Bound by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon Read Free Book Online Page A

lifted to hers, huge green eyes flooding up in unimaginable anguish. The eyes of that little lost boy.
    “Yes, I do. Jimmy was right to keep the past in the past. He always knew what was best where you were concerned. They’re just dreams. Don’t let them pull you back.” Back into madness.
    She took a step toward him, and because he didn’t automatically draw back the way he usually did, she slipped an arm about his shoulders and gathered him close. Her own eyes welled up as she stroked his dark head. He’d never let her hold or comfort him as a child, though she’d longed to. Back then, she’d wanted a child so desperately. But Jimmy was the only one young Max would let near him. Such a strange, somber boy with his unnatural quiet and haunting sorrow. Even now, even as he leaned into her, he was so still.
    “Do I smell coffee?”
    They moved away from each other as Cee Cee stepped out onto the porch. Helen immediately filled her cup and nodded good morning. The sight of the police detective making herself at home in Jimmy Legere’s house no longer seemed a sort of blasphemy. Not when Max’s expression brightened enough to vanquish the shadows the second he saw her.
    “Breakfast, Detective?” she asked.
    Cee Cee took the coffee cup in one hand and Max’s chin in the other. “No, thanks. I’ve got everything I need for the moment.” She bent to kiss him as if she could survive on the taste of him alone.
    “Morning, baby,” she murmured against his lips as Helen tactfully withdrew. Cee Cee laughed as he pulled her onto his lap without spilling a drop from her cup.
    She was wearing one of his tee shirts and a pair of gym shorts. His palm roamed the long stretch of her legs as he tucked her bare feet up beside him in the chair. She buried her face in his dark hair as he nibbled on her kneecap. He was the only thing she’d go for before her kick start of caffeine. And she went for him in a big way.
    “You should have stayed in bed a bit longer,” she whispered. “I woke up with a need to ride you hard.”
    “Yeah?” He looked up at her, brows lifted. “And where did you want that ride to take you?”
    “To work,” she grumbled, “since I no longer have a car.”
    He made an unsympathetic sound. “It’s not like you have to hitchhike.”
    “Yeah, but I have to listen to the guys’ bullshit after your driver opens the limo door for me like I was royalty.”
    Max cupped the back of her head to tip her face up to his. His eyes glowed with hot intensity. “You are royalty. You are my queen.”
    She gave an unregal snort. “And where, pray tell, is my kingdom?”
    He placed her palm flat upon his chest. “You rule my heart.”
    “So you’ve decided to subjugate yourself to my royal whims without argument. I like this job.”
    “I don’t believe that’s quite what I said.”
    She chuckled and leaned back against his shoulder,smiling as she sipped her coffee. “It’s good to be queen.”
    They relaxed with one another for a long, contented moment, then she felt him tense as Alain Babineau joined them on the porch.
    “Morning.”
    “Help yourself to some coffee, Alain. What brings you all the way out here?” Cee Cee asked without changing her indolent pose.
    “Thought I’d give you a lift in.”
    A growl vibrated silently through Max. She patted his rough cheek.
Down, boy.
“Thanks.”
    Her partner dropped the morning paper on the table as he settled into a chair. “You made the news.”
    She reached for it. “I hope they got my good side.”
    “A rather flattering shot of me, don’t you think?” Max commented as he saw the prominent photo in an article on last night’s event. It showed them dancing, with her hand very obviously copping a feel of his butt.
    Babineau cleared his throat as if to get out an unpleasant taste. “Tina wants you two over for lunch tomorrow.” He added grimly, “She said no excuses. She wants to say thanks, and the boy’s been asking to see