Dark Side of the Moon (Dark-Hunter 9)

Ravyn hesitated as all the pain of his past washed over him. And in the end, he was still that little boy who loved his father. That little boy who just wanted to go home again. But the home he'd known had been shattered three hundred years ago. There was no way to go back to the family he'd known then.

He looked at Susan, whose gentle eyes waited expectantly for him to respond to his father. She was his family now, and he knew he would do anything for this woman.

But in order to protect her... to love her, he would have to live.

He wasn't ready to forgive everything, not by a long shot. Still, his father was making an effort, and he wasn't the kind of man to shun an honest offer.

Unsure of his future, Ravyn took his father's hand.

"Phoenix? Bring Susan home."

Susan watched as Ravyn and Gareth vanished. "What's he do-ing?"

"Relax," Dorian said. "No one's going to hurt him."

"Well, I might," Phoenix said in a surly tone. "Where the hell is my car?"

Susan laughed as she pulled the keys out of her pocket and held them up. "A block over."

"Is it damaged?"

"No."

Phoenix let out a relieved breath as Dorian laughed.

Dorian took the keys. "I'll drive it home." And then he flashed out of the room.

Phoenix reached for Susan. "Trust me?"

"Not a bit, but I trust that Ravyn will eat your head if you let anything happen to me."

He dipped his gaze down to her marked palm. "You didn't answer my father's question. Do you love him?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because if you do, bond with him. Take my word for it. The worst hell imaginable is knowing you lost what you held dearest because you were a coward. Don't make my mistake."

And in that moment, she had a newfound respect for Phoenix. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

He inclined his head before she put her hand in his. In an instant, they were back inside the Serengeti.

The next two weeks went by in a blur as they returned to their lives. With Leo's help, along with the help of the Squires who worked for Internal Affairs in Seattle, they were able to put the blame for all the deaths Susan and Ravyn were accused of where it belonged.

On Paul's shoulders.

She was even allowed to write it up and have her story picked up by the Associated Press. And as soon as her piece on surviving forty-eight hours with an insane serial killer chief hit wide syndication, papers all over the country contacted her about working for them.

And to be honest, she was actually considering it. Having a legitimate job again was all she'd dreamed of.

But in order to do that, she'd have to leave Ravyn...

It was a cool, breezy afternoon when they buried Angie and Jimmy together. Because it was daylight, Ravyn wasn't able to be with her in human form. But he'd insisted that she carry him as a cat so that he could be by her side.

It was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for her. She kept the cat carrier covered with a dark cloth, and during the service she stroked him through the bars.

When it was over and they were back at his house, he'd held her for hours while she cried and remembered all the years she'd had with the two of them.

And with every hour she and Ravyn spent together, she realized that she loved him even more.

"Susan?"

She jerked away from her thoughts as she heard Ravyn's voice. Getting up from her chair in front of the computer, she headed toward the hallway, then down toward the balcony so that she could look to the great room below where Ravyn was standing.

"Yes?"

"The Post is on the phone. They have to have an answer."

She saw the fear in his eyes. They still hadn't mated officially. Ravyn wanted her to have all the time she needed, but his deadline was looming, and if they didn't mate soon, he would be neutered. "Okay. I'll tell them."

Ravyn swallowed as he watched Susan turn around and head back to his office. He had a sneaking suspicion she was about to take the D.C. job. After all, it was her dream.

But her dream was killing him. He didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to stay.

Be strong. As an animal, he knew that you couldn't put someone in a cage and expect them to live. She had to be free to make her own life... with or without him.

His heart heavy, he went back to his bedroom and picked up the receiver. Part of him wanted to listen to her conversation, but he wouldn't do that to her.

It was up to her to tell him the news.

Sitting down, he picked up the book he'd been reading and tried to focus on it. He couldn't. All he kept doing was thinking of what his life would be like without her in it.

And he knew the answer. He'd been living that way for centuries.

The door opened to his room. He glanced up to see Susan coming in with a glum look on her face.

This was it. She was going to tell him and then pack. Bracing himself, he watched as she moved to the side of the bed and handed him her latest article. No doubt this one would solidify her as a legitimate reporter again.

He forced himself not to betray his hurt as he picked it up to read and his heart slid to his stomach.

IMARRIEDTHECATMANOFSEATTLE

So my husband has a litter box. At least he doesn't stray at night...

"What the hell is this?"

"My article."

"I don't understand."

