Under a Rogue Moon

Chapter 4

Chapter 4She slept fitfully, with dreams both thrilling and terrifying accompanying her every moment. In them, Flanna was back at Rage, leaning against the bar while the music pulsated around her. This time, however, the man she sighted across the room was not the Neanderthal who wouldn’t take no for an answer. It was Jason Randolph, clad in blood-stained jeans and a black button-down shirt left open to expose his ravaged chest.

She went to him, drawn by the fact that he didn’t seem to be in pain despite his obvious injuries. There was something else she couldn’t put a finger on, something that dared her to approach, and when she stood before him, he took her hand in his and kissed her palm, their eyes never wavering from each other.

“When did you get hurt?” she asked, though speech seemed the most ridiculous thing to try right then. Her thighs were tingling from the contact of his lips, and she couldn’t resist squeezing them together to exert just a touch more pressure on her clit.

“Last night was the full moon,” he replied. His tongue darted out to trace the outline of her fingers, lingering a fraction of a second too long in the sensitive creases at their base before beginning the long slide up the next one. “The blood always flows on the full moon.”

She could only nod in agreement. Her mouth had gone too dry to speak.

“You should’ve killed him,” he murmured. Gently, he tugged her closer, letting her fall onto him where he leaned against the wall. “You shouldn’t have missed.”

“I know,” Flanna managed to say. “I’ll get him next time.”

“There won’t be a next time.”

Their mouths were already moving together, each hungry for the other’s kiss. But as Jason’s features grew closer, Flanna watched them change, shift, his teeth lengthening while his eyes went black. In seconds, he bore the mask of a werewolf, smothering her startled scream with a ferocious lunge.

She jerked awake, her hair sticking in sweaty clumps to her cheeks. The oversize t-shirt she wore had ridden up and was twisted uncomfortably around her waist. Her breath had returned to a natural rhythm by the time she pushed the duvet off, but the memory of how aroused she had been remained much, much longer. Where that had come from, Flanna had no idea. Though she’d clearly thought him attractive, not once had she consciously entertained doing anything remotely resembling s****l in his presence. Well, except for imagining a kiss that first night at Rage. But that didn’t count. Obviously, however, her subconscious thought it did.

Thankfully, her Nan didn’t ask any uncomfortable questions or comment on what might be the cause of Flanna’s distraction while they got ready to go to the bakery. Knowledge of Jason’s visit would come out sooner or later, and the longer Flanna escaped Helen’s inquiries, the happier she would be.

It turned out to be sooner. Courtesy of a dark Nissan parked directly in front of the shop. And the slender man leaning against the driver’s side door.

Under her breath, Flanna cursed Jason’s name.

He wore sunglasses, which marked him as an out-of-towner before he’d even said a word aloud, and his lean legs looked remarkably long in his faded blue jeans. His windbreaker covered the pullover he wore, and she realized with surprise that she was mildly disappointed that it wasn’t a button-down shirt beneath the jacket. Still, he looked put-together, as usual, no evidence in his composure betraying whether or not he’d been able to find a place to spend the night.

He smiled as they walked up to the front door. “Being this early guarantees me a fresh hot donut straight out of the oven, right?” Jason said.

“If you have the money to pay for it,” Flanna replied. She turned on her heel and stepped between him and Helen, blocking the older woman’s inquisitive view. “Tell Dad I’ll be inside in a second, okay?”

“Do you know this young man?”

Flanna sighed as she glanced over her shoulder to see Jason’s smug grin. “Unfortunately.”

The bell over the door jingled in the crisp morning air as Helen went inside. “Well, that wasn’t a very nice introduction,” Jason scolded once it was just the two of them on the walk.

She folded her arms across her chest, catching the slight flicker of his gaze down to her full breasts before he met her eyes again. A flare of heat rose to her cheeks at the obvious appreciation. “Is there a reason you’ve decided to bother me at work, too, or do you just take particular pleasure in torment?”

“Can I say both? You get this adorable little line between your eyes when you get all pissed off.”

His fingertip was brushing across her brow before she could move out of his way, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Flanna was left staring at him in surprise when he let his hand drop back down to his side.

“Look,” he said. “We got off to a rocky start last night. I’ll be the first to admit that. I’m interested in making this partnership as smooth as possible. I think we can be a pretty good team, if you’ll just get over this lone rider mentality you have.”

His word choice startled her, eyes going wide. “We’re partners now?”

