Read Online Moon Dance by V. J. Chambers - Free Book Online Page A

danger to contact her, after all. And now he
was begging to see her. That was the one thing that he wanted most
of all.
    She thought of his voice on the phone
just a few days ago.
    God, she wanted to see him
so bad. As the elevator descended, Dana felt it thrumming through
her limbs, the desire for him.
    Oh, no , she thought. We’re in trouble,
aren’t we?
    The elevator doors opened,
and she and Ursula got out. Ursula spoke to the woman manning the
desk, who said that they’d just gotten Cole secured in one of the
interrogation rooms, and that the two of them should go ahead
in.
    Ursula headed down the hallway, and
Dana followed.
    Just outside the door, Dana
closed her eyes. She could smell him.
    Damn it, she’d forgotten
that smell. He smelled like the forest. He smelled like the small
prey that cavorted under the leaves. Smelled like the blood that
gushed out of them when she tore and ripped and—
    “ You okay?” said
Ursula.
    Dana gulped.
“Yeah.”
    “ Listen, if you want to back
out—”
    “ No.” No, dear God,
she needed to be
close to him now. She could smell him. She wanted to see him. She
was dying for it.
    “ Well, if you change your
mind at any point, you say the word, and it’s all over. Got
it?”
    Dana nodded. But she was
afraid that she was going to throw herself on him, and that they’d
have to pull her off his body.
    Ursula opened the door.
    And Dana saw Cole.
    He looked… different. All
that hair. That beard. He was… She took slow steps into the
room.
    Cole stood up. His chains rattled. He
was shaking.
    She stared into his eyes,
and he stared right back. She imagined she could see things in
those depths—pain and fear and running and hiding and… wildness. He
was so, so wild now.
    She liked it. It called out
to something wild inside her, the wolf that she let out to run in
the woods.
    She stopped at the edge of
the table, and the two of them simply stood there, staring at each
other. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but something held
her back. She saw Cole’s hands twitch, as if he wanted to reach for
her too. But instead he interlaced his fingers, as if forcing
himself to keep his hands to himself.
    Cole’s gaze swept her.
Slowly. Greedily. He started at the tip of her head and then went
down her body. Then he went back up. Then back down. Finally, he
settled on looking into her eyes again. “I don’t like what he’s
done to you.”
    It wasn’t quite the reaction
she’d been expecting. She looked away, fingering the edge of her
stained shirt. She looked the same way she’d looked when Ursula had
come to see her earlier—unwashed and ugly. A frumpy mommy. There
was nothing sexy about her anymore. She wasn’t the Dana Gray that
Cole had seduced all those years ago.
    “ I didn’t mean—” He moved
his hands, and his chains clinked again.
    She looked back up at him.
    He gestured at himself.
“Obviously, the way I look—”
    “ Mr. Randall, if you could
sit down, please.” Ursula was all professional courtesy.
    Cole was grim. “It’s in your
eyes. He’s breaking you, Dana.”
    She flinched.
    “ Please,” said Ursula. “Have
a seat. We’re here to talk about—”
    “ You’re not meant for this,”
Cole whispered. “You need—”
    “ Mr. Randall .”
    Cole sucked in a breath.
    Dana sank down into her
chair.
    Cole glanced around the
room, his movements quick, like an untamed beast. Then… he sat
too.
    It was quiet.
    Ursula took her seat and
cleared her throat. “You’d indicated to us that you wanted to speak
with Dana Gray. She’s agreed to speak to you. But I must remind you
that she is here only at my pleasure, and if I feel that you’re not
cooperating—”
    “ I still want the pardon,”
Cole said.
    Ursula sighed heavily. “When
you first arrived here, you were only demanding Gray’s
presence—”
    “ I won’t let you keep
me locked up in here.” Cole leaned forward. “I can’t be in here, do you
understand that?”
    Ursula pressed her