A Killing Moon

by Alexis D Craig

  She murmured something as he spooned up behind her and pulled her back against him with his hand splayed across her belly, her words barely audible even to his wolf’s ears.

  He purred an interrogatory noise into her shoulder as he reveled in the feel of her soft skin against his lips. “I missed that,” he prompted as he reached over and extinguished the light, bathing them in strips of moonlight from the massive windows.

  Cora’s soft voice sliced through the darkness, trembling even as her tone was sure. “You know this isn’t just another op for me, right?”

  And there it was. The admission he didn’t know he’d been waiting for, hoping for. In his wildest fantasies, he would have never imagined that he’d hear those words from her lips voluntarily, and surely not under torture. This was her, giving as much of herself to him as she could in that moment, and he treasured it more than anything else in the whole kingdom. “Good. Because it’s not for me, either.” After tonight, it would never be again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  CORA

  Early mornings were for assholes and suckers, and for the moment, at least until she got some coffee in her, she worried that she was dancing on the edge of matching both of those descriptions. Actually, that wasn’t wholly true, since she awoke, without an alarm, under the warm and comfortable weight of Finn’s arm wrapped around her and his breath on her nape and down her back.

  The day before was kind of a blur, a compilation of hot mess, adventure, and back to hot mess. It seemed the castle was a hotbed for the mess. She did not, however, expect to end the day in Finn’s arms. Again. At this point, she had no choice but to call it what it was, a mutual infatuation that would, in all likelihood, lead to both of them going to jail or the morgue. Obviously, she would work to prevent both those outcomes, but there was no percentage in being unrealistic about it.

  Finn snuffled against her neck, reminding her of a rooting puppy, his lips against the spot just behind her ear that made her shiver and punctuated with still-sleepy snores. She knew she’d need to get up to pee soon, but she put it off for as long as she could in order to remain snuggled up with the prince. She stretched and wiggled, wakefulness flowing through her slowly like chilled honey, and he moved with her, his legs tangling with hers like they were in some sort of dance. It was cute, and endearing, and more than a little obvious that he was more awake than he was letting on by the feel of the stiffness grinding against her ass just enough to be noticeable.

  “Morning,” he growled, his voice rough from disuse. Fuck if that alone didn’t send a bolt of heat through her straight to her core.

  “Hey,” she breathed, snuggling back into the enveloping warmth of his broad chest, fitting her body to his. “This is a helluva way to wake up.”

  “You complaining?”

  “Not in the slightest.” She turned over in his arms, loving the feel of the soft fur on his chest against her nipples and the firmness of his muscles beneath her fingertips. For a guy so gentle, his incredibly chiseled form was an embarrassment of riches and she could not stop touching. The warmth of his skin on hers was positively addictive. “So, what’s on the agenda today?”

  Finn sighed as his hand progressed down her back to grab a handful of her ass possessively before pulling her leg over his hip. Cora snorted in amusement at the new and highly intimate arrangement. The light brush of his fingers up the inside of her thigh left very little to the imagination. “Oh I see.”

  Anything else she might have said died on her lips as he sealed them with his, a deep carnal kiss that left her breathless and confused when her view changed from the door of the room to the ceiling beneath him. “Neat trick,” she huffed, dragging her fingers from his wrists up to his shoulders and slowly back down again.

  He winked. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, gorgeous,” he rasped as he divebombed her neck, covering her delicate skin with kisses and glorious beard burn.

  “Finn! Cora! You decent?” The question was accompanied by the kind of fierce pounding on the door that only came from law enforcement training.

  “Are you fucking kidding—”

  Finn’s hand slapped over her mouth smothered the rest of her indignant yelling as he snarled toward the door. “You better have fucking coffee.”

  There was a pause, a hesitation, followed by a soft sigh. “I have a cart out here with me.”

  Cora’s dark eyes promised murder above his hand. The moment he turned her loose, she was putting three bullets in Vasily and that was all there was to it. If she was feeling charitable, she might let him live. Emphasis on might.

