Fox, Morgan - Enticed by the Moon [Moonlight Shifters 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  But sadly, Ryken couldn’t use those tactics now. He had to behave himself, something that was a serious challenge.

  Clearing her throat, she asked, “May I help you?” She spoke in a timid voice, no louder than a whisper.

  “I certainly hope so,” Ryken said, leaning against the side of her desk.

  His arms folded over his chest, accentuating the muscles of his biceps. A deliberate tactic Ryken used to get her distracted and more compliant.

  Damn, he liked this game. He loved toying with ladies to see how excited he could make them. He was not just a romancer, but a skilled seducer.

  Offering one of his devilish smiles, Ryken said, “A friend of ours works here. We were hoping you could point us in the right direction of finding her.”

  She sucked in a sharp, audible breath as Ryken swung his muscular leg around the corner of the desk and grazed the side of her slender arm. Glancing down at his leg, she bit her bottom lip.

  Eyes slowly rising to meet his gaze, she asked, “And who might that be?”

  “Tabitha Burns,” he responded, the deep timbre of his voice growing deeper as he leaned closer towards her. Moving his hand to his leg, his fingers grazed against her smooth, warm flesh.

  The pulse in her neck throbbed quick and hard. He watched her as she swallowed several times, before answering. “Actually, Tabitha doesn’t work at this location. She works off-site, mostly from home or on the road.” Debra narrowed her eyes. “How do you know Tabitha?”

  Ryken shared a crooked grin with his twin. I’m over this flirting bullshit. “As I said, she’s a friend.”

  Allow me, brother. Luken’s voice slammed into his head with the confidence of a Casanova.

  Dick…

  Luken rounded the other side of the desk and placed his ass against the hard wood edge. Assuming a similar pose as his brother, he folded his arms over his chest. “What my dear brother is trying to say is that we’ve just traveled all night to see Tabitha and we’d very much like to know where we could find her.” He leaned forward, his breath on her face. He twirled a loose strand of her silky hair between his fingers and then finally tucked it behind her ear. “Debra, would you know where we might find her or when she might be available?”

  A faint giggle rasped from her chest, followed by the batting of dark lashes. A red wash of color flooded her cheeks. “Allow me to make a few calls and I’ll see what I can do.”

  “That would be so helpful,” he said with a wide, gleaming smile. “Debra, you have the most beautiful eyes. Gray and gold, like the fog moving in from the sea during sunset…Simply enchanting.”

  A quick hand covered Ryken’s mouth, fighting back the roaring of laughter that teased in his head. Suddenly, the need to throw up in his mouth took over the need to laugh. His brother could pour it on thick when needed. A tactic he was not fond of.

  Debra picked up the phone and began dialing, Ryken’s eyes were quick to capture the numbers and store them to memory. Ears honed in, he listened, waiting to hear the recipient on the other end of the line respond.

  “Tabitha Burns’s office, how may I help you?”

  “Rachel, this is Debra over at the Majestic Towers. Do you know which facility Ms. Burns will be visiting today?”

  “Oh, hi, Debra. Actually, that’s funny you should call. She planned to be at your location this morning. In fact, I’m sure she might already be there. Have you checked her on-site office?”

  A nervous flutter rasped from Debra’s throat. “No, I was the first to open up this morning, so I assumed no one had come in.”

  A warm smile filled the other woman’s voice. “You know Tabitha. She never sleeps. I bet she’s been there for hours already.”

  “Thanks, Rachel. I’ll check. Have a great day.”

  “You too.”

  Debra hung up the phone and grinned up at Luken. “This might be your lucky day, gentlemen. It would appear that Ms. Burns may already be on-site.”

  “How wonderful,” Luken exclaimed. “Could you point us in the right direction?” He and Ryken hopped off the desk and stood like warriors on either side of her.

  She glanced from one to the other, swallowing nervously. Locking gazes with Luken, she said, “Oh, no, I don’t think I’m allowed to do that. No one, other than employees, is supposed to wander the office without a chaperone. I could get fired for letting you.”

