Moonlit Watcher (Moonlit Novella #2) Read online

  Juliana straightened her back and stared him in the eye. “I suppose you'd prefer me to pee my pants and throw a fit?”

  Jason's eyes registered surprise before he grinned, turning back toward Derek. “Who shot you?”

  “Two hunters,” Derek answered. “I don't know if they both had silver bullets. At first they just seemed to be shooting at me because they thought…” Heat suffused Derek's neck, creeping toward his face.

  “They thought what?”

  “They thought I was trying to get into the house to attack the woman.” He met Jason's gaze, preferring the pack leader's curious look over whatever he might see in Juliana’s eyes. “They shot at me, and I was hit. This woman came to my aid and ran them off.”

  Jason nodded, then turned his attention back to Juliana. “I am indebted to you for protecting my pack mate. However, the hunters may return for you. Do you have somewhere safe you can go?”

  Juliana's face paled. “No. I won't leave here.”

  Derek forced himself to hold back a grin, impressed with her courage.

  “Derek.” Jason tilted his head toward the patio and walked outside with his enforcers. Derek followed behind.

  “This is a serious situation,” the pack leader advised as he turned to face him.

  “The woman is no danger to our kind,” Derek responded. “She had the opportunity to allow me to die. Even after I shifted, she cared for me.”

  “The hunters could return. If they had silver bullets, they most likely knew we were here. The pack must leave.”

  Derek nodded, though the thought of leaving twisted his stomach. Leaving the North Carolina woods would mean leaving Juliana. “There were only two men. Were-Hunters usually travel in larger groups, and…” He walked over to the smashed flowerpot and sniffed. Nothing. Peering closer, he searched the surrounding area until he located the bullet first fired at him. “One of the men had regular bullets. I don't think this was an intentional attack.”

  “So, what, one man just happened to have silver bullets?” Jason arched an eyebrow at him.

  “He could have been superstitious. This is the week of the full moon.” Derek was grabbing at straws, but he didn't want to leave Juliana behind just yet. Even if he didn't want her to be his mate.

  Jason sighed and looked inside the house to observe Juliana. “This woman seems a little too accepting of what she witnessed tonight,” he commented. “Most humans wouldn't react so well.”

  “You reacted well to it when you met Ming.”

  “Yes, because we were soul mates.” He looked at Derek pointedly. “Why were you hanging around this woman's home in wolf form?”

  Derek met Jason’s stare but refrained from answering. What fate had planned for him wasn't anyone's business, not even his pack.

  “Mercury, Rico.” Jason captured the attention of his enforcers. “The woman will need protection in case the hunters come back. Mercury, stay with her in the house. Rico, guard—”

  “I will protect the woman,” Derek said, noticing the way Mercury's amber eyes gleamed as they fell upon Juliana's tempting figure. Pack mate be damned, he'd rip the man limb from limb if he entertained the thought of touching her.

  Jason studied him. “You've made it well known how you dislike humans.”

  “I stated I'd never mate with a human woman,” he clarified. “You make me sound like a racist. No harm will come to her in my care.”

  “Mercury and Rico will guard the perimeter then.” Jason gestured with his head for the two enforcers to take up their positions patrolling the area. “There are no cops here. I assume anyone within hearing range of the shots would attribute them to normal hunting?”

  “There were silencers on the rifles.” Derek frowned, recalling the weapons. “They were some sort of modified rifles, the barrels larger than normal.”

  “Modified for werewolf hunting, possibly?” Jason balled his fists up. “I'll post guards at different points in the forest and order the rest of the pack to stay in their homes, far away from harm. If the hunters do come back for us, we'll know our location is no longer safe.”

  “We'll leave North Carolina.”

  “Yes.” Jason's eyes softened. “She could come with us.”

  “Why would the human come with us?” The question came out as a growl.

  “Come on, Derek. You've been missing out on pack activities the last two moon cycles, now you've been shot outside the woman's house. She just happens to have a big glass sliding door you can watch her through.” Jason shook his head. “Fate has a way of toying with a person. Whether you prefer human or not—”

  “I am not mating with her, regardless what fate has in mind.” Screw her senseless, maybe, but he wasn't keeping her.

