Luna Junction 2 Forbidden Mate (W) (6 page)

Claire reached over and touched my arm,
whispering. “You can use the bathroom to freshen up,
Acie.”

I was happy to retreat for a few
moments to collect myself. I smoothed my hair in the mirror,
wishing I hadn’t left my handbag which contained my makeup out in
the truck. My weary face could use a coat of help.

I emerged to the sound of distant
kitchen clamor. Tatum was supervising the movement of her dishes
and barking orders. Claire nudged me toward the front living room
where she settled into a plush chair with the baby.

“
She’s beautiful,” I
commented as I perched on the edge of a sofa.

“
Thank you.”

“
Thank you, Claire. For
what you said in there.”

She sighed. “It’s a long and
complicated history with the hunters. Our fates are perpetually
intertwined. But we know you, Acie. As for Luna Junction, well, we
all remember Anna Landon’s death.”

I frowned, remembering Max had also
mentioned the death of Cade’s first wife. Faintly I recalled that
she had died in the woods. Some sort of accident. It had always
been too painful a topic to broach with the Landon boys. “What
happened to her?”

Claire lowered her voice. “Rogue
hunter. He wasn’t on Council orders but things were bad for a
while. Your dad supposedly took care of that son of a bitch.” She
smiled faintly. “Our fathers had been friends, as much as they
could be given the circumstances. Did you know that?”

Tom Casteel had been different from the
brooding figures which usually frequented our small house. I
remember his visits as pleasant occasions spent chatting amiably
with Max across a pot of coffee. He always greeted me in a friendly
way when I traipsed through his house behind his youngest son. I
had already gathered Michael was a very different sort of
sheriff.

Claire and I both jumped at the sound
of the crash. I heard Tatum cursing and the twins laughing. Claire
rolled her eyes and before I could object, she handed me the
squirming baby. “Can you hold her for a few minutes?” She galloped
out of the room without awaiting my answer. Peyton offered me a
toothless grin and drooled on my arm. I didn’t know anything about
babies.

I settled her into my lap more securely
as she grabbed a handful of my hair. “Well kid, let’s try not to
get into any trouble.”

Again, my body knew he was there before
my eyes saw him. I looked up warily as Gideon entered the room, his
hands raised as if he were surrendering. He sat carefully on the
chair Claire had vacated and eyed me with caution.

“
What do you want?” I
demanded.

He cleared his throat, considering, as
he stared at the floor. “I’m sorry about your face. I was too rough
yesterday, out of line.”

I was confused. “My face?” I touched my
jaw. “Oh, that. You can relax. That wasn’t you. That was some other
asshole.”

Gideon looked at me closely. He hadn’t
bothered to find another shirt to replace the torn one which
scarcely covered him. I met his stare and tried not to allow my
gaze to shift to the tanned muscles which showed through the gaps.
Despite everything I knew about Gideon Casteel I still felt the
dizzying pulse of physical attraction in his presence. But I’d be
damned if I let on. He began to speak, then changed his mind,
closing his eyes for a moment.

“
Is there anything else?” I
asked.

His clear green eyes were fierce. “I’m
not a monster, Acie.”

“
No,” I shot back. “You
just behave like one.”

We glared at one another for a long
silent moment before Tatum waddled in with Cade’s arm around her
shoulders.

“
I’ll get you a new set of
imitation crystal glasses,” he promised her as she
pouted.

I was almost sorry to give Peyton back
to her mother. I’d felt pleasantly protective cradling the soft
feel of her trusting little body.

Benji entered in a rush, holding an
open laptop. His face was alarmed as he tried to get his father’s
attention.

Cade tensed. “What is it?”

Wordlessly Benji turned the screen.
Cade’s face betrayed no emotion as he scrolled down, reading.
“Shit,” he finally said.

“
Again?” Matthew asked
grimly.

Cade shook himself briefly and forced a
smile. “You like cheesecake, Acie?”