  Luken spun Debra’s chair, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her to her feet, his movements quick and determined. “I would never want to see you in trouble, Debra.” He dipped his mouth to hers and took her lips in a heated kiss. Playing with her mouth the same way he was playing with her emotions, using the lycans’ sexual prowess to his advantage. Not that he was taking advantage of the young girl, clearly she was enjoying the kiss as much as Luken, but they needed answers and they needed them now. This was why Luken was a better Casanova then he was. Ryken wouldn’t have wasted his time kissing a woman he wasn’t going to fuck. He would have climbed up the wall to the next floor and charged up and down the halls until he found Tabitha.

  Luken eased back from the kiss, Debra’s eyes still closed, her lips slightly parted. “Would you make an exception for us? Just this once?” Again he kissed her, caressing her lips with his tongue, his fingers trolling around her shoulders, back, then dipping into her hair.

  Ryken’s brow furrowed as he watched his brother make love to the sweet woman’s mouth. It had been ages since he’d kissed a woman. Feeling a tad bit envious, Ryken cleared his throat, wanting the display of affection to end—and soon.

  Debra’s cheeks reddened. Breaking the kiss, she said, “Yes, just this once. After all, you are friends of hers, right?” She licked her lips, staring up at Luken, who was looking back at her with a deep longing.

  “Exactly,” he said, stroking his thumb over her swollen bottom lip.

  “Tabitha’s office is on the third floor, office number three-thirty-three.”

  Rounding the table, Ryken headed for the main elevators, but then turned to see Debra staring after Luken with fevered interest, as he acknowledged her. “Thank you, Debra. We appreciate your help.”

  “Yes, more than you know,” Luken responded with a wink of his eye.

  Ryken pushed the button and the elevator doors opened immediately, allowing the twins to step inside. A sudden wave of nerves surged to Ryken’s stomach as the scent of something seductively alarming filled his nose. His heart began beating a hundred miles an hour, and his mind raced with thoughts—thoughts of a mate yearning for his touch, craving him with fevered passions.

  “Oh, shit,” Ryken muttered, holding his head in his hands.

  “What is it?” Luken asked, holding onto his brother’s shoulder.

  Groaning, sweat pouring from his brow, he removed his hands from his face and glanced at his reflection in the elevator doors. He looked the same, but inside he knew he was different. He felt the difference burning into his brain like the hot press of a branding iron. He was so fucked. His mate was near—a mate he didn’t want.

  Shaking off the mating instinct, he glanced at his brother’s wide-eyed expression and simply said, “Nothing. I’m fine.” But he really wasn’t fine. Ryken was forever changed and there was no real way to avoid the mating bond that was overpowering him. Nothing was ever going to be the same for any of them.

  Chapter Two

  Tabitha sat at her desk, trying her best to focus and concentrate, entering data and checking reports. She frustratingly chewed on the earpiece of her gold-and-brown Versace framed glasses that dangled from the corner of her mouth. Another failed blind date had left her beyond sexually unfulfilled and annoyed. She was done with dating. If she could just soothe the ache in her pussy, she’d be all set.

  Her gray suit jacket she’d worn when she’d first arrived at Majestic Towers, before the sun even rose, was draped over the armrest of the guest chair across from her desk. White stilettos lay to the side of her executive chair.

  She liked to work comf
ortably, found it unbearable to be wedged in designer shoes and clothing when no one was around to appreciate it. So she discarded what she could and got right to business. Working to forget her disastrous date with a man who only wished to discuss how great he was, as well as get some real work done, she grabbed the first folder off the pile and began rifling through the papers.

  Lately, she had to work longer hours because she felt distracted, like something was clawing at the back of her mind, beckoning her to do something. What that something was, she had no idea, but something was calling to her—whispering words she couldn’t hear, but knew were being spoken. Maybe it was a subconscious trick that made her skin crawl like creeping and swarming insects. She felt like the flesh of her body was tingling and stretching tight over her bones as if someone were pressing against her, demanding attention.

  Was it her intuition telling her to be careful, but of what? Was it Brie that needed to heed caution?

