The Twin Moon (The Moon Series) (5 page)

Those talented fingers caressed
the skin on the back of his neck and he
purred
, the sound rumbling up his chest and out of his throat
,
he couldn’t help it.
His mate was in his lap
stroking him
.
She
shudder
ed
against him, pressing her thigh more firmly against his erection.
What
is
she thinking?

“M
m
m Andy, I love the way you feel.”
H
is hands ran over her
stomach and back to her thigh right to the edge of her skirt
.

“Excuse m
e, Romeo? Andy has to leave now. Y
ou wanna’ put it back in your pants or what?” Rosie’s voice
jarred him out of his haze of pleasure
.

“Your friend?”
Ian stiffened a little as he glanced around Andy at the little Latina woman.

“Best friend.”
Andy smiled and dropped her head as
color
stained her cheeks.

“Ahh.”
Ian nodded.
T
hat explained everything.

Andy smiled and
slipped her shoe back on before sliding out of his lap, his erection grazing her thigh.
Ian groaned low in his throat as the contact made him burn.

Rosie tugged
Andy
to her feet and then tossed a napkin at him.

“Don’t loss
that
,
papa, it’s your only shot.
”
Rosie
winked at him as she linked arms with Andy and turned away.
Rosie said something and Andy threw her head back and laughed.
Andy
glanced over her shoulder and finger waved at Ian as t
hey got lost in the crowd.

Ian growled
as his cock throbbed against his jeans.
She had been so close the sweet musk of her arousal was stuck in his nostrils, in his brain
.
Ian pulled the napkin across the table and opened it.
Inside were little hearts and the name “Rosie” with a phone number.
Ian couldn’t help but smirk.

“Best friends.”
H
e grumbled stuffing the number in his pocket.
He licked his lips and tasted her
diet Pepsi and lemon
still.
His body
ached
at the loss of her.
He caught the waitress and ordered another beer.
He drank it slow
ly
turning
over in his head
the fact that he had met his mate
.

Mine
his tiger roared.
Mate
,
it said.
The urge
to get up and hunt her down overwhelmed
him. S
he couldn’t have possibly known that walking away from him was as bad as running away in the state he was in.
She was
so right against his hands, like she belonged to just him.
His beast beat at his head roaring at being denied.

Ian wasn’t used to being
deprived of the woman
.
He was used to getting what he wanted
,
when he wanted it.
That wonderful lady’s man repu
tation
of his c
ould haunt him when it came to Andy.
He had
n’t
told her the truth of it.
It might
scare her away
if she found out
.
Ian ran a hand through his hair.
Abruptly his thoughts changed as he caught a whiff of her rose scent off his shirt.

How
will
she feel when she
comes
for
me
?
Because she would, he smiled to himself.
Her arousal would taste s
weet
, too,
like honey.
Ian shook his head.
He had to stop these thoughts if he was going to be able to stand up soon.
A perky
older
blond stopped at his table.

“Hey, you want some company?”
She pushed
her breasts toward him as she lend against the table.

“Not tonight.”
H
e scooted out of the booth.
“
Maybe not ever again.
”

A
loud bam, bam, bam
on his door
brought
Ian upright in bed
.
He
tossed
back the blue comforter and put h
is legs over the side
, his bare feet
hit
the cool floor
.
Ian rubbed a hand down his stubbled jaw as he glanced at the clock.
It was before six, not that he didn’t need to get up
,
but it was still a little early.
He planned on making it to the Haven today and teaching his class
of teenage cubs
.
The pounding sounded again and he stood up.

Ian strode across the wood floor of his apartment and glance
d
out the peek hole.
A tall man, with military short blonde hair and vibrant green eyes stood outside.
Dillon?
What the hell
is my
brother doing here?
Something wrenched down inside Ian’s gut at the sight of his older brother.
A need to be the were-tiger he was supposed to be suddenly overwhelm
ed him.
He wasn’t perfect
,
not by a long shot
,
and the idea that he wouldn’t measure up
Dillon’s expectations
caused
a panicked rhythmic breathing
to build in his chest.
Ian shook himself.
He wasn’t a cub any more.
He was a grown male w
ere-tiger.
Ian straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath
settling his cat
, then unlatched the door.

