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Stuffed from the fajitas, Eve doubted she had room for more. “Seriously?”

  “Chocolate mousse.”

  Oh, that was low. Eve scowled at Jac. “Bringing out the big guns, are you?”

  Jac grinned cheekily. “What, you like chocolate mousse?”

  “Hmmph.” Eve stood and started gathering their dirty dishes. “You know I do.”

  Grabbing her own handful of dishes, Jac followed Eve to the kitchen. “I know a lot of things about you. Very important things.”

  Eve couldn’t deny that was true. “Then you should know that you’re not getting me into bed tonight, no matter how much you turn on the charm.” She scraped the remnants of her dinner into the garbage, then set her plate in the sink. “You should also know—”

  Before she could tell Jac that it would take more than chocolate mousse to get her to cheat on Selene, Jac turned her around and pushed her against the counter, crushing their mouths together in a hungry kiss. Stunned, Eve grabbed onto Jac’s biceps, intending to push her away. But she hesitated, the safe familiarity of Jac’s mouth on hers overwhelming her. Dimly aware that kissing back made her refusals not only weak but also empty, Eve couldn’t help but briefly sample Jac’s mouth before turning her face to the side with a gasp.

  “I said no.” Eve’s legs seemed to melt beneath her. “Stop.”

  Immediately Jac backed off. “I’m sorry.”

  “Goddamn it, Jac.” Eve touched her lips with her fingertips, unable to believe what had just happened. She hadn’t meant to hesitate before pulling away and hoped Jac hadn’t noticed. “I don’t think I was unclear. This—us—isn’t going to happen. I’m not coming back to you. You had your chance and you blew it. It’s time to accept that and move on. I have—and it wasn’t easy. Don’t make it even harder now.”

  “I’m not trying to hurt you.” Jac walked backward, folding her arms over her chest. She couldn’t quite meet Eve’s eyes. “And you’re right, that was out of line. I’m sorry. I just…I know you’re in love with her. I know that. This isn’t about being jealous. It’s about really and truly realizing what I did to you, what I lost, and wanting desperately to believe that I might get another chance.”

  “You’re not getting another chance,” Eve whispered. “Especially because you’re making me not want to be around you.”

  Jac clenched her jaw. “Do you want to go listen to the recording of our Golden Gate Park murder tip? Let’s do that right now. I’ve got it on my laptop.”

  Heart pounding, Eve tightened her fists at her sides. “And what do you think that’ll accomplish? I’m going to hear a voice that sounds like Selene and decide to fall into bed with you?”

  “No. But at least you’ll have all the necessary information before you start making choices.”

  “I have all the information that I need, to know I don’t want to be with you anymore.” Eve edged around Jac, escaping the kitchen on shaky legs. “And you’re really making me regret coming over here tonight.”

  “Come on, Eve. It’s not like you have a choice.” Jac didn’t even bother to hide her frustration as she followed Eve back into the living room. “If Selene and I don’t agree on anything else, it’s that you will not be alone while that monster is still out there.”

  Whirling to face Jac, Eve fought not to raise her voice. On the heels of that kiss, hearing Jac invoke Selene’s name bordered on offensive. “I doubt this is what Selene had in mind.”

  “Probably not.”

  “So I’m a captive audience, then? Is that it?” Eve’s throat tightened at the memory of Jac crushing their mouths and bodies together. “You think you can ambush me?”

  “I just want to protect you. That includes making sure you know the truth about the woman you’ve fallen in love with. Even if it hurts your feelings.” Jac puffed up her chest, challenging. “You can’t tell me that kiss was entirely unwelcome. I know there’s some part of you that isn’t sure about Selene, that misses me.”

  “I’m not a cheater,” Eve said coldly. “You took me by surprise. But I would never do to Selene what you did to me.” The thought made Eve tremble. She could think of nothing worse than betraying Selene’s trust like Jac had once betrayed hers. That Jac was the one who put her in this position enraged Eve. “And I don’t care what you or Selene say. I do have a choice about being here, and I’m choosing to leave. Right now.”

