Blood Moon Ch. 06

Derek turned his head to the side to study Lilith. She avoided looking at him and for some reason he was glad. Uncertain with the other, they both remained silent. Finally, Derek spoke up.

"How about we start clean?" Derek put his hand out for a shake.

Lilith's head snapped to the side to look at Derek. She peered down at his offered hand and furrowed her brows in serious thought. Slowly, she reached forward and took his hand.

"Okay." Lilith whispered.

Their skin made contact and they both gasped. Hot prickles ran up their arms and Lilith shivered. Derek gritted his teeth against the sensation.

"What was that?" Lilith asked, slightly out of breath and for some reason extremely aroused.

"It's because we're mated and didn't complete the ceremony. Our bodies are insisting we do. Probably now and not before because you weren't human a week ago. For wolves, biting is a sign of ownership. When I bit you, it was kind of like claiming you as mine. Even though you probably don't notice it, you carry my scent on your skin that wards away other weres. To finish the ceremony, we have to bite each other at the same time while I'm inside of you. It means you acknowledge and accept me as your mate."

"So...do I grow fangs or something?"

Derek shook his head with a slight smile. "Just bite me when I bite you. It's more like a ritual. I think you should also know that if we were to fully mate, you're the only one I'd be able to get hard for, but that isn't true for the female. She can still have sex with whomever she wants, but can only get pregnant by her mate. And another thing-"

"There's more?" Lilith asked.

"Aye. A were can sense when a female is ovulating and that is what we'd call going into heat. Her pheromones are potent to all males, especially weres and even more so her mated and it would make it impossible for me to keep my hands off of you. When mated, a female will have an uncontrollable urge to couple during the time she's fertile. It usually lasts for three to five days and the male most often has them locked in a bedroom together during that time." Derek wanted to smile at Lilith's shocked expression.

"Three to five days straight of sex? You're kidding."

"I most certainly am not. When we were separated before your transformation, didn't you ever feel extremely...horny once a month?"

Remembering the days she had literally ached to have sex during the months before Lilith's transformation, she blushed. No wonder William had stayed away from her during that time. She would have demanded for more than he was willing to give.

Lilith was a bit embarrassed when she answered. "Now that you mention it...I assumed that was normal for all women. After my transformation, I didn't get them anymore so I didn't think so much about it. So it stopped because I was sterile. Wait, so what about you?"

Derek shrugged. "What about me?"

"Even though we were far away from each other, could you tell when I went into 'heat'?"

A pause. "Aye. Before the attack, I had Rowan tie me down during those three days in the month. My beast demanded I mate and since you weren't around, I would have rutted any female near."

"I'm sorry." Lilith didn't know why she was apologizing. But Derek just shrugged again.

A thought struck Lilith. "Did you have any other children?"

Derek looked at Lilith a long time before answering. "Impossible. I claimed you as my mate, therefore you're the only one who is capable of bearing my children. A were can only have children with his mated. And once mated, the female can only have children with her mated. Unless I come inside of you, I am sterile and so are you."

An image of Derek deep inside of her as he came assailed Lilith. She felt her nipples harden as moisture began to collect between her legs. Derek's nosed twitched and Lilith flushed, knowing he could sense her arousal.

"I'm assuming that I can once again have children means I'll be going into heat every month." Lilith sounded a bit breathless.

Derek looked down at her clouded, green eyes as she swayed closer. "Most likely."

They were drawn to each other by a force they couldn't explain. Lilith tried to recall the last time they kissed...it was the night of the attack. He had been so happy to see her again and she had his village slaughtered. Derek recognized the pained look in Lilith's eyes and he touched her soft cheek.

"Clean slate remember?" Derek leaned closer as he continued to stroke her cheek.

Lilith nodded and reached for Derek's hand. She held his hand to her cheek and looked at him, her guilt and pain slowly fading, replaced with lust and arousal once again. Neither knew who initiated the kiss, but the moment their lips touched, both knew they didn't want to be the one to end it.

It started off as brushing of the lips. Then Derek had sucked Lilith's lower lip into his mouth, causing Lilith to gasp. She in turn nibbled on his bottom lip. When she felt his tongue trace her lower lip, Lilith opened her mouth and touched her tongue to his. Suddenly she was in his lap as they kept kissing. Derek groaned when Lilith's ass made contact with his groin. She rubbed against him as their kissing deepened. Then they realized they had an audience.

