Children of the Moon: Book Six Read online

  He ducked out the door and went into her tiny kitchen to find some food before he got drawn into a conversation about where they were heading. He needed to talk to her about it for sure, but not on an empty stomach.

  He found some eggs to scramble and a waffle iron in one of the drawers. He was a decent cook, living alone for as many years as he had it was out of necessity rather than a desire to be the next Gordon Ramsay. He mixed up waffle batter and made a pot of coffee while he contemplated what he was going to say to her. It should have been said before last night but they had gotten a little carried away and he hoped she wouldn’t be too angry when he explained that he didn’t want the shifters equivalent of a white picket fence and two point four kids. It wouldn’t be the first time he had something launched at his head or had his face slapped hard but he was usually very clear on his intentions before he got a woman into bed. He generally had a little more self-control but there was just something about Summer.

  He put the food on the table just as she came into the room. She was wrapped in a baby blue robe that reached to the floor and her hair hung down her back in a long braid. Even scrubbed free of makeup she was enchanting and Connor had to take a seat to hide his obvious approval. He wondered if she was completely naked beneath the soft blue fabric and his fingers itched to smooth his hand over her flawless skin.

  She sat across the table from him and poured herself a large cup of coffee and took a sip.

  “The bath was very thoughtful, but you do know that I’m a witch, Connor. There aren’t many ailments that I haven’t crafted a potion for,” she said with a smile. “I also have shifter genes and although I can’t shift, I am strong and fast and heal better than other humans, kind of like the best of both worlds.”

  “Eat up,” he commanded.

  He raised an eyebrow as she reached over and forked a single waffle onto her plate and added a spoonful of eggs.

  “I have shifter genes but not the huge appetite or the ability to metabolize enormous amounts of food into energy. I would burst if I ate that.” she gestured toward the tower of waffles balanced precariously on his plate.

  They ate in silence for a while and he felt her eyes dart to him once or twice and knew he just needed to rip the band aid off in one tug. He contemplated chickening out but that wasn’t fair to her so he waited until she pushed her plate away before he brought up the elephant in the room.

  “Last night was amazing, Summer. I don’t want it to be a one-night thing and I think you feel the same way, but ...”

  She watched him warily and he saw her shoulders stiffen and her chin lift in defiance of what was about to come out of his mouth.

  “A funny thing, the word ‘but’,” she smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “It really means forget everything I just said before the ‘but’ part.”

  “No, it’s not like that at all. I think you are amazing and I want to keep seeing you. I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me, Summer. I am not like Garrett or Lukas or any of the rest of them. I don’t see myself with a houseful of kids and a dog. I’m just trying to be honest so that you don’t have expectations that I can’t possibly meet.”

  Summer stood up and faced him and he saw raw emotion mixed with anger in her beautiful violet eyes.

  “What a huge hit you have for yourself Connor Adair, it must bring you joy just to look in the mirror each day. I have no expectations from you or any other damn man, I learned that lesson a very long time ago. But rest assured, I am not going to pine away with a broken heart because you have commitment issues buddy.”

  “No, Summer, that’s not what I meant at all, I am just trying to be honest.” His own anger was growing and she wasn’t giving him a fair hearing. This wasn’t going how he wanted it to, not at all.

  “I heard you loud and clear. You would still like to sleep in my bed and eat at my table, but you don’t want any kind of commitment and when someone better comes along you can bed hop to hers without feeling guilty at all, because hey, you were honest with me.”

  “That’s not even close to what I just said,” he yelled as she walked over to the door and threw it open.

  “I think you should go now, Connor. Don’t feel too badly,” she snarked. “I always have other wolves offering to warm my bed, I won’t be too lonely without you in it.”

  His hand snaked out and grabbed the front of her robe, bunching it in his huge hand and he lifted her as if she weighed nothing. She gasped as he pushed her back against the wall, her feet dangling freely before he realized what he was doing. His eyes were blazing fury and his fangs were descending and he wanted to sink them into her neck before she could fire off any more sarcastic barbs toward him.

  She wasn’t afraid of him at all, he could see it in her eyes, but she was hurt and he was thoroughly ashamed of his behavior, what the hell was wrong with him and why was he acting like a possessive asshole. He had just told her he couldn’t give her more than a mutually beneficial affair and he was behaving like a foot-stamping, jealous child when she mentioned another man in her bed. No wonder she was throwing him out on his ass.

  He set her back on her feet and stalked to the door without looking at her again. Guilt never played a big part in his life and he hated how it made him feel now.

  “I’m so sorry, Summer, that was completely unforgivable.”

  He closed the door behind him and stripped off as he ran, shifting mid-air and running as fast as four legs would carry him. He ran for miles until he felt his wolf settle down again and he trotted back toward her cabin to retrieve his clothes.

  He knew it was cowardly of him, but he was glad there was no sign of her or her car and his clothes were folded and were sitting on the porch chair. It would have served him right if she had burned them.

