Chase the Moon

by Kristen Strassel

  They really were on every other tree. “After the drive, I was exhausted, and frustrated, and maybe I was supposed to be here. Otherwise, we might not have seen each other after the festival.”

  “I’m teasing, Tori.” He stepped into my tiny home, filling so much of its space as he took everything in.

  I couldn’t breathe, seeing this man in my home. Having his scent fill the air. It completed something that I had no words for until now. He belonged here. With me.

  I really wanted him to like it. I’d told myself I didn’t care what other people thought of my choices, and for the most part, it was true. But Abel’s opinion mattered to me.

  Now, more than when he kissed me, more than when I met his friends who loved him so much, I was falling for him.

  I wanted so badly to ask him if he felt it too. If this was the final piece that made all the other stuff make sense.

  He lowered his hand to the table but stopped before he touched it. “Can I?”

  I nodded. How would I speak without blurting out that I was ready to belong to him forever? Not that my guest would have any complaints about that declaration, but I had to keep my cool. For now, anyway. “Of course. It’s retractable, so I can put it up against the wall when I don’t need it. I can swing it out if I have a dinner guest, or I can lay it at an angle like a drawing board.”

  I picked up the remote control and pointed to the TV, which was up in the loft, but nothing happened. “If I had electricity, I could watch this down here or in my bedroom, which is up there.”

  Of course he’d want to see the bedroom. The long-neglected muscles between my legs pulsed with the possibility of this gorgeous man so close to my bed. I could barely breathe as he walked through the tiny house, admiring the kitchen and running his hand over the silvery tiles that changed colors, just like his scales.

  I’d been looking for him all along without knowing it.

  “Where do you hang out if you want to relax?” he asked.

  “Last night was my first night here, so I headed straight to bed. It’s in the loft.” With shaking hands, I moved the ladder. “I got the comfiest bed I could find.”

  He motioned for me to go up the ladder. I thought he’d have to carry me. “Abel,” I said when we got to the top. “If we do this, I’m your mate.”

  The loft was only a crawlspace. He came to me on hands and knees. I wasn’t strong enough to resist him. I wanted him. I wanted this fantasy. But I was terrified of the reality.

  “Do what?” He brushed my hair away from my face. “There was one more thing on your list for the weekend. That’s what I brought you up here for. Turn around.”

  I eyed him suspiciously. “What are you doing?”

  “You don’t remember what you put on your own list?” He teased. “You wanted pancakes, new stones, and a massage.”

  “Oh.” I scooted over, so my back was to him and swept my hair over my shoulder.

  His big hands landed on my back, thumbs pressing against my spine. He leaned in; his breath hot against my ear. “Relax.”

  “Impossible.”

  He started moving his fingers against my tight muscles. “Why can’t you relax?”

  “Because...” I couldn’t come up with an excuse. “It feels wrong.” I laughed, and with that, tension left my body. Abel took advantage, his fingers working against my muscles. “You’re the first person who’s been in my house and hasn’t asked me how I could possibly live like this. With so little space, with so little stuff.”

  “They don’t understand what makes them happy isn’t what makes you happy. It threatens them, that you’re brave enough to think for yourself and go after what you want.” He practically burned me with his touch when he dipped his fingers inside the neckline of my sweater. His hands weren’t rough, but they weren’t smooth either, after centuries in the water. He cupped the back of my neck with one hand and made a tight knot with my hair in his other. It took everything I had not to beg him to yank on it hard, pull my head over to the side and kiss the long column of my neck that throbbed every time I thought about him. His lips moved against my ear. “Let yourself be happy, Tori. Be here with me. Now. Don’t worry about anything else.”

  I let out a breath as he worked the sore muscles in my neck with his thumb and forefinger, and moved up to my scalp, massaging tiny circles at its base. The repetitive movements were lulling me into another reality. I’d turned into putty in his hands.

  He moved to my temples, and then traced the outline of my eyebrows, drawing them down my cheeks, and resting softly on my lips.

