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Moonshadows

By: twilight_song



A raindrop hit the page I was writing on I looked up, startled. Darkly heavy rainclouds blanketed the sky. The sun was completely blocked, making for an ominously early twilight, and even as I gazed, two more cold drops hit my upturned face. 

"Shit," I muttered, hastily closing my notebook and tucking the pen into the spiral binding. Turning off my music, I pulled off my headphones and put all my belongings into the old backpack on the park bench next to me. I only took a moment to stretch before shrugging into my pack and heading off quickly. More droplets fell to earth around me and the rich scent of freshly wetted pavement arose as I emerged from the park and started walking along the streets. 

A few people hurried past me, going the opposite direction, hunching their shoulders against the rain that only seemed to be getting started. I sighed and sped up a little. It was quite a ways to my apartment, and I hadn't brought any rain gear to speak of, having not heard anything about any showers due today. 

"Shit," I said under my breath again. Well, at least my backpack was mostly waterproof. 

I pulled the zipper on my thin little jacket all the way up, but didn't bother putting on the hood. The thing was mostly decorational, and wouldn't do anything to really shield my face. But I did get a little warmth from sticking my hands into the pouch pockets in front. 

Well, I thought, blinking up at the clouds again, This is a break from the usual. 

The usual being my afternoon in the park, mostly spent writing from the same old bench. For some reason, I was really able to focus there, and a lot of my best work is the product of those outings. Normally, I would write for a good three, or even four hours, before the light started to change and I'd head home to transfer it all from notebook to computer. From there I could tweak it, cut and paste and merge it with the rest of my slowly-emerging novel. 

But today, it seemed, my routine was not to be. With as dark as they had made everything, I was surprised that I hadn't noticed the clouds coming in earlier. I could only figure that I must have been so absorbed in my writing that it blinded me to the dramatic change in the light.

Shit, again.

As I crossed the street, I suddenly noticed that the block I was walking through was in almost full darkness. Even thicker clouds had rolled in, adding their own contributions to the downpour, and further smothering the sun. I shivered, not completely from the rain. Benign enough by daytime, the buildings around here seemed much more seedy in this sudden dusk. A distinctly menacing feeling worked its way up my spine, a creepy sensation that emanated from the deep shadows. I realized nervously that I had never walked around this place at night. I had always finished my business well before nightfall, and right now, that seemed like a really wise idea. 

I picked up my pace some more, and saw a lamppost up ahead that did something to diminish the dark. More, evenly spaced lights followed it, but they didn't get rid of the nagging sensation of danger that prickled my scalp and quickened my pulse. Twilight was when the predators came out to hunt.

I heard the rumble of their engines long before they appeared. Going slowly because of the rain, they growled up the street behind me. Their headlights were glaring cones of brightness, stretching shadows in front of the parking meters and signposts. I hoped for a second that they might just pass me, but almost immediately I heard them slowing down further. I was all-too aware of the picture I must have made, with my sodden jeans clinging to my legs, ass, and hips, and my similarly-drenched top molded to the curves of my torso.

"Hey, baby!" A rough voice called. I turned my head slightly and saw a guy on a motorcycle grinning at me from beneath a handlebar mustache. Neither he, nor his two buddies on their own motorcycles, were wearing helmets. I guess they must have gotten caught out in the rain as well. Or they thought it would clash with their bad-ass look. 

"You want a ride?" One of the others asked. I looked at him briefly and flashed a smile of completely false confidence. 

"I'm good. Thanks, though."

The first one snorted. "In this shit? You gotta be kidding."

"Seriously, I'm fine."

"C'mon, baby," the second one insisted, "Let us give you a ride."

Staring straight forward, I shook my head. Why did these people always have to go through the pretenses of being friendly? We all knew what they were really after, and what would happen if I didn't let them have their way. I was so nervous, I felt nauseated, but I tried to keep a cool appearance. One of the first rules of self-defense is to not look like an easy target, right? 

"It's only a ride," the third chimed in. 

Who was I kidding? At five foot one, and a mere hundred pounds, I don't exactly cut an intimidating figure. On the verge of panic I swung my pack off one shoulder and reached into the front pocket. The bikers watched me a little warily, but the only thing I could find was a ball-point gel pen. They laughed derisively at my pathetic weapon, but I did my best to ignore them, shouldering the second strap again and tucking the pen into my jacket pocket. 

"Baby, I'm starting to lose my patience." The mustache guy said. Now his true colors were beginning so show. I swallowed and kept walking. If I could get somewhere with more people...

The third one leered at me. "Maybe you just need a little extra encouragement."

"Maybe you need to fuck off!" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them and I was filled with instant regret and sickening fear. What was I thinking? Three angry stares made me quake in my soggy shoes. 

Idiot, idiot, idiot!

"You better watch you mouth, you little–"

"Is there a problem here?"

All of our heads turned to the source of the deep voice, and I stopped walking. A man stood on the sidewalk, his hands casually tucked into his jacket pockets. He had to be at least six foot three and he had broad, powerful-looking shoulders. I couldn't tell the color in the dusky light, but his hair was dark and had a wild sort of look to it. His face was still mostly shadowed, though I caught suggestions of fiercely proud features, enough to inspire curiosity about the full picture. He stared at the bikers with a calmness that immediately tipped me off that he was not a man to be messed with.

The bikers didn't seem to notice. 

"Naw. No problem at all," mustache guy called back. Though his tone was mild, I heard a definite underlying note of warning. "We're just having a little chat, is all."

"Oh yeah? 'Cause it looked to me more like you were hassling this lady here." The man countered cooly.

"Well maybe you better get your eyes fixed," the second guy snarled. "We weren't 'hassling' nobody."

The man shrugged. "How 'bout we ask the lady what she thinks?" He turned his attention to me then, and even though I could barely see his face, I knew his eyes were on me. I felt a reassuring warmth in that gaze, even as I trembled in fear of the three other men. "What do you say?" He asked me mildly.

"I... I... " Swallowing, I tried again. "They..." It was no good. Words had abandoned me like rats flee a sinking ship. 

But the man seemed to find affirmation in my pathetic stutters and he nodded, turning back to the bikers. "Okay, guys. It's about time you ran along now. Buh-bye."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mustache roared. He revved his engine in menacing accompaniment to his words. "I aint going nowhere, you fuckin' prick!"

"Hell, no!" Shouted the third guy.

The second guy looked at both his friends then back at my unexpected ally. "This asshole's really starting to piss me off... I say we teach him a thing or two."

The bikers shared an evil grin and started making as if to dismount their bikes. I felt so scared I thought I might puke. Any relief I might have felt when I first saw the man withered away. I mean, he was big, no question, and he gave off a definite "don't mess" vibe, but there was only one of him, and all three of the bikers were burly, ferocious-looking dudes with definite mean-streaks. More than a match for my would-be rescuer if they all attacked at once. 

I felt scummy even thinking it, but I knew that my only viable chance to get out of this mess without being raped, and perhaps worse, would be to make a break for it while the bikers were busy beating the stuffing out of my pal. It didn't help ease the guilt at all to tell myself I'd call the police as soon as I reached safety. The guy would be beaten to a pulp by the time any law enforcement arrived, and the attackers long gone. But all the same, I started mentally preparing myself to run for my life. 

Then the man took a step forward and addressed the bikers coldly. "So you wanna fight me, huh?" His voice had a sort of low, growly quality to it all of a sudden. Without really doing anything, he somehow seemed to get bigger. Darker. Scarier. I saw surprise, then unease all three of the biker's expressions. I still couldn't see his face, but they were staring at it as if transfixed, and not in a happy way. 

Suddenly one of the bikers looked away and muttered to the others, "It's not even worth it. Let's just get outta here."

Looking slightly ill, the other two nodded and sounded their engines, and before I knew it, they were gone, off roaring down the street. I stared after them in shock. Just like that, it was over?

"Hey, you okay?"

I turned, a little dazed, to my rescuer. "Uh, yeah." I stammered. My brain was still stuck on the bikers' abrupt exit. "What... How did you...?"

He shrugged. "I guess they just decided they didn't want the trouble."

"Yeah, I guess..."

I gave myself a sudden mental smack. What was wrong with me? Who cared why the bikers left? They were gone, and that's all that really mattered. And I here I was second-guessing the guy who'd just saved my ass. "God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful."

He chuckled, a deep, pleasant sound. "Hey, don't even worry about it. You didn't."

I shifted, feeling awkward. "Well, thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up." I smiled, though a shiver ran through my body at the thought of what had been so close to happening. 

"No problem. I'm glad I could help."

"I'm glad, too."

I took a couple steps forward, stopping under a dim light on the side of a building. Maybe interpreting this as a signal it was okay for him to do the same, he approached until he was only a couple feet away, illuminating him fully at last. I couldn't help but stare. 

His hair was such a dark brown it was almost black, and on the long side. The rain made it curl slightly, and here and there raindrops dangled, sparkling in the meager light. His face was a mixture of power, masculine beauty, and a sort of primal wildness I'd never seen before. He had bold, black eyebrows, and a strong jaw. His mouth looked hard, though not inflexible, with curving, handsome lips. But it was the eyes that had my real attention. They were YELLOW. Or, at least the closest thing I've ever heard of. They reminded me of the eyes of one of the dogs I'd had growing up, a gold only slightly darkened by a little brown. I had always thought that for a dog, it was one of the best possible looks. On a person, it was both disconcerting and fascinating.  

I realized I was gawking like an idiot, but it was hard to tear my gaze away. After a couple breaths more of staring, I managed it. Blushing, I looked down at my feet. Strands of my soaked hair fell forward a little, and I hoped it did something to hide my burning cheeks. There's nothing like realizing you're blushing in front of someone to make you even more embarrassed. 

"Anyway," I mumbled. I made myself buck up and look him in the face again. "My name is Selene."

"Selene," he repeated slowly, as if tasting the word. He apparently found it to his liking because he smiled, extending his hand. "I'm Rafe."

"It's good to meet you, Rafe." Trying to fight the heady effect his smile was having on me, I smiled back and shook his hand. The instant our skin touched, I felt a shock come from where our hands were clasped, but it was a pleasant sensation. Like a sort of tingling spark that sent warm little echoes up my arm. I studied his hand curiously, noticing how it completely dwarfed my own, and feeling the calluses on his palm and fingers. I noted the small scars, paler than his tanned skin, that crossed the back of his hand and knuckles. Those scars were the mark of a worker. Or a frequent fighter. 

Damn it, I was staring again! Guiltily, I looked way up at him to find him regarding me with interest. I blushed again as I realized the handshake was long over, and let go of his hand, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

Oh, man... He must have thought I was a complete loser. 

It was definitely time to make a retreat, and save myself further self-inflicted humiliation. The only problem was that despite the rain that had me completely drenched, I didn't want to leave. I mean, you don't meet guys like this every day. Especially if you're unimpressive, introverted little me. 

"Um, well, I should probably get going." I eventually said lamely.

"Yeah, it's really coming down now." His unusual topaz eyes scanned the sky briefly before returning to me. "You gonna be okay walking home in this?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. I'm already soaked, so it's not like I have to worry about the rain anymore."

"What I meant was, are you gonna be okay walking by yourself?"

I thought about it a second. On the one hand, I was still a little leery of the darkened streets, and even more than that, I wanted to prolong this interaction with Rafe for as long as possible. But on the other hand, I worried that I'd make an even bigger ass of myself, and erase any possibility of future interaction if I hung around him much longer. Besides, with the night I was having, I wasn't too sure I wanted any stranger to know exactly where I lived. Even the stranger who had just saved me. So I answered, "I'll be fine. It isn't too much further anyway."

"You sure?" He asked earnestly.

I nodded. "Thank you, though."

"Again, no problem."

On a sudden impulse, I pulled the pen from my pocket and reached to grasp Rafe's large hand again. I was half-expecting, and kind of hoping for a repeat of the tingling sensation when I touched him, but it seemed it was a one-time deal. I felt only the comfortable warmth of his skin as I turned his palm up and quickly scrawled my phone number on it. Capping the pen, I let his hand drop and stepped back, my eyes on my shoes.

"That's my number. Just in case, I dunno, you ever want to have lunch or something." My face was practically on fire and my brain was reeling from my completely uncharacteristic boldness. I couldn't so much as look at him, or I was sure I'd expire from embarrassment. 

"Lunch, huh?" I could hear the smile in his voice. 

I was too nervous to answer.

"I'd like that." He said slowly. From under my lashes, I could see him look at his palm and nod at it. "You'll be hearing from me, then."

Still with my eyes down, I nodded, but even my shyness couldn't completely keep the smile from my lips. "So, I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Definitely."

I smiled a little wider, and gathered the courage to look up at him. He grinned back, the expression making him even more gorgeous. My stomach did a little flip. "Well, bye." I said, then started walking quickly. 

He raised his hand in a little parting wave then started off in the opposite direction. "Later."

Oh my God... Oh, my God! 

My feet made a rapid beat on the rain-slicked sidewalks, my heart fluttering away in my chest. In the back of my mind, I remembered that I should hurry home, lest other night-prowlers try to pick up where the bikers left off, but in truth, my hurry was more due to excitement than fear. 

I had just asked him out! Me! Asking someone like him out! But even more incredible, he actually seemed interested. This was insane! You have to understand, I am deathly shy. So much so that in my nineteen years of life, I'd only been on one other date before, and thanks to my constant blushing and pathetic conversational skills, that ended real fast. When the guy tried to kiss me at the door, I nearly threw up on his shoes I was so nervous. Needless to say, there was no second date. 

The rest of the walk home passed uneventfully. My exhilaration was still too fresh for any doubts to intrude, and for some reason, the empty streets didn't seem so threatening anymore. Even when I once thought I heard something behind me and turned to check, I didn't get that same impression of menace as I had before. It was almost like I had an invisible escort, keeping the terrors away. 

Still, it was with significant relief that I reached my apartment building. Everything except for a tiny patch on my back that was covered by my bag was soaking, and it was making me cold. I squelched up the flight of stairs to the second story, and dug around in my bag with cold fingers until I found my keys. 

The door swung open quietly, and I stepped inside to welcome heat. Throwing the bolt again behind me, I had to take a moment to bask in my good fortune, just leaning with my head against the door and a silly smile on my face.

"Selene?" A voice called from the kitchen. I walked towards it almost in a daze, stopping in the door frame. My housemate turned to me, spoon still in hand from stirring the spaghetti sauce. "You had me worried. It's raining pretty hard out there..." She trailed off as she saw my expression. "Uh... Did something happen?"

My shoes made squishing noises as I went and sat down at the kitchen table. I slung my backpack to the floor next to me then just sat there quietly for a minute as I tried to verbalize my thoughts. "Yes," I answered at last. 

Cara switched off the stove and sat down across from me. She raised her eyebrows. "Yeah? And?"

"And... Well, I don't know if you're gonna believe this. I don't know if I believe it myself..."

"Oh, c'mon. Just spit it out. Tell me."

I took a breath and I told her.

A few minutes later, when I had finished, we both sat in silence with Cara just looking at me. Suddenly she let out a whoop and jumped up, "Selene, that's great!" She beamed at me. "And it's about fuckin' time you met someone!"

I was a little taken aback by the force of her reaction, but I couldn't help smiling. "Hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I still have plenty of time to screw things up."

"But you're not going to," she said firmly. "You know why?"

I shook my head, confused.

"Because, my dear friend, I'm going to coach you. And you can stop making that face at me. This is going to work. It has to. We have got to get you laid."

"Cara!" My face flushed bright pink. 

"What?" She asked with a shrug. "It's true. It'll do you wonders. And it'll probably even help with your writing."

"What the hell does sex have anything to do with my writing?!"

She waved her hand dismissively. "That's not important." I started protesting but she just got louder. "What is important is that you go get changed into something that doesn't drip all over the floor so that we can talk about this over dinner."

"You are absolutely unbelievable!" I exclaimed, trying to hide the affection in my tone.

She returned to the stove but blew me a kiss over her shoulder. "You know it. I still have to make the pasta, so dinner should be in about twenty minutes."

Sighing resignedly, I got up and walked down the hall to my room. After closing and locking the door, I stripped quickly, draping the sodden clothes over the edge of my laundry basket. Goosebumps broke out all over my body from the chilly air on my wet skin, so I went straight for some comfortable underwear, and a warm pair of flannel pajama pants. I figured I'd just go to bed after dinner, so I got one of my sleeping tanktops out and put that on too. 


Moonshadows Ch. 02



Author's Note: I thought I should mention that the great part of this chapter was written close to the last time I submitted something (almost a year ago, yikes!), but while some of the writing might be a bit dated by now, I figured my reappearance here took precedence over self-consciousness about old writing, and finally bucked up and finished the damn thing. Anyway, if there are inconsistencies in the writing style, that's the reason. As always, comments and votes are loved. Thanks, everyone!

~~~

I heard the click and whirr of my stereo powering-up before the CD began its slow crescendo to the full volume of the morning alarm. Without opening my eyes, I fumbled around on my beside table for the remote to turn it down again, and tucked my head back into my pillow, sighing. I'd get up in two songs.

It was, in fact, three songs later that I reluctantly pushed aside my delicious cocoon of blankets and got out of bed. The air was cold, and helped clear the haze of sleep from my head a little. My bare feet slipped quietly over the chilly wood of the floors as I made my way to the bathroom, but it wasn't until I spent a few minute under the hot spray of the shower that I actually began feeling awake. 

I leaned back into the spray and let the steamy water massage my scalp, feeling hot rivulets of water trickle over my breasts, across my belly, and twine down my legs. My eyes were closed as I turned to face the shower-head. It was angled so that it hit my nipples just right, tickling the pink buds. I sighed happily.

Heaven.

Ten minutes later, I emerged. I would have tarried longer in the delightful heat, but I needed to save some hot water for the shower Cara would inevitably want to take, and, besides, I had to start getting ready for my breakfast engagement. 

The very thought made me giddy, so there was an extra spring to my step as I returned to my room. I unwound the towel from around my body, and wrapped it around my head, to dry my hair some while I tried to pick an outfit. Any other day, it would have been simply a matter of throwing on whatever caught my eye first, but today, I wanted to look really good. 

I stood in front of my wardrobe and rubbed my arms briskly as I eyed my choices. The reflection of my cream-colored skin in the wardrobe mirror caught my eye, so I turned and looked at myself fully. I noted with satisfaction the smooth length of my legs and the gentle curve of my hips. My eyes glanced at the sparse curls at the juncture of my thighs, before rising up over my flat belly to my breasts. On the small side, but still round and well-shaped they were crowned with delicate, rosy nipples. I looked higher, examining my narrow shoulders and slim arms. When I looked up to my face I sighed and turned back to choosing which clothes to wear. 

After a minute of standing there naked, I picked out a pair of my favorite panties and a flesh-colored bra and put them on. Several rejects later, I even decided on some simple black pants that hugged my hips nicely and would double as suitable work attire. But I was at a loss as what to do about a shirt. 

Fortunately, my housemate is more knowledgeable about the realm of fashion than I am. 

I quickly toweled my hair dry and combed it out, draping the cloth around my shoulders so that it covered my mostly-bare torso. Then I went to get Cara. 

I caught her on her way to the shower, but her yawns evaporated quickly when I reminded her of why I needed to dress up. She followed me back to my room and began rummaging gleefully through my meager wardrobe. 

"No... Not this one either... Hah! Definitely not..." My floor was fast disappearing under a veritable carpet of discarded shirts. 

"Aha!" She finally crowed in triumph. Turning to me, she held up the object of her approval. It was a deep blue sort of tube-top thing with silvery-grey embroidery on the front that was reminiscent of India. I looked at it, surprised, and a little confused. A shirt like that was way too trendy for me to have bought. 

But despite my confusion, Cara insisted I try it on. And, bless her heart, she casually turned her back to me and continued picking through the remainders of my clothes, sparing me an attack of shyness. I quickly exchanged my current bra for a strapless one, and pulled the blue shirt over my head. Thankfully, it covered my belly fully, the hem fitting snugly around my pelvic bones, but I still felt exposed with my shoulders so bare. 

Awkwardly, I turned around and cleared my throat softly. Cara looked over her shoulder then let out a low whistle. "Damn, Selene!" She said in appreciative tones. 

I blushed. "Don't make fun."

"I'm not! You look great! I knew when I bought it, that this shirt would come in handy some day!"

Ah. So that explained the trendiness. 

"Seriously, you look hot." My blush deepened.

"I don't know, Cara. I feel kind of..." I shrugged, wrapping my arms around my chest and hanging my head a little. 

A look of understanding crossed her face. "Hmm, well, how about this?" She grabbed a scarf of varying shades of blue and wrapped it gently around my neck. "Does this help?"

I looked at myself in the mirror again. A foreign young woman gazed out at me, dressed in an outfit that complimented and clung to the curves of her slim body. Cara was right: she did look good. And the scarf added a touch of modesty that kept me from blushing again at the knowledge that I was looking at my own reflection. I still felt a little vulnerable, but it was a manageable feeling. I nodded my acceptance. 

"Excellent," Cara exclaimed. "Now for the finishing touches..."

It took another twenty minutes to get out of the house, most of it spent convincing Cara that no amount of pleading would let her style my hair. In consolation, I let her pick out my earrings and my jacket, and at the door, I have her a big hug. "Thank you," I whispered.

"You're welcome." She replied. Then, pulling back, she looked at me earnestly. "And, Selene, you're gonna knock him off his feet."

***

He was waiting for me outside the agreed-upon café, with one hand tucked into his pants pocket. I stood off to the side for a moment, feeling a brisk morning breeze brush wisps of my hair back from my face. He didn't seem to have seen me yet. That was okay; I took the moment to compose myself, drawing deep breaths to quell the flutter in my stomach. And to drink in the sight of him. His long, muscular legs clad in jeans that were neither too baggy, nor too tight. The power of his upper body, obvious even under the simple, white, button-down shirt he was wearing. He had the same black jacket from the night before draped over his arm and stood leaning against the wall of the café. His eyes scanned the area around him calmly. 

The breeze shifted, sending a few leaves at my feet dancing off toward him. The same wisps of hair now blew forward into my eyes, so I blinked and tucked them behind my ear. When I glanced back at him, he was looking right at me. 

He pushed away from the wall to stand up straight, at his full, imposing height, still with his eyes on me. That gaze made my knees weak. I took a steadying breath and made my way over, my nervousness making me drop my eyes when I was in front of him. 

"Sorry I'm late," I said.

He pushed one sleeve up slightly and looked at his watch. "According to this, you're right on time."

"Oh. Okay then." I still hadn't looked at him in the face.

"You ready to go in?" He asked. 

"Yeah."

We walked together over to the entrance, and he pulled the door open for me. "Thanks," I murmured, pleased by the small gesture. I saw him nod as I passed into the café, then was quickly immersed in the enticing smells of breakfast. 

We were directed to a small table near a window across the room, and for a few minutes afterwards, our lack of conversation could be excused by our perusals of the menus we'd been given. I ordered blueberry pancakes with a side of sausage, and he had eggs, bacon and potatoes. 

After the waitress left, we sat in silence for about a minute. I nervously studied my hands, all the while feeling the weight of his golden eyes on me. I was just grateful I still had my jacket on, or his silent scrutiny might have did me in. Desperately, I tried to think of something to say, some way to launch a conversation and end this nerve-rending silence. 

Once again, he saved me. "So, you said you had work today. Mind if I ask what you do?"

"Oh, um... I waitress at a little restaurant off Fourth Street. Nothing too exciting."

"That's the one next to the bookstore, right?" 

"Uh huh. I go there after work a lot."

"So you like to read?"

I glanced up to gauge his expression. He looked interested. "Yeah. I do. I'm also sort of a writer, so bookstores are good places to get in the writing Zone..." I trailed off. 

He leaned forward, his elbow on the table. "A writer, huh?" He nodded to himself. "Yeah, I could see that." I ventured a cautious smile. 

"You don't even know if I'm any good." 

"Oh, I'm thinking you probably are." He flashed me that breathtaking grin.

To my own surprise, I met his eyes and smiled back. "And what would inspire you to think something like that?"

He shrugged. "Call it intuition."

"Intuition. Right." 

And just like that, the ice was broken. By the time the waitress returned with our food, we were chatting away, and I found myself becoming increasingly more relaxed in his presence. We talked about what movies we liked, our favorite book genres, –though he wasn't as fanatic a reader as I was– good music, and a whole myriad of other inconsequential things. He told me that he worked at a local sound-equipment store. It apparently served as not only a store, but a rental shop and a place where people could bring their broken gear to have it repaired. As a result, he knew a lot of people who were involved in the local music scene, and we talked about that too. 

After a while, I felt myself getting warm, thanks to the coffee and my pancakes, so I shrugged out of my jacket. When I looked back to Rafe, I found him watching me with an intense, almost predatory look. I swallowed nervously, even as a heat kindled low in my belly. He blinked, and suddenly smiled. 

"Sorry. Spaced-out there for a minute."

"That's okay. I do that all the time." I didn't comment that his look hadn't seemed even remotely spacey. 

We finished our food, and payed the bill. He offered to pay for me, but I declined, not yet feeling quite familiar enough to have him buy my food. I shrugged back into my jacket and we walked together out of the café, him holding the door open for me again. Since I didn't have anywhere I needed to be right away, we strolled around downtown for a bit, and continued our conversation. 

After a while, our talk turned to the events of the night before. I paused next to a short stone wall and leaned against it, thanking him again, somewhat shyly, for his rescue.

"And what if I told you I wasn't exactly being selfless?" He was looking at me with that predatory intensity again.

I eyed him askance. "The way you're saying it... it sounds a little creepy, actually."

He laughed and idly brushed a few leaves off the top of the wall. "That's not how I intended it."

"Maybe you'd better clarify, then?"

"Well, I've kind of been watching you for a while." My eyes widened, and he held up a hand in an attitude of self-defense. "But before you start thinking I'm a stalker, let me explain what I mean." Leaning against the stone wall next to me, he resumed pleasantly. "I've noticed you in the park before. You like to sit at that one bench and write in your notebook. I go running through the same park, and I kept thinking about heading over and starting a conversation, but..." He shrugged.

He noticed me? And I had been oblivious all this time. I felt both astonished and confused. "Why didn't you?"

He smiled crookedly. "You seemed so focused that I always felt like an asshole for even thinking about interrupting you."

I didn't know what to say to that, because it was true that one the one hand, I didn't go to the park to be hit on by strangers. But on the other, I would hardly have objected if he'd been the one hitting on me. So I just smiled cautiously. 

"Anyway, when I was walking home last night and I saw those guys messing with you, I figured that getting rid of them would not only be be the good-citizen thing to do, but it also seemed like an opportunity to finally talk to you." He shrugged again. "That's my story. Less creepy this time?"

I laughed. "Yes. Much better." When I looked back at him, my breath caught in my throat. The intensity was back in his eyes, in full force, holding me rooted in place.

"You have a gorgeous laugh. You know that, Selene?"

"I... Uh..." 

"I'm making you uncomfortable, aren't I?" He softened his expression with a wry smile.

"A little." I shrugged self-consciously.

"You could always tell me to shut up, you know."

I glanced at him, thinking he was joking. He looked serious enough. "Maybe I will next time."

"Next time... Implying you'd see me again?"

"Is that an invitation?"

His hand which had been hanging next to mine, deftly caught my fingers and raised it to his lips. The heat of his breath on the back of my hand left me dizzy. "Just name the time and place."

Head spinning, heart aflutter, I did. And so began our relationship.

***

Our next date was, in fact, the very next evening. My boss had given everybody the day off in order to do some repainting in a few of the rooms, so Rafe and I decided to see a movie. I recruited Cara again to help me gussy up; a task which she accepted just as gleefully as the first time. It seemed like she was almost as excited about the concept of me dating as I was. For this evening, she had me clothed in my tightest pair of jeans, and a simple, green blouse, though she fussed about the lack of options.

"If you weren't so damn tiny, I'd just lend you one of my shirts and that'd be that." She said, pouting humorously. 

The expression made her naturally rosy lips curve in an elegant frown, and her perfect eyebrows lowered in feigned displeasure. But her long-lashed blue eyes were still sparkling with playfulness, and she couldn't maintain the frown for long before a corner of her mouth curved up in a little smile. 

I wondered if she was fully aware of just how gorgeous she was. Because not only did she have a movie-star face, framed by amazing blonde hair that you just couldn't get in any salon, she had the effortlessly perfect figure that curved generously in all the right places, and made anything she wore look good. If she wasn't such a wonderful human being, I might have disliked her out of sheer envy alone.

But she was Cara, my best friend since high-school and housemate these past two years. My confidante, and staunch supporter in every way; I really was blessed to have her as a part of my life.

I looked at the clothes she was wearing and imagined the tent-like effect they would have on my own slim frame. Besides, the style of a great deal of her wardrobe was really something only a person like her could pull off. So I rolled my eyes. "Well, thank goodness we're not the same size then."

"Hey, don't bash unless you try it." She retorted with a wink, then looked me over with a more serious eye. "Anyway. I guess we'll just have to live with this instead." 

I smiled and blew her a kiss, grabbing my purse. "Thanks, Cara."

"You're welcome, hot stuff." She tossed my jacket. "I expect a full report when you get back." 

"Don't you have something better to do? Like tormenting your throngs of male-admirers?"

"Oh, they can wait." She said dismissively. "Your romantic life is far more interesting."

"Yuh-huh. Goodbye, Cara." I said, walking out the door.

"Later!"

The walk to the theatre was quick and uneventful, and this time I got there before Rafe. I payed for my ticket, then stood off to the side, scanning the growing crowd for his impressive frame. A few minutes later, I spotted him at the same instant he did me, and he made his way over, parting the crowd with ease. As he did so, I noticed more than a couple lingering and appreciative glances at him from the women in the area. I could hardly blame them; he was sinfully good-looking. Far too much so for me to ever have done anything more than day-dream about, if not for that fateful meeting of ours. But it seemed he had eyes only for me, and the realization made me nearly giddy with pride. 

A girl could get used to this self-confidence thing.

It was ridiculously crowded for a Tuesday, and as we made our way to the doors, people pressed closer to funnel through. I unconsciously shrank into myself to keep from being being bumped against, uncomfortable amidst the crush of people, until I felt a firm, reassuring hand rest against the small of my back, gently guiding me forward. 

I looked up at Rafe and he gave me a little smile as did his effortless parting of the human seas thing, making the rest of our passage into the theatre a breeze. My skin felt tingly and warm where his hand touched me and I edged closer to him ever so slightly, liking the contact. 

Fortunately for me, the movie we had decided on had been out for while, so it wasn't as hideously cramped as the rest of the place, and we were able to get a pair of good seats close to the middle of the theatre. Rafe stretched out his long legs as much as the seats would allow, and laced his fingers across his flat stomach. He was dressed all in black tonight, so when the lights went down for the start of the movie, he blended almost completely with the darkness, except for his fascinating yellow eyes. They caught the light from the movie screen and seemed to reflect it back as gold. 

The movie was entertaining; some comedy film without much plot, but with clever writing. I laughed aloud a few times, and glanced over at my companion when I heard him do the same. It was a low, rich sound, like his speaking voice, and it made a curious shivery sensation awaken low in my belly.

As the movie went on, I gathered my courage and attempted to advance things a step. At first I felt a little silly, like some middle-schooler out on their first "date," as I leaned a little closer to Rafe and let my arm press against his. My inexperience made my stomach flutter with nerves, and I dared not do anything more than that. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn his head to look at me, then he carefully found my hand in the dark, and cupped it in his own. For the rest of the film, he held on to it, every now and then tracing a finger along my knuckles or the back of my hand. 

I could hardly believe it, but just that simple touch made me unbelievably aroused. So much so, that when the movie was over, I had to retire to the bathroom and just sit in the stall, taking deep breaths until I cooled down enough that I wasn't likely to embarrass myself. Then I went and joined him again.

We didn't have any concrete plans for after the movie, but neither of us was ready to go home just yet. He suggested heading over to one of the parks and taking a walk around there until inspiration struck about a better location. I agreed, but it turned out that we never did think of a better place to go, and just ended up walking around and around the darkened groves, lost in our conversation, and each other.

Despite the fact that it was summer, the night was unexpectedly chilly, and the jacket that I had brought wasn't cutting it. I began to shiver a little, and tucked my hands into the jacket's pockets to keep them warmer. The movement caught his attention and he looked at me closely.

"Here," he said, and offered his jacket to me. 

"Oh," I replied, "I wouldn't ask you to... Don't you want it?" 




Moonshadows Ch. 02



"Naw, I'm good." I looked at him again and noticed that, indeed, the cold didn't seem to be having any effect on him. In fact, he'd been carrying the garment around on his arm the whole time. "Here," he said again, and draped it carefully around my shoulders. The heavy material had an instant effect at blocking out the cold, and there was a lingering scent on the collar that must have been his. I drew the front closed, and snuggled my chin down a little, enjoying the smell and the feeling. One side of his mouth curled up as he watched me. 

"What?" I demanded shyly.

He shrugged, still smiling. "Just thinking how cute you look in my jacket. Especially when you tuck your little chin down like that."

I blushed, dropping my eyes. Then I smiled, and looked up again coyly. "I wonder what exactly you think such flattery will earn you?"

He suddenly stepped close enough that the corners of the jacket I wore brushed his thighs, and I caught my breath. He still smiled, but there was a raptness in his eyes that made me tremble, in either anticipation or apprehension. Maybe a little of both, really. 

"I was thinking a little of this, actually." He lightly captured my chin in his hand, his thumb brushing across my lips. 

I could only stare back at him, breathless. Those strange, scary, wonderful eyes seemed to assess my reaction. Whatever they found, he quickly came to a decision and bent to boldly take my lips in a strong, warm kiss. I quaked in surprise, but my eyes slid closed, and I found myself leaning into the kiss, my hands coming to rest on his firm chest. 

We parted, our faces still only inches away from each other, as we drew a breath to go back for more. A golden warmth filled my body, emanating from where our bodies touched, and I slowly melted into him, my fingers sliding up his chest to curl in the shirt at his shoulders. I felt his arms wrap around me, one of his hands against my lower back, the other at the nape of my neck. I was immersed in his smell, his heat, his strength and I had never felt more attractive. 

His lips coaxed mine apart with gentle insistence, his tongue seeking my own. To one as inexperienced as I, the sensation was both bizarre and extremely exciting. I didn't know quite how to respond. So I merely let myself enjoy it, and before long, I found I was kissing him back. And according to the low rumble of pleasure he made deep in his chest, I must have been doing something right. 

He pulled me a little closer, and my arms slipped up to circle his neck. The move stretched my body so that its entire length was pressed against the firm warmness that was Rafe, and, to my somewhat distracted amusement, I realized he was practically holding me up. I was so absorbed in our kissing, however, that I hardly cared.

After a time, he straightened, and I was forced to let my hands slide back down his front again, or risk being lifted off the ground. My eyes opened dazedly to find him staring down at me with a lopsided, toothy grin. Something about that expression left me with the distinct impression that had we not been in a public, chilly park, our interaction right then would have gone far beyond simple kissing. I shivered again, not from the cold, and knew that as soon as I was alone in my room that night, there was going to be some serious autoeroticism going on. 

"You're still cold?" He teased.

I blushed, not daring to tell him the truth. "Yeah..."

He carefully pulled the edges of his jacket more closely together to block out the chill, then paused for a moment. Finally, he couldn't seem to resist and used the grip to hold me in place as he bent back down for another kiss that lost none of its heat for its brevity. When he pulled back, I stumbled forward slightly, having unconsciously leaned into him again. He chuckled. "Careful, baby. The paths in these parks are pretty uneven, and the light's not so good. You could trip." 

He was teasing me again, smug in the realization of the effect his attentions were having on me. I blushed harder, but I wasn't going to let myself be completely outdone. "Especially if you're there to help, right?" I returned, raising an eyebrow and smiling slightly, despite the flushing in my face. 

He looked surprised for just a second before letting out a short laugh, his teeth flashing white in the near-darkness. "Oh, that's the only way I'd have it." Then he said a little more seriously, "We should probably get you home, though, before you turn into a popsicle."

I sighed. It probably was the wise thing to do to call it a night there, and it still was terribly chilly, but I didn't want our contact to end just yet. Then again, I was so absolutely turned-on from everything that I wasn't sure I'd be able to control myself if he thought to take things to another level. So I nodded and compromised with myself saying, "Why don't you walk me home, then?"

His arm wrapped possessively around my shoulders and I cuddled into his firm warmth. "My pleasure," he answered in his silkily growling way. 

We didn't say much on the walk to my apartment. I just enjoyed the sensation of being close, and reveled in whatever miracle had placed him at my side. For his part, he seemed content in the silence, and he modified his naturally long strides to accommodate my much smaller ones. As we approached our destination, I noted that the lights were on in some of the windows, which meant Cara was home. I knew her presence would keep me from doing anything too rash where Rafe was concerned, so I felt secure enough to invite him up for something warm to drink before he headed to his own place again. 

He let me go as I unlocked the door and stepped inside, calling, "I'm back, Cara!" Following after me, Rafe looked around, his chest swelling as he took a slow, deep breath. As I closed the front door, I added, "There's someone I want you to meet." 

A second later, Cara appeared in the door frame to the living room, loose pajama pants resting low on her hips and her gorgeous blond hair swept up in a clip, effortlessly beguiling wisps of it tumbling out around her face and neck. Her eyes widened as she saw who I had with me. 

Right then, seeing her in all her unprepared glamor, seeing her as a stranger most likely would, I had a terrible thought: she was the exact kind of person Rafe should be with, not me. What the hell was I thinking to bring him here to see her when our relationship was still so new, so untested, and so easily dissolvable? Surely he'd move on from me in an instant, now that he knew of this superior lady, so much more suited to his class than someone like me. 

But just before these destructive thoughts could really take off, I felt Rafe come up close behind me and place his large hands on my shoulders, felt the possessive strength still in his touch, and I relaxed again. The move reassured me that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Cara, this is Rafe," I said in quiet happiness. I looked up over my shoulder to him and said, "And Rafe, this is Cara, my housemate who I was telling you about." 

Cara seemed to snap herself out of her little reverie and came over to us saying, "It's great to meet you." 

"Likewise," he returned, and shook her offered hand. 

"I was gonna make some tea or something, for Rafe and myself." I informed her. "You want anything?" 

"Oh, sure. Some ginger tea would be great." She said, her eyes twinkling. 

I nodded and gestured for Rafe to come with me into the kitchen. After I put the kettle on, I told him I was going to go hang up my stuff, and passed Cara on my way to the hooks in the entranceway. Catching my gaze, she widened her eyes dramatically and mouthed to me, Holy shit! before continuing on to the kitchen. She sat down across from Rafe and gave him a winning smile. Then she proceeded to launch into a series of questions that even under the disguise of simple curiosity, I recognized as being little tests for him. Probably to see if he was "worthy" of me.

I found myself flushing again, even as I shook my head and smiled at Cara's protectiveness. I just hoped Rafe wouldn't be offended. But when I returned to the kitchen, he was replying to Cara's interrogation in a mellow, tolerant way, and my concern dissipated. 

Slipping into the chair next to him, I watched their exchange passively until Cara finally seemed satisfied and sat back again, and the topics turned to less weighted matters. In the middle of one of my few contributions, I was interrupted by a sudden yawn and had to pause. Laughing Cara said, "I think it's past poor Selene's bedtime." 

I rolled my eyes. "I blame the warm tea and lack of caffeine therein." 

Rafe grinned but pushed back his chair and stood. "I'd better get going, anyway. It was nice meeting you, Cara. And thanks for the tea." 

"Ditto," Cara replied. "You're welcome back anytime." As Rafe and I walked back to the front door, I saw Cara give me a sly wink and I had to smile again. 

Just before he crossed the threshold, Rafe turned again and asked, "Give me a call when you've got some time off again, yeah?" 

"You can count on it." 

"Good. I will." Taking my chin gently in hand, he bent again for a quick, last kiss, his mouth warm and firm as he manipulated my lips skillfully. "Goodnight, Selene." Then he turned away and started walking down the hall. 

"Night," I called softly back, my voice breathless from the parting kiss. He raised his hand in farewell, and cast me one final grin over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner. I closed the door and went dazedly back into the kitchen. 

"Holy shit!" Cara said, aloud this time. I smiled at her dreamily in return. 

"I know." 

"I mean, you told me he was hot stuff, and I believed you, but... Damn!" She shook her head appreciatively.

"I know." 

"And he's so into you, Selene! Even just sitting there next to you, it was obvious." 

"I know." I was filled with a warm, buoyant, giddy feeling. Everything was so good. Perfect. 

She jumped up and gave me a random, strong hug. "I'm really happy for you, hun." She murmured at my ear. "You deserve this." 

"Thank you." I beamed at her. "I think I'm gonna take your advice though, and call it a night... It's been a long day. A great one, but a long one." 

"Okay, I'll be up for a while still. But you sleep well, sweetie." 

"You too, whenever that happens." I smiled at her again and went to my room, closing and locking the door. My hand lingered on the door handle for a moment as I let my giddiness wash over me. Almost immediately though, the tide of arousal I'd been battling with all night surged and I couldn't wait any longer to get some much-needed release. 

I quickly pulled off my shirt and kicked off my shoes, wiggling out of the tight jeans and my underwear in the same motion. By the time I reached my bed, my bra and socks were strewn on the floor with the rest of my clothing and I stretched, naked on my bed at last. 

I took both my breasts in my hands, rubbing my hardening nipples between my fingers before trailing my fingertips down my stomach to my thighs. One hand slipped inward to slide along my wet slit. Given how worked-up Rafe had gotten me over the course of the night, I was already dripping. My slickened finger roved up and down my cleft until I couldn't stand it anymore and brushed it over my highly-sensitive clit. 

I gasped then clamped my lips shut so as to stifle the moan that threatened to escape. Very slowly, and very deliberately, I took the pad of one finger and dragged it up and down my clitoral shaft, then over the button itself, until I was going crazy. I pressed harder, and rubbed faster, reveling in the almost overwhelming sensation that the movement was eliciting. I was just too aroused to take things slow tonight, and it became more and more obvious as my rubbing got continuously more urgent. 

Soon, my other hand got involved as well, taking the place at my clit while my well-lubricated one dropped down slightly to press against my entrance. My willing flesh yielded to the intrusion, stretching around my finger and sending intense, blissful sensation to my brain. 

I desperately wanted something bigger up my pussy, but as I started sliding another finger into my slick hole, the stretching, almost painful feeling brought back a little lucidity, and I went back to just the one. To make up for it, I rubbed my clit harder, and shoved deeper with my finger until I was panting and whimpering helplessly, my body thrumming on the edge of climax. 

My head tossed to the side, and in my hair I caught the faintest trace of Rafe's scent lingering there. Rafe. I imagined his hot mouth working its magic not just on my lips, but moving down to bite my nipples. I groaned softly and my back arched into the imaginary touch. I could almost feel it. His lips would work their way down my stomach next, and he would pause at my navel to tickle me playfully with his tongue. But then, oh then he would move even further south and when he did...

A shudder passed through me and I bit off a cry, my finger mashing down on my clit. I was so close. Heedless of any consequence now, I rammed my finger into my cunt all the way to the knuckle. My pussy rippled around the digit while the rest of my body tensed in anticipation, until that last bit of sensation against my inner walls finally sent me over the edge. My hips jerked and my body writhed as I came hard, and a faint mewling cry escaped from between my clenched teeth. All the while my finger stayed pressed against my clit, driving my orgasm on with each involuntary quiver of my body. The friction lifted me higher and higher until I couldn't stand it anymore, and my arms fell limply to my sides. 

As I lay there panting, ordered thought returning bit by bit, it occurred to me that if tonight was any indication, I'd be getting quite a lot of practice in the masturbation department. Especially since I was, astonishingly, still horny. Really, what had that man done to me?

One my hands traced lazily along my thigh, towards my pussy again, and I shivered from the tickling sensation. Then I sighed and let my hand drop back down again. 

It was late though, and I was filled with a pleasant lethargy from finally having cum at long last. So instead of acting on my continuing arousal, I wriggled under the covers and closed my eyes. I hadn't ever bothered turning the lights in my room on, so the only illumination was the moonlight that streamed in though my window. Its silvery glow whispered over the bare skin of my shoulder as I nestled deeper into the blankets, and filled the room with a stillness that slowly lulled me into sleep. 

It had been quite a day, and to my great wonder and delight, it seemed to only be the start.



Moonshadows Ch. 03



Author's note: Once again, there's been a lengthy absence in between this chapter and the one previous, and for that I apologize. In addition to that, I've had the same sort of phenomenon with the changing writing styles (not to mention having to rework some of the plot!), so I hope that's not too distracting. Thank you all so much for your patience; your input and continued interest are what keep me coming back. Best wishes to all!