When he smiled and ducked his head in mild embarrassment, some of her irritation began to dissipate until she realized that it was very likely a practiced move on his part to gain sympathy. “I was hoping we could be,” Jason said. “Did your dad get the confirmations he wanted about me?”

“I don’t know.” Flanna had fallen asleep on the couch while they’d been waiting for responses from the feelers Colin had put out. He’d already been off to work in the morning by the time she had woken up.

“Can you at least refrain from judgment until he does?” He held up his fingers in a mock scout salute. “I promise that if your dad hears one bad thing about me, I’ll slink away with my tail between my legs and you won’t hear another thing from me until Romm is dead. Maybe not even then.”

It was hard to continue being so stubborn on the issue when he was conceding everything to her father’s decision. Reluctantly, Flanna pushed aside her annoyance and relaxed her stance, though when Jason’s smile widened as he watched her arms uncross, she felt like smacking him.

“I have to work,” she said, nodding toward the shop behind her. “Why don’t you go off and come back tonight? We can talk then.”

“Love to, but there’s really not a whole hell of a lot to do in this town, now is there?”

“You can sightsee. Or go get some more sleep. Or anything, really, that doesn’t involve being around me.”

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

Her temper flared again. “And methinks—”

She was cut off by the door opening behind her and her father stepping out into the morning light. When he frowned, his gaze scrutinizing them closely, Flanna realized with a start that Jason was still standing just inches away from her, and instinctively leapt back to create the illusion of more distance. She wasn’t sure if her father heard Jason’s amused chuckle or not.

“A bit early for you, isn’t it, Mr. Randolph?” Colin said.

It was a question not meant to be answered; Flanna had been on the receiving end of those all her life. Jason, however, didn’t get that.

“Depends on how you look at it,” he replied. “Could be late if I never made it to sleep in the first place.”

With a twinge of satisfaction, she realized she didn’t need to say anything at all about Jason. He was going to dig his own grave all too neatly if he kept up the flippant attitude with her father.

“I think you’ll find Kent’s not quite as exciting as some of the other places you’ve been to.”

Flanna’s head whipped around to stare in shock at her father. Was he…joking with Jason? That could even be a smile ghosting across his mouth. Where on earth had this come from?

The astonishment must have been all too evident on her face because Colin reached out and patted her shoulder in reassurance. “Mr. Randolph here has put together quite an impressive resume over the past two years,” he said. “A bit…unorthodox, maybe, but even Guillaume has heard of him and we both know it takes a bit of news to reach him all the way in the Yukon.”

So that was it. Jason had passed her father’s inspection with flying colors. Her stomach sank. There was going to be no getting rid of him now.

“I’m giving you the day off, Flanna,” Colin was saying. “Take Mr. Randolph back to the house and show him around a bit. He’s going to be staying with us until this Romm business is sorted.”

“But…but…” Coherency had given up on her, and all she could do was stand there, gaping at both men in disbelief. “There’s no place for him to sleep!” she finally managed to get out.

“I can curl up just about anywhere,” Jason said. He stuck his hand out in gratitude toward Colin. “Thank you, Mr. McRae. I’m sure you’ll find this will make everything easier in the long run.”

They shook hands, Colin nodding his head almost in a matching rhythm. “I’ll let Flanna tell you how things work around here,” he said. “These are good, simple folk who don’t know about the real evil in this world, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Of course.”

All too quickly, they were left alone in front of the shop. “Now are you going to believe me?” Jason asked.

Any trace of amusement had vanished from his face. When he looked at her now, Flanna saw only the sincerity of his intent reflected in his blue eyes. How was she supposed to hate this arrangement when he looked for all purposes that it was the most important thing in the world to him?

“You really think Dominic Romm wants me dead?” she finally asked.

There was no hesitation in his reply. “I’m as sure of that as I am that you’re going to give him hell when he tries.”

Her lips twitched. She had to turn away from him, back to where she’d parked her car, so that he couldn’t see the beginnings of her smile.

* * * *

With his new Nissan parked in the drive, the house looked older somehow, more worn around the eaves. Flanna saw the way he looked at everything, not missing a single detail, and yet, Jason never commented on the property, choosing instead to continue with his light gibes that kept her slightly on edge. She took him around the side of the house and showed him the range she used for shooting practice, and then trekked farther onto the grounds to take him to the old barn that had been converted into her training room.

“Nice,” he said, standing in the doorway.

