Blade of Moonlight: Midnight Justice Read online

  He just wasn’t sure that lust was enough for him.

  “Are you sure you want me here?” he asked.

  She sent him a glare but said nothing.

  The flash of spirit got him going, like it always did. He was way past lust when it came to how he felt about her, and it had been that way for a while. But how did she feel about him in return? Could she really deal with the dark side of him? Could she accept the things he did? The tactics he chose?

  Because he wasn’t going to stop.

  Dawnie Durbin had gone down in flames because of the actions they’d taken against her. Their esteemed Senator was currently wearing the orange jumpsuit stylings of the state judicial system. From what he’d heard through the legal grapevine, the prosecutors were still trying to sort through all the charges. Whichever ones stuck, dear Dawnie wouldn’t be smiling condescendingly on her subjects anymore. She was going to be an inhabitant of the state’s prison system, whose budget she’d been so eager to cut.

  He rubbed his shoulder. Nobody deserved it more, except for maybe the man who’d shot him in the back.

  David Littleton and his cohort had been caught only blocks from the scene of the crime. The two had been charged in the attack on him, but they were trying to claim self-defense. They insisted that they’d shot another man—one who’d come at them with an ungodly knife. Some had started to put two and two together, but Luminescence had nipped that in the bud. Lying more easily than he would have expected, she contended that he’d been at the bar because of the connection between the henchmen and his client. He’d been trying to gather proof for the trial but had gotten caught in the crossfire. Scythe’s involvement with the DC gang was unknown, but he’d gotten away.

  Even now, Griffin had to shake his head. His bombshell blonde had been so adamant—and so scantily clad—that the boys in blue couldn’t help but believe her. Good girl or not, she was one hell of a woman.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  “Where’s my scythe?” He felt naked without it. With the identities they both assumed at night, there would always be danger lurking. He wanted to know he could protect her.

  She rolled her eyes. “Not that you should even be thinking about using it, but it’s underneath the bed.”

  That made him feel more at ease, even if he wasn’t sure he could wield his weapon. Still, he had to tease her. “That’s not very superhero-like. Where’s the secret compartment?”

  She smiled, knowing what he was doing. “You’re lucky that blade is in the room.”

  So was he, and he knew it.

  “Are you okay with this?” he asked quietly. “All of it?”

  Her happy gaze flicked away uncertainly. She wandered to the window and looked outside into the darkness. The storms had passed and stars dotted the horizon. The moon was bright, lighting her soft skin in a way he’d find forever fascinating.

  “Why do you do it?” she asked. “How can you defend people you know are rotten at their core?”

  He’d been waiting for that question. “Because some are innocent, and they deserve good counsel.”

  Her hair shifted around her shoulders. “But how can you go out at night and fight on their side? You’re not evil. I know you’re not.”

  Black and white, that was still all she saw. It was all he ever wanted her to see. That pureness was what made her Luna.

  “I fight those who are worse than me. Really, there’s not much difference between you and me.”

  She stiffened. “How can you say that?”

  “We both take matters into our own hands when the legal system fails.”

  “But you’re the one who gets them off! A lot of those people you defend walk free. Look at RJ Tyson.”

  “RJ is not walking free. That video worked both ways. It took the Senator down and RJ too.”

  “But you were defending him. If we hadn’t caught Tyson with the Senator’s people, you would have convinced the jury to let him go.”

  “I would have found him later, once I’d gotten what I needed out of him. Believe me, baby, slime like him would have met the sharp side of my blade.”

  Her hands fisted at her sides. “Why defend him in first place? Why not use the justice system as it was intended?”

  “Because then people like our little Dawnie would get away with it.” He raked his hand through his hair. “People like RJ are tiny cogs in the machine, but they can be useful for information. How do you think I found out about Dawnie Durbin in the first place?”

  A confused look settled onto her pretty face.

