CarnalMoon Read online

  A straight nose, full lips and high cheek bones were enhanced by her yellowish-brown eyes, which peered back from a gamine face with long matted hair the color of cinnamon.

  With her all-over natural golden glow that showcased her long legs, slim waist and decent-sized breasts, she decided with a modest grin that she could probably grace the cover of any glossy magazine.

  Had the werewolf appreciated the view from behind?

  She jerked away from the mirror before sliding open the pearl-glazed shower screen and twisting on the shower taps. Genetics ensured werewolves inherited drop-dead-gorgeous features. She was probably nothing special in the bigger scheme of things. She only hoped Ricky continued to think otherwise!

  She stepped under the hot spray, shampooing the mud out of her hair before attending to the rest of her body. She flinched as she ran a lilac-scented bar of soap over her body. Every bit of her was sore, bruised and aching. But she was determined to wipe away every scent of her transgression.

  “Mmm. You look good enough to eat.”

  Ricky’s voice washed over her like hot butter drizzled over popcorn, and she closed her eyes, reveling in his husky drawl even while feeling like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

  “I’m really tired.” She didn’t lie. But she would have gladly fallen into his arms and let him have his wicked way with her if it wasn’t for the guilt that soured in her gut.

  I really do love him. Her heart lurched, the truth hitting her where it hurt most.

  “Oh?” He stepped into the shower behind her. Sliding the door closed, his head swept low, his mouth close to her ear while his erection pressed above the dimples of her ass. “Then perhaps you should come home earlier?”

  “Perhaps.” Despite herself, she leaned against him. Pleasure skittered down her spine as his well-practiced hands roamed her body and perused her erogenous zones. Her breath hissed when his hands lifted to pluck her breasts, thumb and forefingers rolling her nipples and tweaking nerve-endings deep inside her belly.

  “Are you awake now?” he asked thickly, a hint of wry amusement in his voice.

  “Mmm. Yes.”

  Steam billowed as he strummed her breasts then planted kisses along the sensitive line of her throat. “Then tell me you want me.”

  She swallowed hard. Sweet heavens, did he want her to beg? A gasp tore from her throat when his hands dropped between her thighs, blunt-ended fingers trailing suggestively close. “I…want…you.”

  He paused. “Only me?”

  Dear Lord. He knows.

  Chapter Two

  No, Impossible. More likely he suspected she was having an affair with another student, or worse, a professor. The absurd thought almost made her giggle. If it wasn’t for her beast instincts, she’d not even look at another guy.

  Ricky possessed a sharp wit and intelligence that went hand in hand with inherent charm and kindness. Though his warmth belied an underlying savagery, which she guessed few people detected but were subconsciously drawn to.

  He stood six-foot-three, with the lean, whip-cord muscles of an athlete and slate-gray eyes with sooty long lashes that any girl would envy, along with a sensual, full-lipped mouth. Well, what side of crazy would a girl be to stray?

  Thoughts dissolved as heat coiled deep within. His hands slipped between her thighs and parted the folds of her pussy, a finger sinking deep.

  She tucked her head against his shoulder and whimpered with need. When his finger slid out then plunged back in, she sagged against him fully and closed her eyes while lifting her face to the cascade of water that enclosed them in another world.

  God, she adored him. Why couldn’t she be just like everyone else? Faithful to the man she loved? She grimaced. In her opinion, many humans lacked true commitment to their partners.

  She groaned as his finger continued to work in and out of her greedy cunt while another strummed the tender flesh of her aching clit.

  Sensations built until Ricky paused, the rasp of his jaw prickling her shoulder, his sharp breath, which betrayed his desire, tickling her ear.

  “Say it,” he said hoarsely.

  Damn him! She’d fall to pieces if he didn’t take her now. “You’rethe only…” The only mortal? His finger half-circled her sensitized clit. She swallowed convulsively. “One I want,” she finished hoarsely. Shit. Had he heard the remorse in her voice, or had he been too consumed by her shameless lust?