  “Lay on your stomach,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “I’ll be able to get at the knots in your muscles a lot better if you take off your sweater.”

  I pulled it over my head, and then hesitated before unhooking my bra too. I looked over my shoulder. Abel’s eyes glittered like the stones he’d found for me long before we met. His hair was wild, like a still life impression of when he was floating in the water. He was beautiful.

  My hands were over my bare breasts, and my nipples pebbled in my palms. I could crawl into his lap, unzip his fly, and...

  No. Not yet. Things moved differently when we had forever.

  I stretched out on the bed, turning my head to the side so I could watch him. There was no way he could stand in this loft, and he moved forward on his knees. The sight of it did unreasonable things to my lady parts.

  He smiled at me as he positioned the throw blanket over my bare back.

  “You look peaceful,” he said as he climbed onto the bed. Holy shit, I didn’t expect him to straddle me. The heat from between his legs against my thighs...I could forget about relaxing.

  Pulling the blanket down to my waist, he started the massage. His hands were all over my back, moving along my muscles. He knew just what I needed. Each circle drew me to another place, away from the life I knew. I felt like I was the one who’d fallen into the lake, and he was freeing me.

  His hair tickled my bare back as he leaned down and kissed my shoulder, sending a scattering of goosebumps down my spine.

  “Abel.” It was hard to speak, hard to think with him so close to me. With him touching me. With his heat melting my reality. “What happens if I become your mate?”

  Chapter Twelve

  ABEL

  My life flashed before my eyes with her question. From the days I was free to explore and take what I wanted, to when I was sent to my watery prison. But none of it mattered anymore.

  “You’ll gain my mark, so any Mer who can see it will know you belong to me, and I’ll be free.”

  I climbed off her, into her bed that was like a cloud. All she had to do was say the word and I could wake up here every morning with this woman by my side. She rolled over, not making any attempt to hide from me. Human women had a tendency to be overly modest, like they thought their bodies wouldn’t be good enough. I was always thrilled to have a half-naked woman beside me, but never more than I was right now.

  Tori was beautiful. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, and her pale skin was dotted with freckles. Her tits weren’t big, but they were high and round with dusky nipples. More freckles dusted her stomach. She scraped her teeth over her bottom lip as she let me take her in. I reached for her arm and traced my fingers over the skin of her upper arm. “The mark would be right there, just like mine. They always appear in the very same place.”

  She grinned. “Matching tattoos.”

  I nodded. “It’s the only thing that could make you more beautiful. Wilder.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m wild?”

  “If you’d lived in my time, you would’ve been a Viking. Taking off for the unknown with no idea what you’ll find there.”

  There was a dreamy look in her eyes as she pictured it. I let myself indulge in the fantasy too. Of her in the traditional dress our women wore, and her fighting side by side with me. Or us making love under the starlight in a soft bed of animal pelts.

  We had a soft bed an
d the full moon.

  “Can I touch it again?” she asked.

  I nodded, unbuttoning my shirt and rolling it into a ball before throwing it off the bed. It went straight over the edge of the loft. Tiny houses took some getting used to.

  Everything in my life was about to change.

  Her gaze fell to the mark on my bicep, and she drank it in before she touched. “The first time I saw it, I thought it was a temporary tattoo,” she said. “I didn’t understand why a big, tough guy like you wouldn’t go for the real thing.”

  She traced around it with only one finger, gasping when she got too close. When something I couldn’t control flashed before her eyes. Growing bolder, she pressed her hand against it and closed her eyes.

  The first time she’d touched it, I’d been in such shock that she’d seen it I didn’t have a chance to take in her reaction. To watch her as the visions transferred from my soul to hers. I wished I could show her the good stuff, how our group worked together and thrived, not just the aftermath of one greedy human’s mistake that had cursed us. That was what Tamsin wanted her to see.

