Before the Moon Rises

by Catherine Bybee

  She removed her eyes from the road and glanced his way. “You’re brave to allow a virtual stranger to drive her.”

  “You took a chance and drove me home. I’d say you’re the one with guts. This is only a car.”

  Janet nodded and murmured her agreement.

  Max noticed the street sign. They were a long way from his house. “Where are we going?”

  “My place, to pick up a few things. I have some errands to run before I head home.”

  “Ah huh.” Max smiled, and turned his attention to the road again. “It won’t hurt to show off a Ferrari to your neighbors.”

  She shot him a surprised look, and then laughed. “They wouldn’t believe me if I told them.”

  Janet let out a sigh when she turned the corner. The mountains downsized to hills as they drove. In spring that meant wildflowers. “Look at that.” She pointed to a hillside covered in poppies. “Mind if we stop?”

  “Not at all.”

  The road widened out, and Janet pulled off and into a vista view point.

  They hopped out of the car and walked over to the rail. Max watched her stretch her arms over her head. She stifled a yawn, but he could see the night catching up with her.

  “You don’t see that everyday.” She leaned over the rail, her tight jeans kept his attention much more than the flowers.

  “No, you don’t.”

  She turned around and peeled the sunglasses off her face. Her smirk told him she knew he wasn’t talking about the view of the hills.

  With her eyes glued to his, Max moved closer and stepped into her personal space. Janet’s gaze moved to his lips, she sucked in a small breath.

  Max placed one hand to each side of her, boxing her in. Brave, she didn’t move away. His breath mingled with hers, he spoke against her lips in a whisper. “Your mouth is so full, so moist. It screams to be kissed.”

  Her tongue darted out. Her teeth caught it before it disappeared inside. The thought of her catching something else in those teeth made his blood boil. She lifted her chin in invitation. Max wasn’t about to ask twice.

  He lowered his lips to hers. Sweet with a small taste of spice. Her lips were pliable, a gentle nudge, and they opened for his tongue to explore. He kept his hands on the rail and pushed his body against hers.

  Static electricity surged through him, more than that, his body heated, shuddered. Her scent filled his mind. He pulled back in disbelief. His family told him long ago that when he found his soul mate the effect of only a kiss would knock him back.

  Dear God, that was exactly what her kiss had done. He let out a deep groan and crushed his lips back to hers. Her hands lifted to his chest and fanned out in his hair and on his neck. Her breasts strained against him, his arms wound around her and gathered her close.

  Moment by moment he felt her essence fill his head, burning into his system. Burning into his life.

  A car came around the corner. The driver hit the horn while a passenger yelled out the window, “Get a room!”

  She drew back. His lips no longer stuck to hers, but their bodies still pressed together. Her breasts pushed against his hard torso with the rapid rise and fall of her chest.

  “We should go,” Janet suggested.

  Reluctantly, Max stepped back but kept her hand in his on the short walk to the car.

  ****

  They both kept their thoughts to themselves on the drive to her house. Max searched for a reason for her to stay within arms’ reach. If nothing else, he would count on seduction as a tool. He didn’t like the dishonesty of it, especially on someone he knew he would have a future with, but he had little choice.

  Gorman sized her up at the hospital. He would come after her, and Max had a whole new set of reason’s to keep her safe.

  His thoughts turned to her kiss. Her body melting into his floated in his mind. He glanced her way through lowered lids and darkened sunglasses. Her blonde hair glistened in the sun. Her hands stroked the wheel of his car. She held such sex appeal, he could hardly wait to explore more than her lips.

  Janet drove into a small driveway of a bungalow-style house in the hills of Sunland. “I’ll only be a minute.” She tossed him the keys after turning off the ignition. “I’m starting to hit a wall, you should drive back.”

  He walked her to the door, hand in hand. “Quiet neighborhood.”

  “Yeah, this part is. Over a few blocks is a little noisy.”

  They climbed the steps together and then Max smelled him and stopped.

  He pushed her behind him, and reached for the small revolver he had on a leg holster.

  Janet’s eyes widened, words choked in the back of her throat.

  All she could do was stare at his gun.

  “Stay behind me,” he whispered in a deadly voice.

  “What is it?” She kept her voice low as he did.

  “Shhh.”

  Slowly, Max pushed the front door open. To her dismay, it gave under a gentle push. She never forgot to lock the door when she left home.

  Her skin started to prickle. Max crouched and seemed to sniff the air. He tossed his sunglasses to the porch and Janet watched his eyes literally swirl. The deep blue, which had mesmerized her earlier before he kissed her, turned to a deathly grey. She blinked twice. How did he do that with his eyes?

  When the door opened wider, Max stood tall, keeping the gun in front of him while he entered the house.

  Janet let out a gasp. Inside had been ransacked. Her couch lay upside down, her lamps thrown to the ground and broken. Every drawer yawned open, their contents dumped.

  Tears stung her eyes, her back teeth ground together. Janet stood frozen in place, while Max moved forward to search the rest of house.

