I had to laugh. “Here I thought it was me who owed you an apology. I thought I had been the one who was selfish.”
“Well, you have stayed away. My bed has gotten awfully lonely the last few nights.”
“I stayed away because I thought it was what you wanted.”
Luna sighed as she snuggled under my outstretched arm, “I may have a lot of shit to straighten out in my head, Adam, but I never want you to stay away from me.”
I rested my head against hers, “I promise.”
***
The next morning dawned with warmer temperatures than usual. Aunt Alicia made us a hearty breakfast before we headed off to clean up the property left destroyed by the fire.
We arrived to find trucks, cars, and heavy equipment lined up in the yard. “Wow,” Aunt Alicia said as we pulled up, “It certainly looks like you’ve got more friends than you ever imagined.”
I was speechless. Rock and his crew had set up tents with heaters ready to be lit should we need them. Everyone was milling around visiting with their neighbors and waiting for my arrival.
“Good morning, son,” Papa Golden said as we walked by. I simply nodded at each one who wished me a good morning. I was still stunned at the turn out.
The Wilder family was sipping coffee and minding the fire. “Good morning, Alpha,” Brand said jokingly.
“Bite me,” I said, snatching his cup of coffee.
Brand laughed. “I got this going and figured we’d throw the wood on it as we went. Rock’s got a dump truck ready to toss the stuff we shouldn’t or can’t burn into.” He looked around at the crowd. “I don’t know, Adam, but it looks like you may be a pretty likeable guy.”
Samson walked behind me and handed me a sugar-coated jelly roll. “Don’t make his head get any bigger, Brand. He’s already Alpha. We don’t want him to think people care about him.”
I had to laugh. That damn old bear knows which button to push every single time.
***
Clean up went quickly with everyone helping. About eleven o’clock, more vehicles came rolling in. The women who weren’t out here working had been home making food for all the helpers. Aunt Alicia took my keys and drove up to the house to get the baked beans she had made for the crew. Ana and Mama Golden pulled up with so much food I wasn’t sure who they were planning to feed. The Simpsons arrived with enough deli platters to feed five crews of hungry shifters. The food tent was filling up quickly and the delightful smells coming from inside has us all breaking early for lunch.
Luna slid her arm around my waist as I leaned on the shovel surveying the work we had done so far. “It looks good,” she said.
I looked down at her. She had smudges of dirt and ash across her cheeks. “Gods, you’re beautiful,” I said as I wiped her face with my handkerchief.
She smiled, “Oh, I bet I am. Dirty and smudged, yet my man thinks I’m beautiful.”
The smile left my face and I took her face in my hands. “I think you’re beautiful always, inside and out.” I lowered my mouth to hers.
Her arms slid up my back as she returned my kiss with equal fervor. I heard laughing as people came out to find places to eat, but it didn’t matter. I loved this woman and I didn’t care who knew it.
When she pulled away, her face was glowing. “Let’s get something to eat,” she said, taking my hand and leading me inside.
***
It was dark by the time the property was all cleaned up. The fire was still going, but Brand said he’d stay until it was out. Bowie had taken Ana home early. The older people had left earlier in the afternoon.
Luna looked at me, exhaustion on her face. “I think I want to go home tonight, Adam. You want to come with me?”
“Of course, I do.”
We drove up to the house and Luna picked up her things. I packed a bag and followed her to town. I passed by the Simpson’s house and realized I’d forgotten Mr. Simpson’s candy this morning.
I parked next to Luna’s car and saw she was in the downstairs kitchen. “What on earth are you doing?”
She looked up. “I had the need to create something,” she replied with a blush.
“Listen, before I go up to shower, do you happen to have any honey candy lying around? I sort of promised Mr. Simpson some as payment for the flowers, but I forgot until I was driving by.”
“That man has a horrible sweet tooth. He walks down every day just to catch a sniff of the odors coming from this store,” she chuckled. “Mrs. Simpson will kill you, if she catches you sneaking him candy. You do know that, right?”
“I don’t care. He saved my ass, so I intend to make good on my promise.”