~~~

Rafe and I saw quite a lot of one another over the next month. 

In between my work and his, we made time to go out to dinner, lunch, and the movies again. We walked through the park and downtown, went to a concert, and even made a visit to a museum one afternoon. Each time, at the end of the date, he would take me in his arms and kiss me. A teasing, coaxing sort of kiss, full of promise and power. And each time my body would melt into his and I'd reel at the edge of letting him initiate me into so much more. 

Always, though, something would come up that stayed my decision. Most of the time it was me. Despite everything, I still had the deep-seated suspicion that if I let him —let myself— take things too quickly, he would lose interest and the fantasy would be over. Even while I felt guilty about my own low estimation of my self worth, I thought it was still better than losing his good opinion of me by putting out too quickly. I knew it couldn't last forever, but...

Sometimes, though, he was the one who made the decision for me. His hands would move from my hips, my lower back, my neck, to rest softly on my shoulders where he would hold me in place with a touch that was gentle, but still firm. My eyes would open dreamily as I felt his lips part from mine and I'd see him wearing a tight smile. Affection battled with a curious tension in his face and he would very calmly wish me goodnight, tell me to give him a call when I was able. Then he'd be gone, and I'd find my way back to my bed and touch my pussy with the special urgency that seemed to stem from thinking of him. 

I guess it kind of goes without saying that I got pretty well-practiced at the whole masturbation thing. I also made an awkward visit to the local Planned Parenthood, and equipped myself with some birth control pills. You know. Just in case. 

It was about three months after we'd first met that we decided to go to another concert, this one outdoors and with quite a turnout. It was actually at the fairgrounds, though for the rest of the year, the space was rented out by the city for various events, most of them concerts or races. This particular show was located in the giant field that, during fair time, was occupied by a forest of tents selling a whole range of merchandise, from the tacky and commonplace to the more rare and quality wares sold by local artists and craftsmen. Now, a giant stage dominated one end of the field, with a fence around the front to keep any rowdy moshers from disrupting the performers, and giant screens overhead to show a more detailed view of the show. All the rest of the space was open and curved up to a small hill, so that you could spread out a blanket and sit once you were out of the foremost three hundred feet of chaos, and still see the action on stage. 

That's what Rafe and I had done. We'd set up far enough back that we were in no danger of being trampled, even taking into account things getting wilder as the concert progressed, and he had picked up some sandwiches and beer as well to keep our calories up over the course of the night. I didn't drink, not so much because I was underage, but because I just didn't really like it, so he'd brought me a coke and some water for hydration. His consideration made me blush and beam with pleasure. 

The sun had set by the time the first band finished their set. Floodlights placed around the field at semi-regular intervals gave off a low hum as they bathed the area in their bleached glow, and people milled about, chatting with each other while they waited for the roadies to finish changing out the instruments on stage so that the next band could start. 

I sat snuggled up next to Rafe, his arm around me and his chest warm against my shoulder and side. He took a swig of his beverage and looked down at me, giving me one of his glorious smiles. 

"How ya doin', babe?" 

I beamed up at him. "I'm good. You?" 

"Mm." Still smiling, he leaned down and gave me a slow kiss. "I'm good too." 

My heart gave a little flutter, and I licked my lips. Damn, but he was a good kisser. Suddenly, I wrinkled my nose. "You taste like that," I said, pointing at the beer in his hand and nudging his ribs playfully with my shoulder. 

He chuckled; I could feel the rumble from where our bodies touched. "Good thing you're not allowed to drink it, then." 

I rolled my eyes. "Indeed, oh, Ancient One." 

"Hey, you joke, but I've got four years of experience on ya. That gives me something." 

"Yeah, like onset arthritis." 

He gave a short laugh and squeezed me closer to his side. His yellow eyes took on a wicked gleam as he set down his beer bottle and shifted on the blanket to face me more directly. "Being a smartass tonight, are we?"

My heart sped up and I felt myself flushing from his intent stare, but I replied breathily, "I prefer the term 'sassy.'" 

He grinned. "Whatever it is, I like it." He placed both hands on the blanket on either side of my hips and leaned close, breathing in deeply. Just before his lips met mine, he froze. 

I looked at him, puzzled. He had his face turned slightly away from me, and his eyes scanned the crowd around us. His black brows were furrowed slightly in a frown. 

"Rafe?"

He glanced at me for a moment, then sat up, searching around himself in earnest now. "Hang on a sec, baby." His eyes focused on something behind me and I saw his jaw tighten. Concerned, I twisted around and tried to follow his gaze to see what was troubling him, but there were too many people to tell. I turned back to see him rising to his feet, his face serious. 

"What's wrong?" I asked. 

I started to stand too, but he made a "don't get up" kind of gesture with his hand and said, "Nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm just going to go use the bathroom before the next set starts. I'll be back." 

And with that, he strode off, leaving me a little worried and entirely bewildered. I told myself that it really was nothing, like he said, but I'd never seen him act so weird before and it was... disconcerting. I followed him with my eyes, as best as I could in the aimlessly shuffling crowd, and I thought I saw a group of about four large guys amble over to intercept him, but it was too far away to be sure. 

Well, I'd just have to ask him about it when he got back. 

I pulled my knees up to my chest while I waited, wrapping my arms around them and huddling into myself. It was easy to forget how cold it could get out here at night with Rafe sitting close beside me. Tucked up against him, content and safe, it was like he was my own portable furnace. I rested my chin on my knees and smiled softly. 

"Good evening," a cool, male voice intoned smoothly. 

I sat up, startled, and glanced to the speaker. My eyes traveled up long legs, and a lean torso to a pale face crowned with inky black hair. While not conventionally handsome, his angular features and eerily dark eyes nevertheless had a sort of magnetic draw to them. He was immaculately put-together, from his simple yet quality clothes —dark, to fit in with the rest of the concert-goers— to his trimmed hair to his neatly shaven jaw. Still, I got the idea that had he not spoken, I wouldn't have given him a second glance. Now, though... Now, there was something strangely compelling about him that I couldn't quite put my finger on. 

"Um, hello." I replied timidly. 

"Would you mind if I joined you? It seems a shame that a young lady so lovely as yourself should find herself wanting for company on a night like this." Through the overblown, antiquated language, his tone was soft, subtle, and completely impossible to ignore. I wouldn't have put the descriptor "sexy" at the top of my list from looking at him, but in his refined voice were layers of sensuality that sent a shiver down my back. I blushed, part out of habit, part due to the situation, and fumbled for a way to respond. 

"That is," he continued, his eyes lingering meaningfully over the half-empty beer bottle and the second, empty sandwich wrapper, "If you're not already spoken for." 

I let out an internal sigh of relief; there was my out. "Thanks," I replied, "But my boyfriend should be back from the bathroom soon."

His lips curved in a polite smile, and he nodded his head gracefully. He seemed neither disappointed, nor surprised. 

"Perhaps some other time, then." 

Don't plan on it, I thought, but all I said aloud was, "Mm." For some reason, he kind of creeped me out. Not in the this-guy's-on-drugs-and-might-get-violent sort of way, but more like I imagined a prey animal might feel when faced with a snake. I wished Rafe would come back. 

"Well," he said, inclining his head to me, "Enjoy the rest of the show. It's been a pleasure meeting you, Miss...?" He trailed off and raised an eyebrow questioningly. 

"Selene Dalton." I finished for him without hesitation. I gaped. Wait, what the hell was I doing? Why did I just say that? I was trying to get rid of this guy, not tell him more about me! 

He smiled again, in a smooth, satisfied sort of way that sent another shiver through me, and not because of the temperature. "Cassian Grey," he replied in kind. "And, as I said, it's been a pleasure. Have a good night, Miss Dalton." 

He nodded to me once more, and then walked away. As he passed out of sight, lost among the throngs of people, I let out a relieved breath I didn't know I had been holding. My face felt flushed and I realized my hands were shaking. I looked down at them in surprise, then clenched and relaxed them in determined attempt to make myself calm down. What was wrong with me? 

I waited tensely for a few more minutes, as the next set started in a roar of guitars and audience applause until, finally, I spotted Rafe making his way back. It took an exertion of will to keep from jumping up and running over to him, but I didn't want to cause a scene, or alarm him, which I'm sure such behavior would do. So I sat still and waited until he lowered himself to the ground beside me. 

"Long line at the bathroom?" I asked over the music. 

He glanced at me as he arranged himself more comfortably on the blanket, raising an eyebrow as if to ask where the question was coming from. 

"You know," I pressed, "Why it took you so long." 

Rafe hesitated a moment, as if assessing, before he calmly took another sip of his beer and said, "Actually, I ran into some of my friends on the way there, so that kept me a little longer than I'd thought." 

"Oh. I see." I looked away. It was funny. I'd never really heard him talk about any of his friends before. I mean, I'd always just assumed that he had them —someone so handsome and sociable as Rafe was bound to— but up until now, I realized I'd never actually heard him make mention of any. The realization made me feel suddenly distant from him, and I didn't like it. Did I really know so little about him? 

"Selene." His deep voice cut through the music and called me back from my thoughts. I became aware that I was frowning. 

"Yeah?" 

"You okay?" 

"Yeah." I didn't look at him, instead watching the guitarist on the stage rock back and forth to the beat as he picked out a fast-paced solo. 

From the corner of my eye, I saw Rafe draw breath to say something else, then pause. A frown darkening his face, he set down the beer bottle again and leaned towards me, taking my elbow in his hand and turning me to face him. 

"I don't buy that. Something's up." When I only shrugged, his eyes narrowed. "Was someone bothering you?" 

I blinked in surprise. "How...?" I bit off the rest of the question and shook my head. Regardless of how he'd figured this one out, I didn't want to add more energy to the situation by getting Rafe all worked up about it too. That Cassian guy, or whoever he was, was gone and I just needed to chill out and get over whatever it was I was hung up on. 

"I'm fine, Rafe." I said, shrugging again, this time dismissively. "There was a guy who talked to me for a few minutes, but he left before you got back, and you're here now, and... I just missed you, I guess. How silly is that? I mean, you were only at the bathroom, and not even really gone all that long, and..." I realized I was babbling and made myself stop. 

He was still frowning, but his voice was gentle when he asked, "Well, you wanna get out of here? If you're not comfortable, we can bail, and that's fine." 

"Oh," I started, dismayed, "I wouldn't want to make you miss..." I stopped again as I looked at him, and reassessed. "Actually, yeah. Yeah. That'd be great." 

A wave of relief swept over me when he nodded. "Okay," he said, and leaned in to give me a quick kiss. I didn't want it to end, didn't want to leave the safe warmth of his proximity, but we needed to gather our stuff together so that we could get going. 

It was a quick process to pick up the trash and bottles and fold the blanket so that we could make our way among the people-strewn grass. While holding the folded blanket in one hand, he placed his other at the small of my back in that way that I liked, and carefully guided me out of the concert field. We dumped the trash in some bins along the way and turned to the parking lot. 

I kept close to him as we walked, and I noticed his special yellow eyes scanning around us with calm assurance. As the bass from the concert rumbled the air, I edged my way closer to him until he moved his hand from my back, to wrap his arm around me and hold me close. His long legs slowed to match mine more evenly. 

I only relaxed, however, when we were sitting in his car, a blue 1970 Plymouth Duster. Before starting the engine, Rafe leaned over again and kissed me once more, slowly this time, and with that edge of sweet promise that set my heart to racing and made my pussy tingle. 

"Where to, babe?" He asked as he ended the kiss, his breath warm on my face. It didn't help me gather my thoughts either when he moved his lips to that sensitive spot right at the edge of my jaw. 

"Mm..." I managed to answer. 

He pulled away then, grinning. "Yeah?" 

I sighed at him wistfully, but worked at getting my brain together and did some quick decision-making. I knew I wasn't ready to call things for the night with him just dropping me off at home. However, Cara was out of town this weekend to visit her parents, and if I invited him up to the apartment, no one would be there to supervise should things get more involved between us. Still, we could always watch a movie or something, and I could keep him near me for at least a little while longer. 

"Can we go back to my place?" I asked, a little shy. 

His eyebrows rose slightly in surprise at my request before he looked at me more appraisingly. "Sure," he said slowly, then smiled a small smile that made my body flush with heat. "What exactly did you have in mind to do when we get there?" 

My face reddened and I stammered out quickly, "Oh, um, I was thinking we could do, er, I mean watch a movie or something. I know Cara rented a few recently and she told me I was free to watch them if I wanted to and—" 

Rafe's rich, low laugh interrupted my embarrassed babbling. "Okay, babe. A movie it is." Still chuckling, he turned the ignition and the car rumbled to life. 

We drove out of the fairgrounds in silence, embarrassed and slightly nervous on my part, amused for his, as far as I could tell. I turned my face to look at the passing lights in the darkened scenery, willing the burning in my cheeks to cool off. The gentle touch of his hand on mine made me look down at his large fingers curling possessively around mine and I smiled, finally feeling my self-consciousness start to dissipate. He always knew just what to do to put me at ease. 

Neither of us felt the need to say anything for the rest of the ride, nor when he parked the car on the curb outside of my apartment. We walked together in happy silence to my door, and went inside. While he picked out the movie we were going to watch, I made the two of us some hot chocolate. It only took a few minutes before I brought the hot beverages into the living room and snuggled up next to him on the couch. 

"Where's Cara?" Rafe asked as he took the mug I offered. 

My cheeks flushed again slightly, but I was proud to note that my voice was collected enough when I answered, "She's visiting her family for a few days. I told you, remember?" 

"That was this weekend?" His tone was calm too, but I thought I felt him tense for a second. 

"Yeah." I leaned to the side to be able to see his face better. "Is something wrong?" 

He grinned and gave me a squeeze. "Naw. I guess I just must be getting senile along with my arthritis. 'Cause I'm so old, right?" 

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Ah. Right. Well, gonna start the movie, or what?" 

His face went expressionless. "What movie?" 

"Huh? Um, Rafe, you know. The one in the..." My frown turned to an amused groan as realization hit me: he was continuing the joke. "You beast." I poked him in the chest. "Just start the damn movie." 

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, laughing. 

It was an entertaining action flick, and infinitely better than anything I'd seen in theaters, for the simple fact that I got to cuddle with Rafe while watching it. Not to mention that since there were no other audience members to worry about annoying, Rafe and I were able to interject teasing commentary on the events and characters that sent us both into hearty chuckles. By the time the ending credits rolled, our hot chocolate was gone and my face felt pleasantly tired from smiling for so long. 

As Rafe moved his arm from around my shoulders and leaned forward to grab the remote, I tucked my legs under me and raised my arms way into the air in a delicious stretch. 

"Mmm," I hummed as I moved limbs and muscles that had been in much the same position for about an hour and a half. 

Rafe turned his head to watch me and I saw his topaz eyes catch the light from the TV before he turned it off. "Mm hmm," he agreed in a low tone that sent my stomach fluttering. 

I lowered my arms again and returned his stare, feeling curiously short of breath. My heart beat loudly in my ears and I felt myself flushing, but not from embarrassment this time. His mouth twitched in a quick smile before he moved in to press his lips to mine. He brought his hand up to the back of my head, holding me to him and rubbing his thumb along my temple. As his tongue found its way into my mouth, I moaned softly. 

With my eyes closed and our kiss unbroken, I heard him shifting then felt his other hand lay flat against the middle of my back. In response, I brought my arms up around his neck, and pressed my torso against his, twining my fingers in his dark hair. As I pulled lightly on the silky fibers, I opened my mouth wider and, in a rush of courage, started to explore the inside of his mouth with my tongue. I could tell that he liked it by how his breath caught and his hands pulled my body closer to him. 

Emboldened by his reaction, I kissed him harder, breaking the seal of our lips only long enough to draw a quick breath or two before going back for more. Our tongues jabbed and twisted playfully with each other and as we pulled apart for another gasp of air, I gently caught his bottom lip between my teeth. I heard a growling rumble from deep in his chest before he pulled me to him again, hard this time, and kissed me forcefully. I felt my heartbeat skip and speed up in heady excitement when I noticed a particular, long hardness poking at my thigh from where it pressed against his lap. 




Moonshadows Ch. 03



Then he pulled back suddenly, leaving my lips bereft of his delicious heat. I opened my eyes, confused. 

"I think I should leave."

"What?" I blinked and worked to get my brain going again. When I tried to look him in the eyes, he turned his face away slightly. Sudden nervousness tightened my throat. "Am I... doing something wrong?"

He met my gaze again, surprise in the black arches of his eyebrows. "Wrong? No, Selene, you're doing everything right. That's just the problem."

"I don't understand."

"You're so little, baby. It'd be so easy to break you." I opened my mouth to protest the declaration, but he silenced me with his golden stare. "And I don't ever want to hurt you. But if we keep going like this... We're gonna have sex."

I swallowed. The blunt way he said it made shivers of fire and ice run through my body, made me want to run away and throw myself into his arms at the same time. The very thing I had been fantasizing about since the night I'd met him. The most intimate of acts. As innocent as I was, I had known this was coming and I wanted it. Didn't I? I looked at the sheer size of him in comparison to my small frame. It would hurt this first time, that was certain, but that's not really what made me hesitate. I worried that I would disappoint him. That he would find me boring and decide it was time to move on to greener pastures. Then I looked again at his face and saw the distilled desire in his eyes and the doubts faded.

"Well, the way I see it, it's gotta happen sooner or later." I glanced at him tentatively through my lowered eyelashes. "And, actually, I would prefer sooner rather than later."

"You sure?" His voice was a low growl and his golden eyes showed his fraying shred of control over the wild part of him. But he held it back, and it made my heart melt. I loved him for his strength, and for fighting a losing battle just so that I could have one last way out, if that's what I wanted.

In answer, I reached out and pulled him to my mouth. He kissed me back fiercely, his hands suddenly all over my body, making up for their momentary absence. They slid from my shoulders, down my arms, inwards to my belly. Skimmed up along my torso, dragging the material of my loose, black shirt with them, Found my breasts and kneaded them through the fabric. I could tell from his insistent, possessive touches just how much he had been holding back before. I moaned softly as his hands slipped up under my shirt and pushed my bra aside. 

His fingers were hot against my skin, burning wonderfully while his thumbs rubbed across my nipples. They hardened immediately and I arched into him. "I've wanted you since I first saw you..." He breathed against my mouth. His words were a primal rumble that seduced my body and sent my brain into the swirling depths of carnal want.

"Rafe..." I sighed. I let my hands leave his head, and trail over his powerful back. My fingers plucked at his shirt until I could slide my hands underneath, along the silky, tense musculature of his body. As his fingers pinched my nipples, mine curled against his skin, pricking him with my nails. I moaned and shuddered. 

