Blue Moon ns-1 Page 22

  "I see you, Will," I whispered against his mouth. "I’ve always seen you."

  He lifted his head and together we reached what we’d been searching for. At the moment of climax his eyes went intense, fierce. He thrust into me faster, harder, and I clenched around him, the waves of pleasure so intense I could do nothing but ride them and call his name.

  He didn’t collapse on top of me in a heap of satisfied male flesh. Instead he rolled to the side, taking me with him, keeping us joined through some acrobatic maneuver that would have been even more impressive if I could think.

  My hands free at last, I touched his cheek, his hair, and he nuzzled my palm. My heart did that nauseatingly slow flop toward my belly. Oh, boy, I had it bad.

  "I love you," he repeated and before I could force the words back where they belonged—a secret in my heart until it was safe to set them free—they popped out of my foolish mouth.

  "I love you, too."

  Chapter 35

  Will disentangled himself from me and jumped to his feet. Startled, I just lay on the floor, naked and alone. This wasn’t going at all as I’d imagined it might once I loved a man and he loved me back.

  Leaning down, Will scooped me into his arms and lifted. Then he strode toward the bedroom.

  "Hey! What the hell?"

  "I’m taking you to bed, Jessie. I want you again."

  That was mighty obvious from the steady poke I was getting in my backside.

  "What, are you a machine?" I asked.

  He laughed. "I just want to enthrall you sexually while I have the chance."

  "I think you have."

  He carried me as if I weighed no more than a child, and I knew that wasn’t true. I was not now nor have I ever been a small girl. I probably weighed as much as he did, or near enough.

  That he could sling me around like a sack of potatoes should have annoyed me. Instead, I found myself enchanted by his great big muscles and aroused by his Neanderthal tactics. Yep, I definitely had it bad.

  For a man who could be a werewolf.

  I figured the sex would be better in the bed, but it wasn’t. The sex was spectacular wherever we had it—in a bed, at the pond, on the floor.

  His fingers lazily played with my hair, then drifted across my spine. I lay facedown, arm hanging limply off the bed, legs all tangled with his. When I turned my head, he was so close his nose brushed mine.

  "Jessie?"

  We were still nose to nose, breath mingling, hips touching.

  "Will?"

  He smiled. "You hardly ever call me that."

  "Really?"

  "I think you called me Cadotte until about an hour ago."

  "It seems bad form to call a guy who’s making you scream by his last name."

  His smile faded; uncertainty flickered in his eyes.

  "Hey, what’s the matter?" I reached for him, but he was already moving away.

  "You aren’t with me for the sex, are you?"

  I sat up. "Are you that insecure?"

  "Yes."

  My eyebrows shot up. He’d never seemed insecure to me. He was beautiful, built, brilliant. What did he have to be insecure about? I asked him.

  "Do you know how many women have slept with me because of my face? Because I’m good in bed?"

  "Do I want to know?"

  His lips twitched, relieving some of the tension. "Probably not."

  "Then let’s leave them in the past where they belong. Don’t we have enough to worry about right now?"

  His gaze met mine. The uncertainty was gone, replaced by a wariness that made the hair on my forearms prickle. We had a helluva lot more to worry about tonight than old lovers.

  He nodded and opened his arms. "Come here."

  "Again?"

  "Got a problem with that?"

  I pretended to think. "Not really."

  I slid across the bed and kissed him. I didn’t want to stop; I didn’t want to think. There’d be time enough for that later. Maybe. Right now I only wanted to be with him, to feel the things only Will could make me feel.

  But as he moved inside of me, my treacherous mind went clickety-clack. The blue moon threatened. Tonight was the night when everything changed—or maybe everyone.

  What if Will was not only the love of my life but the monster I’d been searching for? What if he’d killed people? What if he’d eaten them? What if he was a power-hungry nutcase bent on ruling the world? What if… ?

  My body betrayed me, shutting down my mind, making me come apart in his arms. Love was wearing me out—and the sex wasn’t bad, either. I could no longer keep my eyes open.

