Trust the Moon

by Jamie Craig

  His arms automatically went around her. She felt unbelievably soft against him. He wanted to sink into her. Instead, he caught her mouth, kissing her slowly and thoroughly. He didn’t rush the caress. He didn’t even want her to have a single hint of the hunger lurking just below the surface. He wanted to taste the gentle curves of her mouth, to reacquaint himself with the way her lips felt against his.

  “Maybe it’ll feel so good being curled up with you watching the movie, I won’t want to go tonight,” she whispered. “Would that work for you?”

  “That works just fine for me.” He grinned. “It’ll save me the embarrassment later of begging you not to go.”

  “Aw, damn. I’ll bet you’re cute when you beg.”

  “You can find out later, if you want.”

  Her hand flattened out over his chest, directly above his heart. “I think I’ll save that for the third date. Tonight, I want you just like this.”

  He’d be anything she wanted, or needed. He considered telling her so, but rejected that idea. It would be better to show her. He pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing away a few stubborn drops of water, and folded his hand in hers. “Come on. Let’s go pick out a movie.”

  Chapter Seven

  It’s just a date. You’ve done this before. It’s not a big deal.

  Gena repeated the mantra over and over while she got ready at Dylan’s house. The sounds of him moving around downstairs—because he’d been ready for almost an hour now, the jerk—did little to placate her runaway nerves. He didn’t act like there was any big deal about taking her as his date to his friend’s end-of-the-summer bash, though he’d said more than once she didn’t have to go if she didn’t want to. She knew he didn’t mean that. Though they had moved past the third date and the second bath ten days earlier, Dylan needed the occasional reminder that she was really there. Showing her off to his buddies was one way to do that.

  What Gena didn’t understand was why she’d agreed to it in the first place. The vast majority of the time she spent with Dylan was in the privacy of one of their homes or out in the desert. They’d gone out for another meal at Casa Bonita’s, but the rest of the time they spent together alone. She liked that. She liked him. The sex was amazing, Dylan was sweet, and he seemed to know exactly how far he could push her before backing off. He claimed he just knew her. The first time he’d said it, it had freaked Gena out. Now she found comfort in the fact she could relax around him more than she ever could around anyone else.

  So one night in bed, when he’d casually mentioned Patrick’s party, she hadn’t even bristled. He’d been spooned behind her, his arm around her waist, his mouth buried in her neck. She’d been too distracted by how good he felt, how sleepy she was, how every time his thumb brushed across the underside of her breast she got a little tingle in her thighs. She’d said it sounded like fun, he’d offered to let her get dressed at his place, and it wasn’t until the next morning when she had flown back to her lair that she realized just what she’d gotten herself into.

  She stared at her reflection. White tank top and jeans, casual yet sexy. Makeup simple and sheer. Hair pulled off her face into a clip that let the majority of the coppery curls fall down her back. Dylan liked it better loose, but it was too hot to keep it on her neck. This was a good compromise.

  Everything looked good.

  So why was she still so damn anxious about one stupid party?

  “Hey, you!” Dylan called from the foot of the stairs. “Are you about ready?”

  “I’m coming!”

  For better or worse.

  Dylan lounged against the railing, looking deliciously unkempt in faded jeans and a T-shirt that stretched across his shoulders. He smiled when he saw her, grabbing her hand before she’d reached the bottom and tugging her towards the front door.

  “So where’s this party at?” she asked after they’d stepped out into the fading sunshine.

  “Patrick’s backyard. Which isn’t as lame as it sounds. He’s got a nice yard. Pool, hot tub, wet bar, a big, big barbecue. It’s like an outdoor kitchen. Fortunately, he’s not far.”

  “Pool? Does that mean skinny-dipping, or shifting into something not nearly as fun?”

  “He tends to disapprove of fur in his pool. Something about it clogging the filter.” He pulled her closer. “I guess I should warn you, if you plan to go skinny-dipping, that I’m the jealous sort.”