He pulled back again, but this time it was only long enough to drag his shirt over his head while I hastily did likewise. I fumbled behind me with the clasp of my bra, impatient with my trembling hands. Rafe wrapped his arms around me again, trapping my arms in the awkward position, and stilling my hands. He looked me directly in the eyes as his fingers deftly undid the hooks, and drew the loose ends apart with tickling caresses along my back. I leaned forward to kiss him again, and the bra fell, forgotten, down my front. 

As my bare breasts came into contact with the skin of his chest, I started, then melted into him. The dark hair on his chest tickled my nipples and the heat of his body burned oh-so wonderfully against my naked flesh. It was the most sensual thing I had ever felt, this touching of our two chests with nothing between them. Then his hands were undoing the buttons on my jeans and tugging them down over my hips. 

I wiggled and did my best to help him, while still keeping my lips against his own, and quite soon I was only in my modest white underwear, the crotch already noticeably moist with my arousal. He growled again, golden eyes riveted on my barely covered pussy. I felt a furious heat spreading over my cheeks, down my neck, and to the tops of my breasts. Then his fingers were hooking into the straps of my panties, easing them down slowly, slowly over my mound, down my thighs, my shins, and finally off my bare feet. And I was completely naked on the couch before him. Naked, and nearly breathless with longing.

He inhaled deeply and licked his lips. I could see the sharp points of his canine teeth flash white. Suddenly, he shifted, sliding off the sofa to crouch on the floor, and with a swift motion, he pulled my hips around so that he was at eye level with my wet slit, my legs resting on his strong shoulders. It occurred to me, in a hazy sort of way, that if I weren't so completely turned on, I probably would have died from embarrassment. Then he blew out right on my sensitive flesh, making me jump. He grinned. Butterfly kisses interspersed with gentle nips traced their way up the inside of my thigh, and stopped right before where I really wanted them, moving instead to do the same to the other leg. I gave a pitiful sort of mewling sound, inarticulately pleading for him to stop teasing me. He obliged me with a quick, firm lick from the bottom of my hole right up to my throbbing clit and I gave a shuddering sigh of satisfaction. 

My head was in a dizzy cloud of pleasure as he demonstrated with his mouth --that wonderful, beautiful mouth-- how he was only just getting started. His tongue licked repeatedly along my clitoral shaft, only occasionally grazing the swollen tip, but every time he did, my hips jerked of their own accord, and my thighs tightened on either side of his head. I was making sounds I didn't even know I was capable of; humming, moaning, whining, a vocal soundtrack to my pleasure. My arms were arched over my head, clinging to the back of the couch as if my life depended on it, stretching my torso, and every time his tongue slid over that sensitive nub, my breasts would arch into the air while my hips wriggled and squirmed. Then he put it inside me and swirled it around, licking the very membrane of my virginity and my hands came down to grip his head while I let out a long, throaty moan. 

And he just kept on licking and licking. Running his tongue over and into my pussy until I thought I was going to go crazy. It was too much. Too good. I needed to cum. My breaths were ragged gasps bordering on hyperventilation but I managed to pant out, "No more... Can't..." His yellow eyes looked up and met with my dazed ones then he locked his mouth over my clit and started sucking. His tongue flicked against it while he applied a constant suction and it sent me tumbling thankfully over the edge. 

I think I might have screamed; I don't remember. All I know was that I felt my hips trying to buck like mad, but Rafe kept them mostly still in an iron grip, and licked even harder. My hands curled in his hair, my thighs quivered and my orgasm tore through me. Like prickling waves of fire slamming through my every nerve, emanating from that place where his tongue was still stimulating me. 

Finally, he started slowing, letting me come down as well. I gradually became aware of what my body was doing, and told my hands to unclench from Rafe's hair. My legs relaxed, and my back came out of the arch it seemed to make whenever I was in the throes of passion. While I tried to catch my breath, I gently smoothed my hand along Rafe's dark head, silently apologizing for pulling so hard. 

He raised his head to look at me, a feral gleam in his eyes. I swallowed, my heart speeding up again. We were far from finished.

Without speaking, he slowly moved up my body, almost crawling, like some powerful, wild creature stalking its prey. He braced his muscled arms on either side of me and stared down into my face. Even with the intimacy we had just shared, I admit, at that moment with him hovering above me like that, and that absolutely intense expression on his face, it scared me. I felt entirely vulnerable and small; the soft skin on the inside of my thighs was rubbing against the jeans he still wore and this position truly drove home just how much bigger and stronger than me he was. He leaned very close to my face and kissed me, both our eyes open, though mine fluttered closed as the heat and his skilled lips worked their magic. I tasted myself in the kiss, and while I didn't have much of an opinion about its flavor one way or another, the knowledge of its origin was one of the more erotic things I'd encountered in my short life. I made a small whimpering moan. 

Rafe disengaged his mouth from mine. "I want to fuck you on your bed." He told me in a low voice that lost nothing of its strength for its quietness. 

I shivered, and opened my eyes. "Okay." I whispered.

He grinned in a way that wasn't entirely friendly, but before I could move, he scooped me up in his arms, and started carrying me along the hall to my bedroom, as if I weighed nothing at all. But for all his intimidating behavior, he still held me as though I were something priceless and delicate, tucked close to his chest, secure and safe. And despite how draining my recent orgasm was, I felt myself getting aroused again, my pussy tingling, my nipples hardening back to little beads. Rafe seemed to sense this, and his arms tightened a little around me. 

We reached my bedroom, and he pushed the door open with his foot, striding over to the bed to deposit me on the covers. He stepped back and straightened, staring down at me while he slowly unfastened his jeans. My eyes fixated on his hands as they went about their task, hypnotized, mouth dry with longing. He finished undressing with easy fluidity and I stared. 

Apprehension cut through my pleasant cloud of lust at seeing just how big he was. I mean, he was nothing freakish, but he was still on the large side of average, at the least, definitely in proportion with the rest of him. And I was, well... Little. I had serious doubts about that thing fitting inside me. 

Rafe advanced, and I swallowed. His golden eyes burned as he started crawling over me, but he must have seen the trepidation in my face, because he paused and said, "Relax, baby. Trust me." 

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to do as he said, but nervousness fluttered in my stomach. Feverish lips brushed against the inside of my breast, making me jump. He kept nibbling and sucking and kissing around the valley between my breasts, until he finally took one of my nipples into his mouth, to tease it with his tongue.

"Mm..." I hummed, and arched my breast a little more into his mouth. He took his lips away only long enough to switch to my other breast, lavishing it with hot, wet attention. My sensitive nipples seemed to relay the feeling right down to my core, making me even wetter. I was in heaven. 

I was so busy with the sensations going on at my breasts, that I didn't initially notice his fingers inching their way down my stomach, over my mound, to rest lightly on my pussy lips. When he began prying them apart, though, I payed attention, and my eyes came open to see him watching my face closely. His thumb found my clit, and he began rubbing it oh-so lightly, eliciting a cry from me. 

"You like this?" He asked slyly. I gave a jerky nod. 

One of his other fingers found the entrance to my tiny hole, and he paused. I stilled too, save for the unsteady rise and fall of my breasts. So, so slowly, he pushed it inwards, stretching me around his long finger. It was a big difference from using my own hands, and the stretching sensation was much more intense. I couldn't even imagine what his cock would feel like. He paused again, as his fingertip met my hymen, though I thought I saw a small smile curl his mouth.

Before I could ask, he began easing his finger in and out of me, rubbing my pussy walls more thoroughly than ever I could. My head fell back again, and my eyes closed. His mouth returned to my nipples, while his finger continued its slow movement, and every now and then, he'd press his thumb a little harder to my clit and I would shudder. I started breathing more rapidly as the sensations mounted, climbing again toward that amazing peak. I was astonished at how easily he could coax such responses from my body, but I didn't want to climax alone again. I wanted him to come with me this time. 

"Rafe..." I said huskily. My hands gently detached his mouth from his work until he was looking at me. "If you're gonna fuck me, you better do it now. I don't think I can wait much longer." 

I saw something wild lighten his eyes at my words. He grinned savagely as he removed his hand from my pussy, and braced both arms on either side of my body. He kissed me hard, possessively, and his hips forced my legs apart as he settled between them, just as I had fantasized. The weight shifted, and I realized he was using one hand to guide his cock to my entrance. I felt the silken head part my lips, nudging and coating itself in the juices all around, until he found my little hole. 

I made my body relax as he began to push forward, but it was hard as the pain of being stretched so much started to mount. I could see the strain on Rafe's face as he limited himself to slow, gentle movements, and I wished I could give him better encouragement than my wincing whimpers. He kept going though, until we both felt him come up against that thin membrane of my cherry. He stopped, breathing controlled, deliberate breaths. 

"You ready, baby?" He growled. 

No, I thought. But I nodded solemnly, because, despite the pain, there was an undeniable thrill in me as well. Something primal that reveled in the feeling of his hard cock being forced inside me, something that wanted more. 

His hips pulled back, taking the pressure of his cock with them, and my pussy throbbed in pained relief. Then he slammed forward again, ripping me open and filling me. My eyes widened and I gave a stifled cry as pain rocked through me, my hands fluttering at my sides, half wanting to push him away, half wanting to keep him close to prevent further movement. Each heartbeat made ripples of hurt spread from my speared pussy, but Rafe kept still inside me, and leaned down to whisper soothingly in my ear, "Shh, shh, it'll be better soon..." 

A tear from the corner of my eye slipped down my temple; I felt like I was being split in two. I could feel hot blood running down my ass crack from my pussy to soak into the sheets below me. But I made myself take slow, deep breaths and relax all the muscles that had unconsciously tightened again. "Good," he purred, and nibbled at the skin right below my earlobe. His breath was hot and sensual against my skin, so I focused on that instead of the burning pain between my legs. 

He shifted ever-so-slightly, and I flinched, my vaginal muscles clenching involuntarily around him. His hips gave a jerk, pushing him yet further into me, and I cried out, both at the renewed pain, and at little slivers of pleasure that worked their way into the sensation. When I looked up at his face, I saw his jaw clenched tight, his eyes narrowed, as if he was straining to hold himself back. Love and gratitude filled me, and I reached up to wrap my arms around his broad shoulders. He was being strong for me, even now, and I knew it couldn't be easy for him. 

"I'm okay now, Rafe." I murmured shakily against his neck. "Just go easy for a while, 'kay?" 

He didn't answer verbally, but slowly started rocking his hips back and forward. At first, I had to grit my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut as I buried my face against the curve of his neck, but gradually the pain began to be immersed under a rising tide of sweet sensation, and it started feeling very, very good. There was not a place his huge member didn't touch inside me, massaging and stimulating my hypersensitive flesh. His thrusts started to get a little more insistent as he heard my breathing change, felt the difference in my responses. 

He shifted slightly, and at the new angle, every time he moved, his cock slid along the tip of my clit. My eyes shot open. Sharp darts of pleasure pierced through the aching delight that was building in my tight cunt. Sometimes, it would be the barest brush, and others a much firmer stroke along my button, both driving me to new heights. I was stretched absolutely around him, so taut I could feel my channel encompassing him like the tightest of sleeves. The pain was still there --he was too big for it to go away altogether-- but it was mixing sinfully with my pleasure, and his steady strokes in and out were making my head reel. 

I couldn't believe he was inside me. So huge, so warm, inside me. One of his hands gripped my hip, and he pushed even deeper. "Aah!" I cried as his cock caressed parts of me, never before touched by anyone. 

"Selene..." He ground out my name between clenched teeth. I could feel him losing his fight for self-control, evident in the way he forced his cock into me harder and harder. It hurt again, but now I was loving every second of it. 

I whimpered and writhed under him, arching my hips against the hard cock between my legs, and his grip on me tightened. His thrusts lengthened until he suddenly gave an especially brutal shove and my eyes widened as I felt the last of his rod push inside me so that his pubic bone butted against mine. The head of his cock was shoved up hard against my cervix, and my little clit was radiating sensation from where it was rubbing hard against the base of his cock. 

Then he moved again, pulling back, and even as there was relief, my body craved the feel of him buried completely inside me. I bucked my hips up, trying to recapture the slick length of him again, and he slammed forward, dragging a hoarse cry from me. 

Again and again he drove himself into my willing little cunt, and my nails dug into his skin as I felt myself rising to the edge. "Rafe," I whimpered, "I'm gonna... I'm gonna..."

"Do it, baby." He practically snarled, the tension of restraint and anticipation in every straining muscle of his body. 

He fucked into me twice more and I started cumming. My body arched against him, my head fell back and my pussy tightened so hard around his cock that I heard him groan. In fierce, rippling waves I pulsed on his cock as the fire of my climax flared through me. And all of a sudden, he was cumming too; the force of my orgasm was finally too much for him. Thick, hot ropes of sperm splashed against my womb, prolonging my ecstasy as he growled out his own pleasure and thrust his hips hard against mine. 

We remained locked like that for countless moments, until slowly, slowly our bodies unwound from the tense pose while we both caught our breath. I let myself sink back onto the bed and my hands flattened on his back, sliding over the silky, powerful musculature. I could feel his muscles easing, and I became aware that his rough grasp on my hip was relaxing as well, leaving a dull ache from where his fingers had bitten into my soft skin. I would have some bruises tomorrow. 

Rafe nuzzled against my neck and his breath was hot across my damp skin. I shivered and turned my head to meet his languid kiss. My whole body felt sore and drained and perfectly wonderful. 

He pulled away for a moment, slipping out of my thoroughly-fucked pussy as gently as he could. I winced anyway, for without the pleasure masking it, I was very tender down there. But he kissed the corner of my mouth in silent apology and readjusted himself on the bed so that he lay on his side with me snuggled close to his chest, his arms firm around me. After a moment, he reached over and pulled up the covers that had gotten all scrunched and wadded up on the mattress during our fucking. 




Moonshadows Ch. 03



Amidst the comfortable heat of his body and the rumpled covers, I felt the exhaustion of total satiation start to creep over my mind. Before I fell asleep, though, I tilted my head up and called softly, "Rafe?"

His beautiful golden eyes, now steady and satisfied, regarded me warmly. "Yeah, baby?" 

"You'll stay with me tonight, won't you?" 

His arms tightened around me and the corner of his mouth quirked up. "Yes." He said simply. 

"Good." And with that, I cuddled closer and closed my eyes and let sleep take me under. 



Moonshadows Ch. 04



I woke to a warm, steady thumping under my ear and the perfect sensation of being surrounded by something equally warm and solid. A pleasant heaviness was spread throughout my limbs and a familiar, musky smell filled my nose. As consciousness filtered in, I realized it was Rafe's heartbeat I was hearing; his arms were still wrapped protectively around me, our touching skin slightly sticky from where one or both of us had sweated during the night, and his firm chest rose and fell to the accompaniment of faint snores.

I smiled softly. I hadn't known Rafe snored. What other interesting trivia would I learn about him now that this new world of interaction had been introduced?

Opening my eyes, I lifted my head to gaze at his sleeping face then winced as all the dormant aches incurred by last night's activity flared to sudden life at the movement.

Wow... and ouch, I thought. Given my inexperience and the intensity of our physical interactions, I had expected some tenderness today, but I was surprised at just how global it seemed to be. Even my neck and shoulders hurt to some degree. And Rafe had done most of the work! Sheesh. Moving around promised to be pretty interesting for a while.

Time for a shower, I thought to myself, hoping that the warm water would ease some of my soreness.

I looked up at him again before moving away though, admiring the handsome planes of his face. He really was something amazing. Even asleep his features were somehow wild, powerful, proud, without seeming coarse or frightening. His almost-black hair tumbled across his forehead in happy disarray and dark eyelashes hid those unusual topaz eyes that fascinated me so. I had the sudden urge to kiss him on his sexy, slightly open mouth, but I didn't want to wake him, so I refrained.

Instead, I carefully moved his arm from where it was still wrapped around my small waist, and levered myself gingerly to a sitting position, wincing again as new parts of my body were aggravated by the movement. I scooted slowly to the edge of my bed, partly to ease some of the stiffness in my muscles and in part to keep from disturbing Rafe. Goosebumps rose all over my fair skin as I swung my legs over the edge and felt the cool air of my room and the smooth cold of the wooden floor under my toes.

Stifling a groan, I stood up awkwardly then looked back quickly to make sure I hadn't woken him. Rafe stirred momentarily, moving his now-free hand to rest on his perfectly muscled stomach, then let out a huge, shuddering sigh and stilled, just like a large dog. I almost laughed at the concept, but pressed my lips together and merely smiled instead.

This wasn't the first time he'd reminded me of a giant canine. Maybe it was the honest-to-God yellow of his eyes, or maybe it was something about his mannerisms, but on more than one occasion I'd found myself making that sort of comparison. You know, like the silly "if you were an animal, what would you be?" question. In Rafe's case, it was definitely dog. Or wolf. I grinned to myself.

My wolf.

A shiver reminded me that I was standing naked in my room and that I had a shower waiting for me. I resisted another urge to lean down and kiss him and started walking towards the bathroom.

Walking was enough of an experience that it temporarily pushed thoughts of Rafe's naked, glorious body from my mind as I tried to just focus on making my unreasonably sore limbs get me to the hot water. That morning, I gained a new understanding of the expression "fucked bow-legged."

The hot water was a blessing. For a while, I just stood under the heated spray, letting it massage my skin and slowly loosen joints and muscles unfamiliar with such rigorous exercise. I washed my hair next, working shampoo through the silky strands and feeling the excess suds slide down over my shoulders, in between my breasts and down my flat stomach.

With the shampoo still in my hair, I then began the task of gently washing my groin area. I worked around the tender flesh very carefully, and at first the water came away slightly darkened with dried blood, proof that my virginity was no more. That made me pause a moment.

You're not a virgin anymore, I thought to myself, assessing how it felt when put so plainly. Sore, I ultimately concluded, but otherwise not all that different from before.

I turned off the water after I'd finished washing and rinsing, and once most of the worst aches had mellowed a bit. While I dried myself and brushed my teeth, I kept an ear cocked for any movement coming from my bedroom, but heard nothing, so I wrapped the towel around myself and padded softly back to check.

Rafe lay on the bed in the same position I had left him, still snoring softly, the sheets tangled around his long body. I grinned and restrained myself from laying back down with him and curling into his welcoming heat; an intermittent grumbling in my stomach told me that I was in need of some breakfast.

After throwing on some panties, pajama pants and a tanktop and giving my wet hair a fast brush, I slipped back out into the hall, then over to the kitchen. I quickly settled on bacon and the improbably delicious corn pancakes my grandmother enjoyed making, figuring they were the most likely of any of the things I had available to lure my sleeping lover out of bed.

I found myself humming as I went about my task. The enticing smell of frying bacon filled the room and my soft melody was accompanied by the staccato popping and sizzling of grease.

Before long, I heard shuffling footsteps enter the room. A warm presence loomed behind me and I felt a pair of large, strong hands creep up from where they brushed my elbows to gently squeeze my shoulders.

"Mmm," Rafe rumbled as he bent down to nuzzle my neck, inhaling. "Smells good."

I giggled. "I thought bacon might tempt you out here."

"That too." He answered, then breathed in deeply again. "But I was talking about you." His hands slid from my shoulders and slowly down my chest. He squeezed one of my breasts in a massive palm and my breath caught in my throat.

"Didn't you get enough last night?" I asked somewhat breathlessly.

I could hear his grin as he replied. "Never." He nipped playfully at my neck.

I laughed and squirmed in his grip. My sore body was responding to his touch just as intensely as it always did, but I was feeling sassy and not ready to let him have his way just yet. Besides, I was hungry. I batted at the hand that was still rubbing my breast through the thin tanktop, ignoring my hardened nipple and the swirls of pleasure.

"Hey, you'll make me burn the bacon!"

Rafe grumbled for a second, but reluctantly released me and stepped back. I half-turned to look at him adoringly over my shoulder. His dark hair was wild and stood up in odd shapes from where he had slept on it and his strong features were still vaguely dazed with sleep as were his glorious golden eyes. A shadow of whiskers darkened the lower half of his face. He was shirtless so I was able to admire the perfectly toned musculature of his torso and shoulders, but he had apparently managed to pull on his jeans before joining me in the kitchen. I beamed at him.

"You sit and I will feed you. It's almost ready." He followed my pointing spatula and slumped heavily in one of the chairs at the small kitchen table. A wide yawn flashed white teeth. I went back to my task, smiling and shaking my head in amusement.

After turning the bacon over once more, I set it aside on a plate and gave the first batch of corn pancakes a last flip. Frequent glances over my shoulder showed that Rafe's attention seemed to be pretty evenly divided between me and the bacon, but he listened and remained seated until I slid the pancakes onto another large plate and brought the two items over to the table. I slipped into the seat next to him and pointed to the food.

"Since the pancakes are small, I thought we could just use our fingers." I told him and demonstrated by picking one up carefully with my fingernails, watching the steam rise from it. "Owie. Hot."

Rafe chose a slice of bacon and crunched it while eyeing the pancakes warily. "Is that corn?" His tone was accusatory.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, it is. But it's good." He raised an eyebrow and I had to fight back another surge of giggles at the adorable contradiction his superior expression made with his sleep-tousled hair. I nudged his shin under the table with my bare foot. "Just try it, you beast."

Still wary, Rafe polished off the bacon he was holding and lifted a pancake so that it could cool. While he did so, I took a bite out of my own and savored the unlikely combination of flavors: the slight sweetness of the corn, the starchy salt of the pancake mix with the underlying bonus of just enough grease. More dense than what I considered normal for pancakes, the corn kernels added a random moisture and pop to the otherwise neutral batter.

Mmm.

I think it was the happy noises I made that decided it for him, but Rafe finally took a bite of his own. I watched his features closely to assess his reaction, and after a moment of chewing, he grudgingly nodded.

"Okay, you're right. They're good. Weird, but good." He took another bite and I smiled, triumphant.

"You want something to drink?" I rose and started for the fridge.

"Coffee," was his single-word reply before adding belatedly around a bite of bacon. "If you have it. Please."

"I can make some."

The coffee-maker issued its customary bubbling and hissing sounds while I poured myself a glass of cranberry juice. I couldn't remember feeling so content. So comfortably happy. Before returning to my seat I set my glass on the table and leaned down to kiss Rafe at last.

As far as our kisses went, this one was pretty chaste; since his mouth was full of pancake, both our lips remained pressed closed, and the strange angle of my approach made maintaining the position awkward. But even so, my body flushed with heat and my heartbeat quickened. My tender pussy tingled with desire both remembered and anticipated.

As I pulled away, I could see his face frozen with indecision. The pancake was still in his hand, but he looked at me like he was ready to throw me on the table and fuck me right there. I laughed and kissed him again quickly before sitting back down in my own seat.

"You eat. I'll stop distracting you."

His dissatisfaction was evident, but hunger seemed to win out and he went back to making the bacon and pancakes disappear with speedy efficiency. Between the two of us, I ended up cooking two more batches of pancakes before we were both satisfied. Afterwards, we sat sipping our coffee and gazing at each other silently. I found myself in awe, both of just how damn beautiful he was while still being unquestionably masculine, and of the fact that he was sitting, shirtless, in my kitchen staring back at me just as intently as I studied him.

He grinned suddenly and beckoned to me with a finger. Curiously, I scooted closer then squeaked in surprise as he lifted me easily onto his lap.

"Hey, baby." He said, still grinning. I could feel his voice rumbling in his chest.

"Hey, you." I returned and then blushed as I felt the erection through his jeans. His grin turned a little feral. I swallowed, my pulse speeding up.

"You don't work until tonight, right?"

"Uh huh."

"And when does Cara get home?" His breath was hot and sensual at my ear, making it hard to think.

"Um... she... she comes home tomorrow."

"Perfect." I felt his teeth nip playfully at my earlobe and quivered at the tingles of his moist breath on my skin.

His large hands slid from where they rested casually on my hips and up along my torso, dragging my tanktop with them. His rough, warm palms rubbed delightfully against my soft skin. When he lifted my shirt up over my breasts and rubbed his hands over my hard nipples, I shivered again and let out a soft sigh.

"I want you," he growled.

"I can tell," was my whispered response.

His growl intensified at my reply and his hands tightened on my breasts, sudden and possessive. My breath hitched and shuddered out of my throat.

"I want you now."

Before I could do so much as agree, he lifted me right up and set me down again on the edge of the table, none-too careful not to knock over the empty dishes. He attacked my breasts without delay, suckling and nibbling my sensitive flesh hungrily as I moaned and writhed my hips on the tabletop. This seemed to spur him on, as the next thing I knew, his mouth had moved to my neck to bite and lick, and his hands were on my hips, his strong fingers hooking into the waistband of my pajama pants and underwear together. I let out a whimpering moan at the assault of sensations and the surge of desire that flooded my body.

Rafe pulled me to standing again, and with a quick motion, he tugged my pants off my hips until they slid the rest of the way down my legs to the floor. Had his mouth not risen to cover mine just then, I would have gasped at the rush of cool air on my skin. Our tongues pushed and slipped against each other, my teeth catching and nipping at his bottom lip.

He stood and my head tipped back extremely to maintain our ravenous kiss. I felt his knuckles brushing against my stomach as he quickly unfastened his jeans and pushed them down, his hard cock springing free to rub against my skin. An appreciative rumble issued from his chest.

Then his hands were on my shoulders, gently, steadily laying me back onto the table. A chill rushed over my body as my naked ass and back pressed against the cool wood, followed by a flare of heat when I felt his long fingers probe the slick, and still very tender flesh of my pussy. I know I sucked in a sharp breath, but I must have also flinched or something, because Rafe pulled back suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Concern tempered the molten desire in his golden eyes.

"I'm just sore, is all. But I'm okay. Don't stop." My fingers twined in his tussled hair, pulling him back to my kiss. "Don't stop..." His mouth, his taste, his touch was so good I never wanted him to stop.

He had other plans, however. I got a glimpse of his dark brows furrowed in consideration before he slid his arms under me and scooped me to his chest. Rafe settled the both of us back into the chair again, this time with my legs straddling his bare hips. He nipped at my neck as he settled my hips more securely against him. Particularly the hard cock rubbing against my very wet pussy.

"Try it like this." That hot breath on my neck made my whole body shudder.

Obediently, I started rocking my hips against him, sliding his cock along my folds, coating it with my juices. At first, the discomfort of my soreness distracted me, so I went slowly. But the more I moved, the more turned on I got, until in a moment of impulse, I pushed myself up enough to place his cock head at my entrance. Rafe growled his approval. His eyes were hot on my face as I sank down to sheathe the head of him inside me.

"Oh... Oh, my," I breathed.

"Yes," he hissed, his golden eyes fierce with concentration. "Ride me, baby."

I did. My sore muscles made it hard for me to go slowly, so I ended up sinking down faster than I'd intended. I squeaked as his cock pushed up inside me in a rush, stretching my pussy again, making its claim on me. But once past that first tenderness, oh, God, it felt so good. I moaned and my head fell back slightly. How could I have forgotten so quickly how amazing his dick felt filling me?

His fingers gripping my hips insistently and his hot breath on my neck spurred me to further movement. He guided me in a slow rocking, bouncing motion, sliding his huge cock in and out of my willing hole. I caught on quickly, catching his face between my hands to kiss him hard. This time it was he who caught my lip between his teeth and the sudden, small pain made me gasp and clench my pussy muscles as it added to my arousal.

He groaned into my mouth, and bucked up into me harder, eliciting a moan of my own. I shuddered and ground down on him, loving the intensity, the bliss, even the underlying pain of being stretched so extremely around him, then moaned again as I realized the movement ground my clit against his pubic bone in a way that was almost overwhelmingly good. I felt one of his hands shift to grip my right breast, squeezing the nipple between his fingers and I whimpered and wriggled even harder on top of him.

"Fuuuuuuuck," I moaned and shifted my arms to wrap around his neck.

Growling, he put his lips to my shoulder as he thrust into me hard, wrenching a cry from my throat. He was getting rougher now as his passion started slipping out of control. His fingers on my nipple were less-than gentle and as I felt his teeth bite into the skin of my shoulder I grunted and quivered as I felt a mini-orgasm flood my senses with pleasure.

"Fuck, oh, Rafe, fuck!" Every nerve was alive, every part of my body delighting in and yearning for more of his thick tool fucking in and out of my little pussy. I loved the way he felt, tasted, sounded as he took me. As the wildness from last night came out again and he fucked me with abandon, bouncing me on his cock like a man possessed. As he made me his in the most primal way possible.

My clit kept grinding against him every time he'd plunge me down, his cock filling me to capacity, pushing hard against my cervix, making me quake and whimper. Hard on the heels of my mini-climax, I felt another, much more powerful one rising. Each time he slammed into me, each tug on my nipple, every hot lash of his tongue on the bruised skin of my neck drove me closer to that peak.

"Rafe," I breathed, "Oh, God, yes..."

His hand released my breast and rose to twine in the hair at the back of my head. He kissed me hard, driving his tongue into my mouth while he fucked me. My head reeled and I felt myself close, so close to cumming. His mouth on mine and his cock pounding my cunt had me breathless, almost crying with longing. Suddenly Rafe pulled back from the kiss and, opening my dazed eyes, I saw him staring at me fiercely.

"Selene," he grunted, punctuating my name by shoving his cock into me deeply, "Cum for me."

That was all it took. Shivering, shaking, nearly sobbing, I came hard. My pussy clenched tight around him, my fingernails bit into his skin and I sank down all the way on his dick so that my spasming cunt was massaging his entire length. A growl-like rumble preceded his own release and as I felt his semen hit my inner walls, pleasure, like heat flowed through my whole body.

In its wake, I was left dazed and languorous and highly sensitive. Rafe continued to thrust into me powerfully, hard even after the last of his cum was spent. My every nerve sang right on the edge of overstimulation as he pressed his lips to mine passionately, still thrusting. Shivering, I kissed him back until his lips softened, the kiss mellowed and he at last began to relax. I felt his fingers trail along my my temple, brushing my sweaty hair back from my face as the aftershocks of both our orgasms subsided.

Sighing, I let my head drop to rest on my arms and closed my eyes. Nestled between my left one and his neck, I inhaled his rich scent, felt his long arms easy around me, listened to the gradual slowing of his heartbeat until it had returned to the steady rhythm I'd awoken to earlier. My body melted into his, right on the edge of dozing, contentment in every part of me. Thoughts floated to the surface of my consciousness and away again gently.

"I love you."

It was only when I felt his body tense that I realized I had spoken the words aloud. I sucked in a short breath, leaning back hurriedly to see his face. My throat clenched in anxiety.

Shit, shit, shit. 

It was absurd, almost comical, how quickly I shifted from utter bliss to stomach-churning angst. What the hell was wrong with me? Here we were, the day after he took my virginity and I was dropping the "L-word" on him. Talk about a red flag. I might as well wear a damn label on my forehead that read, "Insecure, Hyper-Clingy Female."




Moonshadows Ch. 04



"Uh, I didn't...." I started, "I mean..." I couldn't get a read on his expression and it just added to my quickly-rising nervousness. "Shit," I muttered. 

I had never had anything resembling a functional poker face; there was no way to try to play this off casually or as a joke, and my inability interpret his reaction left me spiraling quickly into full-blown panic. So of course I felt my eyes start to burn. Stupid, stupid, stupid! 

I had to get out of there. I couldn't afford to lose it in front of him and totally cement my persona as an emotional disaster to be fled as fast as possible. I stood up quickly, too distracted to even wince much as he slid out of me, but a firm grip on my wrist halted me. 

"Are you crying?"

I shook my head rapidly, forcing a smile, but my quivering lip must have given me away because he didn't let go. "Hey," he said, a frown in his low tone. "What's wrong?" 

Taking a few deep breaths to keep myself together, I studied his face carefully, reading only confusion and concern. Well, there was some surprise in there too, and for good reason. One minute, we were having a lovely post-coital cuddle, and the next... 

"I swear I'm not trying to go crazy on you, Rafe."

