Break This! (A 300 Moons Book) (7 page)

C
hance paced the room
, burning from the inside out. He was so mad at Thea he could scream.

No.

No, it wasn’t her fault.

He wasn’t even mad at Jade, not really.

He stopped pacing and faced himself in the silver framed mirror.

There. That was who he was mad at.

His own image stared back at him, eyes flashing. For a second, he thought he saw them actually glowing. But when he blinked, only his own dark eyes blinked back.

Chance took a deep breath. He had no right to be mad at anyone else.

He had no right to be surprised, even.

Chance had smelled other men on Jade before. He always told himself it was just from training with male partners. Grappling training sessions were pretty up close and personal. And there weren’t enough women at the gym to give someone like Jade a real challenge.

He’d also seen how she flirted, even when he was around. He just figured it was her personality. He’d sure enjoyed being on the receiving end of it when they first met. He told himself that once she was bonded to him as a mate, she’d change.

He could change her. How had he not realized how stupid that sounded until now?

The truth was, she just wasn’t serious about him. She was young, she was hot, and she was on top of the world. She wasn’t looking to settle down. And when she did it, wouldn’t be with someone like Chance.

Maybe it all came of being a foster kid. Not that Mom hadn’t filled his heart with love and acceptance, and his body and soul with nourishment at Harkness Farms. She had, and then some.

But Chance still had hazy memories of his birth parents, and of the pain of being left behind.

In spite of that, or more likely because of it, he wanted desperately to create a family, to have a plan, and a partner, to provide a safe little universe for children of his own.

The desire was so strong, that he had been willing to overlook the most obvious clues about Jade.

She couldn’t give him what he needed and he couldn’t give her what she wanted.

Surprisingly, what he felt most of all was relief.

He wouldn’t have to pretend anymore.

And he sure as hell didn’t have to stay in Glacier City for another minute. Any debt he’d felt he owed to Jade was a joke. She had made her own choices, and he wasn’t going to risk jail time to help her avoid the consequences.

If he hurried, he could be gone before Thea even came back. That would make it easier on both of them.

He ignored the pang in his chest at the memory of Thea’s lovely face crumbling when she’d left, and started grabbing his stuff from the dresser where he’d put it. He’d only brought the one carry-on, and hadn’t unpacked much, so it didn’t take long.

Chance was all packed up and heading for the door when he felt a stab of pain from the tattoo on his chest.

C
hance stopped
, his breath pluming in the suddenly frigid air.

Across the room, something stirred in the shadows.

Chance turned to the source of the movement, but there was nothing there.

Then he saw it again. This time, reflected in the dark TV screen.

He spun around, but again, he found nothing.

Was he losing it? Had he just been under too much stress lately?

Turning back to the television, he saw the darkness swirl and gather once more.

His chest burned and ached like it was being ripped apart from the inside.

He thought of the alley back in Philly. It was happening again.

The pain was blinding.

Chance fought to get himself inside his head, into the zone where he went when he was competing, that corner of his mind that would be free from the pain, focused on the battle.

The world receded as he sank into a fighting stance.

Chance waited, watching the reflection of the thing moving toward him in the television.

Some part of him knew this was terrifying. Instinct lifted the hair on the back of his neck.

But Chance was deep in his own mind, waiting patiently, unconcerned that the thing approaching was clearly not human, that it was oozing and flowing toward him, reaching without hands.

When it was finally close enough, Chance dropped his suitcase and turned with a right cross that would knock out a horse.

His hand passed right through the shadow, wrenching his shoulder at the overextension.

The sensation of occupying the same space as the thing was like plunging his entire body into an ice bath.

Chance’s heart stuttered, the breath caught in his lungs.

But his head was still in the game.

Instinctively, he swung again.

And again his arm went right through the darkness, chilling him to the bone.

The shadow began to shape into a vaguely human form. Sinuously, it slid into something like a woman made of smoke.

How was he supposed to fight something he couldn’t hit?

She cocked her head, almost quizzically, as if observing him.

Then she struck.

Chance dodged, but the creature’s arm lengthened like a whip, lashing him across his midsection.

The cold was so intense it felt like burning. He was being ripped in half, between the fire of the tattoo and the ice of the demon.

His legs wobbled.

The bear rose up protectively inside him, as it had during the fight with Van.

This time, Chance welcomed it. He was in trouble, real trouble, inhuman trouble. Maybe the inhuman side of him would know how to get him out of it.

A surge of strength filled him, his muscles rippling this time as though the bear were close to the surface, ready to break through.

Quick as a thought, the inky creature struck him squarely on his chest, its icy touch connecting with the burning agony.

