Hidden Moon (Hot Moon Rising #4) (7 page)

When she unzipped her shorts and tugged down the waistband of her cotton panties,

he chuckled and poured orange juice over her mound, too. She sucked in fast breaths

while he combed her thatch of hair, his fingers glistening wet with fruit juice and her

cream.

“Kiss me,” she begged.

Instead, he dragged sticky fingers through her hair, but she didn’t care. The messier

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the better. She wanted his seed in her mouth, her hair, and all over her body. He let his

mouth hover over hers, teasing her. His tongue tip flicked hers, too, giving her a few

drops of juice. Rearing into him, she bit into his sexy, full lips. She must have a beast

inside her, too.

In response, he growled and kissed her hard, sucking the breath out of her lungs.

Every vein inside her seemed to deflate, swallowed into her meant-to-be mate. He

wasn’t even inside her and her body perched on the edge, ready to come. Sex with Curtis

didn’t even approach this.

She reached down, fumbling with his fly. “Lock the door. Lock the damn door!”

He did. By the time he approached her, he had his zipper down and his cock out.

With shaking hands, she tried to pull off her shorts, but everything was too sticky to

slide. He yanked them, and her panties, off with one hand and hopped onto the counter.

After crouching on his knees, he pulled her legs around so he could enter her.

His cock was so heavy and hard as he leaned over her, it brushed her sticky belly. She

couldn’t help writhing under it, desperate to get it inside her where it belonged. He took

a deep breath and the wild look in his eyes receded, leaving tenderness.

Don’t change your mind now!

“You asked for this, Shelley.” He brushed her cheek with a gentle finger while big,

ragged breaths rocked his shoulders. “When I enter you, I won’t be able to stop.”

Her head thrashed from side to side while a relentless fire burned in her loins. “Give

it all to me, Alan. Even the mating bite.”

His face grew serious. “Not that. Not this time.”

She threaded her fingers through the tails of his bandana, bringing his head to her

breast. The skin on his face burned hotter than fire. While he sucked the orange juice

lingering on her nipples, she hoped her body could satisfy everything he’d ever starved

for…acceptance, peace…even love.

While the suction of his eager mouth engorged the tips of her breasts, he eased the

head of his cock into her drenched slit. A small scream escaped her as her pelvic muscles

embraced it. Grunting, he pushed her thighs apart farther while entering her the rest of

the way.

“Alan,” she muttered, out of her mind with pleasure. Every nerve ending in her core

screamed,
Yes, yes, he’s the one. Your mate.

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“Ready for the ride of your life?” he whispered in her ear.

“God, yes.” She slid her arms around his lean waist, prepared to hold on no matter

what.

He pulled out slowly and lunged back into her, so fast it stole her breath. By the

second stroke, he’d become a pile-driving machine. Every powerful inch of him scraped

her raw yet caressed her like silk at the same time. It felt so perfect she barely noticed

the pain from her bottom slapping the wooden counter. Any harder and the cans on the

nearby shelves would crash to the floor.

She grabbed his bandana again. Eventually, it slipped off his head under her frantic

grip. He lifted her hips while he crouched on the counter, driving into her deeper and

harder than ever. The beast in him pounded through every frustration they’d ever had,

starting with prom night.

In this wild, wonderful moment, they had a future. He was part of the pack and her.

Bond us
, the wolf in her howled, but when she lifted her hair and arched her neck before

him, he didn’t bite. Instead, she gasped when he took her to the top. His thumb nestled

against her clit, strumming the super-sensitive flesh.

Their climaxes hit so close together, she wasn’t sure whose came first. They grappled

each other across the counter, banging elbows and knees while her pelvis exploded with

fireworks. Steel-hard contractions in her belly squeezed his cock, choking off her air and

damming up her blood in its tracks.

She finally breathed again when his hot seed coated her walls.
Give me your love,

Alan. Your soul. Your children….
When it was over, his heavy body covered the length of

hers, pressing her into the wood beneath her. His breaths, still hard but slower, brushed

her shoulder.