  He resumed play, his deft fingers working their magic and catching her between dizzying relief and burning arousal. “Are you sure about that?” he queried thickly.

  Yes. No.

  “Convince me,” she said, then gasped when he stroked deeper, kneaded harder. A climax hit her hard, squeezing her womb and contracting every muscle in her body as sensations skyrocketed, peaked then ebbed.

  When the delicious aftershocks subsided, he released her and turned her pliant body around to face him. “I think sometimes you forget that I’m a lawyer,” he rasped, his expression fierce. “And that I spend all my time winning people over.”

  With that, his mouth captured hers in a hard, possessive kiss that lasted an eternity and yet ended all too soon. When his lips broke contact, she sucked a breath into oxygen-starved lungs and reeled back.

  Wow. He’d never taken so much from her. Had never aroused her to this extreme. Never owned her.

  His eyes glinted when he stepped close, his fingers encircling her waist. He lifted her high, and she sighed surrender and twined a hold around his nape as her shoulder blades and the small of her back pressed against the tiled wall.

  She wrapped her legs around his hips. Her gaze locked with his, even as he lowered her part-way down, his cock prodding her slick entrance.

  “And I’m very good at what I do,” he added softly, his stare intense, unwavering—until he dropped her onto his shaft and filled her all the way.

  Oh my. She grasped his shoulders, her head lolling to the side as he withdrew then filled her again and again. He looked fierce as he surged hard and deep, the pace relentless and unyielding, building heat within until she thought she’d combust.

  This wasn’t the gentleman she knew. This was rough and ready and hot, at its most elemental. And she relished it.

  She came, crying out loud and long, while the orgasm ripped through her body in a series of white-hot bolts. Ricky’s eyes went bright, then glazed over as he bellowed rapture seconds later, his body shuddering into hers.

  Water cascaded over them for some minutes as she slumped against him. He reached out a languid hand to turn off the taps and then pressed a kiss on her downturned head that sent tingles from her scalp to her toes.

  She snuggled close, breathing in the faint musk of sex on his skin that mingled with exertion and the ever-present, inherent scent of the outdoors.

  Still joined, he carried her into the bedroom. Drenched and exhausted, they collapsed onto the bed in a tangle of arms, legs and sheets.

  As the morning light chased the shadows from the room, Holly’s eyes drifted closed, her mouth curving into a half-smile.

  * * * * *

  Not a sound disturbed the lonely air of the house as she slowly woke.

  She rolled over. Ricky had long gone. His scent was vague on the indented pillow, the bottom sheet rumpled and still damp from their shower.

  Her eyes flicked open to the subdued light of late afternoon where fingers of pale yellow warmed the floorboards. In the open window, the net curtains rose and fell with the faint breeze.

  Dinner smells from the neighborhood assaulted the air—pot roasts, steak and onion, casseroles and fried chicken. Her stomach roiled and dipped, reminding her just how starved she was.

  Her inner lycan needed to hunt.

  She scrambled from the bed on legs like rubber, and as dizziness assailed her, she grabbed hold of the bed post and waited for it to pass.

  Coupling with a werewolf did that to a girl, and twenty-four hours of rejuvenating sleep was not uncommon afterward.

>   Holly grimaced, flexing her sore muscles even as she wondered how many of her kind had lost their careers whilst sleeping one too many days away.

  Her belly gurgled again, prompting her to hurry. She couldn’t stomach human food. Not yet. Her digestive system was on the rampage and wouldn’t slow until the full moon waned into crescent.

  Sex was no longer paramount. But the instinctive need to hunt and kill was.

  She found a note propped on the toilet seat and smiled. He’d known she’d not miss it there. She read it aloud. “We need to talk.” Her smile faded. “I have to go out for a while, but I’ll be back shortly. Love, Ricky.”

  Shit. But she couldn’t think about it now. Time was of the essence.

  After pulling a brush through her tangled hair, she slipped into underwear and tugged on jeans before pushing her arms through the sleeves of an olive-green shirt.

  It was twilight when she strode outside, bypassing her car and heading toward an abandoned, overgrown industrial block just five minutes’ walk away.

