Red Moon (12 page)

She clutched his head in her hands, pushing him further into
her as she braced her feet on the bed and arched her pelvis against his
mouth.  He sucked hard on her clit and she cried out and came immediately,
her body thrashing under his mouth.

Before she had finished climaxing, he was sliding up her
body, his hot mouth everywhere and his hands rubbing and squeezing her soft
flesh.  He drove his cock deep inside of her, both of them crying out as
her warm, smooth core squeezed involuntarily.

“You’re so warm, so wet, Avery.”  He moaned before
kissing her.  She could taste herself on his mouth, and it sent a new
spasm of excitement through her.

He lifted her leg, pushing it straight up until it was
draped over his shoulder and propped himself up on his hands above her. 
He plunged in and out as she wrapped her other leg around his hips and met each
of his thrusts. 

“Touch yourself.”  He whispered.

She hesitated and then, her face pink, reached between them
and slipped her fingers between her legs.  She rubbed delicately at her
clit, moaning a little, and he forced himself to slow down his wild
thrusting.  He watched as the embarrassment on her face fell away and she
began to pant.

“Does that feel good, girl?”  He murmured.

“Yes.”  She moaned.  “So good.” 

He looked down and nearly came at the sight of her pale,
slender fingers rubbing her clit.  He increased the pace, watching as she
rubbed and circled and found the spots that gave her the most pleasure. 
Her fingers were speeding up, and she rubbed and touched herself
furiously.  She stiffened beneath him, her fingers pressing down as she
arched her body upwards, and his entire body was filled with that powerful and
familiar surge of pleasure.

He moaned her name as he came inside of her, every muscle in
his body tightening as the pleasure rushed through him, until he finally
collapsed against her soft body.  He buried his face in her neck,
breathing in her scent as she hugged him with her arms and legs, rubbing his
back and stroking his long hair.

He could have stayed in her arms forever but after a while
she shifted slightly under him.  He knew he was starting to get too heavy
for her and he pushed away from her warm body.  He pulled the covers up
and lay down on his back.  Her bed was so small and he was so wide that
she was left with no choice but to sprawl mostly on top of him, their limbs
entwined and her head resting on his chest.

He stroked her bare back, running his fingers up and down
her spine.  “Are you warmer now, girl?”

She nodded.  “Aye, thank you.”

“Better than a rock?”

She could hear the amusement in his voice and she lifted her
head and smiled at him.  “Well, the rock was probably harder but you’re
definitely warmer.”

He growled and slapped her playfully on the ass, making her
giggle and squirm against him as he grinned at her.

He suddenly sobered and stared seriously at her.
 “Thank you for healing her, Avery.  I owe you a debt.”

She nodded.  “You’re welcome.”

She rested her head back against his chest.  At the
mention of his mother, her good mood had deflated like a balloon.  Despite
what Tristan said, it was obvious that his mother’s opinion mattered to
him.  His mother would never accept her as Tristan’s mate, and by healing
her she had ruined even a small chance of a life with Tristan.  She was
horrified to realize she was close to tears, and she took a deep, calming
breath as Tristan began to trace the curve of her spine again.  

“Tristan?”

“Hmm?”

“Have you – have you thought anymore about our earlier
discussion?  About selling me to someone else?”

He stiffened beneath her.  His hand which had moved to
trace lazy circles on her hip tightened painfully on her soft skin.

“No, I have not.”  He admitted.

She sighed.  “I wish you would.”

“Now is not a good time.”  He said gruffly.  “My
mother told me this afternoon that she has arranged to have house guests visit
us.  Victoria and Hendrick are old friends from when I was a child. 
They’ll be here before the end of the week and if I remember correctly, the
Sanders like to travel with nearly their entire household.  Mrs. Lanning
will need all the help she can get.  Even from a Red.”  He teased her
gently.

She didn’t smile.  “My lord, please.  You know we
cannot continue to – “

“Enough, girl.”  He glowered at her.  “Can we not
have just one time where our lovemaking does not end with you listing all the
reasons why we shouldn’t have done this?”

She nodded and then smiled a little.  “You can’t be
comfortable in this small bed.  I’ll understand if you want to return to
your own.”

He sighed impatiently and twisted on to his side.  He
pressed her up against the wall and slid her leg over his hip, pushing his leg
between hers and burying his face in her neck as he tucked the covers firmly
around them.  He placed a gentle kiss on her throat.  “I threw your
rock out of the bed.  You’ll freeze to death if I go back to my own bed.”

She smiled and he kissed her throat again.  “I would
rather be here with you in your freezing room and your small bed then alone in
my own.  Do not ask me to leave, girl.”

She kissed the top of his head.  “Good night, Tristan.”

“Good night, Avery.”

“Laura!”  Mrs. Lanning barked at the woman who
hurriedly set down the dish on the dining table and ran into the kitchen.

