Christmas Moon (2 page)

She wrapped her hands around the cup, letting its heat sink into her. This place was different. She wasn’t sure how she knew that, but she trusted her instincts. Chloe had hooked her up with Jackson, recommending her for the job. When she’d come to the interview, she’d been surprised how much she wanted it, how much she’d liked Jackson and Summer and Chloe’s new husband, Billy. And the mountains. They’d seemed to call to her. Weird for a kid from the arid desert and Las Vegas’ neon lights. Then again, she’d escaped that place to attend college in Florida and had never looked back. Never felt like she’d left home.

Feeling started to return to her fingers, and she wiggled them, shrugging off the heavy coat a few seconds later. Warmth and comfort seeped into her bones.

“Feel better?”

Blinking, she looked up. She’d forgotten she wasn’t alone. There was no sign of Billy, only the stranger. She should be alarmed, but was only curious. God, he was gorgeous.

She studied him as blatantly as he studied her. Nothing subtle in that look. He was tall and broad shouldered, but her first impression was a little off. He was well muscled, but more lean than bulky. His eyes glowed silvery grey. It took her a minute to figure out why he looked so familiar. There had been a man around for her interview that looked just like him, except where he’d had a tight, military haircut, this stranger’s pale blond hair brushed his collar. She had an urge to run her fingers through it. To see if it was as silky smooth as it looked. It was beautiful, and a striking contrast to her own black locks.

The other man came in then, arms loaded with wood. He dropped it next to the fireplace and took up position next to the first stranger. She looked back and forth between the two of them. Brothers. Twins, unless she missed her guess. If it weren’t for the differences in hair cuts, she would never have been able to tell them apart.

The short-haired one spoke. His voice was deep, his tone disapproving. “You cut your hair.”

Feeling a pang of loss, she lifted her hand to finger the ends that fell just past her shoulders. She didn’t know what had possessed her. Last week she’d walked past a hair salon, spun around, gone back, and when she came out her hip length hair was gone, replaced by this shorter cut that left her feeling naked. Some women didn’t care about their hair. Some didn’t care for long hair. She wasn’t one of them. She’d cried for days but finally decided it would grow back. No point in continuing to stay upset over something that was done.

She felt their gazes on her and jerked her attention back to the present. They stood next to each other, stances a perfect mimicry of each other. Feet planted hip width apart, arms crossed over their impressive chests. She wondered if she’d get to try one of them out, if one of them liked sex the way she did. On the rough side. Intense and carnal. Arousal spiked her temperature as she considered it, and she hoped no one noticed how her nipples had hardened. Thank God they wouldn’t realize her panties were now damp.

The quiet stretched, and she suddenly realized her escort had disappeared. Alarm, belated and sharp, filled her. “Where’d Billy go?”

The long-haired one arched a perfect eyebrow. “Probably home to his mate.”

Mate? What an odd choice of words. She ignored that and digested the information. Billy had left her here, so he must trust these two men. Since he was married to her only real friend in the world, she was inclined to trust his judgement.

“Who are you two?”

The long haired one grinned at his brother. “Not a y’all in sight. She definitely isn’t Southern.” He turned back to her. “I’m Cain. This is my brother, Abel.”

She snorted. “Cain, Abel, and Delilah. You couldn’t have planned that better if you tried.”

They laughed, and she was bizarrely pleased. Another oddity. They were strangers. Why did it seem so important she amuse them both? Her stomach growled, and she tried to remember how long ago lunch had been. The laughter was cut off as if they had a switch, and the long-haired one, Cain, held his hand out to her.

“Let’s get you fed.”

She stood but hesitated, watching him. Them. Silver-grey eyes, silvery-blond hair. They were beautiful, unearthly. And yet, she felt as if she knew them. She’d never experienced anything like it before.