“I love you, Alan,” she murmured into his ear as an aftershock rocked her.

“Don’t say that,” he replied, his voice thick and unreadable as he pulled out of her.

“But—” Suddenly, she felt messy and so cold. How could she face the rest of the pack

or the breakfast crowd when she wanted to crawl off and hide in one of her empty fruit

crates for the rest of the day?

He stood and cleaned himself with a towel. “You asked for sex. Even that took almost

more than I could give.”

She grabbed another towel, struggling not to cry again. When she reached for her

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shorts, he grabbed her wrist. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms and squeezed

her against his ribs.

“Shelley.” His voice emerged as a whimper, as vulnerable as a newborn pup’s.

He did love her. She felt it with wolf knowledge. The wolf also knew he hadn’t

changed his mind about leaving. At least she had great sex to remember him by. She

picked up the mangled orange. Her heart would be in the same shape when he left

Moonlight.

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After Shelley headed to the dining room, Alan disinfected the counter. Had they really

had wild sex on it? In his fantasies, he’d worried about performing like a bungling idiot

since it was his first time, but instinct had taken over. His knees wobbled as if a

hurricane had blown through the diner. If he’d known having sex with her would shake

him to the soul, he never would have attempted it.

God, she felt and tasted sweeter than oranges. He loved that fruit now. Couldn’t wait

to drink a big glass of orange juice and devour toast slathered with marmalade. He

wanted to spend the rest of his life tasting her breasts.

When she’d exposed her neck to him for the mating bite, he’d been so tempted to

complete their union. Aside from avoiding a bond that might keep him here, he was

afraid he’d lose control. What if he started biting and the beast couldn’t stop? Hurting

her would kill his soul.

Why did she have to love him? He was a violent freak, and everyone knew he planned

to leave. He closed his eyes, imagining his life in northern Virginia, knowing it would

never be the same now.

It would be as empty as hell.

He tied his bandana back on and slipped out the back door to get the rest of the

vegetables out of Shelley’s truck. He barely had enough time to fire up the grill for the

breakfast crowd. In fact, the pack members were starting to arrive. Birds chirped from

the nearby woods in the climbing morning heat.

When he reached into her truck for the last crate, full of tomatoes, an expensive

looking black sedan pulled up beside him. It was a little too early for tourists. The hairs

on the back of his neck prickled. Suddenly, he remembered Shelley’s premonition about

danger to the pack.

A man in a gray suit stepped out. Definitely not a tourist. Alan’s nostrils flared,

scanning the air for the man’s scent above the tang of tomatoes.
Wolf.
Because he didn’t

live here, he wasn’t familiar with the packs in bordering territories. He sensed this tribe

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wasn’t friendly. A pair of pale-green eyes—ruthless and dead—flicked over him. Alan

fought the urge to shiver.

“Excuse me, can you tell me who owns this establishment?”

“Don Shifflett. Why?” Alan asked.

“Is he inside? I’d like to speak with him.”

Alan crossed his arms and stood between him and the diner. Shelley was in there, and

for some reason, he felt the urge to protect her.

“I’m his son. You can talk to me.”

The man hesitated, visibly taking in Alan’s bandana, tank top, and jeans. Alan’s beast

stretched its paws, ready to pounce.

“Graham Linden.” The stranger held out his cold hand and the men shook, raising the

hackles on Alan’s neck even higher. “I’ll come right to the point. We’d like to buy the

diner.”

Not
I
,
we
.

Alan raised his chin. “And who is
we
?”

Graham’s face twitched with the effort to look neutral and polite. Apparently, Alan

didn’t appear dressed well enough to rank too highly on his pack’s totem pole.

“Lobos Enterprises. We have businesses in various parts of Florida, and we want to

expand.”

Uneasiness tickled Alan’s spine. How did he know the diner was for sale? The pack

members would keep the news private, at least for a while, so they’d have first dibs on it.