I chose to ignore the sudden intrusion
of dread and smiled back. “I love cheesecake.”

Dessert was uneventful, although Tatum
and I were the only ones stuffing our faces full of creamy
cheesecake. The Landons, including Claire, kept up a fixed stream
of cheerful chatter. Whatever was wrong was not meant to be shared
in my presence. For his part, Gideon continued his disagreeable
silent brooding. It took a lot of effort to refrain from looking
his way again and if was with a sigh of relief that I finally waved
my goodbyes and closed myself in Max’s truck. Tatum had hugged me
tightly and made me promise to return soon for my
haircut.

Aside from the unpleasantness with
Gideon, I felt better than I had in a long time. I kept the windows
open, inhaling the heady night air, as the truck hurtled through
the darkness. As the scant lights of Luna Junction bore down, it
didn’t occur to me to watch the speedometer until I saw the lights.
I cursed softly and pulled off the dirt shoulder, rifling through
the glove box for the truck registration. I recalled Max’s warning
to refrain from driving too fast. I wished I’d listened.

I doubled down on that wish when I
realized the light shining in my face was held by Sheriff Michael
Casteel. “Get out of the vehicle,” he commanded.

There was no one else in sight as I
slowly stepped out of the truck. “I’m sorry, I know I was
speeding-“

“
Shut up. Turn around and
place your hands on the hood.”

My heart pounded. The night had
afforded me only the briefest glimpse of Sheriff Casteel. But the
malevolence in his eyes was brutal. He shined his light into the
cab of the truck and made a show of searching the interior. After a
moment I could feel his cold eyes traveling up and down my
body.

“
You’ve grown up, Artemis
Jaeger.”

I tried to laugh casually but the sound
emerged as a strangled gasp. “Yeah, that happens.”

“
What are you doing back
here?”

I swallowed, staring at my splayed
hands against the orange hood. “It’s a free country, isn’t
it?”

He moved deliberately closer, grazing
my hip. Every nerve in my body was screaming with alarm but I was
defenseless. Even if Michael Casteel wasn’t a werewolf, I could not
have taken him down without a weapon. “It’s not for you, huntress.
This is Luna Junction.” His hand moved down my back, traveling over
my backside and reaching between my legs. It wasn’t meant to be
seductive. He was trying to frighten me out of my wits.

I clenched my teeth with revulsion as
he fondled me roughly. “Bullshit. You’re a made up sheriff in a
made up town.”

The sudden grip on my long hair was
painful. His hot breath was against my neck as he lifted me up.
“Apparently I will need to conduct a more thorough search for
weapons.” He pressed my body against his so I could feel the
intensity of his excitement. My mind was one long scream of panic.
Did Michael Casteel intend to rape me right there on the side of
the road?

He released me crudely, laughing as I
stumbled against the side of the truck. I spun around, my back
against the door. Michael watched me with a pleased expression on
his face. “Get on home, little girl.” His eyes narrowed. “And
Artemis, Luna Junction is not your home.”

Gasping, I managed to climb into the
truck and close the door behind me. My hands shook as I tried to
operate the steering wheel. For a moment Sheriff Michael Casteel
was illuminated by the headlights. His eyes had altered to that
same feral look I’d briefly seen in his brother. He bared his sharp
teeth in a hideous smile and waved. I didn’t look back as I pulled
the truck back to the road and aimed for Max’s house.

I managed to compose myself by the time
I had to face Max. He seemed to accept my bright summary of dinner
at the Landon home. Conspicuously left out of my falsely bubbly
account was any mention of either Casteel brother.

I showered before bed, trying to banish
the memory of Michael Casteel’s unwelcome touch. As the hot water
ran down my skin I turned my face up into the steam. My mind kept
unwittingly returning to the hard lines of Gideon’s powerful body.
The more I tried to shake it off the more my hands itched to feel
the hard muscles of his broad shoulders. My breath quickened as I
imagined him settling on top of me. Guiltily I reached between my
legs and began to massage slowly. I’d learned to pleasure myself
years ago, when the brief events of sex left me feeling lonely and
discouraged. My imagined lover was strong, even overpowering. Yet
he knew to slide inside of me and linger there with purposeful
thrusts which brought me to shattering heights. As I reached an
intense climax, I leaned against the bathroom wall for support,
visions of Gideon’s bronzed naked skin behind my eyes.

