The Lunar Curse (The Ayla St. John Chronicles, #2)

by C. J. Pinard

  I stared at him in the mirror, mouth open. “Paranoia? Are you for real right now?”

  He had the grace to look embarrassed. “Okay, I underestimated your training. The forward flip was pretty impressive, especially naked.”

  Biting back a smile, I said, “I don’t plan to ever have to fight naked, but your sneak attack, I have to admit, was good practice for me.”

  Once all the tangles were out of my hair, he picked up a towel from the floor and dabbed the rest of the water from my hair. “Well, I can think of a way you can thank me.” He waggled his eyebrows.

  This had me laughing. “Dork. Get into bed and strip.”

  He saluted me, and then obeyed. I shed my tank and shorts, and flipped off the lamp. Then I jumped on the bed on top of him, where I proceeded to wear him out for the next hour or so.

  I slung my arm over my eyes, cursing myself for forgetting to close the heavy curtains before my tryst with Ryder earlier. My cell phone was ringing from somewhere inside the apartment, but I was loath to get up and answer it.

  Glancing at my bedside alarm clock-slash-white noise device, I could see it was one p.m. I’d slept almost nine hours. Guess I should get up and stop being a bum. Plus, I was starving. I looked over to see Ryder had left. I wasn’t surprised, as his shift at the prison started at two. I slung back the covers and slogged out of bed.

  The missed call was from Evan. He hadn’t left a message or a text, so I went into the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal while I scrolled through my notifications on my phone. I figured he’d call back if he had something important to say.

  Today was Friday, and I didn’t have training tonight, but I still had plans to hang out with a vampire or two.

  I checked my email and had one from Ryder from his work email. No cell phones were allowed where he worked, so we often emailed back and forth when he was there.

  Thanks for not totally kicking my ass last night. My arm is all good, and you know what else is also really good?

  I groaned. Why did grown men act like teenage boys when it came to sex?

  “You’re just a horny high school boy deep down.” I said aloud as I typed. I hit send on the email.

  His reply was immediate: Well, I sort of was that when I met you ;)

  I grinned and said as I typed, “If you’re emailing me, who’s watching the prisoners, hmmmm?”

  He didn’t reply right away, and I smiled. I worried about him working there, but knew it was what he wanted. After graduating with a degree in Criminal Justice, he had applied and been accepted to the state penitentiary, where he got plenty of exercise tackling and restraining inmates. He was physically stronger than any human, criminal or not, so I didn’t worry too much, even though I knew sometimes the inmates had homemade weapons. Ryder wasn’t going to work there forever, though. To him, it was just a stepping stone. His ultimate goal was federal law enforcement, like ATF or FBI. The big time. Did they hire werewolves?

  As I continued to shovel the last bite of cereal into my mouth, I began to dwell on that. Did the government even know about us? I had seen every single episode of the X-Files when I was a kid. That stuff had always fascinated me, and now I knew why. The paranormal—the supernatural—it had literally been in my blood the whole time. Little did I know I was actually part of that world.

  How could I find out? I thought about doing some online searches, but that might just be futile. If the government did know about us, it wasn’t like they would advertise it on a website.

  Thinking about Evan and his wife—who was much older than she looked or claimed to be—I wondered if they would know. It wasn’t particularly important, more curiosity on my part, but just sort of fascinating. I made myself a mental note to ask next time I had training.

  I washed out my bowl and spoon, and set them on the towel to dry. That reminded me that I needed to call my landlord about installing a freaking dishwasher in this place. Two grand a month for a studio apartment with a view, and I couldn’t even get a dishwasher.

  Cheap bastard.

  After another quick shower, I plopped myself in front of the latest Viking drama on Netflix and went into full sloth mode until the sun went down and it was time for me to actually work.

  Chapter 3

  I chuckled at the song playing. “The club isn’t the best place to find a lover, so the bar is where I go...”

  Oh contraire, mon frère. The club is an awesome place to find a lover. Case in point: Kellan Conley. The handsome vampire just entered Moon Chasers, where Beckett, Evan, Karina, and I sat. He was flanked by his security, and I watched in rapt fascination as he completely ignored me and scanned the club with his sexy eyes.