  “No killing before caffeine,” the prince warned her as he gently removed his hand like she might bite him. And she contemplated it out of spite. He moved off her, backing away like he didn’t trust her not to make a mad dash for her pistol and take out his best friend.

  “No promises.” Sweeping from the bed and dragging the sheet draped around her like a toga with a train, she stalked over to the door and threw it wide with a welcoming arm. “By all means, Commander Cockblock. Come on in.”

  Finn snickered behind her, his giggles moving toward the closet and the bathroom. “I’ll be back in a moment. Please keep in mind this room is filled with priceless antiques that would not do well with bloodstains and/or direct impacts.”

  She grunted petulantly as he closed the door behind him, leaving her to turn her full attention to Vasi. “Well?”

  At least he had the good sense to look chagrined as he came through the door bearing food and the all-important life elixir in a bigass box from Starbucks. “My apologies for the early hour, but this couldn’t wait.”

  “I sure as hell hope so,” she grumbled as she set out coffee cups and began attending to their morning ritual. “This is the second time you’ve interrupted our time alone. Next time I’m just going to open with gunfire and sort it out later.” She turned to face him with a delicate porcelain cup and saucer in her hands, making sure to keep her threats short and her smile frightening. “Sugar?”

  The Night Watch Commander blinked a few times, his eyes flicking over her shoulder to the closed bathroom door, but his attention clearly still focused on her. “Yes, please. Two.” As they waited for Finn, he unpacked the bags of breakfast food he’d brought with him and smuggled in under the domes. She appreciated that he was taking her recommendations about the prince’s food seriously until they worked this out.

  “Ah, good. Everyone’s still alive.” Finn emerged from the bathroom dressed, refreshed, in another impeccable suit and waistcoat combo that made her curse Vasi all over again. He smiled brightly, blue eyes shining and making her heart melt as he accepted his coffee cup from her with a kiss. “Thank you, angel.”

  “Angel?” Vasi asked the question on the tip of her tongue as he took a seat at the table. “Wrong color wings for that.”

  Cora smacked him in the arm as she took her own seat. “You talk a lot of shit for a man who expects to live through breakfast.”

  Finn blanched, Vasily snorted in amusement and pushed the cream cheese tub in her direction and all was okay in her world for the moment.

  * * *

  FINN

  As much as he thought he’d prefer his best friend and Cora get along, actually witnessing them agree to some kind of ceasefire was kind of terrifying. She sat perched on her chair attending to her bagel and lox, braids down, looking like a combination of Nefertiti and Juno with the perfectly wrapped sheet that did not at all look like she just rolled out of bed deliciously naked. Her ability to go from rumpled to resplendent was ridiculous.

  Shaking his head, he withdrew from those thoughts as she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “So, what brings you by that couldn’t wait?”

  Still chewing on his bagel, Vasi got some more coffee from the vat. “We had a missing persons case come to our attention.”

  “Those are your purview?” she questioned, skepticism plain in her voice as she chewed and eyeballed him.

  “They
are when they’re palace employees and were last seen in the palace.”

  “Fuck me.” He set his cup down at the same time as Cora all their attention on his best friend.

  “Who was it?” He needed to make sure whoever it was, their family was seen to. Some members of his family didn’t interact with the palace staff in any way other than in a professional capacity. He was not like that. These people took care of him and his family daily, since forever, and the least he could do was to look after theirs.

  “Kitchen steward, Hircine. Young girl, early twenties.” He slid his phone across the table to show them her picture. She was short, with a forest of long, dark brown curly hair, mahogany skin just a bit darker than Cora’s, gray eyes and a sassy smile. In the picture she was wearing shorts, flipflops, and a t-shirt proclaiming ‘Sarcasm: Now Served All Day’. She was the epitome of carefree youth and just seeing her innocence made his heart hurt.