  He dressed quickly and jumped into his car before she came home again and he changed his mind about everything he had lived by for the last three decades. The very last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but it was inevitable if he kept seeing her. She was an all or nothing kind of girl, despite her protests to the contrary and a clean break would be the best thing under the circumstances. He should never have expected someone like Summer to be satisfied with less than the whole package and he felt like a heel for pursuing her and climbing into her bed.

  It was obvious who she was and deep down he had known it. When he had watched her cradling the baby last night and the way little Everly had also crawled onto her lap. She was a nurturer, a healer and he had offered her nothing more than a casual dalliance with no future outcome that could possibly make her happy.

  His wolf was discontented which surprised him and he had never tried to force the issue with any other woman Connor had been with, not even with Gloria, the girl who had turned his heart to stone. Summer was a witch, not a wolf but the beast inside him had made some kind of connection with her and for everyone’s sake, he had to keep them apart.

  He pulled into the courtyard and parked in front of his brother’s house. A group of teenage boys were training with Kandis and he sympathized with a dark-haired kid as she swept his legs and put him on his ass, that was one tough chick. Garrett was leaning against his porch rail watching them train too but Connor had a feeling he was actually waiting for him and he could guess why.

  “Say what you have to say and get it over with, Garrett,” he said as he stood beside him and leaned on the rail, but Garrett caught him by surprise when he grabbed the front of his shirt and pushed him back against the wall with a thud.

  “Summer Blackwood isn’t one of your passing floozies. If you are looking for a hookup there are plenty of women around who would be happy with that arrangement, she isn’t one of them. You need to leave her the fuck alone, you do anything to hurt her and Lukas will have your balls, Connor.”

  Connor’s anger surfaced and he pushed his brother back across the porch and Garrett shifted in an instant, shredding his clothes in the process. The huge wolf growled deep in his throat and Connor shifted j
ust a moment later and sprang for his brother. The two tumbled down onto the courtyard and the trainees all gathered round to watch while Kandis took out her phone and sent a quick message before guarding her wards against stray claws. Garrett Adair was one of the pack’s best fighters but Connor seemed to be holding his own.

  They circled each other growling and snapping in between bites to each other’s legs but anyone could tell that this was just two wolves letting off steam rather than them really trying to hurt each other. Seann abhorred any in-fighting in his pack and they would probably have to stand before him later and explain this display of wolfish one-upmanship.

  He caught the sight of Summer coming toward them out of the side of his eye and whined causing the other wolf to look her way. Kandis intercepted her and the two women were talking animatedly while he and Garrett continued to circle each other, neither of them backing down.

  Suddenly he felt the wind whoosh past him and there was a third wolf in the mix. He watched his brother kneel in deference as the huge wolf towering above them snarled at them both. Seann had come to join the party and he was majorly pissed at both of them. He too lay on the ground as a mark of respect to the pack alpha and waited until Kandis ushered the youngsters inside before he shifted back to his human form to see what fate he had in store for him.

  Summer was watching him sadly and the disappointment in her eyes cut him deeper than any of Seann’s massive claws ever could. India came down the steps and threw some shorts at them, put her arms around Summer and guided her into her house. He watched until the door closed behind them and followed Garrett into The Den and Sean's office.

  He couldn’t have messed this up more if he had tried to.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Summer

  “He said what!”

  She finished the last of her coffee and relayed the sordid tale for India. It would really help to get someone else’s take on what happened.

  For once in her life, India was lost for words.

  Summer smiled at her red-headed friend’s annoyance, despite her own displeasure at Connor Adair’s behavior.

  “He doesn’t do commitment and he was making it clear to me. The thing is, I knew that about him already and I was okay with it. It was his arrogance this morning that set me off, not what he was actually saying. I am no more looking for a permanent relationship than he is and we could have had a thrill-seeking affair together, but he suspects that I will change my mind and try to tie him down with babies and laundry, typical male.”

  India took the seat opposite her and grinned.

  “How was the sex, was it amazing? I mean he is drop-dead gorgeous, anyone with a pulse can see how sexy he is.”

  Summer opened her mouth to object to India’s probing, but she was bursting to tell someone about her night and she threw caution to the wind and told her about her mate’s brother.

  “Actually, it was so much more than I ever expected. He is an animal in bed and barring having to sleep and be put firmly in my place, we would still have been there doing it all over again. He is the least selfish lover I have ever had, which doesn’t fit at all with the rest of his personality.” she grinned.

  “Then do it again. If you are sure you’re not going to fall for him, why not enjoy it for as long as it lasts. Most people don’t get that kind of sex, ever. You’re being handed it on a plate for weeks, months, who knows, Summer. You need to be the one to set the ground rules and jump his bones every opportunity you have. Life is too short to have regrets about the good things’ life has to offer.

  Summer really didn’t want this thing between them to be over before it had even begun and thought India may be right. Their attraction was insane and she should make the most of it while he was still here. Who knew how long he would even stick around the mountain, he never stayed too long in one place.

