Hunter's Moon.htm (7 page)

"He said he was sorry but he just wasn't attracted to me anymore. It was understandable, of course." Her voice trembled. There was a sing-song quality to it as though she'd repeated the justifications over and over, trying to believe. "Given the choice, why would he pick me over her? I'm just absolutely insignificant. She's breezy and funny and gorgeous. But it still hurts that he would believe Mom's lies."

No. I stood and walked up behind her.

"I'll never be anyone that a man lusts after. I know that." She took a deep, quavering breath. "But every time I see him, the few times I can't avoid it, he feels so guilty that he has to remind me. He apologizes and then says he hopes that we can be friends."

She picked up her glass again just as I stopped behind her. This close, I could hear the catch in her voice.

She raised the glass to her lips once more. "I always wonder— if I had been prettier, would he be married to me instead? I'm rich now. I could have plastic surgery." She turned and found me standing there nearly touching. There was pain in her face that didn't need to be there.

I met her eyes and said softly, "I think you're just fine." She didn't speak but just looked at me.

I breathed in the tang of fear's hot and sour soup. The smell made my jaw tighten. It rolled over the summer forest of her own smell and the musky hot scent of desire. This time, the wolf inside wanted something that was against my better judgment. I needed to taste her. I took the drink out of her hand and set it on the bar. Then I leaned forward and braced one hand on either side of her on the bar to brush my lips to hers. Her lips were supple and her breath had a hint of vanilla.

Dear God! The sensation that passed through me as our lips met was incredible. Heat flowed between our mouths and thrills of electricity spread along the skin of my face; then across my scalp. I felt her rear back in surprise and apprehension. The power of the first meager brush of lips raised every hair on the back of my neck. A brilliant flash awakened each nerve along my spine until I shivered. Oh, I wanted more of this! I wanted to reach for her and pull her against me until I pulled her inside my skin.

Instead, I leaned into her and opened her mouth with mine. My jaw worked slowly against hers. The kiss was soft and gentle until I pressed my body forward and pushed her against the bar. Tingles slid up and down my body, centering in my groin, until I could barely think. My tongue slid into her mouth to tease hers. After a pause she kissed me back. I don't think she could help it any more than I could.

When she gave in, it was complete. She wrapped her arms around me and slid them up my back. I moved one arm around her shoulders and tightened it. The other hand stayed on the bar for balance. I hardly remembered doing it. I felt her heart flutter where our chests touched. I could feel the hard press of her nipples through my shirt. I wanted to lie her down on the floor, tear off her clothes, and run my hands over her; taste every inch of her skin. But I knew better than to push. She accepted this, needed it— but too much and she'd run.

I ended the kiss as gently as it began, and when I moved away, I put the drink back in her hand. Damn! I walked back to the sofa, my knees unsteady. My heart raced like I'd been running. My lungs were heaving almost painfully for air. I checked the thermostat on my way back to allow me to collect myself. I'd never felt like that from just a kiss. I let out a slow breath and closed my eyes. I felt hot but it was probably just the heat of attraction. Because I was attracted to her.

Bad plan, Tony. Then again, what was one more risk?

Chapter 6

I fought to get my voice back. I cleared my throat. "Why do you think your mom had anything to do with your man leaving?" My voice was still a little shakier than I liked.

She walked to the window and looked out over the city. I followed her with my eyes and watched her stare at the setting sun. It would be time to turn on the lamp soon.

"Robert knew Becky the whole time we were together. He said he thought she was annoying. I found out things Mom said one time when he was a little tipsy at a Christmas party. It was after he and Becky were married. He wondered why I had never told him I thought he was boring and why I told Mom that he'd be better suited to Becky. She apparently told him that I thought they were both superficial and egotistical." She laughed harshly. "I never said any of those things. I never talked about Robert with my mom. But he wouldn't believe it. After all, why would my mother lie? That's when I knew. That's when it became crystal clear." She glanced back at me over her shoulder, then returned to staring out the window.

"The rest of the family is all the same. My other sister, Mitzi, brings her dogs over and just leaves them at my door."

