THE RIPENING (Dark Side of the Moon Book 1) Read online

  “Later.” Her words were dark-husky. The words of a seductress. “After.”

  His passion-laden groan was more than enough to tell her that she had chosen well. “Are you sure?”

  Biting back laughter at the absurdity of the question, she merely molded her mouth to his again, shuddering at the slide of his tongue against her lips.

  It was all the answer Luther needed.

  Mouth still connected to hers, he lifted her from the desk and moved with a tiger's grace from the office and down the hall towards her bedroom. By the time he dropped her onto the bed, his lips were already trekking down her neck, eagerly seeking new flesh to mark.

  The young woman inhaled sharply as he found and nipped at sensitive skin, her hands tunneling into his hair to hold him against her. His hands, in turn, were everywhere, smoothing down over her shoulders to span her waist, sliding over her thighs and breasts to tease where she ached the most.

  As much as he touched her, it still wasn't enough.

  Dragging his mouth back to hers, she arched her hips against him, eager to feel the heat of his rising erection against her through the thin barrier of her cotton panties. When he cupped her breasts, she moaned lowly. His large hands were amply large to hold the fullness of her bosom and still explore their soft, tender undersides and aching peaks.

  She wanted to beg him to get rid of the layers between them, but she couldn't form the words. He was going achingly slow, circling her nipples with his fingers, plucking at them until she thought she’d explode. Finally, he peeled down the front of her nightgown to expose the pale globes of flesh.

  For a moment- only a moment- she was intensely self-conscious. Though she'd seen Luther in various states of undress during high school and college sporting events, she'd always been slightly more careful with how much of herself she'd exposed. A thigh here, a bare arm there- never much more. She had only these few seconds to be apprehensive, however, before the heat of his mouth closed around the tip of one breast. She shuddered violently at the delicious sensation that assaulted her.

  Yuna squirmed as his tongue and teeth played havoc with her sensitive flesh, unable to stifle the moans that spilled from her mouth as he switched from one breast to the other. She knew she must be pulling his hair, must be hurting him, but if the low, almost animal-like sounds he made against her skin were any indication, he had no objections.

  Deftly, his hands worked her nightgown over her hips and down her legs to pool on the floor before he found and cupped the heat of her, drawing his hand tight against her. Yuna's head fell back against the pillows as she bit back a cry of pure delectation. “Ahh...my Yuna...” Luther was growling against her throat in a way that was impossibly stimulating. “You smell divine.”

  He kissed her shoulder, then each rib, leisurely, as his fingers hooked beneath the hem of her underwear to ease them down her legs. The moisture at the core of her was copious enough to leave strings that glistened in the moonlight before snapping as her panties were finally removed completely.

  Yuna hadn't even been aware that it was possible to be so aroused.

  When his fingers finally touched her bare mound, a sharp cry escaped her as she jolted upward at the sensation. Luther's only reply was to nip sharply at her hip and ease her back down onto the mattress as his slender digits trekked back and forth over her lower lips agonizingly.

  “Please...” she found herself murmuring almost inaudibly to him in the low light. “Please, Luther...I need-”

  “Shhhhh.” He quieted her gently, kissing back up her stomach and between her breasts to finally capture her lips once more. This time the way he tasted her was leisurely, soft, and achingly gentle. “Spread your legs for me, darling.”

  The endearment made her blush as a strange sort of warmth- not all carnal- filled her breast. With only the slightest hesitation, she did as he bid, revealing herself fully to him.

  For almost a full minute he stared down at her, unspeaking. This time, Yuna knew better than to think he might be second-guessing his decision. There was nothing but admiration in his eyes.

  Those sixty seconds were enough, however, for her to become impatient. Reaching out, she curled her fingertips into the waistline of his pants, her hands sliding along the fabric until the found and undid the button. Next came the slow rasp of the zipper, revealing the sizable rise of his erection, hidden now only by a pair of thin boxers. In a quick motion, she got rid of those too, laughing lowly as he shimmied out of the remainder of his clothing.