  Kellan wasn’t my lover, not really, but we’d had a couple of intense private moments. One being the very tense and very intimate one in the upstairs study of the mansion owned by the Vlasé in a very posh area of a certain Denver suburb a few months ago.

  Resisting a shudder at the thought of how his deft and expert hands had explored me with precision, I looked back to my friends who were having a conversation about Moon Chasers. Evan claimed he’d been here before with his vampire brothers. Karina had never been. So imagine my surprise when Evan grunted.

  I looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

  Following his gaze, I could see him glaring at Kellan. “That guy. He’s one of Malcolm Rich’s associates.”

  “Remind me again who Malcolm is,” I said, acting disinterested, but really, I was more than interested.

  As if dragging his gaze away from Kellan was a chore, he pierced me with an authoritative and serious stare. “He goes by Linden Rich now, but he’s the one who killed Karina’s and her brothers’ maker, Amos. Malcom’s evil, and my brothers have been looking for him for decades.”

  “So, we are looking for the same guy. And you can’t locate him because...?” I dragged out the last word.

  “He’s very elusive,” Karina finished for him.

  Nodding, I said, “Another old-ass, elusive vampire. Awesome. I’ll add him to the list.”

  Beckett had gone to the bar to get drinks and was returning that moment. “What list?”

  I picked up the martini he had set down before me and said, “The ‘Vampires Who Are Dead Meat’ list I have right here.” I tapped the side of my head.

  He chuckled. “I hope I’m not on that list.”

  I narrowed my eyes at Beckett. “You stay on my good side and you won’t be.”

  “Damn, girl, you can be kinda scary when you’re feeling all vengeful,” he replied, amusement dancing in his eyes.

  “That’s a good thing,” Evan said, leaning back in his chair and staring at me. “We need all that righteous anger she has. “

  “I was only kidding with Beck, and he knows it. But what’s this ‘we’ business?” I looked right back at Evan.

  “Your, uh, what did you call it? Oh, your Vampires Who Are Dead Meat list is the same as ours. At least the top two vamps.”

  I set my drink down and rested my hand on top of the glass. Then I pointed at him. “So your top two are this Linden asshole, and the vampire who bit me and turned me into hybrid freak?” Then I cleared my throat. “No offense.”

  Like me, Evan was also half wolf, half vampire. The difference between us, though, was that Evan had been born human. Turned into a wolf by a freak attack by a feral wolf, his now-wife had found him and been forced to turn him into a vampire to save his life. He was, therefore, the same as me. No sun allergy, but really bizarre things would happen during a full moon that made us weirdos and outcasts with the wolf community. I had found vampires really didn’t care. Well, I only knew a couple so far, but I would never let them see what happens to me on a full moon, because it’s just... gross.

  Evan chuckled. “No, not exactly.” He lowered his voice. “This probably isn’t the best place to be talking about this. Vampires have the best hearing.”

  Beckett and Karina laughed in unison.

  “Yeah, but it’s pretty n
oisy in here,” Karina said, her bright blue eyes dancing with amusement as she slid some wavy red hair behind her ear. “I mean, I could probably hone in on the conversation by that group over there, but it would take extreme concentration. And I don’t care enough to.” She darted her gaze toward a table of young people dressed in gothic clothing.

  I believed her, but Evan was right. Say the wrong thing and I could have a high price on my head. As the group continued to chat, I scanned the room to see Kellan in the corner with his two security guards on either side of him. Or whatever they were. They were standing casually at a high table, trying to blend in, and he was staring at me, a blank expression on his face. The two guards talked between themselves, but Kellan seemed to be oblivious to the conversation. The weight of his stare made me squirm in my seat, and I hated that he could do that... yet, I couldn’t break his gaze; this staring contest we always seemed to get into. I had never been able to figure out what my fascination with him had been. I looked at his sharp black slacks and fitted charcoal-gray button-down shirt that hugged his chest and arms, and tried not to sigh. A shiny silver watch gleamed under the club’s lights on his left wrist, and I wondered how expensive it was.

