MoonlightTemptation

by Stephane Julian

  Filled at each end, she reveled in the sensuality of the act, of the sense of possession.

  It’s been so long since she’d felt she’d belonged to anyone. In any way.

  Though this didn’t feel as if she was owned.

  She retained the power to say no. She trusted these men to take care of her.

  She closed her eyes as Dane’s hands threaded through her hair, holding her steady for his controlled thrusts. Ryan was more forceful, each slap of his thighs against her ass eliciting a sharp response from her.

  Dane was careful not to thrust too far or fast but Ryan let himself go, setting a wild pace that kept her on the edge of orgasm.

  Her arms trembled but she forced them to hold her upright, even as she shook in reaction. She wanted to come, reached for it.

  She could barely breathe and each breath smelled of sex and warm males.

  “Evie, baby, come on. Let go.” Ryan urged her to give in. “I know you want to.”

  Dane commanded. “I’m gonna come, kareto. With me. I want you to go with us.”

  Almost there.

  Ryan bent closer, one of his hands sliding around to stroke her between her legs. It only took one pinch to her clit and she flamed out in an all-consuming orgasm.

  “That’s it, baby. Ah, God,” Ryan groaned. “So fucking good.”

  She couldn’t even cry out as she shook because Dane began to come, spilling his seed into her mouth.

  Behind her, Ryan froze, his cock sunk deep as he pulsed inside her.

  And Evie wondered how she’d manage to survive.

  Dane slipped from Evie’s mouth, catching her before she fell on her face when Ryan pulled out behind her.

  She felt boneless against him. And warm. Almost overheated, which wasn’t unexpected.

  With a sigh, she curled against his chest and wrapped her arms around his shoulders when he would have laid her on the bed and got up. Because she wouldn’t let go, he lay next to her.

  On her other side, Ryan flopped onto the bed and sprawled there. The sound of their labored breathing filled the air.

  As did the scent of burning candle wax.

  He didn’t remember lighting any candles—

  Evie shifted closer, sliding one arm across his chest, her hand curling around his neck. Holding him in place.

  As if afraid he might try to get away.

  Which he’d planned to do.

  Get the hell out of bed before she could wrap herself around him and tie him to her even more deeply.

  That was why Ryan was here. Ryan was to provide the emotional attachment.

  But here he was, with her pressed against his side and his arms tight around her.

  Christ, he was a ceffo.

  And even knowing that, he didn’t want to let her go. She felt too damn good.

  Ryan yawned and shifted around to curl his body into Evie’s back, his arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her lower body against him.

  Turning his head, Dane saw Ryan staring at him over the top of her head. Steady, sure and a little smug.

  Dane would’ve flipped him off if he felt like lifting his hand.

  But the gesture wouldn’t have meant anything.

  He knew what Ryan wasn’t saying and Dane couldn’t argue.

  How right did something have to feel before he admitted it?

  Yes, it felt right to have Evie here, in his bed, between him and Ryan.

  Their friendship wasn’t sexual but was based on need. At least, Dane’s need for Ryan. For his steady calm. Sometimes, it only took a few minutes of conversation with Ryan to make Dane see things more clearly.

  Ryan never seemed to need anyone. Always in control. Never thrown by anything.

  And always willing to drop everything when Dane called.

  They’d make one hell of a married couple if either of them had wanted that relationship.

  But as much as Dane loved Ryan, he didn’t want to throw the guy on a bed and fuck him. Hell, Ryan had basically said the same thing to him after they’d shared the first of several women in vet school.

  But Evie wasn’t just another woman they’d picked up in a bar.

  She was the first woman with whom Dane had initiated a relationship.

  And that fact hadn’t been lost on Ryan. He’d want to talk. He’d want to know what this meant to Dane.

  And Dane couldn’t answer that question. Not yet.

  He let his gaze fall to Evie.

  Sound asleep. She needed the rest.