The drunken college boys were shouting encouragement and some crude comments. Lilith pulled away from Derek and embarrassingly buried her face in his neck. She inhaled his spicy scent and the throbbing in her body intensified. Unable to help herself, Lilith nibbled on his neck, causing Derek to groan as he tried to send their audience away.

Settling on the fact that the college boys would stay there and taunt them, Derek got to his feet and helped Lilith stand. They both made their way back to Derek's car, running so they only got slightly wet. When they got in, Derek's cell went off.

"Hello?" Derek answered uncertainly, not recognizing the number.

"You bastard! Where is Lilith?" Came an irate voice. "If you did anything to her, I will chop off your balls! And after I do that I'm going to-"

Derek handed the phone to Lilith. "It's for you. Casey."

Lilith took the phone as Derek started the car up. "Casey?"

"Oh my god, Lilith! Are you okay? Where are you? Did Derek do anything to you? If he did, so help me-" Casey said angrily.

"I'm okay! I'm okay!" Lilith quickly assured her friend. "How did you get Derek's number?"

There was a pause.

"Casey?"

"I woke up to check on you and then I realized you were gone. I called the suite number Rowan left. And he picked up the phone. Then I demanded to speak with Derek. Since Derek wasn't in, I had Rowan give me Derek's cell number. Are you sure you're okay?" Casey sounded very worried.

"I really am fine. I just needed to talk to Derek alone and face-to-face. I should have told you, but I kind of knew you would insist on coming along or talk me out of it. So I had to leave when you were sleeping. I'm so sorry to have worried you. Derek is bringing me back right now." Lilith said, realizing Derek had been driving back to Koloa as Lilith spoke.

"Good." With a sigh of relief Casey didn't let up that easily. "Stay on the phone with me until you get here."

Lilith cast a glance at Derek. "Okay."

Derek was amazed that Casey had talked to Lilith the entire way to Koloa. Not that Derek didn't want to hear Lilith talk; in fact he kind of enjoyed hearing her voice. Then Derek wondered if Lilith still sang. As he recalled, she used to sing all the time.

They pulled into the driveway to see Casey out on the porch. And she didn't look too happy. Derek was tempted to drive away with Lilith still in the car just to see Casey run out into the rain to chase after them.

"I'll be there shortly. I still have to talk to Derek." Lilith said into the phone.

Derek saw Casey nod her head and then both women hung up. Lilith handed Derek back his phone and he placed it in the cup holder between them. There was a silence before Lilith spoke.

She stared down at her hands. "I'm not trying to be a martyr. I really do want to end this war. And although my earlier actions may contradict what I'm about to say, this is how I truly feel. I can't have sex with you. Not right now. So please, give me some time. But I do want to go through with it."

Derek reached over and put his hand over Lilith's and they both felt tingles running up their arms. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I'll admit that when I thought you betrayed me, I wanted to hurt you. But even though at the time, I knew I should have hated you, I still wanted you. So I justified what I did as being punishment when in truth I just wanted to be inside you."

Lilith felt her body heat up. "I must be sick because since we're being honest, I'll admit that truthfully, I keep telling myself that I should hate you for it, but I don't."

"Thank you, Lilith. If you're sure you want to do this, then I can wait until you're ready. Until then, I'm going to do my hardest to earn back your trust."

There was a knocking on Derek's window that made the both of them jump. Casey was standing out in the rain with a murderous gleam in her eyes as water sluiced down her charmingly angry face. With a flick on the button, Derek rolled down his window, uncaring that he would get wet in the process.

"Time's up. I bet you were intimidating her in here. Lilith, let's go. And Derek, if you hurt her-"

"I ken. You'll chop off my balls and then some." Derek interrupted.

Lilith opened her door and gave Derek a small smile. "Good night."

Derek glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard and returned Lilith's smile. "Good morning. Sweet dreams."

Casey walked over to Lilith and both women ran for cover. Derek waited until both women were safely inside before he drove back to his hotel, feeling better than he had in centuries.

A week passed since that incident. Surprisingly Derek hadn't contacted Lilith since then. As the days passed, Lilith began to wonder why Derek left so suddenly. After two days, Casey had called Rowan, which she embarrassingly admitted to getting his cell number, and asked what happened to Derek. Seemingly, something happened in San Francisco that his brother had to take care of. He would be gone for about a week.

