Moonlight Kin: A Wolf's Tale (17 page)

Madie lifted his shirt to her face and inhaled. Her eyes closed as she took his distinctive scent into her lungs. The door banged opened, startling her. Madie dropped his shirt and clutched her clothing to her chest to cover her nakedness. The bright morning light illuminated Damon’s grim face.

Dread squeezed her stomach. “What’s wrong?”

His solemn gaze slowly faded as he took in her exposed skin. Hunger crept into the gold flecks, lightening them with desire. Madie’s breathing hitched, then accelerated. The muscles in his bare chest bunched and flexed as if he fought the urge to move.

All it took was one look from Damon, and Madie was ready to throw herself back on the bed. She’d gone from virgin to nymph overnight.

When he finally spoke, the deep timber of his voice sent delicious shivers through her. “Something’s come up,” he said. “I have leave town for a while.”

“I thought maybe you’d come to graduation.” Madie could feel him pulling away and there was nothing she could do about it.

“No, I’ll be leaving shortly after you do,” he said.

The statement smacked her back into reality. This wasn’t a romance novel or a fairytale. This was real life. There would be no happy ending. Last night might have been perfect for her—okay, was perfect to her, but in the harsh morning glare it was plain to see that Damon viewed it as a one-night-stand. Madie felt heat rise in her cheeks. She’d been so stupid.

Madie’s chin lifted and pulled her shoulders back. She might’ve been naïve about their future, but she still had no regrets. She wasn’t going to give Damon the satisfaction of knowing that he’d hurt her. “Just let me get dressed and I’ll get out of here.”
Out of your life
. “I don’t want to keep you.” Her words dripped with sarcasm.

“You don’t have to hurry.” Damon ran his hand through his hair, sending it spiking in all directions.

Madie snorted. “I wouldn’t dream of delaying your trip.” She clutched her clothing and walked into the bathroom. She’d just started to dress, when the bathroom door flew open.

Damon crossed the room in two long strides. His hand clasped her arms, halting her movements. She looked down at his hands, and then up into his face. His eyes were practically glowing.

“You don’t understand,” he said, his voice low and guttural as if he were in pain.

“Actually, I understand perfectly.” She shrugged out of his hold. “Last night was fun. I had a blast. Maybe we can do it again sometime…once you get back in town.”

“Madie?”

She tossed her clothes onto the counter by the sink. “What do you want me to say, Damon?”

He took a step back and ran a hand over his shadowed jaw.

“Do you want me to beg you not to go? If so, I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong girl.” She pulled on her sweater. “I may have been a naïve virgin last night, but I’m not stupid. I can take a hint. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like a bit of privacy while I finish getting dressed.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped short. Instead, Damon shook his head and left the room.

Madie fought back tears. It was just sex. She knew that going in, but sometime during the night something had changed—at least for her. She swiped her hand across her eyes, wiping away any telltale moisture. She finished dressing, then took a deep breath and exited the bathroom.

She found Damon downstairs in the living room perched on the edge of the couch, his arms crossed over his chest. He stared at two cups of steaming coffee that had been placed on the end table.

“You never saw my collection,” he said softly. “I have it in a fireproof vault.”

“Maybe some other time.” Madie had been so caught up last night that she’d forgotten all about the real reason she’d come over in the first place.

“Do you at least have time for a cup of coffee?” His brow furrowed and his lips firmed into a straight line.

Why did he want her to stay now? He’d all but asked her to leave only moments ago. “I didn’t think you had time. You said you needed to leave after I did,
right
?” Madie hadn’t called him a liar directly, but she’d certainly implied as much.

Damon didn’t dispute her nor did he answer. Instead, he picked up the coffee mug and silently held it out in front of him.

Madie sighed. “Fine.” She lifted the mug from his hands. Damon’s fingertips brushed hers before releasing the cup, sending a jolt of electricity through her. She fumbled with the cup and almost dropped the coffee onto the floor.

Damon watched her, his gaze unreadable.

