By the Pale Moonlight (Book One of the Moonlight Series) Read online

  The deep mahogany banister of the sweeping staircase had been a favorite of ours, and the owners graciously allowed us an occasional ride when there weren't any paying customers around.

  Our room was magnificent. Decorated in various shades of deep rose—a nod to the Inn's namesake—it contained a turn of the century bedroom set with a glossy cherrywood finish. The fine linens covering the bed were of top quality and I tried to block out the image that scuttled through my mind: Ty and I together beneath them.

  Fresh red roses adorned the small table beside the bed and their sweet fragrance filled the room. It was the perfect place to begin the new phase of our relationship. But it would never happen now.

  "I just can't believe it's her." He didn't look at me. "She's just not capable of something like this."

  "Why am I not surprised?" I whispered.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

  I shrugged, the pain in my chest unbearable. "Despite everything, you still won't tell me why you went off with her the other day. And now, by refusing to believe me, you're basically calling me a liar. Crazy, but I expected more from you."

  "That's not what I said. Come on, Mac. You have to admit you may have a slight bias when it comes to her."

  It was true, but I couldn't believe he thought I'd somehow let that influence my perception of what happened. I also couldn't help notice the way he sidestepped the mention of their secret rendezvous. "She cornered me in the bathroom and threatened me. I'm not sure how you can deny that fact."

  "I'm not denying it. I'm just saying maybe you don't know the whole story."

  "And why is that?" I shook my head. "This is pointless. If you don't want to believe me, fine. Obviously, you two share something I'll never understand. And if you won't let me in, then I give up." I hurriedly gathered my things. "God, I must've been out of my mind to think this was a good idea."

  "Where are you going?"

  "Home."

  He stepped in front of the door. "No."

  I glared up at him. "Get out of my way."

  "Not until we settle this."

  "What does it matter? I bet you think I'm making this all up anyway."

  "Don't be stupid."

  I jerked out of his reach. "Now I'm stupid. Lovely."

  He growled and threw his hands in the air. "Jesus! I don't think you're stupid. But if you'd shut-up for a minute, we could clear the air and get on with our evening."

  I laughed bitterly. "You wish. If you think I'm going to sleep with a guy who still has a thing for his ex-girlfriend, you've got another thing coming."

  He snorted and shook his head. "I take it back. You are stupid."

  I gasped.

  "What else would you call a person who hasn't the first clue when someone's in love with her?"

  "W-what?" I sputtered in disbelief.

  "I mean you, you idiot. I love you. Though Lord knows it's a mistake." The corner of his mouth lifted.

  "B-but what about Carrie?"

  "What about her? Just because I don't think she's capable of coming after you, doesn't mean I want her back. If you hadn't noticed, I'm here with you. I love you."

  His words devastated me. If it's possible for a person's insides to turn to goo, that's exactly what happened to mine. My belly felt full of warm liquid as he leaned into me, his eyelids slowly dropping as he honed in on my mouth.

  I pushed him away. Caught off guard, he smacked the door behind him.

  "Nuh-uh," I said, shaking my head. "You're not getting off the hook that easily."

  "Damn." There was a smile in his voice. "Okay, we talked. That's all—I swear. She's having some personal issues unrelated to me, and she needed my help."

  I eyed him suspiciously. "What kind of help? A way to off your new girlfriend?"

  His mouth turned down. "Come on."

  "Well?"

  "It's private—that's all I'm going to say about it." He took a deep breath. "Fine. We'll keep an eye on her, if that will make you happy."

  "It will."

  "Okay, then." He raised an eyebrow. "Can I kiss you now?"

  "No." I suddenly felt very weary. "But you can drive me home."

  With a dubious expression on his face, Ty brushed past me and stretched out on the bed. He kicked off his shoes and they landed with loud thumps against the hardwood floor. With a flick of his wrist, he loosened his collar and snuggled into the thick pillows adorning the bed.

  I watched from the other side of the room, not quite knowing what I should do. The thought of walking home wasn't exactly appealing, and it was clear he had no plans of going anywhere.

