Under an Endless Moon (Moonlit Ridge Book 2)

“It’s decided, Otto. I’m going to find me one of those bikers tonight.” I winked at my brother’s best friend as I swiveled my hips to the dark beat that thrummed in the club. Lights strobed in time, colored flashes striking over the throbbing crowd packed on the dance floor.

My claim was hysterical considering I couldn’t look at a single other person right then.

Could anyone blame me, though?

Otto Hudson was so hot it was unfair.

So hot it was physically painful.

Staring at him was like standing in the sun and knowing you were going to get burned, but you did it anyway because it felt so good while you baked in the blistering rays.

The man was a mountain hewn of rugged stone.

A beast barely contained.

My burly bear covered in tats.

There was no questioning it with the way the ground shook with every step he took. A rolling thunder that moved through me in battering waves.

He’d cut his hair, one side cropped short and the other a little longer, and a day of scruff covered his strong, brutal jaw.

But what made my insides quake were his eyes. A piercing, entrancing blue that always made me feel as if I’d been speared to the spot. As if they could carve and cut and see right down to the depths of me.

The man would be wholly terrifying if it wasn’t for the constant smirk he wore at the edge of his mouth and the tease that was never far from his tongue, though I knew well enough he was as deadly as the rest of my brother’s crew.

Only I was pretty sure the smirk currently sitting on his striking face was forged right then. “Ah, playin’ with fire tonight, are we?” he grumbled, his voice coarse and just loud enough to be heard over the deafening decibel of the music.

Otto stepped forward and snaked an arm around my waist, moving in time the way we always did.

Fire raced beneath the surface of my skin.

I’d been almost nineteen when he’d taught me to dance. It was after he’d been sent away to prison and then had been released. When everything had changed for me. When the feelings I’d always felt for him had amassed into something bigger, and I’d fully understood what they meant.

I knew for him, it had been innocent, but it’d never felt that way for me. It’d felt salacious. Like stolen touches that weren’t meant for me, but I wanted to take them for myself, anyway.

He dragged me closer and leaned in close to my ear. “You keep it up, and I’m going to have to haul you out of here over my shoulder.”

My spirit throbbed against his threat.

A very foolish part of me begged him to do it.

“You wouldn’t dare,” I told him instead.

“Try me, darlin’.” His smirk spread. “It seems you’re looking for a whole lot of trouble…dressed like that. Every man here has to be losing his damned mind.”

God, he was impossible. Warning me over the truths that I gave him, as if I didn’t have the right to my own needs—to my own desires—and then turning around and drawing me right back into them.

But it’d always been like that with him. Since I was eighteen and I’d been ignorant enough to believe there was a chance that he would look at me the same way I’d always looked at him. The only thing I’d ever wanted was for him to look at me, and when he did, for the void I knew lived inside him to pulse and glow. For him to feel it. For him to know I was supposed to be something so much more than his friend.

So much more than his baby sister.

Just the thought of that title icked me out.

But this was the relationship we’d slipped into. This man who felt like a piece of my fabric, but our stitching had never quite come together.

“I’m here to blow a few minds.” I twisted my voice into a tease, my belly trembled at his proximity.

“Just like I thought. Nothing but trouble,” he murmured. “What am I supposed to do with you?”

“Dance with me?”

“One of my favorite things to do,” he said, and he tucked me even closer.

His aura surrounded me.

Patchouli and warm apple pie. No man should smell that good.

I wanted to sink into it.

Disappear.

“Think I might keep you…just like this.” His words were a warm vibration that slithered across my flesh.

What I wouldn’t give to fully fall into it. Have him wrap me completely in those massive arms. Hold me the way I’d always dreamed of him doing.

But I knew better than getting my hopes up for that. The only thing it’d ever done was set me up to get my heart crushed. It was time I grew beyond it.

I’d been trying. Trying to escape the cage where I’d been trapped.

The problem was, every time I attempted it, I freaked out. My exterior might come across as bold, but it was the inside that shuddered at moving on.

But Otto didn’t need to know that.

“I’m not that great, am I?” I went for light as I peeked up at his rugged face.

A deep chuckle rolled through his chest. “I think you know exactly how great you are, Raven Tayte.”

“How great?” I pressed through the razzing.

“Oh, the greatest.”

“Is that so?”

“Mmhmm…”

I was sinking, melding into his form as we moved to the rhythm.

“We’re out of here.”

When the voice hit us from the side, Otto jerked back like he’d been caught committing a mortal sin.

My brother was there, wrapped around my bestie from behind.

I did my best to clear the need from my being and pinned on an affront of disbelief. “What? You can’t leave already. We’re just getting started.”

I reached out, took Charleigh’s hand and swung it between us. “I promised that you were going to have a blast tonight, and hello, I am a blast. Look no further, a good time is standing right in front of you.”

“Think she’s going to have a good time with me. Nolan is with the sitter tonight, so it’s just us,” River rumbled.