Madie brought the steaming mug to her lips and blew on the pungent liquid. She took a tentative sip. The bitter coffee held a hint of vanilla. Before she could ask for cream, Damon produced a small pitcher.

“Thanks.” She took it from him and added some to her cup. “I don’t suppose you have sugar hiding somewhere?”

He pushed off the couch and walked into the kitchen to retrieve the sugar.

***

Damon picked up the sugar bowl and strode back into the living room. Madie was hurt. He could see it in the tension around her mouth and smell it on her skin. And it was all because he couldn’t keep it in his pants. He’d messed up big time and there were no easy fixes.

To make matters worse, he’d handled this morning all wrong. He should have prepared breakfast for Madie and brought it to her in bed. Instead, he’d freaked out and burst through the door to tell her that he was leaving town.

It sounded like a lame excuse to his ears, even though it was the truth.

He had to speak with the Lycanian Elders. They needed to know these latest developments, before he explained a word to Madie. Given her background, Damon knew there was no way she’d believe him.

Hell, he wouldn’t believe him, if he were on the receiving end. The whole thing might be funny, if it was happening to someone else, but it wasn’t.

Damon handed her the sugar. She placed two cubes in her cup and took another drink. Who would have thought that an encounter with the Hunter would lead to the discovery of his bondmate? Certainly not him. Damon shook his head at the irony. Of all the women on this planet, why did it have to be her?

Just one of many things that he needed to discuss with the Elders.

He picked up his cup and stared at Madie over the rim. She was beautiful, even with anger and hurt coloring her soft cheeks. Her full lips were still swollen from his kisses. Damon had no doubt other places were, too.

When he’d walked in on her holding his shirt to her face, his heart had skipped a beat and something inside of him had shattered. The burgeoning tenderness had scared him. He’d had no choice, but to mask it with anger.

The lush skin he’d explored at length last night was now hidden beneath her sweater and long skirt. Damon longed to touch her again. Taste her wetness. Bury himself so deep inside her that she’d feel his shaft nudging her heart.

Damon’s cock hardened at the thought of Madie’s wet sheath closing around him. He cleared his throat and shifted casually to ease the tension in his jeans. He had to tamp down the need for her, at least until he could get things cleared up with the Elders.

Of course none of that would matter, if Madie stopped speaking to him. He had to smooth her hurt feelings. So Damon said the first thing that came to mind, “I’d like to see you, when I get back in town.”

Her surprise showed for a second, but a cynical expression quickly masked it. “Sure, I’ll wait for your call.” Madie tipped her cup back and finished her coffee. “I’d appreciate it, if you’d call me a taxi.”

Damon frowned. “I can take you home.”

“No, I wouldn’t want to be a bother. Besides, I’ve delayed you long enough.”

Damon’s voice came out on a growl. “I’ll get the car.” He bounded up the stairs to retrieve a clean shirt and get his keys. When he strode back into the living room, Madie was gone.

Every instinct told him to go after her, but Damon couldn’t. Not now. She would be fine until he got back. She’d have to be.

Too much was riding on his meeting with the Lycanian Elders. Their decision could mean the difference between life and death.

Chapter Eighteen

Madie phoned Sarah the second she got home. Her best friend hadn’t been able to come over, but she had commiserated with her and cursed Damon sideways for being such a fool.

Sarah had told her the only way to get over the pain was to get right back in there and go out with someone else. She’d said sleeping with a new man would wipe Damon’s memory from her mind.

Madie had her doubts. She didn’t think anything would take away the memory of making love to Damon, but she promised to give it some thought.

Commencement turned out to be a mixture of joy and sadness. Graduation meant saying goodbye to long time friends and moving out of the area. Sarah and Madie sat a row apart, their faces glum.

Madie looked over her shoulder into the crowd, but there was no sign of Damon. She knew he wasn’t going to be there, but part of her had hoped that he’d show. She refused to admit that she was disappointed with the way things had ended. After all the wining and dining, she thought he was different.

The truth hurt.

Sarah’s name was called and she rose to receive her diploma. Her parents rushed forward to take a few pictures, then she returned to her seat. The next few names were a blur to Madie.

