Laurann Dohner - Moon (Laurann Dohner)

“Someone broke into the offices while everyone was out.”

“A drug addict looking for a score?”

It was a common problem in their line of work.

“No. Whoever they were, they opened and screwed with every one of my files.”

“You’re sure?”

“The pages were out of order in some of the files and I’m meticulous about that. Nothing was missing though and the copier we use keeps records of everything we print. They didn’t make duplicates. Of course, that doesn’t mean they didn’t use some other technology to do it. For all we know, they could have snapped pictures of every page with their phones.”

“Shit!”

“I know. The police were still dusting for prints when I left. Hopefully they’ll locate some and find out who did it. I had to call all my clients to let them know about the breach of privacy. The lawyer had a fit but what else was I supposed to do?”

“It was your duty to inform them.”

“That’s what I said but the jerk was worried we’d get sued.”

“Great.”

“Yeah.” Joy glanced at the clock. “Look, I need to get going. I have to get back to, um, him, and I’d prefer he not know I’m gone. We’re meeting in the morning. I have to pack enough clothes to last me for a good week just in case I’m there that long. It would be good to get some sleep tonight.”

“You’re not even going to give me a name, huh?”

“No.” She hoped that would change though if she and Moon could work beyond their issues. One day she’d love to introduce him to the important people in her life.

“What does your boss say about your leave of absence?”

“He’s not happy but I had vacation time. I used it. I have nine days to figure out if I should return to work or quit.”

Meg didn’t say anything.

“Are you there?”

“I take it he lives too far from the hospital to commute to work daily if things become serious between you two?”

They already were but she didn’t state that. She loved Moon. It didn’t get any more serious than that. “Yes.”

“Don’t you think you might be acting on impulse? This is your career, Joy. I feel the need to point out that it would be a mistake to make a rash decision. Date him for a while and give it time before you alter your life to mesh with his.”

It wasn’t as if Moon could leave Homeland to live with her. She’d have to make the sacrifices. He might be willing to have a long-distance relationship but she wasn’t. It had only been six hours since she’d seen him and she missed him so much it gnawed at her. The concept of only spending time with him on her days off wasn’t acceptable.

“You’ve got a job and your condo to think about. I know you’re not independently wealthy,” Meg gently prodded. “You can’t afford to quit and make your mortgage payment. Keep all that in mind before you do anything that might have dire consequences.”

“Noted, therapist,” she quipped. “I’m grateful that you care and you’d be impressed if you could peek into my thought process. I need to go.”

“All right.”

“Don’t worry about me. I have hope that things might work out in a way that would really make me happy.” She hung up and focused on the computer.

* * * * *

Moon couldn’t sit still and he knew it irritated Harley. “Stop watching me as if I’m going to explode into a rage. I haven’t hit anything yet but that could change.”

“You’re acting like a caged tiger.” A gleam of amusement flashed in his expression. “And you sure don’t look like one. Your eye shape is wrong, plus you’re no longer behind bars.”

“Is this your version of helping me? She left. Again. Stop with the attempts to tease me out of a bad mood. It won’t work.”

Harley shifted his position slightly where he sat on the couch. “Did you argue?”

“No.”

“Was the sex bad?”

Moon flipped him off.

“She is human. It was a legitimate question. You tamed it down, right? Made sure you didn’t frighten her? You know the drill. You have to give them polite compliments and take it real slow so they don’t believe we’re rabid when things get heated.”

“She wasn’t afraid.”

“I’ll take your word for it since I wasn’t there. She did handle you well when you were on drugs. Hell, I wouldn’t have taken my clothes off around you when you were in that condition and I know I’m not even your type. You were pretty out of it. There was no telling what you’d do.”

“Harley!”

“Perhaps she fled in fear of something else.”

“Like what? No one here would dare threaten her.” Suspicion struck. “Do you think one of the males said something to her? Two of them were stationed outside human housing.”

Harley rose to his feet. “Smiley is too human friendly and Darkness would avoid her. That male isn’t social but he wouldn’t terrorize a female. I meant that she might have needed some time to think things through without you invading her space.”

“I should speak to them to be certain there wasn’t a problem.”

“Now you’re just being thickheaded. She’s a female. It’s in their nature to do things we don’t understand. It’s part of the reason we are so drawn to them.” He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. “She will return. Think as if you are a human.”

“I’m not.”

“True.” Harley nodded. “Her life will drastically change if you two mate. It’s forever and she isn’t naïve about what we are. Divorce isn’t on the table if she agrees to become yours. It would mean giving up a job that I’m certain means something to her and leaving the outside world. They have family and friends to consider too. I have no young but if I did, I’d be leery of sending mine to the out world where they could get hurt. Her people might feel the same about our world. Maybe they are not Species fans and believe all the bad hype they hear from our enemies.”

Moon frowned, not enjoying the queasy sensation he experienced. It would be difficult to talk her into being his mate if her people were set against it. The emotional turmoil it would cause to decide between them or him would be great. Only she could guess at their reactions since he’d never met anyone from her personal life.

“It’s been a long time since she was around Species and we have evolved. That will take some adjustment time too, Moon. Humans panic when they are faced with long-term commitments. That’s why they have that ‘cold-feet’ saying.”

“I didn’t mention anything about making her my mate.”

“She’s not blind. You’ve got all the symptoms that are easy to spot.”

“Not to her.”

“She learned a lot about us after we were freed.”

“She dealt with Species right out of Mercile. There were no mated couples at site four.”

“True.” Harley let his arms drop to his sides and shrugged. “I believe she has strong feelings. She’ll return. Give her some time.”

“What if she doesn’t come back?”

“We could have the task team go after her and bring her back. She’d be easy to locate and grab.”

Moon was tempted to call Trey Roberts. They were friends and the male was always helpful. It would only take about an hour to assemble a team. He mentally picked out three other members he’d entrust Joy to. Better yet, he’d go with them. They’d only need one vehicle. Tim Oberto needed to be kept out of the loop since that human would want approval from Justice, Fury, Slade, or one of the council members to collect a human female from the out world.

“You’re plotting it in your head right now, aren’t you?”

Moon stared at Harley. The male had the audacity to laugh.

“It was a joke. You have it bad. Are you sure your balls are still attached?”