Chance’s resolve whooshed out with his breath.

Blackness crept into his vision.

The floor loomed and his knees gave out.

There was a scent of ozone, and then the click of the door.

“Chance,” a female voice called.

Thea.

No.

She was in danger. He needed to fight this thing. To protect his mate.

But Thea wasn’t…

The bear tried to rear up in his chest, then moaned in despair as the rest of the world disappeared to darkness in spite of his best efforts.

He was out cold before he hit the ground.

C
hance awoke
to the twinkling of stars in the night sky.

Outside?

He sat up quickly, wondering where he was and how he’d ended up outdoors.

Soft, velvety throw pillows slid away. He wasn’t outside at all, but on the floor of the hotel, under the room’s immense skylight.

Everything slammed down on him instantly, the demon, the cold, the door opening…

“Thea,” he cried hoarsely.

The reassuring sound of her footsteps wrenched his heart, and relief washed over him.

“I thought you were out for the night. I couldn’t get you to the bed, so I tried to make you as comfortable as I could,” she explained.

Chance studied her face. Thea was calm and lovely as usual. She certainly wasn’t looking as freaked out as she should be.

For a long moment he wondered if he really was going crazy, if the whole shadow thing was in his head. Was the 300th moon making him see things?

“That… thing, whatever it was, really did a number on you,” she remarked, seating herself on the floor next to him and handing him a mug of something hot.

The warmth of the cup soothed him, but her scent, so crisp and refreshing, made it hard to concentrate on what she was saying.

“I felt like I should have called someone,” she continued. “But what would I have said? My pretend husband was attacked by a living shadow, and now he’s fallen and can’t get up?”

Well, at least he wasn’t crazy.

“Are you okay? How are you so calm right now?” he asked, scanning the room for signs that the thing might still be here. What could have happened to it?

“Weirdly, that was not the strangest thing I’ve ever seen,” she assured him. “And I’m fine. It took off as soon as I came in. No sign of anything strange since then.”

How could that not be the strangest thing
anyone
had ever seen?

Chance decided not to push the issue. He looked up at the clock. Wow. He’d been out for almost two hours.

He shivered, and took a sip from the mug. Tea. With honey
and
sugar, just the way he liked it.

“Thanks,” he told her, feeling a little sheepish about the fact that she had saved him instead of the other way around.

“It’s just Earl Grey,” she shrugged.

“I meant for saving me. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come back when you did,” he said.

He didn’t know exactly what would have occurred, but Chance had a distinct feeling that he owed her his life.

“Thank goodness I forgot my phone, then,” she smiled, looking down at her own cup of tea.

Chance noticed the way her hair fell to cover her cheek. She seemed almost shy in spite of being a beautiful bad ass.

Then he remembered.

“About earlier… I’m sorry I got mad at you,” he told her. “It’s not your fault.”

“Well, I’m sorry I stuck my nose where it didn’t belong. It’s a bad habit,” she said, looking him in the eye. “I just hate to see good people get hurt.”

Good people.

Her clear-eyed gaze told him she meant what she said. The bear preened and Chance felt his chest go warm.

Thea cared about him.

He had no idea why. And why, if she was such a good person herself, did she seem okay with stealing things for a person like Miss Sharp?

“That makes twice in one night you saved me,” he joked weakly, fighting the instinct to wrap her in his arms and kiss the truth out of her. “I thought I was supposed to be here to protect you.”

“You’ll get your chance tomorrow night, don’t worry,” she smiled.

Tomorrow.

Chance glanced around for his carry-on. He’d been planning to leave. To sneak out on her, like a coward.

He didn’t see the bag anywhere.

“I can hardly wait,” he said wryly.

“Let’s get you up and into a real bed, so you can get some rest,” she said, offering him a hand.

“I’m okay,” he said, hopping up.

His legs buckled under him immediately.

Thea’s warm arm wrapped around his rib cage, offering support. She was stronger than he would have guessed.

“Yeah,” she muttered. “You seem fine.”

He couldn’t hide his smile.

Thea smiled back and guided him to the bed. After a few steps, he didn’t need to lean on her anymore. But he kept his arm around her just the same. She felt so good pressed against him, so warm and soft, so inviting. Her dark hair tickled his arm.

Chance’s body was suddenly throbbing with need. Desperately, he tried to push away the thought of holding her, burying himself in her sweetness.

She helped lower him onto the bed and he hoped she wouldn’t notice the evidence of his raging lust.

He looked away from her, trying to clear his mind, and then he saw his bag on the dresser.

She must have moved it.

She hadn’t said anything. Hadn’t tried to make him explain himself.