She laughed. "I have to turn it in to Leo. I just called and he told me that I can have my old job back."

"I thought you hated that job."

"Not anymore. I just realized that I can have a lot more fun working for him than I ever could writing for the Post or Wall Street Journal. Not to mention, I get to cuddle up with the best-looking catman in town."

Ravyn still couldn't believe it. "You're staying?"

"Are you deaf, kitty? Yes. Now are you going to make an honest woman of me, or what?"

Ravyn laughed as he pulled her to him and dissolved their clothes. "Yeah, baby. I intend to make sure that you never stray, either."

Susan shivered as the cool air caressed her skin, followed immediately by the warmth of Ravyn's hand as he glided it down her spine. His hair pulled itself back from his face into a ponytail so that he wouldn't cause her to sneeze too much.

She laughed at his consideration. Pressing herself against him, she pulled his head down so that she could taste his lips. It was still hard for her to believe that after this she would never be alone again.

Ravyn would be here for her.

He was her family. So was Leo, and even Otto and Kyl. They were more like her homicidal cousins, but they were family. It was more than she'd ever hoped for.

No, Ravyn was more than she'd ever hoped for. How could Mr. Wrong, be so right? It didn't make sense and yet he was. She couldn't imagine ever being this comfortable with another man. He fit her perfectly.

The more she learned about him, the more she loved him.

Ravyn's senses whirled as he tasted the sweetness of her mouth. In all these centuries, he'd never thought to have another mate and yet here she was.

Susan. Soft, irritating, beautiful. She was more than he'd ever dreamed of. Pulling back, he lay his cheek against hers and inhaled the floral scent of her hair...

At least until she sneezed.

He smiled before he turned her in his arms.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"The ritual," he breathed in her ear. He held his marked hand out before her. "Put your marked palm against mine."

Susan did, then he laced his fingers with hers and nuzzled her neck with his whiskered cheek. She loved the sensation of his skin scraping hers. It sent chills all over her.

"Now I need you to guide me into your body."

Susan snorted as she realized that with his arm across her chest while he was behind her, that was easier said than done. "For the record, I'm not Stretch Armstrong. How am I supposed to do that?"

He laughed before he kissed her cheek and made her entire body burn as he cupped her breast with his free hand and teased her nipple with the calluses on his palm.

"I can do it then, but you have to tell me that you accept me as your mate."

"That's why we're naked, right?"

"Susan," he said, his tone gravely serious. "This is a big step to my people. By our laws, I'm not allowed to take a woman as my mate unless she is one hundred percent accepting of me and our ways. I'm not a Katagari, forcing my will on you. I'm an Arcadian and we would never breach the sacredness of this."

She leaned back so that she could meet his midnight gaze. "I've never been more serious about anything in my life, Ravyn. I want you as my mate."

"For eternity?"

"For eternity."

His features softened as he dipped his head down to nip her on the back of her neck. Susan shivered in pleasure an instant before he slid himself deep inside her. Her hand burned as she rose up on her tiptoes, then lowered herself down onto him, taking him in all the way to his hilt.

He kept one hand on her hip while his arm crossed her body, holding her against him. It was the most incredible moment of her life. So this was mating...

She liked it.

Ravyn growled deep in his throat as he thrust against her hips, and she met him stroke for stroke. She was so warm and wet that it almost drove him over the edge, but he wanted to time this carefully. This was the first time they would make love as mates and he wanted them to come together.

She was his. A wave of possessiveness consumed him. So long as they lived, he would never again be able to take another woman. Susan alone would sustain him, and it wasn't just because the Fates decreed it. It was because he loved her. Deeply. With every part of himself.

There had been a time when that kind of commitment would have sent him running for the door, but after all these centuries, he was looking forward to having her in his life.

She wasn't just another lover to come and go. She was a companion. A friend. She alone knew how much he liked to have his ears rubbed. And even though it made her hand itch, she always made sure to rub them at night while they lay in bed. Just as she was doing now.

Her touch sent chills over him, and when they came together, it was the most blissful moment in his entire life.

He quickly released her hand before their union went further. He wasn't ready to bond with her just yet.

Not until she was as committed to him as he was to her. She still had her own life to live and he didn't want to trespass there. Having had his life taken from him by one person's selfishness, he wasn't about to do that to her.

"I love you, Susan," he said, kissing her gently on the cheek.

Susan purred as she continued to rub his ear with her hand. "I love you, too, Ravyn."