  He was glorious- with a member that matched the rest of his amazing form perfectly, just enough in length but more than ample in width, and wet with arousal. Sitting up slightly, she grasped it, wanting nothing more than to feel every part of him against every part of her.

  She certainly got her wish.

  Luther hissed at the contact of slender fingers on his aching flesh. Gritting his teeth, he pressed his weight down on her as she lay back against the bed, drawing him against her by the length of his erection.

  Yuna placed him at her entrance with absolutely no hesitation, and Luther's intense gaze met hers a moment before he drove home, drawing a cry of divine pleasure from her. Instinctively, the young woman wrapped her legs around him, pulling him even deeper. The sensation of his heart beating in his cock, buried deep within her, made her squirm, in turn drawing a groan from her new lover.

  “Yuna, you're killing me.”

  Luther's voice came low, tortured against her shoulder, and it was all the warning she got before he bit down- hard. So hard, in fact, that Yuna yelped at the sharp pain. She was quickly distracted, however, by a deep, delicious thrust that made her writhe against him. Her toes curled as he began a slow, steady rhythm, every pulse of his hips taking him deeper inside her. Her bed rocked back against the wall sharply with every motion, and Yuna gripped his hips tightly as her thighs quivered in sensation.

  She didn't even realize that she was whispering his name in an endless litany as the stroke of his sweat-slick skin against hers drove her closer and closer to an inevitable peak. Luther's hands curled tighter and tighter into her waist until she knew they would leave bruises- but she was far from caring. Lips parted, entire body tensed, Yuna could only cling to him as his rhythm slowly disintegrated into frantic, jolting motions. Without warning, a particularly rough thrust sent her over her precipice and she cried out as completion wracked her body. The pleasure, so intense that it bordered on pain, seemed to go on for an eternity, and she was lost to an intimacy she'd never known.

  As her muscles clamped down firmly on Luther inside her, he grunted lowly, hips jerking a few more times before she felt the scalding pulse of his release against the walls of her still sensitive passage.

  For a moment, they held each other, both quiet. Yuna, for her part, was trying to figure out exactly when she was supposed to wake up from her vivid dream. Until she did, she was quite content to stroke through Luther's hair leisurely, enjoying his clean scent intermingled with the musk of their sex.

  “Yuna.” Her eyes still closed, the dark-haired girl made a low sound of acknowledgment. There was a slight sting as Luther disengaged his jaw from where it had been clamped on her neck. “Are you alright?”

  Taking a chance, Yuna opened her eyes open to meet the icy blue pair above her.

  Luther was still there. Still inside her.

  She wasn't dreaming.

  He was hers.

  In that moment, years of promising herself that friendship was better than any complication melted away and she knew only that she wanted him with her, like this, for as long as he would have her. The consequences would come later. “I'm wonderful.”

  His answering smile stole her breath.

  “Good.” He rolled from her body, leaving her a bit wanting at his loss and pleasantly sore from his attentions. Propping himself up on his side next to her, Luther splayed his large hand across her stomach as he looked down upon her, making her pale skin color slightly.

  “...wha
t?” she managed, for the first time not shying away from his gaze and instead bathing in it.

  “You are lovely.” His knuckles skimmed over her breasts, making her shiver in awareness. Though the compliment warmed her, Yuna noticed that Luther's face had taken on that slightly distant look again, despite the fact that he was more with her in that moment then he'd ever been before. “You know that you're very important to me, don't you?”

  Scowling, Yuna reached up and grabbed his hand, refusing to let him skip off to the place where his problems weighed heavier on his mind than present events. “Yes. I know. Now, come back to me.” Wrapping a hand around the back of his neck, she tugged him down to kiss.

  God, she could kiss him until her dying day. “Whatever it is,” she murmured lowly, “Forget it for now. Just for a few hours.”