A dry smile curled one end of his delicious mouth and he said, "You're a woman, babe. There's no helping that."

Damn it. Despite my every effort, my face crumpled and embarrassing tears flooded my cheeks. Alarmed, he pulled me to him and sat me on his warm lap again, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

"Oh, hell. Bad joke. Hey, don't cry, baby." His rumbling voice was resonant under my ear.

"I'm s-sorry. I'm being t-totally stupid right n-now," I said tearfully between sobs. "But I swear I would never try to g-guilt-trip you into anything, o-or manipulate you and I don't... I don't have any expectations or–" 

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down." He ran a strong hand along my back and huffed a sigh. "I don't even know what... Just calm down. We'll talk about it. Take it easy."

It took longer than I wanted, but I got myself under control again. I took a big, shuddering sigh and sat up straighter, wiping my face roughly. I had to fix this.

Rafe was watching me closely, and after a minute, he ventured a little warily, "So... Do you wanna tell me what that was about?"

I decided that it would probably be best to take the direct approach. I owed him as clear of an explanation as I could assemble, and if I didn't just say it outright, I probably wouldn't be able to say it at all. So I took another deep breath and steeled myself.

"I care about you, Rafe," I said. "Obviously. But I didn't say 'I love you,' with any expectation that you'd say it back. I wasn't trying to 'take our relationship to the next level,' or whatever, and I wasn't trying to rope you into a commitment that you're not interested in."

"Okay," he said and his face darkened in a frown, "That sort of pisses me off, actually."

"Wh-what?" 

"We just had sex, Selene. I popped your cherry last night. And I know I'm a guy, but I'm not a complete asshole."

Scowling, he went on, "The fact that I'm the first guy you let touch you like that? That means something important. So whether or not you were trying to take things to the next level, we're there. And I don't like the implication that you don't deserve my commitment for that. Or that you think I'm not interested."

I realized after a moment that my mouth was open and I closed it.

Rafe sighed again and pushed his hair back off his forehead. "Look. I'm sorry if I somehow gave you this impression, but I don't jump into bed with just anyone–"

"You could," I interjected honestly.

The hint of a smile cracked through his frustrated expression. "Thanks, babe. But what I mean is that when I have sex with someone, it's not usually a casual thing for me. Maybe it's how I was brought up, maybe it's my nature, but when I sleep with a girl, I actually care about her. Besides," he said and his smile grew, "It makes the sex better."

I thought about what he'd said. It made a certain amount of sense, even if I did have a hard time believing that he didn't have girls lining up to fuck him. Or maybe he did, and he just chose not to. But then, why would he choose someone like me? My thoughts were too scattered and fragmented to really make sense of them, so I filed the information away for later, when I was a little calmer. He watched me and didn't say anything for a minute; I got the impression he was trying to assess whether or not I was going to flip out again.

"I guess," I said slowly as the silence stretched further, "I'm just afraid of scaring you off."

Quite unexpectedly, he let out a burst of laughter. I jumped then frowned in confusion.

"Scare me?" There was something there in his tone that I couldn't quite place. Almost... derision? Disgust? But before I could identify it or be too disturbed, he said, "I can't think of anything you could do to scare me off, Selene. Doesn't mean I don't appreciate you trying to rein in the woman craziness, but I think you're probably okay."

I smiled at him tentatively.

"There," he said, taking my chin gently in his fingers as he smiled back, "That's my girl."

A shudder of pure pleasure went through me at those words.

"I like how that sounds. 'Your girl.'"

"You are my girl." He said, suddenly fierce again. "Mine."

His fingers tightened on my chin and he kissed me again, hard, as my head reeled at the abrupt possessiveness and my own lingering, jumbled emotions. But, God, the way he kissed... Distantly, I heard myself moaning again as he ravaged my mouth, his hands exploring my skin with dominant urgency. And between my soaking thighs, I felt him starting to get hard again.

He broke the kiss; I certainly wasn't capable of it at that point.

"All right, now," he said, and there was an almost sinister delight simmering in his bass tones. "I know you already showered this morning, but I haven't yet. And if you think I'm letting your sexy ass out of my sight for as long as it takes me to clean up, you're out of your damn mind."

"Mm hmm," I managed.

With that, he scooped me up with the effortless strength that I remembered so vividly from the night before and carried me down the hall to the bathroom. Somehow, in between kissing, rubbing and licking me to a state of quivering, incoherent desperation, he managed to get the water of the shower going and maneuvered us both inside. Under normal circumstances, I would have noted that his six foot plus frame made it a tight fit, but at the moment I was too out of my mind mind with desire, and too closely wrapped around him to really notice or care.

I gasped as the hot spray hit us, then was entirely diverted a moment later when, lining himself up with my entrance, he slid me down on his thick cock. It was a probably a good thing that I was so well lubricated and decently stretched from our earlier fuck, because this time I had absolutely no control over the pace. It was all Rafe, bouncing me up and down on his giant tool like a doll.

Mewling and moaning and grunting, I gripped his shoulders and hung on for the ride. His intense fucking was painful, but in the exact way that I was beginning to realize drove me crazy with need. Our skin, slick from sweat and steam and spray, slipped against each other, stimulating and teasing. My wet nipples were hard as little pink beads as they rubbed against the slight friction of his hairy chest. His tongue plundered my mouth insistently and I surrendered to his assault with abandon.

The sudden, cold shock of tiles at my back made me suck in a breath in surprise, only to exhale it all in a rush as he used the new leverage to start pounding me harder. My back arched involuntarily, thrusting my slippery breasts at him as he fucked my cunt. Then I was there. My scream echoed off the walls of the shower and I came undone around him. I felt his mouth descend on one of my tits, enveloping it with his hot mouth then he too was climaxing, growling around my flesh as he pumped me full of his cum for the second time that morning.

We panted against each other for a minute or two as he continued to hold me, and I was grateful, as I wasn't sure my legs would support me at that point. He did set me down a minute or so later, however, and initiated me into the sensual, playful dance of trying to wash with two people in the shower. I was more than a little delighted that the experience gave me a whole new, intimate view of his naked body and took full advantage of touching as much of it as I could.

When the water started to run cold, we managed to extricate ourselves from the shower and move our activities back to the bedroom. I caught one glimpse of a dark stain on the sheets –evidence of my happily-relinquished virginity— before we were falling to the bed together and he fitted himself inside me once more, fucking me with deep, slow thrusts.

We fucked twice more that morning, until I was too sore for another round, and Rafe finally seemed to be satisfied. At least for the moment anyway. Even then, we sat curled up together and talked about stupid stuff until his phone rang, bringing us back to earth. He glanced at the caller and sighed.

"I need to take this."

"Okay," I replied, smiling at him in complete contentment.

Since he didn't get up to talk, I snuggled into him and half-listened to his side of the conversation until, frowning, he told the caller, "Yeah. Fine. I'll be there. Bye."

His lips brushed the top of my head. The breath of his disgruntled sigh stirred my hair. I already knew that the phone call meant he needed to leave, but I looked up to pout at him anyway. "Do you have to go?" 

He sighed again. "I don't want to, but that's what it's sounding like." 

I grumbled, trying to tuck myself tighter against him. He chuckled, but gave me another kiss on the head and got out of bed to go find his things, dressing with the fluid efficiency of a man fully confident with his own body. When he finished, he gave me a hand out of bed as well and kissed the inside of my wrist softly, a smile curling his warm lips. 

I wrapped myself in a blanket and followed him to the door, hesitant to relinquish the sight of him until absolutely necessary. Rafe didn't seem to mind; at the door, he pulled me into his arms and inhaled deeply, running his lips softly over the edge of my jaw. Even after so much new physical activity, I felt myself getting wet again, my body leaning into his touch, preparing itself for his entry once again. I was tired, for sure, but damn. I still wanted him terribly. Achingly. It seemed now that we had entered into this new realm of interaction, I couldn't get enough.

With a low, discontented sound in his throat however, Rafe withdrew slightly and looked down at me, his topaz eyes telling me he was about two seconds from pushing me up against the wall and fucking me hard.

"I have to go." He said. His deep voice was tense with disappointment and what I interpreted to be restraint.

I couldn't help it. I stood up on tip-toes, wrapping my arms around his neck to nuzzle his skin. "I don't want you to." I whispered.

"Selene..." His hands gripped me tighter, and I could feel how hard he was, pressing against my belly.

"I know, I know," I sighed. With extreme force of will, I unwound my arms from his neck and slipped to the floor, even taking a small step backwards. "You have to. I'll be good."

His expression was wry, and not a little bit frustrated. "You're not making it easy to leave."

My face turned warm from a blush of pleasure and excitement. I can't explain how heady it was to see evidence of his attraction to me; I felt exhilarated and powerful and alive. And horny. I grinned at him. "Come back to me soon then."

With a growl, he pulled me to him again and his mouth descended on my own passionately, his tongue ravishing my mouth until I was breathless and tingling in his embrace. Dizzily, I felt him pull back again, felt his breath at my ear as he murmured, "You are so damn beautiful." My stomach did a little flip and I felt my heartbeat distinctly, fast and eager.

"When... when do I get to see you again?" I managed to ask around the euphoria that was in danger of overwhelming me. "I have work tonight, but maybe after that, you could come over and..."

"Done." He agreed definitively, his arms squeezing me possessively. An instant later however, his body stilled and I could hear the frown in his voice when he said, "No, wait. I can't tonight. There's something... I already have to deal with this thing tonight." He released me and brushed his fingers along my cheek lightly. His gorgeous face was serious.

"I'll take you up on that offer tomorrow though." His mouth curled up slightly in a teasing smile. "That is, if you still want me."

I was torn between disappointment, incredulity and amusement. As a result, my playful swat at him was somewhat vague and I couldn't keep the silly smile from my own face. "Of course, you... W-well, what time should I expect you?"

"Soon as I can get away, babe. I'll call you."

"Okay."

He bent down and pressed his lips to mine once more, this time softly, chastely. "I'll see you soon, baby."

"Okay. Bye."

It was good that he had the self-discipline to pull himself away and make his exit, because it was all I could do to let him go. My head was reeling with happiness, my heart was a stuttering, giggling buoy of excitement. My body felt feverishly hot, almost physically aching for him to come back and make me his yet again. Or maybe that was just the soreness from our first series of rounds.

I felt myself laughing and almost skipping down the hall to my room to get ready for work. Tomorrow could not come soon enough.

***

As it was, work that night was busy enough to keep my mind mostly occupied with something other than pining. The exquisite autumnal weather meant a proliferation of couples and families out on the town, enjoying the evening and apparently hungry. Maybe it was atmosphere of the night itself, or maybe it was the happy daze that I was still floating in, but my tables even tipped better than usual, and I found myself laughing and chatting with customer and coworker alike much more than I generally did.

The effects of my night and morning with Rafe were like a magical elixir. I felt so different: more confident and sexy and alive than ever before, and I though I would never actually talk about my sex-life with anyone at work, I was nearly bursting to tell someone about my experience, my triumphant entrance into the world of sexual adulthood. I couldn't wait for Cara to get home so that I could share at least a little bit of my sorcerous transformation with her.

I was still flying high when I went over to the guy sitting at a table by himself, hardly glancing at him as I smiled happily and started into the usual greeting. "Hello, my name is Selene and I'll be your server for the evening. Can I start you off with anything to drink tonight?"

"Miss Dalton, what a pleasure to see you again."

The voice was like a shock of cold water and I looked, really looked at him again to see the urbane, eerily magnetic features of the man from the concert. I felt my stomach do an odd kind of clenching flutter.

"Ah..." All my giddy confidence from before seemed to have evaporated and it was all I could do to wrench myself back to the relative safety of the servers' script. "Um, yes. Is there... Is there anything I can get you to drink, sir?"

His smooth, cultured voice held a tinge of artful disappointment. "You don't remember me. What a shame. We spoke last night at the festival."

"I remember."

He glanced over the menu, then back to me. His black eyes were very hard to look away from. "Truth be told, Miss Dalton, I'm not terribly hungry. I just happened to be walking by when I saw –much to my surprise– your lovely form in the window here. I confess that I really just came inside to speak with you."

I had no idea what to say. As before, for some reason he made me feel supremely uncomfortable. Almost afraid. Maybe it was the stalker-ish overtones of his words. I swallowed to soothe a suddenly very dry throat.

"But I suppose I can't just sit here and take up your time." He went on. "Why don't you bring me a water while I see if there's anything else that catches my fancy."

The way he said it left me with the distinct impression he was not talking about anything we had on our menu. With a nod and what I hoped passed for a smile, I hurried away, ostensibly to get his water. However, upon rounding the corner to the kitchen, I instead made for the bathroom and rushed inside to lean, panting, against the door.

I tried to think logically about why I was so disturbed, but there was nothing solid to hold up to the light as evidence as to why this man terrified me so. And I realized that I was terrified. I didn't even know why then, but I understood in my bones that this man, Cassian Grey, was terribly dangerous. I wished Rafe were there.

After a minute or two, and with the resolution that I'd call Rafe as soon as I got off work, I worked up the courage to go face the world again. After all, I had other tables waiting, and it wouldn't help my tips any to neglect everyone else on so slight a reason as an unidentifiable fear. Still, I left his table as the very last one I waited on, the water in my hand amplifying the small tremors going through me. I set it down quickly.

"Have you decided on anything?" My voice came out rather smaller than I would have liked, but at least it didn't shake.

"Mm..." I avoided his eyes by studying my order pad intently, but could still feel his gaze as it swept over my body, almost like a physical touch. I shuddered.

"You mentioned a... boyfriend last night," he said suddenly, surprising me into looking at him once more. The word fit oddly on his tongue, or maybe it was just the way he said it, with the barest hint of derision. His stare was hypnotic and cold. "How very charming. You are fond of him?"

"Yes." As with my name before, the word popped out of my mouth before I could think. I blinked at my own response, mystified why I had answered such a personal question at all, and to him of all people.

"And how does he feel about you, Miss Dalton? Does he love the girl he's bedding?"

I glared at him, bright pink from the roots of my hair to the top of my chest, but shocked out of the rapport he'd had me in. "That is none of your business," I snapped then added a belated, "Sir."

I was surprised at my own boldness; generally I didn't stand up so directly to anyone, even when a customer was getting out of line. But he'd made me mad the way he said it, like he thought my relationship with Rafe was just a joke, or something ridiculous. And after my misstep with the "L-word" this morning, I was particularly sensitive about the subject. So I rode the anger, leveling a hostile stare at him and asking rather brusquely, "Do you need another minute to decide, or do you know what you want to eat already?"

Cassian watched me closely, almost assessing, before handing me the menu without looking at it. "I'll have the New York strip. Very rare. I trust your discretion regarding the sides."

Without a word, I gathered his menu and walked away. What an asshole, asking me something like that. Fuck him anyway. And screw his tip, I didn't need it. I didn't want it. I would deal with him as little as possible tonight.

I managed to put his order in and make it halfway back to my station before the shaking started. Unlike the trembling of before, this wasn't just isolated to my hands. It was was a violent, wracking shuddering in my entire body and I felt that if I didn't wrap my arms around myself, I would shake to pieces. I changed direction quickly and slipped into the empty office where I slid into the folding chair and hunched over like I was going to be sick. 




Moonshadows Ch. 04



Taking several, measured breaths, I tried to start calming myself down. As I felt my heart rate slow to a more normal rhythm, I sat up straighter and made myself assess what was going on with me. I was sure it had to do with that guy, but the fact remained that I'd flipped out for no apparent reason. Sure, he was a creep, but it wasn't like he was threatening me or anything, or even being overtly pervy, even though his questions were totally inappropriate. 

Still, for whatever reason, this Cassian Grey set off some subconscious panic-mode in me. I didn't realize then how accurate my instincts were; I just knew I couldn't face him again. 

Having gotten myself under control again, I tracked down my coworker, Emma, and got her to take over his table by conveying the truthful fact that he was creeping me out. She offered to get our manager to ask him to leave, but I didn't want to cause a fuss and talked her out of it, figuring that if I didn't have to interact with him again, it wouldn't be a big deal. 

I regretted my decision a little bit as I felt his eyes on me for the next hour while I tended to my other tables. Even though I did my best to ignore him and he didn't do anything inappropriate, the spring was definitely out of my step and I missed Rafe more and more. 

So on my break, I found myself rummaging in my purse for my cheap, old-school flip phone. I didn't use it often since I had my landline at home, but it was useful in a pinch and after my run-in with the biker creeps when I first met Rafe, I'd thought it a prudent investment if only for safety's sake.

The familiar number was easy to dial. I only wanted to talk to him for a second, just hear his delicious voice, then I'd go back to work, but my heart sank as it rang and rang. Ultimately, his mellow tone came through the line as his voicemail recording.

"You've reached Rafe Koenig. I can't answer the phone right now, so leave me a message and I'll get back to you. Thanks."

I left a short, bland voicemail without mentioning my disturbing encounter. No need to be dramatic when I'd see him tomorrow anyway. Besides, by the time I got back, Cassian was gone and I breathed a sigh of relief. Emma informed me brightly that he might be a creep, but he was still a damn good tipper and offered to give me a portion; I told her to keep it. 

By the time we closed, I was exhausted and edgy, casting anxious glances over my shoulder as I left the building and unlocked my bike. Nothing. Still, the prickling feeling of eyes on my back followed me the whole time as I peddled quickly through the crisp autumn dark, the full moon casting flitting shadows that chased me all the way home.



Moonshadows Ch. 05



Rafe made good on his promise to see me again the very next day, though my welcome was somewhat subdued by necessity since Cara was back in the apartment with us. I had only spoken to her in the most general terms when describing my weekend, but I thought her smirk was a little too knowing when she walked past the living room where we were cuddled on the couch, and I was sure I saw her wink my way. 

If possible, my body had been even more sore when I woke up, but with Rafe's return came the flood of hormones that had my skin tingling and my panties growing damp in preparation for what I so desperately wanted. My increasing agitation must have been apparent in my touch because he'd only been there half an hour before Rafe bent close to my ear and whispered hotly, "How about we go for a drive?" 

I hopped up immediately and Rafe laughed, that warm earthy rumble that I so l loved. I blushed at my own eagerness but grinned back in good humor. 

"Let me just get changed out of my pajamas," I told him, starting toward my room. 

"Okay." He stretched his muscular arms along the back of the couch and added in a carefully casual way, "Why don't you wear a skirt?" 

Blushing all the more fiercely, I hurried to get ready. 

Fifteen minutes later, we were zooming along the roads on our way out of the city. The ruffled skirt of my sundress fluttered in the temperate autumn breeze that blew in through the windows. The purr and hum of the engine vibrated deliciously against my crotch where it was pressed against the seat, highlighting how little was between my skin and the open air. Strands of my hair teased out of my ponytail to tickle my neck and face. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes in enjoyment. 

Rafe's touch on the bare flesh of my knee made me start slightly. He smiled as he watched the road. I smiled too and resumed my perusal of the increasingly rural surroundings. A minute later though, his hand left my knee so he could shift gears, and when it returned, it was markedly higher on my thigh, displacing the hem of my dress. I glanced at him again, but he only smirked at the road and slid his fingers increasingly upwards along the smooth skin of my leg. 

My breath hitched then grew shallow, my eyes fixed on his expression while his touch made its unerring progress towards my panty-clad mound. I couldn't help myself and spread my thighs slightly in tacit encouragement, mentally urging him on. 

When he finally brushed my pussy through the thin material of my underwear, I let out a tiny moan. His teasing seemed to have awoken my every nerve ending to full responsiveness and even his feather-light touch was enough to get my juices going, the wetness only increasing when he felt out my clit through the fabric and focused his efforts. 

My awareness of the road disappeared as my focus zeroed in on his fingers. Rafe increased the pressure against my tiny nub and my moans grew in direct proportion. I felt the material between us grow saturated and slippery, the slight texture of it becoming masked by my own enthusiastic secretions. Abruptly, his fingers hooked around the edge of my panties and bared me completely to the air and I gasped at the cool rush. 

I didn't have long to register the new sensation however before I felt one of his long digits slide downward over my clit, eliciting a whine of pleasure from my throat, before it slipped easily inside of me. My still-tender flesh opened eagerly to his touch and flooded the rest of me with bliss so that when he added a second finger, I could only let my head fall back and whimper at the extra fullness. He pumped his fingers in and out in a slow, steady pace, the heel of his hand rubbing occasionally against my swollen clit and I rocked my hips against him, lost in the mounting feeling. I could feel the beginnings of my first orgasm of the day curling within my belly. 

Before I could reach it though, his hand withdrew again and I groaned, my eyes opening to glare at him in heavy-lidded protest. He was shifting gears again, but this time, he wasn't smiling as he glanced at me, his features fixed instead in what recognized with quickening pulse as lust. 

Rafe quickly maneuvered the car through a turn onto a wooded dirt and gravel road, the bumps making my breasts jiggle below the demure neckline of my dress. He didn't touch me again, but it wasn't necessary to maintain the state of my arousal because almost as soon as we had rounded out of sight of the main road, he pulled over onto a pseudo-shoulder of the drive, red and ochre leaves crunching under the wheels. 

The engine had scarcely stopped rumbling before he climbed out and strode around to my side. Opening the door, he leaned across me to release my seatbelt then swiftly gripped the back of my head to press his mouth to mine in a devouring kiss. I hummed in delight and wrapped my arms around his neck, sliding my tongue against his, the taste of him inflaming my need. 

I squeaked as he slid his arms beneath me and lifted me effortlessly from the car. Rafe released my mouth long enough to transfer his lips to the corner of my jaw, inhaling deeply then licking and nipping at the skin there, making me tighten my arms around his neck and whimper with longing. I was right at the brink of begging when he set me down just as suddenly, spinning me around to press against me from behind. 

His hands found my breasts and I covered them with my own small ones, feeling the strength of the bones sliding under his flesh even while he located my nipples through my dress and bra to pinch them with just the right amount of pressure. I let my head fall back into his chest and he started nipping at my neck again, cueing my hips to gyrate back into the large bulge I could feel pushing against my ass. 

That was all it took. He urged me to bend over the hood of his car with a hand between my shoulder blades and a growl in his throat, then hurried to flip the flowing material of my skirt over my waist. The metal of the hood was warm under my palms and the autumn air was cool against my exposed skin. I looked over my shoulder to see him hastily undoing his pants but he didn't bother taking off my underwear, instead taking advantage of the way the soaked gusset was still pushed to the side. Without further delay or a word spoken between us, he lined himself up with his hand, rubbing the silky head of his dick against my slick flesh, and plunged inside. 

I cried out as I was stretched and he grunted in satisfaction, holding inside of me a moment as we both relished the renewed physical connection. Then he started fucking me in earnest. 

The new angle of this position had his cock hitting deeper inside of me than ever before, or maybe it was just that with me bent over being taken from behind, there was no mitigating factor to slow his penetration. He bottomed out with every thrust, sending shockwaves of pleasure and tingles of pain through me each time he banged against my cervix. I yelped and moaned, arching my ass higher, an ardent participant to the assault. 

Rafe slowed his pace long enough to brush the straps of my dress and bra from my shoulders so that it could be coaxed down, exposing the pebbles of my nipples to his direct touch to be rolled and pinched while I purred at the added stimulation. He used his grip on my tits to pull me back to his chest again, and pressed his lips to my shoulder, his breath hot and moist, his cock still in my pussy, keeping me pinned on and against his solidity. We rocked like that for a minute, slow, almost dancing, my eyes closed and head swimming with delight. 

He couldn't sustain it though, driven by primordial need for completion, and bent us both at the waist so that I had to brace myself against the car again while he started thrusting hard. Long, deep strokes to renew the pressure on my cervix, the pace increasing as his grip shifted to my hips. I gasped again, this time in pain alone as his fingers dug into the bruises from our first time together, only now really starting to manifest as purple blooms against my fair skin. Thankfully, I was quickly distracted by a roll of his pelvis while he was hilted inside me and I let my breath out in an appreciative moan. 


An answering growl issued from behind me and his thrusts grew faster, and even harder. The pain of his ironlike fingers digging into my bruised flesh was a distraction, but not enough of one to impede the growing tension of orgasm that was winding inside me. I used my braced arms on the car to throw my weight back onto his impaling cock, assisting in my own debauchery, straining for the peak, and his punishing grip on my hips ensured that over half his length slammed into me at every stroke so that my breath was forced out of me with each impact as a panting squeak, my tits jiggling beneath me. 

I writhed against him, the slapping of his pelvis into my ass and the wet sounds of my cunt growing distant as I felt his rubbing cock at last pushing me into that final ascent. Oh, yes, oh, yes, oh, yes... Teeth at the back of my neck, hot, pinching, but it didn't matter because I was there. Rafe fucked into me twice more and I came with a sharp cry, light exploding behind my closed eyelids, my whole body seizing with pleasure, my pussy rippling around his ravaging cock. 

He didn't slow down, even though as I started to come back to awareness, I was so sensitive that the continued stimulation brought tears to my eyes. But just as I was about to beg him to go easy, his grip tightened even further and he hilted himself in me, cumming with a savage rumble as he emptied his balls into my tight cunt. 

We remained that way for a moment, until my arms would no longer support me and I sank to rest my torso on the hood of the car, still comfortably warm against my nipples, my heartbeat pulsing against the hard surface through my ribcage. I leaned there trembling and panting, letting the swirling pleasure of the afterglow flow through my tired limbs, but I gasped out an involuntary whimper of pain as Rafe's fingers unclenched from my hips at last. 

"Shit," he breathed, still catching his own wind. I could feel one of his palms hovering just over my skin, as though to soothe away the hurt. "Baby, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" 

I turned my head so I could look over my shoulder and found him gazing at me, concern etched in his handsome face. I managed a tired smile. "More than okay. That was... Wow." 

Rafe tucked a piece of hair off my sweaty forehead and his fingers lingered tenderly on my cheek. "I got carried away. I should have known better. But you're just so fucking sexy and you felt so good..." 

This time, I laughed and levered myself up to lean my head against his chest. Thankfully, the movement hid my wince of pain as the change of angle caused his softening length to slip from my well-used pussy. His arms wrapped around me and I hugged them closer, sighing in contentment. 

"That makes two of us then," I told him and I felt him relax. 

"You sure I didn't hurt you?" He asked, squeezing me a little closer. 

I edged around the darker parts of the truth and told him, "It was amazing, Rafe. Seriously. Just... not quite that intense every time, maybe?" 

He turned me in his arms and tilted my chin up to take my lips in a sweet kiss, every bit as gentle as he had been ferocious just minutes before. "Deal," he murmured. "I'll keep a better eye on my limits from now on." 

Then he kissed me again and I melted into him, letting the aches subside into the bliss of being surrounded by his solid warmth. 

We drove around for another hour or so before grabbing some lunch and then returning to my apartment. Cara's continued presence there meant that we didn't have sex again that day, though I could tell that Rafe wanted to from his lingering glances and the way that he kept casually touching my butt and neck and chest. I still wanted him, but after the morning's round, I found myself grateful for the rest. 

He ultimately decided that it would be best if he went home that night to sleep at his own house, and allayed my pouting protests with the assurance that he would come over again soon. I wasn't a big fan, but I also knew my limits. After he had gone, it didn't take me long to go to bed myself and I quickly fell into a solid sleep of contented exhaustion. 

***

Over the span of the next few weeks, we managed to arrange plenty of opportunities to be together and Rafe was noticeably moderate each time. Solicitous and careful, when we undressed each other, it always led to lovemaking, never fucking. I cooed and melted under the sweet attention of his skilled body, coaxed purring to the smooth crest of sweeping orgasms. His own climaxes were likewise a little tamer, though he didn't seem to be complaining any, and as my bruises faded away, he grew a little more ardent. Still, I got the idea that he felt he had crossed a line that day on the wooded road, and was vigilant against any repeat of that behavior. 

Every now and then I found myself thinking wistfully of our enthusiastic, unrestrained fucking from before, but these thoughts were quickly swept aside as soon as he started touching me, and I think I could have lived in near-perfect contentment with that as the sexual norm if not for what happened later. 

I was off work on Tuesday night, and Cara was out with a guy who she was, in her words, "test-driving" so I arranged for Rafe to swing by after he finished up with his own work and spend the night. He said he'd be there by nine. I attempted to busy myself until then by picking up the apartment, having a late dinner, and doing a little writing. I also checked on the clock compulsively and laughed at myself a little for still getting so excited to see him, but I couldn't help myself and kept glancing at its creeping progress. 

Nine o'clock came and went, and I started to get a little concerned. He wasn't usually late. I was about to call his house when I heard a knock at the door. Finally, I thought and skipped to open it. I looked up, grinning and preparing to a mock-scolding, and immediately went stock still. 

It wasn't Rafe standing there. It was Cassian Grey. 

"Hello, Miss Dalton."

"What are... How... How did you find me?" My voice shook as I watched him with wide eyes. That wasn't the right question at all; I should have been fierce and indignant at this threatening behavior and total violation of my privacy. But I couldn't seem to come up with the words for anything else. 

His smile was smooth, confident and cold. "Oh, it was quite easy, really. The internet is an amazing tool, after all. One can discover most anything with such ease if one knows how to look. With just your name —and it is a fairly distinctive one— I was able to learn a great deal about you. 

"For example," he stepped closer, looking serenely down at me with those frozen black eyes, "I learned that your father perished in a car accident when you were eight. You were orphaned, your mother having passed some time before, so you went to live with your paternal grandparents not far from here. You graduated from high school a year early and now work as a waitress in the small restaurant off Fourth Street while attending the local community college." 

He smiled again and I shivered. "In your spare hours, you are an active member of several literary websites where you submit the occasional story. And as for your home here, that was merely a matter of following you from work." He paused, then finished, "So, you see, 'finding you' was really quite simple." 

My voice was very small when I finally spoke. "What do you want from me?" 

"Oh," he said softly, "I suspect you know." His hand reached out and he trailed cold, impossibly cold fingers along the outside of my neck. Pleasure, sudden, alien and alarming flared under his touch. I sucked in a breath. 

"Please," I whimpered, looking up at him, imploring. 

His smile widened in a way that should have been friendly, but there was no warmth in it. Nothing warm about any part of him. "Please, what, Selene?" His fingertips flattened gently along my jugular and I felt myself swooning at the unnatural pleasure that seemed to radiate from where he touched me. 

"Don't." I gasped, taking a stumbling step backwards. His hand fell away from my skin and I was suddenly able to breathe again, my head clearing. "Please leave me alone." I restated more clearly. 

"You make me uncomfortable, and my boyfriend will be here any minute." I warned, and I thought I did a decent job of sounding like I wasn't about to collapse into a sobbing ball of terror. "If you come here again, I will call the police."

He regarded me for a moment, his face in an expression of not-quite surprise. Almost considering. Then he shrugged a lean shoulder. "As you like. I will go." I knew without question that there was an unspoken "for now" at the end of that statement, but I said nothing. I just wanted him to leave so I could call the police anyway. 

As he started to go, he turned back and said casually, "Please extend my greetings to that boyfriend of yours." He raised an elegant hand in parting gesture. "Goodnight, Miss Dalton." Then he was gone. I let the door swing shut behind him.

My legs felt suddenly very unsteady and I sagged back against the wall. I realized I was breathing in shuddering gasps, my whole body shaking. I made an effort to calm myself, but my heart kept beating in a frightened, fluttering tattoo, as if to pump as much blood as possible to my suddenly chilled limbs. And I was cold. It was like the frigidity of his touch had seeped all through me, imbuing my flesh with icy fear.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I tried to hold in my shivers, but to no use. I felt small and scared and terribly vulnerable and I was nearly overwhelmed with a need for Rafe to be with me already. To hold me and tell me that everything was just fine. To warm me. To support me. To be a large, fierce shield between me and Cassian Grey.