Was it the Christmas wish? Her heart skipped a beat. No way. It was a stupid tradition she’d picked up from one of her foster mothers. Make a wish on Thanksgiving for what you wanted for Christmas. Why she’d kept it up she had no idea, and usually she kept it to something so simple she knew it would be a possibility if not a probability. Hedging her bets. The scholarship she’d been all but told she’d get. The purse she couldn’t resist buying herself. Her first job out of college that she knew she’d get an offer for because, really, how much could one man ogle your legs? A few weeks ago, in a moment of insanity and intense loneliness, she’d wished for a home, for a man that was hers, who accepted her, weirdness and all.

“Delilah?” Abel stretched his hand out next to Cain’s.

Was this it? The wish? And if it was, which one? It would be damned near impossible to choose between them. She didn’t take either hand but smiled, hiding her confusion, feeling like there was a world of conversation going here that she’d missed.

“Dinner would be wonderful.”

Cain turned and walked into a hall. She followed, and Abel brought up the rear, his hand resting on the small of her back. Her body tingled in awareness, and she wondered if she’d be able to eat. They walked a short distance to the kitchen, and Abel guided her to a long table where she sat on a stool.

The brothers worked together gathering bowls and spoons. They ladled out spicy smelling chili and set it before her. They poured glasses of tea before sitting, too, one on either side of her.

“They sent it down from the big house,” Cain said. “Chloe’s probably. She does most of the cooking up there.”

Abel winked. “Her cooking is the most edible.”

Delilah picked up the spoon. She remembered Chloe’s cooking from their college roommate days. It was more than edible, and she knew it was Chloe’s from the first bite. She moaned her pleasure. Awesome. She’d never known anyone who could cook as well and had spent hours trying to learn from her. She loved food, and her ass showed her devotion to it. Cooking was a joy, a way to relax at the end of the day. But she’d never matched Chloe’s skill.

“Definitely Chloe’s,” she said, sighing when she finished the bowl.

Cain turned to her and, lifting his napkin, wiped the corner of her mouth. His face was serene, but his eyes were hot, scorching. Her pussy clenched, and she wondered what it would be like to have him. No, for him to take her. Because as liberated and independent as she was, she longed for something else. Someone to take charge, someone she trusted enough to whom she could give over all control. Because she was all alone in the world, she had no one to count on but herself, sometimes she longed for the freedom to just let go. And what better way to get it? She’d met few people—few men—who understood that longing.

Instinct told her Cain would understand, but she didn’t trust it. She pulled away, jerking up, out of her seat, and backing several feet away.

To hide her nervousness, she picked up their bowls and moved to the sink, losing herself in the simple ritual of washing up. When she was finished, she set the dishes in the drainer and turned back around to face the strange, alluring men. Both watched her steadily, as if they saw right through her. She wondered what would happen next, and thought it was her vagabond upbringing that allowed her to consider it without freaking out. She wanted to belong but didn’t want the risk of the process. Wanted to know from the get go it would all work out. Needed reassurances and promises that were impossible to give.

Better to keep your distance, Delilah.
She’d never been a risk taker.

It was a lot to consider, and it wasn’t like either had given any indication they wanted her on a personal level anyway. She couldn’t begin to justify the strange conversation with herself. Why was she so drawn to two complete strangers? She’d been up long before dawn, anxious and excited to get on with her new life. It was long past dark now, and she found herself fighting a yawn. They noticed. Was there anything they didn’t notice?

Abel motioned with his head for her to follow him and walked back out into the living room. He picked up her bag and went up a flight of steps she hadn’t noticed earlier, stopping at the first door on the left and pushing it open. He walked in and set her things down on the bed.

“You’ll be staying here for a few days. The cabin isn’t ready, and with this snow it will be a little while before the crew can get back into it.”

She nodded acknowledgement, keeping her questions to herself. Why wasn’t she staying with Chloe and Billy? Who exactly were these guys? She approached the window and stared out, wondering not for the first time what drew her to this place.