  She felt his lithe form stiffen against her for an instant before melting down into the mattress beside her as his arms gathered her close. As his lips peppered her neck with soft, short caresses, she felt him harden once more against her thigh. “Only a few hours. That's all I can promise.”

  Later, she'd ask him to tell her what it was that they needed to talk about, what it was that kept him up at night, and what it was that clouded those breathtaking eyes of his so that he'd been lost to her for the past month. Later, when the scent of him was imprinted on her and the feel of his hands was burned into her skin.

  Later.

  **

  When Luther woke, the sky was just beginning to lighten outside.

  For a moment, he stared at the ceiling, listening to the sound of Yuna's soft breathing beside him.

  He was an absolute bastard.

  It was one thing to fantasize about what could have been between Yuna and himself. It was quite another to go into her bed knowing that he couldn't stay.

  The previous night had been particularly hard, lying wide awake and listening to her move around the house, imagining every movement she made as she went through her evening routine.

  Almost as soon as he'd heard the door to her bedroom close, he'd been up and down the hall, searching for something to dull his awareness of her. When he'd remembered her father's secret stash of liquor, it had seemed like a godsend.

  At least until she'd gotten up again.

  Luther had been planning to drink himself into a coma. It was the only method he could think of that could make him forget her, this house, and the emptiness that was already beginning to gnaw at him at the thought of leaving her. Though his kind had a relatively high metabolism, half a bottle of liquor had been enough to take the edge off of his senses so he hadn't realized she was approaching until she was sitting at the desk across the room from him.

  It was then that the alcohol had ceased any sort of 'helping' whatsoever.

  All at once, the smell of her, the warmth of her, the pulsing of the very blood through her veins, was an aphrodisiac. When he'd taken her into his arms, he'd known that it would end badly. He'd just been too drunk to care.

  It was enough to quickly promise himself that there would only be this single time for him to have her- just this one time for him to sample such succulent forbidden fruit.

  And now he lay there, the smell of her clinging to him, his body still aching with need for her, knowing that he had royally fucked up. This wasn't the way a woman like Yuna should be treated. Her entire life, everyone she'd ever cared for had left her, and he was about to add to a very extensive list.

  Rising from the bed, he ran his hands through dark hair, exhaling against the low throbbing of an oncoming headache.

  He'd been completely out of his mind.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he winced slightly at the round, dark bruise on the young woman's shoulder, just at the base of her neck. He remembered the visceral joy, the carnal pleasure he'd taken in biting deep, in tasting her blood and knowing that it was within his power to make her his.

  Thank God he hadn't let his darker side take over completely. She'd only be left with a physical mark of his exertions- a bruise that would fade with time.

  Slowly, he bent to gather his clothing from the floor, soundlessly moving across the room. As night slowly seeped from the sky outside, the moon was silhouetted harshly against the warming air.

  He had to go now.

  If he stayed one more day, one more hour, he'd want to spend it inside her, and he'd done far too much damage already.

  As he closed her bedroom door behind him, a low buzzing punctuated itself against his thigh. He reached into the pocket of his crumpled jeans to extract his phone, frowning at the message that scrolled across the screen.

  Leave the girl. We're going tonight.

  Resisting the urge to hurl the miniature piece of technology out the nearest window, Luther turned his back on a large part of his humanity, and left the country house that had once been his refuge.

  Yuna awoke the next morning feeling more relaxed than she had in a long while. Even as she drew the coverlet over her face to shield against the bright-autumn sunlight, she was smiling.

  She and Luther were lovers.

  After what seemed like an eternity of convincing herself that it would never happen, she'd had him in her bed. All night.

  Where he was now was a mystery, but it wasn't unlike him to rise before her and disappear off on some secret business. The man was a mystery, after all.