Luna went into the store and brought the almost full bin back to her workstation. “How much are the flowers worth to you?” she asked as she began to fill a gallon size plastic bag.
“That bag should do it,” I said.
“Good,” she said as she finished filling it and began to fill another.
“What are you doing?”
“This bag is from me,” she responded with a smile which lit her entire face.
I kissed her nose. “You are just trying to get me in trouble.”
“Gran used to say, ‘In for a penny, in for a pound’, so I figured we should do it up right.”
I left to deliver the candy to Mr. Simpson while Luna finished whatever she was making.
When I got back, she was upstairs and just stepping out of the shower. “Awww, I wanted to help you,” I said.
She tilted her head to the side, “Come and get me, then.”
The shower turned back on and her towel dropped to the floor. I peeled my clothes off and hurried to join her.
I bent forward so she could shampoo my hair. The water ran black with soot and dirt as she scrubbed. She poured more shampoo on my hair and scrubbed some more. I watched as the suds ran down her breasts and felt another body part come to attention. I lifted one breast to my mouth and licked the nipple which was begging for my attention.
She drew a sharp breath as my other hand cupped her ample ass and squeezed. I turned her so she was beneath the spray of water.
She reached behind her and turned a knob. Water began to shower from an overhead faucet, providing enough hot water to cover us both.
“I always wondered what the third knob was for.”
She smiled slyly, “I had high hopes when I put it in.”
I kissed her thoroughly. Soap-slick hands ran over each other, caressing and clutching, as the water danced over us.
When we were both satisfied with the level of clean we each had achieved, we toweled each other off and dressed in our sweats.
“Did your mom send any mac and cheese home with you?” I asked as I rubbed her feet.
Luna laughed, “You’re seriously hungry?”
“I’m starving. I worked harder today than I’ve worked in a long time.”
Luna lifted her hand and waved toward the kitchen. “Mom put an entire pan of it in my car before she left with Dad. I put it in the fridge.”
I got up to get a plate of the ambrosia most people call mac and cheese. When I returned, Luna was sound asleep on the sofa. Poor baby. She had had a pretty rough few days.
I sat down in the chair and watched her while I ate. This woman was my heart and soul. When I had told her she was home to me, I had meant it. This was the woman who would spend every night in my bed. We would raise a family together. We would argue and make up for the rest of our lives. She would stand beside me as I took care of my pride. She’d be my partner in every sense of the word.
I felt my heart catch in my chest. I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
I put my plate in the sink and turned off the lights. I carefully lifted her and carried her to bed. I shed my clothes and climbed in beside her, holding her close as we slept.
***
I woke as the sun came through the window. As a cat does, I stretched and savored the sunbeams hitting the bed where I lay with the love of my l
ife.
Careful to not wake her, I got up and put on a pot of coffee. I got into my bag and found the ring I had been carrying around with me.
She was still sound asleep when I got back into bed. I stroked her hair and watched her. Her bottom lip stuck out slightly. She moaned softly and opened one yellowish eye. “What time is it?” she asked.
“It’s nine o’clock.”
“Hmmmm,” she said and cuddled back down into the covers.
“Wake up, baby. I’ve got something for you.”
She opened one eye and looked at me for a moment before opening the other one. “If you’re talking about sex, Adam Thomas, I will hurt you.”
I laughed, “Well, if you’re going to be that way, then forget it.”
She sat up in the bed and pushed her hair out of her face. She watched me intently as I reached for her hand.
“Luna, I’ve loved you since we were sixteen years old and I watched you sashaying your fanny past Samson’s on a daily basis. I may have been a bit slow to come around, but you convinced me we were meant to be together.”
Tears gathered in her eyes. “Adam, what are you doing?”
I cleared my throat and continued, “I left. I hoped you’d find someone who was better suited for you, but I dreaded it as well. I cut myself out of your life, but you lived on in my heart.”
“Adam?” she asked.
“What’s wrong, darling?”
“What are you doing?”
“Why, Luna Irene McIntyre, I’m trying to propose to you if you’d let me get on with it.”
The tears began to roll down her cheeks.