  He swallowed hard. “I’ve seen her, but I don’t know exactly who she is. Do you have any leads?”

  Vasi shook his head and swept his free range bangs behind his ear. Normally he wore it in a bun at the base of his skull, but by this time of day, he’s usually abandoned that pretense. “Not really. It’s still pretty early, though. Driscoll’s leading a team to run down her timeline and relevant encounters, but I don’t have word yet.”

  “Let me know what I can do,” she offered as she put aside her folded napkin and rose from the table. Both men were on their feet in an instant, and she leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I'm gonna go get cleaned up and I'll be back out shortly. Commander.” She nodded as Vasily as she swept from the room to the closet.

  “Cora.”

  Finn watched her leave, the smile on his lips involuntary at best. He definitely enjoyed watching her walk away.

  “So that's new.” Vasi’s tone was light as he poured more coffee, his bright blue eyes dancing as he sipped. “You take ‘sleeping with the enemy’ quite seriously I see.”

  Finn snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think I liked this better when you two weren’t getting along.”

  His best friend just smiled wickedly and raised his cup. “And here I thought I was doing you a solid.”

  Watching the closet for her reemergence, he sighed deeply. “This thing with Cora is complicated. I like it, it works for us, so let’s just leave it there, okay?”

  Vasi’s hum indicated he wasn’t convinced. “Not sure about how well it works but I'll trust you for the moment.”

  Finn sighed. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

  He smirked. “I do what I can.”

  * * *

  CORA

  While waiting for the delivery from D’Antonio’s the night before, Cora had gone to the room assigned to her and collected her belongings. There was no reason to sleep there so long as she and Finn were getting along. Not that she’d planned to seduce him by any means, but she figured it was easier for her to look after him if they were in the same place. This morning as she showered using her face and body washes, she applauded her foresight.

  She’d wanted a minute to reflect on this new situation, the changing parameters of the job, how far it had bled into her personal life. Because this thing between her and Finn? It was pretty damn personal, despite her intentions to the contrary. If this had been any other client, any other protectee, any other person, this wouldn’t even be a question. Finn was worth breaking all the rules, she knew that in her soul. As to how that would affect the case going forward, however… that was the question.

  Her phone beeped, a check in from her handler that she answered as she draped herself in touchably soft cashmere cowl-neck sweater, a houndstooth pencil skirt that clung to every single inch between her waist and her knees, and knee-high black patent leather boots with a convenient-but-subtle knife holster in the top of each. It was her go-to ‘I’ll fuck you up, but I’ll be warm doing it’ attire. Added bonus was it made her tits and ass look incroyable, and for reasons she’d like not to examine too closely, she felt like showing off a bit for the prince.

  She told him that the personality conflicts of the previous day had been resolved, and if she didn’t happen to mention how, that wasn’t her problem. There was no way in hell she was telling him about this recent change in status.

  All appeared well as she emerged from the walk-in closet, refreshed and ready to take on the day. With Brendan’s birthday gala that evening, she needed to go out and make arrangements for her attire. “So, what’s the plan, gentlemen?” she asked as they got to their feet.

  Finn grinned broadly as he wrapped an arm around her waist and buried his nose in her neck for a moment with a pleased hum. “I’m headed into the office to receive my brother’s obscenely large birthday donation to the charity in a televised event I can’t get out of.”

  “I’m headed back to the office to keep working the missing persons case, Xander and Dev are setting up the security detail for the gala tonight.” The hollow shadows under Vasi’s eyes whispered of exhaustion, but the rest of him appeared resolute.

  “Speaking of, I need a dress. I’ll be going into the city to acquire one. Maybe some shoes.”

  “New shoes are the last thing you need,” Vasi snapped, though his playful smile conveyed his teasing intent. “Speaking of, how’s that gonna work?”

  “What, the dress? No idea, I’ll know when I see it.”

  “I meant your face. I can’t imagine Marius LeStrange not recognizing his own daughter.”