  Tori’s lips parted, and she relaxed, not moving her hand away. Her fingers curled on my arm, and she wore a dreamy smile on her face.

  “What do you see?” I hated to break the spell, but I needed to know. I wanted to share everything with her, tell her what those visions meant.

  Her eyes fluttered open and she moved her hand away, looking at it like she couldn’t believe it had been a conduit to another world, another time.

  “I saw you.” She took a moment to let the vision replay in her mind. “On the shore of the lake, dressed in animal skins and leather. You had a collection of stones, and you were working with them. You only wanted the best ones—”

  “To bring back to our warriors as protection. We didn’t only have to deal with Tamsin, we worried about other clans taking what was ours. Our supplies, our weapons, and our women. We believed in the power of the earth, and we’d totally underestimated her spirit.”

  “You loved this lake at one time. You loved mining the stones. A little piece of you never wanted to go home.”

  I chuckled, because it was all true. “Be careful what you wish for.”

  “You got it. You got to stay in at this gorgeous lake, even if it wasn’t how you expected. And you wished for me.”

  I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her. She was so ready to let me in. Our tongues tangled, and she grasped my shoulders. I pictured her Mer, even though she could never be, playing in the water. The moonlight illuminating her scales. So beautiful. And so mine.

  “Did my wish come true, Tori?”

  She nodded. “I’m ready to wear your mark.”

  “Are you sure?” What the hell was I doing, trying to talk her out of it? “We don’t have to stay here. We’ll call a tow truck and we can hit the road as soon as you say the word.”

  “I’m totally sure and seeing you in my tiny house made me realize what it was missing. Love.” She brushed her fingers against my beard. “But I like this place. I want to have coffee with Dolly. Get the goods on you. I guess what I’m saying is when I’m with you, I don’t feel like I have to run away from my life anymore.”

  I led her down to the mattress, kissing her neck, her shoulder, following the maze of freckles down to her chest. Her nipples were already tight with anticipation, and I blew on one, just to see the way her skin flushed when I did it.

  Beautiful.

  Tracing the nub with my finger, I loved the way her breath tightened, and her chest rose and fell with each circle. She let out a soft moan when I took one into my mouth, sucking it until it reached its peak.

  Her hands were in my hair, wordlessly guiding me where she wanted me to go. Pushing her leggings and socks away from her body, they went over the edge of the loft too.

  Tori was wet and ready for me. Her hips writhed as I ran my fingers along her soft folds. Just like the massage, I went slow, paying attention to her body. Every pulse. Every sigh.

  I wanted her pleasure. It was the ultimate jewel, the last one to add to my collection. She offered to be my queen, and only now could I complete her crown.

  She raked her hands down my chest, landing on the waistband of my jeans. Instead of going for the fly, her fingers trailed lower, over my hard cock, brushing against it lightly, rhythmically. My head fell back and I moaned, wanting more. Wanting everything she had to offer.

  When I opened my eyes, she was grinning at me again. “You’re like a jewel, Abel. You shine. When you came out of the lake with the stones, I knew you were something so much better than human. But ...I can’t talk anymore, when you do that to me...”

  I had her clit between my fingers, giving it a squeeze. Her hands fell away from my jeans, and she totally surrendered.

  Up on my knees, careful not to hit my head on the top of her tiny house, I pushed away my jeans. They sailed over the edge of the loft, with the rest of our clothes. I pushed her legs apart and positioned my cock at her opening.

  “Please, Abel. I’ve been waiting a long time for this too.”

  That was all the permission I needed to go inside. Inch by inch, her body welcomed me. This was what it felt like to be inside my mate. To be one with her. It was fucking incredible. My arms fell to either side of her, and I took her in.

  Gorgeous. Brave. Mine.

  Her inner muscles pulsed around my shaft as I thrust. Electricity shot through my body as the curse was obliterated.

  I was free.

  Tori writhed underneath me, and she rolled up, grasping my shoulders. We flipped over, so she was on top. She’d found freedom too. I loved that I gave her as much as she gave me.

