Under the Moonlight

by Codi Gary

  Xander pulled up his boxers as a loud smack echoed through the room.

  “Geez, I was just saying,” Jill grumbled.

  He didn’t think Greer meant for him to hear what she said next, she’d probably mouthed it, but he’d heard it loud and clear.

  “Mine.”

  Xander was surprised by how much he liked the sound of that. He’d never been one to appreciate a possessive female, but the thought of belonging to Greer filled him with a sense of peace he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

  And if anyone tried to take her from him, it would be the last thing they ever did.

  15

  The next morning, Greer stood at the window with a cup of coffee in her hand, watching Xander try to teach Jill how to spar. Xander had mentioned he had some friends driving up today to help ease Jill through her transition, but until they got there, Xander had insisted on showing Jill a few things. Greer would have been jealous of the attention he was giving Jill, if he didn’t continuously catch Greer’s eye and smile, his eyes electric with desire.

  Greer had stayed with Jill until her friend passed out once more and then snuck into the spare room to find Xander fast asleep. She crawled in next to him, dead tired, and turned onto her side with her back to him. As she was dozing off, she felt him move and then his arm was wrapped around her waist, his erection poking into her butt.

  “You’re right, you know,” he’d said.

  “About what?”

  He kissed the back of her ear, and whispered, “I was yours from the minute I saw you.”

  Greer had jumped, shocked he’d heard her stake her claim to Jill. She didn’t say anything in response and he hadn’t tried for more than spooning her. Soon, his even breathing fanned out across her skin. She’d fallen asleep smiling.

  But when she’d woken up, he was gone. She’d come downstairs to find a fresh pot of coffee brewing and the two of them doing stretching exercises in the early morning light.

  She’d yawned and gone for the nectar of life instead of the workout.

  Finally, the two of them came inside, Jill dancing from foot to foot. “I gotta tell you, I feel completely energized. Is this how it is all the time? Like you’ve had a full pot of coffee, two Redbulls, and a Monster?”

  “Sometimes.” Xander came up alongside Greer and bent over to kiss her. She leaned into his mouth, tingles erupting everywhere. When he finally pulled back, he murmured, “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.”

  “Hey G,” Jill said, kissing her cheek next.

  “Well, you seem better.”

  “I really am. I just decided that I am going to embrace this as a new leg in my always exciting life.”

  Greer grinned at Xander over her coffee mug. “You are exceptionally well adjusted.”

  Jill shrugged. “Hey, I’m alive. I could have been meat for that bastard and instead, I’m still here. Might as well make the best of it.”

  Greer set her coffee down and gave Jill a hard hug. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Jill teased.

  Greer caught Xander’s eye as he leaned against the counter, cradling his cup. The small smile on his face as he watched them disturbed the nest of butterflies in her stomach. She’d never been so moved by a man with just a look.

  That should have had her running for the hills, but instead, she wanted to go to him and burrow close.

  “I was thinking I should escort you ladies’ home to pack a bag,” Xander said, breaking into her thoughts.

  “Pack a bag?” Greer said.

  Xander took a long draw of his coffee, quirking one eyebrow at her. “Yeah. I’m not leaving you alone with Pax and Dakota still out there. You’ll come back here and bunk with me.”

  “How many people are coming?” she asked.

  “If it’s Clyde and his sons, four. If his wife and daughters are coming, then it’s seven.”

  Greer set her coffee cup down, waiting for him to catch up. “And where are we all going to sleep? There’re only three rooms and a couch.”

  “You make a point there, but I’m still not having you stay alone.”

  She shrugged. “Then come over to my place.”

  Jill waved her hand at them. “Um, excuse me? I know you’re not planning on leaving me here with a house full of strangers.”

  Xander chuckled. “Relax, the only danger you’ll get from Clyde and his wife, Norma, is that they might try to mate you with one of their sons.”

  “Mate me?” Jill’s voice rose three octaves. “Nobody is mating me!”

