Hunting Moon (Decorah Security Series, Book #11): A Paranormal Romantic Suspense Novel

by Rebecca York

  “Is Decorah Security a big company?” Tory asked.

  “There are about ten agents in this building and some support staff,” he answered. “You met Ben and Cole.”

  “He’s your cousin, you said.”

  “Right,” he answered, wondered if she was just making conversation to fill the time.

  After a forty-minute ride, they reached the house, which was on a private road that wound through a forest of maples and tulip poplars. Four acres around the house were enclosed by a chain-link fence topped by razor wire.

  “What do the neighbors think this place is—an outpost of NSA or the CIA?” Tory asked.

  “Nobody much comes up here. You noticed that the road is private. We have cameras to warn us if anyone approaches.”

  She answered with a small nod, and he pulled up at the gate, which he opened with a remote control, then closed behind them before he turned into the circular drive in front of the house. It was a typical Maryland farmhouse from a hundred and fifty years ago, with a lot of interior modifications.

  When they stepped inside, Tory looked around in surprise. The interior walls had been removed to create a great room with a seating area in one corner, a dining room with a table for six, and a modern kitchen. The sofas and chairs were overstuffed and comfortable. The table, chests and tables were lovingly restored antiques.

  “Wow,” she murmured. “This is quite some place.”

  “There are three bedrooms upstairs. You can have the biggest one.”

  “Okay.”

  “You’ll find women’s clothing in the closet. Some of it should fit you. But you’ll probably want to take a shower. Then maybe a nap.”

  “I’ll start with the shower.”

  He took her upstairs to the center bedroom that was furnished with a four-poster bed and matching cabinet pieces. He went down the hall to a smaller room that also had a private bathroom.

  After his own shower, he stuffed his dirty clothing into the trash can and found slacks and several shirts. He started to put on a knit one, then changed his mind. The guards at the facility had worn polo shirts. He switched to Oxford cloth, then spent a little time scrolling through Raymond’s files. When he got to the doctor’s notes on his method, he cursed as he read the cold-blooded way the man ignored any regard for the people he was torturing. His goal was to get information, and he didn’t care what he did to someone’s mind, as long as he got the results he wanted.

  Anger surged through Brand as he thought of Tory in the man’s clutches. Thank God he hadn’t had her long enough to do any major damage. At least she seemed to have come out intact.

  Still, he felt a rush of anxiety. After closing the computer, he hurried down the hall to her room. When she didn’t answer his knock, alarm leaped inside his chest.

  He reached for the knob, turned it and stepped into the room. She’d drawn the shades, and he waited for his eyes to adjust to the low light. Tory was lying in the bed under the covers and the chenille spread, with her eyes closed. As he tiptoed closer, he heard her even breathing and knew she was sleeping. He should leave her alone, he thought. She’d been through so much in the past few days that his head spun when he thought about it.

  But as he started to back away, her eyes blinked open and focused on him.

  “Brand?”

  “You need your sleep.”

  “That’s not really what I need.”

  When she held her arms out to him, he was helpless to resist the invitation. Kicking off his shoes, he eased onto the bed beside her.

  She gave him a shy smile. “What was it you said about where you wanted to make love with me for the first time?”

  His throat felt so thick that he could barely speak, but he managed to say, “In a nice comfortable bed.”

  “And here we are.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Tory raised up a little, and Brand saw that she was wearing a lacy gown that came up high under her breasts.

  He saw her watching his reaction.

  “I found it in one of the drawers.”

  “Good choice.”

  He rolled to his side and covered her mouth with his. There was no pretense that he simply wanted to comfort or reassure her. Heat jolted between them the moment his lips touched hers. And when he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, he heard her moan of approval.

  When the kiss broke, she ran her hand over his shirt. “You need to get rid of this.” She laughed softly. “And your pants. That would be good, too.”

  He climbed off the bed long enough to unbutton the shirt and throw it on the floor, then shuck off his pants and underwear in one smooth motion and slip under the covers, gathering her into his arms.

  She sighed as he pressed her body to his.

  In the back of his mind he was thinking he should tell her how much this meant to him. This was the first time he was going to make love with his lifemate.

  “What?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re worried about something. Do you think Raymond damaged me too badly for a normal relationship?”

  A normal relationship? If she only knew.

  “No. You’re a strong woman.”

  “Then what?”

  “I want this to be perfect for you.”

  “That’s a pretty big demand you’re putting on yourself.”

  He swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

  “Don’t. And if you’re wondering, I’m nervous too.”

  “Why, exactly?”

  “This is our first time together. But it’s more than that. I think the two of us have . . . bonded on some level that I don’t understand. And I don’t want to screw that up.”

  “Bonded?” he asked, marveling that she was the one who had used that word. For him it was so emotionally charged that it wiped out almost everything else. He couldn’t be sure what it meant to her.

  “Yes. But I can’t explain it.”

  He could, but he wasn’t capable of telling her the truth about the two of them. Not yet.