“You are my home, my center, my world. I can’t be Alpha if I don’t have you at my side. I’m going to get cranky and I’m going to roar, but I’ll always love you. Marry me, Luna. Say you’ll be mine for the rest of our lives.”
She launched herself at me across the bed and kissed me with tears falling.
I pulled back slightly, “Is that a yes?”
“Yes, you fool. I’ll marry you!”
I threaded my fingers through her hair and pulled her tight against me.
“Did I see a bowl of cherry whip in the refrigerator?” I whispered against the side of her neck.
She began to giggle and climbed out of bed.
“Wait,” I said and took her hand. I slid the ruby ring on her left ring finger which set off another flood of tears.
She ran into the kitchen and returned with the bowl of cherry whip I saw in the refrigerator. “I had brought out a bowl of this the night your trailer burned to the ground. We never did get to play with it.”
I took the bowl away from her and stuck my finger in to the fluffy confection. “Mmmm, it’s almost as sweet as you,” I said as I tossed her back into the bed.
I smeared cherry whip all over her body. When she was suitably covered, I proceeded to lick her completely clean. Her moans and bated breath urged me to continue. When I slid inside of her, she sank her hands into my hair and pulled me to her. “I love you, Adam.”
***
Luna and I were having a very late breakfast when my cellphone rang. She looked at me with concern.
“It’s Bowie,” I said as I answered it.
“Adam, we’ve got a situation,” my best friend said.
“What’s up?”
“Brady went out to your property this morning to be sure the fire hadn’t rekindled in the night. He hiked around for a bit and he stumbled upon an accident.”
My heart sank, “Were there any survivors?”
Luna’s eyes grew large with fear as she reached for my hand. I pulled her onto my lap as Bowie continued.
“There was a woman and a little boy. The woman has amnesia. The only thing she remembers is her son. I’m going to start running plates, but I’m not holding out much hope. Her driver’s license is fake and so is her Social Security card.”
“Well, shit. No missing persons’ reports have been made on these two?”
“Not one, Adam, it’s the damnedest thing. All Brady could get out of the boy is he is five years old and his name is Patrick.”
Would the mysteries in Cedar River ever come to a halt? I shook my head and clung tight to Luna.
Life in our small town is certainly never boring.
About the Author
I was born and raised in a small town in Lower Michigan. A farmer's daughter, my greatest ambitions were to become a large animal vet and to read every book ever written. The veterinarian dream fell by the wayside, but I'm still working on reading every book I can get my hot little hands on.
But I'm a dreamer…I love to sit and look out the windows, daydreaming about what could be. I love getting tangled in my dreams when I fall asleep at night. That is how my books came to be. They started with a dream and spun into something beautiful.
Table of Contents
NATURAL BORN ENEMIES
Natural Born Enemies
Gemma K. Murray
Cover Design By: Regina Paul
Leap Of Faith Publishing
Natural Born Enemies
ISBN: 978-1-61979-888-5
Prologue
Chapter One- Adam
Chapter Two- Luna
Chapter Three- Adam
Chapter 4- Luna
Chapter Five- Luna
Chapter Six-Adam
Chapter Seven- Luna
Chapter Eight-Adam
Chapter Nine- Luna
Chapter Ten- Adam
Chapter Eleven- Luna
Chapter Twelve-Adam
Chapter Thirteen- Luna
Chapter Fourteen- Adam
Chapter Fifteen- Luna
Chapter Sixteen- Adam
Chapter Seventeen- Luna
Chapter Eighteen- Adam
Chapter Nineteen- Luna
Chapter Twenty- Adam
Chapter Twenty-One- Luna
Chapter Twenty-Two- Adam
Chapter Twenty-Three- Luna
Chapter Twenty-Four- Adam
Chapter Twenty-Five- Luna
Chapter Twenty-Six- Adam
Chapter Twenty-Seven- Luna
Chapter Twenty-Eight- Adam
Chapter Twenty-Nine- Luna
Chapter Thirty- Adam
Chapter Thirty-One- Luna
Chapter Thirty- Two- Adam
Chapter Thirty-Three- Luna
Chapter Thirty-Four- Adam
Natural Born Enemies (Cedar River Series) Page 17