Remembered by Moonlight

by Nancy Gideon

“My father.”

  “Some of these are very old.”

  “He was a firm believer in starting instruction early.”

  Both hands moved over his skin, the gestures brief, caressing. “Such punishment must have been difficult to endure. Did he make you beg him to stop?”

  “I never beg.”

  Palms rested at Cale’s hips. “Take off your pants.”

  “What? Why?” He struggled to keep those questions neutral.

  Another chuckle. “I want to see if your legs are strong enough to carry your ego.”

  Wordlessly, Cale unbuckled and unzipped, pushing the dark denim to the tops of his boots, then stood straight and unmoving in just his briefs while bracing for that next move that would push beyond the boundary of his cooperation. Not what he’d expected, that quick thrust of a knee into the back of one of his. Cale’s gave slightly but didn’t buckle.

  “Good. Very nice. You can get dressed now.”

  Cale moved with a casual ease, tugging up his jeans, keeping his body slightly angled so Lee wouldn’t get a good look at his clan tattoo as he slipped his sweater over his head. He hoped Lee had been too distracted by his scars to notice it, though the chance of him understanding its significance was small. The other’s breath on his neck made Cale go still.

  “You’re very impressive.”

  And then the anticipated touch, a light brush of Lee’s knuckles along his jawline. Fingertips trailed down Cale’s throat, the pad of his thumb rubbing over his bottom lip. Flirt, Silas had said. Okay. But not too much. He let his lips part slightly, and Casper’s thumbnail skipped along his teeth.

  “I bet you’re good at a lot of things.”

  “I am,” he said frankly, “but I’m only interested in one of them at the moment. I don’t fuck when I’m fighting. I don’t want the distraction.”

  Casper moved into his field of vision, his face close, his eyes dilated. “Am I distracting?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Cale allowed with the hint of a smile.

  When his cousin approached the table, Silas took one look at the tight clench of his jaw and skewed fit of his sweater and stepped out to meet him, demanding, “What happened?”

  “We were picking out china patterns.”

  “You didn’t insult him, did you?”

  Cale leveled a frigid glare and drawled, “I told him I was flattered and that once I’m not so focused on business I’d let him blow me, but he’d have to wait his turn because you’d be on your knees ahead of him. You sonuvabitch.”

  To defuse the situation, Cee Cee grabbed Cale’s arm and shoved him toward the dance floor, hissing at her partner, “You could have managed that better.”

  Cale elbowed his way into the tangle of the couples swaying to Sam Smith’s crooning “Stay With Me”. He jerked Cee Cee up against his chest, taking advantage of the sultry music to hold her close so she could hear his angry words above the noise. “First I’m just a fighter, now I’m a whore? What the hell is it that you expect me to do?”

  “Nothing you’re uncomfortable with.”

  “Well, I’m pretty damned uncomfortable!”

  “Silas didn’t expect you to—“

  He waved off her apology with a flick of his hand then spun her into a series of quick revolutions that matched the snap of his temper. “I don’t care about that. A little grab ass for the cause isn’t going to kill me. I don’t shock that easily.”

  “Then what’s this about?” she demanded, levering for space so she could study his glowering features.

  “Him.” He glared toward the table. “That bastard. The way he always has to disrespect me. Like I’m nothing, nobody.”

  “Silas?”

  He pressed her head to his shoulder to escape her probing stare and took a deep breath. When he spoke again, his tone altered to calm and distant. “Sorry. You don’t need to hear this. It’s okay. The requirements of the job took me by surprise for a minute. I’m good now.”

  “Cale.”

  “I’m fine. Wouldn’t want to spoil the game.”

  She’d leaned back to argue that when she saw a large hand clamp down on her dance partner’s shoulder and heard the growl of an undisputable claim.

  “I’m cutting in.”

  Cale tensed and turned, expression screwed down dangerously tight, more than ready to work off his aggravation. Then he recognized the interloper. With a crooked smile, he made an “all yours” flourish with his hands and bowed out, snatching up the closest more-than-willing substitute to refill his arms.

