Read Luna Junction 2 Forbidden Mate (W) for Free Online Page B

but her manner of exposing her rosy nipple to
all and sundry was so matter of fact the steak fell out of my
mouth. I hurriedly took a drink of water, hoping no one had
noticed. Claire and Matthew were focused solely on their daughter
and when I finally peeked across the table again they looked almost
biblical in their serene contentment.
    “ I’m sorry, what?” I asked,
realizing Tatum was speaking to me.
    She pushed away from the table. “Oh!
Ow!” She waved Cade off, breathing deeply. “Just another of those
Braxton Hicks thingies. Anyway, I asked if you had a
boyfriend.”
    Claire looked up to hear my answer so I
chose it carefully. “No, not anymore.” My hand brushed the side of
my face which was still mildly swollen courtesy of Dylan, but
makeup had taken care of the faint bruising. Suddenly I clenched my
jaw. “And I don’t plan to anytime soon. I’ve had boyfriends in some
ghastly form or another since I was fourteen and it’s been a long
series of heartaches. So I’m concentrating just on me for a while.”
I took a fierce forkful of steak, questioning what in the world
prompted me to speak so plainly.
    I heard Zane’s playful voice in the
hallway just outside the dining room. “You pigs saved some for us,
right?”
    He walked right in and sat down next to
me, spearing a hunk of rare meat and tearing off a gigantic bite.
Gideon still wore his torn shirt but he appeared calm. He didn’t
look at me as he settled stiffly into the opposite chair. Benji
entered last, shooting Gideon a warning glance before sitting
beside Claire. I wondered what had transpired on their little walk.
I doubted open threats would have been effective. To be sure, the
twins had grown impressively, but they would be no match for
Gideon’s hulking strength.
    While Gideon kept his eyes cast down
and began quietly eating. Tatum asked me if she could cut my
hair.
    “ Not that there’s anything
wrong with your hair,” she assured me quickly. “But I’m really good
at it. Claire let me cut her hair.” Claire smiled. Her blonde bangs
were crooked.
    “ Um, sure,” I said and
tried to look untroubled. But there was an elephant in the room. I
took a deep breath and decided to approach the unapproachable.
“Look, you all know that I know. I mean, I do now. About Luna
Junction. And you. And me…” Seven pairs of eyes were fixed on me.
Eight, if you counted the baby, who had finished feeding and was
gaping at me from her father’s lap. No one interrupted. I avoided
Gideon’s eyes but felt the heat of his stare. “I couldn’t imagine
hurting anyone. I’m not part of that whole hunter thing, not
really. And anyway my dad wants to keep me out of it.”
    Gideon laughed suddenly. It was not a
happy laugh. “That must be why he named you Artemis?” His smirk was
mocking. “Don’t you even know what it means?” He spat my name.
“Artemis. Jaeger.”
    “ Gideon,” Claire warned.
“Stop it.”
    I reddened. “Artemis wasn’t just a
huntress. She was…” I trailed off uncertainly.
    “ A protector,” Tatum spoke
up from the end of the table. “She was a goddess who looked after
women, particularly expectant mothers. Young girls especially
worshipped her, a strong female figure in an age of brutal men.”
She smiled at me kindly. “I took a semester of mythology. I got a
B. No, an A. No wait, I did get a B. Spazzed on a
paper.”
    I looked at her gratefully. Cade took
his mate’s hand and spoke to me in a serious tone. “I’ve known you
since you were a small girl, Acie. You’re not a danger.” He glared
at Gideon. “Anyone with an ounce of sense should know that
too.”
    I wanted to believe it but I repeated
the words which had been seared into my mind six years ago. “I have
no friends here.”
    At Gideon’s sharp intake of breath I
glanced across the table. He looked stricken. I knew he remembered
where I’d heard that before.
    Claire’s voice was gentle. “You have
friends. If you want them.”
    I trained my