Of course, he wasn’t going anywhere now. He owed her. He needed to help her.

And strangely, he wanted to help her. Wanted to make sure nothing bad ever touched her life again. Wanted to plant that big smile on her face and keep it there.

She sat next to him, the light spilling in from the hall making a soft halo around her form.

She was beautiful. Chance had thought it from the first second he’d seen her.

But in that moment, she seemed so real, so present, like there had been a veil between him and everyone else his whole life, and someone had just yanked it away.

The tension between them became palpable. The bear sensed her heart beat picking up, her breathing deepening, the sweet scent of her interest. Chance lost himself in her dark eyes.

She blinked and seemed to remember herself.

“I… think I’ll go set up the sofa. See you in the—” she began, her voice a bit high.

Chance leaned forward without thinking and stopped her with a kiss.

Thea’s body froze for a moment, then she melted into him, as though she had been made for kissing him.

Chance didn’t know why she had made the choices she’d made, but in that moment, he knew he didn’t care. Thea was special.

That was all that mattered.

T
hea was floating
, lost in the warmth of Chance’s lips, and the woodsy scent of him, the whole world dropping away.

She hadn’t realized she wanted this, but now that he was pressed against her, she wanted it more than anything, more than her next breath.

He wrapped a big hand around her arm and she felt the energy flowing through him. Chance’s energy was both sweet and aggressive, like nothing she’d ever felt. It almost seemed to beckon her.

But that was crazy. Her power didn’t work on people. At least it never had before. But something was different about her lately, even if she wasn’t exactly sure what, or why.

Tentatively, Thea reached out and allowed herself to take in just a taste of the energy radiating off Chance in waves. Like dipping a tiny toe into the surf at the beach.

The strength of him was explosive. Raw, animal power flooded into her.

Trees sprung up before her inner eye and her hands were hitting the ground, exploding into massive paws, her claws splintering the bark on a log as she leapt over it, the reverberations from her heavy tread rippling pleasantly through muscles and glossy fur.

Her heart soared, but she pulled herself back and let go of the stream of his energy.

And just like that, she was back in his arms, stunned. No energy had ever given her such a vision, or made her feel this way. What could it mean?

Chance’s grip on her arm tightened and she didn’t care anymore.

Chance was special, that was all she needed to know.

And she was happy.

Chance pulled back from their kiss. He gazed at her, his brown eyes serious.

He looked at her as if she were precious.

Thea’s heart ached as he lifted his other hand to cup her cheek.

The Bose radio on the bedside table turned on of its own accord and began to play the tinkling bars of a 1930s piano melody, a mezzo soprano sang along in French.

Chance’s eyes widened. Thea pulled him in quickly for another kiss and he forgot the radio.

She nearly swooned, clutching his arms, his muscles bulging beneath his t-shirt under her hands.

He thumbed her jaw open and stoked her tongue with his own possessively.

She reveled in the intimacy of tasting his tongue against her own, the masculine flavor of him almost overwhelming.

The modern floor lamp across the room flashed and the bulb popped out.

But Chance was too busy pinning Thea’s form to the bed to be bothered about it. He savaged her mouth, pressing his hard body against her soft one until she thought she would explode if he wasn’t inside her soon.

“Please,” she whispered.

He didn’t answer, but he ran his hand down the side of her body, molding her curves, extending his thumb to graze her nipple.

Thea cried out.

There was a sizzle as the mini-fridge on the north wall shorted.

She needed to keep her powers in check, before she did something crazy.

She looked up at Chance. His sweet all-American face was taut with restrained desire.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he told her through a clenched jaw.

She forgot all about keeping anything in check.

Thea slid her hands up his chest and wound them around his neck again, lifting herself to kiss him.

“Slowly, baby, this… this is special,” he whispered in her ear, sounding both firm and confused.

Thea shivered as he nuzzled her neck, his breath hot and tickly against her sensitive skin.

Chance moaned and she felt his teeth graze the place where her neck met her shoulder.

Instinctively, she arched her body into his.

But he pulled away to explore her mouth again.

His kiss was more urgent this time, as if he were trying to hurry her, to bring her along with him.

But Thea was already there. She lifted her hips to meet the throbbing monster in his jeans, whimpering at the friction.

Chance growled and lifted himself off her.

She was ready to cry, but then he was tugging at her clothes - peeling off her shirt and jeans, shimmying her panties off and popping the front clasp on her pretty satin bra.

For a full ten seconds he stared down at her, his face filled with wonder.

Thea had been told she was beautiful, glamorous, and sexy, by photographers, friends, reporters and agents.

