Moon Kissed by Donna Grant

slide them into the opening, he heard something within. Myles opened the door and stepped inside to find Solomon pulling chairs off the tables.
    “Couldn’t sleep?” Solomon asked.
    Myles shook his head. “You either?”
    Solomon grunted. “You know I don’t sleep.”
    It was true, and something they rarely spoke about. “I can’t figure out why Addison is so important to the factions.”
    “Did you ever stop to think it’s because she came to work here?”
    Myles walked behind the bar and poured himself a cup of strong, black coffee. “How many people have we had work for us through the years? Not a one of them have been singled out.”
    “True,” Solomon conceded as he set the last chair in place getting ready for the midday rush. He walked to the bar and sat on a stool. “Something in her past, maybe?”
    Myles shrugged. “Could be. I don’t want to interrogate her about it.”
    “It’s either that or we call in a favor at the NOPD.”
    Myles scratched his cheek and drank more of the coffee, hoping the caffeine would kick in soon. “I’ll be surprised if she returns. After everything, she’s probably too freaked out to come back.”
    “Making it harder for us to protect her.” Solomon raised his brows and looked pointedly at Myles.
    “Since when was I voted the one to watch over her?”
    “Since you can’t take your eyes off her.”
    Myles couldn’t deny that. He thought he’d been covert about it.  
    “We’re wiser now,” Solomon said as he rested his forearms on the bar and laced his fingers together. His dark blond hair was disheveled as if he’d been running his hands through it. “We made mistakes with M.... We made mistakes.”
    Myles looked away when Solomon couldn’t even say the name of the woman he had loved. Six years hadn’t dulled the pain of losing her – or the memory of the tragic way she’d died. “I hear there are two new females that arrived at the were camp in Slidell. Go take a look.”
    Solomon’s gaze went hard. “We’re talking about you, not me. The point is, Addison is going to need to be watched regardless if she comes back to work or not. A vampire was here to kill her. Delphine purposefully walked into our bar to talk to Addison on the night she knew we wouldn’t be here. Last but not least, someone from the witch faction reading fortunes had a vision about her being chased by a wolf.”
    “I know all of it. You don’t have to repeat it,” Myles said testily.
    “Apparently I do, to beat it into that thick skull of yours.”
    Myles finished off his coffee and set the mug down hard. “You think I don’t know you’re shoving me at her in the hopes that I’ll give in?”
    Solomon held his gaze for several long moments. “I think you’re fighting every natural instinct to take her. I think you’re going out of your way to ensure you won’t give in to the desire. I think you want her more than anything else. Ever.”
    “I can’t,” Myles whispered.
    “Because you’re afraid of falling in love? Or afraid of losing her?”
    Myles didn’t think he was strong enough to endure what Solomon had. To have found love, then to have lost it in such a heinous way, was too much. Now, knowing so many factions were interested in Addison only brought the possibility home.
    “Both,” Myles admitted.
    Solomon put his hands on the bar and stood. “It still doesn’t change the fact that she’s in danger. I’ll have Kane watch her first. We three can divvy up the time. You don’t have to be involved.”
    Myles clenched his hands into fists at the thought of his brothers watching Addison’s every move as he stayed behind. It was for the best. At least that’s what he told himself as Solomon started toward the kitchen.
    “No,” Myles said before Solomon could go through the doorway. “I’ll talk to her. And stop smiling, you jackass. I can see you.”
    Solomon laughed as he disappeared into the kitchen. Myles sighed and decided to go over