Runner's Moon Trilogy Megabook Series (22 page)

Without trying to breach her teeth, DeGrassi pulled back slowly, fighting the need to pull her tightly against him and demand entrance to her mouth, where more treasure lay waiting for him to pillage. He was fighting the thundering beat 296

of his heart and the heavy, jerking sensations of his erection trying to escape the confines of his jeans.

She's a whore, for crissakes!

DeGrassi had a bad habit of ignoring his own sound advice.

Except this time.

Pulling away from her warm, incredible mouth, a thin line of saliva followed him. He watched in drugged fascination as her little pink tongue reached out and licked it away. The woman wouldn't kiss him back, or allow him to French her ...

but she licked away his saliva?

Dropping his hand, he turned his back on her and walked out of her bedroom. Out of her living room. Out of her little cottage.

He didn't look back to see if she was following him. He knew she would be.

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She let him touch her. She had allowed him to put his hand on her because she wanted to see what he would do.

More than that, she had let him try to kiss her because she needed to see if the feel of him would slake the thirst that was now consuming her body.

Roni chanced a glance over at the man driving her back to the center of town. He kept his eyes focused on the road directly ahead, both hands on the steering wheel, but she knew he was intensely aware of her sitting a foot away from him.

It was a harvest moon tonight. The orb never looked more beautiful. It sat on top of the trees like a giant orange snow cone, waiting to be devoured. She tried to lick her lips, but there was no moisture left in her mouth. She was parched and desperately needing a drink. Something cool. Like water.

Or like....

Blinking to keep her vision clear, Roni continued to watch the road slide underneath the car. The taste of him had been overwhelming. That thin stream of saliva had exploded in her mouth with a hundred flavors, the most predominant being the fruity tastes. The banana. People who cared about her, who truly cared, gave off a banana scent. Ginger often smelled like bananas, but the little redhead had a big heart and cared about everyone. Sometimes even about her johns.

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There had also been that slight vanilla flavor, proving he wanted her. That part surprised but also saddened her. All men wanted her. They lusted like rutting animals, needing only one thing from her—immediate satisfaction. They didn't care if she did it by hand, by mouth, or with what she had between her legs.

But their lust smelled burnt and moldy, as though the vanilla had scorched or gone sour.

The lieutenant's vanilla flavor was soft. Pleasant. Definitely not harsh to the senses.

And then there was that tiny trace of sweetness. Almost like ... lemonade.

Something inside Roni's chest spasmed. Throwing her arms around herself, she tried to huddle against the passenger door. No. It couldn't have been lemonade. She had been mistaken. It was such a little drop of saliva. There obviously hadn't been enough of it for her to get a good analysis of it.

She would need another taste to be more certain.

Her head jerked up. That wasn't possible. The man had tried to kiss her because that's what the male species on this planet did. They kissed. They stuck their tongues as far down her throat as they could to try and make up for the deficiency in their pants, which was why she no longer allowed any of her johns to kiss her. She didn't care for that roving muscle licking her like she was some drippy ice cream cone.

Yet she had known he wanted to kiss her. Just like she had known he wouldn't be forceful about it. And he hadn't. He had touched her face before touching her mouth with gentle 299

caresses both times. Touched her and tasted her, almost shyly. Exploring but never demanding.

And when he had pulled away—Too soon! she almost blurted out. You're not finished! Stay! Stay! Taste me some more!—-there had been that minute thread of moisture between them. So fine. So delicate. Too irresistible not to pull into her mouth and savor.

And all the while that rich, baby powder smell of him had filled her head until she almost lost her grip on her human guise.

Almost.

A little shiver went through her. It had been a close call, her nearly revealing her true self to him. If she had, she knew what he would have done. He would have pulled that enormously ugly gun from the holster against his ribs and put a bullet between her eyes.

Roni shuddered. Maybe she should have. Maybe he would have. For some reason she couldn't explain, the thought of Lieutenant T. DeGrassi being the one to end her torment once and for all didn't frighten her. If someone had to do it, if she had to pick the one person she could trust to do it right the first time, she would choose him. She knew he would be efficient about it.

