Lunar Mates 1: Under Cover of the Moon (7 page)

He reveled in the change as it came over her when she stopped fighting the bond, enjoying her pleasure as if it was his own. Her breath came in gasps, heart pounded, and warmth moved across her skin. Gritting his teeth, he knew he wouldn't last amid the maddening intensity much longer. He reached between them, found her clit and rubbed it in a speed matching his thrusts, each a little harder, a little closer on the heels of the first.

He felt her tighten around him, heard her gasp his name and knew the second she flew apart in his arms. He stroked into her to find his own release.

“Don't leave me,” she murmured when he rolled off her.

He turned her on her side and pulled her back against his chest. Wrapped around her like that, the protective posture filled him with contentedness. Sighing, he brushed her hair from her face and settled a kiss on her temple.

“I won't,” he said, but she was already asleep.

Chapter Six

Bright morning light streamed through the kitchen windows as Darius poured his second cup of tea. Meg was moving around upstairs, and he wondered if he had enough time to go up before his visitors arrived. Hearing the soft tapping on the sliding glass door, he sighed and let Eric and Trey in. At least the nagging suspicion about Trey was allayed after seeing the wolf last night. It wasn't Trey. It wasn't any of his people.

“Tea?” he asked quietly, getting mugs from the cabinet. He waited until they were sitting at the bar, sipping their hot beverages before going on.

“I saw the wolf last night."

“Ow! Damn!” Eric exclaimed, glaring at Darius as he mopped up the spilled tea. “Warn a guy next time, will you?"

“Sorry,” Darius grinned. “Didn't expect my words to have that kind of effect."

Sensing movement on the stairs, he turned to watch Meg enter the kitchen. Blowing a lose strand of hair out of her eyes, she arched a brow in question at the men at the counter. He could almost hear her thinking,
okay, what now
?

“Good morning.” She nodded at them and went straight for the teapot. She sniffed it suspiciously.

“This isn't coffee,” she said.

He laughed. “We don't drink coffee. Well, except Trey here, but he's a little strange even for us.” He arched a brow at Trey, who snorted.

“They can't handle coffee,” Trey said, dismissing them with a wave of his hand. “I, on the other hand, can drink it all day long.” He paused and glared at his mug. “Please make some coffee."

She laughed and filled the coffee maker. When she stepped back to wait for it, Darius pulled her against him. Bending to nip at her neck, he whispered in her ear, “Morning, baby". From the corner of his eye, he caught Eric and Trey exchange a knowing grin. No more trouble on this front, at least.

Keeping his arm around her, he turned and introduced her.

“We were just discussing the wolf."

“Oh goodie. I wouldn't want to miss that,” she said.

Eric laughed, “Just what you need, Darius, a woman who understands the appeal of sarcasm."

She glared. “Go ahead and laugh,” she said darkly. “The wolf isn't stalking you, is it?"

The light mood evaporated in an instant, and the two men turned matching laser blue gazes on her.

“He's stalking you?” Trey asked. His voice was calm and his expression, cold.

The shift was so sudden Darius was reminded that Trey was the deadliest predator among them. He spared a moment of sympathy for the woman who would someday live with him. Meg blinked and took a step back. Trey turned to him when she didn't answer.

“Apparently, he's been watching her,” Darius said grimly. “She thought it was me."

“Only for a minute,” she interrupted. “Not seriously."

“He was here last night,” Darius said, anger a controlled thread in his voice.

“Who is it?” Trey asked.

“I don't know,” he shook his head. “I've never seen him before. We've been hunting him like a wolf, though. I think it's time we start looking for him as a man."

Eric nodded and turned to Trey. “Time for our private investigator to get involved,” he said sardonically. “It's perfectly natural for Darius to hire someone to find whoever's stalking his woman."

“His woman?” she asked, glaring at him.

She poured coffee into the two mugs she'd set on the counter. Trey reached for one, inhaled deeply and smiled. Meg blinked at the transformation on his face.

“I think y'all are living in the wrong century."

He smirked. “Maybe. But we protect our own."

She sputtered in outrage. “I can take care of myself."

Darius grinned. He had been afraid of his reaction with his men around Meg, and was glad to find he was in easy control. He was proud of her. Surrounded by three predators, she wasn't afraid and she wasn't backing down. He could see Eric was impressed with her too, although Trey watched with disapproval. He laughed silently.
Won't it be entertaining when Trey meets his mate?

Standing, Trey nodded at Meg before turning to Darius. “Thanks for the coffee. I'm going to get to work."

“Keep me posted."

Darius walked him to the door and pushed Eric out with him. Smiling, he turned back to Meg. She stood her ground, her arms crossed, her expression mutinous.

“I can take care of myself,” she said.

He nodded. “I know you can. But you don't have to.” He pulled her into his arms, and his heart twisted. She stiffened and he searched for a way to reassure her. “The pack doesn't work if we can't, and don't, depend on each other."

“And I'm part of the pack,” she said, settling into him a little, the tension beginning to ease from her body.

“Yes,” he whispered. “I'm not so good with words, Meg, but I hope you understand you're my life. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."

“Oh,” she said, her voice surprised. Tilting her head back, she smiled up at him. “I think you're not so bad with words."

“I'm improving,” he grunted.

Nodding, she added. “If you break my heart I'll hunt you down and kill you."

His breath caught in his throat, he managed to ask, “So I have your heart?"

She laid her head back against his chest. “You think I'd put up with you otherwise?” She laughed. “There is no sex that good, Darius."

“I don't know.” He put his hands on her butt and pulled her into his erection, “Sex with you is pretty impressive."

Laughing, she pulled out of his arms, the image of a confidant sexy woman. She crossed the room, tugging her shirt off at the bottom of the stairs. With her hand on the rail, she turned and looked sultrily over her shoulder. Smiling, she said, “Don't follow me up if you don't love me back, okay?"

Her feet didn't hit the third stair before she found herself tossed over his shoulder. He didn't have to say the words, but just in case he whispered in her ear as he lay her gently down on the bed.

“I love you back."

She smiled up at him. “I know."

Bio

As a native of the South, is it any wonder Loribelle has a love of story telling? She started writing seriously as a teenager and finished her first manuscript, a mystery, when she was 19. After a few bumps along the way and stints as an Army MP, a waitress, a student, and a wedding photographer, she turned to writing full time. Currently she divides her time between a husband, three kids, writing, and a part time photography gig. Born and raised in Atlanta, she lives in the Wiregrass region of southern Alabama.

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