Children of the Moon: Book Three Read online

  He had removed his shirt and boots and was sitting in front of the fire in just his jeans. She loved to watch the defined muscles on his bronzed back ripple as he moved. There wasn’t a single part of him that wasn't toned to perfection, through training and sheer hard work.

  His hair was shoulder length and the color of toffee, neither brown nor blonde and she had fantasized often about touching it, grabbing it and pulling him toward her and smashing her lips to his. He was actually beautiful to look at, although she knew he would hate that description, it sounded too girly and he was all macho male. His best feature was his eyes for sure, they were as blue as a summer sky with thick dark lashes and were so expressive and she could tell every emotion he was feeling each time he looked at her. He was perfect.

  She felt something stir deep inside her that she had never felt before and she was unsure what to do about it. She wanted him, wanted to feel his hands and lips on her body, caressing and tasting her naked skin. Her arousal erupted deep inside and took her breath away and her feet propelled her forward until she was kneeling behind him, her hands on his shoulders.

  He stilled for a moment and she almost lost her courage. Bravely she skimmed her hands over his sculpted body, feeling, touching him properly for the very first time. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his neck, flicking her tongue out, tasting him and her wolf crowed with pleasure. She pressed her body against his back and wrapped her arms around him and tentatively explored his body. He gasped as her hands skimmed the waist of his jeans.

  She was suddenly on her back and he was above her, caging her between his arms. A dangerous predator, his eyes glowing bright blue with the reflection of the flames from the fire in their depths. His fangs were extended and his face was beaded with tiny droplets of sweat and she knew he was holding back with everything he had. Her breath hitched in her chest.

  She reached up a hand to his face and touched him gently and he closed his eyes as his wolf keened. She fisted his hair and pulled him toward her and when his lips met hers, she was drowning in emotions. Deep down she always knew they would fit together perfectly, she was just terrified of being so vulnerable, so trusting with another person.

  She hated the barrier of cloth between them and Liam pulled the t-shirt over her head with one hand and she basked in the look of awe on his face as he took in her naked body. He stared at her for the longest time before he gently took her nipple into his mouth and with just his tongue, he had her on the brink of her first orgasm not brought on by her own hand. He switched sides and she arched into him as her hands pushed his jeans down past his hips. She needed him naked, to see every inch of him, taste every part of him.

  He sat up and discarded his pants and she stared unashamedly at his naked body, he really was beautiful and she reached for him again. Liam groaned as her hands closed around him and she stroked his hard length instinctively. He was as still as a statue as she touched him and she was overcome with a wave of self-doubt.

  “You need to show me, tell me if I’m doing it wrong,” she blurted out and his eyes flew open and his heart constricted at the vulnerability on her face.

  “You are absolutely perfect, any way you touch me could never be wrong, baby, I am just trying to keep it together because I am so turned on I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold back.”

  “Oh,” she smiled, “Then what are we waiting for.”

  She lay back and he held her hips as she guided him slowly inside her and he treated her like a fragile piece of china. She sighed with pleasure when he was fully seated. He was hers and her wolf growled her agreement. When he began to move slowly inside her, the build-up was sweet and deliberate and she was assaulted by sensations she didn’t know existed. She watched his face as he held back to give her as much pleasure as possible and she reached her peak in moments, calling out his name as she shattered around him and he finally let go with a growl and spilled his seed inside her.

  She had never experienced anything like it in her entire life and she started to cry with relief, they had damaged her, but they hadn’t ruined her. She would replace those awful memories with amazing new ones.

  “Shhhh, baby, it’s okay,” he cradled her in his arms. He knew what she was feeling without being told and she knew without a doubt this man was put on earth to be her lover, her soulmate.

  She wrapped her legs around him and moved beneath him and he swelled inside her. His strokes were harder and stronger and her excitement was extreme. They were perfectly matched in every way and she wanted him without any restrictions, she wasn’t made of glass and she wanted to be his equal.

  “Don’t hold back!” she challenged him and he grinned as he gave the lady everything she asked for. She was a quick learner and Liam was an eager and willing teacher.

  They made it to the bedroom eventually after they did it in every other room in the house including the dining table and in every conceivable way. She liked it rough and she came hard but when he was tender, she cried and when he held her face in his hands as he thrust inside her, she watched his face go through every emotion. She knew there would never be another for her, Liam was her mate, her person and she would spend the rest of her long life with him, bear his children and love him unconditionally.

  When they reached their peak together, she felt his fangs scrape against her skin and she desperately wanted him to bite her but instead he closed his mouth over his fangs and his lips softly traced the area. She screamed his name and they spiraled onto a higher plane as their souls met and she began the first chapter of her brand-new life with him.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Liam

  He would never have predicted in a thousand years how yesterday would turn out and he just wanted to get back home and taste her sweet lips again. How the hell did anyone get anything done when they lusted after another person this much. He was trying desperately not to give anything away but it was almost impossible to concentrate on anything else.