  The corner of Xander’s mouth twitched with suppressed laughter, and Greer had to bite her lip not to giggle. It seemed he was getting used to her friend’s dramatics.

  “I’ll let them know, but Jill, you can’t stay alone at your place. Pax may decide he made a mistake letting you live, so unless you want to bring one of the Larson’s back to your place for a sleepover, you’re bunking here.”

  “Or I could go with you guys,” Jill argued. “Greer’s got an extra room.”

  Xander’s expression when he met Greer’s gaze was filled with hunger and exasperation. Despite the danger that surrounded them, they had started something last night. Something both were dying to continue, if only they could find a moment alone.

  Greer decided to be blunt. “I think Xander wants to have me all to himself.”

  Jill’s gaze shot back and forth between them with a disgruntled expression before she released a heavy sigh. “Got it. All night sexcapades and I’d be a third wheel. Fine, I’ll pack a bag and stay here. But I am not sleeping on the couch. If I’m going to be in witness protection, I’m going to at least get a goodnight sleep.”

  As Jill took her coffee and headed upstairs, Xander leaned against the kitchen counter with a groan. “Is she always that colorful?”

  Greer padded over to him and set her coffee down on the counter. Then, she wrapped her arms around his waist before kissing his chest. “Welcome to the wonderful world of Jill Meyers.”

  “I was trying to be subtle, but she wasn’t taking the hint.”

  “No, Jill’s pretty dense. You have to spell out what you want or she’ll miss the point.”

  “Speaking of pointed questions…” Xander kissed her, lingering on her lips. “Does this mean that I get to kiss you tonight?”

  “Yep.”

  His hands traveled over her back and squeezed her buttocks. “And touch.”

  “Uh huh.” Her hand slipped around to the front of his jeans, cupping his erection. “And a whole, lot more.”

  A deep sound vibrated in his chest. “I’ll be counting down the hours.”

  Me too.

  16

  Later that afternoon, Clyde called to let him know that he was about an hour out with his sons and they were starving. Greer had offered to call in a couple pizzas, shocked when he’d told her to order seven.

  “Who is going to eat all that?”

  “You’ve never seen the Larson’s take down their food. It may not even be enough. Trust me.”

  Greer shook her head, but while she went off to order, Xander looked over the paper Pax had generously left for him on the windshield of his truck. He’d hidden it before the girls had seen it, but according to the front-page story, the police had found Sam’s body at the base of the mountain. It appeared he’d been mauled by a wild animal, but that wasn’t all. Sam’s companion, Patty hadn’t been seen since Thursday after work. They were asking the publics help with any information to her whereabouts. Whoever wrote the story obviously had no idea Sam had been involved with Patty.

  He read on and his blood ran cold. The police were baffled by the string of animal attacks, and had called in an expert to see if the murders were the work of a rogue shifter.

  Shit.

  It was obvious Pax wanted the heat in Moonlight Ridge in case Xander did kill him. If Xander was the last shifter standing, all the deaths would point to him. It was the only reasonable explanation that he could come u
p with for why Pax was allowing his kills to be so easily found.

  It was insane, but then again, Pax was a crazy son of a bitch.

  It was the only real information he’d ever been able to drag out of the other shifters from Pax’s gang. That they were all scared of him because he was unpredictable. It was only when they realized how lethal Xander really was that they started talking, but none of them had the information he wanted most.

  “Why my family?”

  None of them had known or admitted it. They’d all just said that Pax has set it up as a robbery and they’d gone along. That the murders and what they’d done to his mom…it wasn’t part of the plan.

  Greer came back into the room, and when he started to throw the newspaper away, he stopped. He wasn’t going to lie or hide things from her anymore. If he really wanted to have a future with her, he had to let go of his solitary lifestyle.

  “They found Sam’s body. And Patty is missing. The local police are bringing in an expert to determine whether it was a shapeshifter.”

  Greer stopped at the edge of the kitchen, her face drained of color.