And maybe, just maybe, when he did, she would die with the rich, comforting smell of baby powder and banana ... and lemonade drenching her skin.

"Cold?"

Her eyes flew open in time to see him adjust the thermostat to the car's air conditioning.

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"Lieutenant?"

He glanced over at her instead of answering.

"What does the T stand for?"

"In my name? Thomas, but I use Thom. T-h-o-m. Just to be different."

She could almost laugh at his last comment. Different?

Sweet stars, the man didn't have the faintest inkling how different things were.

Roni forced herself to look relaxed and resigned. It didn't stop the quaking going on inside her, down in the farthest depths of her core. She wished there were more Ruinos around, especially a bonded female. She needed the guidance of an experienced woman to tell her if what she was suspecting was the truth. Because if it was, Roni knew she was fried.

Millions of miles away from her homeworld, and after years and years of torture and abuse from the Arra, with them trying to force her to copulate with nearly every unbonded Ruinos male they could throw into her cage, she had found him.

She had found the one male whose presence resonated in her blood. The man her body reached for. The scent her lungs couldn't get enough of.

Lieutenant Thom DeGrassi was her bond mate. Her life partner.

And there was no way in the universe she would ever be able to have him. Or even admit to him that she was some green-skinned being from another solar system.

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A single tear leaked out from one eye. She didn't even know it was there until a roughened hand reached over and gently wiped it away. And there it was again, that light, fruity smell that he was concerned about her. Concerned, caring, and worried.

DeGrassi would never have to take care about touching her again, because she would never be able to deny him. Not anymore. That cold pit in the center of her being yawned wide open, ready for anything he could give her. For anything he offered her.

A Ruinos male treated his life mate with the tenderest of feelings. DeGrassi may have spoken rudely to her, sometimes angrily, but his scent proved it was all a lie. It was a ruse to cover how he truly felt. Even now, she could tell he was arguing with himself about his emotions.

Silence remained between them until they reached the courthouse. Once they got out of the car, DeGrassi pulled another nylon tie-back from his back pocket. "Sorry about this, Miss Tarakon, but rules are rules."

Roni nodded as he pulled her arms behind her. She understood the rules as well as he did. They went in through the back door, where a bailiff took down the information he needed. DeGrassi handed him Roni's arrest folder and the envelope with her papers, and then they went to sit in some chairs against the wall.

This was the night court, where the majority of the docket was filled with vagrancies and misdemeanors. Roni kept her face averted from the man sitting beside her, so close she could feel his warmth. Once she felt him check the cuffs 302

behind her. Her wrists were still red and raw from when she had been arrested earlier.

"When it's our turn, let me do all the talking, got me?"

Again she nodded. It was the Ruinos way. The male took care of his female. Above all else, he protected her. They might never be bonded in the true way, but Roni knew her soul would forever be in his hands.

For the first time in her life, Roni dropped her head and refused to fight a male emotionally. She couldn't. With each passing second, she could feel her body accepting him.

Needing him. Soaking up his life-giving aura with a fervor that left her starved for more.

Life had never been fair to her, and it never would.

Especially now that she had found her one and only blood mate, whom she could never have.

Other people came into the little room and passed them by. Some of the men ogled her, their lust reeking sour and dirty. Beside her she could sense DeGrassi's irritation with their leering. One man made a lewd comment to her, and the lieutenant almost jumped to his feet to punch the man's lights out.

"Better keep your guy's mouth buttoned, or I'll see to it it's sewn up permanently," DeGrassi growled at the young officer escorting the man in.

The officer blanched but nodded and gave the perp a hard poke in the back, along with a stern warning. They went to sit across the room.

That simple demonstration was enough to make Roni's inner self sing.

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Shortly after that incident, they were called in for arraignment. DeGrassi answered the charges for her and gave a brief description of the arrest.

"How do you plead, Miss Tarakon?" the judge inquired, staring directly at her.

Roni hesitated. How was she supposed to answer? If she said guilty, would the judge have no choice but to put her behind bars? Or would he do it if she said not guilty? Already she could feel her outer skin move like gelatin. Her true self was needing to bathe in the fresh evening air and moonlight.