  Jason chuckled. “You're staying inside with her, all alone, and it's the week of the full moon. You don't really have a choice if she's the one. Stay in touch and be careful,” he called over his shoulder as he stepped down from the patio and shifted into his wolf form, running into the woods in a blur of silvery gray.

  Derek walked back into the house and locked the sliding door behind him. When he looked at Juliana, he found her standing in the middle of the room, peering outside. Her beautiful face was marred with a frown of confusion. “What is it?”

  “If you're werewolves, why aren't you naked when you change from wolf to man?”

  “Those are movie werewolves,” Derek answered, allowing a lascivious grin to spread across his mouth as he stepped closer. “Do you want me naked?”

  His breath stilled in surprise as she reached out to trail her delicate fingertips down his torso. “It'd definitely be a sight worth seeing.”

  All the blood in Derek's body raced toward his shaft, pushing it out against the fabric of his pants. Juliana's cheeks bloomed a rosy pink when she noticed. The eyes that rose to meet his were dilated and filled with yearning. When she traced her little pink tongue over her full bottom lip, he nearly burst through his zipper.

  Allowing her fingers to graze just below his belt buckle, she asked, “Is all that for me?”

  Chapter Three

  Derek’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. Juliana fought off the urge to lick it, simultaneously wondering where the bold question had come from. She normally wasn't so forward, but there was something about the man that made her want to throw all sense of decency out the window.

  Derek stepped forward, closing the distance between them. So close, his aura of raw masculinity rushed over her, stealing her breath. The man was a living, breathing fantasy. Shivers ran the length of Juliana's spine as he bent down to run his nose along her collarbone. “Little ballerinas shouldn't tempt big, bad wolves,” he warned, his voice a husky whisper in her ear before he pushed away and walked past her, his footsteps falling harshly against the floor.

  Blinking, Juliana turned to watch him as he crossed over to the kitchen area, putting space between them. His pupils were dilated, his breathing heavier, and his jaw clenched as tightly as his fisted hands. He desired her as badly as she desired him. So why was he fighting it? And if he was fighting it so hard, why was he still here?

  “You appear to be in good physical shape,” she commented, allowing her gaze to rove over the length of him. He was in damn good physical shape. She gave her head a shake to clear it of all the naughty little thoughts looking at him provoked. “Why didn't you leave with your…pack mates?”

  A flash of something that seemed a lot like disappointment crossed over his eyes and Juliana wondered if she'd hurt his ego by questioning why he was still there. “I brought hunters to your door. It is my duty to see that you are not harmed because of my being here tonight.”

  “Why were you here tonight? And the other nights?” He looked away and Juliana grinned, amused that despite his chocolate complexion, he could still blush. “You've been watching me for a while now.” The realization sent another shiver through her system. She supposed if any other man had done such a thing, she would have felt stalked, but the t
hought of Derek watching her dance night after night strangely turned her on.

  “Maybe I'm a fan of the arts,” he answered with a shrug.

  A daring idea crept into Juliana's mind. “Well, if that's the case, maybe you can help me.”

  His dark eyes snapped to hers. “Help you what?”

  “I need a partner to practice some of the moves.”

  He swallowed again. “You don't have a dance partner to practice with in a dance studio?”

  “No.” The answer came out snappish and Juliana winced. It wasn't Derek's fault she'd ended up feeling like a prisoner to her talent and had to escape it all. No, she had a feeling Derek was nothing like the stuffy aristocratic Van Alders or the dancers she'd worked with in the theater. He seemed so wild and uninhibited, absolutely carefree. That, and the loneliness she'd sensed from him during his earlier visits, drew her to him, and overrode any fear a woman would normally have if faced with a man who could turn into an animal at will. “I'm not currently in any productions, but I still like to keep my skills sharp. Can you help me, please?”

  “I'm not a dancer,” he advised, his voice low and rough.