  Oh that. “Miss Annie is a solitary member of the Coven home office, skilled in the old ways. Her glamour is topnotch, family-proof. It interferes with the person’s visual interpretation of me. I look… like me, but sexier. Like my fraternal twin or cousin. Just far enough removed that if there are questions, they can be easily dismissed.”

  “I’m not sure my heart can take you looking any sexier,” Finn murmured into her neck as he nipped at her earlobe.

  She shivered at the brush of his beard against her sensitive skin. “I’m sure I’ll find something to bring you back to life. Any requests?”

  Licking his lips, his grin turned downright wicked. “Bright blue and easy to remove.”

  “Oh, I do love how you think,” she purred.

  When she slipped her arms around his neck and snuggled in closer as Finn flagrantly palmed an ass cheek, Vasi was struck with an intense coughing fit. “Alright. Great. So… I’ll have Driscoll and one of the guys drive you to… wherever. Away from here.”

  Cora frowned. Vasi was a damn fine tactician, and absolutely lived up to his billing. His ability to interrupt a romantic moment was going to get him killed if he kept it up. “That’s not necessary. I’m not an invalid.”

  Vasi shrugged at her complaint and set the domes back on the food. “Nope, you’re the prince’s girlfriend, currently living in the palace. You get a security detail. Just how that works.” He pushed the cart to the door, holding it open as they preceded him into the corridor. “Not that I’m really worried. Anyone who kidnapped you would return you right away for being a pain in the ass, but it’s protocol.”

  A part of her wanted to argue, just because dammit, she was neither fragile nor helpless, but Finn apparently sensed it. A finger under her chin, he tipped her face up for a quick kiss, a look of sheer affection and adoration in his baby blues. “For me. Would you do it for me?”

  Cora grimaced, scowling darkly at the request before finally relenting with an exaggerated huff. “For you.”

  “Thank you.” With a quick kiss to the tip of her nose and the sunniest smile she’d ever seen, he stepped away and followed Vasi down the hall. “I’ll see you this afternoon!”

  “The car will meet you downstairs,” the Strigian called over his shoulder.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Watching the two men leave, she shifted mental gears to the dress. She was not shopping for herself, per se, but for the persona. What that would look like was anyone’s guess, but the guess would start at Chanel. Or
Marchesa. Or Valentino.

  Driscoll met her at the front door and handed her into the back of the waiting Range Rover like he did it all day long. He didn’t say much, but she could feel him scrutinizing her every move from his position in the passenger seat. She recognized the Corvid driving as a cousin—first, second, whatever, but fortunately for her, the glamour held nicely, and he didn’t have any probing questions for her.

  “I’m sorry you got stuck on this detail,” she murmured as she stared out the window at the passing scenery. She meant it, too. He’d been up all night and the last thing he needed was to chase after her.

  The vulture’s head popped up like her words had woken him from an unintentional nap. “I don’t mind, just a little tired.” His head dipped again like the snooze had caught up with him. Shaking it off, he shifted in his seat and rolled his shoulders. “We’ll hit a Starbucks inside if that’s alright with you, ma’am.”

  “Of course. And you can call me Cora.”

  The vulture’s toothy grin was infectious. “Even if you weren’t the prince’s paramour, you’re still a superior officer. So, if it’s all the same to you, ma’am…” he trailed off as they pulled up in front of Bergdorf Goodman.

  “I’m retired, but fine,” she grumbled as he handed her out of the car. “But I’m buying your coffee.”

  He snorted and held the door for her. “No arguments there, ma’am.”

  “‘Paramore’? Seriously?”

  The afternoon went quickly from there, three cups of coffee, two scones, three pairs of Louboutins, and one show-stopping Chanel dress that was going to require tape and an engineering degree later. Driscoll was a sweet kid, from Oklahoma, more siblings than she had and parents that still loved him. By the time he’d deposited her back at Finn’s suite, they were almost buddies.