Page 57 of Bad Moon Rising
The three of them headed inside and huddled into the small, contained middle section behind the steering wheel. Roman settled Nova on top of him to keep her from touching Flynn. If even the tip of one of her fingers contacted Flynn, he’d know. Then he’d rip his brother’s head off for it.
Wow. This feeling was new, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. He had no clue how to deal with it.
Moon madness. That luminous full moon was less than an hour from starting its rise. The second it started, this fantasy of touching her smooth legs, spreading them and…
No.
Sex between them would have to be a one-night thing. He didn’t want that. Not with Nova. And they didn’t have a future.
He took deep breaths and counted to twenty to calm his racing heart.
Her butt wiggled against his crotch.
He bit back a groan. Was she trying to kill him?
She either wore a thong or nothing. Those were the only two options based on the feel he just got. He sensed the curve of each cheek of her ass as it brushed against him.
She asked, “Do you guys always get picked up to meet your mother via henchmen on a powerboat?”
“Not always,” Roman said hoarsely once his brain processed the question on a few seconds’ delay. “She moves around a lot.”
“Secretive comes with the genes, huh?” She darted her eyes back and forth between the two of them. “Does she work for the king, too?”
“No,” they both said at once.
She squeezed his hand, which sent pulsations up his arm. Was she unaffected by sitting on top of him? Did she not feel this insane drive to get naked?
“How many of you brothers are there?” she asked.
“Four. Well, three.” He glanced at Flynn. The pain in his brother’s gaze smacked him in the gut. “Shane, our youngest brother, is dead.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“That lighter…the one you had…it was his,” Flynn said hoarsely. “We thought it lost along with him.”
The boat’s hum permeated the heavy silence that had descended.
She broke the silence. “I assume Ky is the brother who’s missing tonight. Is it typical for you guys to go off on your own or work as a team?”
“Ky going off isn’t normal. We work together,” Roman said. “Flynn does technical logistics like surveillance and computer shit. Ky handles weapons, especially guns. I do the specialized magic when needed and play front man when we interact with humans. We all employ magic to some degree. Shane used to…” He couldn’t finish.
Flynn added softly, “Shane was the glue. He kept us in line ethically and emotionally. Always cracking a joke at the right time or calling us on curse words… Man, he was funny about cussing. He was the captain of the language police. He lived by a code of integrity that was sometimes annoying as hell. Kept us remembering that. He never shied away from honoring others for their accomplishments or sacrifices. It’s never been the same without… Fuck, I miss him.”
“Yeah.” Emotion choked up Roman. He lifted his pendant of the archangel Zadkiel and kissed it, saying a silent prayer for his brother’s soul.
Nova said, “I hope Ky is okay.”
The boat stopped. He wondered if they’d eat dinner on the yacht or submarine tonight. That was a good direction of thought. It distracted him from her.
Knock. Knock.
He pushed out of the small quarters. As he helped Nova stand in her spiky heels, he got a flash of a view up her firm calves.
Flynn stood and hit his shoulder against Roman’s with a suppressed grin. “It’s a bad night to be juiced up like you are. You’re falling for the target.”
Too late.“She’s not a target. We’re going to prove to them she’s innocent.”
“You think they care? Seems like someone has a hard-on to kill her.”