  Unable to stay away from her, he moved closer. He had to make her understand. “I go after the people who deserve it, the ones who think they can get away with anything because of who they are or how much money they have. If a few of the street fighters walk away clean, it doesn’t hurt my conscience any. They’ll pay the price later.”

  She frowned. “But what about that banker on the west side? Didn’t you, Scythe, lock him in the bank’s vault until he suffocated?”

  “The man was a pedophile.”

  Her eyes widened in revulsion. “The Evangelical preacher?”

  “Stealing from the coffers to pay for his mistress.”

  “The schoolteacher?”

  “Arsonist.”

  Her lips parted in surprise. “So you’re the judge and jury.”

  “And the executioner.” He planted his hands on his hips to keep from reaching for her. His chest hurt, not from the wound in his shoulder but from holding his breath. “Can you accept that?”

  The moon shone against her back, making her light hair look like a halo around her.

  She’d put herself into danger to come to his rescue. He might not even be alive if not for her. He watched her skin shimmer, illuminating reflexively, and his chest squeezed tighter.

  He couldn’t believe what he’d seen her do the other night in that pouring rainstorm. As the wind had whipped and the sky had churned, she’d accessed powers he hadn’t even known she had. It still made him lightheaded, just thinking about the way she’d summoned the light to her.

  She’d taken a lightning strike for him. She’d soaked up all that energy and thrust it right back at the men looming over him, ready to finish him off. Had she known she could do that? What if it hadn’t worked? She could have been the one who’d ended up in the hospital. Or worse.

  Slowly, she reached out to him. Her palms pressed flat against his belly, and he nearly groaned. He’d had too little of her touch.

  “You’re not a bad guy,” she whispered. “You just want everyone to think you are.”

  “I’m not good. Good guys follow the rules.” He slid his fingers into her hair and cupped the side of her face. “I’m a vigilante. Do you think you can live with that? Because I can’t change, not even for you.”

  “I don’t want you to.” The hands on his belly rubbed reassuringly.

  His heart leapt, but he shook his head. “You’re a superheroine, Luna. You’re Luminescence. You can’t be seen with me.”

  “Of course, I can. Haven’t you heard? We’re having a torrid affair.”

  His chin snapped back. “Who said that?”

  “It’s all over the city. Good and evil mean nothing when it comes to lust. People saw us together in that bar, Scythe.” She smiled. “We might as well give them what they want—and what we want too.”

  His fingers fisted in her soft hair. She shouldn’t look at him that way. She couldn’t have stars or the moon in her eyes.

  “The day job isn’t going to be any easier. Somebody’s going to say there’s a conflict of interest when we’re both in the courtroom.”

  “Which is why I talked to Judge Winston. She’s going to make sure we don’t work the same trials again. She had us figured out, by the way.”

  It was all a little too much for Griffin to take in. “She did?”

  Luna’s fingers stroked his stomach. Already, his muscles were trembling.

  “There’s only so ma
ny times a smart defense attorney should need to consult the court record,” she murmured, looking at him through her lashes.

  He let out a long breath that stirred the tendrils of hair around her face. She was so gorgeous, so spunky. He’d tried to give her an out to this relationship, but she hadn’t taken it.

  And he certainly wasn’t going to let go of her.

  “Torrid, huh?”

  She bit her lip, and her cheeks flushed. “That’s what they say.”

  He slid his hands around her waist and stepped closer. “I’d hate to make them liars, whoever they are.”

  “Griffin,” she squeaked when the backs of her knees hit the mattress. “Your shoulder.”

  “Has nothing to do with the part of me that’s aching right now.”

  Suddenly, he was bursting with energy. It streamed through his veins and adrenalized his muscles. He felt like he could do anything.

  Right now, the only thing he wanted to do was her.

  He pushed her gently, and she toppled back onto the bed. Her hands came up instinctively, but she dropped them to her sides when she realized she was about to clutch his shoulders. He crawled onto the bed atop her, kissing her as he settled into place.