In a way, Lilith was relieved she wouldn't have to face Derek for a little bit. The time allowed her to think things rationally. Because whenever she was around Derek, rational thought fled her mind. Casey on the other hand found Derek's absence annoying. Lilith had told her about her decision to have a child with Derek and Casey reluctantly accepted the idea demanding Derek play a more active role in wooing Lilith.

Elizabeth however wanted Lilith and Derek to hurry up and start procreating. She had visited every other day, getting on both Casey and Lilith's nerves. Since Keo had returned to work, he was rarely at home during the times Elizabeth visited. If Lilith wasn't so certain that Elizabeth didn't give a damn about what people thought, she'd suspect Elizabeth was avoiding Keo.

"Have you talked to Roderick today?" Elizabeth lounged on the couch, playing with the stray kitten she found outside the house.

Casey looked over at Elizabeth and bit her tongue again. She had told Elizabeth to leave the dirty cat outside and they could all talk outside. But Elizabeth strolled into the house with a dismissive flick of her wrist and ordered Casey to get the kitten something to eat. Casey begrudgingly got the kitten a can of tuna.

"No." Lilith answered the same answer for the pass week. She didn't want to admit that she wanted to talk to him either.

Lilith reached toward the kitten to pet him, only to receive a hiss. Elizabeth laughed and sat up with the kitten in her lap. She scratched the kitten behind his ears and he purred.

"Slim here doesn't like the way you smell." Elizabeth explained.

"Slim?" Casey asked under her breath at the name of the kitten, knowing Elizabeth would ignore her like always.

"The way I smell?" Lilith subtly tired to smell herself.

"You smell like a dog." Elizabeth explained.

"A dog?" Lilith asked, slightly embarrassed if that was how she really smelled.

"You know, a were. You smell like a wolf...Roderick."

Lilith felt better. "Oh. Well you made me think I smelled like garbage or something."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Well, I need to be leaving." She picked up the kitten and put it in her huge expensive bag, leaving the top open so Slim could stick his head out.

When Elizabeth was finally gone, Casey broke out into her curses, causing Lilith to smile.

"I don't know why she doesn't like me. I didn't do shit to her. One day I'm going to rip out her perfect blond hair out of her perfect blond head." Casey growled.

Lilith laughed. "Elizabeth is an acquired taste, I guess. Knowing her for so long, I've grown immune to her attitude. It just takes time."

"Ewwwah, hopefully I don't have to spend so much time with that bitch that I grow immune to her." Casey shuddered at the thought, rousing another laugh from Lilith.

The phone rang and Casey got up to get it. "Hello? Oh it's you. So one week of no contact and then you call like nothing's wrong. What do you mean 'just give the phone to Lilith'? Gods, you're as annoying as Elizabeth! Hm...well that's true. Okay, maybe not as annoying. Fine, fine." Casey handed the phone to Lilith. "It's Derek."

Lilith wiped her suddenly sweaty hands on her shirt and took the phone. "Hello, Derek."

"Hello, Lilith." The rumble in his tired voice heated Lilith up. He sounded as though he was on speakerphone. "How have you been?"

"I've been good. Casey has been taking me around to all the island's secret restaurants and we went to a cute bead boutique called Bead A Licious today. How have you been?" Geeze, this sounded so formal, Lilith thought.

"I've been better, but I'm alive so I can't complain. Just a bit tired." Derek paused. "Can I see you tonight? I got back a couple hours ago and there's some news I think would make you really happy. And I would like to tell you in person."

Lilith swallowed. "Well, I guess that would be alright. Where and when do you want to meet?"

Another pause. "I was actually wondering if we could make it a date. Dinner at seven. The restaurant at the hotel I'm staying at isn't half bad. You may bring Casey along if you'd feel better with her being there. I can send my driver to pick you both up."

Thinking about whether or not to invite Casey, Lilith bit her lip in indecision. On one hand she wanted Casey there since Derek was staying on the other side of the island, but if Derek wished to tell Lilith something important, Lilith wasn't sure if she wanted Casey feeling like a fifth wheel.

Almost as though he read her mind, Derek continued. "We can throw her on Rowan. They seem to like each other well enough."

Lilith laughed softly, missing the sharp inhale coming from Derek. When she stopped laughing, she heard Rowan in the back noise saying he wasn't going to dinner with Casey. There was a feminine gasp that Lilith recognized as Casey.

"Well I don't want to go to dinner with you either!" Casey shouted into the phone, slamming down the receiver from the kitchen phone she had used to eavesdrop.

"I suppose Casey was listening in." Derek stated, a curse coming from Rowan in the back.