  As I fell asleep with his cheek nuzzling my hair, the answer to my questions came to me with brilliant clarity. Whatever he was, I loved him. If he was cursed, I’d try to cure him. There must be a way. I only had to find it.

  I awoke to the twilight and an empty bed. I wasn’t worried; not at first. I actually believed he loved me.

  But as I wandered through my empty apartment and realized Will was gone and the moon was rising, uncertainty set in. I reached for the totem I’d been wearing around my neck for weeks, but it wasn’t there.

  My heart gave one painful, panicked thud before I remembered I’d taken it off as I always did when I went to bed. If I’d actually been wearing the thing, it would have strangled me during our energetic bedroom activities. Not to mention I’d have had to explain to Will that I’d had the thing all along.

  I went back into my room, crossed to the dresser, reached for the totem. My fingers came up empty.

  I dropped to my knees, crawled around the floor patting the carpet. Tore the room apart in a frenzy. But nothing changed what I knew in my gut.

  Will was gone, and so was the stone.

  Chapter 36

  I would have liked a shower, but I didn’t have the luxury. Instead, I threw on my uniform, retrieved my weapons, and was on my way out the door when the doorbell rang. Expecting Mandenauer, I could only stare stupidly at Clyde,

  "Where you goin‘ in such a hurry?"

  "Um. Uh."

  I should tell Clyde everything, but I was in a bit of a rush. Besides, he hated Will already. He’d be thrilled to shoot him with silver and say "whoops" later.

  "Mandenauer," I blurted. "T said I’d come over early."

  "I was just there, and I woke him up. Definitely a ‘don’t go away mad; just go away’ moment. Heartbreak Ridge was on last night. Not exactly Clint’s words, but near ‘nough. Mandenauer was going back to sleep. Since you’ve got hours yet before your shift, why don’t we have a little chat?"

  I glanced through my living room toward the window. I might have hours before my shift, but sundown was soon.

  It was then I saw my panties lying on the carpet in the middle of the room.

  Clyde sniffed, once, twice, and I turned to find him so close I leaped back.

  "What the hell?" I demanded, embarrassed, nervous, betrayed, and cranky.

  "I can smell him on you."

  I didn’t know what to say to that. Luckily I didn’t have to say anything, since Clyde kept talking.

  "Jesus, Jessie, I’d have thought you of all people would be able to resist a pretty face. Have you no pride?"

  Apparently not.

  "Clyde, I’ve got to go."

  "Where?"

  "None of your business."

  "When you’re wearing that uniform, everything you do is my business."

  I had a flash of what I’d been doing a few times in this uniform. Definitely not Clyde’s business. But I wasn’t going to tell him that. My cheeks heated in spite of myself.

  "I need to see Mandenauer," I repeated. "I’ll just have to wake him up."

  "Where’s Cadotte?"

  "Not here."

  I stepped into the hallway and Clyde had no choice but to move back; then I closed the door firmly behind me.

  "I want to talk to him."

  "Join the club." I started down the hall.

  "He sneak out on you?"

>   I turned. "Why are you so damned interested in Cadotte all of a sudden?"

  "I want to talk to him about the attempted murder of Edward Mandenauer."

  "Have you lost your mind?"

  "Have you?"

  "What possible reason could Will have to shoot Man-denauer? He barely knows the man."

  "Mandenauer and I had quite a chat when I stopped into the clinic earlier. I hear he was shot with a crossbow."

  "And?"

  "Cadotte has a crossbow."

  "So does every old man between here and Minoqua. That doesn’t make him guilty." I turned and headed down the hall. "He’s got no motive."

  Trust Clyde to fuck that up.

  "Wouldn’t a werewolf want to kill the wolf hunter?"

  I froze. "A what?"

  "Come off it, Jessie. Mandenauer told me everything."

  Slowly I faced him. "And you believed him?"

  He shrugged. "I was raised Ojibwe. Just because I’ve had to play that down to get where I am doesn’t mean I don’t believe in the legends. I’ve seen things…" He shook his head. "Let’s just say werewolves are the least of them."

