Moon, Bitten

Chapter Twenty-Two

          Her eyes crinkled slightly, narrowing. “What about wolfs-bane and silver? Can they kill you?”

          “I imagine a good bit of either could do the trick.” This time he grinned, “Do you intend to kill me, Kate?”

          She didn’t return his smile but rather said matter-of-fact, “Maybe I’m considering my outs.”

          Her outs – her weapons of choice.

          He nodded, hiding another smile. “Reasonable enough.” And he proceeded, “Wolfs-bane is extremely poisonous and often fatal to my kind.”

          “And silver?” she pressed.

          Ronan raised his eyes and they glinted amusingly, “Hurts like hellfire.”

          The smell of fear permeated the air a little lighter now, perhaps alleviated some by her intrigue or his playfulness, he wasn’t sure which.

          “That woman is she … yours?” her eyes shifted to a spot in the room as if the very question unnerved her.

          “Lorelei is not mine.”

          Kate raised a brow at this, “She seems to think otherwise.”

          The corner of his mouth lifted as he took a deliberate step toward her, “Is that what you think?”

          She straightened at his sudden advance, her heart all but jolting with his nearness. “It doesn’t matter what I think.”

          She hadn’t realized she’d been retreating until her back came up against the door and Ronan loomed above her; his eyes raking her face, lingering hotly on the poutiness of her lips. “I warned myself, that you and I could never be.” His words fell hushed, sensual. “The moment you walked into my bar, I knew you were mine.” He reached up and was relieved when she didn’t pull away. “I know now that I can never let you go.”

          The maddening flutter of her heart assailed his ears. It reverberated in her chest like a drum as she gaped at him with those beautiful, green eyes.

          “That’s how you found me?” She said suddenly, realization dawning. “In the woods?”

          He cupped her face, running his thumb gently across her lower lip, marveling at the feel of her breath as it fanned his fingers. “The signs would have gone unbeknownst to man. I tracked you.” His countenance darkened and his mouth turned grim. “I will find the man responsible for your suffering and ensure he never hurts you again.”

          Her eyes widened and her mouth parted with a small gasp, “You would kill him?”

          Ronan frowned, startled by her reaction. “Do you care for this man?” he felt a swift and unexpected twinge of jealousy at the mere thought. How could she love a man who beat her senseless? Left her for dead?

          She stiffened, “No, but –“

          “But what?” he demanded, his brow furrowing, his jaw going taut. “Do you find no solace in retribution?”

          “He deserves to be punished for his crimes but death?” she emitted.

          Ronan straightened at this, in awe of this beautiful, resilient woman who protested a man’s life, the same man who sought to snuff the very life from those pretty, green eyes. This man, whose name she kept, would surely suffer at his hands. The temptation to beat every inch of him was far too inviting to simply ignore.