  Did that make him a coward? He preferred to think of it as prudent. Long ago a werewolf had probably gathered up his lifemate and swept her off to his den. But he didn’t want to use caveman tactics. He wanted Tory to choose to be with him.

  To that end, he brought his mouth back to hers, kissing her with passion that threatened to flair out of control.

  It seemed to be the same for her as her hands moved over his back and down to his butt, pressing his erection against her middle.

  The world dimmed around him. He could focus on nothing besides the woman who held him in her arms.

  He slid his fingers under the thin straps of her gown, playing with the silky skin of her shoulders before easing the straps down her arms, trapping them while he lowered the bodice of her gown, uncovering her breasts.

  They were small and perfect, and he leaned in, pressing his face between them before swirling his tongue around one hardened nipple, loving the way it stood up in response.

  She made a moaning sound, then gasped as he took the nipple into his mouth, sucking while he gently bit the hard nub.

  “Don’t trap my arms,” she whispered. “I want to touch you.”

  When he’d pulled the gown over her head and tossed it away, her hands came up to clasp his head, holding him to her, stroking her fingers through his thick hair. Neither of them spoke, but words had become unnecessary. She lowered her head, her teeth digging into his naked shoulder, not hard enough to break the skin but hard enough to jolt him. Had other men brought out a streak of wildness in her, or was it only because she was with a wild creature now—even if she didn’t know it?

  He lifted his head away from her, focusing on the breast that he had wet.

  She slid one of her hands downward, over his ribs, then onto his stomach and downward.

  He kept his gaze on her face as she wrapped her fist around his erection.

  When she squeezed him, he sucked in a sharp breath.

 
“You feel so good,” she murmured

  “What you’re doing feels wonderful, but I can’t take much of it now.”

  She gave him one more small squeeze before taking her hand away. He rolled her to her back and pulled down the covers so that he could admire her body as he began to stroke his hand over her curves, playing with her breasts and the swell of her hip before sliding his fingers into the curly hair at the top of her legs.

  She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them as he slid one finger lower, into the folds of her sex, the joy of touching her there again almost taking his breath away. She had been hot and wet for him the last time. It was the same now.

  Only it was going to end quite differently. He slid his finger through those swollen folds and into her while he bent to claim one of her nipples with his mouth again.

  “Now. Please now,” she gasped out.

  His gaze burned into her as he covered her body with his. Reaching for his cock, she guided him into her.

  The reality of being inside her was overwhelming. He went very still, looking down at her, feeling the impact of the moment.

  She kept her gaze on him, and when he began to move, she matched his rhythm. Every instinct urged him to let himself go, but he held back, waiting for her to catch up with him. He felt her moving faster, pushing for climax. And he knew the moment she reached it as her inner muscles contracted around him.

  He drove for his own satisfaction, feeling a burst of sensation that burned through every cell of his body before he gathered her to him, breathing hard.

  She was his now. He knew that in every fiber of his being. And all he wanted to do was love her and keep her safe.

  “I love you.”

  “Oh Brand, you don’t know how much I wanted to hear that. I knew I loved you when you left me on that cliff edge and went off to fight an army of Raymond’s men.”

  “Not an army.”

  “But it was just you against a bunch of armed guys.”

  “And that’s in our past.”

  “And our future?” she asked.

  Deep down, he knew they had to deal with reality—at least the normal part of reality. “You were a dancer in New York.”

  “And I told you I was getting ready to quit and go back to Pittsburgh.”

  “To teach at a dance studio and go back to college.”

  “I imagine there are dance studios and colleges in Maryland,” she answered.

  Relief flooded through him. “You don’t mind making the switch?”

  “I want to be with you.” She swallowed hard. “But what about Denato? I was in his condo when he was murdered. Aren’t I a suspect?”

  “No. After you left, someone swept in and took him away and cleaned up the mess. There never was any evidence of a murder.”

  “Oh my God,” she breathed. “And the men who killed him never saw me there.”

  “But we still have to find out what happened.”

  He gathered her to him, glad that he’d been able to reassure her that she was in the clear, as far as the law was concerned.

  He felt her relief as she began to reevaluate her situation and start to think about the future.

  “Where do you live, exactly?” she asked.

  “Actually, not far from here. I have a house I got at a foreclosure. My cousin, Ross, helped me fix it up. It’s got plenty of land around it. And it’s on the edge of a big park.”

  “Like the Refuge,” she murmured.

  “Yeah, but I’m not holding anyone captive there. I’m just used to the countryside. Remember, I grew up on a farm.”

  “Are your parents still there?”

  “After Dad died in a tractor accident, my mom moved to Florida.” He laughed. “I guess she decided she deserved a relaxing retirement. My brother and I bought her a condo on the beach.”

  “And your brother?”

  “He kept the farm. Ross financed my college education. I was shopping for a job when I met Frank.”

  “And you hit it off.”

