The Midwife's Moon (21 page)

Read The Midwife's Moon Online

Authors: Leona J. Bushman

Abruptly, she went from still half laying on him drowsily, to sitting straight in her seat and looking around. “Ferry?” she echoed.

He laughed. “Yes, sleepy head,” he said as he stopped in front of the two story house. “Wait here. I’ll make sure it’s the right house and that it’s safe.”

He should have known better.

“And what if it isn’t safe?” her voice called out from behind him. “I’m
not
a damn china doll. I am an Elite Guard, a better fighter in hand-to-hand than you are, and you’re going to leave me behind like the little woman?”

Oh, she was angry, which shouldn’t have brought a grin to his face, but it did. More of her hair had fallen out of its braid as she slept. And though his mind knew it to be the wind of the waters which blew it around her face, it still looked as if it were its own living entity. That it felt as she did—angry, defensive, and ready to strike.

He became so enamored with the lifelike quality of her hair that he missed her approach until she jabbed her finger in his shoulder. “Well?”

“You’re beautiful,” he breathed. “All of you. Every inch of you, even enraged. I can’t help the protective feelings I have of you,” he hastened to say when her eyes narrowed at him.

“Then we’re going to have a problem. Because I am a protector as well as a healer, and I’ll not be pushed aside.”

“Oh, Lisa,” he said and drew her to him. “I don’t mean to push you aside. I’ll try to remember you’re a fighter, but I can’t promise I won’t try to protect you the best I can.”

Her rigid posture relaxed a little. “Well, as you can see, I’m quite capable of reminding you when needed. Now, shall we do this together?” she asked and gestured toward the front door.

“Yes,” he said and bit down on his cheek to keep her from seeing his smile. He may be new to the mate thing, but something told him that smiling at her now and telling her how cute she was wouldn’t go over well.

The porch light was on. However, no one answered when they knocked, so he drew out the key Nolan had given him and tried it in the lock. It gave way easily. “Well, right house anyway.”

“Shall we separate and search or do it together?” she asked.

“Toge—” he started to say then stopped. “Separately,” he amended.

It took little time to finish the sweep. “I’ll get the luggage if you could scare us up a meal. And before you get upset, you should know, I carry luggage a hell of a lot better than I cook.”

Her laughter followed him down the walk as he went and brought forth his libido. As if it needed much encouragement. He adjusted his walk to ease the discomfort and made plans on how best to seduce his lover.

***

“Did you scare them off?” Justin asked Evan.

Justin lay semi reclined in his living room, a cheroot in one hand and his glass of wine on the table nearby while he held the phone.

“They left in a hurry and haven’t returned to their homes.”

“Good.”

“I wanted her at my place of choosing,” Evan growled. “How is this good?”

“If she is on the run, she won’t be around to help out her Ulfric if needed. Or anyone in the pack.” The silence on the other end lasted so long, Justin wondered if Evan had hung up.

“That is good. It will be better when she is around to help me. But it will do for now.”

It’ll be better when she’s around to help
me. Evan may be a fabled werepolar bear, but he had no idea of the extent of Justin’s powers. So he tread cautiously. Evan remained a largely unknown entity, and it wouldn’t do him any good to piss off the bear.

“It’s the easiest and most expedient way to put her out of contact with the rest of the pack. As she’s an
aswan,
her human family will be vulnerable should we choose to exploit that option.”

The pause on the other end was infinitesimal. “Of course. In the meantime, we need to move on to the next phase. The werepanthers.”

Justin felt a warmth flow through him. “They won’t even know what hit them. And this time of the year, no one will be expecting what I have planned for them.”

“I want the werebears there implicated. I don’t care how you manage it.”

Some of Justin’s warmth left him at the coldness in Evan’s voice. “I’ve already agreed to it, haven’t I?” he replied testily.

“Just make it happen, wolf, or you will see the legendary werepolar bear in a wrath. I promise you, it’s not something you will ever forget.”

“There is no need for threats, Evan.” He put out his cheroot. “We are on the same side, and I am no fool,” he added and hung up.