She sat there thinking about what was going to happen with her life now. She hadn’t seen her father, but that didn’t mean Gaston wasn’t here, lurking somewhere in the back of the crowd.

One thing she had decided after last night was to keep her apartment. Madie knew her father wasn’t going to be happy about it, but she needed a place of her own, a place she could escape to if things had home went south like she expected.

The announcer eventually called out Madie’s name. She walked to the front of the crowd and looked out across the sea of faces. With the exception of Sarah and her family, none were familiar.

Madie’s fingers trembled as she accepted the scrap of paper that was the culmination of all her years of college. Teary-eyed she looked at her graduating class, and then at the bleachers beyond. She could almost imagine her mom sitting in the crowd cheering her on.

This is for you, mama.

Madie waved her diploma in the air and caught sight of
Damon
in the crowd
.
A thrill shot through her until she looked again, then her stomach sank. It wasn’t him. She could see that now. Though the man did look a lot like him.

He had the same sable-colored hair and classically handsome face. His upper body was corded with muscle just like Damon’s, but he had broader shoulders and a thicker frame. From a distance, the resemblance was uncanny.

He stared at her as she walked back to her seat and sat down. The ceremony droned on, until the students squirmed.

Finally, the words they’d all been waiting to hear were announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to the latest New Salford Art Institute graduating class.”

The crowd went wild. On cue, the class tossed their caps into the air and it was done.

Sarah raced to Madie’s side and embraced her. “We made it. Can you believe it?”

“No, I think I’m still in shock,” she said.

“I know. Me, too.” Sarah removed her graduation gown. “My parents are planning to take me out to dinner want to come?”

“I’d love to, but--”

“She already has plans,” a male voice said.

Sarah’s eyes widened and she grinned at Madie. “Lucky girl,” she said, squeezing her hand. “Glad you decided to take my advice.”

Madie turned to find a stranger behind her. It was the same man that she’d seen in the crowd earlier, who’d looked so much like Damon from a distance. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“I haven’t had the pleasure to meet you until now,” he said.

Sarah’s parents called her name.

“You kids have fun getting to know each other,” Sarah said with a wink. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Madie snorted. “I’m not about to take that advice again.”

“I’ll call you later,” Sarah tossed back as she walked away.

 Madie watched Sarah leave, then turned back to the stranger. “Now that my friend is gone, do you want to tell me who you are and why you interrupted my plans?”

The man hesitated, then stepped forward. “My name is Jack Hanson.” He shook her hand. “I’m a friend of your father, Gaston.”

“My father doesn’t have any friends.” Madie kept her gaze trained on the crowd. “Is Gaston here?”

Jack shook his head. “No, he couldn’t make it.”

“Couldn’t make it or didn’t want to come?” Madie asked, meeting his level gaze. Her diploma meant nothing to Gaston and never would. He’d already decided what she needed to do with her life and he’d do everything in his power to see that she followed his wishes.

Jack laughed. “He’s your father, what do you think?”

Her brow furrowed. “I think you’re one of Gaston’s hunting buddies. And that you’re here because he’s trying to set us up.”

“Don’t hold that against me.” Jack grinned. “At least not until you get to know me.”

Madie smiled. She couldn’t help it. She may not be interested, but the man was charming. “Fair enough.”

Jack’s smile widened. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to take you to dinner.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he stopped her before she could.

“For no other reason than to celebrate your graduation,” he said. “I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the idea of springing this blind date on you.”

Until now
, was left unsaid.

Madie weighed her options. She could try to find Sarah, go home and dig into a gallon of ice cream to drown her sorrows, or she could accept Jack’s offer and go have a nice dinner.

Damon hasn’t called and probably won’t. You don’t owe him anything. It was just a fling. Her heart sank at the thought. You have a handsome, charming man in front of you, who is going out of his way to make you feel comfortable. Don’t be an idiot. Why pine over a man, who’s obviously not into you?

“Sure,” she found herself saying. “That would be nice.” As a bonus, it might get her father off her back for a while.