  Her lightness might be the only thing that could pull him back from the darkness. He’d been teetering on a dangerous precipice for a long time.

  He shuddered when her soft hands caught him by the waist. Opening her mouth, she accepted his tongue.

  “Touch me,” he whispered. He’d spent too much time around her masked. He’d stroked and kissed nearly every inch of her amazing body, but he’d felt like he’d been in a full-body condom. She hadn’t been able to touch him, and he was starved for her hands on him.

  She squirmed as she tugged his T-shirt out of his jeans. Her hands spread wide across his back, and her nails gave a sharp nip.

  His cock jumped, ready to break his zipper.

  Holy hell, if her touch on his back did that to him, what would it do to him if she really got down to business?

  He hoped he’d find out.

  “More.” His head dropped as she stroked up and down his spine.

  Her breath hitched, though, when she ran into the bandage protecting his shoulder. “No.” She worked like a worm, trying to get out from underneath him. “We can’t.”

  “We can.” They had to.

  Sitting back on his haunches, he carefully pulled the T-shirt over his head. Her mouth circled into a horrified O as she reached up to touch the big white bandage. Nasty purple bruises spread wider than it covered. “You’re still hurt.”

  “And I need you to kiss it and make it better.” Going against every instinct inside him, he moved off her, but he didn’t leave her. He spread out on the bed, lying on his back. “I’ll take it easy,” he promised. “Just touch me. Please.”

  Her blue gaze ran over him hungrily, and he realized he wasn’t the only one who’d felt cheated. He’d kept her naked most of the time they’d been together, but she hadn’t seen him. She hadn’t even known who he was.

  The thought froze him in his tracks. Was that it?

  “Don’t you want me? Is it Scythe that does it for you?”

  That blue gaze slammed into his. “Griffin Tate, you’ve had me horny for months.”

  He blinked at her in shock.

  She came up on one elbow. “Staring at me in the courtroom when everyone else ignored me… Hovering by my chair when you should have been standing over the jury… Challenging my work over and over again…”

  Her hand was on his belt, tracing the buckle, and his hips jumped when her fingers brushed over him.

  “It was the only way I could talk to you,” he said. “I wanted you to notice me.”

  “I noticed.” Her fingers were deft as she undid the belt she found so intriguing. They both watched as she unzipped his jeans and slid her hand inside. His hips rolled when her fingers wrapped around him, and his shoulders pressed into the mattress as he arched.

  Pain lanced through him. “Ahh.”

  She yanked her hand away.

  “No, don’t stop.” He caught her wrist and kissed her palm. Holding her gaze, he directed her touch back where he wanted it, back where he needed it. “Slow and easy. You set the pace.”

  He wanted this more than his next breath.

  He needed to know they could be together, as a couple.

  She bit her lip but took the time to unzip his jeans and pull them down. When she touched him this time, the graze of her fingertips was light and airy. Her thumb circled over the head of his penis, and he felt like he’d died and gone to heaven. “Luna.”

  Rising over him, she got rid of his shoes and jeans. He felt exposed as she looked down at his naked body. Exposed, vulnerable and thoroughly excited. He’d never let a woman take charge before, but he’d give her the keys to the car any day.

  Her gaze stroked over him, making his balls pull tight and his skin begin to itch.

  She turned off the bed lamp. The room dimmed, but the light coming through the window gave the space a sexy, bluish cast. She caught the hem of the sporty little dress she wore and pulled it over her head. She dropped it to the floor, and her hair swung around her shoulders. It picked up the moon’s rays, almost sparkling.

  God, she was something.

  Griffin’s mouth watered as she stripped in the moonlight. She was sexy and uninhibited. Her lingerie was closer to something Luminescence might pick. The tiny straps of stretchy fabric made him want to howl, but they were soon gone, making him want to beg.

  He trembled, trying to hold himself still as she crawled atop him.