“Aye?”

“Where is the Red?  Gods be damned, it’s nearly 7
o’clock and I need her to run and fetch more wood for the cook stove. 
It’s like an icebox in here.”

“Perhaps she’s still sleeping.  Should I check her
room?”

Mrs. Lanning rolled her eyes.  “Yes, you idiot.”
 She sighed as the woman bowed nervously and ran out of the kitchen and
down the hallway towards Avery’s room.

She knocked lightly on Avery’s door.  When there was no
answer she knocked again and waited a few moments before opening the door.

“Avery, Mrs. – “  

She squeaked to a stop, her face turning a bright red and
her mouth dropping open as she took in the scene in front of her.

Tristan, his back to her, was sitting naked on the end of
Avery’s small bed with an equally naked Avery straddling him.  Her slender
torso was hidden behind Tristan’s broad back, and her hands were clutching his
shoulders tightly as she moaned. Her knees were planted firmly on either side
of his hips and he was kissing her throat, his hands tangled in her long red
hair, as she rode him enthusiastically.

At the sound of Laura’s small squeak, Tristan looked behind
him.  Avery stopped bouncing on his lap and buried her face in his neck
with embarrassment.  Her hands dug into his broad shoulders as he raised
one eyebrow at Laura.

“Can we help you?”

“Mrs. Lanning.”  Laura whispered.  “She’s looking
for her.  She needs her to fetch more wood for the cook stove.”

Tristan winked at her.  “Tell Mrs. Lanning I’ll send
Avery out when she’s done with
my
wood.”

Laura’s face turned nearly purple with embarrassment and she
stared slack-jawed at them for a few more seconds.

“Go on, Laura.  Shut the door behind you.”
 Tristan could barely hold in the laughter as Laura fled the room,
slamming the door behind her.

He turned back to Avery, grinning wickedly at her.
 “Where were we?”

She gave him a look of abject horror.  “Are you
crazy?  I have to go and I have to go right now.  I knew I should
have made you leave earlier.”  She tried to climb off his lap and he
cupped her shoulders, holding her on his lap and keeping his cock planted
firmly inside of her.

“We are not stopping now.”  He growled before kissing
her collarbone.

She shivered and shoved at his shoulders.  “Tristan,
the others - Laura will tell them you’re with me.  We should not be doing
this.”

He shrugged and held her around the waist, easily lifting
her slender body up and down his cock, smiling when she couldn’t stop the low
moan in her throat.

“Like they didn’t already know, girl.  Nothing is a
secret in this household.”

She gave him such a look of panic-stricken worry that his
heart suddenly ached for her.  He brought her face down to his and sucked
gently on her upper lip.  “Stop worrying, my love.”  He whispered.
 “No harm will come to you.”

* * *

“We have an agreement do we not, Avery?”

Avery sighed and gathered the bed sheets from the room she
was cleaning.  Their houseguests were arriving later today and Mrs.
Lanning had sent her to clean the room Victoria would be staying in.  She
had been trying very hard not to think about the fact that Victoria’s room was
directly across from Tristan’s, when Vivian’s soft voice had interrupted her.

“Aye, m’lady.  We do.”

She brushed past her with the armful of sheets, stumbling to
a stop when Vivian said, “And yet I find out that my son was seen leaving the
slave quarters, leaving
your
room, this morning.”

Avery’s back stiffened and Vivian frowned.  “You
disappoint me, Avery.”

Avery whirled around and glared at her.  “What would
you have me do when your son climbs into my bed in the night?  When he
tells me that I belong to him and he will do with me what he wishes?”

When Vivian only stared at her with her dark eyes, Avery
snorted.  “Perhaps it is your son you should be making an agreement with.”

Vivian smiled.  “My son is like all men when it comes
to women.  They are weak and easily seduced by – “

“I did not seduce your son!”  Avery shouted.  “Do
you believe me proud to be a slave?  To know that my choices are no longer
my own, and that I can no longer act of my own free will?”

She held the bed sheets tightly against her chest, her
cheeks flushed and her eyes flashing.  “Do you think it pleases me to be
in love with your son, and know that I am nothing more to him than the whore
who warms his bed?  Do you think I enjoy constantly wondering when he will
grow tired of me and what will become of me then?”

She swallowed thickly and her voice caught in her throat but
she stared dry-eyed at Tristan’s mother.  “I have no doubt that Tristan
will bend to your wishes and marry Victoria.  He will abandon my bed for
hers, but I guess I should be happy that he will likely keep me on as a nanny
to the children she will bear for him.”

