Page 4 of Taken by Moonlight

“Why?” Dante asked quietly. “Why should you care about a pack ofwolves?”

Somehow I sensed his question had deeper meaning. I struggled with my emotions. Bit mylip.

Finally, I settled on the bare truth. “My parents always taught me to honor the family credo – protect the innocent, work for justice and fight like hell to defend those who can’t defend themselves. No matter what if the person you’re fighting for is human or nothuman.”

The three sexy werewolves studied me as if I were an insect on a pin. I laughed. “Not that I have any means to fight againstshifters.”

“I think you do,” Dante said softly. “You underestimate yourself, Peyton. You have a unique, special gift as ahuman.”

Red suffused my face. I needed to shift the focus off me to them. I didn’t like being the center of Dante’s quietscrutiny.

“Your mom and dad sound like good people,” Alexandersaid.

I nodded, emotion overcoming me. “They were. They died in a car crash a few yearsago.”

Now I really wanted to cry, but I fought the tears. I gave my brightest smile. “Enough of me. Tell me about the Browns. You have plenty of males to defend your vulnerable members. Did you bring out the bigfangs?”

Gabriel shrugged. “Three of us against seven of them. Fair fight. It wasfun.”

“Fun?” Alexander shook his head. “You’re not the one left with a facial laceration that bled like a knifewound.”

“Stop being such a baby,” Gabriel admonished. “I’ve seen worse wounds on children at theplayground.”

“And what were you doing observing children at the playground?” Dante putin.

“Wolf-sitting,” Alexander said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “The only job he doeswell.”

“It was human sitting for Kelly’s little girl,” Gabriel countered,growling.

Alexander and Gabriel reached across the table and mock punched each other. The camaraderie endeared them to me. In spite of my embarrassment over the tampon incident and my sadness about my parents, Ilaughed.

Dante gestured to his friends and they ceased. “What’s so funny?” heasked.

“All of you.” I pointed to him, and his friends. “I have visions of all three of you coming home after defending your territory from the Brown brothers, fighting in wolfskin. And then shifting back and Gabriel asks, ‘Okay, forget the First Aid kit. Who has a tampon? I have to go to the playground and I look like, gosh, awerewolf.”

Alexander’s full mouth quirked, while Gabriel belted out a hearty laugh. Dante didn’t react. He watched the othertwo.

The alpha leaned close, scrutinizing me. “Peyton, do you remember the drunk werewolf I escorted out of theclub?”

I nodded. “Thanks again for doingthat.”

“He wasn’t angling for a fight,” Dante said. “He wanted to have sex. He told me he wanted to have sex with you, but he changed hismind.”

I felt myself flush. “Oh. I could tell by his aura he wanted sex, but withme?”

“Some human women think sex with shifters is debasing,” Gabrielobserved.

“Or sex with several shifters at once,” Alexanderadded.

Dante’s gaze never left my face. “Doyou?”

I gave a nervous laugh. “Maybe. It could be fun, with the right shifters. But not thatshifter.”

Dante gave me a mysterious smile. “Interesting.”

What did thatmean?

“I have to get to work,” I babbled. “Much fun as this is, and how I’d love to talk more, I have to rush. Anything I can send back for you before Istart?”

Headshakes. Dante removed a slim cell phone from his tuxedo jacket and punched abutton.

“Norman. Peyton is late due to me. Give her full pay for tonight.” Without waiting for an answer, the alpha thumbed off hiscell.

Not waiting, I murmured thanks and hurried into the back. What power. One simple command and Dante probably had the werepython shaking in his scalyskin.

How I wished I had thatpower.