“Well. I’ll let you get some sleep.”

Realizing how rude she was being, she turned and forced a smile, hoping it looked grateful instead of tired and ungracious. “Thank you. I’m sorry to put you and your brother out like this.” Her smile was closer to real this time. “I really appreciate the room. And dinner.”

He blinked. A long slow down sweep of his eyelids. Amazing how sexy that was. When he moved, the motion was so smooth, so lithe, it took a moment for her to concentrate on his face. What she saw there made her gasp. Hot. Hungry. Territorial. She knew she should move, put herself in a better position than her back to the wall, but his eyes held her frozen in place. He stopped right before her, close enough that his chest just grazed hers, but the contact was enough to make her nipples pebble and her cunt clench. His nostrils flared as if he knew, as if he was inhaling the scent of her arousal. He lifted one hand and lightly caressed the side of her face.

“You aren’t putting us out, Delilah. You’re no inconvenience at all.”

His gaze held hers, filled with a silent demand that made her knees weak. As quickly as the contact had come, it was gone, his hand back at his side. He was across the room and holding onto the door before she could blink. She’d never seen a man move so fast. He gave her one last, long look before pulling the door shut behind him.

“We’ll see you in the morning.”

Chapter Two

Delilah opened her suitcase and pulled out her sleep clothes—a thin-strapped tank top and pair of flannel pajama bottoms—and the small bag that held her personal items. There were doors on the far wall, and she opened both, relieved to see one was a bathroom. The other led to a huge bedroom.

She decided to take a quick hot shower, hoping it would banish the lingering chill in her body and help her sleep. She was out in minutes, toweling her hair as dry as possible and yanking on her pants to ward of the cold. After hanging the towel to dry over the shower curtain rod, she climbed between the sheets of the king-sized bed and closed her eyes.

After several minutes, she sighed and punched the pillow. She wasn’t sleeping any time soon. She was tired but too hyped up, excited about her new job, and curious about the brothers she’d ended up with until her cabin was ready. Getting up, she walked across the room to the window and leaned against the sill, rubbing the goose bumps on her arms. She’d better adjust to the cold weather soon or it was going to be a miserable winter.

It was still snowing, but the wind no longer buffeted the house. Despite the cloud cover, the yard she looked down on was well lit. Lights from the downstairs rooms poured out and illuminated the area surrounding the long back porch.

A howl rent the night air, and she jerked upright, searching the shadows at the edge of the yard. A wolf burst from the trees with a second one right on its heels. The pursuer leapt, landing on the back of the first wolf, and she clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle a yell of warning. They landed in a heap and instantly sprang back up, rolling across the yard together, nipping and scratching.

It took her a moment to realize there was no blood, and it finally occurred to her to use her strange ability. She reached out to them mentally, expecting to feel anger or aggression. She frowned. Their minds weren’t right. Instead of the open emotion she usually felt from animals, these two were mostly closed off, like humans when she tried to read them. She did get a sense of play, that neither intended to harm the other. She wrote the differences off to being wolves. She’d never encountered wolves in the wild before. Maybe that explained it.

She watched for a few more seconds, smiling as she became more convinced they were playing. Wanting to see them up close, she slipped her shoes on and grabbed the quilt from the bed to wrap it around her shoulders. She moved as quietly as possible down the hall and steps. Something told her Cain and Abel wouldn’t approve of her going outside to watch the local wildlife play. She felt a pang of sadness at that. Best not to get attached to either of them. Most people didn’t like different, and she was definitely different.

In the living room, she turned toward the French doors she’d seen earlier and opened them, relieved when there was no squeak. The wind was no longer blowing constantly, but occasional gusts blew the treetops around in big sweeps against the dark sky. It was bitterly cold. Much colder than when she’d arrived. She pulled the quilt up around her head, covering her still damp hair, and edged toward the steps. She sat down carefully, quietly, not wanting to draw their attention.