Bad Moon Rising (Cole and Dana)

by Chambers, V. J.

  “Jimmy has, um, made Dana a beta of the Pack.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah,” said Cole. “He wants her for keeps. Long haul. He doesn’t seem to have any plans to let her go at all.”

  “Jesus.”

  “Look, I’m going to get her out,” he said. “But I want you to understand that after we get out, things are still going to be very messy around here. If you think that Jimmy is going to cooperate with the SF, you are very mistaken, because I really don’t think that he will.”

  For now, Avery didn’t think he cared about the stupid wolf cult or the SF. He was only concerned about Dana. “Wait. How are you going to get Gray out?”

  “Well, I know where they’re holding her, and I found a tranq gun out in the field on my way in. You guys waiting until morning to clean up those bodies or something?”

  “We’re understaffed,” said Avery. He didn’t like the reminder that there were dead SF agents lying around in the dark. Still, he didn’t see how he and the few men he had could both guard the place and move the bodies as well.

  “Anyway,” said Cole. “I’m going to give the guards watching her a nice, long nap, and I’m going to sneak her out. Most everyone in here is freaking out over Jimmy’s wound, so I shouldn’t have too much trouble.”

  * * *

  Dana was back in the trailer. She was lying in bed, but she wasn’t really trying to sleep. She couldn’t sleep. Everything was too screwed up for sleep. She’d been forced to submit to Jimmy. She was a member of his pack. That meant that he could call her anytime he wanted. She’d suddenly be overwhelmed with a feeling that she had to go to him. He could take over her mind and make her want to see him. That disgusted her.

  On top of that, he could make her shift. Anytime he wanted.

  Jimmy had power over her now.

  Dana hated that. She needed it to stop somehow. She couldn’t be at Jimmy’s beck and call. There was simply no way that she could do that.

  But she didn’t know what she was going to do to stop it.

  At least this had solved the problem of having a pack. She was disconnected from them now.

  But it had created an even worse problem. And this time, she thought she was really in trouble.

  Cole had shown up, but he hadn’t been able to do anything for her. After Jimmy’s declaration that neither of them were leaving, she’d been whisked off by her burly guards. As they’d dragged her out of the room, she’d looked over her shoulder at Cole.

  He’d gazed back at her, as if he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. But there hadn’t been any indication in his eyes that he had any hope either.

  So, it was all pointless. Now, she was locked back up in this trailer, and she couldn’t get out.

  After her attempt to fight Jimmy in wolf form, she’d even given up on her idea to shift and try to fight her way out. She was no match for those wolves. She was too weak.

  She lay on the bed, clutching at the covers, trying to think of some kind of plan.

  But realizing everything was hopeless. She was stuck here now. She might never get out.

  There was a noise. Someone at the door.

  Dana sat up straight in bed.

  “Dana,” came a low voice, deep and velvet.

  Cole?

  She got up and hurried across the trailer to the door.

  He was coming inside by the time she got there.

  Her breath caught in her throat. She was so close to him now. She hadn’t been this close to him since they… since the night that Hollis had died. And even though she hadn’t thought that Cole still had the capability to disarm her so badly, it was obvious that his nearness affected her.

  His dark eyes found hers.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “I’m getting you out of here.”

  Rescued by Cole, huh? This was starting to become a habit for him. If he didn’t watch it, he was going to be a regular white knight. A white knight serial killer, that is. She shook herself. This was silly. She wasn’t being rescued. If she’d had maybe a few more hours, she would have thought of a plan herself. She was sure of it.

  He held out his hand. “Come on.”

  She put her hand in his.

  His fingers were warm. His hand was larger than hers. He had calluses on the insides of his fingers. His rough skin rubbed against hers.

  She drew in breath sharply.

  He did too. “Damn it, Dana, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to touch you again,” he breathed.

  She looked up at him, her heart starting to pound.

  He peered down at her.

  Her lips parted.

  His face dipped down, close to hers.

  She slammed her eyes shut.

  And then he was kissing her, his mouth against hers, his tongue pushing its way into her. His hard body pressed against her. He engulfed her, wrapped around her. She was still in that damned thin robe they’d put on her. They hadn’t given her back her clothes, and now she could feel him through the filmy fabric. Too well. Too much of him.

  Why did he always do this to her? He went through her like lightning, electrifying her.

  It was hard to think. It was hard to do anything except kiss him back, cling to him, hold him tight against her.

  He pulled back, out of breath. “We have to go.”

  Right. She was being rescued, not ravaged. She put both of her hands on his chest—god damn it, why did his body have to be so firm?—and pushed him away. “Don’t touch me,” she said in a shaking voice.

  He chuckled. “Yes, I could tell how absolutely horrible that kiss was for you.”

  The robe made her feel exposed now. She pulled it closed, huddling inside it. Then she realized she’d just pulled it tight against her breasts, and that her nipples were hard from brushing against his body, and now he could see that.

  His gaze did flick down over her body. His jaw tightened. “Fine. Whatever. I won’t touch you. Let’s get out of here, though.”

  “Good.” She surged forward, heading for the door.