"And I suppose your brother heard Casey's reply to that." Lilith tried not to laugh. It was obvious there was something between Rowan and Casey. But the both of them were fighting it.

"You've supposed correctly." There was a light laughing tone in Derek's reply that relaxed Lilith. At least she wasn't the only one finding Rowan and Casey funny.

"I have to go make sure Casey is alright. So, I will see you at seven for dinner."

"Thank you, Lilith. I'll see you then. Hector will pick you up at five-thirty. The drive is long." Derek hung up the phone after they exchanged goodbyes.

Rowan was sulking in the corner. "Bloody hell, ye ken well enough I doona want tae get involved with Casey. And 'tis not a laughing matter so stop smilin'."

Derek shrugged. "I'm not smiling because of your dilemma."

With narrowed eyes, Rowan asked. "Then why are ye smilin'? Because Lilith agreed tae dine with ye? Doona be thinkin' it'll lead tae more than a meal. I can bet ye'd be sorely disappointed if ye did."

The small smile disappeared completely and Derek glared at his brother. "Don't be making me feel like shit just because you made a fool of yourself and hurt Casey's feelings. It's already three. I'm sending Hector to pick Lilith up in an hour. You can go with him and apologize to Casey."

As much as Rowan didn't want to see Casey, he did owe her an apology. So he simply nodded at his brother's suggestion. He knew Casey wouldn't pick up any of his calls.

At five-thirty sharp, Hector pulled into the drive way. Keo had returned from work at four to see his sister wasn't in a very good mood, but Lilith seemed to be. She was staring down at a fitted black dress and a floral dress. When Lilith had asked Casey for help, Casey just grumbled a reply. So Lilith had turned to Keo with the two dresses and asked which would be more appropriate for dining at Princeville. Keo immediately went with the black dress, saying it was simple, but sophisticated enough for the high end hotel.

"So who are you going out with tonight?" Keo asked as Lilith rushed around, looking for her purse.

"Um...Derek Elroy. You met him a week ago." Lilith explained, hopping around as she tried to put on her heels.

"I remember." Keo nodded his head as if he was envisioning Derek. "Well have fun tonight. If anything happens, don't hesitate to call us."

Casey piped in. "Yeah, if that slimy bastard tries anything, I'll give him a swift kick where it counts."

Keo laughed. "What is your obsession with Derek Elroy's balls? Last I heard you were going to cut them off, now you're going to kick them? If Lilith is willingly going out with him, as a friend, you should support her. Unless he did something completely unforgivable like I don't know, rape or something."

Lilith laughed nervously to cover the awkward silence. "Of course not! I promise I'll call if anything happens."

There was a knock and Keo opened the door with Lilith beside him. "Unless I got confused, you're Rowan Elroy, not Derek Elroy."

Rowan cleared his throat a bit uncertainly. "Good evening. No, I'm Rowan. I just needed tae speak with your sister if she's here. Hello, Lilith. Hector will be taking ye tae Princeville. I just bummed a ride. I'll catch a ride back when Hector brings ye home after dinner."

"Casey!" Keo shouted for his sister who had gone upstairs. "Your crush wants to talk to you!"

Lilith bit back a smile at the blush that bloomed across Rowan's face. Keo gave her a wink, saying it was a big brother's duty to torment his little sister.

"Do you have any younger sisters, Rowan?" Keo asked.

Guilt washed over Lilith and Rowan put a hand on Lilith's shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I used tae have a younger sister. She and my younger brothers died."

Keo's face fell. He loved his sister, Casey, dearly. And even though he constantly caused her trouble, he'd be devastated if anything were to happen to her. "I'm sorry-"

Rowan shook his head. "You didn't know. Please don't apologize for saying it."

"I was going to apologize for your loss." Keo explained and Rowan accepted it with a gruff thank you.

"Hector is waiting, Lilith. Don't keep Derek waiting." There was a depth to his words that went unnoticed to Keo.

Lilith nodded and hurried to the waiting car. Hector opened the door for her. Making sure Lilith was situated comfortably, he drove off.

Keo invited Rowan into the house and offered him a seat. "I'll go check where Casey is."

Leaving to investigate why his sister hadn't responded, Keo left Rowan alone in the living room. Rowan took the opportunity to look at the pictures around the living room. It was obvious that Keo and Casey were close. She was a cute kid, Rowan decided. Casey was a deal more tanned as a youth, but her enchanting smile was the same as well as always having been small.