  Reluctantly, Yuna gave over to the sunlight, sitting up to stretch and revel in the rich ache that came from being well-loved. Before the previous night, she had well and truly believed that kisses were kisses, and sex, while interesting, was mediocre at best. She should have known things would be different with Luther.

  He'd touched her like she was the only one he'd ever touched, kissed her like he was starving for her- the memory made her warm as she leaned back against the pillows, her toes curling in memory. He'd loved her like a man possessed, leaving her much more convinced than ever before that he was some sort of wayward spirit, put on the earth to guide her into the realm of enlightenment.

  Christ, she could only imagine how he'd roll his eyes if she ever said that out loud.

  With a low laugh, she rolled from bed to pad down the hall toward the bathroom. The house was silent, leading her to believe that he'd gone out. Well, that was perfectly fine with her. It gave her a chance to get ready for her day without being distracted by ideas of what she might like to do to him.

  As the running water in the shower warmed, the young woman gazed admiringly at herself in the mirror. Never had her eyes seemed so green, her cheeks so flushed, or her lips so rosy. Additionally, there were other dark red spots scattered over her body from where her new lover's mouth had lingered-especially that almost purple one on her shoulder. In the light of day, she leaned toward the mirror and examined the deep, red-rimmed bruising with a critical eye. She'd never supposed that he would bite, let alone so hard. The idea, however, didn't deter her, but only piqued her curiosity slightly. She'd have to ask him about it at the next opportunity. While at the time, the gesture had caught her slightly off guard, she'd have to admit, that in hindsight, she found it deeply alluring-almost primal in nature.

  It was very Luther.

  After she showered and dressed in an actual skirt no less- she set about making breakfast. She made sure to flip enough pancakes for two, just in case Luther came back before noon, and left out a big jug of freshly squeezed juice- she knew orange was his favorite.

  But, he didn't return.

  Luther wasn't back by noon. Or by early evening. Indeed, by the time midnight rolled around, Yuna was slightly worried that he may have gotten into an accident driving into town. While she'd known him to leave on errands without notice, it was extremely unlike him to neglect contacting her if he intended to be somewhere overnight.

  As she sat, naked in her bed, she could only hope that her nude body could somehow magically entice him back to her.

  In the wee small hours of the morning, she was still waiting. By that time, she'd convinced
herself that it was nothing. He'd probably lost his phone and gotten caught up in some family venture. She'd seen him called back to his parents' home as early as three or four in the morning. They were a strange breed.

  She decided she'd go to sleep. After a few hours rest, Luther would come home and wake her with a more than ample explanation for where he'd been and she could get back to losing herself in him. Everything would be fine.

  It had to be.

  Yuna was woken the next morning by the intense drumming of rain on the newly tiled roof. The first thing that she noticed was that Luther had not returned.

  Rising, she threw on her nightgown and raced down the hall to his room, yanking the door open.

  The drawers all stood out on their hinges, emptied. His bed was bare of sheets, and the numerous memorabilia that had decorated the walls since their teenage years had been ripped from the walls.

  For a moment, the young woman just stared.

  His things were gone.

  The shock was enough to momentarily drive the air from her lungs and make her clutch the door for dear life, lest her legs give way beneath her. Though the room was bare, it looked as if it had been stripped very methodically, by someone who had known exactly what they were doing. Not a single thing had been left, save the furniture and a few books on the bedside table. She'd been in the room hundreds of times, yet Yuna barely recognized it. The only reminder that anyone had ever inhabited it was the faint smell of soap and aftershave.

  He'd left her.

  Not only that, he'd taken down any barriers that might have remained between them; he'd taken her body and her mind and then, when she'd been prepared to give him everything, he'd left her.

  For a moment, Yuna felt sick.

  She sank to her knees, taking deep breaths to ground herself.

  No. No, no, no. This was Luther. This wasn't some idiotic, self-centered man who'd decided that he wanted to see if her carpet matched her drapes or some drunk biker that had groped her into bed. This was Luther. Her Luther.