Luna Junction 2 Forbidden Mate (W) (8 page)

It took an interminable length of time
but eventually I was satisfied that everything was clean. I hung
each piece carefully on the shower rod. I stared at the dripping
laundry for a few minutes, willing my mind to be blank. Gideon and
I were done. What happened that morning might have been just and
unavoidable conclusion of our tumultuous relationship. Tomorrow I
would start working at Max’s shop and I would see about other
unfinished business, such as completing high school.

It would be many hours until anything
was dry enough to wear, which meant I would be confined to the
house in a bath towel. That was fine with me. There wasn’t anyone
in the world I was in the mood to deal with.

I wondered if Max had left
my books untouched. My small childhood library had been kept on the
bottom shelf of my bedroom’s narrow closet. I smiled when I opened
the door and saw them precisely where I had carelessly abandoned
them. I picked up the hardcover copy of
Pride and Prejudice
. Jane Austen had
always been a favorite. Everything was neat and orderly in the
world she inhabited. It was enough to be jealous of.

I carried the book into the kitchen
where I cut up some fresh fruit and sat down at the table. Morning
melted into afternoon as I gratefully lost myself in the realm of
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.

Max called once to check on me. His
voice was strained and he kept his replies short. I assured him all
was well on the home front. He sounded relieved that I was doing
nothing more exciting than reading an old book and eating
cantaloupe slices.

“
Artemis,” he said
somberly. “It would be a good idea for you to stay inside the house
until I return tomorrow.”

“
I have no plans to do
anything else.”

“
All right,” he coughed.
“And keep some arrows handy.”

I frowned. “About the arrows…isn’t
there something more effective, like maybe guns?”

“
No,” he said quickly.
“Silver tipped arrows. It’s what hunters use.”

“
But I’m not hunting,” I
pointed out. “I’m sitting here at the kitchen table. Unless…will
something be hunting me?”

A long pause. “We’ll talk tomorrow.
Good night, Artemis.”

I felt uneasy when the call ended. If
my father knew about me and Gideon, I felt sure he would have raced
back here, no matter what else was going on. And he certainly
wasn’t aware of Michael Casteel’s explicit threat. Whatever was
happening, it didn’t have anything to do with the Casteel
brothers.

The afternoon light was gradually
softening into evening. I stared out the kitchen window for a long
time, my eyes inadvertently trained to the small crest which
separated Max’s property from the Casteels’. A pair of rabbits
skittered into the woods but other than that there was no sign of
any other living creature.

By the time darkness began to fall I
was growing tired of wearing nothing but a towel. With a cluck of
regret as I fingered my damp clothing, I realized I would have been
much better off hanging them outside to dry in the
sunlight.

As I passed the kitchen window again, I
saw that the moon was swiftly rising in the sky. It wasn’t full,
but nearly so, casting an eerie silver light over everything in
view. I sighed and began washing the few dishes I’d used during the
day. Before I finished, I recalled Max’s warning to keep some
arrows nearby. That meant a visit to the shed.

As I opened the front door, my body
registered the warning before my eyes did. Then door was already
open and standing there, a mere twenty feet away, was an enormous
golden wolf. He looked at me plainly. I couldn’t breathe. I’d seen
him in this form before, although only at a distance. And then when
he’d partially shifted at the Landons, he had not allowed the full
wolf to take over.

Gideon didn’t move. His changed eyes
stared at me. He wanted me to see him, really see him. The towel
around my middle began to slip off and automatically my hand went
to secure it. Then I stopped. Slowly I removed my hands and the
towel fell way. I wanted Gideon to see me too.

In the space of a heartbeat he rose as
a man. Gideon’s desire for me was very evident as he reached me in
a few quick strides. We barely had time to touch before my legs
wrapped around him in a fury of want. He slammed the door behind us
and we crashed against its closed interior. Our tongues collided
furiously and our hands explored one other with urgent pleas. I was
open, ready for him completely.

