Fox, Morgan - Tempted by the Moon [Moonlight Shifters 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Morgan Fox

  He wiped her damp cheeks as she looked up at him, his towering figure and muscular frame surrounding her in a comforting embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek flat against his firm chest.

  She whispered, “I hope you’re right, Jonah. I truly do.”

  Brie jumped at the sound of pounding steps coming from behind her. In the doorway leading into the cabin stood two tall, brawny men—fierce warriors and men Jonah had known for a lifetime.

  Curious to learn why these two men should suddenly appear on his doorstep, he asked, “Reyes. Dominic. What are you doing here?”

  Reyes, a wolf and best friend to Sebastian, had short, military-cropped black hair, crystal blue eyes, and shoulders that filled the doorframe. A white T-shirt, dark jeans, and black combat boots completed his look. He acknowledged Jonah with a nod then explained, “Luken called, said things here at McCarthy Ranch were going to hell in a handbasket, and he suggested we come lend a hand.” His gaze wandered over Brie, and Jonah felt his chest bulk up. Sexual desire of weres could be read like the bold print on a newspaper. Jonah read Reyes’s and Dominic’s thoughts, and he didn’t like what their eyes revealed.

  “Who do we have here?” Dominic drawled, his eyes casting over Brie.

  “My mate,” Jonah growled. “And you’d be wise to remember that.” He glared at Dominic, but his warning was meant for them both.

  Dominic grinned. His shoulder-length, dark brown hair pulled back at the nape of his neck, his smooth, sophisticated gaze flickered back to Jonah. “I apologize, old friend. I meant no disrespect.” Jonah shrugged, glancing down to watch Brie stare back at the giant covered in solid black. He wore a T-shirt, jeans, and boots—a walking nightmare for anyone who crossed his path.

  Jonah nodded. “Brie, this is Reyes Rodale and Dominic Mercer. They are part of our pack and live on the far side of McCarthy Ranch...that is, when they’re not raising hell in Dallas. Reyes is Sebastian’s oldest friend, while Dominic”—he cleared his throat—“is supposed to be mine.” Jonah gritted out the last part as if forcing the words to emerge.

  He glared at the intimidatingly large lycan, the largest of their pack. At six-foot-six, Dominic looked like a god of war rather than just a simple man. A wall of muscle and strength, Dominic was a force to be respected—and to those who were not fast learners that meant pain, lots and lots of pain.

  Growing up with the menacing bastard had been interesting. Trouble seemed to find Dominic faster than Jonah could blink his eyes. But even so, there was no other warrior Jonah would rather have at his side if he couldn’t have Sebastian. No matter the hell they caused each other, the torment they forced each other to suffer, the loyalty and respect they shared was always there.

  Reyes bowed his head as if he were being introduced to royalty—a complete contrast to his rough, casual appearance. “It is so very nice to meet you, Brie. We’ve heard so much about you already.”

  “Yes, we have.” Dominic approached her, lifting her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “It seems unfortunate that it is only now that we should meet you.”

  Jonah rolled his eyes. The need to puke pushed up from his stomach and into his throat. He was going to beat the shit out of Dominic the first chance he got. “I won’t warn you again, Dominic. The ladies may find your Casanova charms flattering, but I only find them annoying.”

  Chuckling, Dominic said, “You didn’t always think so, my friend. I remember not too long ago when you were begging me to show you the ways of—”

  Clearing his throat, Jonah cut Dominic off and said, “Brie is my mate, and I don’t think she needs to hear what you have to say.”

  True enough, Jonah had lived a life where he found as many women as he could to spend his nights with, but those days were over and gone. The only woman that mattered to him now was Brie. Having her learn of his oversexed past would solve nothing, and the last thing he needed was for her to question his love and develop emotional insecurities about their relationship. He could feel she already questioned Sebastian’s love for her. Vulnerabilities had a way of digging in under the skin and lingering longer than desired.

  Don’t say a fucking word to her about my past, Dominic. Now is not the time. Trust me. His mind dove deep into Dominic’s, forcing his thoughts to be heard. He felt Dominic’s response with a warm burst of heat that came from the telepathic link between lycans.

