft. “Don’t fight it, sweetheart.”

  Don’t fight what? Don’t fight that I’ve lost my mind? “Please go. Please just … go.”

  His sigh was soft, and she felt no threat from him at all. Not toward her, anyway. He slipped quietly behind her and trailed his fingers through her hair. “It’ll be okay. What we did is right. It will not seem so for a while, but it is right.”

  “Please!”

  “I’ll go. But you will show up for work tomorrow as planned. I will not bother you.”

  She said nothing, just waited for him to go. A few minutes later when she still didn’t hear his footsteps, she looked up, full of fury, ready to scream at him.

  There was no one there.

  If not for the soreness between her thighs, she might have thought she’d imagined the whole encounter. But no, it was real. It was very real.

  She’d had sex with a complete stranger, but as she sat in her car staring sightlessly out the windshield, she realized something even scarier. She didn’t feel bad about it. Not really. Oh, there was the good little angel sitting on her shoulder trying to tell her what she’d done was wrong, but she swatted the angel away and replayed the encounter over and over in her mind.

  And it turned her right back on. As she washed away the evidence of the encounter with a premoistened cloth, she closed her eyes at the sweet soreness.

  How was she going to face him tomorrow? He’d said he’d leave her alone, but he was not going to do that. Not for long.

  And that thrilled the hell out of her.

  That night she left her car once again to stretch her legs. This time she did nothing but walk, and she did not meet her fierce, sexy boss.

  She passed an uneventful, though restless, night in her car, and the next morning drove to a gas station bathroom in which to take care of her morning toilette. She washed as well as she could. Soon she’d have the money to at least rent a small room, and she could hardly wait.

  A place of her own … it would be heaven.

  She arrived early at her new job, nervous, excited, eager. She felt full of life and worth, and nothing was going to get her down. She’d survived hell and had escaped it.

  That chapter was closed, and she was about to begin a new one. Thank God.

  She was given an outfit of black shorts and a black T-shirt, and Lora eyed her critically in her new uniform. “You really need to put some meat on those bones, baby. Have you had lunch?”

  “Yes,” Selene said, not bothering to tell Lora that lunch had been a candy bar and a diet soda. She’d been too nervous to eat anyway.

  The scents from the kitchen were making her belly wake up and grumble, though. Rich, smoky meats, colorful desserts, thick stews … it was enough to tempt anyone.

  The cook was a grim but good-looking man named Michael, and Lora whispered to her that he’d “been through a lot.”

  She felt an immediate kinship with him, but her gut told her to give the hot man a wide berth. Not because he scared her, but because she respected that some people just wanted to be left the hell alone.

  It wasn’t until eleven o’clock that night that she finally caught a glimpse of the man she’d been waiting all day to see.

  Trey.

  He walked into the dining room and chatted with a few customers, his gaze always roaming. When he caught sight of her, he crossed his arms and stared, and she shivered so violently she nearly dropped the tray she was carrying.

  “Easy there, honey,” her customer said, grinning. “You almost doused me with my dinner.”

  She blushed and dragged her gaze away from the man who only yesterday she’d been intimate with. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re a pretty one. Where’d Colucci find you?”

  She looked at him, blank, her mind still on Trey. “Who?”

  “Your boss, sugar!”

  “Oh.” Of course. Trey Colucci. A gorgeous name. She bit her lip to keep from smiling. “I found him.”

  The man winked. “He always was a lucky bastard.”

  She winked back, surprising herself, and sauntered off to deal with the next customer. She was having fun. There was no doubt in her mind that this was where she belonged.

  She felt Trey’s stare scorching her backside as she worked, adding a little extra energy to her step. When her shift ended, she was not ready.

  The noise, the smoke, the food, Trey …
it was all perfect. She didn’t want to go back to her lonely little car in the woods.

  She changed out of her uniform, tired in a good way, and said good-bye to the couple of lingering waitresses. She ignored Michael, because that’s what he seemed to want, but when she passed him on her way out he looked up and sent her a smile as heart-stopping as it was sweet.

  She stumbled and before she could right herself her arm was taken in a firm grip. Her first uncontrollable thought—oh God, he’s found me I’m dead—caused her to scream so loudly that Mrs. G came running from her back office.