  Alarm flashed in Jac’s eyes. “No. You’re right, I shouldn’t have said that. That was unfair. I promise to drop it for the rest of the night. But you’re not going anywhere.”

  “Goddamn you, Jac.” Eve walked to the door, grabbing her coat from the hook in the entryway. “Yes, I am. I’m going outside to tell my friends from the department that I’m getting a hotel room tonight. I have no doubt they’ll keep me perfectly safe without hitting on me.” She buttoned her coat with trembling hands. “I don’t need you. Not to protect me, or to tell me whom I should date. I don’t even need you as a friend, if you’re going to put me in the awkward position of having to constantly push you away.”

  Jac grabbed Eve’s wrist, stopping her from turning the doorknob. “I said I was sorry. Please don’t go.”

  Eve shivered under Jac’s touch. Guilt turned her stomach at the memory of kissing back, even for an instant. She couldn’t stay with Jac tonight. She couldn’t even imagine waiting until tomorrow to confess what happened to Selene. Selene was probably already on her way out of town, but if she hadn’t left yet, Eve had to go see her. To clear her conscience. To reassure herself that she hadn’t just royally screwed things up.

  Eve yanked her wrist away and opened the door. “Thanks for dinner, Jac. I’ll see you later.” She hurried out of the apartment, rushing down the hallway before Jac could try to convince her to stay.

  She had to see Selene—and apologize.

  Chapter Twenty

  Selene gritted her teeth as she walked to her front door, waves of pleasure rippling through her body from the simple friction of her silk robe brushing her naked skin. She hadn’t expected the new escort to arrive for another fifteen minutes, but was thrilled by her punctuality. This month’s impending transformation was already more intense than the last, even without the perigee moon, and Selene knew it had everything to do with Eve.

  Consumed by Eve’s lingering scent on the furniture around her, by the memory of the last time she touched Eve’s skin, Selene could think of nothing but her desire to fuck Eve hard and fast, to make her scream out shuddering release. More than once today she had orgasmed simply by thinking of what she would do to Eve if they were together. It was probably better for Eve they weren’t.

  Now that she had a mate, the sexual frenzy the moon sparked within Selene burned so hot it left her barely able to hold on to conscious thought. She had no idea how she would restrain herself if Eve were near. As it was, it would surely take everything she had to explain her ritual to the new girl—even more not to seem like a complete lunatic while doing so. Selene hoped the escort’s early arrival boded well for her ability to follow instructions and tie rope tighter than her predecessor.

  Selene opened the door, then went very still. For a few breathless moments she hoped she was seeing things, that her sex-clouded mind was tricking her into imagining Eve standing there on her porch looking delicious enough to devour.

  “Oh, good. I thought you would have already left.” Eve’s eyes shone with emotion even as she flitted her gaze over the length of Selene’s body. “Were you about to take a shower?”

  Bracing a hand against the door frame, Selene gritted her teeth and tried to hold herself together. Answering the door in a robe had to seem strange when Eve believed she should be on her way out of town already. The least she could do was try to act normal.

  Working against her was not only the maddening influence of the moon but also the knowledge that her escort was due to arrive any moment. Selene struggled to focus on the task at hand—it was absolutely necessary to make Eve leave before she got caught in a lie. But her body
didn’t want Eve to go. The satisfaction she craved was right in front of her, staring at her with troubled eyes. Selene felt a myriad of emotions pouring off Eve, chief among them guilt. Dimly, Selene wondered what could have happened to bring Eve here when she knew Selene wasn’t supposed to be home.

  “I was just getting ready to go.” Cursing the breathiness of her voice, Selene tried to affect a casual air. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at Jac’s.”

  “I couldn’t stay.” The guilt that flowed from Eve intensified, but instead of dampening Selene’s arousal, it only inflamed her more. Right now every bit of Eve’s emotion served as kindling for the fire of her lust, stoking the flames to dangerous heights. “She kissed me, Selene. I didn’t want her to and I told her nothing could happen between us, but…” Swallowing, Eve could no longer seem to meet her eyes. “I know you wanted me to stay with her tonight, but I can’t. And I’m so sorry to just drop in like this when you’re on your way out of town. I needed to tell you what happened…and apologize.”