  I couldn’t quite get my mind around the fact that my boss believed in the unbelievable. Had everyone gone over to the dark side?

  I set my rifle against the wall. The weapon was getting too heavy to cart up and down the hallway. "So you know about the blue moon? The werewolf army? The wolf god?"

  "Everything." He held out his hand. "Why don’t you give me that totem for safekeeping?"

  I stared at his palm, then lifted my gaze to his face. "I don’t have it."

  Anger flickered in his eyes. "Jessie, you’re playing with something you don’t understand."

  It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that Will had taken the stone, but he grabbed me by the upper arms and shook me. My teeth rattled, and I decided to keep the information to myself. I didn’t care for the way he was acting.

  "I don’t have the totem, Clyde. I swear."

  "Only one way to find out."

  He spun me around and patted me down. I was tempted to fight back, but Clyde was a lot bigger than I was. Besides, he wasn’t going to find anything, thanks to Cadotte.

  My boss released me with a little shove and a mutter of annoyance. I stepped out of his reach and nearer to my rifle. My fingers rested on the butt of my pistol.

  Clyde ran a hand over his face and sighed. "He’s been keeping an eye on you. Discovering what you know. Putting you off balance. If he’s got you in his bed, then you aren’t out doing your job, are you?"

  "I’ve been doing my job," I snapped.

  "You’ve been doing him." Clyde bit off a stub of chew and chomped ferociously for a few seconds. "I like you, Jessie, and I don’t want to hurt your feelings."

  "Why stop now?" I muttered.

  Clyde ignored me. "I’ve seen the women Cadotte fucks. You don’t fit in."

  What else was new? I never had. But I’d started to think that I might, with him.

  "Cadotte’s up to something," Clyde continued. "I just can’t figure out what."

  I wanted to say Cadotte loved me. He thought I was beautiful. Funny, sexy, special. Everything I’d ever wanted to be, I was to him. But I wasn’t so sure anymore.

  He had taken the totem. To protect me? Or to ruin me? Until I knew, I was keeping my mouth shut.

  "Did he tell you anything about the ceremony?"

  "No."

  He hadn’t told me. I’d read it in a book.

  I frowned. But not all of the ceremony. There’d been a page missing. Which was more troublesome now than ever before.

  "What do you know?" I asked.

  "Blue moon. Werewolf army. Matchi-auwishuk totem."

  Clyde knew about as much as I did.

  "Blood of the one who loves you."

  I blinked. "The what of the who?"

  "Blood of the one who loves you," he repeated slowly. "It’s needed for the ceremony."

  I turned and headed for the door.

  "Jessie? Where you going?"

  I didn’t answer. I couldn’t very well tell the sheriff that I was going to kill someone.

  Chapter 37

  I tossed my rifle into the Crown Victoria and climbed in after. Clyde raced out of my apartment building just as I left the parking lot. He tried to flag me down, shouted something, but I was on a mission. I didn’t need any company while I kicked Cadotte’s ass.

  Could I kill him? I wasn’t sure. But I could beat him bloody. He’d made me believe in love right along with the werewolves.

  I’d wondered why love had come along so soon. I’d wondered why me? The answer was crystal clear. He’d needed someone to love him fast, and what better patsy than a woman who’d never been loved before? I must have been so easy.

  My hands ached from clenching them on the steering wheel. I welcomed the pain. It made me forget the one in my chest, the bubbling agony in my belly, the burn of tears in my eyes and my throat.

  I’d been such an idiot.

  I reached the turnoff to his place and left my car next to his. The sun was almost down; the moon was not yet up. Usually all this woo-woo shit took place at midnight anyway. If so, I had plenty of time.

  I paused at the edge of the clearing. Lights yellowed the window/panes of his cabin. Either he was home or he liked to waste electricity.

  I braced myself to cross the yard and walk inside. I didn’t plan on knocking. I wasn’t a complete moron. Or maybe I was. I took one step and someone grabbed me from behind.