I tried not to gag at what he was implying. It was hard when your best friend was dating your brother.

I scrunched my nose at him. “Thief. You stole her right out from under me.”

Charleigh giggled as she leaned back against him. “Let it be said that I belong to both of you. Equally.”

“Nah, Little Runner, you’re mine,” River grumbled at her cheek.

She turned red, her love for him shining in her expression.

I might give them a hard time, but they were perfect for each other. I loved them together so much.

But I also was kind of starting to feel like a third wheel.

“I’ll give Raven a lift home.” Otto’s voice was easy as he issued it, and he slung an arm over my shoulders the way he always did.

A shiver rolled down my spine.

I wanted to turn and press my nose into his thick throat. Inhale him into all the secret places inside me where I wanted to keep him.

“You sure you don’t mind?” River asked.

“You know I’ve got her covered.”

River reached out and squeezed Otto’s shoulder. “Appreciate it, man. You always looking out for her.”

“Always.”

I would have argued that I could get myself home, but riding on the back of Otto’s bike was kind of my thing.

“See you in the morning then,” River said, and he stepped forward and pecked a kiss to my temple. “Be safe.”

“You don’t have to worry about her when she’s with me.”

Charleigh edged forward and hugged me. “Sorry I’m bailing. It’s just…”

She trailed off, leaving no question what the it’s just meant.

I playfully waved her away. “Go on and be with your man. I’ll be fine. I have Otto here to keep me company.”

I hip checked him, except he was so tall that even in my heels, my hip barely made it to his upper thigh.

“That’s right,” he rumbled in his rough way, that grin perched on his distracting, delicious mouth.

“All right, then, see you later.” Then River’s expression darkened when he turned his focus on Otto. “Be safe tomorrow. Text me when the package is delivered and you’re on your way back.”

My stomach clutched.

This was the part of their lives that sent dread spiraling through the middle of me. I knew it was worth it. What they did. But that didn’t mean I didn’t worry every time one of them left on a mission. I rarely knew the details. It was a Sovereign Sanctum rule. The less someone knew, the better. The safer it was for everyone.

But sometimes I hated being left in the dark.

“You know I will.” Otto’s promise was solemn.

With a tight nod, River took Charleigh’s hand and they disappeared into the fray.

I turned to look up at Otto. I knew my worry was written in every line on my face.

Bodies writhed around us, while I just stood there, staring up at him.

Finally, I found my voice. “You have a job?”

A thousand emotions raced through Otto’s eyes, so many that I didn’t know what to make of them. His mouth hitched on one side as he reached out and traced the pad of his thumb over the edge of my lip.

I nearly came apart at the sensation.

“You don’t need to worry about me, Raven.”

“You think I don’t? You think I could stop?”

Regret spilled into his features before arrogance came riding back. “You think anyone could get at me? Don’t worry, darlin’. I’m as safe as could be.”

Disquiet gusted through my being. I didn’t know what it was, but his words hit me like a lie.

“We need you here, you know that.” A bit of despair colored my voice.

“Wouldn’t leave you, Raven.”

Energy swelled between us. Our connection that we’d shared for so long flaming in the space. It was so intense and consuming that sometimes I swore it had to mean more than what we’d been labeled.

I nearly scoffed at myself.

I’d been thinking that for so long that it was becoming pathetic.

Clearing my throat, I cocked my head, covering the emotion and tossing it in light. “Good because I would have to hunt you down and kick your stubborn ass if you let yourself get hurt.”

Otto chuckled as his gaze swept over me. Something dark pulsed in the depths of that sapphire gaze. “Stubborn? Think you need to look in the mirror.”

My heart fisted when he said it, a thousand memories slamming me at his words. They shouldn’t mean much of anything. But to me? They’d meant everything.

“I just know what I want, Otto, and I’m finally going to go after it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to use the restroom, grab another tasty drink, and then take a little whirl around the club to see if anything catches my eye. Maybe I won’t require a ride home, after all.”

I tossed my hair over my shoulder, giving him as much sass as I could muster, acting like every interaction I had with him didn’t make my very untrustworthy legs quake.

Irritation buzzed through his demeanor, though he cracked a grin. “Just make sure he’s not a biker. Or a douchewad with a tiny prick who thinks he’s God’s gift to women. Or wearing a goddamned suit, for that matter. Last thing I need is for you to go breaking my heart.”

I had to hold back a scowl. I didn’t think he had the first clue about breaking hearts.

“You pretty much just whittled my options down to nothing.”

He tugged on a lock of my hair. “Exactly the point.”

Ugh. I wanted to stamp my foot and scream. Instead, I strutted off the dance floor, and I lifted my hand above my head and gave him a middle finger as I went.

I could feel the ripple of his chuckle follow after me.

Frustrating, infuriating man.

Still, a smile threatened as I wound through the horde of people packed in Kane’s and headed down the hall to the left of the dance floor toward the restrooms. I pushed into the women’s and went straight to the sink, trying to gather the disorder of thoughts that whirled around me.

