Call Of The Moon Read Online Free Page B

easy. She hurried to clean her hair and her body, smiling at the soreness between her legs. The sex was great, at least. She could get used to that aspect of her bond with Billy pretty quick. Frowning, she stepped out and looked herself over in the mirror. No bites, as he’d promised, but why did she feel more connected to him than ever? Without that chemical bond she shouldn’t, should she?
    Bending over at the waist, she wrapped a towel around her hair and stood, drying off quickly. She walked into the bedroom and glanced at the clock again. Five till. Pulling on clothes as she went, she headed toward the kitchen. The teakettle was already filled and sitting on a back burner on the stove, and a note was stuck to the fridge with a magnet. She turned the knob on the burner to high and picked up the piece of paper, studying his unfamiliar scrawl.
    Had a morning meeting. Back soon. –Billy
    Well, that explained his absence. She grumbled. What happened to spending the weekend with her? Convincing her to come home and accept his bond?Her anger rose in time with the whistling kettle.
    She reachedfor three mugs just as a knock came from the back door. Looking over, she waved Joanne in while she poured and fished tea bags out of their canister. At least some things weren’t changing on her.
    “Where’s Hector?” she asked.
    Her friend waved a hand in the air. “At some meeting with the other Betas.” That explained Billy’s disappearance.
    “He’ll be along soon.” She picked up a mug and turned to the door. “Let’s wait outside.” After stirring a lump of sugar into her tea, Chloe followed her and settled into a cushion covered deck chair next to her. She stretched her legs out in front of her and sighed, taking a long look around.
    She’d come to love the little house and the swamp surrounding it. It would never compare to the Smokies, of course, but it came in a close second. She would be leaving it soon, either to return home or move on to some other place. That would mean leaving Billy, and she clenched her jaw against the sadness that threatened to engulf her. Just because she liked him, just because the sex was good, didn’t mean she could live with someone trying to completely take over her life. Again.
    “We missed you at the party last night,” Joanne said, interrupting her thoughts.
    She glanced over with a guilty start to see the other woman watching her over the rim of her cup.
    “I was there, but I didn’t stay long. Said hello to some old friends and came back here.”
    “Hmmm. You saw one old friend in particular, I’m betting.” Chloe blushed. Was she that transparent? Joanne did know her well, having spent the last several months helping her work through the emotions that had debilitated her when she first arrived in Florida.
    Their Saturday morning sessions were sometimes casual, sometimes painful. Recently, Joanne had tried to convince Chloe that her next step was to face Billy and their meetings became much less formal, with her mate, Hector, often joining them. Chloe would miss their Saturdays, and the easy camaraderie that had sprung up between the three of them. She sighed.
    “I saw him, all right. He was waiting for me here when I got home.” Joanne sat up quickly, her eyes roving over Chloe’s exposed skin.
    “You look unharmed.” She arched an eyebrow. “No bite marks. Visible ones, at least.” Chloe laughed. “He would never hurt me. And no. There was no biting.”
    “And yet, you’ve spent months hiding from him.” She took a drink of her tea. “You don’t seem very afraid for a woman who went to such lengths to avoid her mate.” Chloe rolled her eyes.
    “He’s known where I was the whole time. It’s not like I was really hiding.” She paused. “I’m not afraid of him really. I’m more afraid of…us.”
    Joanne nodded. “After what you went through, that’s understandable. The question is, can you move on from the past?” She paused. “Hector met your