  My rifle flew into the underbrush. Strong arms pinned mine to my side. I struggled, kicked backward, tried to flip my assailant over my shoulder. Nothing worked.

  I took a deep breath, and I smelled him. "Will?"

  He nuzzled my shoulder; then his mouth latched on to my neck and his teeth grazed my skin. I shuddered. "Let me go."

  He lifted his head; his breath brushed my hair. My body went limp with wanting him. I was pathetic.

  And suddenly I was free. My hand went to my gun, but it was gone.

  I spun around. Cadotte had my pistol. He’d also managed to retrieve my rifle. He looked a little silly holding two guns while stark naked.

  Well, he wasn’t completely naked. He wore the totem around his neck. I guess he wasn’t going to deny stealing it.

  "You need to go home, Jessie."

  "Ha. I don’t think so."

  "Please. I don’t want you hurt."

  "Too late."

  He frowned. "What are you talking about?"

  "I know about the ceremony. I know what you need to become the wolf god."

  "Me? I’m not going to become the wolf god."

  "Then what’s that for?" I pointed to the totem.

  "I’m trying to stop it."

  "How?"

  "I discovered a ritual." His hands clenched on the weapons. His gaze shifted behind me. His agitation was evident. "It’s too complicated to explain right now. I need to finish before the blue moon rises."

  "How do I know you aren’t raising the wolf god?"

  He sighed. "You don’t. You’re going to have to trust me."

  "I don’t think that I can."

  Hurt flickered over his face and for a minute I felt bad. Then my gaze lowered to the totem, and I remembered one of Zee’s favorite sayings that didn’t involve a curse word.

  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

  "Shame on me," I muttered.

  He shook his head. "Sarcastic to the end. That’s my girl."

  "I am not your girl."

  His lips tightened; his eyes narrowed. I’d managed to annoy him, and that wasn’t easy.

  "I don’t have time to argue. Are you going to behave, or do I have to tie and gag you?"

  There was no way I was going to let him tie and gag me, not even for fun. "I’ll behave."

  He grunted and took a wide berth around me, then headed for a cairn of rocks at the far side of the clearing. Since he had my guns, there wasn’t
a whole helluva lot I could do about it—yet.

  Besides, according to Clyde he needed my blood to do the deed. When he came to get it, I’d be ready.

  I sat on the porch steps. Cadotte lit a fire in the center of the rocks. Sprinkled what appeared to be dirt on top, except the flame turned green, then purple, then blood-red. No dirt I’d ever seen could do that.

  I couldn’t take my eyes from the fire, from him. The colors of the flames played over his skin. His muscles flexed and released—across his stomach, down his thighs, up his arms. He was so beautiful he made me yearn.

  He began to chant in Ojibwe. The words ebbed and flowed, a beautiful song in a language I could not understand. As the fire burned higher, hotter, he danced around the stone circle.

  The oddity of a naked man dancing in the forest snapped me out of my trance. I began to get nervous. I glanced at the eastern horizon, but the sky was still pink. Not a sliver of silver to be found.

  A sound in the brush to my right caught my attention. When I followed the rustle, I saw the wolf. "Will!"

  He froze, followed my gaze, cursed. More wolves appeared, sliding from the underbrush all around us. At least fifty of them ringed the clearing.

  Suddenly Will was at my side, shoving me toward the door. Good idea, since the wolves had begun to advance. Legs stiff, hackles raised, they snarled.

  "What do they want?"

  "What do you think?" He tapped the totem, which still hung around his neck.

  We stumbled over each other and into the cabin. He slammed the door just as a heavy body thumped against it. My eyes went to the glass window just as Will slammed a wood shutter into place and flipped the lock.

  "Help me!" he shouted, running from window to window.

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. What little light was left in the sky was blotted out as we boarded up all the glass.

  I’d puzzled over the dual shutters. Now I thanked God for them. If Cadotte’s cabin had only been equipped with outdoor storm protection we’d be dead or foaming at the mouth.

  The windows shattered as the wolves tried to get in. The shutters shimmied, but they held.