  He’d taken her blood to make a serum to help the child of the woman who’d kidnapped her and held her prisoner for weeks. Then he and Ryan had fucked her unconscious.

  Vaffanculo, he was a selfish prick.

  “Dane, chill.” Ryan’s quiet voice held a note of command Dane didn’t hear very often. “I’m not going to let you fuck this up already.”

  His temper already climbing, Dane carefully released Evie and slid from the bed. She didn’t wake, though her hand clutched at the blankets in the spot where his body had lain.

  He allowed himself a second to stare down at her, her skin creamy against the white silk sheets. Her hair, mussed and covering much of her face, shone sable in the low light…of the candles he hadn’t lit.

  Turning, his gaze narrowed at the golden flares of the candles on his dresser. His mother had given him the set to “soften the austerity” of his bedroom.

  He’d never lit the damn things.

  Evie. It had to be Evie.

  He looked back at Ryan, who’d followed his gaze.

  “We need to talk.”

  Ryan nodded as he looked back at the woman curled into his body. “Yeah, I guess we do.”

  Chapter Five

  “She lost control over her power.”

  Dane reached into the fridge for a beer and pulled a Coke out for Ryan, which he tossed him over the kitchen island.

  “And that’s how the candles got lit?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And that’s not normal for streghe?”

  “Evie hasn’t been a strega very long and she’s not your normal strega.” Dane popped the top off the bottle and let the amber liquid slide down his throat. “She wasn’t born into the life. She’s still got a lot to learn and an immense amount of power to control. And I completely fucked up everything by forcing her into a situation she wasn’t ready for.”

  Ryan shook his head at him, his expression screwing into a frown. “Christ, Dane, you didn’t tie her up and rape her. She was a willing participant. And she’s not a child.”

  “She’s only twenty-two. Vaffanculo, this is a—”

  “Dane, shut the fuck up for a few minutes and take a deep breath. You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Evie may only be twenty-two but she’s got a stronger will than anyone else I know. And you trying to reduce her to the level of a teenager is only going to piss her off so I’d be careful you don’t spout this shit in front of her. Christ, I’ve only known her two days and I can see this. Why the fuck can’t you? You’re being an ass so just knock it off.”

  Ryan’s tone made Dane jolt to a stop with the realization that, yeah, he was probably overreacting.

  And that wasn’t like him.

  He didn’t overreact. Most people who knew him complained that he reacted like a robot most of the time. No emotions, no feelings. Steady as a rock.

  Dangerous. The woman was fucking dangerous to his sanity.

  He took a deep breath. Then another.

  And shot Ryan a look. “You’re a scassacazzo.”

  Ryan grinned at him. “Yeah, I might be a pain in the ass, but you’re neurotic and it’s starting to worry me.”

  “I’m not neurotic.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, grabbing the short strands and giving them a yank. “I’m fucking brilliant.”

  “Then why are you acting like a clueless asswipe?”

  Dane gave Ryan the finger then forced himself to sit on one of the barstools at the island and nurse his beer. “Baci
ami il culo.”

  Ryan laughed. “That the best you can do? Kiss my ass? No offense, man, but yours isn’t the ass I want to kiss.”

  No, him either. And Evie’s ass made him want to take a bite out of it. He wanted that ass in his bed every night. Wanted the woman living in his house, where he knew she’d be safe.

  “Shit, Dane, why didn’t you tell me you were in love with her?”

  Love? No, this wasn’t love. It was lust, pure and simple.

  And you’re lying to yourself.

  She’d gotten under his skin.

  If Ryan had seen it in less than two days, did everyone else know?

  Tinia’s teat, if his mother found out…

  He sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair, tugging on the ends of the short strands in frustration. “I never wanted to fall in love, damn it. I don’t have the time to give a woman the attention she deserves. I’m no closer to finding a cure than I was a year ago and every year, more lucani fall to it.”

