Moon Kissed (10 page)

He rose up on his hands, his hips jerking faster. His bright blue eyes shifted to her. She was drowning in her climax and his eyes when they flashed yellow right before he threw back his head and shouted her name.

Her body was still pulsing with the orgasm when he pulled out of her. Seeing his cock wet with her pleasure and his seed made her realize they hadn’t used any protection.

Myles fell to his back and reached for her. He tucked her against his body, their skin damp from the exertion. “I’ve not lost control like that in...well, ever.”

“Ditto,” she said with a smile. But it soon slipped. “Myles, we didn’t use protection.”

He was silent for a moment before his arm tightened around her. “I was so caught up in you, I didn’t even think about it.”

“Ditto,” she said again.

“I’m sorry.”

Addison turned her head to look at him. “It’s just as much my fault. The blame doesn’t rest on your shoulders alone.”

He ran a hand down her hair. “You’re one in a million, Addison Moore. I don’t know what brought you into the bar, but I’m glad it did.”

She looked down at his chest as she thought of that day that had changed her life. “At the time, I thought it was the worst day of my life.”

“Worst?” he asked with a frown. “Why?”

“I had just received a letter telling me I could no longer get financial aid for the fall semester.”

“Get a student loan.”

“I have several, all extremely large amounts, but they don’t cover everything.” She licked her lips and looked into his handsome face. “My mother died when I was four. I don’t remember her at all except for pictures Dad kept for me.”

“And your father?”

“A Navy pilot. He died in a training accident out in the Gulf when I was twelve. You know, I’ve never told anyone that,” she said wondering what made Myles so different.

He touched her face gently. “I’m sorry. I know what it’s like.”

“You had your brothers. I didn’t have anyone.”

“There was no family to take you in?” he asked, surprise flickering in his blue eyes.

Addison shifted on her elbow, her arm bracing her head so she could play with his ash blond locks with the other hand. “I lived with my grandmother for two years before she died. My mother’s brother took me in, but then he grew ill. They had three other children, and I knew I was a burden. I went to live with my dad’s only surviving sister. I thought I was so lucky to remain near everyone.”

“Did they mistreat you?”

“They never laid a hand on me. They were...cordial, but I never felt like I was a part of the family. They were very poor, but I didn’t care. I had a house, food, and clothing. We scraped for every penny. I got a job as soon as I could just so I could have lunch money.”

“My God.”

She shrugged. “We weren’t the only poor people, and compared to some, we were doing well.”

“How long did you stay with them?”

“Until I graduated. Unbeknownst to them, I opened a bank account and was putting my money there. I had enough to cover an apartment, but not nearly enough for a semester of college. I took a little over a year saving every penny I could. Once I had enough money, I registered at Tulane and found a roommate.”

Myles put his other arm under his head. “This sounds like the start of a happy ending.”

“It should’ve been.” It was supposed to have been. Addison swallowed and dropped her hand from his hair to rest on his chest. “I was able to get grants as well as student loans, but even all of that didn’t cover everything. It took me working two jobs to get by, and that cut into how many classes I was able to take.”

“Which extended when you should’ve gotten your degree,” Myles guessed.

Addison flashed a grin. “Bingo! I applied for another grant over the summer for the fall semester. The day I came into Gator Bait for the first time I got a letter stating that I wouldn’t be receiving the grant because my family made too much money.”

“Wait, what?” he asked, his brow furrowed deeply. “You just said –”

“I know,” she interrupted him. “That was my thought as well, but the letter went on to explain that the government learned my aunt and uncle were actually part of a money laundering ring years ago.” She laughed lightly. “To think they could’ve paid for some of my college, that I didn’t have to have two or three jobs to make ends meet, that I didn’t have to sell my car infuriates me.”

“It should.”

She fell onto her back and looked at the ceiling. “I didn’t expect a lot from them, but if they had that kind of money, I would have only asked for a little bit of it if I thought they came by it honestly.”

“What now?” Myles asked as he rolled up on his elbow to look at her.

“I’m working and saving money so that I can, hopefully, return to Tulane for the spring semester. I only have a year left.”

“You never said. What are you getting a degree in?”

“Accounting.” At his smile, a burst of laughter left her. “I forgot, you’re an accountant.”

He shrugged, grinning.

“Did you get your degree from Tulane?” she asked.

Myles leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “We missed lunch, and I’m starving. How about you?”

“Yep,” she answered as she watched him jump from the bed and pad naked into the kitchen area. She wondered why he hadn’t wanted to answer her question about his degree.

She forgot about his non-answer as she looked her fill at his splendid body. If she thought he was going to cook, she was sadly mistaken. He got his phone and sent off a text.

“No cooking?” she asked when he turned back to her.

Myles laughed. “I burn everything I attempt to cook. I’m a disaster in the kitchen. It’s so bad, Solomon has banned me from even thinking of cooking at the bar.”

Addison laughed so hard her cheeks began to hurt.
 

“What?” he asked with a big grin. “You find that funny? Didn’t you know there are those of us who can burn water?”

Unable to form words because of the laughter, she held up a hand, begging him to stop.
 

He was suddenly on top of her, his eyes twinkling with joy. “You have an amazing laugh.”

“I’ve not laughed like that in a long time,” she said when she was able.

“You should do it more.”

Addison was about to agree if it meant Myles was there, but the idea of hoping whatever was between them would be long-term was too soon. “You just like to see me laughing so hard I can’t even talk.”