"Mitzi, Becky and Suzi?" I shook my head in amazement. "Well, at least Becky is semi-normal."

"Sure," she replied sarcastically. "If they would have spelled like sane people. But it's B-e-k-k-i."

I rolled my eyes. God save me from cutesy parents! Mind you, I've heard worse. I knew a Candy Sweet in school and once worked with Jett Black. She had a brother— Cole. Sad. Truly sad.

"Some days I walk outside and there they are. But at least the dogs are always glad to see me and they keep the geese away."

I smiled. "Geese?"

"I used to like geese. They're so pretty in the air." She wrinkled her nose. "On the ground, they're disgusting. Apparently, the previous owners of my house encouraged a whole flock to live by the swimming pool. Built boxes and stuff for nests. Now I can't get rid of them."

I stifled a smile. "Let me guess. It's not the geese's fault that they were invited in the first place, and you can't just kill them." Again that sense of noblesse oblige. This quirk of hers seemed to be the root of all of her problems.

Her smile shone brilliant in the window's reflection. "Exactly. But Mom doesn't like them either, so sometimes I can hide from her outside. She's afraid of them." She paused as she gazed out, shifting restlessly to one side. "The sky is pretty tonight. You can see the full moon while the clouds are still colored."

I looked beyond her and saw the pale, almost full moon rising in a blood red sky. My heart started pounding uncontrollably. I must have screwed up my calendar when the watch broke. Did it really take me three days to get out of Atlantic City? No wonder Max was confused when I asked to have the suite tonight. I already had it!

I had to get her out of here. Already I felt hot, the unnatural heat of the change. It might be too late already. I bit off a curse but my voice was harsh. "You have to leave. Get your things and go! Now!!"

She turned back to me, startled. "What? Why?" Smells, emotions, eddied over me. The thick tang of fear spiked with the even sharper smell of worry. Too much, too much—

I grabbed her jacket and threw it at her. One of my legs gave out and started to spasm. "Go! Get the hell out now, or you'll die tonight, instead of a year from now."

My vision started to go. Flashes of black and white flowed back to color with a red haze bleeding into everything. Still she stood there gaping at me, as if unable to understand what was happening. She would understand in a minute. Too well. I'm sorry, I thought and staggered toward the bedroom. Give her… a chance—

I got the door shut before I totally collapsed, nearly screaming with the pain of the transformation. Even through the soundproofing I heard her pounding at the door, asking if I was okay. "Get out!" I screamed but she couldn't hear.

I threw the lock and then the change had me.

Chapter 7

I woke up sprawled across the bed. It hurt to move-but then, it always did after. Human limbs don't willingly bend into the shape of a dog.

I stood and stretched. As always, I was naked. I don't know how I get my clothes off. Don't remember. It was odd that I hadn't destroyed the room. I had on other occasions. That and the fact that I wasn't hungry had me worried. I didn't want to go out into the main room. I suspected there was a chewed up millionairess out there and I wasn't looking forward to cleaning it up. My gut turned taut and hollow. For being a part of my life for such a short time she was already leaving a large dent. Damn it!

I walked to the closet and retrieved underwear, a T-shirt, and a pair of shorts from a secret drawer that only me and the owner knew about. The few items are all that would fit in the space but are enough for me to be decent in public. I put on the underwear but not the rest. I needed to take a shower. Makes me feel human again. I twisted the doorknob but stopped short. I really didn't want to go out there. I've seen what I've done to a human being in the past. Only once but it was enough.

I grabbed my gun from the dresser, took a deep breath, and quickly opened the door. Light shone in from the open drapes, highlighting surfaces and creating shadows on the clean floor. No bloody body. The coil of nerves inside my gut released slightly and I let out a slow breath.

A sound caught my ear suddenly. I wasn't alone.

The tumult of running water came from the direction of the bathroom. I moved quietly toward the door. Warm steam, fragrant with eucalyptus and cloves, curled under the closed door and licked at my bare legs. The aroma overpowered the scent of the person inside even when I concentrated.