Was a rival pack trying to take over Moonlight’s territory? It had happened before,

sending its members to live in an orange grove as refugees.

It’s not for sale.
The words hovered on his lips, but he didn’t know why. When the

logical part of his brain kicked in, excitement finally gushed through his veins. Wasn’t

this what he wanted? By the looks of Graham, his outfit had money. Alan could probably

get full asking price. Such an easy sale seemed almost too good to be true.

“We’re prepared to offer a fair price,” the other man said, as if reading his mind. “Our

lawyer can have the papers drawn up tomorrow.”

Alan’s eyes widened. They meant business. He’d never dreamed of such a quick and

easy sale. He could return to his job and still have some vacation time left over. But what

good would a vacation be without Shelley to enjoy it with? He couldn’t help picturing

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her in a bikini on one of Florida’s Gulf-Coast beaches.

The temptation to whip out a pen and lock in a commitment to the deal raced through

him. Legally, the diner belonged to his father, not the pack. They’d probably refuse the

sale just to spite him, but he thought of Shelley. She worked so hard for the pack. It

meant a lot to her. He’d be gone as soon as the ink dried, but she’d be the one living here

and dealing with whatever decision he made.

“Come on in, Mr. Linden. I’ll give you a tour and some breakfast, on the house.”

Might as well let the pack get a sniff of the potential buyer to ease his conscience, but

he wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of his quick exit.

***

When Shelley strolled into the dining room with her order pad, she felt naked in front

of the pack members who’d arrived for breakfast. Her shirt stuck to her belly, and the

scent of sticky orange juice lingered in her hair. Of all days to have to fill in for a sick

waitress.

Had Alan really made love to her? The dream she’d carried around for so many years

had finally come true. Well, not quite. She dreamed of a wedding and a lifetime spent

with her true mate. Their sexy romp on the kitchen counter would be all she’d have.

Nevertheless, she’d treasure it for the rest of her days. Especially the intense hug at the

end.

Derek sat in his usual spot at the breakfast counter. Since he was the Alpha, he always

got served first. Why did Curtis have to sit next to him this morning?

“What’ll it be, guys?”

“I’m in the mood for a Spanish omelet today,” Derek said, running a hand over black,

shower-damp hair. “Throw in a side of bacon and some toast.”

She wrote it down in her pad and glanced at Curtis.

“You’ve had sex.” His nostrils flared, and he sniffed the air. “Recently, too. By the

smell of you, you didn’t even shower afterward. Scabs must have nailed you in the

kitchen.”

Her pen shook as she held it. “Curtis, this isn’t the time or the place. Now, what

would you like to eat?”

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“Black coffee,” he muttered. “I’ve lost my appetite. Besides, I don’t want Scabs

cooking my food when his fingers have just been up your cunt.”

Derek glared at him. “That’ll be enough, Curtis.”

Before she turned to go to the kitchen, the Alpha grabbed her wrist. “Based on our

last conversation, I didn’t think you would mate with Alan.”

“I’m sorry.” Her shoulders fell. “He didn’t bite me, though. Should I have asked your

permission?”

Derek released her wrist but fixed her with an Alpha stare. “Not exactly, but we

agreed it best he leave again. He’ll never go now.”

“That’s the whole idea,” she replied.

“What are you talking about?” Derek asked, frowning more by the second. “It’s not

like you to put your wants above the good of the pack.”

She swept back a hank of hair that had fallen in her face. The day had barely started

and it was already off track. Giving Alan her body hadn’t changed his mind about

leaving, and now the Alpha was disappointed in her. She’d let down her pack. When it

came to her man, she couldn’t think about anything else.

Shifting would help straighten out her thoughts. Sometimes, a week would go by

before she got the urge because she’d been working so hard lately. Making love had

unleashed her wolf. She needed Alan.

“He is good for the pack,” she insisted. “He’s been wonderful with his father who, as