Authors: Loribelle Hunt
69
Captured Moon by Loribelle Hunt
She wasn’t disappointed. Rule moved first, withdrawing slowly and as he thrust back into her cunt, Lawe pulled back from her ass. He slid back in as Rule withdrew. Then she was screaming as she came, the feeling too much, her body on fire. Awash in sensation, she wasn’t even aware of their moving, their coming. She thought she might have passed out.
It was much later before she could string two thoughts together.
Fresh from the shower, she wandered into the kitchen, wondering if there was anything she could pull together for lunch. Rule and Lawe were waiting for her. They both looked serious and withdrawn. She didn’t expect the tender concern that welled up when she saw them and went in, took a seat.
“What’s wrong?” she asked hoping like hell there wasn’t bad news
from home. She’d had her limit of bad news for about a decade.
“We’ve been invited to lunch at the big house.” The corner of Rule’s mouth turned up in a half smile. “That’s what they call the Alpha’s house here.”
“Okay.” Her answer was wary. Why was that such a concern? Rule
and Lawe exchanged a long look.
“They’ll want a response to their offer,” Rule continued.
She forced herself to betray no expression, no prior knowledge.
Even when she’d simply been their younger sisters’ best friend, she hadn’t been invited to express an opinion on important business or pack matters.
This certainly qualified as one of them. Lawe growled.
“Summer told you about this.”
She nodded. No point in denying it.
“And?” Lawe asked. His tone was challenging. “Don’t you have an
opinion? A preference?”
She leaned back and studied them, wondered if there came a point
early on in a new mate bond where the limits of dominance were established. Wondered if now was the point she had to assert some independence or forever forfeit it. She shrugged.
“I’m…intrigued of course. I’d like to see how these couples interact day to day, you know? If what they say is true, if this pack really is that 70
Captured Moon by Loribelle Hunt
different…” She let the thought trail off and stared over their shoulders.
She thought she’d like a pack like that. The best of both worlds. But…
“But?”
She looked down and twisted her fingers together. “The Gulf is home. Maggie and Marilyn are there. Your parents. Your business. I wouldn’t want y’all to sacrifice those things because I might be more comfortable here. Besides, all the packs are changing, aren’t they? Slowly but surely.”
Lawe gave her a thoughtful look. “Our Alpha is young. He’s got another twenty years probably. Things aren’t likely to change soon in the Panhandle.”
Funny that the one she thought of as being volatile and
unpredictable pointed out the most logical reality. She knew her life would probably be more difficult if they stayed in Florida, but maybe her struggles there would make others easier in years to come. She was careful to show no preference on her face or in her tone, but she knew now she’d rather stay home with them and work from the inside to modernize the pack than abandon it.
“What do y’all want to do?”
Rule shook his head. “We’re asking you.”
She shrugged. “I already answered. It’s an interesting place. I’d like to spend some time seeing how things work here, but…I’d miss the beach.
I’d miss the lowlands. The marshes.” She laughed. “I really hate snow.”
They were both silent for a few minutes, and she wondered if she’d
given the wrong answer. If they wanted to stay here. Finally, Lawe grinned and squeezed her hand.
“Good,” he said. An exhalation that sounded like relief to her.
“Good. We’ll stay a few days, but Monday, you start house‐hunting.”
“What? Why me? Y’all have a house.”
“We only stayed in the apartment because you lived in town, Abby.
And the farm is too far out to have to drive in every day. Marilyn’s lease is up in a couple of months, and she’ll take over the apartment. So you don’t have a lot of time.”
“So you’re gonna let me pick your new house?” She knew she 71
Captured Moon by Loribelle Hunt
sounded skeptical, but she was still new at this.
Rule shrugged. “Your new house. We could pick, but we’d miss something you want, I’m sure. Our only requirement is being near woods and a big kitchen. We werewolves
do
tend to congregate in kitchens.” He smiled.
“There are other requirements,” Lawe said. “We need an office.
Abby needs an office. Lots of bedrooms.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Sounds expensive.”
“We can afford it,” Rule said.
Lawe scowled. “There are limits.” He sighed when his brother grinned. “We’ll worry about it later.”
It was such a mundane conversation, the kind of thing any
husband and wife would have. A rush of emotion, love, filled her, formed a lump in her throat. She concentrated on swallowing, on sounding normal when she spoke.
“So now what?”
“Lunch,” Rule replied, and she answered with what she knew was
a sultry smile. Standing, she watched as their eyes brightened, heated. She reached for the bottom edge of her T‐shirt and pulled it off, slowly letting it drop the floor next to her chair.
“I think I’d like dessert first.”
She played with the snap on her jeans while she waited for one of
them to respond. Lawe stood, growled.
“Bedroom, woman. Now. Before I fuck you on the kitchen table.”
Rule joined Lawe. “Distinct possibility. Move, Abby.”
Laughing, she left the room. “God, I love y’all,” she whispered, knowing they’d easily pick up the soft words.
Lawe caught her in the living room and lifted her over his shoulder
in a fireman’s hold. “We know,” he said.
He carried her to the bedroom where they damned near made her
forget her own name, but never how much she was loved.
The End
72
Captured Moon by Loribelle Hunt
Author Bio
As a native of the South, is it any wonder Loribelle has a love of storytelling? She started writing seriously as a teenager and finished her first manuscript, a mystery, when she was nineteen. After a few bumps along the way and stints as an Army MP, a waitress, a book store manager, a student, and a wedding photographer, she turned to writing full time. Now she divides her time between a husband, three kids, writing, and a part‐time photography gig. She is also a member of Romance Writers of America and Passionate Ink.
73