  She stripped off her clothes the moment she stepped into the scrubby lot, taking advantage of the thick blanket of cloud roiling overhead, blocking the moon rising on the far horizon and ensuring an inky-black night sky. Even with the moon cloaked and invisible, she could instigate her change, blocking her human senses to focus on lycan.

  Her teeth gritted as pain sharpened, imploded then retreated. Razor canines pushed forward even as she dropped onto all fours and lifted her snout into the air, testing the breeze and ensuring no human was in the vicinity.

  Unlikely. Few mortals would be out at night in the scrub, especially without the benefit of moonlight.

  Her skin prickled beneath her thick beige fur as a rush of smells filled her nostrils and teased her senses—wallaby, possum, fox, rabbit and hare.

  Stagnant drains, sharp eucalyptus and residual smog overlaid the native and feral smorgasbord. She turned her head and sniffed upwind as a whiff of something indefinable snagged her attention for a fleeting moment and then passed.

  She whined as a shiver snaked along her spine. Only when hunger overrode all else did she trot forward, following a trail which ran parallel to a sagging chain fence.

  The prey, a large hare, abruptly darted out from its hiding place amongst a thick clump of yellowed grasses and bounded ahead.

  Adrenaline kicked in. Aside from strength, speed was a wolf’s most important skill. She shot forward, at full stretch through thick tufts of grass, over stunted saplings, lengths of tarnished steel and rusting machinery parts. Branches whipped her face and insects and dirt kicked up from the prey’s hind legs sprayed her face.

  Blood pounded through her veins, her tongue lolling as she gasped for air, her brain wholly focused on the prize—until a brown-black shape—another werewolf—came out from nowhere.

  He bounded in front of her, snaffling the hare away, mere inches from her reach. She immediately recognized him from the night before but whatever bond they’d shared dissipated at once.

  Yes, sex was needed to ensure future generations. But without fresh meat, her life could very well be put in jeopardy. She snarled, ready to attack and kill for what was rightfully hers.

  He jigged away, threw the terrified hare into the air before snapping its neck as his jaws clamped a halt on its freefall back to earth.

  He dropped the prize between her front paws. His eyes glowed silver as he stepped back, surrendering the animal in a gesture of appeasement.

  Hackles high, she whined as her throat went tight and her belly constricted. Strings of drool spilled from her open mouth. Every bestial instinct demanded she forget about him and accept the meat. Devour it. She did. In less than a minute she’d pulled apart the creature and scarfed it down.

  The male sat on his haunches, saliva dribbling between his front paws.

  Replete from her meal, she licked her lips. Even as lycan she felt a little abashed by her greed. She trotted forward, her muzzle touching his as she breathed in his scent.

  What is he doing here, anyway?

  His eyes flared when she rumbled a warning. His lips pulled back into a wolf-like grin before he dropped onto his belly and rolled onto his back, playing submissive and acting anything but his aggressive self from the night before.

  Nice try, buddy.

  He was an alpha wolf. Big, strong and lethally fast. If she’d not met Ricky first, perhaps she would have been interested in another tryst. This time, a slow, leisurely exploration of each other in their human form.

  The male scampered back onto his paws, haunches high and head low with the underside of his nose flat to the ground. His arched tail swished side-to-side while his eyes beckoned.

  So he wants to play. She sprang forward, and surprised, he stumbled back. Ha! She had all the advantage this time. He was hungry and nutrient-depleted, while she was well-fed with energy to spare.

  Holly took off as the male regained his balance. But she knew the moment he bounded after her.

  Vitality fizzed through her veins, an aliveness that flooded her system at the sheer thrill of the chase. It was a feeling she would never experience while human. This was pure, unadulterated were.

  A graffiti-splattered brick wall that divided the industrial block from a housing development loomed ahead. She faked a right and then veered a sharp left.

  Too late. The male anticipated her move. Holly was aware of him right on her tail a moment before she heard him grunt as he launched into the air.