  “Earth to McGuire,” Seann barked and he jumped in his seat.

  “What the fuck is the matter with you, Liam, have you heard a single word I have said. Anyone would think you got laid last night.”

  Liam tried to act normally but Garrett suddenly grinned and the game was up.

  “You did get laid!” Garrett was gleeful.

  “Awe fuck! Then you are no good to me for the next few days. Take Kandis and go to the cabin, come back when you can hear her name without getting a hard-on.” Seann was grinning too, but Liam knew that would be years away, if ever.

  He ducked out before the boss changed his mind and Kandis was mortified when he told her a watered-down version of what happened.

  “Shit, Liam, I will never be able to look them in the face again, that’s so embarrassing!”

  “They both have new mates, it’s not a surprise to them how I feel about you, baby.”

  She rolled her eyes and quickly packed for their trip while Garrett went back to his cabin to throw some clothes in a bag. They had already talked about Kandis moving into his cabin this morning as it was much bigger, even though hers was a lot nicer. Liam lived in a bachelor pad and for the first time, he wished he had cared a little more about what the place looked like. He didn’t want Kandis having to settle for a slob.

  Lachlan’s team had done such a great job on Garrett’s home he picked up the phone and asked Lachlan if he would have someone paint his cabin when he was gone.

  “Does this mean you and my daughter have finally got it together.”

  “Yes, and I want nothing but the best for her, Lachlan, I don’t care what it costs.”

  They spoke for a few minutes and Liam told him to take his cues from his daughter's own cabin, she had made it into a home and he wanted their new home to mirror her taste.

  The older man was chuckling when he hung up the phone and Liam knew he would keep it quiet. It would be nice to surprise her when they came home again.

  He hadn’t taken a proper break from work in years and he cou
ldn’t wait to spend this time with her without all the usual pack interruptions. It’s just the way it was living in a pack and its why mated wolves took every opportunity to get some alone time, that and the fact that they were perpetually horny for each other. The tightening of his pants reminded him that he was now in the club too.

  He threw his bag in the truck and left his cabin door unlocked, as usual. He hoped Lachlan would get it finished before they got home. The sooner she moved into his cabin and his bed the happier he would be. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he pulled up at her front door. He didn’t want her to think it was all about sex, but right this moment, it was all he could think about. Thankfully, the new mountain cabin was much closer than the old one and they would be there in a couple of hours.

  She jumped in the passenger side and leaned over the seat to put her bag in the back. He groaned as her perfect ass stuck up in the air and he had to resist the urge to reach out and squeeze her butt cheeks. What the fuck was wrong with him! He wasn’t a horny teenager, he was a grown man who was having difficulty controlling his basic urges.

  “Let’s go.” she sat down on the seat and clipped her seatbelt on and the impish grin she threw him gave her away.

  He growled.

  “You did that deliberately. Do you know how much I am suffering right now?”

  “Probably just as much as I am.” she smiled and reached a hand over to cup his raging erection.

  He gasped and grabbed her hand.

  “Don’t do that unless you want to give the entire compound an X-rated show.”

  She removed her hand and laughed out loud and despite his discomfort, the sound filled his heart. In all the years he had known her, he had never heard her so carefree, so happy.

  He grabbed her hand and held it tightly as they drove through the compound gates. He couldn’t wait to spend the next few days with her alone and get to know this fun, flirty side of her, it would be bliss.

  They stopped at Bear Falls and stocked up on groceries. Seann had offered to call ahead and have the management company do it for them, but he wanted to do this simple thing with her. Liam filled the cart with steaks, chicken, burgers and a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables and Kandis suppressed a smile and added some beer, wine and chips to the cart. They had enough food to feed an average family for a month, but a shifters appetite was voracious, it would only last them for a week at most.

  They packed everything into the truck and it was only another twenty minutes’ drive on remote mountain tracks to reach the cabin. The nearest cabin to them was only a mile away but as they drove past it didn’t look as if anyone was home. There wasn’t another within a three-mile radius so they would have complete privacy up here. Seann had chosen it for its location mainly, but as they pulled up in front Kandis thought it was charming.

  It was much bigger than the last cabin and had an attached garage and a lean-to wood store that was full to bursting. A roaring log fire in the cold evenings was about as romantic as it got and she would grill some steaks and open a bottle of wine tonight for dinner. She still had a lot to share with her mate, but she didn’t want to spoil the mood just yet, she would tell him everything before they went home, just not yet.

  She slung her backpack over her shoulder and picked up some grocery bags as Liam unlocked the front door. Like the other cabin, both the outside and inside walls were natural wood but this one had a two-story ceiling and there was a mezzanine level jutting out over the dining area to the back of the large room. The kitchen, dining and living room were open plan and there was also a master suite and two other bedrooms with a shared bathroom.

  She dumped the groceries on the granite countertop and took her bag through to the bedroom. She didn’t have a lot to unpack but she opened one of the nightstands and put her t-shirts and underwear inside and hung up her shirts and jeans in the walk-in closet.