“
Wait,” he whispered, and
carried me into my bedroom.

Gideon laid me down on the bed and
climbed on top of me. He let out a strangled cry as the eager tip
of his manhood grazed my moist center. I reached for him, almost
crazy to guide him inside of me, but he was holding back, wanting
something else first.

He held my arms down and looked me in
the eyes. “I need to hear you say it, Artemis.”

I could hardly breathe, dizzy with the
promise of his rock hard passion. “What?” I moaned.

“
That this is what you
want. That you understand what it means.”

I spoke with soulful honesty. “I want
you, Gideon. Always.”

He didn’t need any more coaxing. Gideon
filled my waiting core, plunging deep without apology. He was
larger than anything in my experience and I groaned and arched up
to take him inside as completely as possible. A distant part of my
mind crowed with joy that for all this time, this was what I’d been
missing. I spread my legs was wide as possible and a thousand
blissful nerve endings shuddered with impossible ecstasy. Gideon
thrust mercilessly again and again on an unrepentant mission for
satisfaction. My body was wracked by waves of pounding delight and
it was when I finally screamed my climax and dug my nails into his
broad back that he released himself. His shudder tore through us
both and I felt the spurt of his hot seed coating my
depths.

When he finally withdrew I whimpered
lightly, sorry to feel his retreat. His damp head collapsed on my
breasts as he panted. “Shit,” he said. “Holy shit.”

I cradled his head, kissing his brow.
He rose up on his elbows and looked at me almost shyly. “Is it
always like that?”

“
No,” I said
truthfully.

He ran a finger lightly across my left
nipple. “Better than my dreams,” he whispered.

I cupped his face in my hands. “Mine
too.” Our next kiss was as sweet as our first one had been, so long
ago. Finally he broke away and nestled his head between my breasts,
content to rest quietly until he was ready again. It didn’t take
long.

After a few hours I lost count of how
many times we coupled in a heady succession of orgasmic thunder.
Gideon seemed intent on remedying a lifetime of self-denial in one
night and he was keen to experiment. Although he was very intent on
his own pleasure, he always held off until he felt me clench and
moan to another conclusion. However, following a decisive pounding
from behind over the kitchen table, I was becoming rather
sore.

“
Gideon,” I panted. “Can we
take a little break?”

He was instantly sheepish. “Hell, I
guess I’ve been a little demanding.”

I smiled wryly. “Just a little bit. Oh,
believe me, I don’t mind.” I ran a hand over his chest and looked
up into his eyes, speaking seriously. “I’ve never felt anything
like what you’ve made me feel tonight.” I kissed him long and deep.
And then again felt his desire hardening, pushing into the soft
flesh of my belly.

He stepped back. “Can’t help it,” he
said bashfully.

I took his hand. “Let’s go
outside.”

He was surprised. “Like this?” We were
both naked and sticky with a mix of sweat and sexual
essence.

“
Like this,” I said firmly
and pulled him along.

The night offered cool relief compared
to the stifling confines of the small house. There was a patch of
thick grass over where my mother used to keep her herb garden and
it was there I kneeled down. Gideon moved to follow me to the
ground but I firmly stopped him, wanting to enjoy the full sight of
him in the moonlight. He moaned when I closed my mouth around the
hard extension of his seemingly endless lust. I licked the sides,
my tongue lingering on the tip, teasing lightly until he gripped my
by the hair and pushed himself more deeply inside my mouth. He was
so large I couldn’t accept his entire length, but let him slide in
and out as he pleased. Once I cast my eyes upward and saw his head
was thrown back in mute ecstasy. I teased, nibbling lightly, until
he began to come once again. Then I fit him fully into my mouth and
swallowed everything he gave.

“
Acie,” he moaned, sinking
beside me on the grass.