  She yelped when his weight slammed against her in a body tackle. She rolled, unhurt but pride dinted. Scrabbling to her paws, legs spread and head low, she waited.

  His wolf-like smile hadn’t diminished but there was a pull in the air, a sizzle that threatened to burst into something so very much hotter than she could douse.

  Lycan vision gave her a clarity that any human would envy as she watched the male grab a stick and shake it playfully to encourage her to come closer.

  She moved in but stayed just out of reach. His eyes glowed in the darkness, thick clouds billowing across the night sky as she slowly circled, her werewolf mind whirring and in conflict with subconscious human caution.

  An owl hooted somewhere high in the scattering of gum trees. A distant rev of a powerful car, motoring too fast down a suburban road, drowned out the cry of other wildlife.

  His ears flicked, registering the sounds, but his eyes never left hers, and the stick protruded temptingly from his razor-sharp teeth.

  To hell with it. A growl surged from the back of her throat as she minced forward and seized the other end. She bit deep, and when he immediately hauled her back in a were tug-of-war, she dug her paws in and pulled back with all her strength.

  She scrabbled for purchase as he tugged her inch by inch his way, the alpha showing his brute force even with the disadvantage of hunger.

  She abruptly let go and watched him reel backward, the stick still clutched in his jaws. She snorted out something close to a laugh and trotted forward. Snatching the prize from his maw, she whipped her head from side-to-side and loped away.

  Within seconds, he was beside her, his gait synchronized to hers and their breaths misting together as his snout captured the end of the splintered stub.

  This play wasn’t just a simple pleasure. Like most of her kind, Holly was a loner—until Ricky—and enjoying such uncharacteristic display of camaraderie forged an immediate bond, quite unlike the emotionless itch to mate.

  Her ruff stood high as his shoulder brushed hers, the friction generating even more fizz and spark between them.

  Holly knew it wouldn’t be long before sexual energy caused her to shift back to human. Even now her skin shivered in reaction, her bones loosening in preparation for the change and triggering an ache deep within the marrow.

  When the graffiti-decorated wall appeared again, she slowed to a trot. The male followed her lead, the tip of his arched tail brushing the hackles along his back.

  With a whimper, she dropped her end
of the stick and lurched away. Her shift was coming, like it or not. With no time to react, her change to woman happened almost before it had begun.

  Rain drizzled like mist, goose bumping her bare skin. Her muscles stretched and adjusted to the extreme change as she moved from a crouch into an upright position.

  Her vision quickly dimmed, and she strained to find the male. Night sounds became muted, her human faculties already upon her.

  But her awareness of him remained. She felt him near, sensed his approach as a man long before she heard the soft footfall of his bare feet in the velvet darkness.

  He didn’t say a word, didn’t need to. Desire brought them together like a magnetic charge. A force field which neither could contain.

  His hands pushed aside her damp hair, his silhouette nothing more than a dark shadow as he bent low and kissed her throat. She arched her back, her pulse pounding and blood thrumming while her skin burned beneath his silken lips, the abrasive line of his jaw sending tingles down her spine.

  They’d been lovers for only one night and yet there was an aching familiarity to his touch, a completeness that made her want to linger, yearn for more.

  She sucked in a breath when his head dipped and darts of pleasure raced through her veins as his tongue and mouth played first with one breast then the other.

  But it was only after he hunkered low, his outspread hands easing her inner thighs wide before his wicked mouth tasted the sensitive flesh of woman, that she lost her mind.

  With a sharp gasp, she crumpled against the nearby trunk of a large tree. The pull of his mouth on her sensitized clit shot waves of delight through every nerve center she had, detonating the inferno within.

  Sweat broke out on her brow as he suckled, her thighs going weaker still as her womb contracted hard. Her hands blindly clutched at the trunk behind her as she whimpered, a fierce climax taking away all breath.

  Bright illumination suddenly washed over them. A security light, set atop a veranda rafter of a high, cedar home, which flanked the boundary fence.

  They broke apart. Holly somehow forced her legs to hold her while she shielded her eyes with one hand.