  Chest full of anxiety and stress, she cursed under her breath, wishing Brie had called her. Her last conversation with her best friend had left her unsettled and unsatisfied.

  Brie had managed to escape a serial killer’s clutches and went into hiding with her coworkers, men Tabitha knew little to nothing about. Brie kept a lot of things to herself these days, a private woman to the core. A trait Tabitha shared with her best friend.

  Still, she didn’t like that Brie felt she couldn’t share all the aspects of her life with her. After all, it was Brie who made her open up about her own mysterious and emotional past. Brie was the one who helped strengthen her, guided and inspired her to keep fighting for what she wanted.

  Now that Tabitha had modicum of control over her own life, she could be a little mothering and controlling from time to time, a fault she had, but Brie had always managed to keep her in check. Brie had been there for her when no one else was. She would never judge Brie for the choices in her life. She would always be there as an advocate, as Brie had been for her.

  Ripping her from her wondering thoughts, the phone rang. Glancing down at the caller ID, she sucked in a sharp breath.

  Brie. I knew it. Something’s wrong. The strange feeling she was having twisting her gut was, in fact, her intuition.

  Grabbing the phone on the second ring, Tabitha blurted out, “Please tell me you’re okay.”

  “I’m okay,” Brie answered. The warmth of her voice moved through the phone and instantly soothed her weary mind.

  Sighing, she said, “Oh, God, I was so worried. I was actually sitting here thinking about you and then the phone rings and it is you. That was just a little weird, ya know?”

  “Yes, I imagine it was. Why were you thinking about me in the first place?”

  Tabitha leaned back in her chair, the tension still riding high and tight in her shoulders. “Well, last time we chatted, you were talking about the need for a security detail to follow your every move because a certain murderous lunatic was still stalking you.”

  “Right, that would make me a little worried and freaked out, too.”

  “But you’re not?” As she said it she realized it was both a question and a statement. Brie sounded too at peace to have a murderer chasing after her. What the heck was going on with her? She should be freaked out, stressed, in a state of panic—but she wasn’t.

  “No, not really.” Brie’s voice was full of overpowering confidence, and that worried Tabitha even more than it probably should have. Brie was an undoubting woman, but with all that was going on in her life, something was a little off. What did Brie know that she wasn’t telling her? Is the little shit keeping secrets?

  “And why is that?” The sternness in her voice might have been a little harsher than she intended, but she didn’t let it faze her. She needed to make a point.

  Damn that mothering, controlling need of hers.

  With a smile in her voice, Brie said, “Well, you could say it’s because of the men protecting me…and also because I’m getting married.”

  “You’re what?” Tabitha stood abruptly, nearly knocking herself over as her legs bumped both the desk and her chair, tilting her off balance. She grabbed the desk for support and steadied herself.

  Not missing a beat, Brie continued, “Getting married, silly. I’ve found the completion of myself, a union for my soul, and I wanted to call and tell you right away.” She radiated excitement and energy, but then why did Tabitha feel like the world was crashing down around her? Her heart squeezed in her chest, and her tummy did a somersault.

  Shocked, she couldn’t speak, absorbing the nightmare that her best friend was sharing with her. What the hell was she thinking? She hadn’t even been dating anyone that she knew of, and now she was getting married.

  Keeping stride with her upbeat conversation, Brie added, “I want you to come to east Texas and be a part of my wedding. The wedding is taking place at the end of this month at McCarthy Ranch and you must be my maid of honor. Please tell me you’ll be my maid of honor, Tabby.”

  The line went silent as her brain slowly processed the words Brie had spoken to her. Then, all at once her mind erupted into an all-consuming need to convince her friend of the huge mistake she was making. Women who rushed into marriage ended up shattered carcasses of emotional garbage and divorced in record time. Surely, her attorney of a best friend knew that. Brie was too intelligent to be so imprudent.

  Tabitha’s voice was sharp and to the point as she told her, “Brie, I wish I could share your excitement, but I’m afraid I’m at a loss for words. I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend, didn’t know you were serious about anything other than your work, and being your best friend and finding this out now is just unacceptable to me.”