  His fingers were strong on her waist, but the last thing she wanted was to get the distance between them again. “You’ll just have to get naked with me then. Problem solved.”

  “But if we both get naked in the pool, we’ll give the whole party a show they won’t likely forget.”

  “Are you saying you can’t keep your hands to yourself in front of your buddies?”

  “I’m saying I can’t keep my hands to myself anytime I’m around you. But I plan to make an effort tonight to behave like a civilized person.”

  Gena waved her hand in dismissal. “Civilized is overrated. I’ll settle for you agreeing to drag me away from the festivities if you can’t control yourself any longer.” She smiled up at him. “As long as I get the same right.”

  “Fair enough, but just keep in mind that if you drag me away too much, people will start searching for us.” His arm tightened, squeezing her gently. “Are you feeling okay about this?”

  She knew he wanted to hear how this was going to be cake, that she’d do anything for him, or something along those lines. But from the beginning, she hadn’t been able to snow Dylan. If she said anything other than the truth, he’d know.

  “I’m nervous. I don’t…this’ll be the first party I’ve ever gone to with a date. I’m not sure how it’s going to be different.”

  “You’re nervous because you have a date?” Dylan teased. “Aren’t people usually nervous when they go stag?”

  “But I always go stag. I can arrive when I want, I can leave when I want, I can talk to whoever I want.” Her smile had faded by the time she finally had the balls to look up at him again. “I don’t know what you expect from me.”

  “What do I expect from you? That’s a good question. I guess I expect you to enjoy the free food and drinks, because Patrick is a real foodie and he always has the best stuff available. I expect you to not take my friends too seriously, because they’re a bunch of goofballs. I expect you to dance a bit, and maybe swim a bit. I guess what I’m saying is, I expect you to have a good time.”

  Which was all he ever really expected from her. Gena felt a little silly about being anxious in the first place now. Dylan wasn’t going to change just because this was a new venue for them to be together in.

  “Well, I am pretty good at having a good time. I suppose I can do that.”

  “Good.” He kissed the top of her head. It was an affectionate, even a little absentminded, gesture.

  They rounded a corner, and Gena knew immediately where they were heading. The house on the far corner was already lit up like a birthday cake. She could smell the barbecue, and her stomach grumbled in response. Cars lined the block, some already parked haphazardly, and people milled on the front porch with plastic cups and bottles of beer.

  The closer they got, the easier it was to recognize some of the faces from Dylan’s birthday party. There were some girls, including an unsmiling Daria, but the vast majority of the guests were young men, all around Dylan’s age. It was the kind of party she would have picked out for an easy time only a month ago. Guys like this were ripe for the plucking.

  A group of them at the side of the house waved at Dylan, calling for him to come over. With his arm still firmly around her waist, he guided her in their direction.

  “All legal now, and you don’t even bring some beer?” The chunky blond with the crew cut grimaced good-naturedly. “What kind of friend are you?”

  “Yeah, you’re one to talk. When was the last time you brought beer anywhere? Gena, this is Doug.” He gestured with his head as he spoke. “His girlfriend, Kate, his broth
er Rex, and this doofus over here is Anderson.”

  Anderson was almost painfully thin, and he blushed at the mention of his name. But his eyes were bright and engaging, and his smile was only a little self-conscious. “It’s good to meet you.”

  Gena smiled and nodded at each in turn. If any had been at Dylan’s party, she didn’t recognize them.

  “You have the most gorgeous hair.” Kate tilted her head to get a better look at the way it curled down Gena’s back. “Please tell me that’s not natural.”

  “No, that’s its real color.”

  Kate sighed and self-consciously patted her own dishwater blonde bob. “Figures. Some girls get all the breaks.”

  “Yes, they do,” Rex said with an undeniable sneer.

  Gena stiffened, but before she had the chance to speak, Kate drove her elbow into Rex’s stomach. “Don’t be a pig.”

  “Oink, oink.”

  “He does have certain porcine qualities,” Doug observed.

  “It runs in the family,” Rex shot back.