  “I don't need another dancer, I just need a man.” Her heart revved with the confession. She needed a man, all right. Her body was tingling in places it hadn't tingled in what felt like decades, just looking at the tall, sexy beast before her. She sensed his hesitancy, felt the refusal coming, and poked him where it hurt. “Unless the big, bad wolf is a fraidy cat.”

  Dark eyes flickering red, he strode forward, stopping before the barre attached to the mirrored wall. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Dance with me,” she whispered softly, easing into his arms. His body instantly tensed. “Relax, wolfie. I won't bite.”

  “I might,” he said as she ran her hands up his chest, and heat pooled in her core at the thought. She'd always been straight-laced, but secretly had entertained wild fantasies that she knew would mortify her oh-so-proper family. Derek seemed like just the kind of man she could indulge in those fantasies with.

  Gripping onto his shoulders, she hoisted herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Hold on to me,” she ordered. His large hands wrapped around her waist, the slight trembling in them indicating he wasn't doing much better than her in controlling his hunger.

  “What is this move called?” His voice came out strained.

  “Whatever you want it to be called.” Juliana grinned lasciviously and pushed out her small breasts, ramming them right into his face before stretching her arms over her head. With her thighs gripping Derek's waist, she stretched out her legs and leaned back, confident his hands around her waist would hold her steady. She leaned back until she was completely spread eagle with her thighs clenched around him, locking her in place. The sharp intake of breath coming from Derek let her know he was turned on. Bolder than she'd ever felt in her life, she held the pose, but brought her hands to the bottom of her top. Slowly, she ran them up her torso, lingering over her breasts before raising her upper body.

  Face to face with Derek, she took in the hungry eyes and clenched jaw. Then, before she lost her nerve, she freed herself of the tank top, leaving herself bare from the waist up. “You're a werewolf and a stranger, Derek, but I want you.” She held his face in her hands and ground her core against him, feeling the evidence of his arousal. “Dance with me. You know all the moves.”

  With a growl, Derek grabbed a fistful of the long hair at her nape and tugged her head back. Her back arched and he fastened his mouth onto a nipple, savagely pulling the rigid peak into his mouth. A spark of electricity jolted through Juliana's body from the contact and she cried out.

  With a frustrated growl, Derek lowered her and backed away. “I'm too rough for you.”

  Realizing he'd misunderstood her cry, Juliana grabbed his arm and tugged him back to her. “If that was rough, then I definitely like it rough.” His mouth parted to say something, no doubt a refusal, so she quickly kissed him, sliding her tongue into his mouth to block any reason he could think of to stop from coming out. He tasted of sin and freedom.

  The rumble of pleasure coming from his throat spurred Juliana on and she broke the kiss to pull his T-shirt over his head. The masterpiece revealed looked like it had been carved out of hard marble, but covered in soft satin. She delighted in the contrast as she ran her fingers over the pecs and down the ridges of his six-pack. Derek didn't seem to breathe as she unsnapped his pants and lowered the zipper, struggling for a moment to get it over his erection. Once the task was completed, she blinked at what she'd exposed. He might be a wolf, but the man was hung like a horse.

  Before she could recover from the shock of his sheer size, he ripped her shorts right off her body, her lace panties with them. Juliana gasped, looking at the scrap of material he dropped to the floor. It became clear to her she was about to have sex with a man she didn't know, a man who wasn't really a man, but a supernatural being. A man who could probably eat her alive if he chose to.

  He must have sensed her hesitation because he tipped her chin up with a finger, forcing her to meet his dark gaze. “I do not make sweet love,” he advised, voice strained with desire. “I have passionate, hard sex, but even that I do not have unless I am with a willing partner.”

  Juliana swallowed, her knees weak from his bold admission. Most men would sweet talk, make promises, and drown her in flattery. Derek let his eyes give her all the compliments she needed and didn't lie about his intentions. He probably would never see her after the night was through, and would likely not remember her name, but he hungered for her now, and it was a raw hunger she craved.