  The pulsing intensified as Tori cried out. She fell forward, grinning at me as her orgasm rolled through her.

  I wasn’t far behind, my cock swelled and denotated inside her.

  She collapsed on top of me. Her heart beating wildly, her skin dewy with passion. The only sound in the tiny house was our ragged breaths. I had so much to say to her, but it could wait. I wanted to savor this moment when I claimed her mate.

  “Something’s happening.” She scrambled off me and grasped her left arm. “It feels like—”

  “Your mark is coming through.”

  “Should it feel hot?” She stared at her arm, her eyes widening when the first signs of the mark came through. Thin silver lines that shined pink, purple, and teal in the skylight above us.

  “Mine came to me in the fire.”

  All the times I’d dreamed of my mate wearing my mark, and it was never as beautiful as this. As Tori. I pressed a kiss to it.

  “It’s amazing.” She ran her hand over it. “Will everyone be able to see it?”

  I shook my head. “Only other Mer, and only so they know you’re mine.”

  “Good.” She grinned. “I’m going to like being yours.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  TORI

  I could have laid there forever, naked with Abel in a tangle of sheets, comparing our matching tattoos, and kissing him lazily in the full moonlight. I didn’t know how much I wanted this. To belong somewhere, to someone, until he came into my life. Until he just fucking got me, with all my quirks and hesitations about commitment.

  Banging on the door startled us.

  “Careful,” I warned as Abel sat up too quickly. He was so big and my house was so tiny. I hadn’t exactly designed it with a Viking warrior in mind, but here we were.

  “Gonna take some getting used to.” He grinned as he kissed me.

  “Aurora Falls Police!” Another rap on the door. “Open the door if you’re in there.”

  Abel shook his head. “You’d think Sheriff Holmes would have enough on his plate with the festival this weekend.”

  “What did we do wrong?”

  “You are trespassing,” Abel reminded me, as he looked around the loft. “I sent our clothes overboard.”

  “Wrap yourself in a blanket.” I tore the comforter off the bed and
pushed it at him. I’d take the sheet. The loft didn’t have a closet, and my clothes were all neatly folded in the drawers on the staircase.

  Looking back, major design fail.

  The sheriff knocked again. “Open the door if you’re in there. I have a missing person report.”

  “What?” I wrapped the blanket around myself and carefully followed Abel down the ladder, pulling the sheet up my legs so I didn’t fall. “They’ve got the wrong tiny house.”

  What if it was Abel that they were looking for? What if this whole thing was a dream and they were coming to take him away from me?

  “Oh no,” I groaned. It was much worse than that.

  My mother’s face was pressed against the giant window in the living room, and I had a moment of satisfaction watching her eyes grow wide as Abel lumbered down the ladder in all his half-naked, majestic Viking glory. Of course, I was just as half-naked and not nearly as majestic.

  “Want me to deal with this?” Abel asked.

  “No, I’ve got it.” I grasped the sheet tightly around me as I opened the door to the dismay of both my parents. This was worse than getting caught sneaking into the house in the middle of the night when I was in high school. Didn’t matter how old I was. My parents definitely did not need to see me like this. “What are you doing here?”

  “We couldn’t get in touch with you, honey. We kept getting a strange message on your phone. We knew you were headed here, and called Sheriff Holmes with a description of your motor home. He called us as soon as he found it, and he wanted to accompany us here, in case there was foul play.” Mom said, frowning. “Why aren’t you dressed?”

  “I was a little busy.”

  “I told your mother to wait, that as soon as you got to a city, you’d answer her messages,” Dad groaned. I couldn’t wait to listen to my voice mail. “But she got nervous, with you in this mobile—

  “Tiny house.”

  “Your mother convinced me to come looking for you. The RV park had no record of you staying here, and we called Sheriff Holmes, who’d alerted us to a vehicle matching the description trespassing on private property.”