  “Well, as charming as this conversation has been, I think we’re going to go inside,” Dylan said, gently pulling Gena towards the gate to the backyard.

  “Better go put your claim on what you want to eat,” Anderson instructed. “Patrick got screwed on his meat order, so he doesn’t have everything he wanted to grill.”

  Rex rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he’s being a real pussy about it too.”

  “He just wants everything to turn out good for the party,” Kate argued.

  “Like I said. A pussy.”

  “But you should get your request in soon anyway,” Anderson continued, ignoring the others. “If you don’t ask for a steak now, you’ll be stuck with turkey burgers and veggie hot dogs.”

  Gena grimaced. “Well, if that’s not incentive to get our asses inside, nothing is.”

  “Rex is a pig,” Dylan said under his breath as they stepped into the backyard. “But occasionally, he’s good to have around. How you doing?”

  “I’m okay.” And she was. Mostly. She was used to the Rexes of the world. They were the ones easiest to control because they never looked higher than her tits to realize she had a brain too. “Is everybody here shifters?”

  “Yeah. Ever since what happened to Sara…well, nobody is too eager to spend a lot of time with normals.”

  Gena nodded. At least she didn’t have to worry about Dylan dragging her off to meet non-shifters. She didn’t think she could even stand to be in the same room as a normal. Not after what they took from her.

  More than one head turned in their direction as they emerged into the backyard. A few guys stared at her, and she saw a pair of girls immediately start whispering to each other, but for the most part, people smiled, waved, and then went back to whatever they were doing. It was more than a little disconcerting.

  Dylan let go of her waist to take her hand and lead her through the throng for the bricked-out barbecue on the other side of the pool. A tall, husky guy in cargo shorts and a T-shirt was bent over, scribbling onto a notepad. When he glanced up to see who was approaching, a huge smile split his broad features. He wasn’t the most attractive man Gena had ever seen, but the genuineness of his smile combined with the way his brown eyes crinkled at the corner turned him into someone to be noticed.

  “Hey, stranger,” he said, straightening. “You made it.” His warm gaze slid to Gena. “And with a much nicer date than your laptop this time. Good job.” He stuck his hand out. “I’m Patrick.”

  “Gena.”

  “So what did Dylan have to do to get a girl like you to go out with him?”

  Dylan snorted. “You’re one to talk. When was the last time you had a date? When Lori agreed to go to your twelfth birthday party?”

  “Try again, asshole. Besides, Gena isn’t really your type. For one, she’s not a computer.”

  “Do you have anything to drink around here? Or are you just making us drink that horse piss you call beer?”

  Patrick gestured towards a stack of coolers. “There’s plenty over there. Why don’t you bring your own if you have a problem with what I buy?”

  Dylan’s hand disappeared from hers. “What would you like to drink?”

  “Whatever he’s got that’s dark.” Her eyes tracked him as he rambled through the crowd, only shifting back to Patrick when she realized she probably looked obsessed or crazy or something. She smiled. “Thanks for letting me come.”

  Patrick shrugged. “The more the merrier, that’s what I always say.” He turned to the grill and poked at the burning coals. “You were at his birthday party, weren’t you?”

  She ignored the warning frisson slithering its way down her spine. “Yeah. That’s where we met, actually.”

  “Yeah, I thought I saw you there. Of course, most of that night is a blur. I won’t be drinking boilermakers again. I can tell you that much.” He nodded with satisfaction at the grill. “You having a steak?”

  No mention of where she came from. Who she was. What she’d been doing crashing a private party. Nothing at all but more of his warm smile and casual interest. Gena held her breath for a moment, waiting for it to come, but it never did.

  “Put us both down for steaks. Dylan said you’re a whiz with food.”

  “That’s just because he thinks he can feed himself. You cook?”

  “No, not really.” Not anymore, at least.

  He flashed her a quick smile. “I hope that means I can impress you with my mad grilling skills. So…you’ve been with Dylan since his birthday?”