  “And they’re going to find two bodies. One killed by a were-cougar and the other a werewolf. Xander…”

  It all clicked. “He turned Jill so she’d take the fall for him.”

  “And you’ll take the fall for the other shifter. You found Sam’s body and I bet they were counting on that. Your scent will be all over the crime scene.”

  Xander sat down at the kitchen table and rubbed his hands over his face. “I have to end this, now. Before they kick off their end game.”

  Her arms slipped around his neck from behind and he could feel the press of her breasts against his shoulders. “We will stop them. It will be all over soon and you can move on.”

  He released a shaky breath, letting her embrace calm and strengthen him. He pulled her around until she was seated across his lap, her ass cradled against the front of his jeans. He held her to him, and just breathed her in.

  The sound of pounding feet on the stairs alerted him Jill was coming, but he held tight to Greer before she could pull away.

  “Geez, what’s the matter with you two, you look like you’re in mourning.” When they didn’t answer, she cursed. “Oh, shit, who died?”

  “Patty Simcox is missing,” Greer said softly.

  “Probably not the best time to bring up karma, right?”

  Xander turned in his seat to glare at Jill, and found Greer already scowling over his shoulder.

  Jill threw up her hands in surrender. “Sorry, poor taste!”

  “Greer thinks she knows why Pax bit you and why they killed Kelsey and Sam,” Xander said.

  Jill sat across from them at the table. “Enlighten me.”

  Greer filled her in on the theory and Jill’s mouth tightened, her pupils becoming slits. Xander could sense her beast, and held his hand up. “Breathe, Jill.”

  She closed her eyes, obviously trying to find her calm again.

  Xander heard the key in the lock just before the squeak of the front door opening. Clyde Larsen’s loud voice boomed, “Xander! Where you at, boy?”

  Xander kissed Greer’s lips before depositing her back on her feet and standing up. He came around the chair just as Clyde entered the living room, his three sons behind him. All of them were big men, though not as tall as Xander. Clyde was shorter than his sons with copper hair and eyes the color of pine needles in the spring. His beard was darker than his hair, and his teeth were straight and even as he grinned at Xander.

  “Clyde,” Xander said.

  Clyde stomped forward and pulled Xander into his arms, slapping him on the back. “It’s good to see you. It’s been too long.”

  “Yeah, it has.” Xander hugged him back hard before breaking the embrace.

  The older man’s gaze swept past him to Jill and Greer. “And who are these two lovely ladies?”

  “The one sitting down at the table is Jill.” Xander pulled Greer into his side as she came over to join them. “And this is Greer.”

  Clyde winked at him. “Greer, huh? I like that.”

  Greer held out her hand. “I’m so glad, sir, since it’s the only one I’ve got.”

  “Oh, I like this one. She’s sassy.”

  Clyde’s oldest son, Dereck, slapped him on the shoulder. “Hey now, let go of the girl and greet me properly, you giant pain in my ass.”

  Xander gave him a hug and Dereck lifted him off his feet, cracking his back in the process. Xander squeezed his shoulder when Dereck released him. Dereck was only a year older than Xander, and never let him forget he was his elder. His hair was brown with a red sheen to it, but his eyes were the dark mud of a swamp, almost black.

  “I missed you, little brother,” Dereck said.

  “I appreciate you coming,” Xander said.

  “Move out of the way, Der, so we can give Xander a proper greeting,” Luke said.

  Luke was the middle child and the clown of the Larson siblings. He looked just like his dad without the gruff exterior. Luke pinched Xander’s cheeks when he approached him, his green eyes dancing with mirth.

  Xander yanked away from him with a scowl. “You’re an ass, Luke.”

  “You love me best, just admit it.”

  The last one to give him a hug was Clyde’s youngest, Clint. He was just shy of twenty, with his mother’s black hair and eyes. He was the quietest of the three.

  “Good to see you, kid.”

  Clint rolled his eyes. “Not a kid anymore.”

  “You’ll always be kid.”