  “Wanna get out of here?” I heard him say, but his lips hadn’t moved. Glancing around the group at my table, I could see they were deep in conversation. Turning around, I didn’t see anyone there, whispering in my ear. Yet, it was Kellan’s sexy British accented voice I’d heard in my head. My eyes widened, and I watched as his beautiful mouth lifted into a grin.

  “Did you just talk to me... inside my head?” I said to myself, while looking at him, feeling kind of foolish for it.

  He was full-out smiling now. “Well, I didn’t know if it would work, but I guess it does.”

  I bit back a smile. “So I’ve lost my wolf telepathy and gained vampire telepathy? Awesome.”

  He nodded. “It would seem so, love.”

  I glanced at Beckett. “Hey, pretty boy. Can you hear me?”

  Beckett looked at me, as if feeling me staring at him, and smiled. Then he went back to the conversation at the table without answering me.

  Looking back at Kellan, I furrowed my brow.

  Kellan said, “It’s not a vampire thing. You and I have a bond. It is why we can communicate this way.”

  “So, you heard me just now talking to Beckett?”

  I continued to stare at Kellan across the bar when I heard his silky voice in my head once again. “Yes, I heard it.”

  “But I wasn’t talking to you just then. Does that mean you can hear everything in my head?” I asked, feeling completely mortified.

  “No, love. Only when you speak purposely. And only when we are close, like we are now.”

  I released the breath I’d been holding. “Okay.”

  “You never answered my question, Ayla.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I asked you if you wanted to get out of here,” he reminded, a rare playfulness coloring his gorgeous face.

  “Isn’t that right, Ayla?” Beckett’s voice.

  I turned to see Beckett, Evan, and Karina all staring at me, waiting for me to answer.

  “Uh, what was the question?”

  Beckett turned around and glanced in the direction Kellan had been, but he and his guards were gone. Then he turned his attention back to me. “You seem distracted.”

  Not knowing how to respond to that, I said, “Sorta. Now, what did you ask? Sorry. Too much vodka has my brain cloudy.” No, it didn’t. I was as sober as I could be. I could barely get a buzz from alcohol, and it probably had something to do with the fact that I was a freak hybrid with the crazy fast metabolisms of both vampires and werewolves.

  Beckett looked like he was about to scold me, as he and everyone at the table knew Kellan had been in the bar since Evan had commented on him earlier, but he refrained. Instead he said, “We were just discussing flying. I told them of the first time I had seen you fly, and how it shocked the both of us.”

  “Oh, yes,” I said, smiling. “It was the day I met this guy here.” I elbowed Beckett. “He tried to kiss me and I chose to jump off the roof of this place rather than get kissed.”

  Chuckle.

  I ignored Kellan’s laugh in my head and pursed my lips. I resisted the urge to look at him.

  Evan and Karina laughed. “Really?” Karina asked, looking at me.

  Beckett huffed. “No, it really wasn’t like that; she kind of fell off. I was panicked as fuck. I thought I’d killed a poor human girl. Who, by the way, had told me her name was Amy.”

  I chuckled. “People give fake names in bars all the time.”

  Evan raised an eyebrow. “They do?”

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Beckett supplied. “But I have been guilty of it myself.” He picked up his drink and tossed back the rest. “This stupid town needs a gay vampire bar.”

  I laughed. “Maybe we should open one.”

  “There is one, but it’s not well known. I would be happy to show it to you,” Kellan said inside my head.

  Sitting up straight now, I looked around to see him, now completely alone, with his elbow on the edge of the main bar of the club.

  “What’s it called?” I asked.

  He made a scolding noise. “No, no, little wolf. I’ll show it to you myself, then you can take your friend there. I will even let you take all the credit for finding it yourself.” He chuckled. In. My. Head.

  This was way too weird.

  “What’s weird, love?”

  Dammit!

  “Ignore my inner musings, mysterious vampire. I’m not good at the whole telepathy thing. Too much of an open book and all that.”