  Her first thought was someone had robbed her, invaded her space and peace of mind and stole what wasn’t theirs to take. She wandered around setting things to rights on impulse. Her television was still in place. Her CD’s spread all around.

  Janet scanned the room. Everything was there, only torn and broken. Panicked, she ran to her bedroom, and found clothes strewn everywhere. She lifted the mattress and retrieved a box. “Thank God,” she whispered, crushing it to her chest.

  “What is it?” Max stood in the doorway, his gun placed back in its holster.

  “My jewelry. It’s not much but it’s still here.” It was the only thing she had left of her mother. To Janet the contents of the box were priceless.

  She sat on the edge of the bed and shook her head. “I don’t get it. I don’t see anything missing. Who would do this and not steal anything?”

  Max sat down beside her, he draped his arm over her shoulders. The comforting movement had her shaking, the tears started to flow.

  “It’s okay,” he murmured.

  She buried her head in his shoulder. His hand stroked her hair while he spoke words of comfort.

  As the tears dried up, Janet pulled away. “I should call the police.”

  ****

  Max followed her to the phone, his mind ticked off the facts as he knew them. Gorman had been there. Max knew he’d be back. But why had the bastard trashed her place? It wasn’t his MO.

  Janet picked up her phone, but before dialing, she played her messages.

  Max was surprised to hear her voice come over the player. The message to herself made him smile despite the severity of the situation.

  She avoided his eyes. “I didn’t know if you were a serial murderer.”

  “You’re very resourceful.”

  “Hey, baby girl…” the male voice boomed into the recorder.

  “My dad,” Janet explained.

  “I’m going out of town for a few days. There’s a car show in Vegas I’m going to check out. Be a good girl and watch Cat for me. Oh, and water your mom’s roses, too. Love you.”

  “Your dad’s cat is named Cat?”

  A little lift of her lips made him happy he asked.

  “What self-respecting bachelor owns a cat? She showed up one day and he didn’t have
the heart to take her to the pound. He tries to pretend she isn’t his.”

  Janet’s smile fell. Max watched her stare at the machine. “What’s wrong?” he asked her.

  “The light wasn’t blinking.”

  “What?”

  “The light blinks to let me know there are new messages, it wasn’t blinking.” She turned to him and grabbed his arm. “Someone listened to my messages. Why?”

  Max bit back a curse. “Call the police, Janet.”

  ****

  Within a couple of hours, the police filled out their report. They took pictures, but without any stolen merchandise, all the police could charge the intruder with was breaking and entering.

  “Miss O’Brien, do you have any enemies who would do this?”

  “No. No one.”

  The officers exchanged glances. “Whoever did this wasn’t after financial gain.”

  “That’s obvious, since they didn’t take anything,” Janet said.

  “What we have to assume is the perp was after you.”

  “Me?” Janet almost screamed the word. “Why me?”

  The police officers didn’t answer, instead they asked, “Is there somewhere you can stay for a few days while we run our investigation?”

  “I could stay with my dad.”

  The cop doing most of the talking put away his notepad and pen. “Good. It wouldn’t be wise for you to be alone until we know more about who did this, and why.”

  Janet shook her tired head. “My dad is out of town.”

  The officers exchanged an uncomfortable look.

  “Miss O’Brien will be staying with me.”

  Max’s statement put her back. “I can’t impose on you.”

  He smiled, his jaw twitched. “It isn’t like I don’t have a spare room.”

  She knew she shouldn’t take him up on the offer, but the thought of being alone had her scared more than she cared to admit. “Are you sure?”

  “I insist.” He squeezed her hand.

  The police started for the door. “Okay then, we’ll get in touch with you tomorrow.”

  “Go pack a bag,” Max told her. “I’ll finish up here.”

  ****

  They arrived at Max’s estate after three. He carried her bag and led her to a room across the hall from his. “You’re exhausted.”

  Janet rubbed her swollen eyes and agreed. “I need a few hours sleep.”

  Max massaged her arms with his hands. The act brought a smile to her face. “Everything you need should be in the bathroom. Do you want something to eat before you turn in?”

  “I couldn’t eat anything now. Can you wake me by six? Otherwise, I won’t sleep tonight. Graveyard has a way of screwing up your sleeping patterns.”

  He knew that from first hand experience. Max didn’t express his thoughts however; instead he agreed to act as her personal alarm clock.

  He left her alone and went to find his brother. They had a lot to do and little time to do it.

  There was only five hours until the moonrise.

  Five hours until he changed.

  Chapter Four

  He found Richard in his office. A monitoring system, like the one in Max’s bedroom dominated the back wall.

  Max waltzed in to find Richard taking aim at the room where Janet was getting dressed for bed. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Richard turned at his voice, then swung back to the monitors. “Surveillance.”

  Max crossed over and hit a button on the wall. A full size bookshelf came down over the monitors hiding all evidence of their existence.

  “She’s not for your eyes.”

  “Someone’s a bit touchy.” Richard took a seat on the large leather couch, crossed an ankle over his knee. “Who is she?”

  Max went to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a drink. “Her name is Janet. She’s our next assignment.”

  Richard’s brow shot up in surprise. “You brought her here?”