Where was he, anyway? With an effort, I brought my eyes up the clock on the wall. 9:46. He was supposed to be here forty-five minutes ago. 

A knock at the door made me jump with a sound that was half sob. 

I looked at the door, something close to panic swelling in my chest. Was it Cassian again? If it was, what would I do? I debated not opening it at all. Just go and call the police, I told myself. He might have a gun, or, or... 

The knock repeated, this time a little more loudly, and as I remained hunched there, frozen, it sounded again. Whoever it was, they weren't going away. Taking deep, gulping breaths, I straightened away from the wall and inched further into the hall. My heartbeat pulsed in my ears, almost overpowering the sounds of my ragged breathing and the muffled call that issued from the other side of the door. 

"Selene?" 

It was Rafe. My whole body sagged in relief and I stumbled to the door to wrench it open, almost swaying into him. His hands came out quickly to steady me with a firm grip on my shoulders. Those golden eyes focused intently on my face. 

"What happened?" He demanded, his rich voice layered with concern.

His expression shifted abruptly, his hands tightening. "What did he do to you?" He growled. 

I leaned into him gratefully, letting him enclose me in a fierce embrace. "Nothing," I mumbled. "Nothing. He just... he just scared me." 

A growl issued from Rafe's chest at that, but he said nothing. Instead, his arms tightened around me as he guided me inside and closed the door. 

He held me, rubbing up and down my back soothingly, his lips brushing the top of my head. Slowly, as I focused on his steady heartbeat and the heat from his body seeped into mine, it pushed aside some of the near-panic that had gripped me. I found that with the return of warmth, my mind began to process more clearly again. It was then that I really heard what he'd said. I went very still. 




Moonshadows Ch. 05



"What did you just say?" I spoke into his chest. 

"I asked what happened. You're white as a sheet."

Cautiously, gingerly, I pushed myself far enough away from Rafe that I could look into his face. He looked back down at me, a protective intensity taught in his features. 

"No." I said. "You asked me 'what did he do to you?'" 

I don't know what my face showed, but my voice was flat, deadened with unnamed dread. Rafe made no reply, his own features unreadable. 

"How did you know anyone was here, Rafe? How did you know it was a man?" An awful, creeping unease was uncoiling inside me. It could have just been the residual suspicion from my upsetting encounter, but my intuition was insisting that something wasn't right here either. Something was going on. And maybe, a little voice inside me said, maybe that something had been going on for a long time now, and I had just been too infatuated to notice. Maybe something had been amiss all along. "I didn't say anything about a guy being here." 

"Selene," he began, his tone low and calming. But there was something else there, an undercurrent of warning that made me flinch. 

"No," I said again, and pushed against his chest. My intuitive inner voice was getting louder, telling me to escape the arms that I now saw as confining. "Please answer the questions, Rafe."

He made no answer, and no move to release me so I pushed hard, squirming. The sudden return of fear made me dizzy. Why wouldn't he just say that he'd seen Cassian walking away from the apartment, or some other, equally reasonable explanation? His silence was strange and confusing and wrong. 

"Let go of me." I demanded, my voice quavering. 

He did, but not so abruptly that I would stumble. Instead, he stepped back carefully, his hands going slowly to his sides, his face hard and flat. 

"What do you want me to say?" His voice was carefully uninflected. 

"Just tell me what's going on," I begged. I hated how shrill my voice came out; high and tense and right on the edge of panic. I couldn't articulate why this line of questioning had become so important to me, other than the vague, but insistent impression that it was the key to something bigger. And that maybe the answer would ease the twisting foreboding inside me that was throwing me so totally off balance. 

It was with an effort that I continued more evenly, "Did you see his car or something? I know I didn't say anything about him being here before you asked. How did you know?" 

He hesitated a moment and I was about to ask again, then his jaw tightened and he said reluctantly, "I smelled him." 

"You..." I blinked. "What?" Whatever answer I had been expecting, that wasn't it. It took me a moment to reaffirm what he'd said. Was he being sarcastic? Teasing? Was he lying outright? A new, sudden hurt was added to my fear. Was he mocking me? 

"You heard me." 

I realized I was shaking again, moisture welling in my eyes. I took another stumbling step backwards. Away from him. 

"Yes," I murmured, "I did. But I don't understand." 

Rafe let out an explosive sigh. "I'm... I have a very good sense of smell, Selene." 

I tightened my quivering lips together, stung. "Bullshit." Then, louder. "If you think I'm being so stupid, you could at least tell me so without patronizing me." 

"You think I'm lying." For the first time, I heard a note of anger in his voice. Anger at me. 

I gasped, incredulous, and a rebellious tear slipped out to streak my cheek. "What else am I supposed to think? You have 'a good sense of smell?' That's your response? It doesn't even make sense!" 

I pressed my hand to my mouth and looked aside, trying to keep it together. From the corner of my eye, I saw him moving toward me and my head snapped forward again. "Don't touch me." 

For a second, he looked like I'd slapped him. Then his face relaxed to blank; only his burning golden eyes hinted at any crack in his composure. He kept his hands at his sides but took another step closer to me. His six foot plus form loomed tall above my own small one, but even through my distress, the vibe I got from him wasn't threatening. Instead, his voice was calm and deliberate. 

"I don't lie to you, Selene."

The obvious contradiction of it threatened to let more tears break free, but I met his eyes. "I don't understand why you won't just answer the question." 

Rafe didn't say anything for a minute, and I thought he must be trying to work out how to make his exit or something when he spoke, his tone slow and reluctant, as if he was speaking against his better judgement. 

"I could... I could show you." 

A shudder went through me, but he'd caught my attention. "Show me what?"

"It... I didn't..." Rafe ran his hand through his dark hair roughly as he sought the words, "I was planning to tell you eventually. But I didn't want to it to be like this. I don't know if you're ready." 

He sighed again, resigned. "But you clearly won't trust me anymore unless I do." 

The bald accusation hurt, but we both knew it was true. I didn't need to say anything. 

He drew another deep breath, then stepped back, determination coming over his features. I jumped as he quickly shrugged out of his jacket and dropped it to the floor. His shirt followed shortly after, but when his shoes and belt followed I took a few more steps back, bewildered and emotionally raw. 

"What are you doing?" 

"It's easier to undress first. Saves trouble later," he said shortly as his pants and socks joined the growing pile on the floor of my foyer. I was about to protest this sudden undressing —despite the fact that a significant portion of me reveled in the sight of his glorious, naked flesh— but then his underwear went too, and he stood up straight and still, closing his eyes. 

I watched him, tense, my stomach an acidic knot, my chest tight with unshed tears. Still, I kept quiet, partly from being totally caught off guard, and partly out of sheer curiosity. 

Rafe bowed his head and his dark hair fell over his forehead and into his eyes. 

Into his eyes? I hadn't remembered his hair being that long before. But now... Now it was definitely covering the whole upper part of his face. The hair on his chest was likewise thicker than I remembered it, covering more of his muscled torso than I thought I'd seen just a minute ago. No, it definitely was thicker and I realized suddenly that it was spreading all over his body. 

Thick, black hair was growing over every bit of skin on him, faster and faster now until he was covered in a lush pelt of it. And that was not all, I saw. Muscles shifted and rippled under the dark covering and he let out a deep grunt —almost a growl— as there was a loud popping sound like someone cracking their knuckles. 

He fell forward to all fours with a thud and I jumped, but made no other move. I was transfixed by the sight of his large, strong hands somehow warping into massive paws, the nails growing long and skinnier and black like the hair on his body. In fact, I was so intent on his hands that when I finally looked up, it was to meet the glowing golden stare of a massive black canine. 

I blinked. A wolf stood in the hallway of my apartment, his head easily level with my shoulder, his eyes locked to my face. I stared back for a moment and noted how familiar that topaz gaze was, how little it had changed from a few moments before when a man had stood there instead. 

"Oh," I said. 

Then I passed out. 

***

"Selene. Selene!"

Rafe's warm voice permeated my awareness and I noticed his calloused hand on my cheek.

Smiling at the touch, I opened my eyes. He stared down at me, dark brows furrowed in concern and a strange, foreign reserve in his golden gaze.

"Hey, you."

Relief passed over his features before they returned to a careful neutral.

"You fainted."

"Fainted?" I protested incredulously. "That's ridicu..."

Then, with a blink, it came back. The black wolf with the familiar golden stare standing in my foyer. I realized that I was lying on the couch and Rafe, who leaned over me carefully, was still naked.

There must have been some change in my expression because he sat back, gently removing his hand and giving me space.

Neither of us spoke for several seconds.

"Was that real?" I finally ventured, my voice small.

"Yes."

In other circumstances, I probably would have laughed at asking the question; what other explanation outside of psychotropic drugs or dreams was there for what I'd seen? Instead, I sat up carefully.

"Rafe," I formed my next words carefully, "What are you?"

The corner of his mouth curled in just a hint of wry amusement. "Can't you guess?"

"I need to hear you say it. Please." My own voice sounded unfamiliar, hard and uninflected. I couldn't be the one to speak the word just behind my lips; it was too crazy. I needed it to come from a source outside of my reeling head. 

His face returned to that unsettling reserve and he went very still. He was silent for so long that I thought he wouldn't answer, but I didn't break the stillness. I waited, taught and determined, until finally he spoke, his voice as flat as mine had been.

"I'm a werewolf."

I felt all my breath sigh out of me in a rush, as if I'd been holding it. Maybe I had. My heart beat loud and fast in my ears, and as I tried to identify what emotion was storming its way through me, in the back of my mind I wondered if he was able to hear it too with his heightened senses.

I said the first thing that came to the forefront clearly.

"Well, I guess that's why you don't wear any silver."

Rafe blinked, then gave a surprised snort of laughter. "Yeah. That's right."

"Does it hurt you? How much does it take? What about it makes it so bad for you?"

I spoke the questions quickly, distantly interested but more to fill the space. I found myself filled with an anxious, jittery energy, my nerves jangling and confused. The questions helped distract from the sensation. Rafe watched me carefully and his voice and posture were smooth and deliberate, like you see with someone talking to a crazy person. I thought I might feel a bit like a crazy person.

"There are different theories why. But, yeah. It hurts us. Kind of like a bad allergy."

"'Us?'" I repeated. "So there are others like you? Other werewolves. Of course there are. That's why you specified–"

"Selene."

I stopped mid-babble and looked at him out of the corner of my eye. I realized I was unable to meet his eyes. Wolf eyes. He had always reminded me of something canine. I felt the urge to giggle wildly and held it back. If I started, I knew I would lose it. 

"Selene, look at me."

I shook my head, mute. The command seemed to unlock something, and the sudden urge to run filled me, every muscle tensing in desire to flee. To run. To get the hell out of there. I was slipping and was pretty sure I was about three breaths from full-blown hysteria. 

"Look at me." His deep voice buffeted me like a physical push and my head snapped around, my eyes meeting his golden ones. Stillness, like a blanket settled over me.

"I would never hurt you. Never. Nothing has changed that."

I knew he meant it; my inner voice attested his sincerity and a large part of me wanted to just throw myself into his arms and help him make everything simple again. But my rational mind was in full revolt, railing against this uninvited reordering of the world that I had lived in for the past nineteen years. It was too much, too fast to get my tangled thoughts around it without falling apart. I needed time, and space, to process this. 

"I think you should go." My words were soft, all the panicked tension drained out of me. I had no difficulty meeting his eyes now, though I almost wish I hadn't for seeing the look of pain on his features, quickly wiped clear. I felt a sympathetic stab in my own heart, but I was resolved. "I need to do some thinking."

He nodded once, his face set in careful stone. "All right."

I closed my eyes then, breathing deeply, trying not to let my mind settle on anything. Time enough for that later. I could hear him moving around, collecting his clothes, dressing. I tried not to think about that either, for fear of changing my mind. When it was quiet, I opened my eyes.

He was hovering in the doorway, plainly wanting to say something more, but hesitant to do so. Seeing him so unsure made my chest constrict painfully; he had always been so confident before. After a minute, his need won out.

"I'm sorry," he said, "But you don't have to worry. I won't push you. When... if you're ready to talk, you can call me. I won't bother you before then. Take the time you need."

Then he turned and went to the door, his broad shoulders rigid with something I thought might be very close to anguish. Before shutting the door behind him, he said over his shoulder without meeting my eyes, "Please lock the door behind me."

Then he was gone and I was left with my snarled, and suddenly all-too-present thoughts. I felt like the biggest jerk on the planet, and shockingly, disturbingly alone. I scrubbed my hands over my face, casting around myself for something to which I could anchor my sanity, coming up empty. 

Well, Selene, I thought to myself, What the hell do you do now?



Moonshadows Ch. 06



Author's Note: Just a forewarning that this chapter contains some non-consent undertones, though nothing particularly violent. Also, for the purpose of plot advancement (and at the risk of being slightly spoiler-y), I didn't have an organic way of working a whole lot of sex into this chapter. So, while there are definitely sexual vibes going on, those looking for something more straightforward should probably peruse the previous installments. Thanks for reading! 

~~~

Hindsight definitely has its place. It can serve as a tool in finding resolution or vindication about what's passed, or as a way of getting a sense of the scope of things. It can educate and warn. But there are a lot of times too, when it's just a bitch.

For example: in hindsight, I probably should not have forgotten about Cassian Grey.

Well, not so say that I forgot about him, it's just that pretty much my every waking thought was somehow involved with Rafe and the world-altering secret he'd shared with me. And really, in my defense, it's not every day that a girl learns that not only do such a thing as werewolves exist, but it happens that her own boyfriend is one.

Sometimes I couldn't get my head around it; I was convinced it was all some sort of bizarre, stress-induced dream. Others, it made so much sense. All the times he'd responded to seemingly nothing, he must have been scenting things in the air. Or the way he had, from the very beginning, seemed so lupine. And those nights when he couldn't come over, couldn't see me: it took me an obsessive fifteen minutes with a calendar and Google to determine that almost all of them had been on a full moon.

Still, maybe if I'd kept in mind the catalyst to this whole revelation, things might have played out differently.

In any case, despite thinking about him almost constantly, I made no move to see or speak to Rafe for several weeks. Maybe it was cowardly. Certainly it was selfish, and I knew I wasn't being particularly rational either. After all, would knowing what he was suddenly change the way he treated me? The wonderful way he made me feel? He had insisted he'd never hurt me, and I knew both intellectually and instinctively that it was true. Yet every time I held the phone in my hand, fingers poised to dial his number... I stalled out. 

I tried to sit myself down and think about my block logically. Was I afraid? If I was honest, the answer was yes, though not of him, per-say. Chalk it up to more female insecurity, but not only was I struggling with the the shifting of what I knew to be reality, but this revelation that he was not even the same species as me made him all the more unattainable. I was paralyzed by the confirmation that he was definitively special, and couldn't help but think that I was simply far too ordinary to keep his interest for long. Wouldn't it be simpler to just let things go now, on my terms, before his inevitable disinterest resulted in my total devastation? 

So for three weeks I went about my business, going to work, attempting to write, avoiding addressing the thing that was most on my mind. Cara wondered aloud once when Rafe was going to come over again, but seeing my expression, didn't press when I said only that we'd sort of had a fight. She didn't bring it up again. 

***

I scowled down at my bike. It was dark, the late autumn air was uncomfortably chilly through my blouse, and my shift had been a long one without much of anything to show for it. And now this. 

The front tire was flat. Of course. I muttered a tired curse.

Resigned, I started rummaging around in my purse for my cell phone. I had all the stuff at home to fix the flat, but I'd need Cara to come get me tonight, so hopefully she was available. If not, I'd have to hitch a ride from one of my coworkers, and I was grumpy and antisocial enough that I wasn't about to resort to that unless absolutely necessary. 

I was just attempting to recall the exact location of the tire-patches and pump in my apartment when all of a sudden, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up sharply. My throat constricted in instinctive anxiety and I whirled around to face the parking lot. It only took my eyes a second to focus on the lean shadow that was my worst nightmare stalking smoothly toward me. 

"Miss Dalton," he said, his voice like frozen honey, "Good evening."

I felt all the blood drain from my face as I took an unsteady step back, away from him. A quaking started in my hands.

Cassian tilted his head slightly and smiled a horribly gentle smile. His cold, black eyes fixed with mine and I couldn't look away. Thoughts of my coworkers, Cara, even the cell phone in my purse were submerged under sudden, visceral dread. I don't think I could have called for help even if I had been able to think clearly enough to try.

"You're so silent." He said. "Have you no greeting for me in return?"

"Good evening, Cassian." I said immediately, and my own voice frightened me as much in its steadiness as in forming the words all on its own. The shivers spread to my arms and torso as terror gripped the rest of me.

He smiled wider and I caught a glimpse for the first time of white, white teeth. His tone held a refined amusement, a soft satisfaction. "I see you are no longer standing on formality. What a pleasant surprise. For you see," he took a step nearer to me and bent his head conspiratorially toward mine as if to share a secret."I too desire to speak candidly."

"P-plea–" I stuttered out before he silenced me with his finger, resting softly on my trembling lips, burning me with his icy skin.

"I must confess, I find myself rather fascinated by you, Selene." His finger trailed idly along the edges of my lips, that same horrible, unnatural pleasure from before making me press them together as I fought for control. "And that doesn't happen very often. Not often at all."

His words slid smoothly across my consciousness, but the rest of my attention was on fighting the twisted response my body was having to his simple touch. If my teeth weren't clenched so tightly together in concentration, they would have chattered from the combination of icy fear and arousal. The realization of the latter made me sick.

"That isn't to say that you aren't lovely in your own right, for you are," he continued as his fingertips moved to casually trace the line of my jaw and tuck a strand of hair back from my cheek. I shuddered from a place deep within, revulsion and desire mixed. "But it isn't your beauty that interests me; it merely sweetens the situation. No, I am intrigued by something rather more fundamental to your character. Something that makes you unique."

He leaned closer and even the puffed breath of his words on my face was chilled. His eyes were like polished obsidian, his touch light on my face, immovable, trapping me.

"Kiss me, Selene."

I nearly did. Without thinking, my body shifted forward, my eyes sliding closed. But inside I recoiled at the command, and I jerked my face to the side at the last second, my breath rushing out in a hissed, "No."

I stumbled backwards another step before opening my eyes, my heart pounding and fists clenching in fear of Cassian's reaction. But I found him smiling smugly.

"That, my dear, is precisely what I mean," he said, and his manicured tone was exultant. "You are positively refreshing."

"Go away," I whispered. "Just leave me alone. Please." I knew though, even as I said it, that he wouldn't. He wouldn't be going anywhere. My response had seen to that.

It came to me that I was in very deep trouble.

Cassian shook his head, but the smile never left his pale lips. "Ah, Miss Dalton. You and I are going to have a great deal of fun."

He extended one elegant hand. "Come," he said. And despite every impulse in me, I placed my hand in his and I followed.

***

I swear I tried my best to pay attention to the way we went. I struggled to keep track of the simple forks and turns, the inconsistently-illuminated, familiar streets that I should have been able to recognize, but every time I thought I started to get my bearings, Cassian would give my hand a gentle squeeze and it all tumbled back into confusion.

My restraints were not visible ones. To the casual eye, nothing more tangible could be seen than my hand sitting loosely in his as I followed him along, seemingly passive. In my head though, I was screaming. Willing my body to action, to flight, to some sort of resistance, but whatever trick I'd used before to break his hold over my body –however briefly– evaded me now. So I drifted next to him, anchored by his long, frozen fingers that were wrapped so easily around my own.

Cassian, for his part, seemed content to travel in silence. Either that or he could sense the panicked struggle inside me and thought it wiser to keep me quiet. Every now and then, he would gaze over at me, a smooth satisfaction coloring his disturbingly attractive features. And there was something else there too that made me tremble and flail all the harder at my unknown restraints: anticipation. Hunger.

After a little while, we reached his car. It was navy blue, low the ground, clean like the rest of him. And, also similar to its owner, it was initially inconspicuous. However, as he opened the passenger door, I saw that the interior was all leather, and many gleaming lights on the dashboard quietly sang expensive! But all this only occupied a small piece of my mind as the majority of it was consumed by a new degree of fear.

I knew if I got in the car, my chance of escape shrank dramatically. Wherever he intended to take me, it was likely far from here, and if I didn't get away now... 

He guided me to he plush bucket seat, as courteous as an old-world gentleman, as graceful as a viper, slipping my purse from my shoulder. "Allow me," he murmured, placing it neatly away in the back seat. Out of reach. I drew a sharp breath and a strangled whine creaked from my throat. 

Cassian paused as he was about to close the door, a small smile curling one corner of his mouth, and leaned in again enough to rest his cold palm against my cheek. A concussion of sick horror shook me, but I was once again transfixed. 

"Do buckle up now, my dear." His smile grew sly. "We wouldn't want you to come to any harm, now would we?" 

Wordlessly, I drew the seatbelt across my chest and clicked it into place. He withdrew with a satisfied nod to walk around to his side of the vehicle. 

I can't remember much about the drive, only that the city quickly flashed away through the deeply-tinted windows and soon we were surrounded by trees, dark and uniform. It felt like we drove for a long time, but I didn't bother trying to scream anymore, and we were going fast enough that even my fear wasn't enough to prompt me to try bolting from the moving car. I occasionally tried looking ahead for some sort of landmark or sign to indicate where we were, but after accidentally meeting Cassian's glance in my direction, I kept my face averted to the passenger window like a coward. 

The waiting was horrible, but it was still too soon when we slowed and turned to climb a narrow, freshly-paved driveway. The house stood near the top of the hill, nestled close against the earth behind it. A one story, modern construction, warm light poured from its floor-to-ceiling windows in a mocking imitation of a welcome. The apparent cheerfulness of the sight somehow made my captivity that much more awful. Who would guess that someone who lived in a house full of windows would have so much to hide?

Cassian parked neatly in a two-car garage next to an SUV-type vehicle bearing a splatter of mud and grit that was shocking in the space otherwise as tidy as a surgical theatre. I gripped my seat so hard that I think my nails might have actually gouged the soft leather, but when he touched my hand to assist me out of the car again, my body relaxed against my every wish and I stood to follow him inside the house. I cast one last look back at the car, where my purse and cell phone remained, before he drew me across the threshold into the house itself. 

The furnishings were sparse, all clean lines and meticulous placement, and the whole place had the unused, sterile impression of a show room. Cassian paused only long enough on our way down a short hall to press a quick command into a keypad built into the wall, and panels slid almost silently from where they rested in the corners of the room until they blocked every one of the tall windows entirely. They locked into place with a small hydraulic hiss, yet another escape route blocked. 

We came to the end of the hall, and Cassian guided me into a room too dark to make out, my feet quiet on what felt like a thick rug. I heard the door shut behind me, and my stomach dropped when he turned on the lights, revealing his spacious bedroom. An enormous, four-poster bed dominated the space. Thick, satiny drapes in a deep amber were tied back against the posts to showcase the plush bedding. I swallowed, nauseated, even while another part of me tingled in uninvited anticipation. 

Cassian released my hand and stepped back a moment, studying me thoughtfully. I quivered in disgusted longing. "Remove your clothes," he said at last.

My response was immediate and instinctive.

"Fuck off."

His soft, delighted laugh slid over my skin like an icy touch and his black eyes glimmered with something I thought might almost be admiration.

"Ah, Selene," he shook his head in that terrible, smiling way and reached up to grasp my chin in his fingers. "You are such a delight. Still..." His expression focused and I had the terrifying impression of being firmly taken hold of, though his fingers on my chin were light. "Do not move."

As he released me, I thought to run, because I knew where this was going. But my body was paralyzed, as immobilized as if his coldness had frozen my muscles. In fact, I found I could hardly breathe and began to panic. My eyes, seemingly the only part of me that wasn't locked down, darted around the room wildly.

He chuckled quietly to himself as his long fingers reached out and began unbuttoning the front of my work-blouse. I couldn't quite see his progress with my neck as fixed in place as the rest of me, but I could feel the chill of him through the thin material of my shirt and felt, keenly, as he carefully unfastened each of the buttons on his way up my torso. My pulse beat furiously, roaring in my ears and small spots began to dance in front of my panicked eyes as my heart fed out oxygen faster than my lungs were able to take in.

"Calm yourself, my dear. I will be done momentarily. Though, I must say, I would not have had to resort to such measures if you were a little less reluctant. Ah, well... The price of your rarity, I suppose. There." 

Finished, he brushed the sides of my shirt away with satisfaction and his touch on the skin of my chest made me twitch, despite the unnatural paralysis of my limbs.

His gaze swept over my bared skin, lingering on my breasts in their modest bra then again, longer, somewhere around my neck. With a violent shudder, I regained enough command over my body to take in a large gasp of air, and to wrap my arms around myself defensively. My legs were still rooted to the ground, completely uncooperative.

A small smile curved Cassian's thin lips. "I had wondered how long that would hold you. And I think I begin to perceive what that werewolf sees in you, though he perhaps doesn't truly understand what he has stumbled upon."

I guess, in retrospect, it's kind of silly that I should have been surprised by much of anything at that point. Things had been so far outside of the realm of normal for so long that my shock must have been almost comical. Cassian certainly seemed to think so. His genteel laugh made my heart quail in fear and despair.

"Oh, Miss Dalton. Surely you didn't imagine I was unaware of your companion's nature? After all, you can hardly delude yourself to thinking I myself am... What's the trite, modern term? Normal?" He chucked again, dark, low, and distinctly predatory, and leaned in, trailing a finger intimately along my clavicle. In a perverted, converse response to the ice of his touch, the unnatural pleasure surged again as a heat between my legs.

"In fact, I would wager you already know what I am, my dear. You are very intuitive."

"Crazy. You're crazy..." My voice came out as a strangled whisper and my mind raced. Subliminal clues seemed to be falling into place; things I had noticed, or tried not to, came back in a horrible rush to point to a conclusion out of a nightmare.

"Try again..."

His dry, glacial lips found the corner of my jaw, that place that drove me to such delight when Rafe kissed it, and I nearly swooned with pleasure. As he kissed down along my neck, so, so slowly, my pussy clenched in desire and my stomach roiled with revulsion. His hands easily slid my useless shirt from my shoulders. I dimly heard it fall to the floor at my feet.

No, no, no! Help, HELP!

Suddenly, as I felt my knees go weak under the unwelcome assault of his mouth on my skin, I realized my legs were mine to control again. Without thinking, my palms shot out to slap against Cassian's chest. I don't know if I managed to push him off balance at all, or if I just propelled myself away, but I didn't wait to look. I bolted for the door, running as if my life depended on it. Which, in fact, it did.

Then I was there, my hand on the doorknob, my heart in my ears, drowning out all other sound. I wrenched at the handle, pulling at the door frantically, and...

My vision tipped and struggled to right itself. I became aware of a dull pain in my cheek where it was pressed, against all reason, to the smooth mahogany of the door. Slower to register was the burning cold grip on the back of my neck holding me against the wood, or the firm length of another body pressing against my own from behind.

"Now, now. None of that."

Chilled breath at my ear. A metallic, unsettling scent in my nostrils.

Cassian turned me around effortlessly, dazed as I was from his lightning-fast response. He didn't look angry, but his fingers wrapped around my upper arms like iron and he studied me. "Perhaps restraints are in order after all. You do seem to have a way of wriggling out my commands. Come." He began walking me towards the great bed and my brain seemed to catch up with the situation at last. I dug in my heels like a little kid and whimpered in horror.

"Stop... No! Let me go!"

He looked at me slyly from the corner of those obsidian eyes and smiled. "I think not."

He threw me to the bed with enough force to knock the wind from my lungs. Before I could react, my arms were jerked above my head and cold, silky material snaked around my wrists to fasten them in place. A wail threatened to tear from my throat as I realized the knots were far too secure to undo or slip out of, but all my attention was diverted when I felt Cassian swiftly undoing the buttons on my jeans.

With a surge of desperate anger, I kicked at his face savagely, but he caught my foot with ease and simply removed the shoe and sock while kneeling on my other leg, containing it effectively. Stubbornly, I tried again to hurt him as he switched to remove the footwear of my other limb, but my efforts were just as useless and I soon sagged back into the mattress in despair. His smooth smile was triumphant as he began quickly undoing the buttons on his immaculate dress shirt.

I watched him with all the intensity of cornered prey animal, my emotions a violent mix of rage, desolation and incredulity. I couldn't believe this was happening. I couldn't believe how fast he was, or how my own body, even now, was throbbing with sick longing to feel his awful hands on me again. I wanted to scream, to cry, to curse, but instead I just watched him, wide-eyed, as he disrobed. His leanly muscled chest was almost as white as the fabric of his shirt. He tossed the garment aside casually and leaned over me once again, arms braced on either side of my trembling shoulders. He kept my legs pinned as he straddled them and pressed them together firmly between his knees.




Moonshadows Ch. 06



"Now," he breathed, and I once again caught that coppery, disturbingly familiar odor, "I wish to experiment with something."

"Selene," he intoned, locking my eyes with his bottomless black ones. Like before, I had the helpless sensation of being gripped by a force altogether beyond my ability to resist, immobile and dreading the proclamation to come. "Kiss me."

I did. My head surged upwards as far as the restraints on my arms would allow, my lips parting in desire to allow the penetration of his chilled, slippery tongue. And not just allow. I kissed him back. Hungrily and wantonly, my arms pulling at the silk binding them, not to escape, but to wrap around his neck and pull him into me. Part of me reveled in that kiss, in the dark, metallic taste that was his mouth, and the alien passion that he had been so carefully sowing in my body, ignited into full flame by his lips on mine. My hips pumped against his hard body in fruitless need and I quivered, right on the edge of orgasm, mouth in fervid battle with his own, until I fell back into the pillows with a gasp and a sob. I burst into tears.

"Ah," he sighed. I turned my face away from him and into my arm, twisting as much as I could to escape his intent, hungry inspection of my misery.

"I think I will have you now," he told me, brushing my hair away from my tearstained face with something like tenderness. Only it was wrong, so wrong. This whole, nightmarish situation was horribly, unbelievably wrong.

"You will enjoy it, you know. You want me. Even now, in your distress, I can feel your delicious body taut with desire for me." His urbane voice was just a little breathless, but also thoughtful. He paused, then said, "And yet you fight me. Why is that?"

"Just leave me alone," I sobbed.

"You know I will not," he replied. "Answer the question."

I shook my head and cried harder. I was confused, terrified, turned on, and I wanted to go home. I wanted to be safe in my bed, curled up in my blankets. And I wanted Rafe. I wanted his arms around me, his lips on my hair, his warm, solid heartbeat under my ear to banish the bad things in the world. What was wrong with me, that I had been trying to convince myself to let him go? The only thing that had changed between us was my own cowardice. My heart twisted in a new agony of realization, because I recognized now what I had seen in his eyes when he'd left my apartment, along with the fear and loneliness and hurt. He loved me. And now he was gone and I was trapped in a nightmare, and it was at least in part my own doing.

Rafe, Rafe, Rafe...

I realized, after weeping for what seemed a very long time, that nothing had happened. I was still wearing my jeans, though they were unbuttoned, and Cassian was quiet and still, too still, above me. I couldn't quite bring myself to look at him, ashamed, and frightened of what I might see. But he heard my tears slow and he said, "It grows late. Perhaps we will save some of the... other activities for later."

A surge of hope made me careless. My eyes darted to his in shock and he smiled a wide, predatory smile, with just a hint of teeth that were white even against his pale skin.

"However, I am not so disciplined to be able to go the day without at least tasting you. You smell entirely too enticing."

He began to move again and I shook my head in horror. "No!"

"Yes," he purred then inhaled deeply. "Relax, my dear."

Right before his long fingers rested lightly on my jaw and tilted my face to the side with a relentless strength, I caught a glimpse of his smile widening. Turning into a feral, ravenous grin, then opening to reveal what I had always known would be there: long, sharp, white fangs...

As his teeth sank into the soft skin of my neck and my blood pumped hot and alive into his waiting mouth, I cried out in pain and instant, explosive ecstasy. My vision swam with colors as orgasm rolled through me, my clit pulsing in sympathy with the tugging draw of his mouth. The pleasure went on and on while he drained me and my limbs gradually grew weak on the bed. I realized, as my vision started to dim, that I might be dying, and a soft sigh of regret escaped my parted lips.

Rafe, I thought. I'm so sorry.

It was a relief when everything finally slipped into quiet darkness.



Moonshadows Ch. 07



Author's Note: Phew! I seem to have drawn a little bit of vitriol with that last chapter! I guess that means I've either attracted the notice of the good ol' internet trolls, or people just feel quite strongly about what's been going on in the plot. 

All snark aside, I want to extend an enormous thank-you to everyone who has taken the time to vote and comment on my work. I read every note you lovely folks leave for or send to me and take great heart in knowing that there is still interest in my stories. To that end, I'm making an effort to get these chapters out with shorter breaks, and am hard at work on the chapter 8. 

Thank you again for your interest, and happy reading! 

