BrightBlueMoon by Ranae Rose Page B

– it’s not like I’m really a member of the pack – but…” He shrugged. “I’ve been gone for so long, missed so much. I don’t want to mess up things with Mandy, especially now that I’m just getting to know her and her pack. If they want me around, then I wanna be there for them, even if it’s just to babysit a crew of morons with a few fancy cameras.”
    “From what Mandy’s told me, Jack lived out here on his own for a long time – the last Half Moon wolf. Their territory was all he had, and I guess I can’t blame him for being so protective of it and the pack, now that he’s not alone anymore.”
    Michael nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
    Kimberly’s heart melted, lessening her disappointment. “Anyway, it’s awfully sweet of you to help them out.”
    He grimaced. “I don’t feel sweet. I feel just the opposite when I think of how I’d rather spend tonight.”
    All at once, she became aware of the intensity of his gaze again – the hard gleam had never left his eyes, and she was vividly reminded of the feel of his equally hard body against hers. “You said the monster hunters are taking a break, right? So you’ve got some time before you have to head out again.”
    He never broke eye contact. “Yeah, I’ve got some time.”
    Heat shimmered across the surface of her skin, all over her body as he approached her, reaching for her, settling a hand on her hip. The same cocktail of chemicals and emotions that had washed over her the night before returned, a heady mix of desire and just plain need . Outwardly, she’d made it on her own, had sustained her life on the surface, for their daughter’s sake. But inside … life had lacked a lot without him, and now all of that was within reach.
    Finally.
    She grabbed a fistful of his shirt, letting her knuckles and nails press into his chest as she slid a hand behind his head, into his short hair. It was still soft, even after so many years, barely touched by grey, and the feel of it between her fingers was intoxicating. As their lips neared each other’s, she could smell him, a pleasant mix of forest smells – pine and open air, the earthy spice of dying leaves – and aftershave. Dark stubble cast a faint shadow over his jaw and tickled her cheek and chin as he crushed his mouth to hers.
    It was like picking up where they’d left off the night before, only her desire now was even more intense, ripened by a night of waiting. She parted her lips, welcoming him in, letting his tongue tangle with hers. As they kissed, he slipped a hand beneath the hem of her shirt, palming her breasts and tucking his fingertips into the cups of her bra, teasing her nipples.
    They sprang up hard and tingling, reminding her of his mouth on one the night before. She felt the pull of desire just like she’d felt his pull then, an inexorable demand for more – for everything they’d once had – that radiated from the core of her being, the very marrow in her bones.
    “What do you say we take this back to the bedroom?” he asked after a few minutes, pulling away from her mouth while keeping one hand on her hip and another on her breast.
    She nodded, swollen lips tingling, burning for more.
    The colorful handmade quilt that covered the bed in her room paled to bland shades of grey in comparison to Michael’s body as he stripped. She’d seen it bare more than a few times over the past week – an agreeable side-effect of his strange condition, his true nature. But not like this.
    Her core drew tight, clenching at the sight of his muscle-ridged torso and lean hips, exposed when he shed his shirt. Being a shape-shifter did incredible things for one’s figure, apparently, even as time wore on. His body was more mature than it had been when they’d first met – in a good way.  
    His muscles were more corded, roped with sinew, and there was hair in places there’d barely been before. Overall, his look was more rugged, more masculine. Or should she say more