“Dillon.
What are you doing here?”
Ian stood in the door
way, not sure if he should
let his brother in.
Dillon
would never willingly leave pack territory
;
he was the alpha’s head tracker
.
What was he doing in San Francisco?

“Nice to see you
, too.
Are
you going to invite me in?” His brother
’s
gaze roamed over him.
Ian eyed him up
too
.
He was still as tall as
their father at six foot three, and appeared nothing like Ian’s blond surfer looks, minus the surfboard.
Dillon’s
hair cut was no nonsense, much like his attitude had always been.
He was the oldest sibling in the family of seven and had made his place among the pack.
Unlike Ian and his twin sister
,
Ivy.

“Sure, come in.”
Ian stepped aside and allowed his brother to walk into his apartment.
“So what’s going on?
Why are you in San Francisco?”

“Can’t I just come visit my brother?”
Dillon looked around the small apartment, before
his gaze finally landed on the couch.

Ian closed the door and leaned his back on it.
“You have a duffel bag in your hand.
That doesn’t look like a visit. It looks like you’re moving in.”
Ian crossed his arms over his chest and was sure in his plaid boxer
s
and naked chest he wasn’t intimidating at all.

“Are you saying I can’t stay here?”
Dillon puff
ed
out his chest as if maybe he was insulted.

“Why won’t you just answer
the question?” Ian
planted his feet and came off the door as
Dillon stepped toward it.

“It’s fine
,
I can leave.”
Dillon’s face was red, but Ian wasn’t sure if he was embarrassed or angry.

“Bro, chill.
I d
on’t want you to leave.”
Ian
touched him on the arm and the tension radiating from him raced up Ian’s hand.
“You’re my
brother.
I’m here for you when
ever you need me, but I know something’s wrong or you wouldn’t be here.”

“I just need a place to crash for now.
No questions asked.
Can you do that for me?”
Dillon put his hand on Ia
n’s shoulder and met his gaze
.
Dillon’s green eyes were intense.

“Sure.
Does anyone know you’re here?”
Ian kept his voice level while all kinds of warning bells went off in his head.
Dill was in trouble and it must be bad.

“No one and let’s keep it that way.”
Dillon turned around and headed toward the couch.
“I’ll crash here if that’s okay.
I’ve been up all night.”

“That’s fine.
I’ve got a class in a couple of hours.
I’ll be gone most of the day, but I can leave
the key on the counter if you’re asleep.”
Ian walked over and patted his brother on the shoulder.
“It’s good to see you by the way.”

“Thanks.” Dillon unpacked and Ian went to shower.

***

The
hot water cascade
d
over
Ian’s
body
and
eased what was left of his
tired
muscles and made him almost whole again.
It had been a late night.
He breathed in deep
, enjoying the steam and heat. Finally
,
he gave in and
soaped up
and
washed his hair.
He turned off the water and started to dry his body with a big fluffy
green
towel.

Ian dressed in jeans and a
light
blue polo with a Haven logo on it, then put on his sneakers
, thoughts of Andy from the night before niggled in his head
.
Something inside his chest flip flopped
when
Andy
came to mind
, he got all giddy inside.
Excited
,
like a little kid with a new toy.
She made him forget himself and want
to
tell her everything about his life.
A life he wasn’t sure she’d understand.
How was
he going to tell her he was a w
ere-tiger?
The possibility that she had even
had experience with W
ere creatures in her lifetime was slim to none.
There just weren’t enough in existence for most people to have interacted with them.
Besides
,
that fact
was
most were so secretive that they would never reveal their true natures
,
even under penalty of death.

Ian took his house key off the key ring and scribbled his cell number on a piece of paper.
He left both on the counter for Dillon who
snored
softly from the couch.
Ian opened the door locked the handle on the knob and shut it
behind him.

He drove to the Haven with the window down and the Red Hot Chili Peppers
booming
on the radio.

The Haven parking lot had a few cars in it and Ian parked in a free space near the back.
The building was cream colored and had glass windows across the front, for all intense purposes it looked like
a
regular community center.
Nobody knew that it w
as home to a pack of W
ere cats
.
Ian approached the doors and swiped his keycard.
He opened the door and walked inside.
His petite blond sister was behind the reception desk.

“Hey
,
sis.”
Ian walked around the desk to give her a hug.
He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, amazed he could still reach around her.

“Ian.
How are you?”
She squeezed him hard enough he winced
.