  "You can't just refuse to take me," I said.

  "Yes, I can."

  He fluffed the pillows on the other side of the bed and softly patted the spot beside him. "Come here," he said.

  "I'm not going to sleep with you."

  Something flickered in his eyes, but he nodded. "I know."

  I pulled off my heels and hitched up the length of my gown to knee-walk across the bed. He tucked me in beside him, and I rested my head on his shoulder. His fingertips played along my bare shoulder, sending a small shiver through me.

  "Are you disappointed?" I asked.

  "Not at all. Well—yeah, but I'll live."

  "I'm sorry."

  "Don't apologize." He rubbed his cheek across my hairline. "I know you're scared."

  I didn't know to what he referred—sex or the thought of someone wanting my head on a platter. It probably didn't matter.

  "Am I a terrible person?"

  "What? Why would you think that?"

  "I must be if someone wants to hurt me."

  He rolled us so that he towered above me. My lips trembled and I found I couldn't meet his eyes.

  "I must've done something to this person. And I don't have any idea what it could be—am I that selfish and horrible I can't even remember it?" The image of the words carved into my locker flashed through my mind. Five days. The anger, the hatred—it all zinged home like an arrow.

  "Sssh." Ty rubbed his thumb along my cheek. "You didn't do anything."

  "Now who's biased?"

  He smiled and brushed a lock of hair off my face. "Guilty as charged—and proud of it."

  "I wanted tonight to be perfect," I whispered.

  "I know." His warm eyes examined mine. "There will be other nights, Mac. Lots of them if I have my way."

  I laughed softly. "So arrogant." I dropped my eyes and toyed with the buttons lining the front of his shirt. "I guess that's why I love you so much."

  I expected to blush at my sudden admission, but my temperature remained stable as I glanced back at him to see his reaction. His expression was intense upon me, the humor falling to the wayside at my confession.

  He traced his thumb down my cheek and gently pressed his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight embrace, just wanting to feel him close.

  His breath stirred the wisps of hair around my ear as he softly whispered, "I love you, too."

  Then he was kissing me again. Languid and undemanding, his mouth explored mine. When my fingers gently tugged at the buttons of his shirt, he pulled back in surprise. Our eyes met.

  I ran a hand along the slope of his cheek and pulled him back down to me.

  We took our time, our clothing slowly falling away as we delved into each other.

  Things didn't go perfectly. Several times we broke into fits of laughter at our awkward dance of limbs and mouths. With Ty, I didn't have to worry, though. I could be myself and learn with him.

  Eventually, our laughter faded. At the moment of no return, he hesitated. It was me who pulled him close, gently cradling his hips between my legs as he buried himself deep inside. His eyes of liquid fire bored into mine as our bodies moved together.

  Some time in the night, we woke to make love again—tender and sweet. Wrapped safely in his strong arms, I lay awake and dreaded the rising sun.

  Chapter 27

  Ty and
I both looked like crumpled newspaper when he dropped me off the next morning; our clothing bore the memory of our hasty shedding of them the previous evening. I attempted to steam my gown with the iron at the B&B, but even that didn't erase all of the wrinkles.

  I gave up eventually, figuring it would be impossible to hide our activities anyway. It's not like our absence would go unnoticed. Of course, Ty was lucky in that department. His parents wouldn't be at home when we returned.

  Mine were both waiting in the living room when we tiptoed across the front porch holding hands, neither of us willing to break our connection just yet. No sooner did Ty lean down for a parting kiss than my front door swung open and we were both swept inside by my grinning parentals.

  I stared at them in horror when my mom excitedly exclaimed, "Tell us everything! We want details."

  "It was fine," we both chorused. We exchanged a sharp look and my face went up in flames at the knowing expressions on my parents' faces. Oh God, they knew.

  My father abruptly stood.

  "Ty, my boy," he said, "let's you and me have a little talk in the other room."

