Luna Junction 2 Forbidden Mate (W) by Sage Domini Read Free Book Online Page A

her mother. I’d felt pleasantly protective cradling the soft
feel of her trusting little body.
    Benji entered in a rush, holding an
open laptop. His face was alarmed as he tried to get his father’s
attention.
    Cade tensed. “What is it?”
    Wordlessly Benji turned the screen.
Cade’s face betrayed no emotion as he scrolled down, reading.
“Shit,” he finally said.
    “ Again?” Matthew asked
grimly.
    Cade shook himself briefly and forced a
smile. “You like cheesecake, Acie?”
    I chose to ignore the sudden intrusion
of dread and smiled back. “I love cheesecake.”
    Dessert was uneventful, although Tatum
and I were the only ones stuffing our faces full of creamy
cheesecake. The Landons, including Claire, kept up a fixed stream
of cheerful chatter. Whatever was wrong was not meant to be shared
in my presence. For his part, Gideon continued his disagreeable
silent brooding. It took a lot of effort to refrain from looking
his way again and if was with a sigh of relief that I finally waved
my goodbyes and closed myself in Max’s truck. Tatum had hugged me
tightly and made me promise to return soon for my
haircut.
    Aside from the unpleasantness with
Gideon, I felt better than I had in a long time. I kept the windows
open, inhaling the heady night air, as the truck hurtled through
the darkness. As the scant lights of Luna Junction bore down, it
didn’t occur to me to watch the speedometer until I saw the lights.
I cursed softly and pulled off the dirt shoulder, rifling through
the glove box for the truck registration. I recalled Max’s warning
to refrain from driving too fast. I wished I’d listened.
    I doubled down on that wish when I
realized the light shining in my face was held by Sheriff Michael
Casteel. “Get out of the vehicle,” he commanded.
    There was no one else in sight as I
slowly stepped out of the truck. “I’m sorry, I know I was
speeding-“
    “ Shut up. Turn around and
place your hands on the hood.”
    My heart pounded. The night had
afforded me only the briefest glimpse of Sheriff Casteel. But the
malevolence in his eyes was brutal. He shined his light into the
cab of the truck and made a show of searching the interior. After a
moment I could feel his cold eyes traveling up and down my
body.
    “ You’ve grown up, Artemis
Jaeger.”
    I tried to laugh casually but the sound
emerged as a strangled gasp. “Yeah, that happens.”
    “ What are you doing back
here?”
    I swallowed, staring at my splayed
hands against the orange hood. “It’s a free country, isn’t
it?”
    He moved deliberately closer, grazing
my hip. Every nerve in my body was screaming with alarm but I was
defenseless. Even if Michael Casteel wasn’t a werewolf, I could not
have taken him down without a weapon. “It’s not for you, huntress.
This is Luna Junction.” His hand moved down my back, traveling over
my backside and reaching between my legs. It wasn’t meant to be
seductive. He was trying to frighten me out of my wits.
    I clenched my teeth with revulsion as
he fondled me roughly. “Bullshit. You’re a made up sheriff in a
made up town.”
    The sudden grip on my long hair was
painful. His hot breath was against my neck as he lifted me up.
“Apparently I will need to conduct a more thorough search for
weapons.” He pressed my body against his so I could feel the
intensity of his excitement. My mind was one long scream of panic.
Did Michael Casteel intend to rape me right there on the side of
the road?
    He released me crudely, laughing as I
stumbled against the side of the truck. I spun around, my back
against the door. Michael watched me with a pleased expression on
his face. “Get on home, little girl.” His eyes narrowed. “And
Artemis, Luna Junction is not your home.”
    Gasping, I managed to climb into the
truck and close the door behind me. My hands shook as I tried to
operate the steering wheel. For a moment Sheriff Michael Casteel
was illuminated by the headlights. His eyes had altered to that
same