  Been with. Was that what was going on? She glanced over her shoulder to see Dylan standing at the coolers, laughing with even more guys she didn’t recognize. Wait. No, she recognized one of them. His cousin from the party. The one who’d been on cooler duty before. Her mouth twitched into a smile. Dylan was shaking his head at something his cousin said. His skin glowed in spite of the fact that he didn’t spend nearly enough time outside, and the flex of his arm muscles made her tummy clench.

  “A little bit after,” she said to Patrick. “He asked for a date. I couldn’t turn him down.”

  “That’s Dylan. He gets all the pretty girls and leaves the rest of us wondering what they see in him. I think he looks a bit like a monkey, honestly.”

  The way Dylan told it, he was just friends with most of the girls he knew. It dawned on Gena she had nothing really to confirm that except his word. “Does Dylan date a lot then?”

  “I don’t know. I guess he dates the normal amount for a guy who has a monkey face.” Patrick tilted his head and considered for a moment. “I guess he’s had three or four regular girlfriends since we met in tenth grade.”

  “Lucky for me for catching him in between girlfriends, then.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. I’d say it’s more lucky for him.”

  Another couple appeared at the other side of the grill, stealing Patrick’s attention. Gena edged away, sliding her hands into her back pockets. The party wasn’t anything like she’d expected it to be. Nobody was pointing. Nobody was cutting her down. Everybody seemed too wrapped up in their own conversations to really pay too much attention to who had crashed. They didn’t even seem to care that she was a veritable stranger.

  Dylan finally broke away from the crowd at the cooler and returned to her side. As soon as he was within reach, Gena grabbed the front of his waistband and hauled him the rest of the way. Their bodies molded together, and her lips sought out the salty stretch of his neck before she softly said, “I think I’m the luckiest girl here tonight.”

  He chuckled, and the sound was as warm as his breath. “Because Patrick promised you the best cut?”

  “Because I’m here with you.” Closing her eyes, she simply inhaled the smell of him. It was scary how much she loved it. “Because you’re persistent, and open-hearted, and I don’t care for a second if you do have a monkey face.”

  “Who said…oh right. You’ve been talking to Patrick.” He rested his lips against her hair. “You’re ma
king me want to drag you away from here.”

  “Hey, you two!” A woman’s voice made Gena stiffen, but Dylan didn’t release her. “Get a room.”

  Dylan lifted his head. “Fuck off.” Despite the words, she could hear the smile in his voice.

  “Nobody wants to watch you two macking on each other.”

  “That’s probably true,” Dylan murmured. “Which just makes me more inclined to leave.”

  Though it was the last thing she wanted right then, Gena disengaged enough to slide into the crook of his arm, taking the beer he’d brought for her out of his hand. She slipped her free arm around his waist and shook her head.

  “We’re here to party with your friends. I’ve been stealing you away from them enough for the past few weeks.”

  “Funnily enough, I haven’t even missed them the past few weeks.”

  She smiled at the compliment, but held firm. “We have to stick around until I try some of Patrick’s steak, at least. After that…” She kissed his cheek, ending at his ear. “We’ll see.”

  If the night went on as it had started, she thought she could actually stomach staying for the party’s duration. It would be easy. With Dylan at her side.

  Chapter Eight

  Gena watched from the corner of the yard she’d chosen, hidden by the shadows that had long ago become her allies. Wistfulness like a quickening flame burned within her. She had never been to a party like this before, though in all fairness, it was the longest she’d ever lasted at any kind of party with Delta inhabitants.

  As soon as people had eaten and thrown themselves into the festivities, they changed before her eyes. Literally. Not all of them. Clutches of people remained, talking and dancing and laughing. She had been one of them, with Dylan as her anchor. But others, like Rex, had shifted into some animal form to race and cavort in and out of the house. Doug spent nearly an hour as some sort of snake, winding around Kate’s legs as he slowly climbed her body. Two others had flown over the roof of the house, with only their distant cries evidence of their continued games.