  “I know that last year was tough on your dad, Dane.” Ryan’s voice had lost the flippant edge of earlier. “I know his death was a blessing. Not to you, but to him. I know you hated how he suffered. But you are not Superman.”

  “What if my sister comes down with it, Ryan? My mom? Our king? I’ve got to fix this before it decimates my people.”

  “Jesus, Dane, you’re entitled to a life. Even your mother doesn’t expect you live like a monk in seclusion, working day and night to find a cure.”

  No, but his mother wanted him to take a proper lucani mate and she had the perfect one picked out. Ione was beautiful and smart, with a degree in business that she used to increase the wealth of the lucani mutual funds.

  Dane had never given Ione any indication of his feelings one way or the other. He’d been unfailingly polite whenever his mother had invited her to dinner when he was there.

  But…Ione didn’t make him burn the way Evie did.

  What the hell would his mother think if he brought Evie home to meet her?

  And why the hell should it even matter?

  “Look, I’m going to the lab for a while. I need to check on the serum and—”

  “And you can’t handle this.”

  Dane wanted to tell Ryan to take a flying leap but he couldn’t do it. Ryan was right.

  If he let his emotions control him, he wouldn’t be able to work. That’s how he functioned, how he was able to make life or death situations and live with them.

  How he was able to continue on with his work on the days he wanted to trash his lab and burn it to the ground because he was so fucking frustrated.

  “Tell Evie I’ll see her in the morning. Tell her—”

  “You’re a fucking coward?”

  Dane’s jaw set at the hard tone of Ryan’s voice but he bit back the frustrated words that wanted to escape. It’d do neither of them any good and if this relationship had a chance in hell of working, they needed to be on the same page. Or at least working from the same manual.

  “Take care of her. I’ll be in touch.”

  Then he made for the door. And freedom.

  Which wasn’t feeling very free at the moment.

  Ryan watched Dane practically run for the door, closing it a little more loudly than normal.

  Anger burned like acid in his stomach. Damn it, he was going to strangle the man one of these days. Dane didn’t get it. The bastard just refused to listen to reason.

  And he was going to lose the best damn thing that ever happened to him.

  With a sigh, Ryan dumped the rest of his soda down the drain, staring out into the blackness of the surrounding forest. There wasn’t much of a moon tonight, so it was pretty damn dark.

  Ryan wasn’t used to it. He’d lived in Philadelphia most of his life, where, even on the darkest nights, the dim glow of the streetlights managed to seep through the curtains.

  Out here, they were miles away from either Reading or Allentown. You could actually see the stars. There were no streetlights and none of the houses used landscape lighting.

  They liked it dark out here.

  Through the surrounding trees, Ryan could barely make out the frame of the closest house. Dane had built his home on the outskirts of the den, as far from the heart of the community as he could get without being too close to the nearest eteri neighbors.

  Isolated.

  Exactly what he wanted.

  And yet, Dane wanted Evie.

  He’d known Ryan would too.

  The bastard knew him too damn well.

  And Ryan wasn’t about to let him fuck this relationship up. Hell, Ryan had only known Evie two days and he’d realized his life was going to change.

  He wanted to go back to the bedroom and curl up with her. Or better yet, wake her and make love to her again.

  Yeah, that sounded like a plan.

  Leaving his can by the sink, he headed for the bedroom.

  They’d left the door open. Dane had mentioned that Evie still had nightmares about her kidnapping and he didn’t want to leave her enclosed in a dark room alone.

  Sometimes Ryan thought there was hope for the guy. He didn’t think Dane would ever do anything to consciously harm Evie.

  Then again, the guy was running scared.

  And here he was, ready to give his heart and soul to a woman he’d just met.

  Who was the bigger idiot?

  Stopping in the doorway, he leaned against the jam and let himself stare.

  Evie had curled into a tight ball on the bed, as if trying to protect herself from attack.

  The thought made his teeth clench until his jaw hurt.

  She’d been through so much in the past months and now she had him and Dane to contend with. It should’ve made him pause, should’ve made him draw away.

