Blood Moon (Silver Moon, #3) - By Rebecca A. Rogers Page 0,13

matters but him and me. Together.

Ben’s pleas become desperate, and his actions become more fervent. I can hardly keep up with him, and my inner fire is scorching, nearly sending me over the brink of physical and emotional rapture. His hand, which previously cupped my mouth, slips down my upper body and molds itself over my chest, squeezing my soft flesh. Sheer pain coupled with extreme pleasure gives me a high like none I’ve experienced before. Between tugging my breasts and roughing up my lower region—and nipping my neck—I feel as if my soul has left my body. Blood has drained from all regions and pooled in the pit of my abdomen, leaving the rest of me tingling.

“Ah, Candra”—he growls and then quickly bites me—“you’re killing me.”

His final taste of me causes all the mounting pressure to rupture, triggering a quake through my entire body. I cry out as Ben continues kneading long after I’m spent. He makes no effort to silence me, as if he enjoys the fact that I’m suffering at his hand. Blood gradually returns to my limbs, and I continue to tremble. A couple of grunts later, Ben joins me in pure euphoria, throwing his head back against the frame of the tub. His fingers cease all movement as I relax against his chest, our pants slowing to normal.

“We’re going to do that every night from now on,” Ben says.

I grin lazily. “Maybe. If we haven’t been kicked out for being so noisy.”

He softly chuckles. “Then we’ll do it elsewhere.”

I don’t have the strength to smack him. My body is gloriously exhausted, and all I want to do is curl up next to Ben and achieve a restful night’s sleep. As soon as Ben and I stand to dry off, though, the same chilling wolf cry we heard the night before rips through the air. He and I share a meaningful look, one that’s comprised of fear. We know what lurks in that forest, and we know the battle in the coming days will be far greater than we’ve ever encountered on our home turf. One simple mistake, and Ben and I may not make it back to Hartford after all.

Chapter Four

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Ben whispers as he kisses the tip of my nose.

I groan. Last night wasn’t filled with peaceful dreams and restful sleep for me; it was composed of nightmarish ghouls dressed in ravens’ feathers, with beaks for mouths and yellow eyes as bright as daylight. So vivid, in fact, I couldn’t look at them; it was as if I was staring directly at the sun. Although they freaked me out when their long, black talons pointed at me, I could feel their presence inside me, boiling and bubbling like a witch’s brew. There were three of them, and all three stalked me in the forest.

Groggily, I begin to wake up and rub my eyes. “I didn’t sleep much,” I say.

Ben nods knowingly. “Me neither. Weird dreams.”

Stunned that he might’ve experienced the same nightmares as me, I ask, “The bird people?”

“Yeah, actually . . . How’d you—” He stops mid-sentence, eyes expanding. “They’re using magic to mess with us. That has to be it. They’ve gotten inside our heads.”

“Wow, this sounds familiar. Too bad Ethan didn’t come on this trip.” I sit up. “Can’t you figure out a counter curse? Something to break the spell?”

He shakes his head. “I should’ve paid attention to my family when they practiced the dark arts. Unfortunately, I know very little about spells and magic.”

I snort. “You’re kidding, right? You’re a Conway. You guys are renowned for your skills in black magic.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I’m the runt of the litter.”

Narrowing my eyes, I say, “Is that supposed to be a joke?”

He smirks. “Maybe.”

I throw the quilt off of me and stretch. “All jokes aside, we need to stop by Fiona’s and pick up our clothing. I have a feeling we’re going to need that before we start our investigation.” I glance over at the window, where sunshine is peeping through the cracks. “What time is it, anyway?”

“Uh, not sure. Probably afternoon.”

“What? We have to go, like, now.”

Walking to town isn’t terrible. Walking to town without jackets to keep us warm? That’s the bad part. Hopefully, this will change once we don our new attire. I don’t even know how to put on all the undergarments required for this era, but I have a feeling I’m about to get a crash course from Fiona.

Colchester is hustling and bustling this