  Knowing his curious mate, he didn’t flinch when he heard her ask, “What if I’d like to learn about your past?” She held Jonah’s gaze. “I think I’d be interested to discover what you were like before I came into the picture.”

  Dominic laughed, dark midnight black eyes rimmed with gold. “Perhaps Jonah is right, Brie. It might be best if some things remained in the past.”

  She nodded at him with a soft smile. “Maybe you’re right.”

  Jonah cringed as she agreed so easily. Brie didn’t give in without a fight. She was a fierce attorney, for crying out loud, and arguing was her forte. Without a shadow of a doubt, he was going to hear all about it later when they were alone. He’d be forced to share more of the details of his past, but at least he’d be able to do the telling—not his obnoxious best friend.

  The sound of a howling wolf jerked everyone into silence. Jonah held Brie at his side. The wailing was coming from Sebastian, and that was a good thing because that meant he hadn’t gone too far. Once Ryken and Luken showed up, they’d all go in search of Sebastian. Everyone except for Brie and those he chose to guard her.

  “Ryken wasn’t very gracious with the details. What’s going on, Jonah?” Reyes stepped into the room, closing the front door at his back. “What’s happened to Sebastian?”

  Jonah sighed hard as he led Brie to stand at the counter in the kitchen. He quickly explained the situation with Mason Levi and the mutating virus. “Somehow Sebastian’s been infected with some kind of virus, but none of us knew about it until about an hour ago.” He squeezed Brie’s hand, sensing that hearing this story repeatedly was taking its toll on her fragile nerves. “I’m assuming Ryken called you to help us capture him, which was actually kind of smart considering the source,” he smirked. “We could use all the help we can get.”

  “We’re glad to lend a hand,” Dominic said, glancing around the cabin. “Sebastian did all this?”

  Brie nodded, leaning into Jonah’s side, her arm around his waist.

  “Mating heat?” Reyes questioned.

  Brie nodded again, her face reddening.

  Reyes ran a firm hand over his face, stroking the black goatee on his chin, he bit out, “Shit, man. Mating heat and some wacky damn virus...When Sebastian gets fucked, he really gets fucked.” Leave it to Reyes to speak bluntly. No need pussyfooting around.

  Reyes shifted uncomfortably, as if embarrassed by his choice of words in front of a woman. Meeting her gaze, he said, “Pardon my language, Brie,”

  She offered him a shy smile.

  Jonah spent the next hour catching up with Reyes and Dominic, explaining that Sebastian had gone to Scotland to ask Brie’s family for her hand in marriage, and also shared that he had been tracking Mason Levi. Jonah left out the important details of Brie’s mysterious abilities and that Sebastian had discovered more about her past.

  Damn, of all the times for Sebastian to keep shit to himself, now was not the time.

  Jonah heard Ryken’s truck and glanced to the door as the golden-haired twins rushed inside, clad in only blue jeans and no shirts—as always. Jonah should’ve felt grateful that the wonder twins had managed to put on a pair of shoes.

  “We miss anything?” Ryken blurted out.

  “Like what?”

  Ryken grinned as he reached his hand out to Reyes. They gripped each other’s forearms in a warrior-like fashion. They hugged, slapping each other on the back, stepping away after a moment of greeting.

  “Good to see you,” Reyes told the twins.

  Luken followed suit, embracing his old friend. Neither one hugged or embrace
d Dominic.

  “Do I have leprosy?” Dominic snickered, and the twins laughed.

  Shaking his head, Luken said, “No, but if I remember correctly, the last time I hugged you...you grabbed my ass and told everyone present that I was your gay lover.” Luken made an exaggerated shiver. “That’s not right, man. That night I was embarking on spending the evening with a voluptuous redhead, but thanks to your convincing joking, she went running as fast as she could. She actually believed you and thought I was gay.”

  Chuckling, Dominic reached his hands out in a groping fashion and said, “Oh, don’t be such a baby. Come give your old friend Dom a great big, sloppy hug and kiss.” He puckered his lips, looking like a fish and blowing obnoxious kisses towards the twins. This proved that even grown men, who appeared to look as though they were in their thirties, could still act the part of silly children.