He was nothing Evan had ever seen, but he’d keep that fact to himself. As a precaution, he only revealed as much as he needed for the polar bear to know. The little show in the clearing had been his proof. He’d proven to the bear he could perform without turning into a wolf, just as Evan requested.

Roxy walked in wearing little more than a thin, gold negligee. And here was more proof, he decided as she knelt in front of him and began to unzip his slacks. Every day, she became more his as he practiced on her mind.

He closed his eyes and savored the power even though he never used his special skills to seduce women. As a matter of pride, he preferred they came to him willingly. Like this. All at once his cock was jerked up, and the sharp bit of a silver knife poked into his balls.

His eyes flew open to meet the glittering rage of Roxy. If he tried his mind control now, she could slip and cut him with the silver that already made his ball sac itch from the small touch. No, better appease her in other ways.

“Wh—”

“Don’t. Speak.” Roxy’s temper, rumored to be bad, looked to be flaming tonight.

“I don’t know how you controlled that
aswan
back in the clearing, but you try that on me, and I’ll make you pay. Boris will be brought back, and you’ll give him official sanctuary, however you have to make it happen.”

“Why is this Boris so important to you? You are not mated. And though I know you’ve screwed his brains out more than once, you’re not jealous of the others he takes to his bed—or torture chamber.”

Her face clouded over, and she frowned up at him. “It is none of your business. Suffice it to say he has more than meets the eye, and he’s my enforcer. You have no one in the pack that measures up to him. Boris has an injury that isn’t healing. Apparently he has some of Heather’s serum in him from his paw being shoved into his own gut by Kamiakin. You will come with me, and we will pick him up.”

She pricked his balls with the silver knife, and the sting, though painful, exhilarated him. He found such fire, passion, and loyalty sexy. And a little pain never hurt anyone. His cock sprung tall and thick.

By the widening of her eyes, he thought it surprised her. “I find your passion for your friend stimulating. I will do as you say.” The rush of taunting glee that washed over her face made him angry. A fact he’d take out on her later, but by the gods, she was sexy as hell. “But not out of fear. I can control you if I choose. I’ll do it because I appreciate loyalty such as the two of you have together. First though, let’s not let this go to waste.” He indicated his hard on and let her see the lust in his face. However, he was careful to hide the little push he gave her to put the knife down.

As he figured, her power play had her hot and bothered, and she readily accepted his offer. One more step into his clutches.

Chapter Twenty One

Lance lay naked on the bed feeling vulnerable and lustful. Lisa had hidden in the bathroom a few minutes ago, ostensibly to change, but it had been long enough for her to have finished. “Lisa,” he called out. Was he supposed to rush? Maybe he should have waited longer. This mate business wasn’t for the weak.

The door cracked open, and she peeked around it. “Are you ready?” she asked softly.

His cock sprung up as if she’d called it to her. “Um, raring to go too crude?”

She laughed and opened the door wider. “I’d say just right. I needed that. All of a sudden, I became nervous about my heritage, my family, being Latino—all of it.”

“Darling, if being an
aswan
didn’t bother me, having werewolf in your family isn’t.” Joseph could never have made up for the damage his betrayal cost. “You’re beautiful, strong, loving, and sexy as hell in that negligee,” he growled out as his wolf got over excited at seeing her rosy-brown nipples peeking through the lace.

He cleared his throat and said, “Er, sorry about the growl. I wasn’t trying to intimidate or anything. I, that is, it, I mean. You’re so sexy even my wolf wanted to let you know. I’m doing this badly.”

Her shy giggles and the touch on his arm eased some of the tension he felt.
Who the hell growls at their mates when happy?

She placed a soft hand on his arm. “I understand. I feel the same primeval feelings toward you. Something very basic comes out when I’m around you. Tough, protective, yet loving and tender. Give me that, all of that as you make love to me.”

Her words unleashed something he didn’t know had been held hostage. He pulled her down, kissed her mouth while one hand rubbed her nubs through the lace of the negligee. The kiss ran wild, tongues dueling, hands grabbing at hair and clothing. Lance would never quite remember what the sexy thing looked like on her, only the part of her nipples...and he’d never know as he tore off the lace bit to get to them. Lisa must have felt the same as he was because she ripped his shirt down the back.

