Before the Moon Rises (4 page)

now."

His dimples peeked through, his eyebrows raised. "Do you

want to drive back when we're done?"

Janet felt her mouth gape again. "You're kidding?"

"I'll take that as a no."

"Oh no you won't." She snatched the keys he had laid on

the table and stashed them in her purse. "You don't mind if

we take the long way do you?"

Max laughed and stuffed a forkful of eggs in his mouth.

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Before the Moon Rises

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With sunglasses shading her eyes, Max couldn't read her

thoughts. But if he had to guess, she was just this side of

ecstasy. She chose a mountain road where the grace of his

sports car easily handled the winding path.

It amazed him how comfortable he was while she drove. If

her father drove a racecar, then the man must have shown

her everything he knew. Max hated to admit it, but she

almost drove the car better than he did. Almost.

"I take it you like the car."

She removed her eyes from the road and glanced his way.

"You're brave to allow a virtual stranger to drive her."

"You took a chance and drove me home. I'd say you're the

one with guts. This is only a car."

Janet nodded and murmured her agreement.

Max noticed the street sign. They were a long way from his

house. "Where are we going?"

"My place, to pick up a few things. I have some errands to

run before I head home."

"Ah huh." Max smiled, and turned his attention to the road

again. "It won't hurt to show off a Ferrari to your neighbors."

She shot him a surprised look, and then laughed. "They

wouldn't believe me if I told them."

Janet let out a sigh when she turned the corner. The

mountains downsized to hills as they drove. In spring that

meant wildflowers. "Look at that." She pointed to a hillside

covered in poppies. "Mind if we stop?"

"Not at all."

The road widened out, and Janet pulled off and into a vista

view point.

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They hopped out of the car and walked over to the rail.

Max watched her stretch her arms over her head. She stifled

a yawn, but he could see the night catching up with her.

"You don't see that everyday." She leaned over the rail,

her tight jeans kept his attention much more than the

flowers.

"No, you don't."

She turned around and peeled the sunglasses off her face.

Her smirk told him she knew he wasn't talking about the view

of the hills.

With her eyes glued to his, Max moved closer and stepped

into her personal space. Janet's gaze moved to his lips, she

sucked in a small breath.

Max placed one hand to each side of her, boxing her in.

Brave, she didn't move away. His breath mingled with hers,

he spoke against her lips in a whisper. "Your mouth is so full,

so moist. It screams to be kissed."

Her tongue darted out. Her teeth caught it before it

disappeared inside. The thought of her catching something

else in those teeth made his blood boil. She lifted her chin in

invitation. Max wasn't about to ask twice.

He lowered his lips to hers. Sweet with a small taste of

spice. Her lips were pliable, a gentle nudge, and they opened

for his tongue to explore. He kept his hands on the rail and

pushed his body against hers.

Static electricity surged through him, more than that, his

body heated, shuddered. Her scent filled his mind. He pulled

back in disbelief. His family told him long ago that when he

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found his soul mate the effect of only a kiss would knock him

back.

Dear God, that was exactly what her kiss had done. He let

out a deep groan and crushed his lips back to hers. Her hands

lifted to his chest and fanned out in his hair and on his neck.

Her breasts strained against him, his arms wound around her

and gathered her close.

Moment by moment he felt her essence fill his head,

burning into his system. Burning into his life.

A car came around the corner. The driver hit the horn

while a passenger yelled out the window, "Get a room!"

She drew back. His lips no longer stuck to hers, but their

bodies still pressed together. Her breasts pushed against his

hard torso with the rapid rise and fall of her chest.

"We should go," Janet suggested.

Reluctantly, Max stepped back but kept her hand in his on

the short walk to the car.

They both kept their thoughts to themselves on the drive

to her house. Max searched for a reason for her to stay within

arms' reach. If nothing else, he would count on seduction as a

tool. He didn't like the dishonesty of it, especially on someone

he knew he would have a future with, but he had little choice.

Gorman sized her up at the hospital. He would come after

her, and Max had a whole new set of reason's to keep her

safe.

His thoughts turned to her kiss. Her body melting into his

floated in his mind. He glanced her way through lowered lids

and darkened sunglasses. Her blonde hair glistened in the

sun. Her hands stroked the wheel of his car. She held such

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sex appeal, he could hardly wait to explore more than her

lips.

Janet drove into a small driveway of a bungalow-style

house in the hills of Sunland. "I'll only be a minute." She

tossed him the keys after turning off the ignition. "I'm

starting to hit a wall, you should drive back."

He walked her to the door, hand in hand. "Quiet

neighborhood."

"Yeah, this part is. Over a few blocks is a little noisy."

They climbed the steps together and then Max smelled him

and stopped.

He pushed her behind him, and reached for the small

revolver he had on a leg holster.

Janet's eyes widened, words choked in the back of her

throat.

All she could do was stare at his gun.

"Stay behind me," he whispered in a deadly voice.

"What is it?" She kept her voice low as he did.

"Shhh."

Slowly, Max pushed the front door open. To her dismay, it

gave under a gentle push. She never forgot to lock the door

when she left home.