  Ryken and Luken shook their heads and stepped back. “No, we’re good, Dom. But it really is great to see you,” Ryken finished with a smile.

  Brie looked from Dominic to the twins and then back again, she pressed into Jonah’s side, whispering, “I don’t think I want to know.”

  “That’s probably best where these guys are concerned,” Jonah joked. “I could tell you stories that would make that beautiful, blonde, straight hair of yours curl.”

  Ryken leaned against the broken couch, his arms folded over his chest. “I thought you might want to know that we saw Sebastian running away from the house as we pulled up. He seemed to be pacing along the east end of the cabin.”

  “That’s where Brie’s room is,” Jonah announced. “I bet he’s waiting for her to go to sleep for the night.” Locking on her gaze, he said, “He’s going to try and sneak into her room again.”

  Jonah hated thinking about using Brie as bait, but it was the only way they were going to get Sebastian to come to them without having to use force. With five adult lycans, surely they could capture one alpha male.

  Jonah took the next hour to put a plan of action together using Brie as the main source of attraction and distraction for Sebastian. Ryken and Luken would stay with Brie, while Ryes and Dominic joined him to search the woods. He knew that Sebastian would be close by, and they wouldn’t have to search far to find him.

  Brie was to go into her room and wait with the light on for thirty minutes. Ryken and Luken would wait in the hallway to keep their scents from blending with hers.

  Jonah knew it would be difficult for her to do, but he’d asked her to try and stimulate herself so that Sebastian would scent her arousal—driving the mating heat wild inside him. There was no way he could resist. Sebastian would be unable to stay away from her the moment he caught her scent.

  “Brie, are you up for this?” Jonah asked, holding her by her shoulders. His gaze was soft, but inside his heart pounded with worry. He swallowed hard, his mind racing with thoughts of everything that could go wrong. And damn it, a lot of things could go terribly wrong.

  “I want to help Sebastian, so if that means I have to be bait, then I have to be bait.” She popped to her toes and pressed a sweet, gentle kiss to his lips. “Just make sure you do it without hurting him or yourselves.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he rested his chin on her head.

  “You are an incredible woman, Brie. Always thinking of others before yourself,” he whispered against the top of her head.

  He wished he could guarantee that he would bring Sebastian home in one piece, but if his brother tried to kill anyone, especially Brie, he’d be forced to take drastic measures. Normally Sebastian wouldn’t allow anything to happen to Brie, and damn it, neither would he.

  “I’ll bring Sebastian home,” he promised as he kissed her hair, praying that he wasn’t lying to his precious Brie.

  Chapter Eight

  Brie spent the first twenty minutes pacing her bedroom, pretending to arrange the clothing in her walk-in closet. Racks and rows of clothing and shoes filled the spacious area. One side of the closet held shirts of all kinds, blouses and T-shirts. Another held slacks and jeans, while the far side of the closet held dresses and intimate wear. Underneath each sections of clothing were row after row of shoes—flats, heels, tennis shoes and slippers.

  Using the clothing as a form of distraction, she tried hard to forget that at any moment a feral, snarling werewolf could lunge through her balcony doors and possibly kidnap her, or worse yet, infect her with some unknown virus. How he’d managed to keep from breaking her skin and infecting her each time he bit her or touched her boggled her mind, but she was thankful nonetheless.

  She placed all her faith in the belief he wouldn’t hurt her, wouldn’t kill her or inflict any kind of bodily harm, at least unintentionally. Even knowing that, she couldn’t stop the fear from slamming against her skull like a jackhammer. Her faith seemed to stop at physical harm because at present her mind was so fucked up with apprehension she couldn’t see straight. Emotions that normally held solid and true were everywhere but.

  Her dread was brought on because she wasn’t exactly like Sebastian and Jonah. She wasn’t a werewolf, not really, and she didn’t know if she could even be infected by this virus or if it would turn her into a mindless, murdering monster. Truthfully, she didn’t know what the hell she was, and she didn’t want to get close enough to Sebastian or Mason to find out.