  “Open book is good. It leads to things like... open mind, open mouth, open arms, and then... open legs.”

  I gasped so loud, the conversation at my table stopped. I slapped a hand over my mouth.

  “What is the problem?” Evan asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

  “Uh,” I said, moving my gaze from Kellan’s amused face to my friends. “I think I left some clothes in my washer earlier today.”

  Beckett narrowed his eyes at me over the rim of his cocktail. “You do your wash at the community laundry room in your building.”

  I moved my hair so all of it was over my right shoulder, where I played with it absently. “I know, that’s why it hit me. I’m sure someone moved it out of the washer and it’s now reeking like mildew down there.”

  The three of the watched me curiously as I batted my eyes, hoping they bought my story.

  I heard Kellan laugh again. “One more time... want to get out of here?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “I’ll be outside,” he replied.

  I set my drink down and threw a ten dollar bill onto the table. “Well, I better go check on my laundry.” I looked at Evan and Karina. “I’ll see you at midnight at the usual place.”

  They all seemed confused, but did not protest. “Bye.”

  I walked toward the exit, and when I was almost to the door, I heard Karina say, “That was weird.”

  Laughing, I pushed the bar’s door open and exhaled as cool night air hit me in the face.

  Chapter 4

  The heat flushing my skin was in direct contrast to the cold, snowflake-filled air swirling around us. With one hand around my waist, Kellan’s other hand was in my hair, controlling my head as his mouth and tongue did deliciously unspeakable things to me. Every part of my body was scorching with desire as I wrapped one leg around the back of his thighs. He needed no more prompting, because he reached around and used both hands under my ass to hoist my whole body up against the brick wall, my throbbing, hot core pushed up against him. When he thrust his hips against me, I groaned at the feel of him and how ready he was for me.

  “Ayla, I’m gonna take you right here in this filthy alleyway if you don’t let me take you somewhere else.”

  I didn’t respond. I just claimed his mouth once again, reveling in how delectable his kis
s was. Soft and controlled, not too wet, not too dry, but sensual and inviting. It was making me crazy. I wanted him badly. Should I give in to the infuriatingly sexy but elusive vampire? Here we were, making out against the building like a couple of teenagers, when really, we were so much more than that.

  Kellan finally pulled his mouth from mine and stared at me, rubbing his hand over the top of my head. When his hand continued to move to the back of my head, and then down my back, I sighed loudly.

  “You want me as much as I want you, love. Let me inside you, then, when we’ve both been satiated and gotten this out of our system, we can discuss what lies ahead for us.”

  Slick words from a talented mouth... I heard my inner voice say. God, I hope he didn’t hear that.

  “But... I... I have a boyfriend.” Those were the only words I could formulate. Blame it on the hormones.

  Kellan had the audacity to laugh... the deep, rumbling chuckle reverberating from somewhere deep in his very fine, muscular and defined chest. “So, I’m to compete with silly childhood crushes now?” He leaned down and licked a path from my collarbone to the sharp edge of my jaw. “You and I both know it’s time to put childish things aside and explore what maturity has to offer. It’s time you let me taste you. Every part of you.”

  Oh, my crap.

  Swallowing hard, I could only nod. Pushing thoughts of Ryder from my head, I stared into Kellan’s deep and playful eyes. The innocence of their baby-blue color did nothing to hide the mischievous darkness there. Talented tongue and slick words be damned... there was a reason they accomplished their intent, because I was nothing but putty in Kellan’s hands.

  Softening, I grinned up at the persuasive vampire and said, “Lead the way.”

  Soft and hard. I don’t think I’ve ever described someone that way. Such a delicious, aching contrast. Kellan both infuriated and satisfied me all in the same hour. When he was at Moon Chasers, keeping his distance, it upset me, but not to the point of anger. Just annoyance that he wasn’t approaching me. I was sure it had something to do with the company I kept. Evan had said something about Kellan being an associate of the man who’d killed his wife’s maker. That concerned me, because that person was Linden, who had gone by the name Malcolm back then.