  Ty's slumped shoulders and resigned face gave me the impression of a dead man walking. He threw me a "help me" expression. I shrugged and gave him a big, toothy grin that said "You're on your own. I've got problems of my own." Speaking of which, my expression snapped back into line when I caught the warning in my mother's eyes.

  I clasped my hands around my knees and waited for the fallout to begin.

  "Do I need to tell you what a big step you've taken, young lady?" My mother's voice was amazingly calm, but stern.

  "No."

  "Can I presume you took...precautions?"

  My face went up like a Roman candle. "Yes," I managed.

  She read me the riot act. If there was ever a more thorough sex talk, I'd be shocked. I picked a small nick in the coffee table and focused on it the entire time. It seemed best to not make eye contact as she lectured me on proper birth control methods and the dangers of teenage pregnancy.

  Torn between mortification and an insane need to burst out laughing, I bore it as best I could. The only thing keeping me together was the thought of what my father was telling Ty at that very moment. The poor guy. It's one thing to hear these things from a parent, and quite another to be lectured by the father of the girl you just lost your virginity to. Hopefully, Ty wouldn't be too spooked to speak to me again.

  "Now—do you have any questions?"

  Oh. My. God. "No, ma'am."

  "I've raised you with a very loose hand, Makenna. I have to trust you to behave intelligently. I hope I can."

  I swallowed hard, a sudden perspiration breaking out across my forehead. "I know, Mom. I'm sorry if I let you down."

  To my surprise, she laughed softly. "I'm not disappointed in you, Mac."

  "You're not?" I found that hard to believe. Not after a forty-five minute lecture on the pros and cons of using a sponge vs. a diaphragm.

  "Not at all." She tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You're not a little girl anymore. You're a woman. I'm just glad you made one helluva good choice in who you chose to experience this with."

  My eyes flooded with tears to see hers fill up.

  I threw myself into her arms, the tenuous hold on my tears at last breaking. "Thank you, Mom."

  I think on some level we both realized the times when she would be my refuge were coming to an end.

  When we parted, she swiped at her wet cheeks. "But I have to say I'm very angry that you've done this! I wanted you to be my little girl forever."

  I laughed through my tears. "I'll always be your little girl. I promise."

  "You better." She shook a stern finger at me. We stood and hugged one last time. "Now it's time for you to go rescue Ty. Off with you now."

  The kitchen was empty when I went through the swinging door. I cocked my head to the side and thought I heard muffled voices coming from the family room. Poor Ty. I hoped I could get him out of there without my father making a fuss.

  I needn't have worried. I found the pair of them sitting in our leather recliners with a football game blaring through the big screen TV. Involved in a loud debate about one of the ref's calls, they barely acknowledged me when I entered. After my fifth throat clearing, I finally gave up and joined them.

  "I trust I can leave you two alone for a minute," my dad said, shaking his empty beer bottle. Ty and I both nodded.

  When he was gone, I stared at Ty in wonder. He laughed as he reached for the remote to pop the set off.

  "What?" he asked.

  "I just got a talk about birth control and babies. I come in here and you guys are debating the finer points of football. Did he say anything to you, at least?"

  "Sure."

  I urged him on with a wave of my hand. "And?"

  "And...everything's fine?"

  "Grrr," I seethed. "Tell me!"

  "He didn't say much, actually." Ty shrugged nonchalantly. "Have I ever mentioned your father has a very fine gun collection?"

  "He didn't..."

  "Like I said, he didn't say much. He marched me over to the cabinet and said, 'If you get my daughter pregnant, or hurt her in any way, you'll get to know one of these guns very well.' Then he said, 'Got it?' I told him 'yes' and that ended our talk."

  "Oh, man..."

  "We were in here anyway, so we decided to watch some football. He thinks I have a great chance at a college team." Ty said the last with a big grin—an expression that was basically a "neener neener" to the different talks that we had each "suffered" through.

  Men.

  o0o

  "I think I found something."