  Xander introduced the three men to Greer and Jill. Luke took Greer’s hand and brought it up to give it a kiss.

  Xander growled low and Luke stopped. He released Greer’s hand and stepped back respectfully with a grin. “So, that’s the way of it, huh?”

  Xander wrapped his arm arms around Greer’s waist. “Yeah, so keep a wide berth where she’s concerned.”

  “Fine, fine. Now, where’s the pizza?”

  17

  Greer sat at the table, her two slices of pizza still intact as she watched the Larson boys, Xander, Clyde, and even Jill, go through four of the pizzas in under fifteen minutes.

  It was Clyde who caught her staring and shot her a wink. “Gotta grab it while it’s hot, girlie, or there won’t be any left.”

  She laughed. “So, I see.”

  “How long you been seeing Xander?” Luke asked.

  She could feel her cheeks warm as she admitted, “Well we met on Monday, but seeing each other? Since last night.”

  Luke shot her a wolfish grin. “Oh, so it’s not serious then?”

  “Luke…” Xander growled.

  Dereck knocked his brother upside the head, and Luke shoved him back. “I was just curious.”

  “Bullshit,” Clint said mildly. “My brother thinks he’s a lady’s man.”

  Luke puffed up. “I am.”

  Clyde leveled his offspring with a fierce scowl. “Eat your food and shut it or I’ll take you out back and lock you out.”

  The table fell silent as the Larson men went back to their dinner.

  Greer shook her head in awe. “Wow, you really have them trained.”

  “Boys, there’s nothing to them.” Clyde grimaced as he added, “Girls, on the other hand, will drive you crazy.”

  “Duly noted,” Greer said.

  Luke turned his attention to Jill. “What about you, Jill? Seeing anyone?”

  Jill wrinkled her nose at him. “Not interested, puppy.”

  All the men hooted good naturedly. Luke shrugged sheepishly.

  Before Jill’s attention turned back to her food, Greer caught her sneaking a glance at Dereck, who was looking back with obvious interest.

  She turned to catch Xander’s eye, wondering if he’d seen it too, and found him watching her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Eat your food so we can get you home. You look exhausted.”

  Greer swallowed, knowing he had no i
ntention of letting her sleep tonight. He’d already caught her coming out of the bathroom, and before she’d said a word, he’d had her pressed against the wall, kissing her like he couldn’t get enough. They’d been interrupted by Jill, who’d bumped into them on purpose and muttered, “Get a room.”

  Greer had been shifting in her chair ever since, trying to ease the ache of arousal he’d created. It had been a bit embarrassing since Luke had given her a smirk that made her think he knew exactly what she was doing.

  “Before you leave, I want to talk to you about this shifter issue,” Clyde said.

  Greer noticed Xander stiffened. “I have it handled.”

  “Maybe so, but I still think stacking the odds in your favor couldn’t hurt. You can bet that Pax and Dakota have shit up their sleeve. You should take back up.”

  Xander shook his head. “I’m not going to be responsible if one of you gets killed. This is my fight and I am going to take care of it.”

  Clyde cursed a blue streak and his three sons scooted back from the table. Luke stood up with a flourish, bowing. “Ladies, would you care to join us in the living room while these two have a pissing match?”

  “Sit your ass down, Luke,” Xander snapped.

  Greer got up with her plate and came around the table, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Xander…can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Xander stood abruptly. “Sure.”

  The two of them headed into the kitchen and dumped their paper plates into the trash on their way out the front door. The minute the wood closed, she turned to face him.

  “Why won’t you let them help you?”

  He seemed surprised she would ask that. “Like I said, it’s my fight.”

  “But it’s two against one. At least if you took Clyde, Derrick, and Luke, the odds would be in your favor.”

  “No. I can do this on my own.”

  “I don’t want you to,” she snapped.

  “This isn’t about you, Greer. This is shifter business and you don’t know the first thing about it.”

  Greer tried to hold back her tears as his words cut her to the core. Not that he was wrong; she didn’t understand his world.