This need to let go. To set myself free.

All mixed up with the bindings that had always tied me to Otto.

Blowing out a sigh, I washed my hands and dried them with a paper towel, then I blotted it against my face before I stepped back out into the hall.

I came to a halt when I saw who was standing directly on the other side.

Tanner.

Unease twisted my stomach.

“Tanner, hey. What are you doing here?”

A frown pinched his brow, and I saw the hurt and frustration spin through his green eyes. “Was out with a friend and saw you come this way.”

The twist in my stomach lessened. “Oh…well…”

I trailed off, not even sure what I was supposed to say.

“I haven’t heard from you,” he said.

Okay, so he was just going to toss it out there. Make an awkward situation even more uncomfortable.

Tanner was another failed attempt at me trying to spread my wings. To break out and fly. He was definitely good looking. Not quite a biker, but he was a mechanic and was covered in tats which I was pretty sure was my thing.

I’d truly given dating him a shot, but it couldn’t be helped that I’d wanted to vomit when he’d set his hand on my thigh when he’d kissed me.

He’d tried to talk me into giving it another try, but I didn’t see the sense in dragging it out when we’d clearly hit our end.

He and I were just not it.

I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but also, I’d been totally clear, and he’d still texted me a bunch of times trying to pressure me into changing my mind.

I was not about that.

“Um…that’s because we broke up.”

He took a step forward, and there was something about it that made me take one back. “I thought we were going to talk about that?”

“And I told you that would only prolong the inevitable.”

I gasped when he snatched me by the wrist. “Come on, Raven…I don’t understand what happened.”

A tiny shock of fear thrummed through my spirit, and I wrangled my arm free of his hold. “I told you that it didn’t feel right to me. Let’s leave it at that.”

I tried to keep the tremble from my voice, but my breaths bottomed out when he pushed in closer and backed me into the wall.

Panic started to well. Old fears rising up at someone touching me when I didn’t want them to. Ringing blared in my ears, and his voice was garbled when he said, “But we could be so good⁠—”

Except he didn’t make it to the end of the sentence before the shockwave of aggression rocketed through the air. A fiery ferocity that froze him to the spot.

“I’d think twice about touching her when she made it plenty clear that she doesn’t want you to.” The words coming out of Otto’s mouth were daggers.

Sharp and impaling.

Tanner glanced over his shoulder at Otto who raged behind him. A beast that vibrated malice. So tall he nearly touched the ceiling. Shoulders so wide I thought they might be brushing each side.

The colors and innuendos written on his flesh writhed over his muscles that flexed and bowed with barely held restraint.

You’d think Tanner would be smart enough to back away, but instead, he sneered, “This is none of your concern. Think you’ve been in the way enough.”

It was the wrong thing to say.

Okay, the worst thing to say.

Because Otto had grabbed him and had him pinned to the opposite wall before any of us could make sense of the movement.

The man might have been a giant, but damn, he was fast.

Otto’s arm pressed up under Tanner’s chin, tight against his throat. “Ah, see, now that is where you’re wrong. Raven is very much a concern of mine, and if some little twat comes around, pushing her in a direction she doesn’t want to go, then things aren’t gonna end well for him. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

“Otto.” I tried to get his attention, but he was too busy scaring the crap out of Tanner for me to break through to him.

He cracked a menacing grin as he pulled Tanner from the wall then slammed him back against it. “Now get the fuck out of here before I break your fuckin’ legs.”

He shoved him off.

Tanner stumbled to the side, and he raked the back of his hand over his mouth as if he was trying to wipe off a bad taste. He turned his attention to me. Disgust pulled all over his face. “Yeah, he’s like a brother to you, my ass.”

“Just leave, Tanner,” I told him, praying he wouldn’t be an idiot and push this any farther.

He stared at me for a beat before a harsh breath jutted from his lungs, and he turned on his heel and strode out like he hadn’t just been pinned to the wall by a mammoth.

Otto stood there fuming as he watched him disappear around the corner before he spun back to me.

My heart was jackhammering at the interaction, at both the confusion of the way Tanner had acted and the ridiculous show of force that Otto had issued. My offense rushed out before Otto got the chance to say anything. “That was unnecessary, don’t you think? I don’t need you coming around here tossing all your brute around. I was just fine.”

Burly. Freaking. Bear.

Only right then, Otto wasn’t the cuddly teddy bear he sometimes was with me.

He absolutely fumed with fury.

It was these moments when I knew he wasn’t the happy-go-lucky guy that everyone thought he was. When I knew he was violent and dangerous underneath all those smirks and grins. Hell, I knew Otto Hudson better than anyone.

“I think it was very necessary,” he growled.

“I can handle myself.”

Otto pressed forward, his big body covering me in shadow, a tall tower that loomed with all that dark intimidation. But his hand was soft when he reached out and set it on my cheek, and he leaned in close when he said, “Told you I would never let anyone hurt you again, and I meant it.”