I sat back, relishing the sensual feel
of the grass on my backside. Gideon gently touched my lips, then
reached lower, gently fingering that deep slit which still dripped
with all the seed spent that night. “I love you,” he said, his
voice husky and filled with emotion.

I pushed his fingers more deeply
inside. “I love you too.”

We slept intertwined in my small bed.
The closer morning came, the more anxious I was. I had no doubts
about being with Gideon. I meant it completely when I accepted his
offer of forever. But there was more to consider. First, we needed
to tell my father. Then, we could worry about the rest of the
world. Or more specifically, the world inside Luna Junction. I
remembered Michael Casteel’s cruel touch and I shivered. Gideon’s
arms tightened around me.

Chapter Eight

Luckily Gideon had left his clothes
just on the other side of the clearing before he shifted into his
wolf shape. Lucky because nothing of Max’s would have fit him and I
had no intention of letting him return home to confront Michael for
the time being.

“
Abe will want to help us,”
he assured me. Abe Casteel was Gideon’s other older brother but he
was away, and not expected back for at least a few days.

My clothes had finally dried so I put
on the same jeans and t-shirt I’d worn when I arrived in town. As
an afterthought, I folded my other clothes carefully and tucked
them inside my backpack. I didn’t know if I’d be welcome in Max’s
house any longer.

I waited on the front step for a long
time before glimpsing my father’s battered orange truck. Gideon had
wanted to sit by my side but I forced him to wait out back. “Any
sign of trouble…” I warned.

He winked at me. “I could outrun them
if I had to.”

The truck was rolling along at a
leisurely pace before Max suddenly slammed on the accelerator,
bringing the vehicle screeching to a halt a few feet from where I
waited. He had sensed Gideon’s presence.

I stood up and waved. “Dad!”

Max Jaeger spilled out the cab, his
face tense. “Artemis, come here!”

“
No! Listen to me, it’s all
right.”

My father looked at me and seemed to
read something in my face. His eyes widened. Meanwhile, Eddie
D’arcangelo had also emerged. With bow and arrow clenched firmly in
hand.

I stood directly in front of him. “Put
that down, Eddie.”

“
Where is he?” my father
asked quietly.

I crossed my arms. “First disarm your
lackey over there.”

“
Eddie,” my father said,
not taking his eyes off me.

Eddie glanced at my father. “You sure,
Max?”

Max nodded. “I need to talk to my
daughter.”

Eddie cursed and shot me an angry look.
“Reckless children,” he said, shaking his head. But he lowered his
weapon and retreated to his own house a few hundred yards
away.

My father and I stared at one another
until we heard the distant slam of Eddie’s door. “Now,” he said.
“Where is he?”

“
Mr. Jaeger.” Gideon had
already moved from around back. He stood by my side and laced a
protective arm around my shoulder.

Max shook his head sadly. “Kids,” he
said. “What have you done?”

I glared at him. “I’ll give you one
guess, Dad. And look again. We’re hardly kids.”

My father’s eyes were haunted.
“Artemis, I promised you a talk.”

“
All right,” I swallowed.
“So talk. Daddy, you’ve known Gideon since he learned how to walk.
Whatever it is, you can say it in front of Gideon. He’s my,
um…”

“
Mate,” Gideon finished,
holding me more firmly.

Max was thoughtful. “What does the
sheriff say?”

Gideon cleared his throat. “He’ll have
nothing to say that I’m willing to hear. Mr. Jaeger, we’d like to
have your blessing.”

“
Blessing?” Max roared. “A
huntress mated to a werewolf? It’s like a poorly written
sitcom.”

My voice was icy. “We’d like to have
it. But we’ll get by just fine without it.”

“
Is that so?” Max sighed.
“Artemis, there’s more danger looming that you realize. And it has
nothing to do with your um, your ‘mate’ or his damn brother or any
of the clueless souls in Luna Junction. I know what’s out there.”
He nodded to Gideon. “And you have some inkling too, don’t you
son?”