~~~

In the dream, it was very dark. My eyes were closed, I realized, but I didn't open them. I felt hands on my skin, warm, calloused, gentle, and smiled because I knew it was Rafe. His touch slid teasingly up from my sides, along my neck, until his hands cupped my face. His breath puffed warm on my cheeks from his closeness, then his lips pressed against mine with a sweet urgency that sent heat swirling through the rest of my body. 

I draped my arms over his wide shoulders, loving the sensation of his firm musculature beneath my forearms, and let my fingers twist softly in his thick hair. His lips parted mine so we could taste each other, and I clung to him even more closely, my naked body flush with his own. In the back of my mind, I had the impression that it had been a long time since I had felt him like this. I held him all the tighter and he reciprocated by wrapping his long arms around me as well. 

My eyes were still closed as I felt us reclining, him on top. He was so hard along my stomach, and I wanted him desperately. I wriggled my hips and enjoyed the hair of his chest tickling my nipples until he stilled my gyrations with a firm touch on my hips, spreading my legs with his own. Panting, I let him settle between them, wet and flushed and eager with need. 

"Rafe," I whimpered. 

"Shh," he murmured and silenced me with a burning kiss that soon had me panting. 

My whole attention was centered on where the head of his cock brushed against my slick entrance. I quivered with impatience, but he was running the show. So slowly I thought I would go crazy, he penetrated me until the head and about an inch of his shaft rested inside my heated walls. Then he stopped, and I gasped at how cruel he was being. His firm grasp on my hip and the weight of his body prevented me from wiggling further onto him so that I threw my head back with a groan of deepest frustration. 

With a rumbling laugh, he gave in, and pushed a little more of himself inside to begin a shallow thrusting that was better than nothing, but still infinitely aggravating. It wasn't enough. I whined my protest, needing him to just fuck me already and reached up to show him with my fervid kisses just how desperate I was. 

I think it was the none-too-gentle nip on his lip that did it. He hilted himself in an unexpected rush and I cried out to be fully joined with him at last. God, I'd missed this. I couldn't quite remember why it had been so long, but trivial thoughts like that were quickly wiped away in the headlong rush of pleasure that was his dick pumping in and out of my slippery cunt. 

He stopped suddenly, and pulled out. I froze with surprise and loss, but he was only rolling me onto my stomach, his knees outside of mine. Rafe slid a rough palm over the sweaty skin of my back, and I understood his intention, arching my ass higher, inviting him to take me again. His hand moved to line himself up then gripped my ass firmly as he drove back inside me, balls deep. 

I cried out as I was stretched, colors flaring brightly behind my eyelids. With my legs pressed together like this, it was an extremely tight fit, every sensation heightened by how closely our intimate flesh rubbed against each other. He drew back for another deep thrust and I yelped again at his return, arching into him for even more. 

His pace was steady. Long, deep strokes that made me acutely aware of every millimeter of his cock as it rubbed inside me on his way out, then a concussion of pleasure as he plunged back in, bottoming out with fierce satisfaction each time. His hips slapped sharply against my ass, a staccato rhythm under the wet sounds of my pussy and my increasing moans. One of his hands edged beneath me and his strong fingers dug into my breast with a possessive strength that made me bow my back even further, offering myself to his attentions. When his fingers found my nipple and squeezed, I squeaked and shuddered and my pussy clenched tightly around his rock-hard length, making him groan against my hair. 

A pressure wound inside me, my whole body starting to tense with each plunge of his wide cock. My hands fisted at the sensation and I panted through my mouth. I pushed myself back against him as much as I could from my position, reaching for that amazing peak, growing even tighter around him as I started to tremble at its approach. 

I was right at the edge, but I had to see him. I needed to look into his golden eyes and watch him lose himself to the bliss of it. I needed him to see how good he made me feel. How much I loved him. So I opened my eyes at last and turned my head. From the corner of my eye I could see that he had his head tucked tightly against my shoulder, his dark hair falling forward to obscure his face. 

"Rafe," I whined again, my body taut and quivering as his thrusts quickened. 

He growled, but he didn't look up. Our bodies slid against each other frantically now, his cock pressing up against my cervix in that way that made me squeal in ecstasy. My fingernails dug into my palms. I was so close!

"Please!" I begged him. For release, for something I couldn't even name but craved so much that I vibrated with need. His body curled over mine, driving his cock into me even harder. My head swam with the pleasure of it, but I managed to keep my eyes open, requiring the connection of our gaze while I came. 

Then he looked up at last. But it wasn't Rafe's burning golden eyes that I was looking into at all. It was Cassian's face. And he was grinning. 

I screamed as the dream unraveled in climax and horror. 

It felt like a long time later that I finally returned to true consciousness. I was wrapped in thick, satiny blankets, nestled deep into the bed. I was so cold and shivering violently; perhaps that was what had finally awoken me. My whole body was heavy and limp with weakness and upon opening my eyes, the room rocked very slowly, the colors strangely muted. Even the low lighting made my head hurt so I closed my eyes again and tried to sink back into sleep.

I wasn't disoriented as sometimes happens when I wake up. I knew exactly where I was, how I'd gotten there, and why I felt like death warmed over. I winced mentally. Perhaps not the best choice of words given that I also remembered the who I was with. Or maybe "what" was a better word for him.

I knew he was sitting somewhere behind me, though he was too quiet and motionless for me to hear. Still, it came as no surprise when he spoke.

"I am pleased you have finally woken, Selene. You slept for some time." He paused then and chuckled smugly, a wicked, sensual sound that made my skin crawl. "Though I suppose it's understandable given your... exertions last night."

He was mocking me. The sick son of a bitch was mocking me. Curious to the part of my mind that was mere observer to all this, I found myself getting mad. The heart-chilling terror of last night seemed to be gone, or maybe I was just too tired to feel it anymore. Either way, a sullen anger battled with my bone-deep weariness until I muttered irritably at him, "Aren't you bored of tormenting me yet?" My voice came out husky with exhaustion and crying.

"Hardly, my dear. Especially when you continue to supply such refreshing responses. Besides, I've only just begun to sample the many delights of your young body..."

He was trying to scare me, but I wasn't having any of it. I was fresh out of scared for the moment. So I kept my eyes closed and retorted a little more sharply. "Go for it. You already bled me, so I'm sure I'll be super fun in bed now." I pushed aside the lingering remnants of the awful dream, refusing to give it any further thought. 

Cassian laughed, a beautiful, unnatural sound. "Gained. As to that, however, I have something for you. Sit up."

I sighed as weariness and apathy took the forefront in my emotions again. "Leave me alone." I just wanted to go back to sleep. Maybe this time I would be too tired for any further dreaming...

"I'm afraid not, Miss Dalton."

His hands scooped carefully under my head and the surrounding pillows to prop me comfortably into a mostly-upright position. Sighing again, I opened my eyes and waited for the room to stop spinning, grimacing through the pain that the soft lighting produced in my head. I was still pretty light-headed, and I felt about as alert as a block of wood, but I was alive. For the moment, anyway.

I stared at Cassian tiredly. He had a steaming mug of something in his hand and the fog wafting up around his bare chest and pale face made him look even more eerie than usual. He extended the mug to me.

"Drink this."

I thought about just closing my eyes, but I was so very cold, and the steaming mug promised at least momentary remedy to my insistent shivering. So I reached out shakily and wrapped my fingers around the wonderfully toasty ceramic. My depleted muscles wouldn't obey me, however, so Cassian had to continue to hold the vessel with me, and help guide it to my lips. Maybe it was a mark of just how far my temperature had dropped, or maybe his fingers had absorbed some of the heat from the beverage as well, but his flesh didn't seem quite as frigid to me anymore.

The drink was hot chocolate, dark and thick and almost overwhelmingly rich. It tasted amazing. As it trickled down my throat, I could feel it heating me from the inside and knew that the calories would help revive me a little further. That of course led to a thought that made my mouth twist.

"Why are you even bothering with this?" I asked between sips. "You make it a point to nurse all your victims after you feed on them?"

His disturbing, oddly attractive features were amused. "I know rarity when I see it. To simply drain and discard you would be an unconscionable waste."

I grunted over the rim of my mug. More like you're not done playing with your new toy, I thought bitterly. A wriggling worm of fear stirred in my belly at that concept but I stamped it down firmly. Anger was good. Anger I could use. Fear would destroy me. So I clung to my bitterness and narrowed my eyes at him.

"So what are you going to do with me?"

"Simply telling you would take half the enjoyment out of it, would it not?" He raised an angled brow at me in what might have passed for playfulness on another man. On him, it was just evil. "Why don't you guess?"

An alarming sense of deja vu overwhelmed me momentarily as I recalled a similar dialogue between me and Rafe. It was right after he'd revealed himself to me. Can't you guess? A black wolf in my foyer. His astonishing golden eyes filled with love and concern and hopelessness. My tired heart gave a painful squeeze. 

No. I couldn't afford to think of that. Not now. I wrenched my attention back to the monster in front of me. He was studying me with rapt interest.

"Just then. What were you thinking about? You had the most fascinating expression."

I took another swig of the hot chocolate. Too rich now, cloying in my mouth, but something to do. I swallowed with difficulty.

"I don't see how it's any of your business."

"Miss Dalton, you know that if I desired, I could simply make you tell me."

I let my hand fall from the mug and leaned back into the pillows, tired of the pretense. Tired of everything. "So do it." I told him, and at that moment I honestly didn't care. "It's not like I can stop you anyway." I closed my eyes again and tried to will my head to stop spinning.

"Mm. I think I prefer to coax it out of you."

I made no reply, and after a moment, I felt the bed shift slightly and just barely heard him get up and move away. I lay there and must have dozed off at some point because when I opened my eyes again, I was more alert and my headache was just a vague discomfort around the edges of my vision. I was still pathetically weak and exhaustion hovered over me like a shadow, but at least the world wasn't tilting around anymore. Cassian was nowhere to be found.

This did not relieve me. At least when he was present I had a sense of what was coming. This unknowing was much, much worse.

I contemplated trying to get up and make a break for it, but I wasn't so naïve as to think that my captor would have just left me alone with the door wide open. And I was pretty sure I didn't want to find out what his idea of punishment would be for a failed escape attempt. So I waited and little by little I felt some strength returning to my muscles. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not given the oft-alluded to "activities" Cassian kept mentioning.

By the time he finally entered through the mahogany door, fully dressed in an outfit as impeccable and subtly expensive as his usual standard, I was restless and uneasy. He nodded and smiled as he saw me awake then locked the door behind him and strode to the bedside. He casually unbuttoned the collar of his fine, pressed shirt as he spoke.

"I have decided to let you go tonight."

I stared at him, and he raised an eyebrow at me. "Unless you would prefer I not?"

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. This was just another game, something to get me to hope so that he could break me again like the sadistic bastard he was. It had to be.

"Just like that, huh?" I asked, my voice flat with distrust.

His sophisticated smile held an edge I didn't like. "Something like that."

So there was a catch. Bizarrely, it made me feel a little better to hear it. At least this way I knew for certain there was something coming and could prepare for it. Or so I thought, anyway.

Sitting up a little more, the blankets fell down my front to reveal that I was still shirtless, though I had my bra. Suddenly self-conscious and wary, I clutched the blanket to myself and looked around the room for my missing articles of clothing. My gaze alighted on them a few feet away, arranged neatly on a chair, socks tucked within my sneakers. I scooted to the edge of the bed and swung my legs over the side. The movement reminded me of how fatigued my muscles were, so I took it slowly and Cassian made no move to help, instead choosing to watch my tender, halting progress with cruel amusement. I had to relinquish my protective blanket as I struggled to stand and there were a few harrowing moments as I swayed, wondering if I was going to topple onto my face or maybe just fold to the ground. Ultimately, however, I found my balance and somehow made it over to my clothing to don it.

Throughout it all, I had remained determinedly silent, but as I felt the collar of my shirt brush against my neck, I couldn't help but gasp at the sharp pain that stabbed through me. Cassian chuckled as my eyes watered. What I had been registering as merely a deep ache was now revealed to be quite raw to the touch and I winced again as I explored the area with delicate caution. My suspicions were confirmed as I felt the two round holes along my jugular.

Cassian was suddenly there, his face a picture of concern. Only his obsidian eyes betrayed his delight.

"My dear, let me see that. Ah..." My chin was caught in the fingers of one hand while the other gently stroked the wounds. I sucked in a breath and bit my lip to keep from making further noise. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"That looks painful," his tone was not at all apologetic. "My fault. Here, let me help with that..."

Before I could protest, flinch, even fall away from him, he bent down and I felt the awful, cold wetness of his tongue sliding over the angry punctures. Terror made a sudden reappearance at the thought that he would bite me again. Bleed and condemn me to the terrible pleasures of feeling my life being sucked away. My pulse quickened dizzily, and not just in fear. 

But he merely licked at the tooth marks, and after the initial burning contact, a cool numbness spread over the area and I did feel better. He straightened once more and I touched my neck with trembling fingers. I stared at him, wide-eyed in fear and surprise. His smiling lips were stained red at the seams.

This time I had just enough opportunity to whimper and begin to take a shaky step backwards before his head descended again. His iron hands held my face immobile and his mouth latched to mine, demanding and dominating. A silent wail started in my head as I tasted the blood on his tongue.

But it wasn't my blood. I knew the difference as surely as I could distinguish water from the most perfect wine, or a whistled tune from a symphony. And I couldn't help myself. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him back, tasting him as eagerly as a woman dying of thirst.

He disengaged himself from me what couldn't have been too much later and licked his lips of the last crimson traces. I let him go, willing my body to reflect the self-disgust that threatened to overwhelm my mind. Stubbornly, I felt physically fine. Perhaps not up to full health, but I was standing on my own without any shakiness and I felt somehow keener, more aware of everything around me than I ever had before. I also hated myself.

Cassian stooped down and fetched my shoes then offered them to me, the picture of old world courtesy. Without the blood hinting at the predator underneath, he might have been mistaken for a gentleman.

"Come. I will take you home now."

I felt my eyes well with tears of hatred. "You bastard," I whispered. "You fucking bastard..." Of course he would let me go now. It wouldn't matter if I ran anymore, would it? Not after that.

He chortled. "Bastard? Perhaps. But fucking," the curse word was startling when delivered in his refined tone, and somehow more obscene, "That we have not done yet. Are you indicating an interest?"

I glared at him with a loathing that almost matched what I felt towards myself and snatched the shoes from his hand. Because I no longer had to worry about balance, I was able to jam them and my socks on my feet and march to the door quickly to wait for him to open it. I would not give him the enjoyment of seeing me twist at the doorknob fruitlessly like a caged animal. Even if that was close to how I felt.

He unlocked the door silently then paused, eyeing my chest with a sly smile. "Don't forget your shirt, Miss Dalton." Then he slipped past me to stride elegantly down the hall. Indignation or outrage almost seemed redundant at that point so followed him mutely, buttoning my shirt as I went.

He held the car door open for me as he had on the way here. Had it only been last night? I didn't acknowledge the gesture, just got into the plush leather seat, though inside I was reeling. He was mocking me again with this show of cordiality. Whatever. Soon I would be home and I could crawl into bed and... what? Wait for him to track me down again? Let him feed from me, manipulate me, and love every minute of it? I felt something inside me wither.

No. Whatever it took, I would not be subjected to that again. I would stay silent for now and let him keep smirking in his perceived triumph over me. Let him take me home thinking he could retrieve me again at any time. I knew better. If I had to kill myself, he would not taste me again.

We arrived back in a part of town that I recognized much more quickly than I'd anticipated; it had seemed so much farther on the way to his place. I wondered idly if that was just because of the standard phenomenon of the return trip always seeming shorter, or if I had been so scared on the way out that the time had stretched cruelly. Either way, Cassian soon maneuvered the car over to the curb and turned off the engine.




Moonshadows Ch. 07



"I think it prudent for me to let you out here. It is not a long walk to your home." His expression was mild but his tone was still amused. Looking around at the midnight street, I saw he was right. It was only about a block to my apartment. Silently, I got out of the car.

"Until we meet again, Miss Dalton," he called pleasantly, handing me my purse. I slammed the door in his face and started walking.

It was only after I rounded the corner that I heard the purr of his car start again then ease into the distance. But even without the auditory cue, I would have known he was leaving. I could feel his presence receding – like moving away from a frigid draft, or the fading pain of an anesthetized toothache – until it was only the faintest sensation at the back of my mind. But not completely gone. I knew enough of the mythology to suspect what the reality would be: having tasted his blood, he would never truly be gone from my mind again.

With these morbid thoughts occupying me, I made my way distractedly home. I was hardly paying attention to my surroundings as I unlocked the door and – at last! – walked inside. So it startled me when a voice in front of me called out,

"Selene! Oh, my god!"

Before I could say anything, Cara had me wrapped in a fierce hug and was talking a mile a minute.

"Are you okay? What happened? When you didn't come home last night, I got kind of worried but then I thought maybe you just went to stay over at Rafe's. But then you didn't come home today and work called the house asking why you weren't there, and your bike was still locked up outside, so I called Rafe but he hadn't seen or heard from you either. We were about to call the police, Selene. Where the hell were you?"

She pulled away to hold me at arm's length and I saw that her beautiful face was pale and strained. Her hands on my shoulders were trembling. There was no way I could tell her the truth about my ordeal, so I looked away and prepared to lie. That was a mistake.

Because in the door to the living room was Rafe. He had the strangest expression: relief, stress, guilt and something close to rage, barely kept from exploding into violent action. His yellow eyes burned.

I couldn't help myself; I burst into tears. Cara pulled me to her again immediately, stroking my hair. "Shh, shh," she murmured to me. "It's okay, hun, it's okay..."

Still holding me, she turned her head and said over her shoulder, "Come take her for a minute while I get my bag." Her voice was shaking now too. "We... I think we should probably get her to the hospital–"

"No!" I gasped, then tried again as their shocked looks turned to me. "No, I'm fine. I'm fine. I just want to be home. Please..."

"It's okay," she said again then looked at Rafe doubtfully.

"It's what she wants." He said. His voice was as tight as his expression. At the sound of it, beautiful and familiar, I cried harder.

"Shh, c'mon. Let's get you into your bed."

"Shower first," I choked out. The intense desire to scrub every centimeter of my skin was nearly overwhelming.

"Shower first," she agreed and guided me down the hall with her arm around my shoulders. She cast another look back before we slipped into the bathroom, meeting Rafe's gaze, then shut the door behind us.

"Want me to stay or go?"

I was getting my wracking sobs under control now and shook my head. "Go, please. I won't be too long."

Cara looked a little concerned, but she wasn't about to push me. "Okay. Just call if you need me. I'll only be in the living room."

I nodded, but a smile was beyond me. She squeezed my hand then slipped out the door. Urgently, I began stripping myself of all my contaminated clothing, kicking the clothes savagely into into a pile in the corner of the bathroom. I wouldn't touch any of it again; Cara could wash them. Or she could burn them for all I cared.

Stepping into the hot spray, I began scrubbing. It was a thorough process: from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet I lathered and scoured and rinsed, then did the whole thing again. Shame and disgust suffused me along with the heat from the water as I felt the old slickness between my legs. I gritted my teeth and washed the area again.

I got out when the water started getting cool and the room was full of steam. Just as well for me; I didn't want to have to look at myself as I brushed my teeth.

The first round of tooth-brushing went all right. But when I was done and thought I could still taste the complex, seductive medley of flavors that was Cassian's blood, I went back for round two. Then round three, and four, until there really was blood on the toothbrush and I had to lunge for the toilet to heave up the painfully meager contents of my stomach. One good thing about the bile was that it covered up all other taste.

Subdued and wrapped in a towel, I emerged into the comparatively-cold hall and made my way to my room, ignoring the low conversation going on down the hall. I dressed in the warmest pair of sweatpants I owned and a turtle-necked shirt and crawled under the thick covers. It was wonderfully comfortable. Familiar and warm, once the sheets had absorbed my heat and insulated me in a soft cocoon, but sleep was a long time coming. My mind refused to slow down, returning again and again to Cassian's smug face as he bid me goodbye.

Until we meet again, Miss Dalton.

Shuddering, I tried a trick I'd used when I had insomnia as a child. I counted my breaths slowly until I eventually fell into a restless sleep.

I woke with a start what couldn't have been much later to the sound of intense, whispered voices outside my room. The door was open a crack, spilling golden light from the hall across my blanketed legs; Cara must have been checking on me. I was about to close my eyes and try to go back to sleep when her voice rose.

"We should have taken her to the hospital!" She hissed. I hated to hear how anguished she sounded. "Maybe we shouldn't have even let her shower, but she was so desperate that I... But there still could be evidence on her clothes and we don't even know if she's hurt–"

"So you want to take her someplace unfamiliar and uncomfortable where she's gonna be touched and questioned and analyzed? It's her choice, Cara."

"But how is anyone going to catch the bastard that hurt her?" I heard tears and helpless frustration in Cara's voice now and closed my eyes sadly.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Rafe said, and there was lethal promise in his tone. "He'll get his."

Suddenly, I was filled with fear again, but not for myself. I had the awful premonition of Rafe going out into the night, hunting Cassian down and confronting him. I had no idea who was the more deadly of the two and the idea that it might not be Rafe made my stomach twist and nauseating tingles race up and down my body. I sat up quickly and called out, "Cara? Cara!"

She appeared in the doorway immediately, wiping her cheeks, then hurried to me and wrapped me in her arms.

"I'm here, I'm here. It's okay..."

I felt like a little kid again as she rocked me and murmured meaningless words in a soothing tone, but I admit, it did help. Still, I had to make sure Rafe didn't go out there.

"Cara," I said, disengaging myself from her embrace enough to look her in the eye. "Will you... will you sit with me tonight? It's good to know that you're here."

"Of course, sweetie. You shouldn't even have to ask. I should have known to –"

I cut her off before she could spiral too far into guilt. "And Rafe," I had to pause and swallow; it hurt to say his name. "Don't let him... Ask him to stay too, please? I would ask him myself but I..."

"I understand. I'll ask him."

I sighed gratefully as relief washed the prickling anxiety away. He'd be out of harm's way, for tonight at least. Tomorrow, I would think of some other excuse when I wasn't so very, very tired. She stood and walked back to the hall. "I"ll be right back, 'kay?"

At my nod, she went to inform Rafe of my request. When she came back, I indicated she should sit on the bed and I lay with my head in her lap, trying to relax my mind again. After a while, she stroked my hair and started humming in a soft, sweet voice until I eventually drifted off.

I woke up several times again that night, heart thumping too fast, straining my eyes in the darkness for a trace of my lingering nightmare, a sensual, malevolent whisper fading from my hearing. Cara was there each time, though asleep, and as soon as the adrenaline rush faded, I was able to fall back asleep too. Still, I only relaxed into true rest when I saw the blush of the rising sun coloring the clouds through my window.

***

When I woke up sometime in the early afternoon the next day, I was a little hungry. That made sense, I figured, given that it had been – how long? More than a day since I had really eaten. I got up, found my slippers and a sweater and went in search of food. Despite the sunny interior of the apartment and my extra layers, I was still cold.

As I passed the living room doorway, I saw a long form stretched out on the couch, but I hurried past. Probably would be wise to get some calories into me before engaging in that interaction. 

So I rummaged in the fridge for something that would appeal. I found I had a craving for meat, the rarer the better. Dumping a full package of breakfast ham onto a plate and shoving it in the microwave, I stubbornly proceeded to heat it until the slices were shriveled and dry, almost inedible. They tasted awful, but I ate the entire package anyway and felt a little warmer afterward, if slightly sick to my stomach.

Then I just sat for a while, staring out the window at the tree branches swaying gently in the afternoon sun, even though the light hurt my eyes somewhat. I had a glass of water at hand that I took an occasional sip from for something to do.

That was how he found me. I had another, bittersweet instance of deja vu seeing him standing in the door to the kitchen, dark hair mussed from sleep and the lingering scent of breakfast in the air. This time though, he kept his distance and his expression was set in lines of strictly-controlled neutrality. I found it pretty remarkable that things could get so screwed up over the course of a night. And I didn't know how they could ever be made right again. If they could be made right at all.

Seeing that he had my attention, he moved to the opposite side of the table from where I sat. He moved very carefully, as if afraid of startling me with any sudden movements. Rafe pulled up a chair then asked, "This okay?"

"Sure."

We sat in silence for a minute or two, him restlessly, me just waiting.

"Cara had to go to work," he said at last, "But she said she'll be back in time to make dinner tonight."

I nodded. Maybe it was craven, but though I knew that wasn't at all what he wanted to talk about, I wasn't in any rush to start into the "real" conversation I knew we had to have. A minute later when he tried again, haltingly, I cringed internally.

"Bab– Selene. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to... I should have at least kept an eye on you, but I thought that... Like an idiot, I was so..."

He was working hard to keep his emotion in check. I could see it in the tight grooves around his mouth and the way he held himself too still. I probably should have said something to try to assuage his guilt, or at least make this painful speech a little easier, but I was still so tired and I needed all my strength for the part to come.

So I just sat and listened until he burst out suddenly, "But I swear to God that I will find this guy that hurt you and—"

My world seemed to come to an abrupt halt. "This guy," he'd said. Not "him" or "monster" or even "thing." This guy. Could it be possible he didn't know? My own sweet example of the supernatural entirely in the dark about what he was chasing? In a sudden moment of clarity, I realized that since Cassian had so flippantly revealed his knowledge about Rafe, I'd been operating under the impression that Rafe would also be aware of what Cassian was. But maybe... A sense of urgency filled me.

"Rafe," I said carefully, and my heart only hitched a little at saying his name, "He didn't rape me. That's not... what he was after, ultimately."

The relief on his face made me feel awful, guilty and ashamed and hurt. And because I now thought I had some notion of the trauma a sexual abuse victim might endure, I felt terrible again because in a way, it might have been simpler if what Cassian had done to me was physical rape. There were support systems in place for that, even if they weren't ever really adequate for the task. At the very least, I would have been able to go the police and maybe get some form of justice there. 

But what Cassian had taken from me, and worse yet, what he had given me, I feared altered me at a level beyond repair. People talk about the dehumanization inherent to the act of rape, but there was a deep and soul-consuming terror inside me that because of what he'd done, I myself really wouldn't be human anymore. In the end though, however much I would have given to keep from revealing the extent of my damage to Rafe of all people, I would not trade my feelings for his safety. So I took a deep breath and made myself just say it.

"He bit me."

I watched as the relief drained from his face along with some of his normally robust color. Still, there was a certain incomprehension there too that was reinforced when he echoed, "He bit you."

Please don't make me say it. My inner voice was pleading and desperate but when I spoke my actual tone was neutral, even patient.

"He fed from me. My blood. And..." This was the hard part.

Say it! Just say it!

"He gave me some of his blood too. I drank it."

I had never seen him so pale; his stillness now was born of shock and horrible realization. I wasn't happy by any means, but it did give me the tiniest thread of satisfaction to know I wasn't the only one who had been blindsided by Cassian. It didn't take long for shock to darken into fury, however. Even if this time there was a calculating edge to the murder in his topaz eyes.

"Good to know." His rich voice was low and ominously steady. My uneasiness was justified a moment later when he continued, "But it doesn't matter in the end. I'm still going to kill the fucker. Vampire or not."

The word, articulated at last, seemed so cartoonish when held up to the nightmare memory of the real thing that I almost laughed. Almost. Vampires were something out of Hollywood. A pop culture fascination –even more so than werewolves– and a far cry from the purely evil thing that had so altered my world. Evil was also something that was supposed to exist only in fiction. Sure, people did bad, hideous things every day. But a person who was one-hundred percent wicked? That was supposed to be just an archetype, a concept, something to mark the opposite end of the spectrum from the equally-mythological "good." No wonder Cassian had so rocked my world: he was doubly impossible.

Still, the end result was that I, who had never been comfortable with ideas like the death penalty or revenge outside the most superficial methods, found I had no qualms about the idea of someone ridding the world of Cassian Grey. My only hesitation lay in whether or not it could be done. And there was something else. Some nagging impression that I was missing something...

"Shit. I'm sorry." Rafe said. "I didn't mean to upset you." I realized he had interpreted my distraction for distress and was about to shrug it off when he continued intensely. "Tell me what to do Selene. I don't... Tell me how to fix this for you, and I swear I will."

I stared back at him at a total loss. What was there to say? I didn't know what to do either, but he looked at me with such desperate, focused attention that I had to say something.

"You don't have to take responsibility for what happened, Rafe. It's not your fault."

It wasn't anyone's fault. No one's but Cassian's and a cruel, unlucky twist of fate that he'd singled me out for his sadistic game... I frowned. There it was again, that nagging sensation of something lingering just on the edge of my memory.

"I should have been there to stop him. I shouldn't have left you." Rafe's low voice was almost a growl in his helpless rage; his tanned fists were clenched white on the tabletop, but I only half-noticed. I was chasing the elusive thought. Whatever it was, I was increasingly sure it was important.

"Wouldn't have mattered." I returned distractedly. "He was waiting until you were gone."

Hell, I would have waited too. Who in their right mind would knowingly take on a werewolf? Not even a vampire, apparently. That was encouraging. Whatever else happened, at least I could be somewhat assured that Cassian wouldn't be able to hurt my Rafe. 

I looked at him across the table from me. His handsome face was strained, almost aged-looking with grief and fury. I almost heard the mental "click!" as the missing piece finally fell into place.

Cassian couldn't hurt Rafe. Except by hurting me.

My mind raced. All the times Cassian had come to me, always there had been a reference to Rafe. What I had written off as passing, mocking comments had in actuality been probing questions. He had been ascertaining the depth of our attachment to each other. It had never been about me, just as it had never been random. It was about Rafe all along. My ego might have been bruised by the realization if I wasn't so floored.

It made sense. After all, as much as I despised the idea of him laying a disgusting finger on her, someone like Cara was a much more logical choice of prey for a fiend like Cassian than I was. Beautiful and vibrant and social, she was much more likely to stand out in a crowd if it was only a matter of random selection. Oh, I was certain that my small talent for resisting him had made me a more interesting meal, maybe even saved my life, but he had only ever singled me out as a means of getting to Rafe. The only element of uncertainty in this horrific picture was what Rafe had done to earn such a terrible enemy.

"Selene!" Rafe's urgent voice broke into my consciousness and I focused my gaze to see him leaning towards me over the table, one hand partially outstretched as if to shake me. I realized I had been holding my breath and let it out slowly. I was shaking again.

"Maybe you should lay down. You look like you're about to fall over."

"Rafe," I said in a small voice, "Why does Cassian Grey want to hurt you?"

Poor thing. Just as he started adjusting to one unpleasant surprise, I sprang another on him. He sat back down slowly, consternation, unease, confusion all taking their turn playing over his face before it settled back into careful anger. No recognition though. 