  Selene exhaled through her nose. Her heart pumped alarmingly hard, every beat thrumming in her pussy and making it more and more difficult to function. The idea that Jac would touch her Eve unleashed a flood of jealous need, stretching her control to the breaking point. The easiest way to make Eve leave would probably be to accuse her of cheating and send her away, but Selene couldn’t do that. Not even to protect her secret. With effort, Selene bared her teeth in a tense smile.

  “No need to apologize, darling. I trust you. Is there somewhere else you can go tonight?” Selene concentrated on moderating her breathing, trying to ignore the scent of Jac she now picked up on Eve’s skin. The visceral reminder of Jac’s transgression made it all but impossible to resist pulling Eve inside and staking her claim. “I hate to turn you away, but I’m already running late…”

  “Of course,” Eve murmured, face falling. “I’m sorry to have bothered you. I probably shouldn’t have come—” She turned slightly and her shirt pulled tight across her breasts, snapping the last thread of Selene’s control.

  Growling, Selene caught Eve’s arm in a forceful grasp and pulled her forward, inside the house, then slammed her up against the wall next to the door. She attacked Eve’s mouth with vicious passion, crushing their lips together in a hard kiss. Eve gasped beneath her, then clutched at Selene’s shoulders, giving off a jolt of shocked pleasure that made Selene climax violently against her. Tearing her mouth away, Selene turned her face to the side and closed her eyes without retreating.

  “You’re mine,” Selene choked out. She buried her face in Eve’s hair and inhaled deeply, quaking as an aftershock rolled through her body. Rather than sate her need, each orgasm only cranked it up higher. “But you need to go, Eve. Right now.”

  Eve curled a hand around the back of Selene’s neck, holding her close. She couldn’t have moved even if she’d wanted to, pinned in place by Selene’s heavy bulk. But it didn’t seem like getting away was on her agenda. “If you’ve got five minutes, we could say good-bye properly.”

  Too weak to resist, Selene shivered. The smell of Eve’s wetness saturated the air between them, wiping every bit of rational thought from Selene’s mind. The longer she let Eve stay, the greater the chance of getting caught. But her body simply wouldn’t obey her mind. She couldn’t send Eve away when every cell of her being screamed with the need to take her.

  “Goddamn it,” Selene groaned. She reached between their bodies and yanked open the button on Eve’s pants, tearing down her zipper, then plunging her hand into the front of Eve’s panties. She found silky hairs, then slick folds with her fingers, too desperate to sink into Eve’s tight opening to bother with being gentle.

  “Selene—” Eve squeezed her shoulders and cried out when Selene thrust up inside her. “Oh, fuck.”

  “Am I hurting you?” Selene gasped. She hoped like hell that she wasn’t because she didn’t know how to stop.

  “No.” Eve set her feet apart and clung to Selene like her life depended on it. “Fuck me, baby. Take me.”

  The front door stood open beside them, and though nobody could see them from the street, Selene knew anyone passing by would hear the sounds of their frenzied joining. Stunned that Eve would allow such an exhibition, the thought of Eve that far beyond self-consciousness only made Selene hungry for more. Harder. Faster. She drove her fingers into Eve over and over again, as deeply as they would go in this awkward position, and used her thumb to rub harsh circles over Eve’s swollen clit. When Eve stiffened beneath her, right on the edge of orgasm, Selene bent to Eve’s neck and bit down roughly, sucking the tender flesh into her mouth hard enough to leave a mark.

  Selene’s eyes were tightly closed, but she saw Eve’s release as a fiery burst of yellow light behind her eyelids. Her pleasure exploded into Selene’s body, triggering an orgasm in Selene that seemed to send Eve tumbling over again just as her first climax subsided. Every orgasm Eve endured touched off another in Selene, no less intense than the one before, and every time Selene came Eve tipped her head back to start the process again. Selene had no idea how long they stood there holding one another up as they rode out their feedback loop of pleasure, but the only thing that brought Selene down was the sound of a throat clearing beside them.

  Full moon or not, Selene sobered in an instant. Her call girl had arrived.