  She'd had the rich college graduates vying for her hand in marriage so they could become part of the Van Alder family, and the men looking for someone beautiful to adorn their arm. They smothered her in flowers, bathed her in sweet nothings. She was tired of sweet. Sweet was fake, part of a ploy. What Derek wanted to do was real, as real and natural as it came.

  “I'm willing.”

  Derek raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he kicked off his shoes and stepped out of the pants pooled around his ankles. His gaze slowly rolled over her body, leaving a trail of heat along the intimate places it touched. Juliana fought not to cover herself with her hands under his scrutiny.

  “You appear bashful.” Derek met her gaze. “You have been with men before?”

  “Yes.”

  A flash of something dangerous flickered through his eyes and then his mouth crashed down upon hers, stealing the air from her lungs as he grabbed her hips and picked her up. She inhaled sharply as she realized she was poised over his shaft. “What about con—”

  “Werewolves do not catch or spread disease, and if we breed I will take care of what is mine.”

  Juliana started to protest but before the words came, she was sliding down the long length of his erection. Standing, tilted slightly backward so his upper back lightly rested on the mirrored wall, Derek moved her up and down, and she gasped at the realization they were having sex standing up. It was like nothing she'd ever done before.

  Derek lifted and brought her down with ease, his panting the only sign of exertion. A tingle started at the point their bodies connected and spread through Juliana until she thought she'd scream. Gasping for air, she latched onto the reflection in the mirror. As if watching from outside her body, she saw herself bobbing up and down on Derek as he stood, the muscles in his hard body strained. He bent his head forward and drew a nipple into his mouth. The tingle inside her body grew as his tongue and teeth played with the bud, and when he bit down she lost it, screaming as her body exploded.

  Then she was standing, her hands wrapped around the barre. Her knees gave, but Derek's strong arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her standing. “I've wanted to do this every night I've watched you dance,” he said against her ear as he mounted her from behind and rammed his body into hers. Juliana tightened her grip on the barre as he pounded away inside her, each thrust bringing her closer to
yet another explosive climax.

  “Look at me,” he ordered and she met his gaze in the mirror. “Watch me take you to where no other man has ever, could ever, take you.”

  There was a possessiveness in his voice, a sense of ownership in his eyes that revved Juliana's heart. The hands that cupped her breasts were powerful enough to crush bone, but he touched her with a controlled roughness designed to bring only pleasure, not pain. She didn't want those hands to leave her, those eyes to look away from her.

  “Your body was designed for me,” he said before another mind-blowing orgasm hit her and he growled his release, the sound challenging the ferocity of a lion's roar.

  He pulled out of her and her knees instantly gave. Before she could sink to the floor, she was swept up into Derek's muscular arms. Without a word he carried her into her bedroom and laid her on her bed. Leaning over her, he brushed a strand of hair away from her brow and studied her. His eyes were soft as his gaze rove over her face. She knew she was breathing heavy and hoped she didn't look a fright, struggling for air like a guppy out of its tank.

  “Did I hurt you in any way?”

  His eyes were filled with too much concern for a man who just had hard sex. Hope flared to life in Juliana's chest as she realized a one-night stand with this man wouldn't be enough. “You didn't hurt me at all, Derek. In fact, that was the most wonderful thing I've ever experienced.”

  He lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers, gently caressing them. It was a sweet and gentle kiss from a man who claimed to be anything but. Juliana started to comment on it, but as he raised up, his eyes quickly hardened.

  Abruptly, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him before letting out a growl of rage.

  Chapter Four

  Derek stormed through the living area to retrieve his pants, growling the entire way. He pulled them on with more force than necessary while replaying what had just happened through his mind. The damn human had seduced him. His mate. He shuddered, damning himself for being so stupid. Letting the little head do the negotiation, he'd thought he could screw her one good time and get her out of his system, end of story. Had the big head—the one with a functioning brain—been doing the thinking, he'd have never given in to temptation. He would have realized one taste of her wouldn't ever be enough. Now, for as long as he lived, he would crave the damn woman.