Moon - New Moon Part 24

"It's not like that here," he answered. "If you have the money, you can buy it."

She nodded, but she looked like she didn't really believe him as she took a step along the aisle where they stood.

"Does Falcone have control over where this portal comes out?" he asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so. Probably Avery and Brusco took advantage of a weakness in the plates. The way Boralas did."

"A store isn't such a hot place to land," Logan muttered, then amended the comment. "Well, I guess it depends on whether the clerk is paying attention to who goes in and out."

Rinna was moving her hand along the shelves, touching products. She picked up a jar of spaghetti sauce, shaking it gently and looking through the gla.s.s at the contents before putting it back. Moving farther down the aisle, she scooped up a bar of bath soap and slowly read the label.

"This is to wash your body?"

"Yes."

"They taught me to read in the school when I was a child," she murmured.

He stared at her. "Not everyone can read?"

"Most slaves can't," she said, then turned her head quickly away.

Most slaves.

She'd said it casually, but the words sent a small shiver traveling over his skin. Had she been talking about herself? He looked at her with fresh awareness as he watched her turn the bar in her hand, then bring it to her nose.

Strong emotions welled up inside him. His lifemate looked so feminine, yet he sensed an iron core at the center of her being. And he had seen her in a fight. She knew how to defend herself. In her world, she had been the one who knew exactly what to expect. Here, the tables were turned. Could she trust him enough to rely on him?

His lifemate?

Good Lord. He'd used the term without even thinking about it. Yet he knew in the secret depths of his soul that it was true. He'd bonded with her. Even if she didn't know it yet.

"This must be expensive," she murmured.

He blinked, bringing his mind back to the conversation even as he struggled to keep his voice steady. "No. It's ordinary."

She gave him a startled look, and he wondered if she heard the emotion in his voice.

But her words were still about the product in her hand. "Not in my world. A woman who had this would be of very high rank."

"Things are different here. You'll have to let me guide you," he answered, thinking how much pleasure it would give him to teach her the things she needed to know to get along here.

"Yes," she agreed, but was she just giving an automatic response?

She moved farther along, and he saw that her eye was drawn to a selection of brightly colored boxes with smiling men and women on the outside of the packaging.

Condoms. He swallowed, wishing she'd focused on something else, because he was immediately aroused as he pictured the two of them making love.

She picked up one of the packages It said, "Extra long." She shuffled through other types and brands, slowly reading the attributes. "Ribbed for her pleasure. Prelubricated." Turning to him, she asked, "What are they?"

"Condoms," he answered brusquely.

"Which are?"

His throat had tightened, but he managed to say, "Something a man uses when he makes love to a woman-to keep her from getting pregnant."

He saw her flush. "Oh."

He wanted to tell her they wouldn't be needing any. A werewolf wanted to get his mate pregnant to perpetuate his species. That was programmed into his genes.

Then he realized how far he was getting ahead of himself. She didn't even understand that they had bonded, which meant he could hardly si art making demands.

Unaware of the turmoil roiling inside him, she put the box back and took a deep breath. "They have coffee here? In a public place?" she murmured.

Delighted to find another focus for his thoughts, he answered, "Yes."

Again her surprise showed on her face. "And it's not expensive?"

"No." He laughed. "But the stuff they have in a place like this probably isn't very good, either."

"Ersatz coffee," she murmured.

"Real. But not the best quality."

She tipped her head to one side, considering. "They have good soap but bad coffee?"

"Soap comes from a factory. They brew the coffee right here," he answered, knowing he couldn't explain. Especially when he didn't drink the stuff. He was only going on what other people had told him.

"Oh."

His chest tightened as he watched her gravely studying each new thing she encountered. There was so much she didn't know, so much he wanted to tell her. Not just about this world-but about the two of them. He ached to cement the bond between them by making love with her.

But he knew on a gut-wrenching level that she had spoken the truth earlier. She was not a woman who gave her trust easily.

They were still standing at the back of the store. He hadn't been paying attention to anything besides Rinna and his feelings for her. But just then, something else caught his attention. The dumpy woman with gray hair tended the cash register. He'd seen her before-in this store.

And suddenly, to his relief, he knew where he was. At the Easy Shopper where he'd stopped on the way to his campsite, when he'd remembered that he'd needed flashlight batteries.

He was about to turn toward Rinna and tell her they were no more than twenty miles from home when a customer came in and approached the clerk. He was a young man with weedy hair and a plaid shirt. Something about the way he walked and the way he looked put Logan on the alert.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked.

"Yeah." The answer came out high and aggressive.

Sensing that something was wrong, Logan cupped his hand around Rinna's shoulder, drawing her behind the end of an aisle.

As he watched in sick fascination, the man drew a gun and pointed it at the clerk. "Hands up. Into the back," he ordered.

Rinna threw Logan a look of shock.