  Liam had left his bag on the king-size bed but she wasn’t sure if it was violating his privacy to unpack for him while he brought in the rest of the food so she left it alone and went into the bathroom. It had been refurbished and the double shower was finished with natural stone and glass panels. The double vanities were dark wood with white porcelain sink tops. It was lovely.

  Liam had finished putting the groceries away and she made some coffee while he unpacked his clothes and she suddenly felt a little shy. They already spent a lot of time together but for the next week or so it would be 24/7.

  “Come and see this.” he took her hand and took her out onto the back porch. There was a large free-standing hot tub and the water was already warm, she could feel the heat from the doorway. “I turned it up, it should be warm enough for a dip after dinner.”

  “I didn’t bring a costume.” she smiled.

  “Good, neither did I.” his gaze was intense and her heart somersaulted in her chest. She was a fool for this man.

  There was still so much they didn’t know about each other and Kandis had made up her mind to be completely truthful about the things that happened to her. She hadn’t told another living soul the whole story and she had never intended to but now that they were mated, he needed to know exactly what he was getting into. Her parents knew most of it, as did Imogen and India but the whole truth was something she rarely allowed herself to ponder, never mind tell anyone else.

  She would tell Liam everything on their last day, she knew he would see her differently after she told him. He wouldn’t want to, but he would. She wanted this week of blissful ignorance before the realities of life were forced upon them. Her therapist didn’t even know the whole story but Kandis thought she may have guessed already.

  There was a wooden swing on the front porch and she sat snuggled into his arms as they drank their coffee. The air up here was crisp and clean and Kandis thought the view was breathtaking. They could see right down into the valley through the trees, but the cabin blended well into the mountainside and would be difficult to see all the way up here with the naked eye.

  There was a chill in the air and she wanted to sink into the hot water of the tub with Liam and let more of her inhibitions fly off into the night. She had achieved more to heal her heart and her psyche in the last couple of days that she had with years of therapy. Her therapist was great and she would continue to see her, it wasn’t her fault that Kandis had been holding back the truth and still was to a lesser degree. The truth would possibly set her free, but it would also change how Liam saw her.

  His stomach rumbled and she stood up and held out a hand to him.

  “We better feed you.”

  He stood up and swept her up into his arms and carried her back inside.

  “I thought you would never ask.”

  The fire was roaring in the grate and they lay down, basking in the heat as he peeled off her clothes and took his time with each item, kissing and tasting her as he discarded them. When she was completely naked his blue eyes burned with desire and their glow was ethereal. His fangs were punched out over his lip and she closed her eyes and gave in to the sensations rippling through her body.

  They made love slowly and gently, he always seemed to sense just what she needed and she snuggled contentedly into his beautiful naked body afterward and drifted off into a dreamless sleep. She felt safe and secure, a feeling that had been missing from her life for such a long time.

  The smell of grilled steak tickled her senses and she stretched out on the rug as she woke. Liam had covered her with the blanket from the sofa. She hadn’t felt him move but she was appreciative of the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen. She was starving.

  She pulled his t-shirt over her head which came down to her thighs and padded into the kitchen to see what he was doing.

  “Hello beautiful.” he pulled her close for a kiss and she melted into his arms.

  “Can I help?”

  “All ready, I was just about to wake you.

  The table was set and there he placed a bowl of fries beside the salad and bread. She washed her han
ds at the kitchen sink and took a chair just as he brought two plates with sizzling steaks and put one in front of her.

  “This smells awesome.” she inhaled and tucked in. Her steak was cooked perfectly, medium-rare, just as she liked it and she knew Liam had remembered her preference. He liked his rare, it was a little too much blood for her liking, but she loved to watch him eat. Wolves had enormous appetites and she was no different. She trained hard each day which meant even more calories were needed to keep her body in peak condition.

  They spoke about the pack and her parents and Liam admitted he had clued her father in about them already, but she didn’t mind. They would just be happy that she was happy at long last. She didn’t know anything about Liam’s family, he never mentioned them and she knew he would tell her about them when he was ready.

  She leaned back with a groan. The steak was so huge she didn’t have room for any dessert, but she took a cup of coffee from him and she was more than happy to strip off and sink into the warmth of the hot tub with him. She placed her cup on the side of the tub and sat down beside him but he pulled her onto his lap and she sank down between his legs and leaned against his chest. As the darkness descended, they could see a part of the valley from here and the distant lights of the town on the horizon.

  “I can see lights through the trees, just there,” she said raising her hand and indicating and he squinted his eyes to follow where she pointed.

  “That’s the cabin we passed on the way up here, I guess it’s not empty after all.” he tightened his hold and his hands circled her waist. She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning back on him as his lips pressed against her neck.

  “I could stay here forever with you, Liam.” she sighed, “A few days won’t be nearly enough.”

  “We have the rest of our very long lives, Baby,” he trailed kisses down her neck.