"Grey. Is that the bloodsucker's name?" His amazing golden eyes were narrowed dangerously.

"Yes, but why is he after you, Rafe?" I pressed. He was in danger of missing the point in his vengeful zeal. 

"Why do you think he's after me? You're the one he–" He cut off the rest of what he'd been about to say with a dark twist of his mouth. "I'd never even heard of him until just now."

Interesting.

"But he's heard of you," I insisted, thinking aloud. "Even before you showed me what you are, he was making references to you. I didn't understand until now that's what they were, but I'm almost certain he only bit me to get to you. He wants you to try to go after him. He's baiting you."

I had his attention now. His face was almost calm save for the burning yellow stare as he asked the million-dollar question.

"Why?"

"I was hoping you would be able to tell me."

He huffed a sigh, frowning, though I knew he wasn't mad at me. "Like I said, I've never so much as seen the bastard. There hasn't been a vampire in this area for... upwards of fifteen years. Back in my dad's time. I was too young to run with them when they drove that one out, but I should have... I would've thought I'd recognize the smell of their blood."




Moonshadows Ch. 07



I felt myself blanch, a surge of remembered sensation threatening to overwhelm me. Cold hands on my body. His dark, rich, forbidden taste flooding my mouth with the most addictive substance of my life. My body throbbing in passionate response. Could Rafe scent him on me even now? Had he fed me enough of his essence to alter my own?

Rafe didn't try to shake me or call me out of my revery this time. He just waited until I met his gaze again, then dropped it, unable to look at him while I felt so ashamed. I rubbed my hands over my face slowly, and dragged them through my un-brushed hair. Finally, I heard his chair scraping as he pushed away from the table and stood.

"I need to talk to some people. I was too young to be included back then, but I know some people who will remember, and they can give me some info about how to deal with this. Maybe even tell me why this thing is here now." 

He paused, then continued lowly, "But neither Cara or I think it's a good idea for you to be alone right now. Especially now that I know what... So I think you should come with me."

I looked up at him. He was still so handsome, even in his pain.

Quite unexpectedly, his mouth curled into the smallest of smiles. It was like a rejuvenating breath of clean air and I felt myself relax just slightly at his show of courage. He extended his hand to me, palm up and open. Not demanding or expecting, just a cautious offer.

I can be brave too, I thought and placed my small hand in his large one. His skin was hot, almost uncomfortably so, and the sweetly familiar way he folded his fingers over my own filled me again with shame and guilt. But also comfort. So I didn't pull away, letting him help me to my feet to stand little and broken and hopeful in his shadow. What now?

"Now, he said as if answering my thought, "I think it's about time you met my pack."



Moonshadows Ch. 08



I had gotten dressed quickly, throwing on some warm clothes carelessly, save to make sure they covered the disturbingly old-looking wounds on my neck. I also ran a brush through my hair, but only because in catching my reflection in my wardrobe mirror, I realized that the wan, disheveled look might attract unwanted attention. I a quick note for Cara on the kitchen table, informing her of where I'd be that night, but neither Rafe nor I had spoken as I got ready and that silence had followed us into his car. It made me a little uncomfortable, and more than a little sad since this oppressive lack of conversation was such a rude contrast to our companionable quiet of times before Cassian. Then again, I was also glad to not have to talk about anything difficult. 

I'd almost come to expect we would spend the rest of the ride unspeaking when he cleared his throat and glanced at me. 

"There are a couple of things you should probably know before you meet everyone." 

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" 

"Yeah," he said. "About us. Werewolves. How we live." 

"Go on," I encouraged. I was intensely interested, even if the thrilling edge had been taken off my curiosity from my knowledge about some of the other denizens of this secret world. 

He didn't respond immediately, frowning at the road as he composed his thoughts. "How much do you know about regular wolves?" 

"Not a lot. Just some basic stuff." At his look, I expanded, "Like, they live in packs. They hunt together. And they follow an alpha, their leader. That's about all I could tell you off the top of my head though." 

Rafe was nodding. "That's right. We work pretty much the same way. We all live together, or close. Except in smallish family groups instead of a giant commune or whatever. Most of us actually are related somehow, except for the odd loner we adopted, or members of other packs who've joined ours." 

"Other packs?" 

"Yeah." He glanced at me again, I guess assessing my reaction. "We don't have a newsletter or anything, but there are packs of different sizes pretty much all over. Mostly in more rural parts since we need room to run when we change." 

This kept getting more and more interesting. It was, I thought, a conversation we should have had a while ago, when he'd first revealed himself. Or once I'd mellowed out from the shock at least. 

"You mean when you shape-shift?" 

I caught a hint of amusement at the eagerness of my tone. "We don't call it that, but yeah. Like you saw when I, uh, showed you a while back, we can change at will -well, once we get old enough to be able to control ourselves. Except on the full moon. Then it happens whether we want to or not. And I think you can probably imagine why it wouldn't be such a hot idea for a bunch of big-ass wolves to be running around all over downtown." 

"Makes sense." I acknowledged, trying to picture it. 

"Anyway," he said, then paused a while. As the silence stretched out, I studied him, waiting for more, until he cleared his throat again and began slowly. 

"Every pack has an alpha, like with wolves. The alpha's the leader, or, I dunno. The family patriarch, kind of. He -or she, I guess, since I have heard of the occasional lady alpha- watches out for the pack. He's the final say in big decisions, keeps the peace within the pack families, oversees things when it comes to interacting with outside packs. He doesn't just rule over everything like a mob boss or whatever. But it's his responsibility to look out for the well-being of the pack, and to make the decisions that will take care of everybody the best way possible, and people respect that and do what he says. 

"My dad was the last alpha," he said quietly, his eyes fixed on the road. "He took care of the pack for thirty years, and because of him we were bigger and happier than we'd ever been." 

He paused again then said, "When he died five years ago, that changed." 

My eyes widened and my heart twinged sympathetically. I was all-too familiar with the loss of a parent. "I'm so sorry, Rafe." 

He shrugged. "It happens." 

"What... do you mind if I ask what happened? He couldn't have been very old." 

"He wasn't." 

"Oh. Okay." I felt guilty for prying into an obviously still-painful subject and lowered my eyes to fiddle with the zipper on my jacket. 

"Truth is, Selene, we still don't know exactly what happened." The sudden surge of his voice made me jump. "We found him face-down in the river beaten all to hell. Now, I guess it's possible that he could have gotten that way from falling down the gulley and from washing down the river a ways... But you can understand why we didn't want the human police looking too closely at things, so we just reported it as an accident. 

"Oh, my god." 

His hand tightened on the steering wheel and he shook his head angrily. "It's just, my dad was a careful guy. I couldn't ever see him taking a spill like that. But if he was murdered, then who does that leave for suspects? Who'd be able to take out a fifty-five year-old werewolf at pretty much the peak of his strength? Who'd want to? Everybody in the pack loved him." 

I was speechless, watching him with wide eyes. 

"Anyway," He said again, "When he died, the pack kind of fell apart. Some bad things were said. Family groups who'd been with us for two or more generations moved away, and of course the loners who'd joined us for the safety of our numbers were some of the first to bail. For a while it was just my family and a few others left." 

He took a deep breath, relaxing back into his seat. I unwound slightly as well, but still listened avidly. "We're doing better now. There's a new alpha, and we're starting to grow again." 

"So," I ventured at last when no more information was forthcoming. "Am I going to meet this new alpha then?" 

I thought I heard Rafe sigh very quietly. "You've already met him, Selene." 

He kept his eyes on the road now as I looked at him sharply. His profile was calm and as attractive as always. But not just attractive; there was a quality to his features, his bearing that commanded more than just attention. Even when I first met him I'd seen how he had that innate kind of charisma that inspired respect. He wore leadership like a second skin. 

It made sense on other levels too: who but the alpha would have the nerve to bring his human girlfriend to a pack gathering? Who else could get away with such a thing? Maybe I was making too much of the situation and no one would care that I was an outsider, but I didn't think so. Besides, there had been all these allusions to his family responsibilities, those times that he had been called away to lead his pack. And I had always felt like he was out of my league. 

Ultimately, I realized that this information didn't really surprise me and merely nodded my understanding and returned to looking out my window. I could tell he was checking me out for my reaction covertly, but I didn't know what else to say so just remained silent. 

We arrived at a multi-storied, craftsman style house shortly after that. The location, I noted, was pretty ideal. It was just far enough out of the city proper and outlying suburbs to make a trip into town a simple thing, but also far enough away from the hub of buildings to afford some privacy. Not to mention the proximity to the healthy woodlands that gave the place a much more rural atmosphere. The house itself was solid and straightforward, and though I'm no architectural expert, it looked like it was about forty or so years old, built to last, not necessarily to impress. I liked it. 

Rafe parked in the gravel, multi-car driveway and we climbed out to head across the vaguely unkempt front lawn and up to the door, painted in a lovely, rich red. He reached for the handle, but the door opened quickly before he even touched it. I blinked as I took in the figure in front of me. 

In the door frame stood easily the biggest man I had ever seen. Even Rafe's significant six foot three seemed a shade diminutive in comparison. Broadly muscled limbs somehow managed to fit -barely- into the plain jeans and t-shirt he wore, and a dark brown head of loose curls was likewise only just contained in a low queue at the nape of his neck, allowing golden-brown eyes to peer from beneath serious brows. I noted with fascination the similarity in color to Rafe's more pronounced topaz, as well as the more subtly familiar things about the rest of his features. 

"Hi, Rafe," he rumbled; I wondered with the size of his chest cavity if he could do anything but rumble. 

"Hey, Erich," Rafe returned easily. "Is Aaron here yet?" 

"Said he'd be here in about an hour. He needed someone to take over his shift before he could bail." 

He spoke to Rafe, but as he finished, his eyes rested on me again and Rafe followed his gaze. I felt more than saw him shift his weight fractionally closer to me as he said, "This is Selene." He nodded his head at the giant. "Selene, this is my cousin Erich." 

Erich surprised me with a kindly smile that softened the rest of his stern features and strengthened the underly family resemblance. He extended his hand. "It's good to finally meet you." 

I surprised myself that I smiled back and let him shake my hand in his massive one; he held it very carefully and the sheer size of it reminded me of when I was a kid shaking with an adult. I also didn't miss the implication of the word "finally," and gave Rafe a sidelong glance even as I told Erich, "It's good to meet you too." 

Rafe was watching me closely and spoke up at my look, "Erich is my best friend, besides being my cousin. Even before all... this started, I talked with him about you. He understands and he knows what's going on. He'll look out for you." 

I frowned as a vague unease filled me. "I need looking out for here?" 

Rafe's expression darkened and his tone left no room for argument. "No. You're safe under my roof." 

He exhaled quietly and amended in a more moderate voice, "But while I deal with things with the pack, I'm not gonna necessarily be available. So if you need anything, Erich will take care of it for you." 

The big man nodded in agreement. 

I can't say I was too pleased with the idea of being isolated from Rafe, however politely or marginally, but I recognized the necessity as well as the consideration that had gone into the arrangement. Besides, there was something about Erich that I liked. Maybe it was the similarities to Rafe, or the fact that Rafe apparently trusted him, but I felt more at ease around him, so I wasn't going to argue. 

"Okay." 

Rafe looked relieved and Erich gave me another friendly smile as he stepped back to allow us entry. He closed the door quietly behind us and followed with a curiously light tread as Rafe led us down a hallway to the kitchen. The decoration of the house was simple: some landscape pictures on the walls, muted area rugs on the hardwood floor, and what I thought were probably family photos in between the artwork. The big windows let in a lot of the afternoon light, warming and illuminating, and the house was filled with a mellow, woodsy kind of scent, like an aged lodge. 

"Food's in the fridge," Rafe said, gesturing to a massive appliance covered with magnets and notes. "Or some milk and stuff if you're thirsty. I need to make some calls while Erich shows you around." 

I nodded as I observed the way he moved through the large room. He was clearly comfortable in the slightly-cluttered space, and even as he seemed more relaxed, there was a surety to his movements that implied ownership and command. I knew without being told that while others of the pack might live here, it was definitely his house. 

He turned and was about to exit through another door when he paused and met my eyes. "You okay with that?" 

I glanced at Erich who had been watching the two of us silently and nodded again. "Yeah." 

The corner of Rafe's mouth turned up in another of those heart-hitching, bittersweet smiles. "I'll be in the office," he told Erich then left the room. Erich cleared his throat thoughtfully. 

"Well, you wanna look around?" It was apparent he wanted to be helpful but wasn't quite sure how to approach things. That made me feel a little better somehow. 

"Sure." 

There wasn't much chit-chat as Erich gave me the tour of the place. Part of it was that I don't think Erich was much of a talker under normal circumstances, but mostly it was that without Rafe there, I was very tired again and things that would normally have fascinated me -such as photos of Rafe and Erich with they were kids- only inspired a moderate interest. I knew I'd definitely want to take a second pass to check things out when I wasn't so enervated, but Erich seemed to notice the drop in my energy, and after showing me the rest of the first floor, he asked if I wanted to lay down for a while, which I agreed would be a good idea. 

We had heard Rafe's voice coming through one of the doors off the living room that Erich had identified as the office, but where Erich led me next was to what looked like the master bedroom, up on the second floor. It was simply, almost spartanly furnished, with a vast, unmade bed, side tables, a dresser, and an old chest at the foot of the bed. An armchair and foot rest sat next to a rather poorly-stocked bookshelf near the bay windows. It was lived in, in the sense that you could see the marks of an inhabitant in the messy bedding and the clothes that were carelessly tossed into a hamper in the corner, but there was no real sense of personality, as though the person whose room it was didn't spend much time there. 

"This is Rafe's room," Erich told me as he held the door open for me. "You can rest here without anyone bothering you." 

I looked around again as I nodded absently. For some reason, it made me a little sad that the only room in the house that didn't feel like a home was Rafe's. It seemed wrong. Lonely. 

Remembering my manners, I managed a wan smile for my kindly guide. "Thanks, Erich. You're a sweet guy." 

The big man smiled back at me. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything." 

I pretty much went straight to bed after he'd gone. I was feeling cold again, and the clear afternoon light was making my head start to throb. So I kicked off my shoes and burrowed under the covers on the massive bed, inhaling deeply to catch a faint breath of Rafe's scent. Thankfully, sleep wasn't long in coming. 

When I woke again, it was early evening and the light was streaming golden through the windows. A medley of raised voices was coming from downstairs; the living room, I estimated from my memory of the afternoon tour. Sitting up, I scrubbed my hands over my face and ran them through my hair, trying to neaten it some. I could spot a mirror over the sink in the adjoining bathroom but didn't feel up to a close examination of how awful I must look, so I just tugged my shoes back on and shifted my clothes back into place as best as I could. So much for looking my best when meeting the family, but I guess it couldn't be helped. I wasn't really sure what my best was anymore anyway. 

As I made my way down the steps and to the living room, I could hear the conversation more clearly. Or maybe "argument" would be a better word since just as I reached the corner of the hall before it opened into the sprawling living space, someone interjected loudly, "I'm sorry, but I just don't understand what this has to do with us. It's shitty that your girl was the one to be bitten, Rafe, but she's not one of us. Besides, it didn't kill her, right?" 

"Jesus, Edmund," someone else said scornfully. 

"What?" The one called Edmund asked defensively. "I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking." 

"What you're doing is being an ass, and completely missing the point." Erich's distinctive bass rumble retorted. "It's more than likely that the girl was targeted specifically, as a way to get at Rafe. Could be just a shot in the dark, but if this vampire knows who he is, he knows that threatening him is threatening the pack. And in case that still isn't clear enough for you, Ed, that means he's threatening you too." 

I paused where I was while Edmund grumbled. Another voice spoke up a little hesitantly. 

"But what kind of dumbass would try to take on a whole pack? Vampires aren't... They aren't that powerful, right?" 

"No," a fifth speaker said. This one sounded a little older, and his tone was gentle. "Depending on how old it is, it would only be able to take on one -maybe two of us in a direct fight. A really old one could maybe handle three or four. But they don't fight direct when they can help it. The cowards prefer to sneak around and get others to do their dirty work for them. Only when their enemy is weakened will they come out and finish him off." 

An uncomfortable silence greeted this speech until the same man continued. "Which is why I think there's probably more going on than we're seeing. Kaleb's right. No vampire with half a brain would risk pissing off the whole pack. Not by himself. So we need to consider that he's probably working with somebody else." 

The listeners broke into a susurrus of anxious murmurs that I could only catch pieces of. 

"Does anyone else think that this sounds like a bit of a stretch?" A woman's alto voice, sultry and disdainful broke through the conversation. "I'm with Edmund on this. I'm sorry about what happened to the girl, but what reason do we have to think that she was 'targeted' at all, and that this is some sort of big conspiracy to screw with us? Did anyone consider that maybe it was just bad luck?" 

Silence returned, though this time it was expectant. I could hear people shifting around, increasingly awkward as the quiet stretched out until Rafe spoke at last. 

"This wasn't the only time the vampire harassed Selene. He'd talked to her several times before he attacked, and apparently he made it clear he knew I'm part of a pack, even if he didn't know I lead this one." 

Given the intensity of the rage he had struggled to control earlier that day, I was impressed to hear how restrained Rafe sounded now, though it was clear he was still much tenser than usual. I wondered if having had some time to think through things a bit had helped, or if it was just part of his alpha persona. He continued. 

"That's a big risk to take for a meal, even I wasn't an alpha, since he also knows Selene is mine." My stomach fluttered as I heard him claim me in front of his family. "So I think it's fair to assume there's more to it, like Aaron said." 

"But why?" The hesitant voice from before asked. "Why would someone or... someones want to pick a fight with us?" 

"That's what we need to... Rafe?" The older speaker -Aaron I concluded he was called- trailed off questioningly. 

"I'll be right back." Rafe's voice was getting closer until he appeared suddenly around the corner. I started a little guiltily at being caught eavesdropping. 

"Why don't you come sit down," he suggested seriously. "I'll introduce you." 

I followed him back into the living room where more than twenty people were waiting, crammed into what I'd thought of as a big room. Maybe I was still numb from everything that had been happening, but, as I watched the expressions of surprise and disapproval cross nearly all the faces in the room, I wasn't nervous at all. Admittedly, I was keenly aware of how much I didn't belong there, but these people didn't intimidate me the way they would have only a few days ago. I did note with interest which few faces showed only curiosity or sympathy though. If anyone was potentially my friend there outside of Rafe and Erich, it would be those individuals. 

"Everybody, this is Selene." Rafe announced with preamble. He began pointing to different people in turn, naming them. "Selene, this is Edmund and Beth. Michael, Gabriella, you already know Erich..." 




Moonshadows Ch. 08



He labeled them all quickly, but aside from those I could match to the voices from earlier, most of them didn't stick. Edmund turned out to be a lanky blond who would probably be handsome if not for the scowl. He had his arm around a young brunette, Beth, who was one of the ones who seemed more curious than hostile. Aaron was one of the older people in the room at somewhere around his late forties, with longish black hair lightly streaked with gray, while the young man seated at his left was Kaleb and could have been a teenaged copy of himself as much as they looked like. I thought that the woman called Gabriella, one of the redheads sitting next to Edmund and Beth on the couch, might have been the female speaker from the poorly-concealed expression of contempt on her otherwise pretty features, but I couldn't be sure since she only nodded when named. 

I inclined my head in my own returned greeting, and introductions made, Rafe went and sat back down in the only empty armchair. Erich got up from the seat next to him to stand behind the oldest man there. Since it was clear he'd vacated the seat for me, I took the unspoken offer gratefully, ignoring the sidelong glances. No one seemed particularly eager to jump back into the conversation now that I was there, but Aaron cleared his throat after a minute and spoke up. 

"At this point, what we need to figure out is what this vampire is after, and hopefully that will lead us to who he might be working with." 

There were some nods around the room, as well as quite a few lips tightened in reproach. But no one spoke out in opposition which I guess meant that Rafe had had his "final say." 

"Well, can't we just kill it?" A middle-aged guy whose name I couldn't remember offered. "I mean, that'd solve the problem of him threatening us, right?" 

Aaron shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Could be the reason why he's causing problems now is because of the last vamp we drove out of town, and killing this one might only make things worse." 

"What do you suggest we do about it, then?" Edmund asked, still a little surly. "Since you're apparently the man with the plan." 

Aaron looked annoyed. "Just because I'm not all for running blind into Goddess-knows-what, doesn't mean I have a plan." 

"Tell me something I don't know," Edmund sneered. 

"Enough," Rafe snapped. "If you're gonna bicker like kids, you can go take a timeout like kids. In the meantime, the grownups have important things to talk about." 

I was a little shocked at how Rafe talked down to a man twice his age, but both squabblers averted their eyes and subsided respectfully. Everyone else became a little more alert as Rafe took a deep breath. 

"You all know me well enough to know that I wouldn't involved the pack in my personal problems without damn good reason. You also know I don't spook easy. So when I tell you that something is off about this whole situation, I hope I have some credibility. 

"I don't like that this vamp knows me," he continued, "Or at least well enough to know when and how to go after one of my weak points. I don't like that this threat shows up right when the pack is starting to grow and do well again. And I don't like that the only thing we know about this fucker is his name." He paused again and I could see him checking himself, bringing his fury under strict control. 

"There's no point in trying to make a plan about anything when there's so much we don't know. So. Everyone go home and watch each others' backs. Think about who might want to hurt us. And keep your ears open about any other bloodsuckers that might be in town. If Aaron is right and a group of them is out for revenge over the one we outed fifteen years ago, I need to know. If anyone else has any other ideas or hears anything unusual, you know how to get in touch." 

With that, he stood and everyone else stretched and got up as well, moving around and talking quietly. It seemed that the meeting was over. I felt a light touch on my shoulder and jumped before realizing it was Erich. 

"Sorry." He withdrew his hand quickly. "You hungry?" 

Rafe had gone over to talk to Aaron and the woman with him, so I nodded. I was hungry. 

"Come on then." 

I followed him into the kitchen where the older man Erich had been standing behind was waiting. I thought he was probably only in his mid-sixties, but the way he held his body, hunched and somehow weary, made him seem older. He gave me a solemn nod while Erich frowned skeptically at the contents of the fridge. 

"Doesn't look like anyone's been to the store for a while." He stood back and waved at the contents. "But you're welcome to whatever's in there. I'd be careful about some of those mystery containers though. Don't know how long they've been sitting." 

I ended up making the three of us peanut butter and banana sandwiches, given that the other options required either cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen or risking the unsteady truce I had with my stomach. We ate mostly in silence, though I did learn that the elderly man was Erich's dad, Gregor. He was Rafe's dad's older brother, and had served as his "beta" while his brother led the pack. I found it intriguing that it was the younger of the two brothers that had become the leader, but didn't push for further information when I noticed how Gregor seemed to withdraw further into himself upon hearing mention of his deceased sibling. 

"Aw, how cute," a male voice drawled. I turned to see Edmund and Beth walk into the kitchen. "Did you make enough for everybody?" 

Beth swatted at him and continued to the refrigerator to stare at its interior reproachfully, but Edmund came and sat at the large kitchen table with us. I heard Erich sigh. 

"You guys stayin' for dinner, then?" 

"If there's anything edible in here," Beth returned with a huff. She had a light, sweet voice that I thought suited her well. "When was the last time someone cleaned this thing out? It's starting to reek." 

I wondered if she was exaggerating, or if her werewolf nose really did pick up the scent of spoiled food, since I hadn't smelled anything when I was digging through there. Either way, though I hadn't used any refrigerated materials, I suddenly found I no longer had much of an appetite and set down the remains of my sandwhich. 

After putting a frozen pizza in the oven, Beth came over and sat down next to her man, which happened to put her adjacent to me as well. She was too polite to blatantly stare, but I could feel her casting curious glances at me as I passively listened to the conversation the guys were having about what I presumed to be the family business. It was pretty boring stuff since I didn't know the first thing about running electric lines and so on, and I found myself getting antsy while the golden light of late afternoon was slowly replaced with the cool shades of dusk. As the sun retreated, a sense of dread was growing in the pit of my stomach. 

"So, Selene." Startled, I looked over to Beth. She was smiling at me in a friendly way. "You've been dating Rafe a while now, right? Do you mind me asking how you two met?" 

"Oh, um..." She didn't seem to have any malicious agenda that I could determine, and the guys were still talking loudly about wire gauges and boxes and studs. "He... kind of rescued me, actually." 

Her eyebrows raised, her pretty brown eyes interested. "Do tell." 

I obliged, relating the story of the unseasonal rain and him scaring off the bikers who were hassling me. In light of my recent troubles, it was both more romantic and more depressing that I seemed to find myself in need of rescue so often. Beth, however, was impressed. 

"That has to be one of the best 'how-we-met' stories I've ever heard," she grinned. "And you had no idea he was a werewolf?" 

"Er," It was extremely surreal to be having this conversation so casually. "Not until about three weeks ago." 

"Wow. I'm surprised he told you at all, to be honest. He must be really serious about you." 

"Well, I don't think he was really ready to." I admitted. "And... I kind of freaked out when he showed me." 

"Which is why he should've known better than to be cozying up to a human chick in the first place," Edmund cut in severely. I realized suddenly that the other conversation had died down and all eyes were on me and Beth. Erich tensed, ready to come to my defense, but I beat him to it. 

"If that's how you feel, maybe you should say that to your alpha's face, instead of being a dick about it behind his back. Don't you think?" 

I heard a collective intake of breath but kept my eyes on Edmund, staring him down. I had survived a night with Cassian Grey; this guy didn't scare me. 

Suddenly, Edmund let out a bark of laughter, raising his hands in surrender. "Count me appropriately scolded." His tone was wry, but I thought his amusement was genuine. "You're right." 

"Thank you," I replied, and because I was still a little annoyed, I added pointedly, "And apology accepted." 

Edmund laughed again and this time there was definitely an undertone of appreciation. His lean features were much more handsome when touched with humor. I saw Erich relax marginally from the corner of my eye, and Beth looked distinctly relieved. 

"You're ballsy, I'll give you that," he said, standing. "I think I should go talk to that boyfriend of yours though. 'Scuse me." He gave Beth's shoulder a brief squeeze before striding out of the room. Erich shook his head but didn't comment. 

"Please don't mind Edmund," Beth said softly after he'd exited. "He can come across as kind of a jerk, but he doesn't mean any harm, really." 

"It's okay. I know me being here isn't very popular, and honestly, it's kind of refreshing to just have someone come right out and say it directly." 

Beth smiled awkwardly, clearly unsure of how to respond, but Erich chose that moment to re-enter the conversation. "Doesn't mean he needs to get after you about something you can't help though. But you handled him well. He won't bother you again." 

I wasn't sure if this last was promise or assessment and shrugged at the complement, uncomfortable again. Besides, I could almost feel the sun slipping below the horizon and had to make myself refrain from clenching my hands together in unnamed anxiety. 

"Hey, I think I might go lay down again," I lied; there was no way I could rest with the edgy energy prickling through my veins but I needed to get away for a bit. And more importantly, I needed to see Rafe. No need to be obviously clingy though. "Do you think you could ask Rafe to come up when he has a second?" 

The way that Erich looked at me gave me the impression that I wasn't fooling him with my casual act, but all he said was, "Sure." 

"Thanks." 

It was weird moving through the house unescorted, and Edmund's vocalized disdain only highlighted my awareness of how much a stranger I was here. I avoided the areas where people were gathered, slipping through the muted hallways until I gratefully shut the door behind myself in Rafe's room. 

My body felt twitchy with restlessness, and I found myself actually pacing around the space, my feet whispering over the area rug at the foot of the bed before I realized what I was doing and made myself stop and sit in the old armchair by the window. I needed to try to relax, and to distract myself from the encroaching twilight. None of the books on the shelves could hold my interest though, until I happened upon an old photo album tucked away in the bottom corner. A thin layer of dust lay on the top of the laminated pages and it opened with a creak. 

Its contents were filled with pictures of a sprawling, joyful family, with the majority of the images focusing on a smaller family unit of three. A handsome man who could only have been Rafe's father from the striking resemblance grinned out from nearly all the photos, strong white teeth contrasting against sun-kissed skin. His brown hair was curlier than Rafe's, though equally unruly, and it was clear that his side of the family had contributed the bright golden eye color that was striking even in the faded pictures. The images of him showed a man who was happy, confident, vital, and totally comfortable in his own skin. By seeing him, I got a sense of what Rafe might look like in maybe ten years or so, when he had fully come into his own. 

But it was the woman in the pictures that kept drawing my eye. Waist-length curtains of shining black hair draped over her athletic shoulders and framed a heart-shaped face. Her smiles weren't as wide as her husband's, but a dimple on her left cheek gave her a playful impression, and she practically glowed with contentment in all the photos she shared with her husband and son. She was beautiful. I leaned close to the sepia-toned pages and noted how her mouth curled in the exact same way as Rafe's, and that the shape of her proud, arching eyebrows was a feminine version of her son's. 

Rafe had never spoken a word about her, but I knew this must be his mother. I suddenly wondered what had happened to her. 

A soft knock at the door made me jump and straighten guiltily from my perusal. Rafe didn't wait for a reply to quietly come inside, shutting the door again behind him. His eyes went to the photo album in my lap and his inquisitive expression turned sad. 

"I'm sorry," I said, shutting the book with an abashed blush. "I wasn't trying to be nosey..." 

"It's fine," he said and came to stand next to the arm of the chair, careful to not get too close and spook me. "No need to apologize." 

I looked down at the cover which held a picture of what looked to be the whole extended family, or pack, or whatever. There had to be sixty people or more in the photo. My fingertips brushed over the man and woman in the middle of the group and the little boy laughing at their feet. "Is this you and your parents?" 

He crouched so that he could see better, and at the new closeness, I caught a breath of his comforting scent. "Yeah," he said. "I guess I would have been about four there. We'd just moved here, and the pack was celebrating with a picnic." 

A small smile curved my lips as I regarded the little Rafe, caught mid-giggle and surrounded by his loved ones. My gazed traveled to his adult profile and at his somber expression, my humor slipped away again. Unexpectedly, he reached over and opened the album again, flipping through the pages slowly until he stopped at one of his parents. 

It was a candid shot, both of them seemingly unaware of their audience. Their arms were around each others' waists and they rested their foreheads together, eyes shut, contentment in the upturned corners of their mouths. The edges of her unbound hair were caught floating in the breeze. 

"Her name was Eva," Rafe said softly. 

I cleared my throat, hesitant to ask. "Did she...?" 

"Yeah. About six months after my dad. There wasn't anything physically wrong with her that we knew of. She just sort of... checked out." 

I felt a constriction in my chest at the pain in his tone, almost hidden but for my familiarity with him. My imagination drew a ruthless picture of what it must have been like for him at that time. All the uncertainty and fear and betrayal surrounding his father's possible murder, and then his mom leaves him also. I couldn't help the unbidden swell of anger at this woman who was too weak, too selfish to overcome her own grief so that she could be there for her son while he tried to keep the rest of his world together. Then again, what must it be like to lose someone who you loved that much? I shuddered and placed my hand over his warm one, needing the contact. 

"I'm sorry." 

He looked at me sharply in surprise at the touch, then his face softened. "I don't need you to feel sorry for me, Selene. Sometimes bad things happen, and we live with it. That's just how it goes." 

He straightened his shoulders, but remained squatting next to me, and I noticed that he didn't do anything to remove his hand. 

"Anyway. You asked for me to come see you. What can I do?" 

"I..." Now that he was here, what did I want him to do? What was there to be done? 

Sometimes bad things happen, and we live with it. That's just how it goes. 

I needed to learn to live with it. 

Squeezing his hand, I gathered a small smile and his amazing topaz eyes widened. "Hold me for a little while?" 