She suddenly gave Vivian a pleading look.  “I have no
desire to watch the man I love grow old with another.  I have begged him
to let me leave his home, to sell me to another, but he refuses.  He will
listen to you, I know it.  Will you not speak with him?  Ask him to -
”

Vivian’s eyes flickered to the left and widened
slightly.  Avery, dread filling her belly, turned around slowly. 
Tristan was standing in the doorway.  She groaned, the colour dropping
from her face, as he started towards her.

“Avery – “

She shook her head.  “Leave me alone, my lord.
 Please.”  Still holding the bed sheets she turned and ran from the
room.

* * *

“Is it true?”  Tristan stared at his mother.

“What?”  She asked.

He scowled at her.  “What Avery said.  Are you
bringing Victoria here in order to try and marry me off?”

She smiled.  “Tristan my darling, do not be angry with
me.  I wish only for your happiness and Victoria would be an excellent
match for you.  You were such good friends as children.  Are you not
the least bit interested in seeing the Lycan she has become?”

“And what prompted this sudden desire to have me married?”

She smiled again at him.  “Sophia deserves a stable
home with a mother who loves her.  You are an excellent father, but every
child needs the gentle touch of a mother.”

“She has Maya.”  Tristan protested.

Vivian laughed.  “For what - another three months
perhaps?  You know that Marshall will spirit her away as soon as he
can.  And then what?”

“Sophia loves Avery just as much as she loves Maya.”
 Tristan said stubbornly.  “She can take over the nanny duties.”

Vivian sighed.  “You would have a human raise your
Lycan daughter?  And not just a human but a Red at that?  Sophia is
already too attached to her.  She believes her to be beautiful.  She
believes that she has some kind of,” she waved her hands vaguely in the air,
“magical healing power.  She asked me the other day if she could have red
hair like Avery’s when she grew up.”

Tristan grinned a little and she gave him a look of
disapproval.  “This is not funny, Tristan.  The Reds are widely
regarded as witches by the humans.  There are even many Lycans who believe
it.  And who is to say they aren’t right?  Avery will not make a good
mother for your children, or a good mate for you.  If you were not so
blinded by your lust for her, you would see that.”

“Why do you dislike her so much?”  Tristan suddenly
asked.  “How has she offended you?”

“She has not.”  Vivian said patiently.  “In fact,
I find her to be surprisingly charming and I’m impressed with her
intelligence.  She is quite unlike any slave I’ve ever seen before. 
If she was not trying to trap and seduce my son into a life he would soon
regret, I would find her to be pleasant company.”

“She is not trying to seduce me.”  Tristan said through
gritted teeth.  “She would not have gone anywhere near me if I had not
pursued her.”

Vivian gave him a pitying look.  “I know you want to
believe that my darling, but for a slave she’s extraordinarily clever. 
You cannot put it past her to – “

“She’s the oldest daughter of James Hendrin.”  Tristan
interrupted her.

Vivian stared at him.  “The gods be damned... how on
earth did she become a slave?”

He shook his head.  “Her father died, her mother turned
to drugs – it is a long story.  But she is more than just a slave. 
She – “

Vivian interrupted, speaking almost to herself.  “No
wonder she does not carry herself like a slave.  To go from living the
life she did to this...”

She trailed off and looked at her son.  “It explains
why she is so miserable here.”

“She’s not miserable here.”  Tristan disputed heatedly.

“She is, my darling.  Someone like her was never meant
to be a slave.  You cannot help her with that – life has struck her a
cruel blow and she must endure it as best she can.  But you can ease her
life a little by sending her away.  You heard her earlier.  She is in
love with a man she can never have.”

He opened his mouth to protest and she squeezed his arm
gently.  “No Lycan in the history of our family has ever married a
human.  You know that.  You will marry again, if not Victoria, than
another Lycan.  The most you will ever be able to give Avery is a safe
place to live out her days.  I understand that you are – are very fond of
the girl but you must think of Sophia now and what is best for her. 
Sophia is young and impulsive and can barely control her shifting. She needs a
Lycan mother to help her become a strong and courageous woman.”

She pulled Tristan into her arms and hugged him hard. 
“The girl loves you.  Will you force her to watch you live your life with
another?  Do as she asks and sell her to another.  Sell her to
Marshall.  She would be happy to live with her sister, would she not?”

“Marshall will barely be able to afford to feed himself and
Maya.”  Tristan said gruffly.

She sighed.  “Then sell her to someone you know and
trust - someone who will treat her well.  You know of other Lycans who do
not believe the human’s fairy tales about the Reds.”

She cupped his face and smiled gently at him.  “She is
desperately unhappy, my darling.  Do the right thing for the both of you
and for Sophia, and send her away from here.  Will you?”

He pulled away, rubbing his forehead wearily.  “I will
find her a more suitable home after our guests have left.”

“You are making the right choice, Tristan.  This is the
– “

He shook his head angrily.  “Stop it, mother.  I
am in no mood to be placated.”  He stormed out of the room.