  He turned at the same time, going for the door as well.

  She tried to swerve, to avoid it, but they collided.

  His upper arm brushed against her right breast.

  She gasped as thrills ran through her, shooting behind her belly button, settling between her legs, where a traitorous warmth was growing.

  Cole shut his eyes.

  She held her breath.

  Then, in one quick movement, he grasped her by the waist and crushed her body against his. His lips were on hers again.

  She lifted her hands to his chest again, intending to push him away, to fight him. But she ended up caressing him instead, running her fingers over the ridges beneath his clothes. She remembered what it had been like that night, the night that Hollis had died, when all of his bare firmness had been pressed up against her, in her, around her. She groaned.

  Cole’s lips left hers, but his face stayed inches away. He let out a tattered breath. “Stop distracting me.”

  “Stop kissing me.” Her voice was a squeak.

  His glasses were askew on his face. Without thinking about it, she reached up and straightened them. Then she realized that was an intimate gesture—the kind of thing she’d do for a boyfriend or husband. And Cole wasn’t anything like that. He was a crazy man that turned her on but nothing more.

  He touched her lips. “Dana…”

  “Why do you wear those things, anyway?” she snapped, irritated with herself for wanting him, with him for being wantable.

  “What things?”

  “The glasses.”

  He raised his eyebrows in amusement. “To see clearly.”

  “Bullshit. I never met a wolf that needed glasses. You didn’t wear them in high school. Or when we were training in the SF.”

  “Well, now you have.” He took them off and set them down. “How long would you say a tranq dart would last on those guards outside?”

&nb
sp; “An hour. Maybe two. Why would you ask?”

  He placed his lips against her jaw. His hands moved on her robe, pushing it aside.

  She moaned but tried to choke it. “What are you doing?”

  “It’s been months.” His voice was ragged as he pulled open the thin fabric, baring her skin. “I can be quick.”

  “No.” She tried to push his hands away, even though they felt good. They felt heavenly.

  His fingers found her breast, her nipple.

  Pleasant warmth filled her body. She sighed, closing her eyes. It felt nice.

  He teased it stiff, toyed with it between his thumb and forefinger.

  “Stop,” she said.

  “No,” he said.

  Her breath was coming in gasps. “I don’t want you to do this. I’m telling you not to do this, and you’re not listening to me.”

  “Once I get you out of here, your little boy toy Brooks is going to see to it that I get locked up someplace again, and unless you feel like paying me conjugal visits, this is our only chance, Dana.” His fingers left her nipple and crawled down her torso, over her rib cage, her belly.

  His touch gave her goosebumps. It sent a rush of desire through her. “Brooks is not my boy toy,” she managed.

  Cole’s hand went lower. “Let’s stop talking about him.”

  She cried out.

  He groaned. “You’re so fucking wet, Dana.”

  “I’m not,” she said.

  He laughed, self-assured and full of himself.

  She wanted to punch him. How dare he do this to her? How dare he make her come completely undone?

  Then his fingers moved on her, stroking her clit, and she wanted her mouth against his more than she wanted to hurt him.

  She pulled him close again, kissed him.

  His tongue moved against hers, massaging her in the same rhythm that his fingers moved between her legs, and the sensation was exquisite, making her tighten in all the right places. She let herself get lost in it.

  He grabbed her hand and put it against his crotch.

  She didn’t resist him. She could feel him hard and huge there, and she squeezed him.

  He made a noise in the back of his throat. His mouth moved off of hers. He kissed her neck. Her earlobe. “Unzip my pants.”

  She whimpered. And then she did as he ordered. She reached inside to find him, to free him.

  He sighed.

  She rubbed him, wrapping her hand around his stiff girth. He lengthened, straightened.

  Cole kissed her again. Then he moved his hand from her body.

  She made a disappointed sound.

  He propelled her backwards into the kitchen area of the trailer. Grasping her hips, he set her up on the small counter.

  Oh. That was what he was doing. He was going to do that. Here. She swallowed.

  He caressed her knees as he moved between her thighs.

  She looked down to see his erection pointing straight at her. “Cole, I don’t think—”

  “Thinking is something I have a very difficult time doing when it involves you.”

  “Please,” she whispered. But she wasn’t sure what she was pleading for him to do. To stop? To start?

  His hands moved up over the top of her thighs, and he came closer. “I’m going to fuck you now, Dana. Because you want me, and I want you, and because if it’s over, we’ll both be able to think more clearly.”

  She gulped.

  His hands settled on her hips. The tip of his shaft slid against her body.

  She shut her eyes.

  Then he drove himself into her, deep into her.

  She felt herself stretch to accommodate him, felt him prod his way into her, filling her up, cramming her to the brim. Her eyes rolled back in her head. She wrapped her legs around him.

  He groaned. “Dana. You’re perfect.”

  She touched his face. His lips. His chin. “Cole. My Cole.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Cole erupted in her, blood thundering against his temples, every part of him wiped out by the force of his climax.

  She arced against him, her body taut. She was jerking, writhing in his arms.

  Everything about her was exquisite. The softness of her, the way she gripped him, the way she convulsed around him. The world was nothing but bliss, white hot and thrumming.