The entire space was devoted to the hunt, whether it was weapons preparation or fitness-related. Her father did all his metalworks in the far corner, and most of his silvers were arrayed along the wall behind it, sparking against the aged brick. There was a boxing ring in the opposite corner, and various ropes and punching bags were scattered throughout the barn, giving Flanna ample opportunity to hone any one of her skills.

She watched Jason carefully, trying to best gauge his reaction. He sounded like he meant it, but she got the distinct impression that he was used to more affluent ventures. He probably saw their whole set-up as antiquated, but then again, he hadn’t made a joke about the space either. Knowing what she knew of him already, that said a lot.

“Did your father train you?”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “He picked this house especially because it had the barn he could use for his weapons and the like. What about you? Is hunting a family thing for you, too?”

Jason chuckled. “Only if it’s got money at the end of the trail.” He was suddenly standing right in front of her, blocking the way out of the barn. “I’ve gotta ask because I’m dying to know, and it’s probably going to make things worse, but what the hell. Why is it you don’t like me?”

Nobody could leave her speechless quite like Jason Randolph. Her mouth opened, closed, opened again as her mind searched desperately for some kind of response that didn’t make her sound even more foolish than she already felt. In the end, the best she the best she could manage was, “Excuse me?”

“It’s not that that’s not okay,” he went on. His eyes were twinkling, and his mouth was twisted into a half-smile, but underlying his joviality was a note of disappointment. “It’s just…well, that’s kind of a new one for me. I mean, people don’t usually start disliking me until they’ve had a chance to really get to know what a jerk I can be, and I haven’t been around here long enough for that to happen with you. So, I’m asking. What is it about me that rubs you the wrong way? My devilish good looks, or my sparkling personality maybe?”

The question bothered her. Not because he was asking, but because she suddenly felt like she’d been caught out on something, a child with a shameful secret forced to share it when she really didn’t want to. Her cheeks blazed in embarrassment, and her hair seemed suddenly too heavy down her back. But Jason wasn’t moving from her path. If she wanted to get by him, she would have to resort to being physical, and that would just be wrong on far too many levels. She didn’t have much of a choice but to give him some kind of answer.

“You joke too much,” she said bluntly.

His head c****d in amusement, his eyes narrowing slightly as they regarded her. “So…you have a phobia for funny?”

Her flush deepened. “I just don’t think it’s always appropriate,” Flanna said. “You make light of things that I wouldn’t. What we do…it’s serious business, and it looks like you treat it like it’s not. I don’t care if my father or Guillaume or Tony Blair himself thinks you’re God’s gift, but I think you’re going to get yourself killed. And…enough people die already.”

“What you’re saying, then, is that you’d miss me if I wasn’t around.”

“What? No! Stop twisting my words!” Whirling away, Flanna began to pace the length of the wall, doing everything she could to keep from looking at him. “This is exactly why I don’t like you. You always say just the wrong thing, and it’s…it’s…”

“Sexy as hell?”

“Infuriating!”

She hadn’t realized she was moving so close to him until his hand shot out and curled around her bicep, forcing her to a halt.

“You accused me last night of being emotionally invested in getting Romm,” he said. Something dark flickered behind his eyes. “You were right. But if I went at all this with the same seriousness you do, I would’ve slit my wrists a long time ago. This is who I am, Flanna. This is how I don’t explode.” He paused, and she felt the slightest of caresses along her arm where his thumb began to stroke it. “Kind of like how you go to places like Rage.”

Her skin was burning beneath her sleeve where he was touching her, and her throat was dry, refusing to work properly in the face of his casual reference to her night in New York. “You don’t know anything about why I went there,” she whispered.

Jason shook his head, the strokes along her bicep growing stronger in tiny, almost imperceptible fractions. “I think I know a lot more than you’re willing to admit.”

When he let her go and took a step away, Flanna stumbled, not expecting to lose the balance he’d been giving her. Already he was heading back up to the house, whistling under his breath. Apparently their conversation was over. Part of her wanted to thank him for dropping it, but another, almost equally vocal part wanted to chase after Jason and make him finish what he’d started. She wanted to know why he cared so much about getting Romm, and she needed him to understand that he wasn’t nearly as astute as he seemed to think he was.

“I’m hungry,” she heard him call out. She glanced up to see him looking back at her over his shoulder, that damnable grin on his face again. “What does a guy have to do to get a hot breakfast around here?”