  “I didn’t have a choice. Gorman knows I have her. This is the only place to keep her safe.”

  “Does she know about him?”

  Max told Richard about the vandalism on her house and the messages on her machine.

  “Why trash her place? It doesn’t sound like him.”

  “I think it was his way of goading me.”

  Richard sent him a questioning look. He had something to ask but he kept it to himself. Good thing, because Max wasn’t up to answering anything personal.

  “Does she know about you?”

  Max tipped the remainder of bourbon down his throat. He savored the burn. “I just met her, Richard. What do you think? I go around telling everyone I turn into a wolf three nights a month?”

  “She’s going to figure it out pretty damn fast once the sun sets.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” He slammed his glass on the desk. He seldom cursed his affliction. But today he wished he was anything but a werewolf.

  “You should get some rest. It’s been a long night. We wouldn’t want Gorman to catch you sleeping.”

  “He wouldn’t dare try and invade here.”

  “His pack is growing, Max. Ever since we took out their last leader, Gorman is sporting for the top position. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

  Max flopped onto the couch next to his brother, his head tilted back. “It would help if you took the change.”

  Richard put a hand in the air. “We’ve gone over this. Someone needs to cover your ass every month.”

  “I can’t let him get to her.”

  Richard nodded toward the door. “Sexy little thing, I imagine he wants her for a mate.”

  “Over my dead body,” Max’s voice was deadpan, his expression firm.

  “Whoa, wait up. Since when do you take assignments so literally? We try to keep him from turning people. Never do you risk your life for them.”

  “She’s different.”

  Richard rolled his eyes. “If you say so.”

  “I mean it, Richard. She’s mine, he can’t have her!”

  “Slow down, you just met her, remember?”

  Max leaned forward, debated with how much to tell his brother. “She’s mine.”

  Richard stood. “If you say so.”

  “I say so.”

  Richard had the good sense to change the subject. “How did you end up in the hospital anyway?”

  “I’m not all that sure. During last night’s fight I managed a couple of good bites. I remember feeling lightheaded.”

  “Do you think the other werewolf was on drugs?”

  “Must have been. But, whatever he took filtered out of my system before the hospital managed to draw my blood. According to Janet my tox screen was negative.” Max covered a yawn.

  Richard took the hint and started to leave the room. “Get some sleep. I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

  “Two, don’t let me sleep more than two.”

  Richard waved him off. “Whatever.”

  ****

  Gentle strokes across her forehead woke her from restless dreams. Max stared down at her. His face freshly shaven his clothes changed. He smelled of musk and soap. Clean.

  Janet smiled and rolled on her back. “Hey.”

  “You were out.”

  “What time is it?” She stretched her arms to the side. The blankets fell to her waist exposing a simple sleeveless nightgown that revealed more than it covered. She caught him staring at her chest.

  “Six, like you asked.” He forced his eyes to hers.

  “Did you sleep?” To her disappointment, he stood from the bed to put distance between them.

  “A little. I have to work in a couple hours.”

  The thought of him leaving her alone in his home unsettled her.

  As if sensing her concern he added, “I’ve asked my brother to stay with you. And James is always here. You have nothing to fear.”

  “What do you do?”

  He turned away. “I own a security management firm, tonight I have to
run surveillance for a client.”

  Knowing nothing about what he spoke of, Janet didn’t question him. “When are you leaving?”

  He checked his watch. “In about an hour.”

  Janet tossed the blankets back, when she stood her nightgown went to her knees. “I’ll get dressed, make us some dinner.”

  “You cook?”

  His question caught her off guard. “Don’t you?”

  “If you call microwave dinners cooking, then yes.”

  Janet chuckled. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  ****

  Richard was pleasant, even if he kept a watchful eye on her during their brief meal.

  He resembled his brother in appearance, except younger, more innocent around the eyes. He didn’t question why he was asked to stay and watch over her while Max went to work. He seemed to take it as if he did so everyday, which struck Janet as a little odd.

  She wished it were Max staying, instead of his brother. But beggars can’t be choosers, she told herself.

  The sun had begun to sink in vibrant hues when she walked Max out.

  “I’m sorry I have to leave,” he told her.

  “You have to pay the bills, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  His thoughtful expression made her think he worried for her. “I’ll be okay,” she told him.

  “I know. I hate to leave you.” Max gathered her in his arms.

  The thought to pull away never entered Janet’s mind. His eyes were swirling again, in turn her stomach fluttered in anticipation of his touch. “I’ll be here when you get back.” The words a promise, one she didn’t regret.

  She reached up and stroked his face. She caught his smile before he dropped his lips to hers. His tongue explored every corner of her mouth, her body molded to his trying to soak in every detail before he left.

  Her knees went weak. Desire shot through her and had her panting for more. His hands caressed her waist, inched up slowly and settled on her breast. His fingers tugged and sent a spark of lust through her body.

  He whispered in heated desire. “I want to finish this.”

  Against her normal behavior, Janet leaned in and said, “Hurry home.”

  He captured her lips for one last searing kiss before leaving.