  Ty was dozing off in a chair beside me, and he jumped at the sound of my voice. More determined than ever to find a way of protecting me during the moon cycle, Ty and I had set right to work after we each grabbed a quick shower and a large dose of caffeine. Even so, our activities of the night before seemed to be taking their toll on the boy.

  "Sorry." I smiled at his dazed expression and pointed at the screen. "This is sort of a random find, but it says here that werewolves have an aversion to ash trees."

  He closed his eyes. "Great, I'll remember that the next time I feel the need to scale one."

  "I was just thinking... I mean, this may sound stupid, but everyone or thing seems to have its personal kryptonite."

  "Yeah—in my case, that would be silver."

  I glared at him before heading out of the room.

  "Where are you going?" he yelled.

  I pushed through the trees between our houses until I found what I was looking for. I looked up at the large ash, the very one in which Ty and I shared our first kiss. Its leaves were in full autumn colors—greens fading into yellows and purples. Backlit by the sinking sun, it appeared almost on fire, its rounded top licking the sky with dazzling hues.

  With a firm grip of one of its thick limbs, I hoisted myself up, slowly climbing upward and out until I could reach some of its smaller branches. I broke one off, bending and twisting it until it came free. Then I shimmied back down the trunk, landing hard and shocking my ankles. "Ow!"

  "What are you doing?" Ty leaned casually against a nearby maple tree.

  "Thought we might test the theory."

  "This should be good." The corner of his mouth twitched. "Are you expecting me to cringe away from it?"

  "That would show it works." I brandished the branch like a sword and swung it at him menacingly.

  He only laughed. "Sorry to disappoint. I'm not feeling any sudden urges to run away."

  I frowned. "Touch it."

  He obliged by closing his fingers over the end of my makeshift club. Nothing happened.

  "Try climbing the tree."

  He threw me an exasperated look, but obliged my request. He swung up into the limbs with little effort and motioned for me to come up with the tip of his finger. "Wanna play me Tarzan, you Jane?"

  "This is serious." I playfully swatted him with the end o
f the branch and he almost fell out of the tree.

  "Ow!"

  "Yeah, yeah."

  "No, Mac. That really hurt." He hopped down and limped around in pain.

  "I barely tapped you." His scrunched features made me stop. "Jesus, you're really hurt!"

  "I've been trying to tell you that. Here, give me a hand."

  He draped an arm over my shoulders and we half walked, half hobbled back to his house. Once he was safely delivered to a dining room chair, I insisted he take off his pants so I could have a look.

  He grimaced but pulled down his jeans to reveal silky blue boxers.

  "Nice." My grin faltered when I caught sight of the purple bruise on his upper thigh, growing darker even as I watched. "Holy shit."

  Ty met my eyes. "I think you might've been right about that kryptonite thing."

  With his leg iced and elevated, we tried to puzzle out what this could mean in our search for a cure.

  "Isn't it obvious? Somehow we need to utilize this as a weapon to use against the other wolf...and me, should the need arise."

  I stared at the branch I'd laid on the table when we came inside. "That would be interesting."

  "I didn't mean for you to carry around a tree limb everywhere you go." He picked up the branch and tested its heft. "They make baseball bats out of ash trees, you know?"

  Light began to dawn. "A bat."

  "Easy to make. Bet I could knock out a few of them pretty quickly. There are plenty of trees out in the yard and a few limbs wouldn't be missed."

  "I like it."

  He nodded. "Only as a last resort, though, okay?"

  "Last resort? If today is any indication, I could send you to the moon with one good swing."

  "Yeah, but bats aren't very long, Mac. The wolf would have to be very close and I'd rather you didn't take that chance."

  "But..."

  "No buts. Gun first, bat last."

  I reluctantly agreed.

  We spent the better part of the afternoon making the bats. After hobbling into the shed behind me, Ty had second thoughts about wanting to go anywhere near flying wood shavings. That meant it was my responsibility to run the machinery, and it was a disaster right from the start. It took several attempts to finish, and even then the bats turned out misshapen and far from aerodynamic.