Their first time had been genteel, tentative, and a path of discovery. This time, he knew he could do it, that her love and lust were strong for him. There was no such fear on his part. He ravished her. His kisses moved down her neck, licking and sucking at parts, but always listening for her moans and breathy sounds that told him what she liked the best.

She explored his body, sometimes her fingernails dug in when she particularly liked where or how he touched her. Soon, she had both hands, claws dug in, and just whimpered. His fingers on her nipple had been replaced by his mouth after he’d removed the lace. He used that hand to stroke her clit with his thumb and inserted two fingers into her wet channel.

When she bucked under him, he flipped her to her knees. With one arm, he pulled her back so her ass was in the air and her head was down. His cock throbbed, and the skin on his head felt too tight. He needed release, and he needed it in her.

He pulled her butt cheeks apart, saw the glistening of her pussy, and lost the last bit of his control. With a loud groan, he surged into her. Then he leaned over, grabbed both of her boobs, and held on while he rode her. Hotter her pussy felt against his sensitized skin. Tighter and tighter, her orgasm spasmed around his cock.

When he felt her start to come down from her orgasm, he put one hand on her shoulder for traction, the other he reached around her and found the nubbin there. His hips thrust faster, humping and slapping against her. Relentless in his onslaught, he let out all the pent-up emotions from the last years and days out as he pistoned into her.

Her muscles grabbed his cock as it entered and exited, and he thought he’d burst right in half before she came again. He bit her neck as he thrust, and she finally squirted her juices all over him again. His release came in a long hot stream of cum as he spasmed against her. The smell of him on his mate as they pulled apart brought extreme satisfaction to his wolf side.

He turned her toward him and snuggled in. The human part of him was even more satisfied by her movements to snuggle into him. Whatever the future held, he’d fight tooth and nail to keep this feeling of contentment, sexual satisfaction, and love. More, he’d fight to the death to protect his mate.

***

Lisa tried to catch her breath. Her dual nature had never been closer and so in tune. Her mate had just physically claimed her, body and soul. That bite on her shoulder had been a statement by his wolf, whether he understood it or not.

His claiming as he joined her had given her the highest orgasm of her life—the feelings stronger and more potent than she could have ever imagined. Her pussy throbbed from his mating and the aftermath of her orgasms.

She stretched lazily before cuddling into him. For a few minutes, they lay there, and contentment seeped into her being. Then Lance froze up, and she stilled her being, waiting for him. When he finally came out of the vision, he held her tight.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“I don’t know the people, but someone is going to get hurt badly, and soon. I can’t tell if it’s a literal or figurative vision. It involves the damn red haze I keep seeing around everybody.”

“Do you know where?”

“I just keep getting pictures of evergreens, mountains, and bears. That’s all.”

“That could be in like half the state. You can see mountains from all over.”

“It could be anywhere in the world that has mountains and evergreens. Since I don’t know the people, I can’t be certain it’s here.”

“How frustrating. It’s been like this all your life?”

“Yes. That one vision about the clinic was the clearest, most exact one I had, and some of that was still representative and not literal. Mostly, they are a combination. Trick is figuring out which is which.”

“What can we do?” How hard that must be for him. To see something bad is going to happen and yet not be able to know for sure any of the details.

“We wait, and hope I figure out the who or what in time.”

“In time for what?”

“In time to help save a life.”

Lisa hoped they could. Maybe together they would figure it out. Their biggest problem was staying away from those trying to kill them. But Nolan promised to get to the bottom of things, and what her ulfric said he’d do, he did. In the meantime, they had each other for protection and love, and that was more than either of them had had before.

Together, they could make it.

War of the Weres Series Terms:

 

Yakama: One of the Confederate Tribes in the Pacific Northwest

Were: Someone with the ability to change to something other than human.

Werewolf: Humanoid who changes to wolf

Lupa : Female alpha of the pack.

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