  Cee Cee remained stiff and noncompliant as Max drew her smoothly to his chest. “What are you doing here, Savoie?”

  “Exercising my right to party hearty in the club of my choice. Is that a crime?” His hands slipped beneath the hem of her top, palms settled low, fingertips riding the curve of her rump as his hips sashayed against hers in a suggestive motion. She wasn’t willing to be seduced. Not yet.

  “You can’t be here.”

  “Yet here I am.” He smiled slightly, eyelids slipping down to a sexy half-mast, daring her to challenge that fact. His thumbs made slow circles upon the bare flesh of her back. His heated touch sparked ripples of excitement, defying her stern mood.

  “You have to leave.”

  “Cher, the only thing I have to do is finish this dance with you.” Though deep and caressing in tone, she couldn’t mistake the strong undercurrent of displeasure in his voice. “I’ve decided not to like being told where I cannot be when it comes to you. Or would you prefer to have that boy’s hands all over you?”

  She could hear the almost undetectable sound of him snuffling up the scent Cale left on her. Thankfully, Max couldn’t see his palm print on her butt. “That boy and I are working here, and you’re endangering our cover. This isn’t the place for macho chest beating, Savoie.”

  “Oh, I disagree, sha,” he drawled with a lethal quiet. “This is exactly the place. Everyone here knows you’re mine, and for me not to take exception to you being pawed by another would raise more eyebrows than if I chose to remove his head.” As if considering that action, he lifted his gaze from her stormy glare to rest upon the Terriot in question. His aggression was misplaced, aggravating. And hot as hell.

  “He has no interest in me, Max. Stop your growling.”

  “I find that hard to believe looking the way you do tonight. I’ll growl if I like. And it’s not his interest that

  concerns me.”

  She pulled up sharply, planting her feet to regard him in furious disbelief. “Are you accusing me of—”

  The rest of her angry words were swallowed by his sudden hard kiss. A demonstrative tongue-to-the-tonsils kiss that had her senses swirling like the lights overhead by the time he lifted away. She’d forgotten her arguments, all energies focused on keeping her knees steady and together.

  Satisfied by her dreamy daze, Max drew her back into his arms to continue their dance.

  With her cheek resting on his shoulder and a very mollified smile on her face, Cee Cee murmured, “You make a good point, Savoie.”

  “We can argue it some more when we get home,” he replied agreeably.

  “Ummm. I’d like that.” She relaxed against him, fitting as perfectly as a softly tailored jacket over his crisp white shirt. Debate wasn’t one of the things she planned on doing with him when they got behind closed doors. And from the way he prodded her through his trousers it wasn’t foremost on his agenda either.

  “Your friends are leaving, cher.”

  Without lifting her head or opening her eyes, she raised her hand and gave it an indolent dismissing wave.

  ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

  More familiar with the road and sober, Brigit drove the big vehicle back toward the estate with Cale her withdrawn co-pilot. The others remained in the city. After miles of oppressive quiet, she decided it was time to break the silence.

  “I’m pregnant.” She heard Cale’s quick inhalation and felt his startled stare. “That’s what Kendra and I
were whispering about in Tahoe. In a month or so I’ll be putting all my bad behavior clothes away in favor of muumuus.”

  “Don’t you mean designer muumuus?”

  “Well, yes, of course.” She glanced over to catch the flash of his smile.

  “Congrats. No wonder your fiancé wanted to break my nose.”

  “It’s not his.”

  Another echoing silence. Then a quiet, “Is that a bad thing, or is he okay with it? He’d be a fool not to be.”

  Brigit laughed. “I’m surprised he’s not knitting baby booties.”

  “I’m starting to like him better. I’m happy for you, Bree.”

  “Thank you.” After a comfortable moment, she said, “Don’t let him get to you.”

  “He doesn’t hit that hard. Besides being a human, he seems like a good enough guy.”

  “I’m not talking about Giles, Cale.”

  The temperature plunged within the vehicle. “I don’t want to talk about your brother.”