  *

  Eve didn’t know what hit her. One moment she was standing on Selene’s porch thinking she shouldn’t have dropped in, then suddenly Selene had her crushed against the wall inside the apartment—next to the open door—taking her hard and fast, making her love every second of it. Like a woman possessed, Selene seemed to be acting out of sheer passion, and Eve doubted she realized just how rough her hands were, how sharp her teeth. Every bit of pain Selene inflicted instantly turned into white-hot pleasure. There wasn’t one moment during their frenzied coupling when Eve didn’t want exactly what Selene was giving her.

  Just as quickly as Selene exploded into frantic need, she froze with what felt like silent fear. Yanked out of their incredible mutual orgasm by Selene’s wild-eyed look of terrified guilt, Eve struggled to catch her breath even as she contracted weakly around the fingers still buried deep inside her pussy. When Selene’s attention shifted to the door beside them, Eve turned her head and noticed a beautiful blonde standing not three feet away.

  “Oh.” Eve grabbed Selene’s arm and tugged, mortified that the woman had no doubt witnessed the conclusion of their mindless fucking. Selene pulled her fingers from Eve quickly, without a trace of tenderness. Wincing, Eve buttoned her pants with shaking hands as Selene stared at the blonde as though she were seeing a ghost.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” the stranger said lightly. “I’m here for my seven o’clock with Selene?”

  The stricken look on Selene’s face sent hot, gut-wrenching pain shooting through Eve. She wore an expression of pure, panicked shame—of disbelief at knowing she had just been caught. Jac had once given her the same look after Eve caught her going down on another woman in their bed. Eve shifted her attention from Selene to the blonde in the doorway, trying to understand what this meant.

  “She’s Selene,” Eve said thickly, pointing at her lover.

  Selene opened then closed her mouth. Her eyes were unfocused and Eve suddenly realized just how out of it she seemed. When Selene had first answered the door, Eve had sensed something was off, but chalked it up to simple confusion over the fact that she wasn’t where Selene had expected her to be. Now she realized that Selene had probably been anxious about her visit because she knew the blonde was due for their appointment.

  So who was she? And why had Selene pulled Eve inside for a quickie if she was expecting someone she clearly didn’t want her to meet?

  “I’m sorry.” The blonde shifted uncomfortably, looking between Eve and Selene like she suddenly realized just how volatile this situation could become. “Is this a bad time?”

  Eve waited to hear what Selene w
ould say. Alarm flashed across Selene’s face. “No. Not a bad time. Why don’t you wait for me in the living room?” She shifted her attention back to Eve. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  When Selene reached for her arm, Eve jerked away sharply. “No, I think you owe me an explanation.”

  Glancing at the blonde, Selene gestured toward the living room with a visibly shaking hand. “It’s just in there.”

  “Great.” The blonde chanced one last apologetic look at Eve. “Sorry.”

  Eve had never wanted to punch someone so badly in her life. She glared at the blonde’s back as she walked inside, only returning her focus to Selene when the woman disappeared from view. “You’re not really going out of town. Are you?”

  Sweat dripped from Selene’s forehead and her breathing emerged in heaving gasps. “Eve, you need to leave. I can explain later.”

  Selene might as well have plunged a knife into her chest. It couldn’t have hurt nearly as bad. “I don’t want you to explain later.” Pushing away from the wall, Eve limped out the front door. Until that moment she didn’t realize how sore her pussy was. Tears stung her eyes and she gritted her teeth in an effort not to react. Not because of the pain, but because what should have been the reminder of wild, uninhibited lovemaking now felt like the aftermath of a lie. “You don’t need to explain. It’s written all over your face.”

  Selene followed her out the door. “I did hurt you.” She grabbed Eve’s wrist, and even that simple touch ignited fierce need and longing within her that left her infuriated. With a connection like theirs, why did Selene need to screw someone else? Selene let out a strangled groan and instantly pulled back her hand as though she’d been burned. “Wait.”

  Disgusted, Eve whirled around and put out a hand to stop Selene from touching her again. “I thought you wanted me to go.”

  Tears streamed from Selene’s eyes. “I do,” she whispered, “but not for the reason you think.”