  But he couldn’t.

  She looked so vulnerable huddled in the center of Dane’s huge bed.

  Her shoulder-length curls covered her face but the sheet had worked its way off her body, baring her entirely. Slim, sleek, her skin a pale cream and sprinkled with freckles. Absolutely gorgeous. He wanted to lick every tiny spot on her body.

  Not a bad idea.

  Moving to the bed, he knelt on the edge, careful not to disturb her.

  He had a better way to wake her.

  Bending close, careful not to cage her in, he ran one finger up her spine and watched her shiver in response.

  He smiled as her body lost some of the tight, defensive posture. Her back straightened the slightest bit and her head tilted toward him, her hair sliding back to reveal the delicate curves and angles of her face.

  Evie had the kind of soft beauty most people thought of as girl-next-door pretty.

  Ryan just thought she looked completely fuckable. And that didn’t mean he only wanted to fuck her.

  But damn, the woman gave him a hard-on.

  His dick throbbed, wanting to sink deep inside her again. That wanting could easily become addiction. He’d have to keep an eye on that.

  Wanting her too much wouldn’t be good for any of them.

  But right here, right now…

  He brushed his fingers over her hips and she eased onto her back, her eyes still closed but her lips parted.

  Bending over her, he settled his lips on hers as he ran his hand down her stomach until he felt the curls on her mound brush his palm.

  When she gasped into his mouth and opened her eyes, he slid two fingers inside her clenching pussy.

  Her hips arched, taking his fingers even deeper into her wet, clasping channel. Her hands reached for his shoulders, though not to push him away. She clutched at him, her lips parting as his tongue slipped into her mouth, tangling with hers.

  Surprise made her tense but desire followed close on its heels.

  When he pulled back to let her breathe, he watched her and felt a weight he hadn’t known he was carrying lift from his shoulders when she smiled up at him. And clenched around his fingers.

  “Jesus, Evie. You’re so fuc
king tight.”

  “Ryan, please. Fast and hard. God, I’m gonna burn if you don’t do me.”

  Her low, rough tone made his cock throb. “Then ride me, baby. Take what you want.”

  Her eyes widened for a second before she smiled. Then she scrambled to her knees and had her hands on his shoulders, pushing him back into the bedding.

  Slinging her leg over his middle, her smile spread as she stared down at him.

  Damn, he loved a woman who smiled in bed. He hadn’t expected it of Evie. He should have.

  And he’d be damned if it didn’t make him feel fucking great.

  “You have a great smile.”

  Her softly spoken words made him pause but it was the look in her eyes that made him smile. She looked happy.

  “I aim to please.”

  Her lips curved again. “So please me.”

  Wrapping his hands around her head, he drew her down so he could kiss her. He pressed their lips together and just tasted her. So damn sweet. Responsive. No hurried rush this time. No fevered race.

  Just pure passion a man could become addicted to.

  She kissed him until they had to pull back to breathe but she dove right back again as her hips shifted, seeking.

  With her hands braced on his chest, she shimmied until the tip of his cock slid against the lips of her pussy.

  She moaned, her breasts quivering with the sound, her hardened nipples teasing against his chest.

  Releasing her mouth, he kissed his way to her ear.

  “Take me in, angel. God damn, you feel great.”

  Pushing up, she seated him fast and hard.

  She sighed as she sat upright, his cock sinking even deeper. Their gazes met and held for a brief, stolen second before her eyes closed and she began to ride him. Slow and steady.

  He reached for her hips but didn’t try to direct her movement. He wanted her to be in control.

  She moved like a dream—sleek, tight and hot. So fucking hot, he’d be content to let her burn him into oblivion.

  Instead, she took him to the edge and held him there.

  Her motions slowed until she barely moved, her expression expectant.

  He realized he was holding his breath, waiting for her to ride him harder, faster.

  Sweat slicked his body and hers. The air held a humid warmth that closed around them, sealing them together.