  “Then listen.” She took his stony silence for agreement and continued. “Aside from our excellent fashion sense, you and I are very much alike. No, we are,” she insisted at his disbelieving snort. “That’s why we always clash over everything. We’re both impulsive but when we love, it’s deeply and usually foolishly. You, your bastard of a father and me, the father of this child.” No argument, so she continued.

  “Our lives have always been wrapped about the same two people, one we adore and the other who frustrates the hell out of us.” Kendra and Silas. “And we’d do absolutely anything to please and protect them. Agreed?”

  A reluctantly mumbled, “Agreed.”

  “Silas can’t help the way he is any more than we can be what he thinks he wants us to be. He’s never had the freedom to misbehave. Except maybe with that creature he married. He’s afraid to be less than perfect, to let things get out of his control. And he’s never been able to control us. He sees that as his failure, and it breaks my heart to see him struggle so.”

  After considering that, Cale pronounced, “Well, he’s still a dick.”

  Brigit laughed. “Yes, he is. Can you forgive that flaw?”

  “I suppose.”

  Brigit glanced into the rearview and squinted as a pair of bright beams came up fast behind them. Frowning, she switched to the night view then checked the side mirrors in concern.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Some idiot in a big hurry to get nowhere.” She tapped her brakes, but the other vehicle kept coming, barreling like a bullet train out of the darkness.

  Cale twisted to look back between the seats, brows lowering. “Give him plenty of room.”

  “I don’t have any to give. This isn’t exactly a downtown four lane with a curb I can jump.” Her calm voice detracted from a white-knuckled grip on the wheel.

  The road was narrow, twisting and isolated, with flooded rice paddies on the left and a drop-off into a swampy gnarl of trees on the right.

  “He’s coming around us.”

  The large, extended cab truck pulled up alongside, keeping pace for a long minute. Tinted windows made it impossible to see who was at the wheel.

  “Slow down, Bree. Let him pass.” Cale spoke softly but his words bit with tension. She applied the brake, and the big vehicle shot past them, disappearing around the tight corner up ahead. Both sighed in relief as they came into the hairpin curve.

  There sat the truck, stopped at an angle in the center of the road.

  Brigit tried to brake but had no time. To avoid a collision, she jerked the wheel to the right, praying for room on the shoulder to let them slip by.

  There almost was. But not quite.

  She heard Cale’s palms slap against the dash. Their vehicle left the road, shooting out into the darkness, airborne and already starting to roll.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  With a sigh, Cee Cee stepped out of her shoes and left them in the doorway. She gave the wig a toss onto the bar and rolled her shoulders with a moan. Then his hands settled there, warm and strong, to begin a delectable kneading.

  “Oh, baby. I’ll give you two hours to stop that.”

  “As long as you need, sha. I’m at your disposal.”

  “And I’m Silly Putty in your hands,” she sighed, eyes closing. She relaxed beneath the pressure of his long fingers and rotating heels of his hands, letting the stresses of her case drop away until only the pleasure of his touch remained. She breathed deep, just as he had earlier, inhaling his scent, letting it roll through her body in a sensual wave to crest and pound at the juncture of her thighs.

  He leaned close to whisper against her ear, “Is there any other tension I can relieve for you, cher? I am willing and most certainly able.”

  “That’s quite an offer,” she murmured.

  “No strings attached. Unless you’d like me to wrap you up in them.”

  “You’ve had me tied up in knots since the first time I laid eyes on you, Savoie. The more I struggled, the tighter I got tangled. I’ve absolutely no desire to be free of them anymore.”

  “Good.”

  He nuzzled her neck, sending tremors racing to her toes. She leaned against him, head cradled on his shoulder. Her back arched as his hands slipped lower, molding the firm swell of her breasts within his palms until the anticipation he’d begun with his mating dance inside the club was killing her. This was Max, her mate and Cee Cee could find no fault in what they were doing or with where the mood might take them.

  “Can we adjourn this to more comfortable surroundings?” came her slightly breathless request.

  “Absolutely.”

  Max simply scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the big bedroom.