Her skin started to prickle. Max crouched and seemed to

sniff the air. He tossed his sunglasses to the porch and Janet

watched his eyes literally swirl. The deep blue, which had

mesmerized her earlier before he kissed her, turned to a

deathly grey. She blinked twice.
How did he do that with his

eyes?

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When the door opened wider, Max stood tall, keeping the

gun in front of him while he entered the house.

Janet let out a gasp. Inside had been ransacked. Her couch

lay upside down, her lamps thrown to the ground and broken.

Every drawer yawned open, their contents dumped.

Tears stung her eyes, her back teeth ground together.

Janet stood frozen in place, while Max moved forward to

search the rest of house.

Her first thought was someone had robbed her, invaded

her space and peace of mind and stole what wasn't theirs to

take. She wandered around setting things to rights on

impulse. Her television was still in place. Her CD's spread all

around.

Janet scanned the room. Everything was there, only torn

and broken. Panicked, she ran to her bedroom, and found

clothes strewn everywhere. She lifted the mattress and

retrieved a box. "Thank God," she whispered, crushing it to

her chest.

"What is it?" Max stood in the doorway, his gun placed

back in its holster.

"My jewelry. It's not much but it's still here." It was the

only thing she had left of her mother. To Janet the contents of

the box were priceless.

She sat on the edge of the bed and shook her head. "I

don't get it. I don't see anything missing. Who would do this

and not steal anything?"

Max sat down beside her, he draped his arm over her

shoulders. The comforting movement had her shaking, the

tears started to flow.

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"It's okay," he murmured.

She buried her head in his shoulder. His hand stroked her

hair while he spoke words of comfort.

As the tears dried up, Janet pulled away. "I should call the

police."

Max followed her to the phone, his mind ticked off the

facts as he knew them. Gorman had been there. Max knew

he'd be back. But why had the bastard trashed her place? It

wasn't his MO.

Janet picked up her phone, but before dialing, she played

her messages.

Max was surprised to hear her voice come over the player.

The message to herself made him smile despite the severity

of the situation.

She avoided his eyes. "I didn't know if you were a serial

murderer."

"You're very resourceful."

"Hey, baby girl..." the male voice boomed into the

recorder.

"My dad," Janet explained.

"I'm going out of town for a few days. There's a car show

in Vegas I'm going to check out. Be a good girl and watch Cat

for me. Oh, and water your mom's roses, too. Love you."

"Your dad's cat is named Cat?"

A little lift of her lips made him happy he asked.

"What self-respecting bachelor owns a cat? She showed up

one day and he didn't have the heart to take her to the

pound. He tries to pretend she isn't his."

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Janet's smile fell. Max watched her stare at the machine.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"The light wasn't blinking."

"What?"

"The light blinks to let me know there are new messages,

it wasn't blinking." She turned to him and grabbed his arm.

"Someone listened to my messages. Why?"

Max bit back a curse. "Call the police, Janet."

Within a couple of hours, the police filled out their report.

They took pictures, but without any stolen merchandise, all

the police could charge the intruder with was breaking and

entering.

"Miss O'Brien, do you have any enemies who would do

this?"

"No. No one."

The officers exchanged glances. "Whoever did this wasn't

after financial gain."

"That's obvious, since they didn't take anything," Janet

said.

"What we have to assume is the perp was after you."

"Me?" Janet almost screamed the word. "Why me?"

The police officers didn't answer, instead they asked, "Is

there somewhere you can stay for a few days while we run

our investigation?"

"I could stay with my dad."

The cop doing most of the talking put away his notepad

and pen. "Good. It wouldn't be wise for you to be alone until

we know more about who did this, and why."

Janet shook her tired head. "My dad is out of town."

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The officers exchanged an uncomfortable look.

"Miss O'Brien will be staying with me."

Max's statement put her back. "I can't impose on you."

He smiled, his jaw twitched. "It isn't like I don't have a

spare room."

She knew she shouldn't take him up on the offer, but the

thought of being alone had her scared more than she cared to

admit. "Are you sure?"

"I insist." He squeezed her hand.

The police started for the door. "Okay then, we'll get in

touch with you tomorrow."

"Go pack a bag," Max told her. "I'll finish up here."

They arrived at Max's estate after three. He carried her

bag and led her to a room across the hall from his. "You're

exhausted."

Janet rubbed her swollen eyes and agreed. "I need a few

hours sleep."

Max massaged her arms with his hands. The act brought a

smile to her face. "Everything you need should be in the

bathroom. Do you want something to eat before you turn in?"

"I couldn't eat anything now. Can you wake me by six?

Otherwise, I won't sleep tonight. Graveyard has a way of

screwing up your sleeping patterns."

He knew that from first hand experience. Max didn't

express his thoughts however; instead he agreed to act as

her personal alarm clock.

He left her alone and went to find his brother. They had a

lot to do and little time to do it.

There was only five hours until the moonrise.

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Five hours until he changed.

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41

Before the Moon Rises

by Catherine Bybee

He found Richard in his office. A monitoring system, like

the one in Max's bedroom dominated the back wall.

Max waltzed in to find Richard taking aim at the room

where Janet was getting dressed for bed. "What the hell are

you doing?"

Richard turned at his voice, then swung back to the

monitors. "Surveillance."

Max crossed over and hit a button on the wall. A full size