“I like to see you laughing,” he said suddenly turning serious. “I like to see you moaning. I like to see you climaxing.”

Desire, only banked, flamed once again. With just words, he had her melting, aching for his touch. His head lowered, and she parted her lips for his kiss.

Just before their mouths met, something buzzed loudly throughout the room. Myles groaned in frustration and once more climbed off the bed.

He walked to an armoire that looked antique and opened the doors. He pulled on a pair of jeans. “Our food is here. I’m more than happy to see you naked, but if you want something to put on besides your clothes, feel free to dig in here. There are some old sweats.”

Addison remained on the bed until the door slid closed behind him. Then she rose and made a beeline for the armoire. She found the old sweat pants but opted for a pair of cut off sweats that she had to roll several times at the waist so they would remain on.
 

Beneath the cut offs was an old sweatshirt that had the sleeves and neck removed. It wasn’t until she pulled it on that she realized the bottom of the sweatshirt had been cut, as well. The steel door opened and she was only able to glance down at herself before she heard an appreciative whistle.

“Now I know why I saved those,” Myles said.

Addison smiled and faced him. “These look older than you. I’m thinking I shouldn’t be wearing them.”

“I told you to help yourself.” He set the bag of food on the table. “Those were my father’s. When he died, I couldn’t fit into them, so I cut them until I could.”

She knew she shouldn’t have put them on. Addison started to remove them when Myles’s hand wrapped around her wrist. How had he gotten to her so quickly across the large expanse?

“It’s all right,” he said softly. “They look good on you. Besides, they were just collecting dust.”

Addison lowered her gaze to his chest and noticed his scars again. She saw what looked like four slices cutting across his left side. The scars were old, and whoever had stitched it had done a good job. “What happened?”

“You know how crazy Mardi Gras can get. Come on. Let’s eat,” he said and tugged her after him.

Addison was beginning to think there was much more to Myles than he was telling her. Then she recalled how his eyes had flashed yellow.

The same yellow of the wolf that had saved her.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Myles wasn’t surprised when Addison fell asleep midway through the movie she had chosen after they’d finished eating the crawfish etouffee. He carefully lifted her in his arms and brought her to the bed. Myles laid her down and covered her with a sheet. Unable to turn away, he stared at her for several seconds.

Her short champagne blond hair fell against her cheek when she turned her head to the side. Myles gently moved the strands away. Somehow, he’d known making love to Addison would eclipse anyone from his past. And it had.

She was sweet, tender, brave, courageous, beautiful, giving, and trusting. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he also wasn’t ready to tell her who he was. What he was. It wasn’t because he feared she wouldn’t accept it. It was because he was terrified that she would then want nothing to do with him.

Myles ran a hand through his hair and turned on his heel to clean up what was left of their meal. He didn’t take the bar receipts from the previous night out of the bag as he should, but instead, sat on the couch with his laptop.

Addison had told him some of her past, but he wanted to know more details. As difficult as it had been for her to share what she had, he was loath to ask more. So, instead, he went to the Internet.
 

It didn’t take him long to find her father, Colonel James Moore, and the malfunction of his jet during a training exercise. There hadn’t even been a body to recover. His search for Addison’s mother took a bit longer since he didn’t know her first name, but eventually he found where she died from ovarian cancer.

Addison’s aunt and uncle took no time to learn about. The article he read explained how the couple had been under investigation by the FBI for years, but they’d been unable to get any proof until five years ago – when Addison had left.

Fury burned within him. The idiots lived in poverty because they didn’t want to share any of their stolen money with Addison. She worked herself to death just to make a better life, when her family had the means to make it easier for her.

It was a good thing they were already in custody of the FBI because Myles seriously contemplated paying them a visit – in wolf form.

He wasn’t rich, but he and his brothers were comfortable, thanks to the money left to them by their parents. The four of them had invested that money and recouped enough to buy the bar, leaving a little bit extra for each of them. Myles had invested his money once more and returned a much larger profit, which netted him the building. With his tenants, he was bringing in enough that he lived very comfortably.
 

Myles could give some money to Addison, but he knew she wouldn’t take it. She had done everything herself so far, and she wouldn’t stop now. He closed the laptop and set it aside. Then he rose and walked from window to window looking out to see if the wolves from the Moonstone pack had answered Kane’s call.

A guy with dark hair reaching his jaw looked up from his post on the corner across the street and met Myles’s gaze. Kane had the relationship and interaction with the pack outside of New Orleans, but Myles recognized another werewolf when he saw one.

He nodded to the guy who quickly moved into the shadows. Myles found three more wolves stationed around the building. Normally, the LaRues handled whatever cropped up in the city themselves, but they’d learned the hard way that when it came to Delphine, they couldn’t do it alone.

Ever since Delphine had taken over as priestess thirty years earlier, the Quarter had gone to shit. The tentative peace Myles’s parents had instituted between the factions after five long years was destroyed in a single night.

The peace hadn’t been the only thing wrecked. His family had been, as well.

A sigh passed through his lips when he felt Addison’s small hands wrap around him from behind. She rested her head on his back and held him tightly.

“You look as if the weight of the world rests on your shoulders.”

He covered one of her hands with his. “It feels that way at times.”

“Want to talk about it?”

It was never spoken about, and maybe that was the problem. Maybe keeping it inside, letting it fester and rot only made things worse. “You never asked why we hate Delphine so much.”

“There was mention of her cursing Kane.” She shrugged. “I figured that was it.”