  It was only then he realized that she was letting out a series of moans that were loud enough to wake the dead.

  He slammed his hand over her mouth.

  “Shut up,” he gasped.

  She stopped making noise.

  He moved his hand.

  “Sorry,” she said.

  “It’s my fault.” He pulled out of her, tucking his softening penis back inside his pants. What the hell was he thinking? He was supposed to come in here and get her out of the trailer, not get her half naked and screw the hell out of her. Why did she always do this to him?

  She rearranged her robe. Her fingers were shaking.

  He swore softly under his breath. “We need to go.”

  She nodded.

  He helped her off the counter.

  She fumbled to tie her robe closed. Her whole body was shaking.

  He put his arm around her, bracing her, keeping her upright. “Are you okay?” he murmured.

  “I…”

  She was like a frightened baby bird in his arms at that moment, beautiful and fragile, and he felt like his heart would burst knowing that he needed to protect her. He tightened his grip around her waist, and his fingers brushed scar tissue.

  She recoiled from him.

  He flinched.

  That scar was his fault. He’d done that to her, ripped into her body and nearly killed her.

  “You shouldn’t have done that.” Her voice was growing stronger. There was fire behind it.

  He looked down. “I know. But back then, things were different—”

  “Not that.” Her hand went her belly, fingering the scar through her robe. “Although you shouldn’t have… But I meant just now, with your hands and your lips and your…” She looked down at his groin.

  He rolled his eyes. “You didn’t really try very hard to stop me.” He knew she was right, of course, but he didn’t like admitting that he was wrong, and it was easier to lash out than accept blame.

  “I said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Stop.’ From what I understand, that’s about all I needed to do. You just kept pushing, and you… violated me and—”

  “Whatever.” He strode across the trailer. “You wanted it and don’t pretend like you didn’t.”

  “Just because my body might have responded to you doesn’t mean that I wanted it.” She was behind him. “You never even think about being careful either.”

  “Careful?” He had no idea what she was talking about. He headed for the door.

  “You just do it without protection,” she said. “Both times. And god help me, if I were to get pregnant with your… monster spawn, well, I don’t even know what I’d do.”

  He stopped short and turned to look at her. Honestly, he’d never given that much of a thought. “That’s very unlikely. Wolves have a terrible time conceiving.”

  She was angry, and her chest was heaving. Her eyes were wild as she glared at him. He was struck again by how beautiful she was, and it paralyzed him.

  “It could happen,” she said. “If it did, I think I’d kill you.”

  He turned away. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.

  “What was that?” she said. “Did Cole Randall just apologize?”

  He yanked the door open. “Let’s do this later, okay? Right now, we need to get you off the farm.”

  Except there was someone at the door. One of his father’s goons, arms crossed over his chest. “That what you’re doing? Trying to help her escape? Because it really sounded like you were—”

  Cole punched him.

  The man rubbed his chin. And laughed.

  Well, Cole’s punches had always left something to be desired. He turned to look
at Dana.

  Her jaw was hanging open, her expression a mixture of anger and disbelief.

  The man grabbed Cole and jerked him out of the trailer. “Come on, let’s take a trip to see Jimmy.”

  * * *

  Jimmy was propped up in bed, shirtless. His wound had been bandaged, but it there was a hint of red at the center, like it was still bleeding.

  Dana stared at it, wondering if he’d been stabbed deep enough that it would kill him.

  There were two women in the room with Jimmy, both in their nightgowns. They stood next to the bed, flanking either side. Both of them stared down at the floor meekly.

  Dana was at the back of the room, one of Jimmy’s guards holding onto her.

  Another of the guards stood behind Cole, who was at the foot of Jimmy’s bed.

  “You knocked out my men,” Jimmy was saying. “Both of them are out of commission for the next hour or so, and we’re already stretched thin. Now, I’ll have to have people guard both you and Dana. We’ll be stretched too thin to keep a proper look out for the SF.”

  “They were only trying to get Dana out,” said Cole. “If you let her go, they’ll leave you alone.”

  Jimmy shook his head. “Do I look stupid to you, son?”

  “You really want me to answer that?” said Cole.

  “We killed SF men,” said Jimmy. “They aren’t going to be through with us until every last one of us is dead.”

  Dana spoke up. “They wouldn’t do that. Really. The SF doesn’t kill wolves unless the situation is very dire.”

  Jimmy’s jaw twitched. “Dana, am I talking to you?”

  She gulped. “I guess not.”

  “When I want to hear from you, I will ask a direct question. Is that clear?”

  Dana pressed her lips together.

  Cole glared down at his father. “Don’t talk to her like that.”

  “She’s not yours anymore, Cole,” said Jimmy.

  I’m not anyone’s, Dana thought. But she decided it was probably better to keep her mouth shut. Her life was so screwed up right now. In twenty-four hours, she’d been captured, forced to submit against her will to an alpha, and then somehow seduced by Cole Randall, the man she hated worse than anything on earth. To make matters worse, Cole was the only person on her side, and that meant she kind of had to depend on him.