Afterwards, I threw on an oversized
t-shirt, feeling rather mortified. What was wrong with me? Hadn’t I
had my fill of men who treated me like dirt? Lusting after Gideon
was out of the question. I turned off the bedside lamp and rolled
restlessly around on the pillow. On impulse, I grabbed my handbag
and fished around for my phone. After instantly deleting
nauseatingly apologetic texts from my last mistake, I Googled
‘Gideon Casteel’. His name popped up in a slew of football
references. And one news item.

Gideon Casteel, Offensive
Guard for the UCLA Bruins, was arrested March 29 for disorderly
conduct. Witnesses at the off campus party recounted how Casteel
became inexplicably enraged and attacked a group of young men who
had arrived moments before. Freshman Kylie Garcia described the
attack. “He just went freaking berserk. It was like he became an
animal.” Assault charges were not pressed as those attacked quickly
left the scene. Despite one victim being thrown against a wall
roughly enough to crack the plaster and another sailing through a
plate glass window, local hospitals did not report admitting any
patients whose injuries matched the victims’. Casteel could not be
reached for comment and an anonymous source within UCLA reports he
has left the program.

I put the phone down and pulled the
cool musty sheet up to my chin. At least I understood why school
had been such a touchy subject. I felt mildly sorry for Gideon,
wondering what it was that had set him off so violently. It had
been so bad he felt as if he had to leave college and return to
Luna Junction. Then I recalled the terrifying moment earlier in the
evening when he had shifted into something halfway between human
and wolf. He had deliberately been trying to frighten me. Bitterly,
I realized it was something Michael would do. I rolled over,
hardening my heart and wishing for sleep. Eventually, it
came.

Chapter Six

My head felled a bit heavy when I awoke
the next morning. I wasn’t sure what day it was until I found Max
reading the Sunday paper at the breakfast table. He had done some
grocery shopping the day before and the fridge looked nearly
normal. I buttered a piece of toast and poured a glass of
juice.

Max watched me settle into a chair, my
knees pulled childishly up as I nibbled some toast. “Hey, how would
you feel about working at the store?”

“
Sure,” I shrugged. After
all there was only so many times I could industriously scrub the
bathroom grout. I needed to do something and employment in Luna
Junction appeared to be slim pickings.

He smiled. “You’ll start tomorrow. Be
dressed and ready by nine.”

“
I think I can handle
that.”

A shadow crossed his face. “Artemis,
you’re going to be on your own today. I’ve got to head to Phoenix
for a meeting and I’ll be staying overnight. I’ll be back around
dawn tomorrow.”

“
What kind of
meeting?”

My father looked uncomfortable.
“Eddie’s coming with me.”

“
Oh,” I nodded. “That kind.
The secret kind.” I waited to see if he would explain further but
he did not. More than a few times during my childhood strange and
solemn figures had passed through our home. They were never
introduced to me, nor did they feel obliged to make basic overtures
of politeness. I chewed my toast, thinking. I wasn’t at all sure
what would be expected of me as a huntress. I wasn’t convinced I
even wanted to know.

Max watched me uneasily. “So you’ll be
okay today? I’ll be taking the truck.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, Dad. I can
manage on my own for a day.”

He nodded and took a bite of a banana.
“All right. But don’t answer the door for anyone.”

I was curious. “Why not?”

“
There’s some things going
on right now. Could be nothing, or could be bad. I’ll know more
soon.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry for the mystery. I should be
able to explain a few things in the very near future.”

I laughed lightly. “I’m still reeling
from you last explanation. How much more could there
be?”