Page 219 of Moon's Promise

“I was going to tell you when we got home.” She burst into tears. “You did that to pay me back, didn’t you?” She turned her face away so he couldn’t see how badly he had hurt her.

He forced her face back to his. “I had to for the votes.”

The unexpectedness of his answer made her mouth drop open. “Huh?”

Moon raised his hand and closed it in a fist. “My vote, which you already had.” He raised one finger. “Killyama.” Another finger rose. “Train.” Another finger rose. “Both said they would give you their vote for delivering their baby. Everyone believes it was Wizard in the warlord costume.” Another finger rose.

“I only need two more, then?”

Moon slowly shook his head from side to side. “Not exactly. There are cameras in the basement, which are viewed in the security room. There were two Last Riders monitoring the cameras tonight. They gave you the last two votes.”

Slowly understanding that he had deceived her to get the votes from The Last Riders, she felt better … marginally. But at least she no longer wanted to kill him.

“At least it was dark, and no one could see. Who were they?”

Conflicting emotions crossed Moon’s face. “The cameras are infrared.”

His hand hastily covered her mouth when she parted her lips to scream at him again.

“They didn’t see much, not where the cameras were situated. They mainly got sounds of us having sex. You have the votes now to be a Last Rider.” Meeting her eyes, he removed his hand. “You cool?”

“No,” she grumbled. “I wish you would quit doing that. I’ll stop yelling.” Then she told him in a furious whisper, “I’m so angry at you, but I’m going to restrain myself until I get you in the car.”

“That’s fair.”

When she pushed at his chest, Moon warily lifted himself off her. Clamoring to her feet, she ignored the hand he extended to help her up.

“I don’t understand why you went this far for me to become a Last Rider. I told you—”

“You had to become a Last Rider.” His face had turned into a mask of determination.

Quizzically, she stared at him as he sat on the bed. “Why?”

“If anything happens to me and you’re not a Last Rider, they will check on you and do what they can, if you ask for their help.”

“That’s nice—”

Moon shook his head. “You’ll basically be on your own … But if you’re a Last Rider, they will watch over you. You will be protected as if I were there, and so will Jace.”

“Ahh, now I understand. You want Jace protected.”

“I wanted you both protected.” His hand came out to pull her between his thighs. “One of The Last Riders will become my backup if anything happens to me. I want you and Jace to have that safety net. My life changed after my makuakane died. I won’t leave my son unprotected the same way.”

“Nothing is …” She wanted to assure him that nothing would happen to him, that he would see their son grow, but she couldn’t. No one was guaranteed tomorrow, not even a Last Rider.

He slid the dress down over her hips. “I don’t exactly drive the safest mode of transportation.”

“You do have a car.”

“Which I hate driving. I’m not meant to be cooped up.”

She had to agree with him there. “No, you’re not.” Winding her arms around his neck, she didn’t struggle as Moon lowered them back onto the bed.

She cupped his face between her hands as she stared into his eyes. Moon would never be an easy man to love. The more a woman sought to chain him down, the more he would struggle to be free. It not only pertained to women but to anyone who sought to claim his loyalty. The Last Riders even only took what he was willing to give them, nothing more. Anyone who attempted to push past the invisible line that Moon had set to keep himself isolated would find themselves grasping air.

The only one who stood a modicum chance in hell of getting past Moon’s guard was Jace. That was why he was so overprotective of his son. Jace was his kryptonite.

Helplessly, she let him lure her back under his spell. In the last year, he had made concession after concession for her—buying a home, not attending the parties—and as far as she knew, he hadn’t cheated on her, other than that kiss and one bike ride. He had even confided in her why he wanted her to be a Last Rider. It gave a woman hope that maybe, just maybe, he was starting to care for her … starting to love her.

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