I counted silently in my head as I flipped off the safety. When I reached three I raised up my foot and kicked in the door.

The flimsy lock gave way immediately and the broken door bounced against the wall with a bang. A shriek came from inside the room. I moved through the doorway, crouched low, gun leading me.

Sue raised frightened eyes over the lip of the marble tub. My head reeled from the sultry combination of her forest scent, the sudden piquance of her fear, and the bath oil hanging thick and strong. When she sat up I got a clear view of her body to the waist, adding visual stimuli to my already aroused body. I couldn't stop a wolfish smile.

She suddenly realized that she was naked and blushed furiously. She quickly grabbed a royal blue towel to pull around her. The towel sank heavily into the hot water and darkened to nearly black. The cloth enhanced her curves and made her eyes seem a much more vivid green. Nice.

"You're back," she said.

Well, that certainly made me nervous. "Have I been anywhere?"

I'm what Babs calls "A three-day dog". That's the day before a full moon, the full, and the day after. I'm not sure how much time I spend human when night arrives. I don't remember the stuff I do when I'm in wolf form. It's not like 1 have human thoughts. Since I can't control the change and don't remember it, I lock myself away for the whole three days, even though I'm human for part of it.

She seemed comfortable suddenly. Spiced citrus and baking bread rode the steam to my nose. "Physically? No. But mentally? Let's just say you weren't a real great conversationalist. On the plus side, you listen well that way and that is what I was paying you for." She gave me a short grin that showed her amusement.

I didn't know how to respond to her. She was happy?

Comfortable? "What happened?" I asked. I needed to know how she survived.

She looked surprised. "You don't remember? Really?"

That was none of her business. "Just tell me your version."

She leaned back in the tub, keeping the towel in place as she moved. She was absolutely sober now and looked more in control of herself. I shut the door to keep in the warmth and the incredible scent and set the gun on the sink. She'd never reach it before me if it came to that. I moved further into the spacious room and sat down on the edge of the tub, near her knees, facing her. It made her a little nervous but it was either that or sit on the stool. If I sat there she'd have to twist her head the whole time. She tightened the towel a bit in unconscious response.

"Well, you threw my coat at me and told me to get out."

"Which you didn't do," I admonished.

"You looked like you were in pain and you screamed." Her voice was calm, as though it was sufficient reason.

I gave an annoyed shake of my head. "That room is supposed to be soundproof."

She shrugged. "You screamed before the door shut completely. After that, it was. You wouldn't let me in and I didn't know what to do. So I went downstairs."

The sudden panic of discovery knotted my gut.

"You didn't tell anyone? Tell me that you didn't say anything!"

She gave me a withering look, completely unafraid. "Do I look like a complete idiot? I just asked the concierge—Max?— if there was a separate key for the master bedroom because I had accidentally locked up my jacket. He offered to come up but I told him that you were in a foul mood and it wouldn't be a good idea. You apparently have a reputation. His eyes went real wide and he agreed."

Smart man.

"Anyway, he gave me a master key that I have to give back before I go. He said it would open anything in the room. It does, by the way. I got bored and tried all the locks."

That's why everything smelled like her. "And you got up the nerve to open the bedroom door?"

"I had to. I thought maybe you had a seizure or something."

"Or something," I said wryly.

"It was something, all right. I unlocked the door and there you were, in full glory! Black and white and teeth all over." She looked impressed but not frightened.

"This is supposed to bother you, ya know. It's not a real normal thing."

She shrugged again and the towel slipped. She caught it before it showed anything interesting. When she saw me watching she flushed, sending a burst of desert-like scent into the room. You'd think that was impossible in a steam filled room, but that's what embarrassment smells like.

"It probably would if it was the first time. But I've seen it before."

"What?" I exclaimed. "Me, personally?"

"No. Not you. Someone else. I don't even know his name. Probably never will. I had completely forgotten about it. When I opened the door and saw you sitting on your haunches ripping off the rest of your shirt with your teeth, it reminded me."

"Then what?"