  Brie said, “I know, Tabby. I’m sorry for not sharing more with you, but a lot has changed.” Brie exhaled. The air blew softly into the receiver of the phone for Tabitha to hear. “A lot I wish to share with you now.”

  “Like what? Besides the fact that you just dropped the mother of all bombshells on me—no wait, the mother of all bombshells would be that you’re pregnant and getting married.”

  The static on the line was so loud Tabitha felt it ringing in her ears like a bullhorn blasting through the silence.

  A ball of rage and disappointment dropped into the pit of her tummy, bile rose into her throat, and she couldn’t breathe. What had happened to her best friend?

  “Holy. Fucking. Shit. Brie Ferguson! You are kidding me, right? There is no way in all the heavens that you’re pregnant and only getting married because you’re pregnant,” she spit out.

  “No, of course not,” Brie snapped, sounding disgusted at Tabitha for even thinking those thoughts out loud. “I was getting married before I found out I was pregnant.”

  And that was her logical response? That was supposed to make everything better? Tabitha felt sick, and her belly churned like bubbling acid. She gripped hold of her stomach then grabbed the armrest of the chair behind her to ease herself back down into a sitting position. Her skin burned like she had a fever. Sweat trickled from her brow, and leaked into her eyes.

  Without warning, the door to her office opened and in strode two of the sexiest, most dangerous-looking men she had ever seen. Her fingers gripped the armrest tighter. Swallowing hard, her eyes drifted over her unexpected visitors. Her visitors had golden blond hair and piercing blue eyes. Both men looked breathtakingly, and unnaturally sexy.

  But who were these two men staring at her with such heated expressions and why was her heart racing so fast she thought it was trying to jump clear from her breast? Her pussy clenched with need and awareness, like she was about to tear the clothes from her body and spread her legs invitingly for these two men to savor.

  Damn, she should have used her vibrator last night, should have eased the burning in her pussy when she had the chance. More importantly, she needed to get a hold of herself and fast, before her body controlled what her brain obviously couldn’t.

  “Tabitha Burns?” the man with his hair pulled bac
k away from his face asked in a voice so deep and husky that moisture pooled between her legs.

  Oh, shit! her mind roared. His voice was just as fuckable as his body. Oh, dear God, I’m so screwed.

  “Yes?” She tried to mask the fear in her voice with the look of confidence, but her true emotions were present and accounted for. So much for faking it.

  “We need to speak with you,” the other stated. His voice was smooth like butter and warm like hot maple syrup. Her toes curled into the soft fabric of the carpeting and her legs began to shake. Her nipples were so firm they could easily cut glass.

  Stuttering, she told her friend on the other end of the phone, “Brie, I’ve got company.”

  “Two very large, very sexy blond men?” Brie said.

  Her pulse sped up. She gasped. “How did you know?”

  With a giggle in her voice, she explained, “They’re friends of mine, and they’ve come to see you safely to McCarthy Ranch.”

  Grasping the phone tighter, Tabitha lowered her voice and asked through gritted teeth, “What are you talking about?”

  “Tabitha, these men are going to be part of my family, and I thought it best that they aid you in your travels. McCarthy Ranch is sort of tucked away in a cozy spot in east Texas, and no one knows these lands better then Ryken and Luken.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she called out, “Ryken?” The tall, brawny man with his hair pulled back nodded his head and grinned.

  Glancing at the other hulky male whose hair was flowing loosely over his shoulders and down towards his waist, she said, “And Luken?”

  Oh, my…

  Stunned by both of their charming smiles and sparkling, soft blue eyes, she cradled the phone closer to her face, gripping it as if it were a teleportation device that would beam her out of there and back into the real world.

  Pressing a forefinger and thumb to her temples, she breathed, “I think I need to sit down.”

  “You are sitting down,” both men answered in unison.

  Glaring, she retorted, “Then maybe I need to lie down.” Rolling her eyes at the sexy, golden he-men standing before her, she huffed out a sigh.