  Kissing her way up his chest, she placed gentle pecks around the bandage until she finally met his lips. Her breasts were soft against his chest, and her hair spread protectively around his shoulder. She pulled back an inch to look into his eyes. “Why did you tie me up that first time?”

  “I didn’t know what the extent of your powers were.” His fingers tested the firmness of her butt. “Some of your kind hold their power in their hands.”

  She certainly did. God, why hadn’t he let her touch him sooner? Damned costume.

  His fingers dipped deeper into the seam of her ass, and her neck arched. Satisfaction coursed through him. He wasn’t the only one who was turned on. Lifting his head, he nuzzled against her neck. “Besides, seeing you open and ready for me made me hard.”

  Her hips rocked suggestively. “Like this?”

  He groaned. “Just like.”

  She tsked and dropped a kiss on his bandage. “You have to lie still.”

  And that wasn’t going to be easy. “I’ll try.”

  But he wasn’t just going to take it lying down. Burrowing between the soft globes of her bottom, he touched skin that was rarely exposed. Her entire body jerked, but he kept tickling her there. He rubbed and gave her a tender scratch.

  She went wild on him but jerked still and let out a shuddering breath. “Stop that. I’m supposed to be taking care of you.”

  She shimmied away. Her kisses glided down his chest, and her tongue dipped into his belly button. Griffin saw stars—or maybe that was the moon again.

  Her breasts plumped tight against his abdomen. He could feel the hard stone of her necklace resting at the base of his cock. “Luna!”

  Her mouth was on him then, wide and slick. She swirled her tongue around him as if he were a sweet lollipop. His hands fisted in her hair. It was spread all over him, gliding over his chest and licking at his thighs.

  Oh God. He was going to come. It was too soon. He wanted to be inside her. “Lightness,” he gasped.

  A devilish glint was in his superheroine’s eyes when she looked at him through her lashes. Good and bad could be wrapped in the same package. Crawling back into position, she rose onto her haunches. Moonlight caught her then, caressing her curves and making her glow. Her breasts jiggled, and her hips worked naughtily. Sinking down, she guided him to her opening.

  Griffin’s hands settled on her t
rembling thighs. He was breathing so hard, his shoulder was throbbing, but he wasn’t about to tell her. Nothing could have stopped him now, not sirens or even bullets. She took him into her almost too slowly, and blue curses flew under his breath. She made an adjustment and sank down hard.

  They both groaned.

  She was slick and so tight. His fingers bit into her thighs, but then they were bunching again. She began moving on him, up and down. It was the most erotic thing he’d ever felt. He watched her breasts bounce and the expressions on her face. “Luna.”

  His Luna, his Luminescence. His love.

  Luna looked down at the man beneath her. Griffin Tate was in her bed, sprawled out like a sexy centerfold. This was the man she’d avoided for months. He’d irked her to no end and aroused her to all lengths. She’d never thought she’d have him where she wanted him. He’d worked for the wrong side. He stood for everything she was against.

  She was learning that the line between good and evil could waver.

  His hands settled over her breasts and her head fell back in pleasure. He’d caught her, and she felt as bound as she had when he’d tied her up. He was hard inside her, but it was the expression on his face that captivated her.

  He didn’t think he was good enough for her.

  She’d thought he was out of her league.

  Rolling her hips, she took him deeper. They’d both been wrong. They were the perfect match.

  An urgency rose inside her, and her muscles started to clench. Bending forward, she planted her hands on each side of his head. Her hair came over them, a white cloak this time.

  She didn’t want a good guy. She wanted him.

  Her hips slapped down and shot back up. His hands stayed with her, squeezing her breasts and stroking down to her hips.

  She knew she was being too rough. His shoulder wasn’t up for this, but she’d nearly lost him. The white bandage glowed like a beacon before her eyes. She’d watched him take that bullet, and she’d nearly died herself. He’d warned her to stay away from him, but never again.

  She wanted him as close as she could get him—as close as he was now.