  Selene had jerked from the grip and slid down the wall to huddle shaking on the floor before she realized it was not Robert. It was Trey.

  He stood glowering down at her with a look in his eyes that screamed murder, and for the first time since she’d met him was she truly afraid of him.

  He bent over and encircled her upper arms with his big hands, and jerked her to her feet.

  “No, no, don’t…” was all she could choke out.

  But he only pulled her against his chest and with his palm against her head, kept her there.

  “What on earth?” Mrs. G asked.

  Selene didn’t wrap her arms around his waist, as much as she wanted to. She hung limply in his grip, humiliated and furious with herself for having such a knee-jerk reaction. Furious with Robert for terrorizing her even though he was so far away.

  “I’m going to take her home,” Trey said. “Come with me, Michael.”

  She frowned against the softness of his shirt. Michael? And then … home? By the time it occurred to her that he meant her home, he had picked her up and was carrying her to her car. “Got her keys? Open her doors.” Then he looked down at her. “Michael will follow and pick me up after I’ve dropped you off. I don’t want you driving.” He sat her gently in the passenger side of her car, then hurried around to slide under the steering wheel.

  Her heart was slowing its erratic beat and all that remained was the slow burn of humiliation. “I’m fine, Mr. Colucci.”

  She glanced at him long enough to see one dark brow raised, a half smile on his face. “Sweetheart, I’ve been inside you. I think it’s okay to do away with the mister.”

  Her face burned, and she was sure it would never retain its natural color if she kept on with the violent blushing. “I can drive myself home.”

  But his eyes were stern, his face determined. “No. I will see you safely home. And while I’m driving, I want to know who the fuck has you so scared that a touch will send you cowering to the floor.”

  There was a look in his eyes that she’d never before seen, not even with Robert. It was so alien she had no idea what it meant—only that it was dark as death.

  She glanced behind her at the sudden flash of lights. A red truck sat idling, and she knew it was the cook, Michael, waiting patiently to follow her home. “I have no home.”

  He started the car and let it idle, his hands on the steering wheel. His frown was deep. “What?”

  “I have no home.” She kept her eyes averted, her voice neutral, and dared him silently to pity her. “I’ll find something with my first paycheck.”

  It sounded like he ground his teeth. “Where have you been living?”

  “I had a room but … my money ran out. I slept in my car.”

  He was silent for so long she finally turned to look at him. His strange, light eyes glittered in the dark. “Did you let Greta know you needed an advance?”

  She shrugged but didn’t answer. It wasn’t Mrs. G’s fault that she’d fallen upon hard times.

  “I see,” he said, and she knew he did.

  “Please don’t say anything to her. I feel badly enough as it is.”

  He pulled out of the parking lot, his movements so obviously careful that she knew he was seething. “You’ll stay with us tonight. Tomorrow we’ll get you into a house.” Then he muttered something that sounded like, “If you still want one.”

  Her heart fluttered to the bottom of her belly. Us. Then he was married, or living with someone. There was no logic in the overwhelming disappointment she felt. It just was. “Why do you care?” She was suddenly, unreasonably angry.

  He squeezed her fingers briefly before putting his hand back on the steering wheel. “I just do. Accept it for what it is, Selene.”

  “What,” she said, knowing her tone was snide and petulant, but unable to stop it. “Do you and your wife run a home for troubled women?”

  He only smiled.

  In the dark closeness of the car, his scent teased her nostrils with temptation. He smelled so clean and masculine and sexy. It was difficult not to reach across and touch him. He was right there, so very beautiful and strong, irresistible.

  She pressed her lips into a thin line and battled her desire. He was a taken man, and though she’d had him once, she wouldn’t do so again. He might as well know it right now. “I regret … what we did. It won’t happen again. You should know that.”

  Again he smiled. “Oh, sweetheart. It will happen again. It will happen many, many times. You can take the rest of the drive to wrap your mind around that.”

  She smiled all the way to his house.

  Chapter 5

  “Who are you running from?” He’d pulled into his driveway, and when she started to open her door he put his hand on her leg to stop her. “Tell me, Selene.”

