Laurann Dohner - Moon (Laurann Dohner)

The tips of his calloused, rough fingers brushed against hers. He stopped growling, seeming fascinated by the feel of them. She held her breath, not knowing what he would do but he just rubbed their fingers together. She relaxed.

“I’m not your enemy, Moon.”

He looked up at her then and she met his gaze. It came as a shock when he suddenly gripped her hand and pulled her closer. Her ass slid along the concrete as she gasped, praying he wouldn’t break bones when his fingers tightened even more. She tried to struggle but it didn’t do any good. Her shoulder hit the metal bars of his cell.

Another hand suddenly had her by her ribs, curving around her side. She stared at him with only the bars separating them. He sniffed at her. His focus lowered to the front of her shirt and a soft whine came from him.

He’s not hurting me. That sank in. He could. Easily. He kept her close. She stared into the depths of his brown eyes while he refused to look away from her breasts.

“Moon?”

He softly growled, a look of concentration on his face. She wondered what he was thinking so hard about but he released her hand suddenly, distracting her thoughts. She sucked in air when he cupped her breast, caressing it. He was gentle as he squeezed. He looked up then, holding her gaze.

“Joy.”

The gruff way he said her name made her want to cry. Her hand trembled as she reached through the bars to touch his face. He didn’t jerk away but allowed her to gently caress his jawline. “Yes. Do you remember me?”

He released her suddenly and pulled back until they weren’t touching anymore. She didn’t budge, just remained leaning against the bars where he’d dragged her. He stood and growled, staring across the room. She turned her head and wished Harley hadn’t stayed so close. He must have remained hidden in the shadows instead of leaving. He’d stepped back into the light.

“Move away from him, head shrink.”

“Go away,” she ordered.

Moon snarled, seeming to agree with her order.

Harley frowned. “Get the hell away from him.”

“I think he remembers me. He said my name. Didn’t you hear him?”

Harley stormed up behind her just as she felt fingers wrap around her throat, cutting off her air. Moon had her. It hurt her ears when he howled so close behind her.

Harley froze.

“Go,” Moon snarled.

“Fuck. Release her, man.” Harley growled back.

“Go,” Moon demanded again, tightening his hold.

The big Species in the biker jacket backed up a few feet. “Let her go.”

Moon reached down and gripped her upper arm while keeping a firm hold on her throat. “Kill. Go.” He forced her to her feet, yanking her hard against the bars.

She’d become a hostage. It was that simple. Moon wanted the other male to leave and she was his leverage. He could easily snap her neck. She’d have begged him to release her but she could barely breathe.

“Shit.” Harley backed up. “Don’t hurt her.”

The elevator doors opened and Rusty walked into the room, carrying a tray with two plates. She came to an abrupt halt. “Oh shit.”

Harley glanced at her before looking back at his best friend. “We’ll leave. Do not hurt her.”

“How did the human get so close to him?” Rusty retreated a few steps.

“She let him. Whoever asked her to come here made a mistake. It might end up being a fatal one.” Harley sidestepped closer to the Species female. “We’re leaving, Moon. Watch us. Don’t hurt that female.”

Both of them got into the elevator and the doors closed. The fingers loosened on her throat and arm. She shoved away from the bars on her butt and completely broke his hold when she threw her body forward. She hit the floor on her hands and knees. Gasping for air, she crawled out of Moon’s reach.

“Come,” a deep voice rasped from behind her.

Moon wanted her to return to the side of his cage. She shook her head, touching her sore throat that had to have red marks on it, if not bruises. Species were too strong. She had risked her life getting so close to him and it had almost gotten her killed. She wouldn’t make that mistake twice.

“Come!” he snarled.

Joy turned her head in his direction but couldn’t look directly at him. “No.”

Tears blinded her as she looked away. He might know her but she sure didn’t know him at the moment. The guy she’d fallen in love with never would have done that. She was lucky to be alive.

Chapter Three

“What were you doing?” Tiger was furious and not making any attempt to hide it.

“Showing Moon he could trust me.”

Joy was tired after spending a restless night in the house they’d assigned her. She’d asked to be escorted there after what had happened. She had needed time away from Moon after her close call. Her visitors had arrived after breakfast.

“She has no right being near him.” Harley wore a heavy-metal-band T-shirt with his jeans today. The biker boots must be something he wore daily. “He obviously doesn’t want her dead but next time he could force us to unlock the cell to save her life. It’s pure luck he only wanted to be left alone with her. He’s in no shape to be reasoned with.”

“Agreed.” Justice North grimly studied her. “You shouldn’t have gotten that close to him.”

“He spoke.”

Justice’s black eyebrows arched. “He did? No one told me that.”

“It was just a few words,” Tiger informed him. “He’s still dangerous and not himself.”

“He didn’t say anything to us when we were inside his cell securing him.” Justice looked at Harley. “Why didn’t he tell us to stop? He had no problem fighting us while we restrained him.”

“You did it?” Joy had wanted to be there. “Is he okay?”

“He’s angry.” Tiger shrugged. “No one was hurt.”

Relief was instant. “Good.”

“She has no right to be near him,” Harley repeated. “You don’t know their history.”

Joy wasn’t surprised that Harley was about to tell the others about her past with Moon. He had warned her he’d do anything to get her away from Moon. Harley was a man of his word.

“We’re aware of their history.” Justice dismissed it with a wave of his hand as he studied Joy. “I’m more concerned that you risked your life without consulting us first.”

“I was establishing trust. I can’t stop working with him to run a decision by you every time.”

“She allowed Moon to play with her breasts after flashing them at him.”

Joy winced at Harley’s harsh tone. “You’re making it sound vulgar but it wasn’t.” She hated the way Justice’s eyes widened in reaction. “It’s not what you must be thinking. Moon is interested in sex and it’s the only avenue I’ve found to motivate him to work with me.” Her cheeks warmed from embarrassment. “I’ll do have to get him to talk. I can’t help him otherwise. I didn’t flash my breasts either. I showed some cleavage.”

“He doesn’t want to talk,” Harley snarled. “He wants to fuck you.”

“Harley!” Justice snarled back. “Enough!”

“You know about what she did to Moon and yet you still called her?”

“Moon respects her.”

Harley snorted. “What do you know about what took place between her and Moon at site four, Justice?”

“She was his head shrink after he was released from Mercile and he spoke highly of her.”

“He trusted her and he wanted to fuck her but she bailed on him. She hurt him.”

The males in the room suddenly all turned their attention her way. Joy hugged her waist, trying to appear smaller in her chair. Her chin lifted though as she stared at Harley.

“I didn’t hurt him.”

“Bullshit. You chose your job over him. Do you think he was too stupid to know that? To figure out how little he meant to you for you to do that to him? He had feelings for you but you packed your shit and took off. You weren’t there to see how that affected him. He hated the other shrink he got stuck with too. She was a cold bitch who acted as if we were pets that needed to be handed meat treats to retrain us from the bad habits we picked up at Mercile.”