She threw a glance at DeGrassi, hoping to find a clue in those pale blue eyes. He was waiting on her just like the judge. What was it the lieutenant had told the man?

She didn't actively seek out Officer Tayson, Your Honor.

She was seated on the fire hydrant by the curb, but she didn't approach the officer's vehicle.

It was the truth. She took a quick sniff...

"Not guilty, Your Honor," she calmly announced.

A frown came over the older man's face. "You seem to claim a lot of that, Miss Tarakon. But your record indicates you've had at least six other arrests in the past four years.

Three were pardoned with a fine, one was dismissed, one resulted in a suspended sentence," he reread the folder for clarification, "make that a suspended sentence with a fine.

And the last one ordered you to pay a fine plus serve probation. That was eight months ago. Miss Tarakon, by appearing before my court tonight, you've broken your probation. Therefore, I have no choice but to hand you over to lockup—"

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"No!" Roni struggled against the thick plastic loops keeping her wrists together. "Please! Please, Your Honor!"

"Your Honor? If I may?" DeGrassi took a little step forward, releasing his grip on her arm.

The judge raised an eyebrow at the detective but nodded for him to continue.

"If I can guarantee Miss Tarakon completing her probation without further incident, could the court find within itself the ability to grant her leniency?"

This time both eyebrows went straight up. "She already broke a twelve-month probation as it is. If I gave lenience, it would be a five-year period this time. Are you telling me you're willing to stake your reputation that this woman won't be back in front of my bench, or any other bench, before that time is up?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

Letting out a little huff, the judge pulled away for a moment and gestured to the bailiff standing nearby. They exchanged a few whispered comments, then the judge pulled forward once again.

During the exchange, Roni ventured a quick glance at the lieutenant standing next to her, so close she could press her forehead against his biceps. That delicate fruity smell continued to circle him, but now there was another scent, a stronger scent, attached to him.

Fresh-baked bread.

The man was confident he would get his way.

"Lieutenant DeGrassi, the court finds you to be an honorable man. Normally that wouldn't have an effect on my 305

decision, but your reputation precedes you. I'm under the impression you don't stick your neck out very often. Since Miss Tarakon's record does not reflect any charges other than prostitution, I'm willing to grant you this request, along with the understanding that if she gets caught peddling her wares out on the street again, I'm bringing you in with her. Are we clear on that matter?"

"Yes, Your Honor," DeGrassi quickly responded. The fresh-baked aroma grew stronger, making Roni's eyes water.

"Very well. Miss Tarakon, this court finds you guilty.

Sentence is suspended with a five-hundred-dollar fine and five years' probation. Officer Bleake will show you where you can pay up. Next case."

The sound of the striking gavel was no different from the ones she had heard in the past. But this time, the man walking out beside her with his hand around her elbow was emanating a scent she had never sensed before.

While she paid her fine with a credit card, the scent remained around her like a cocoon. Through it, she could detect the familiar banana and vanilla she was already accustomed to. Plus the blossoming smell of baby powder.

Once they were back outside in the parking lot, DeGrassi turned her around to cut off the tie-backs. "You'll be able to pick up your documents tomorrow at the courthouse."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I ... I'm very grateful for what you did."

"Thank me by keeping your cute ass off the streets. That's an order. Or else, you heard the judge, it'll be both of us facing jail time." He whirled her back around so he could face 306

her. "He was right about one thing. I don't stick my neck out for just anyone. In fact, I don't know why I did it this time."

She raised her face to where she could look into his eyes, but the shadow falling over them kept her from looking deep inside. "Don't you?" she whispered.

The tension between them suddenly sprang up like a third entity. Like a magnet trying to pull them closer together. She inhaled long and deep, sucking up every particle of the vanilla scent pouring over her, the smell of his needing her that was quickly warming to that scent she still couldn't identify.

Nearly a minute passed as they remained locked in each other's gaze. She didn't want to leave him, but she had no choice. She wanted to close that thin gap between them and drench herself in his baby powder skin, but there was no way she could. Not now. Not ever.

DeGrassi gave a little grunt, then turned and started walking toward the car. Roni did her best to hide her disappointment as she followed him.

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