  “It’s not your business, Mr. … Trey. Just leave it alone.” Let me have my secrets.

  He was silent for a long moment, caressing her legs with slow, absentminded fingers. Finally he nodded. “For now. But I want you to relax. I will take care of you.”

  She pursed her lips but said nothing. She was about to walk into a weird situation, she just knew it. Maybe he had an open relationship with his wife, but as much as she wanted him, Selene was not that kinky. At least, she didn’t think she was.

  Michael pulled her door open and motioned her out. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you inside.”

  They were treating her like a delicate princess, like someone who mattered. It was heady and strange and wonderful, and she didn’t try to resist. How safe she felt with these two on either side of her as they walked up the porch steps to Trey’s house.

  It wasn’t exactly a private place—there were houses on both sides of the street—but it was quiet and calm. She stood on the wide front porch with the two men flanking her, watching Trey fit his key into the lock.

  He pushed the heavy door open, but before they went inside he pointed her toward the little house on the left, right beside his. “Tomorrow you can look at that house and see if it suits you. There are a couple others empty but this is closest to us.” His light eyes glittered in the glow from the porch light.

  “Or,” Michael said, “you can simply stay with us.”

  She looked from one to the other, confused. “Us?”

  “Michael and I live together.”

  She swallowed hard, still uncertain. “You mean, you’re not married?”

  He hesitated, looking at Michael. “No.”

  Relief sang though her veins. He wasn’t married. He and Michael were roommates, and the us he’d referred to. She smiled. “I’m glad.” But shyly, she couldn’t meet his eyes. Everything was happening at warp speed, and she understood little of it.

  Trey led her into the house. As though Michael had said something, he glanced at him and muttered, “Not now.”

  His home was light, airy, and clean, but homey at the same time. It was a comfortable nest, and she told herself that when she had her own place, it was going to mimic this one. It just felt good.

  “You’re hungry,” Michael said. He was more relaxed now than she’d seen him, his eyes happier, his smile easy.

  She clutched her stomach, smiling guiltily. “How did you know?”

  “Sweetheart,” Trey said, casually putting an arm around her shoulders, “you smell hungry.”

  She wrinkled her nose, wondering how on earth one could smell hunger. Then she shr
ugged. What was one more weird thing in a whole string of them? “I could eat.” And if one of them said she needed fattening up, she was going to kick him.

  “I’ll show you to your room while Michael is making you a tray.” Trey led her up a small flight of stairs to a large room on the left of the hall. “There are only two bedrooms, but they are both very large. Your bathroom is right here, and my room is just across the hall.”

  She frowned. “Oh no. I’m taking Michael’s room? I can’t do that. I’ll sleep on the couch downstairs.”

  His face was careful, closed. “You’re not taking his room.”

  “But … he does live here, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes.”

  She shook her head, smiling. “Then do you make him sleep in the bathtub, or what?”

  He sighed. “Freshen up, Selene. I’ll bring up your bags.”

  Fine. “Okay. Thank you.” He’d almost left the room when she called him back. “What am I doing here, Trey? Really?”

  His smile was slow, wide, and delighted. “You’re where you’re supposed to be, darling. With us.”

  Yeah, well that really cleared things up. “I … I should be afraid of you. Of Michael.”

  For one second a spark of rage lit his eyes, but it was gone so fast she thought she’d imagined it. “But you’re not, are you?”

  She shook her head slowly. “I’m not.” She was confused, but she was not afraid. Her eyes widened as she let the feeling sink in. “I’m not afraid,” she murmured, amazed. For the first time in … in forever, she was not afraid.

  She looked at him, her eyes brimming. She wanted to thank him but was not sure why. Overwhelmed by the newness of realizing she lacked fear, she turned away.

  She heard him moving down the stairs and only then did she release a sound that was half laughter, half tears. It was amazing, that feeling.

  Freeing.

  She was free.

  She made use of the restroom and when she came out, her bags were piled neatly on her bed. He hadn’t needed to bring the entire trunk full of them, but then, he wouldn’t have known. She couldn’t imagine how he could have gotten every single one of them up to the bedroom by himself in such a short time.