  He sat her on the edge of the bed where she watched, an enraptured audience of one, as he unhurriedly stripped out of his clothes, piece by taunting piece. Revealing all she desired, starting with the strong line of his throat and sexy jut and hollows of his collar bone by ripping off his tie. The crisp mat of his chest with each freed button, down to the mouth-watering cut of abdominals. The glorious swell of powerful shoulders. Arms that could break a man in half or hold so gently. An impatient contour pushed to escape the lowering of his zipper.

  Skin suddenly unbearably hot and prickly, Cee Cee’s mouth went dry with expectation. She wet her lips with a quick flick of her tongue, eager to put both to better use. But first there were barriers to move out of the way.

  “I spoke to Susanna.”

  Max paused, pants dropping about his ankles. Her sultry gaze riveted to their descent along long, sleek legs. “Did you?” He proceeded to step out of them to stand underwear model gorgeous in just his strained-to-the-limit briefs. “Did you have a fruitful talk?”

  “Yes. Very informative.” She fidgeted, abruptly uneasy as she gestured to the mattress behind her. “Will this be awkward . . . considering?”

  He smiled slightly, taking her meaning. Would they have uninvited company? He shook his head. “We’re very much alone. Would you rather wait?” His eyes gleamed in the semi-darkness.

  Cee Cee reached out to catch the waistband of his briefs and, in answer, slid them off his hips.

  Naked, Max Savoie was all stunning male. Her male.

  She stood, going toe to toe with him. Her palms charted tempting territory from taut middle to the sweeping spread of his pectorals. A heart-jerking trip that left her trembling. Her hands capped his shoulders and then the back of his dark head. Drawing him down to taste her hunger in their kiss.

  She was undressed to the waist by the time their lips parted. His lowered, mouth scorching over her breasts, leaving trails of damp heat. Her fingers clenched in his hair as he seized a turgid nipple and began an urgent suckling. Intense sensations clutched at her core. Her legs shook so badly she had to sit down. Max always did that to her. Before she could recover her fractured breathing, her leggings were gone.

  “Shall we finish our dance?”

  Cee Cee’s knees fell open in invitation and Max w
as on his between them. Her head fell back, her body arched. A low moan escaped her throat, the sound so wanton Max feared he might immediately spend in response. His fingertips spread and stroked her. The fragrance of her arousal rose with that of her dusky perfume, weaving about his senses, too strong to be ignored. Need to taste warred with desperation to take.

  Hunger overcoming the pounding to the point of pain in his shaft, Max dipped down so his tongue could stroke along her slippery folds then plunge deep. He growled his pleasure.

  Mine. All mine.

  Unsteady hands fisted in his hair. Her breathy cries grew short and fast until his devouring fervor sent her keening over the edge.

  “Max! Oh! Oh, baby!”

  The image of her in Cale Terriot’s embrace flashed unbidden like the threatening jab of a fist. Just the whisper of the other male’s scent fueled a possessive fury. Max might roar about his claim for all to hear, might believe it true until it burned like madness through his brain, but she wasn’t his, not in the primal way of their kind, at least not as he was now. The need to change that boiled through his veins and howled in his soul.

  Max rose over her, driving her orgasm higher by plunging inside her wet heat, matching her frantic spasms with his own violent rhythm until his eyes flamed an eerie blue.

  His intention, his need, burned fierce and hot in that primal stare, restrained only by fear of her rejection. Cee Cee shattered his hesitation by arching against him, her own gaze eager and unafraid. Her voice panted with raw urgency.

  “I’m yours, Savoie. I always have been. Take me, claim me. Know again in your heart and mind that we’re one in all things.”

  She didn’t close her eyes or look away as the change came over him. She embraced it, with the clench of her hands, the upward thrust of her hips, the savage pleasure in her smile as he became that more she’d always suspected lay behind the suits and impassive stare. Something wild, something dark, something huge and powerful others found monstrous. She’d looked beyond the frightening visage to the man within, drawn, compelled, completed by the bottomless devotion that burned there. For her. Only for her.

  He’d completely turned, his features warped by the beast that prowled within, unrestrained now in his single-minded passion to have her.