  The door to the Den opened and they watched Garrett and Connor coming outside and crossing the courtyard. He had borrowed a shirt and jeans from someone but Garrett was still dressed in just shorts. They stopped and shook hands and Garrett turned and headed for his house while Connor walked toward his truck, without as much as a backward glance.

  She hoped she hadn’t blown it all already. She knew what he was and he never made her any promises to the contrary and he now knew where she stood too. She said a quick goodbye to India and hurried outside to catch up with him. She ran the length of the courtyard and opened the passenger door before he could leave. She climbed in and he covered his surprise with a tight smile.

  “If you had stopped to ask me what I thought this morning instead of assuming I was looking for marriage and babies, Connor, then maybe this could all have been avoided. As it happens, I have no more desire for anything permanent than you do. I love babies and I will adore my nephews and niece when they appear, but I have no desire for you to father my offspring. If and when I do want that then I will choose someone who also wants to be a parent, not someone I have to drag kicking and screaming to the maternity ward. I want to explore the intense chemistry between us because quite honestly I have never had sex like that before in my life and I want to do it all over again.”

  He watched her carefully as his eyes began to glow green and she knew he was already aroused. He blinked several times as if clearing his thoughts.

  “Me either and that’s what freaked me out a little. Everything I was trying to say came out all wrong because I like you, really like you and I am usually in much better control of my emotions,” he said honestly.

  “I like you too, a lot. Can two people who like each other a lot not just hang out and have amazing sex without all the other stuff getting in the way?”

  “Why don’t we try it and see.” he smiled and her arousal spiked. She wanted to reach for him in the car and climb on his lap. Instead, he backed out of the courtyard and drove out to the most secluded part of the river, both lost in their own thoughts.

  “No-one ever comes out here, I discovered it by chance when I was running. There are barely any scent of wolves around and no humans.

  They got out of the car and he took her hand and they walked down to the riverbank. It was still cold outside but he took off his jacket and put it down on the grass for them to sit on. He put his arm around her waist and she leaned her head on his shoulder as they watched a river otter playing on the opposite bank. He kept darting surreptitious glances at them to make sure they hadn’t come any closer and Summer was enthralled by the way he played with a small pebble the way a child would with a ball.

  “It's so peaceful and beautiful out here,” she said and turned her face to meet his.

  The kiss he gave her was gentle and sweet and she knew there was a lot more to Connor than she had discovered so far, but she wasn’t about to start asking questions about his past. If he wanted to tell her anything he could offer the information and she felt much the same about her own. Although her kidnapping and two-year imprisonment by Rob Danvers wasn’t strictly a pack secret, most people didn’t mention it. Wolves were notorious gossips but not when it was something this awful.

  When his hands reached under her sweater to cup her breasts she threaded her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer, her tongue darting inside his mouth to taste him. Her heart was racing wildly as he rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him to remove her sweater. Her nipples puckered up as the cool air brushed them, her bra was no defense. She didn’t care and needed him inside her again as much as she needed the air in her lungs.

  She opened the button and unzipped his jeans, pulling them down his legs and he was naked beneath them. He stripped off his shirt and Summer wrapped her hand around his erection to stroke him, loving the velvety feel of him, rock hard beneath her touch. He groaned and she lowered her head and tasted his tip with her tongue.

  “Summer.” he ground out, “I won’t last more than a few seconds if you do that, baby.”

  He rolled them over until she was beneath him and pulled her pants and thong off with one h
and and she gasped as his fingers found her sweet spot and she felt her orgasm building instantly.

  “Connor, please,” she gasped and he pushed open her legs and thrust inside her.

  She bucked beneath him and she raised her hips to meet his demands as he thrust inside her, harder and harder.

  “Open your eyes and look at me,” he demanded.

  She did as he asked and saw his beautiful green eyes, glowing brightly and his sharp fangs, mere inches from her skin. She wanted to feel the sting of his bite so badly and she bared her neck instinctually as she cried out his name. His thrusts peaked her orgasm over and over until he stiffened and she felt his warm breath on her neck as he leaned in to bury his face against her and his fangs pierced her skin. Another uncontrollable orgasm rolled through her body, the sensation, unlike anything she had ever experienced before and she clung to him tightly as he too spiraled into oblivion.

  He collapsed on top of her and as her brain fog lifted she reached up to touch the spot on her neck where he had bitten her, hoping that it was already fading.

  Summer gasped! The raised mark was tender and she knew that this one would never fade. Connor had marked her as his and she knew beyond a doubt that it was wholly against his will. His wolf was crafty and was going to do whatever he could to complete their union, but she wasn’t going to stick around to see Connor’s disgust and self-loathing.

  He rolled over, got up and waded into the freezing water to clean up without saying a word and while his back was turned, she quickly pulled on her clothes and ran back to his truck. Saying a silent prayer to the goddess that he had left the keys in the ignition, she cranked it up and headed back to her cabin. She would leave the truck parked outside but she had no intention of speaking to him again today.

  She didn’t know what she was going to do or where she was going to go but she just needed to get away from him for a while to get her head together. This was an added complication she didn’t need after all her protestations about not wanting things to get serious between them.