  “Right. After that I looked for a place to live.” He laughed. “But I’m no decorator. You’ll probably want to get some prettier furniture.”

  “I want to see it.”

  “I’d like to stay here until Decorah and I can check out the Denato/Freemont situation. Something about it doesn’t add up.”

  “Like how?”

  “The timeline for example.”

  She nodded.

  “We should get something to eat,” he said.

  “Like what?”

  “This place is pretty well stocked. We can have anything from pizza to Asian vegetable dumplings.”

  “What do you want?”

  He paused for a moment, thinking that a werewolf’s diet was something else he hadn’t talked about. “I eat a lot of meat,” he said. “I’ll bet there’s steak in the freezer.”

  “Okay. Let’s go see. Cooking is something normal I can do while we’re here.”

  They both got dressed, and he stopped in his room to get the laptop. He watched her investigate the pantry, the refrigerator and the freezer.

  “How does steak, mashed potatoes, and salad sound?” she asked.

  “Good,” he answered, thinking he should tell her he didn’t eat much salad.

  She took out a couple of strip steaks and thawed them in the microwave while he sat at the table, still looking through Raymond’s computer.

  When his phone buzzed, he saw that it was a text from Teddy Granada at Decorah. It said, “Someone’s still holding onto Denato’s apartment. The condo fee for the rest of the year was just paid.”

  Tory turned from washing potatoes and looked at him, probably noting his thoughtful expression. “What?”

  “Nothing we have to worry about right now.”

  She kept her gaze fixed on him. “You look worried.”

  “Not exactly.”

  She dragged in a breath and let it out. “If this relationship is going to work, we can’t keep secrets from each other. Is that something I should know?”

  “It’s about Denato’s condo. Someone is still paying the upkeep.”

  “Which means what?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “But you think?” she asked, and he knew she was working hard to pull the information out of him.

  “Freemont thought Denato’s money is hidden there, but apparently there’s someone else involved. I’d better check it out.”

  She put down a potato with a thump on the counter. “If you’re going up there, I’m going with you.”

  “No!” he answered immediately.

  “Why not?”

  “It could be dangerous.”

  “Then I’m not letting you go there alone. You already put yourself in enough danger for me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Protective instincts raged inside Brand. No werewolf would deliberately put his mate in danger. That’s why they were at this safe house now.

  Yet what Tory said made sense. She’d been to the condo, and even if she didn’t know what she was looking for, being there would jog her memory.

  He dragged in a breath and let it out. “We’ll talk to Frank about it in the morning. Right now, we should eat.”

  She nodded and went back to food preparation, but the relaxed mood was broken, although she tried to bring it back with questions about his life and Decorah Security.

  Still, the conversation inevitably turned back to Denato.

  “It might not be just about money,” Tory blurted as she cut a piece of steak. “I meant there may be papers there—or some information that’s worth more than money.”

  “I was thinking that too,” Brand agreed.

  After dinner, he found an e-mail from Decorah Security with the floor plan of Denato’s condo.

  Brand called it up on his tablet, and they both sat in front of the screen, looking at the rooms.

  “Did you know how big the place was?” he asked.

  Tory shook her head as she examined t
he schematic. In addition to the foyer and the living room, which she’d seen, there was a powder room off a hallway and a well-appointed kitchen at the front with an adjoining maid’s room. Farther down the hall was a small bedroom that Denato probably used as a den or office and a large master bedroom with a huge bathroom. Off the bedroom was a good-sized terrace that overlooked the park.

  “A place that big in New York City must have cost a fortune,” Tory mused.

  “You didn’t see much of it, so your going along isn’t going to help a lot.”

  She gave Brand a hard look. “Don’t think you have a chance of leaving me here.”

  He sighed. “Okay.”

  He should be thinking about business, but as she cleaned the kitchen, simply watching the graceful way she moved turned him on.

  She bent to put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, then turned to rinse out the sink. Brand stood up and silently walked behind her, trapping her between the cabinets and his body as he reached to cup her breasts.

  She caught her breath, leaning back against him as his hands moved over her.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” he said, hearing the husky quality of his voice.

  “And do what?” she asked in a teasing voice.

  “Hum, well I was thinking we should continue this in front of a mirror.”

  “Just like this?”

  “Well, I was picturing both of us naked. And we wouldn’t be standing. You’d be sitting in my lap. You’d have your legs spread so I could have complete access to your body—and watch exactly what I was doing.”

  Her breath quickened as he described the things he wanted to do.

  “Then we’d better go up, while I can still walk.”

  “I’ll be right in back of you, making sure you don’t fall down the stairs,” he said.

  True to his word, he stayed at her back, his hands still exploring her body as they climbed the stairs.

  When they reached the mirror in the bedroom, he kept his position.

  “Let me watch you undress.”

  “Lord, Brand. I can barely stand up.”

  “I’ll be right here,” he promised, meeting her gaze in the mirror.

  He loved the game they were playing, but even as he teased her, he couldn’t shake off a feeling of desperation.