That wonderful smile returned to his face, and rather than speak, he just stood and opened his arms in invitation. When I went to him and he folded me in his embrace, it felt like coming back home. 

The solid thump of his heart under my ear was a drum to which I could match my breathing. I felt peace, real peace, ease through my throat and chest, my belly and limbs, and even the lingering chill in my body began to thaw just a bit. His earthy smell was a panacea for my racing mind and the sweet way that he enfolded me with his arms made me feel safer than I had in weeks. 

When he suddenly stooped to pick me up, I tensed then almost immediately relaxed again, leaning into him. He set me down carefully on the bed and got rid of both of our shoes to join me on the rumpled covers. Pulling me back to his chest, I heard him exhale softly in a sigh and his long fingers gently stroked my hair and back. 

This. This was what I had needed. As his long body warmed mine, I could almost feel my damaged psyche relaxing, content to just rest for a little while. I let myself trust that with rest, healing would follow. 

Remarkably, I had actually started dozing off when there was another polite knock on the door. 

"Go away," Rafe grumbled under his breath. 

"Rafe?" Erich's basso rumble permeated the door easily, even though I could tell he was trying to be quiet. Rafe muttered something unflattering, but let out a resigned breath that stirred my hair. He tightened his hold on me for one more second before he reluctantly extricated himself and got out of bed. 

Seeing that I was awake, he leaned down again and pressed his lips chastely to my temple. "I'll be back in a bit." 

"Okay." I smiled at him drowsily and was gratified to see some more of the underlying tension leave his face. 

Erich knocked again, this time a little louder. "Rafe, man, I don't like bother-" 

"I'm coming. Just a minute." Rafe barked irritably. He grabbed a huge hand-knitted blanket from the chest at the foot of the bed and took care to tuck it around me. There was a comfort in the heavy, homemade quality of the cover and I let my eyes slide closed again as he left to go see whatever it was that Erich needed. 

It was a mark of how thoroughly relaxed I had become that after a few minutes of listening to the unobtrusive, yet somehow homey sounds of the house settling, and feeling the slightly-scratchy wool of the blanket around me, I dozed off again. I woke briefly when Rafe came back some time after full dark, curving his body protectively around my small one, but his presence was enough to allow me to let go of the rest of my reservations and sink into true sleep. 

When I opened my eyes, I was in a new bedroom. The edges of the space were sort of vague and it was hard to gauge exactly how much room there was between everything. The air was comfortable against my skin through the thin nightgown I wore, and scented faintly with incense. My bare toes wiggled in the luxuriously-thick carpet as I looked around detatchedly. The focus of the room was largely on the elegant four-poster bed in the middle, but there was also a plush velvet loveseat in front of a small fireplace, and another chair in the same forest green upholstery off to the side. 

Cassian sat in a second chair, partially masked by the dancing shadows cast from the fire. He watched me while I took in my surroundings, but I wasn't afraid. 





Moonshadows Ch. 08



"Come sit with me, my dear," he invited. 

I thought about it, but the bed looked nicer. I had been sleeping before, I remembered. Sleeping sounded appealing, so I went and sat on the edge of the bed and experimented by laying down and closing my eyes. Nothing happened other than when I heard Cassian speak again, it was from right next to me. 

"An interesting choice." 

I felt the bed dip and a body recline next to me. I opened my eyes again and frowned at him. 

"What are you doing here?" 

He raised a black eyebrow, smiling. "You invited me." 

One of his long fingers idly tickled along my bare arm; it felt good, so I let him continue. "Or perhaps I should say that we invited each other, since this is technically a shared space." 

Goosebumps appeared in the wake of his touch as he trailed up and inwards along my shoulder to my clavicle, though it had nothing to do with being cold. In fact, I found myself flushing with the awakening of my nerve endings and let out a little sigh of pleasure. His smile grew smug and he leaned down to press a kiss to the indentation right below my collar bone. 

His hand slid further inward, to the hollow of my throat, then down along my sternum, casually drawing down the neckline of my nightdress. I watched him do it and didn't stop him. Cassian met my eyes, almost as in challenge, and deliberately slipped his hand under the garment to cup my breast. My nipples tightened and I couldn't refrain from arching into his touch, pressing the hardened bead into his palm. He responded by kneading the flesh gently and flicking his thumb over the peak, making me shiver and gasp. 

"Ahh..." I moaned softly. 

"I did tell you I would give you pleasure." 

And, oh, he most certainly was. Emboldened by my lusty reactions, he leaned over again and peeled aside my dress enough to close his thin lips over my nipple. His tongue darted out to lash it teasingly and I purred and arched into his mouth, needy. A momentary annoyance at how my clothing blocked further such delights was assuaged when the nightdress disappeared as though it had never been there at all. I didn't bother wasting another thought on it, because now Cassian had full access to my neglected left tit, and he obligingly pinched the puckered tip while continuing to lavish the right one with tiny nips and hard sweeps of his tongue. 

"Yes," I hissed. My head fell back and my eyes closed and I felt a growing wet ache between my thighs. "Fuck, yes." 

His mouth lifted from my breast and I opened my eyes to see why. I didn't want him to stop; it felt so good. He was staring at me intensely, his bottomless black eyes uncharacteristically heated. 

"Is that what you want, Selene?" He crooned. His fingers never stopped toying with my nipple. "Do you want me to fuck you?" 

My pussy clenched in eagerness, but I frowned. I didn't know if that's what I wanted. Something about that prospect seemed... I didn't know. I couldn't put my finger on it, and it was distracting me from the pleasure that I had so been enjoying. 

He smiled a secretive sort of smile and gave my nipple a harder tug. I sucked in a breath as my center fluttered. 

"No mind. There is plenty of opportunity for that later. For now, however..." His fingers released my blushing nipple and instead danced down my stomach to slip effortlessly beneath the elastic of the delicate panties I was wearing. He wasted no time homing in on my swollen clit and I arched again, releasing a throaty cry and a trickle of juices. 

"My," Cassian breathed, tracing around my sensitive entrance. "I had suspected you were a wanton little thing, but even I was not prepared for this." Without a further word, he plunged two fingers into my dripping hole. I could hear the squelch of my cunt even over my wild moan. 

His mouth descended again to my breast so that he could resume where his hand had left off, and all the while he fingered me with a relentless, meticulous skill that had me bucking against him, craving more. When he added the firm pressure of his palm against my clit, I jerked and squeezed his fingers, crying out again at the woozy pleasure. 

I sensed my orgasm approaching quickly. Cassian must have noticed it also, because he looked up again, meeting my half-lidded eyes with an expression of wicked anticipation. I gazed back at him while my hips pumped against his hand, panting, reaching, as a triumphant smile spread across his pale face. His fingers curled, beckoning inside of me, making me shudder, and he brought his face close to mine, his grin widening so that I could see long, deadly fangs. 

This meant, something, I knew. Something important, but I was snared in the haze of desire, unable to think beyond the peak that was inching closer with each jerk of my hips. A current of unease uncurled in my chest, nagging at me, but it was only when Cassian dropped his face to my neck, his breath spreading like a miasma against my skin that I finally remembered, and my entire body contracted in instant, consuming revulsion. 

"NO!" I shrieked. 

His head jerked up, and this time, his face was set in what I could have sworn was surprise. I didn't have time to register anything else before I slammed back into wakefulness. My eyes flew open and I pushed myself shakingly to sitting in Rafe's bed. I felt his arm fall away from my waist as I did so and his deep-sleeping breaths quieted. 

Desire still thrummed through me, but it was submerged under the flood of self-disgust and shame that was quick to overwhelm everything else. I felt filthy, violated, and it was worse this time because I had been a willing party to what happened. It had been in my own head! Where I was supposed to have some degree of influence. Where I was supposed to be in control. I hurriedly pressed my hand to my mouth to muffle the strangled noises trying to escape. Silent tears made tracks down my cheeks. 

My efforts to keep quiet proved useless though and I felt Rafe sit up behind me. He placed a large hand on my back, rubbing up and down soothingly and I cringed at the contact. The shame was so intense that I felt nauseated. This kindness from the man I so loved just made it even worse because I was certain I didn't deserve it, especially not after waking from a goddamn wet dream involving my attacker. God, I was so fucked up. 

Rafe didn't say anything, and after a few minutes, I relaxed into his wordless comfort and my tears stemmed to a trickle, then stopped. I thought about lying down again, but I was terrified of falling back asleep where Cassian was almost certainly waiting in my nightmares. As I numbed a little to my disgust and guilt, I was also increasingly aware that my body was still quite aroused. 

What was I supposed to do though? Get myself off and hope that Cassian didn't make a reappearance in my thoughts? Try to ignore it until it went away? Shut myself off from everything and everyone until I didn't feel anything at all? The prospect of a life of that kind of self-imposed exile from the people and things I had grown to appreciate and rely upon, removal of the even the appreciation itself held a different sort of horror. What kind of life was that anyway? 

No. 

That wasn't acceptable. I was tired of giving Cassian that kind of power. My subconsciousness might have been under his sway while I was working through my trauma, but I could choose where I put my attention in my waking hours. I could choose how I lived with the hard things that had happened. And I chose Rafe. 

I wiped my face and took a deep breath then turned to him. I couldn't see his eye color in the dark, but I could tell that he was watching me. I reached for him and he took me into his arms, though I could tell he was surprised. He didn't say anything until I kissed him. 

"Whoa, whoa," he murmured against my lips. He felt hot and soft from sleep, and the brief touch of our lips was enough to set my body tingling with anticipated pleasure. One of his hands cupped my face as he leaned back enough to study me. "What're you doing?" 

I leaned into him as much as he would allow and swallowed. "I..." 

Sudden doubt flowered in my throat. What if he didn't want me anymore, now that I was, well, damaged? 

He saw my anxiety and gave my forehead a quick kiss. "Don't get me wrong, baby, I can't tell you how good it is to... I'm just surprised." He cleared his throat. "And, I won't lie, it sort of puts me in an iffy position." 

"What do you mean?" I tried and failed to keep my voice casual. 

Rafe looked me in the eye somberly. "I can't pretend to understand what must be going through your head, but the last thing I want is for us to start into something before you're ready and have you regret it." 

My stomach fluttered and a smile escaped. I didn't want him to think I was making fun, but my relief was impossible to contain. I twisted two of my fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck and rested my forehead against his. 

"Rafe, it's for exactly that reason that I want to be with you. I'm tired of wasting time feeling sorry for myself, or letting... him spoil what you and I have together." I nuzzled my nose against his cheek, feeling the sandpaper roughness of his 5 o'clock shadow. 

"I know I'm still going to have times that are difficult, but I want you. Can't that be enough for now?" 

I felt his body relax, and it was answer enough when he angled my face back to kiss me deeply. I shivered and melted against him, my mouth opening to allow our tongues to slide tantalizingly against each other. Without breaking the kiss, Rafe pulled me to straddle his lap. I wrapped myself around him as close as I could and rocked my hips against the lengthening column hidden under his clothes. The seam of my jeans placed extra pressure on my clit and I could tell by how slippery the sensation was that I was very wet already. 

I wanted him inside me, but first, I had something else in mind. Leaning back again, I pulled my sweater and turtleneck over my head and only paused slightly when realizing that the bite mark on my neck would be visible. 

Forget about it, I commanded myself. Just be here, with Rafe. 

He caught onto my intentions quickly, and tugged his t-shirt off while I unfastened my bra. His eyes zeroed-in on my breasts hungrily as they came into view, my nipples hardening in the cool air of the room. I splayed my fingers across his chest and pushed firmly until he laid down on his back. Before he could grab me, I shimmied down his legs until my butt rested lightly on his shins and I struggled with the button on his pants. 

Rafe gave a surprised huff of a laugh and brushed away my fumblings with his large fingers. He assisted me by raising his hips so that I could catch the waistband for his jeans and underwear and pull them both off at once. His amazing cock sprang free, fully erect and proud. 

I hesitated. I knew what I wanted to do, had read about it, thought about it, but now that I was here, I wasn't quite sure how to begin. Rafe waited for me, his chest rising and falling with disciplined breaths until I swallowed and reached out to wrap my fingers around his hot length, though they didn't quite meet, due to his girth. 

The way the satiny skin on his shaft slid a bit over the underlying hardness fascinated me. Veins created a subtle topography that gave slightly under my fingers and seemed as good a place as any to start. Tentatively at first, I leaned over and stuck out my tongue, tasting the most prominent vein on the underside of his cock. His dick jumped in my hand, startling me, but as soon as I heard the appreciative grunt from Rafe, I knew it was okay and went back to licking more confidently. 

I soon moved up to the ridge separating the head from the shaft and his muscles jumped again, his stomach flexing under my left hand. I enjoyed how the springy flesh yielded slightly under my tongue and experimented by switching back and forth between the two different textures. 

When my curiosity was satisfied, I decided it was time to move to the next step and inhaled deeply, catching his musty scent. I opened my jaw wide and cautiously took the head of him inside, enjoying how his steady breaths hitched at feeling my hot mouth around him. Rafe let out a groan when I wriggled my tongue against him and if my lips weren't opened so wide, I would have smiled. Pulling back for a second to take another deep breath and swallow, I went back down again, this time taking in some of the shaft. 

It didn't take long for him to hit the back of my throat. I gagged and backed off to recover, but wasn't about to a little reflexive spasm deter me. This time, I made a conscious effort to relax and was rewarded when I felt him slide into the top of my gullet and heard him moan, "Fuck, Selene, that's good..." 

Using my hand as an extension of my mouth, I let some of the saliva that had been gathering lubricate my fist, and began a gentle pumping, twisting motion. At the same time, I began bobbing my head up and down, taking him as far as I could into my mouth. Sometimes, when I timed it right and relaxed enough, I felt him squeeze into my tight throat and my pussy grew even wetter when I heard the low sounds of pleasure issuing from his chest. 

His hips started thrusting his cock insistently into my mouth, and I could see from the corner of my eye that his hands were fisted in the covers to keep from grabbing my head to push me down even further. I heard his breathing grow faster, and thought I could even feel his pulse quickening under my tongue on his dick. 

"Baby, I'm gonna cum soon," he grunted. 

I thrilled to hear it, but sat back up and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I was being selfish, but I wasn't ready for him to cum yet. I needed him inside me first. At the look of indignant protest that he gave me, I couldn't help but let out a short laugh. 

"Next time," I promised, sliding back up his body to lay my chest on his. My breasts pressed against his hot skin and I shivered; his cock, still wet with my saliva pulsed against my abdomen. 

Unable to contain himself any longer, Rafe cupped my face and drew me to his mouth for a searing kiss. He kept hold of me as he rolled us onto our sides, and only released me to go after the button on my jeans with a growl of need. I shimmied out of my pants and underwear with his aid, feeling the wet trail of the gusset on my panties smear along the inside of my thigh before the whole mess was kicked away impatiently. 

Rafe pulled me to him again so that the length of my body was tucked flush against his fever-hot skin. We devoured each other urgently, tongues tangling, teeth nipping, until we were both breathless and he shifted his attention to showering the rest of my face with kisses. 

I giggled and sighed when he went after my ear, burying his nose in the hollow right behind the lobe. My back arched my breasts into him when he licked the sensitive skin there, but when his lips traveled lower, to my neck, I suddenly stiffened in knee-jerk, visceral terror. 

Rafe stopped immediately and put his palm carefully to the side of my face to look me in the eyes. "Hey. Hey now. I'm sorry. What did I do?" 

I was trembling and my heart beat too fast but I made myself breathe slowly through my nose, chanting in my head, It's not him, it's not him, it's not him... I'm safe here. I'm safe. 

"It's okay," I told him after a minute. The unwitting fear was subsiding and my shaking was easing up also. I reached for the desire that was still humming under my skin and continued. "I want to keep going. I'm okay." 

Rafe's concerned eyes glimmered at me through the darkness. "You're sure?" 

"Yes." I nodded. "Just... don't touch my neck, please." 

He brushed some of my hair away from my forehead and kissed me there. "You got it." 

It took us both a couple of minutes to pick up where we'd left off before my interruption, but I was extra-determined to show him that I wanted this and used both my hands on his length to get him back to full hardness. It wasn't long before he began thrusting into my loose fists and I knew he was ready. 

Sliding my smooth leg up along his muscular one, I let my knee rest on his hip, exposing my dripping pussy to the air. I shifted closer and used my grip on his cock to rub the head of him along my wet slit. Rafe watched me intently but let me dictate what happened, his eyes burning as I twitched in pleasure each time that I dragged his dick over my swollen nub. When I couldn't take it anymore, I lined him up with my eager hole and wiggled back down while he rocked his hips forward, his hardness sinking slowly inside of me. Rafe groaned, and I hummed in pleasure. 

It had been so long since we'd last been connected like this. My willing channel struggled to stretch enough to accommodate him, out of practice, but it was made easier by how wet I was, and our pace was unhurried. One of his arms bent under my head, pillowing it, while his other hand tickled down my side until he reached my ass. His strong fingers gently kneaded the flesh and drew my hips closer so that he could be planted even more securely inside of me. 

Rafe rolled his hips forward and I whimpered as my clit was pressed firmly against his pelvis. He started a steady rocking, his cock pumping deep inside. My hands fisted against the muscles of his chest and back and I curled my leg around him tighter, opening myself further to his body. My breathy moan was swallowed by his mouth as our lips found each other again. 

This position didn't allow for the long thrusts of our previous sessions, but was more than made up for by the dizzying pressure his cock placed on that deepest part of my channel. It soon had my head spinning and my throat issuing little whimpering mewls of rapture. I felt his hand splay against the small of my back as he rolled his hips into me, and the combination of the deep internal stimulation and the friction on my clit made my whole body clench and shudder. 

In response, Rafe kissed me soft and slow, adding to the heady bliss that was washing over me. I matched his pace by undulating my hips against him, actively fucking myself in slight, delicious motions on the cock that he had planted so firmly inside of me. I could tell by how his heart thumped faster against my chest and from his characteristic growl of appreciation that he was loving this every bit as much as I was. 

My first orgasm swept over me almost before I knew what was happening, a sharp, sweet crest that sent gently electric tingles from my crown to my toes. Rafe held me while I came, and in its wake I was left even more sensitive than before, my skin tight and quivering. 

He gave me a span of ten breaths to recover, then started again. The sensation was almost too much, and I cried out, clutching at him desperately. Rafe's lips moved to my cheek, brushing against me hotly, but he didn't stop. He pumped into me with unremitting tenderness, fitting himself to me so completely that I wasn't sure where I ended and he began. 

I was surreally conscious of the contradiction of how my remaining inhibitions were unraveling, dissolving under the tide of ecstasy that Rafe was wringing from me with every thrust of his tool, even while the delicious tension of another, greater climax was coiling deep in my belly. I reached up to twist my fingers in his thick hair, my palm scraping against the stubble at the corner of his jaw, securing him for a ravenous kiss that stole his breath. 

"Selene," he panted against my lips, "My girl..." 

The sweetness of his voice shivered through every part of me, making my inner walls flutter and my heart pound. I matched him thrust for slippery thrust, feeling the acute pleasure of every millimeter of his flesh rubbing inside and against mine. I loved him so much I could feel it swelling it in my chest, so vast I thought I might fly apart. I knew it was a futile effort, but I had to try to show him at least part of how he made me feel, to transcribe my heart into my touch on his face, his chest, or my kiss that mated our tongues together in a luxurious tango. 




Moonshadows Ch. 08



At his moan, I knew that Rafe was getting close. But then again, so was I. His fingers curled fractionally against my sweaty back, shaking as he held back from gripping me in passionate abandon. His unspoken admission of need set me on fire, and in response, I ground myself against the base of him, pressing my breasts into his straining chest, working my molten tightness on his length. He gritted his teeth and groaned against the side of my face, clinging to control by a hair. 

"A-almost," I whimpered, "I'm almost..." 

In a move that showed the crumbling wall around his passion, Rafe grabbed the knee that rested over his hip, using it to pull me onto him as far as possible, even while his mouth dipped to suckle at the skin at the sensitive corner of my jaw. I tensed at the surge of feeling and the extra tightness of my pussy was enough to send me over the edge with a keening wail. Light exploded behind my closed eyelids while my thoughts scattered before the detonation of pleasure that left me trembling and so incoherent that I only dimly realized Rafe was right behind me. He growled as he emptied himself hotly inside me, clutching me to him as closely as possible. 

I lay like jelly in his arms for about a minute while we gulped for air together, shaking in the afterglow, until I was overtaken by another swell of love for the man who held me so protectively, like I was the most precious thing he had ever seen. I was totally incapable of stopping the happy tears that welled and spilled over the bridge of my nose, but I didn't want him to misunderstand and so hastily angled my face back to his to kiss him as warmly as I knew how. 

I could sense his concern, changing to confusion as he kissed me back with gentle care. "Sweetheart?" He murmured. 

"Thank you, Rafe," I managed, smiling through my unstoppable emotional overload. "Thank you." 

From what I could see of his expression, he was totally lost, but I guess my relieved tone was enough to reassure him to quit while he was ahead and he kissed my forehead before wrapping me more securely in his embrace. "You never need to thank me for that, Baby. It's a gift you give me every time." 

I snuggled deeper into his arms, inhaling the potent smells of sweat, sex and my own amazing man. Whatever had happened, whatever was still ahead, this was worth it. This was worth almost anything, and I knew that I had made the right choice in letting him back in. 

Rafe seemed to have no problem falling back asleep, but for once, I lay awake for the rest of the night, watching the shadows cast by the waxing moon as they played over the room and his sleeping features until they were softened and replaced by the warm colors of dawn. As a result, I was awake to greet him with a kiss when he opened his golden eyes shortly after the sun had completely risen. He returned my gesture with a deepening kiss of his own and eased me back into the covers to make love to me again with such attentive care that I ached. 

We came together again, or near enough, then slipped hand in hand to the shower to wash and prepare for the day ahead. 

"Come on," he said once we were dressed. I had only my same clothes from yesterday, but I left off the extra layer of the sweater and still felt more at ease than I ever would have imagined possible only the day before. Rafe kissed my cheek, his freshly-shaven chin smooth against my face. "I'll make you breakfast this time." 

"Oh yeah? What's on the menu?" I asked with a small smile. 

"Hmm," he pondered and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we walked down the hall of his house. The floor creaked pleasantly under our footsteps. "I hope you like pop-tarts." 

I felt a tiny laugh, unexpected, surprising even to me, burble from my throat. The answering grin from Rafe lifted me further so that it was with a quiet humor that I nudged him. "Better than nothing, I guess." 

He paused then, and watched me with something I thought might be close to amazement before swooping suddenly to plant a kiss on my temple. I got the sense that his next words were about a lot more than breakfast when he agreed, "Yes. So much better." 

Feeling about ten-thousand pounds lighter, the two of us went downstairs to get our breakfast of champions and see what the day would bring.



Moonshadows



I went over to the mirror on the inside of my wardrobe door with a brush to work on my hair before it dried in a tangled mess. Looking at my reflection, I found myself wondering what Rafe could have possibly found interesting about me. I saw only shoulder-length brown hair, and large, pale grey eyes that were probably too-often cast down to my feet. My fair skin was clear and smooth, and I didn't wear any makeup, but a lot of girls have great skin, so nothing terribly special there. I looked at my mouth closely for a second. It's a nice shape, not exactly pouty, but my lips are kind of naturally rosy and curve up a little bit at the edges even when I'm not smiling. Then I looked away and sighed. A nice mouth, but not enough by itself to merit attention from a guy like Rafe. 

I dragged the brush quickly through my drying hair. I just didn't get it. I mean, I knew I wasn't ugly or anything, but I certainly wasn't beautiful either. I couldn't be. Beautiful people are, I don't know... Noticed. And you don't get much more invisible than me. Maybe he just felt sorry for me or something.

Finished with my hair, I closed the wardrobe door and returned the brush to its shelf-home. I went and lay down on my bed, figuring I'd rest for a few minutes until Cara let me know dinner was ready. It felt nice to stretch out and all my skin felt soft and sensitive and clean, as if I'd just taken a long shower. My thick comforter cradled me in its warm expanse as I sank into it.

I couldn't get Rafe out of my head.

My hand slowly drifted down my belly, seemingly of its own accord. Rafe's intense, golden eyes filled my mind and my hand dipped even lower. Slowly, slowly, my fingers started massaging my pussy through the material of my pants and my underwear, and my eyes sank closed as I imagined it was Rafe's hand making the circular motions around my clit. A soft sigh left me as I teased myself with one brief touch to the sensitive button that was already beginning to swell with arousal. The cloth of my panties had just the right texture to scrape against it gently, making prickly swirls of pleasure spark the heat that grew between my legs. 

I rubbed a little harder and I felt a little wetness soaking through my panties. Biting my lip to silence a moan, my hips bucked and my thighs came together to trap my hand between them. I could hardly believe how hot I was so suddenly. Images, fantasies of Rafe's long body hovering over mine, of his hips pushing my legs apart again so he could lie between them, made my head tip back and my fingers rub even harder, practically grinding the fabric onto my clit. 

Breathing hard, I made myself slow down. I pried my legs apart with a mental effort, and slipped my hand under the waistbands of both pants and underwear. Shivers raced up and down my body as I delicately scraped my nail against the bare flesh of my clitoris. As I panted, I slid my middle finger along the length of my slit, coating it in the abundance of freely-flowing juices there. I had to stifle another moan when I traced the silky opening of my vagina, my mind's eye seeing Rafe's finger there instead of mine. My other hand came up to squeeze my breast, then pinch and pull on the nipple. Wanting more freedom, I quickly pulled the hem of my tanktop above my breasts and the cool air of my room brushed over the already hardened tips. I lost no time in getting back to rolling the sensitive buds between my fingers. I switched from one breast to the other, even as the finger of my other hand kept deliberately circling the outside of my dripping hole. 

Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer. With one swift motion, I pushed my finger inside to the knuckle. I couldn't completely silence the half-gasp, half whimper that escaped me as I felt it sliding along my inner walls, gently stretching me. I could feel the edges of my cherry protesting the invasion of even my slim digit, but the little splinters of pain only added to my excitement. I pumped my finger slowly in and out while the base of my palm ground against my neglected clit at the same rhythm. 

An unrelenting tension was building low in my belly, and my hands started working faster as my urgency grew. My nipple shot bolts of pleasure to my core as my hand tugged and pinched furiously, and my clit felt like it was afire with my palm mashing it roughly, wringing delicious ecstasy from the tormented nerves. A shred of caution kept me from finger-fucking myself so recklessly that I'd tear my hymen completely, but I pumped in and out of myself as fast as I dared, always with the heel of my palm grinding against my clit. 

I knew I was moaning now and all I could do was let go of my nipple and try to muffle my wanton sounds in the crook of my elbow, my eyes squeezed shut and my head tossing from side to side as I felt the agonizing, blissful tension rising almost beyond endurance. Then I pushed inside one more time, the image of Rafe's face hung in front of me with his gold eyes boring into my center, and my mind went blank. My whole body tightened, my back arching my breasts high into the air and all passion and sensation surged to a dark knot of rapture in my belly before it exploded out violently. The concussion of pleasure burned outward through my limbs before, just as suddenly, it rushed back in. Thought returned to register the sensation of my pussy clutching my finger in rippling spasms, and the electric aftershocks of fire trickling up and down my veins. 

For about five minutes, I could only lay on my bed and pant. I felt completely drained by the force of the most intense orgasm I had ever had. It was an effort to merely move my arm off my face and drag my shirt down over my breasts again. I pulled my other hand from underneath my pants, but it seemed like too much work to get up and wash them off, so instead I merely rolled onto my side and stuffed a pillow under my head. Both my body and my mind welcomed the thought of sleep. Cara would just have to live with me missing dinner. It had been a long day...

But sleep, apparently, was not to be, because a few seconds later, my phone started ringing. Groaning, I cracked one eye open and looked at my clock. It was only 7:34, and a perfectly reasonable time to be calling, but I glared at the phone on my desk anyway. There was no way I was getting up to answer it. 

I closed my eye again as the ringing stopped and the recording of my voice told the caller to leave a message. 

"Um, hi, Selene."

My eyes shot open.

"This is Rafe. I know you probably didn't think I'd get back to you so fast about that lunch thing, but, uh, what can I say? I guess I really–"

"Rafe? Hi!" I had snatched up the phone and now stood leaning against my desk, rubbing my knee where I had smacked it against against the swivel chair in my ungraceful scramble to get to the phone in time. "Sorry, I was just lying down for a second when you called..."

"Did I wake you?"

"No, no. I wasn't sleeping." I blushed furiously and thanked every force I could think of that he couldn't see it.

"Ah. That's good." He paused for a second and there was silence as I tried to think of something smooth to say. "Anyway, about lunch," he resumed. "How does tomorrow sound?"

"That sounds great!" I said before thinking about it. Then I remembered and my heart sank. "No, wait... Actually, I can't tomorrow."

"Oh. Can I ask why not?" He sounded disappointed.

"I have work. Well, from noon to nine, anyway."

"In that case, why not breakfast? I'm not much of a morning person, but for this, I would make an exception."

I felt a flutter of excitement in my stomach, and a heat rising further south. Just hearing his voice was making me hot again. I resisted the urge to touch my still-wet pussy, distracting myself with the knowledge that I wasn't deluding myself about him after all; he was really, truly trying to see me again. I could have yelled with joy, but that would have been too mortifying to bear, so instead I tried to say calmly, "Breakfast would be perfect. Where do you want to go? And what time works for you?"

He laughed and I swear that sound almost made me cum right there. I pressed my lips together fiercely to keep from moaning. "Like I said, I'm not a real morning person, so I don't know places in terms of breakfast food. Where do you want to go?"

Making myself take even breaths, I recommended a couple cafes, and shortly after that we settled on one, and the time we would meet there. He started to say something else, but was interrupted by some sort of commotion in the background that sounded like the snarling and growling of dogs. He swore under his breath then said, "Sorry. I have to go. But I'll see you tomorrow morning, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for anything." I told him honestly.

"Me neither." The smile was in his tone again. "See you then, Selene."

"Bye."

"Bye." I waited until he hung up to switch off my own phone and set it back in its cradle. Ripples of urgency washed up and down my body. I very suddenly, and very badly needed release. 

Dropping into my chair, I put one foot up on the desk and started rubbing my clit again through the damp crotch of my pants. I worked in a frenzy, with none of the patience or teasing from before. Hearing his voice had turned me on to past the point of return. Fire was rising in me with a harsh and impatient pleasure that grew with each scrape of the fabric against my clit. I imagined him fucking me, and fucking me hard. Pushing into me, taking me, until I came again in a wonderful wash of heat. Breathing hard, I let my hand fall away. 

Wow...

Two orgasms in one night. The second one hadn't reached the same mind-blowing heights as my first of the evening, but it still topped most of the others in my experience. Not that I had much of that. Masturbating at all was usual for me, and I'd never before fantasied about an actual person while doing it. I couldn't seem to help myself when it came to Rafe, though. I was amazed and a little confused by the reaction my body was having to him. It was unlike me, but even so, I could hardly wait until our date tomorrow so that I could see him again.

Our date... Oh, God!

I jumped out of my chair and flew across my room, throwing open the door and rushing down the hall. 

"Cara!"

Her head appeared around the edge of the door frame. "What? What is it?"

"He just called me! We're having breakfast tomorrow morning!"

"YES!" She yelled, and as I ran the rest of the way into the kitchen we clasped wrists and danced around the little room, grinning and laughing. I felt so happy I wanted to do something crazy. Sing to the moon, dance butt-naked in the rain. I didn't even let myself worry about the mistakes I would inevitably make tomorrow, or wonder again why Rafe would ever be interested in someone as boring as me. Because right then it didn't matter. Tomorrow was full of promise.

Vaguely, through our joyful laughter, I thought I heard the triumphant howl of a wolf in the distance.