  Loving Sebastian was becoming more of a challenge than she had bargained for. Missing him these last few weeks had been hell, physical and emotional hell. Damn him. He’d left her to suffer alone. Agonizing pain burned in her heart, blazed in her mind, emotions and feelings she had learned he felt, too, and yet he’d never returned for her. Perhaps the emotions tripping up her heart wasn’t the pain of neglect and abandonment, but really guilt. After all, if she hadn’t taken the case to prosecute Mason Levi, none of this would have happened. This was all her fault.

  Thankfully Jonah hadn’t allowed her to say “fuck you” to Sebastian and all the werewolf bullshit. She wasn’t able to let go of Jonah and Jonah would not allow her to give up on Sebastian. Neither would her damn heart for that matter.

  Never had anyone explained to her the separation between them could be so strenuous and hard to bear. Many nights she had sat up wondering if all of these crazed feelings were worth it, and now knowing that he might not even been the man she’d loved for all these years—what did that leave her with? Explaining her feelings and fears to her heart, a deaf heart no less, was impossible.

  Stupid, dumb, idiotic heart.

  The mating heat came upon them sometimes with such ferocity that her clothes landed on the floor in shredded piles. She didn’t complain about it. In fact, she relished it, loved it. Their burning need to have her, the urgency to mate with her was so strong, and the power that surged between them like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Being without Sebastian was like living without a vital organ, and the emotional strain she felt was tearing her apart. Crying over every little thing, feeling like she was only half a person or even a third of one was driving her insane.

  Mating heat was a bitch—a bitch she’d like to slap right in the mouth.

  Fists balled at her sides, she struggled with the need to leave McCarthy Ranch and never look back. Being the victim of her own life was not her thing. She gritted her teeth, reminding herself that she was smart, strong, and resilient—not weak and vulnerable.

  “Yeah right,” she snorted.

  Right now she’d give anything to have a giant rock to crawl under and hide.

  With a heavy sigh she closed her eyes, her belly whirling with emotions. No matter what was in her mind, no matter what she told herself, she loved Sebastian and Jonah with all her heart. Leaving without the two loves of her life was easier to bitch about than to actually do. In truth, leaving was not even an option, and she knew it.

  Twisting the sparkling two-carat diamond engagement ring on her finger, she grumbled, “Damn Sebastian for doing this—for fucking up our plans.”

  Before he left in pursu
it of Mason Levi and the secrets of her past, Sebastian asked her to marry him, and she’d gladly accepted. As long as that meant she’d be married to Jonah as well. She wouldn’t marry one without the other, and luckily for her that was part of their arrangement. Her heart wouldn’t allow it anyway—neither would her body.

  Being with her two werewolf lovers was like being close to heaven without actually dying. And sometimes the pleasure Sebastian and Jonah gave her made her quiver with so much sexual ecstasy that’s exactly what she thought was happening. Nothing ever felt so good—so sinfully perfect.

  Sebastian and Jonah did things to her body—wonderful things. The thought of being without the connection they shared was more fearful than being forced to swallow a jagged-edged knife.

  Anger surged from deep in her gut. She was going to give Sebastian one swift kick in the ass next time they were alone...and he wasn’t infected. Then again, maybe he deserved two swift kicks in the ass.

  Releasing a pent-up breath, she did as instructed by Jonah. She took off her worn jeans and blue blouse and slipped on the black negligee Sebastian had purchased for her the last time they came to the cabin. The cool silk tickled her skin, hardening her nipples from both the feel of the material and the arousing panic charging through her body. To say she wasn’t scared would be a lie. She was, unbelievably so. Sebastian was a powerful man and even more so as the wolf, but she didn’t know the infected man he was now, didn’t know exactly what he would do to her. What he wouldn’t do to her.

  Her mind thudded with questions. Could Sebastian harm her? Would he be able to resist the sexual urges brought on by the mating heat? Would he stop if she cried out in pain or would he continue to ravage her body, unable to break away from her? Judging from earlier, she could guess the answer.

  God, worrying about the unknown was driving her crazy. She had to trust that Jonah and the others would protect her and keep Sebastian from danger as well. Capturing him was necessary, not only for the sake of finding a cure, but also to keep Sebastian from hurting others as Mason had done.