Page 44 of Beneath the Blue Moon

***Ethan***

I arrive at The Round-up fifteen minutes early. She’s at the

far end of the room serving drinks, and I experience a heart palpitation as I

take in her outfit. Her legs are once again bare in something that looks like

glorified underwear, and her T-shirt is tied at the waist, exposing her belly

button. She’s almost fucking naked!

“Sheriff!” Rusty slaps my shoulder, and I reluctantly turn

to face him, trying to control my anger. “Becoming a regular, are we?”

“What can I say, Rusty? I like the service.”

“Yeah, you and just about every man in this town.”

He chuckles, jerks his head in her direction, and walks off.

I survey the room and notice all the men ogling her, staring at her ass and

legs. Every muscle in my body tenses, and I want to rip the heads off every man

in here. She seems oblivious to the whole thing, laughing away with the

perverts. She turns to head back to the bar but halts when she spots me. Her

smile widens, and she bounces over to me. The men at one table follow the

progress of her ass with silly, lust-filled smiles.

“Hey. I’m almost ready—”

“You need to stop that,” I cut her off.

Confusion spreads across her face, and she places a hand on

her hip.

“Stop what?”

“That… thing you do with your hips.”

“What thing?”

“That thing that has all the perverts staring at your ass.”

She throws her head back and laughs at my misery. “I can’t

stop what comes naturally.”

“That outfit you’re wearing doesn’t make it any

better.”

“You know, you had that same look when I mentioned Roman.” She

steps forward and slides her hands around my waist, staring into my eyes. “What

do you want to do, stake your claim for everyone to see?”

“I think I will.”

Pulling her against me, I give her a kiss that should leave

doubt in no one’s mind. She’s mine. She makes a little startled sound at the

force of the kiss, but then she returns it. Her fingers curl into my shirt, and

her nails dig into my back. The thunderous applause and whistles from the crowd

tell me that everyone’s seen. They better get the message. I break the kiss and

look down at her.

“Mission accomplished.”

She blushes, drops her head, and rushes off to the back

room. Rusty shoves a drink into my hand with a hearty laugh.

“On the house, Sheriff! You’ve done what many have tried and

failed at. You’re a hero!”

Many? How many? Who are they? I’ll kill every last one!

“She’s a fine gal, Ethan. Make sure you take good care of

her.”

I turn to Rusty, and the mirth is gone from his face. In its

place is a serious, almost fatherly look of warning. I down the drink in one

gulp and hand him the empty glass.

“That’s the plan.”

The smile returns to his face as she walks up and kisses his

cheek.

“See ya tomorrow, Rusty.”

“G’night, darlin’. Be safe.”

She sticks her thumb at me and raises a questioning brow. “How

much safer could I be?”

“You’re right.” Rusty chuckles. “G’night, Ethan.”

“’Night, Rusty.”

In the parking lot, I take one look at her exposed legs and

overwhelming possessiveness blazes through me. I clench my jaw, listening to

the gnash of my teeth as they grind against each other. Grabbing her hand, I

pull her against me, gentleness forgotten.

“What the hell?” she shrieks.

“I mean it. I don’t want you dressed like this in public.”

She shrugs as if it’s trivial. “It helps with my tips.”

“If this is about money, I can give you money.”

“Oh?” She raises her brows.

“And from now on, I’ll be picking you up whenever you have a

late shift.”

She pulls away from me, places both hands on her hips, and stares

at me in defiance. Her eyes flash a darker green as anger flares within them.

“Is that so? Maybe I should just quit my job and be your

sugar baby.”

“I don’t want them looking at you like that! You’re mine.”

“Look, you’re taking this alpha-male thing a little bit too

far. It was cute at first, but I’m an adult. I’ve been taking care of myself

long before I even met you!”

Is she shouting at me? I can’t tell the last time someone

did that. She’s staring at me as if she could slug me right here and now. She’s

a brave one; if she knew what I am, would she be so bold? I take a deep breath,

running my fingers through my hair in frustration. She thinks I’m taking it too

far? She hasn’t seen anything yet. The alpha in me really comes out.

“I haven’t taken it far enough,” I growl. “You don’t know

what I want to do to those fuckers in there.”

She steps back, eyeing me intently. “You know, I see it now.”

“See what?”

“I heard that the folks around here are afraid of you. I

didn’t understand why… but I see it now.”

This I know. People steer clear of me, wolf and human alike.

I don’t care. I actually like it. But am I scaring her? God, I hope not.

“Are you scared of me?” I ask.

“No,” she answers immediately, and I breathe a sigh of

relief. “Just stop acting like I’m your property.”

“This is not up for discussion. You belong to me, and you’d

do well to remember that.”

“Ugh! Stop being such a humongous ciuccio!” She

stomps her foot in anger.

“I am not a chooch! Wait… What the fuck is a chooch?”

She stares at my confused expression and then cracks a small

smile.

“You don’t wanna know. Look, stop treating me like I’m your child.

If this is what it’s going to be like, then we end whatever this is right now.”

Her stance and unsmiling face tell me she’s serious. Fuck.

The last thing I want to do is push her away.

“You’re right. I overreacted. I’m sorry.”

She sighs, shakes her head, and steps back into my arms. “I

could be wearing metal armor, and there’s bound to be at least one guy who

would find it sexy. You just need to trust me.”

“I do. I don’t trust them.”

“After your little show tonight, I doubt anyone will mess

with me again.”

“They better not.”

“Let’s go.” She takes my hand. “You look like you could use a

little sugar tonight.”