But it had never quite rung true until tonight.

Chance was telling her without speaking, making her feel exquisite inside and out.

“You’re an angel,” he murmured at last, gazing down at her in rapt adoration.

She didn’t have the heart to correct him. And maybe, just for this one night, she could be an angel, his angel. Stranger things had happened.

He fell on her breasts, nuzzling between them, licking and sucking on her delicate nipples.

Before she could absorb the sensation fully, he was running his tongue down her navel, pressing her thighs apart.

Thea squeezed her eyes shut. She knew she was supposed to love this part, but it always felt strange to Thea - too intimate, too gentle.

Chance’s tongue spread her sex.

The sensation was incredible. Every nerve ending exploded with pleasure. Thea lost herself to her own sounds.

The TV flashed on. A few bars of the
Bewitched
theme song played before the whole television imploded with a tinkling pop.

“So good, so good,” Chance whispered against her pouting sex.

Thea fought her instinct to lift her hips, and beg for more contact.

Chance rewarded her, lavishing her with a slow stroke of his tongue.

Thea was smoldering, burning with desire.

He stroked her again, letting the tip of his tongue linger at her clit.

“Ah,” she cried, her hips lifting in spite of herself.

He groaned against her and then at last he was giving her what she needed, lashing that tiny center of pleasure madly with his tongue, sliding a long finger inside her to massage and coax her to new heights.

Incredulous, Thea let go, and soared with the force of her climax. She flew, the sensation so sweet it was almost agony. Then she was crashing down, crushing his finger with spasm after spasm of delirious pleasure.

When she opened her eyes, every light in the room had burnt out and the screen that covered the glass ceiling of the room was sliding back of its own accord, revealing the light of the moon echoed in a thousand winking stars.

Chance was silhouetted by the moonlight above him.

Thea stared up at him. He was all broad shoulders and chiseled jaw.

Then he let his head fall back and roared.

He shredded his t-shirt with his hands and ripped off his jeans and boxers.

“Thea,” he whispered, his voice rough.

She couldn’t tell if it was an exultation or a warning.

Thea wasn’t blind. She knew that there was a wildness to him, something of the Other, something unique.

But she didn’t really fucking care
what
he was. She had her own dubious gift.

And there was something about him, something that felt… like home.

She couldn’t answer with the lump in her throat, but she reached up for him, welcoming him.

It must have been a trick of the light, but the tattoo on his chest seemed to be reaching back for her.

She forgot about it as Chance launched himself onto her, biting her lower lip and sucking on it gently, nudging her thighs apart with his knee.

She could feel him hard against her leg, but she reached down to hold him gently in her hand, and then stroked him slowly, exploring him, sliding the velvet of his feverish skin over rigid steel.

He froze for a moment, almost swooning at her touch.

“Enough,” he growled, grabbing her hand, and pinning it to the bed.

He buried his face in her neck, as if he were trying to buy himself time and patience.

But Thea wanted none of it. Her whole body longed for him. She felt his pull like the moon on the tide. She wanted him, his unbridled need, his towering desire.

She lifted her hips to him.

Chance moaned and took her face in his hands.

“Is this what you want?” he asked.

She nodded mutely.

“Thank you,” he told her ardently, then sealed their accord with a gentle kiss.

Burning, Thea pressed up against him, whimpering with need.

Chance pulled back to look into her eyes as he slid himself against her opening.

He was so huge, so stiff, it seemed impossible that he could fit inside her.

But Thea closed her eyes and willed her body to accept him.

With agonizing slowness, Chance pressed into her.

When he was fully seated, he paused, allowing her to adjust.

Thea jogged her hips up against him frantically, she didn’t want to adjust, didn’t want to take her time. She needed him with a desperation that almost frightened her.

Chance groaned and pulled back, giving her the slow, deep thrust that was almost what she wanted.

Thea clenched her fists and heard her cell phone explode on the bedside table.

Another slow stroke and she was begging out loud.

“Please, please, I want, I need…” her mind couldn’t find the words:
passion, violence, candor.
There was only
I want
and
I need.

But Chance seemed to understand. At last he clutched her to him, filling her with hard, piston-like strokes, sliding his hand between them to tease her clitoris, yanking her instantly to the top of the roller coaster.

She felt him swell impossibly inside her just as she went over the edge, feeling the pleasure more acutely this second time as Chance exploded inside her, accentuating her pleasure with his own.

The feeling was more than physical. It was a merging, a celebration.

The sprinkler system went off just as Chance bit down on Thea’s neck, hard enough to draw blood. The pain was the perfect complement to the cloying sweetness of her fading pleasure.