Page 4 of My Boyfriend Bites (A Moonstruck Mating #3)

Fuck his blue balls. Dante couldn’t recall the last time a woman left him unfulfilled—or rejected him.

Upon hearing Selene had not only turned down his upgrade offer, but also cancelled dinner, his first reaction had been anger.

She dared to spurn him! Her loss.

That initial spurt only masked the actual disappointment.

“What do you mean she said no?” he’d almost shouted at Rennie.

His man had shrugged. “Woman has got it in her head you want something in return.”

He did, but still… “Does she not grasp the compliment in my interest?”

“Apparently not, sir.”

It was frustrating and oddly refreshing to have a woman not fall easily into his arms. Even without using his vampiric power of persuasion, the opposite sex had a tendency to throw themselves at him—usually naked and eager.

But not Selene.

Her pride had her determined to not accept his gift or his company. Therefore, he did something rare. He sought her out. Brought himself to the crowded dining hall, a veritable buffet of blood had he chosen to partake. Only he didn’t come to eat but to persuade.

It didn’t work. A good thing he’d devised a backup plan.

Upon leaving Selene and her soaked cabin, he returned to his suite and glanced at Rennie working on the laptop. “Good job with the flooding. I take it you weren’t seen?”

“I’m not a newbie,” scoffed Rennie. “The folks in the cabin above were gone to dinner. Wasn’t all that hard to shove a washcloth down the toilet and flush it.”

“And you bribed the person who upgraded her to not say a word?”

“The man could have been bought for half the price.”

“Excellent.”

Rennie put his laptop aside. “This seems like an awful lot of effort for a woman who seems uninterested.”

“She’s interested.” The perfume of her desire when around him made that clear.

“If you say so. And where is she now?”

“In her new suite.” Alone. Because she’d refused his company.

“Putting the reluctant lady aside for a moment, how goes the real reason we’re on board?”

“Thus far, I’ve located three compromised crew members.” By compromised, he meant they were most likely accomplices to some pirates acting in the area. “And you?”

A grimace tugged Rennie’s features. “Nothing pertaining to our task. Although, if you need drugs, I know who to speak with.”

“A passenger list of those partaking would be more useful.” Those under the influence were more susceptible to his brand of hypnosis, where he could convince them nothing happened. The hickey on their neck with two pinpricks? Spider bite or a really fun and sexy time with someone they didn’t recall.

“I figured you might, hence why I’ve jotted down a few room numbers.” Rennie pointed to a note pad on the table. “Of those you located, any of them spill when we should expect trouble?”

“Alas, the crew members I questioned thus far didn’t have an exact time or date, just that it would happen during this voyage.” Which currently had six days left. “Tomorrow, we dock in Costa Maya.”

“Need anything from the locals?” Rennie asked, seeing as how Dante would be ensconced in his dark room during the daylight stop.

“No, but if you could keep an eye on Selene, I’d appreciate it. It’s not unheard of for tourists to go missing, especially pretty ones.”

“Assuming she goes ashore.”

“If she does, follow and try to not be noticed, and by that, I mean you should probably think of ditching your usual suit for something that blends better.”

“I don’t wear shorts,” Rennie’s stiff reply. The man might have started out in poverty, but he’d grown into someone with a sense of style that didn’t often include casualwear.

“Pants are fine but try to look like a tourist. Hit the gift shop if you need something more appropriate.”

“The things I have to do.” Rennie sighed.

“Ah yes, your life is so terrible. Forced onto a tropical cruise. Having to eat fine foods. Getting to laze by the pool.”

“I don’t laze.”

“Maybe you should.” Dante waved his hand. “Go out, have a bit of fun. Perhaps find yourself a companion for the night.”

“Or I could go to bed, seeing as how you have me gallivanting ashore tomorrow.”

“Up to you. Although we both know you don’t need much sleep these days.” An advantage to being his assistant. A little bit of vampire blood gave Rennie not only an extended lifespan but also stamina beyond that of a normal person.

“Do you need assistance locating a proper meal first?” Rennie asked as he stood.

“I think I can handle that on my own.” It proved all too easy when a woman he encountered by the elevators drunkenly offered to show him the stars in her cabin.

He didn’t fuck her because one did not touch their food with their cocks—unless you were that kid in American Pie .

Dante drank enough to sate, applied the salve he carried that promoted quick healing, and left his dinner asleep in her room with no recollection they’d even met.

On his way back to his suite, Dante paused outside Selene’s door and wondered what she did inside. Then because he suddenly had to know, he once more made his way outside and, with a bit of fancy climbing, ended up on her large terrace. She’d left the sliding door open a crack, and he stood still for a listen before entering, his steps soundless.

The living room of her suite, comprising a dining set plus a sofa and two chairs, remained dark and unoccupied. The door to the bedroom stood ajar and, once he neared the portal, he could hear the soft exhalation of her breath.

Slow and even. Selene slept and despite a niggling sense of wrongness— You’re bordering on stalker territory —he entered to have a look. She lay splayed over the covers, her lycan heritage making her run hot, unlike him, who ran slightly cold. Not because he was dead. Vampires were very much living creatures, just not quite human. Their organs were not in the same places—they had a few missing and others added. Vampire DNA also differed from humans, evident when studied at a chromosomal level.

Another misconception? Vampires were born, not made, but that said, there weren’t many of their kind, as the conditions to maintain a pregnancy to fruition proved arduous. Most vampiric fetuses self-aborted before the first trimester. Even more oddly, a vampire couldn’t produce a child with another vampire. One of the parents had to be human. He had no idea if a lycan would work. A strange thing to even wonder, as he’d never contemplated having progeny of his own before.

Selene rolled in her sleep, flinging her arm across the mattress, her lips parting. A soft huffing murmur had him leaning closer.

“No. We can’t,” she mumbled.

What did she dream of?

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Her next mutter.

Hurt who?

“It’s not you, it’s me.”

Now he really wondered who she spoke to in her dream.

“I’m dangerous to love.”

He stiffened. Was she already enamored of someone else?

“You’re pretty and rich. You’ll find someone else.”

Wait, was she speaking about him?

“You shouldn’t kiss me.”

Oh, but he wanted to.

“Oh, Dante.”

Hell yeah, she did dream of him.

She also squirmed on the bed, the scent of her arousal indicating her fantasy turned carnal. Her breathing shortened, and she uttered tiny moans of need. He was tempted to give her what she desired, but if she woke with him there…

“No.” Her voice emerged low. “Run, Dante. Ru—grrr.” The transition from woman to wolf happened so fast Dante barely had time to react.

Selene went from sleeping human to a very awake lycan, standing on four paws on the bed, fur bristling. Snapping teeth lunged for Dante, and he had to grab the wolf’s jaw to avoid having his throat torn out. Usually, he would have snapped the neck of a threat, but he couldn’t this time. Couldn’t hurt Selene. Hence why he ignobly fled to the terrace, a snarling wolf at his heels as he vaulted over the railing and landed on the deck below.

The wolf did not follow, and he glanced up to see it standing with its paws on the rail, head lifted as it howled at the sky.

It didn’t sing for long. Probably because Selene awoke and changed back. He heard a cursed, “Dammit, not again,” before she padded from the balcony back into her room.

Dante returned to his, wondering if he’d just stumbled across part of her reticence. Did she lack control of her wolf? Was passion a trigger?

And if yes, how could he help her get past it?