Blood Moon (Moon Books) (15 page)

I made a whimpering noise, the only thing that I could force out of my frozen lips.

It lasted for long minutes, or at least that’s what it felt like. Every beat of my faltering heart echoed like a booming base drum in my ear. I wanted to scream so badly, to release some of the burning pain. That had to be the worst part, the silence. It would be better if only I could do something other than lay there frozen and helpless.

After what seemed like a fiery eternity, Noah ripped himself away from my arm, and through my pain I could see the horror on his face.

“Oh god, baby. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen. Not like this.” I could see that he was stroking my face, crying, kissing my forehead.

But I couldn’t feel any of it. My world was fire.

I heard the last of his voice trail out; my senses were getting blurry, numbed by the constant pain that was coursing through my blood. I wanted to tell him that it was okay, that I would do anything to save him, that I loved him more than I ever thought possible, but I couldn’t say a word. The black spots in my eyes grew bigger and more frequent and the pain, the unbearable pain, crashed over me in boiling waves. Finally I could feel myself fading, my body unable to endure the shock, the ceiling spinning drunkenly above me.

I love you, Noh...

And then there was nothing.

Awake

I woke up a little bit before I remembered what had happened. I felt the heat of the room, but in a weird way. It was almost like the air was solid. I could sense it against my skin, more like a blanket than like regular air. I could feel every little change in the direction of the breeze. It was a distracting sensation. I floated for a few moments concentrating on the air and its changes. Then I shifted and realized I was lying in bed, covered only by a thin sheet. The cotton of my well-worn sheets rubbed against my skin, changing my focus. I could feel every fiber of the fabric, some soft and some irritatingly rough moving against me. I squirmed, trying to find a spot with only soft fabric and none of the itchiness.

Why did everything feel so weird?

As soon as my brain could process my surroundings enough to ask that question, I knew. I remembered pacing the floor of my apartment, Noah being carried in the door bleeding and unconscious, the bite...the pain.

Oh my god. Am I really a vampire?

I forced my eyes open. The sunlight peeking through the tiny cracks at the corners of my curtains was laser bright and nearly blinding. Was this how it’d always felt for Noah? He’d called it uncomfortable. It was nearly unbearable. I stumbled out of bed, feeling week and a bit dizzy, to pull the curtains more flat so they’d block every last little stinging drop of sun. When I stood, it took me a second to get my balance. I sagged against the overstuffed chair that had been dragged to the side of my bed. It was then that I noticed Noah.

He was totally passed out, looking more exhausted than I’d seen him since we first found each other again.

He must have been so worried. I smiled and cupped his face with my hand.

Like the sheets and the air, his skin felt so different. It was unbelievably satiny and warm; the pulse underneath the surface was wetly seductive, irresistible.

I want his blood. Holy shit. The thought flashed in my head and for a second it nearly floored me. It was disconcerting; my new desire for the hot rush of blood in my throat. I’d always known academically that I’d want blood after I was changed, but to actually feel it was something different altogether. My gums started to tingle and then sting. I ran my tongue over them and felt little points sticking out where nothing had been before.

Even though he was a vampire, and not a tasty red-blooded human, I could feel the lust, the need to pierce that soft warm skin and taste the wetness beneath. It was more compelling than I could’ve ever imagined. I felt my little newborn fangs pulsing with pure want. How the hell was I ever going to control this? Would it be the same with every person I passed on the street, or was it just so strong because it was Noah?

I leaned over, still a bit woozy, and nuzzled my nose up to his neck. I took a long breath in, reveling in his familiar and somehow completely new scent.

God, he still smelled amazing.

Noah’s eyes opened tiredly, I could tell he was still a bit asleep. It took him a second to realize that I was standing over him, awake and alive. When he did, he literally flew up out of the chair and wrapped his arms around me.

“Zack, baby. You’re okay! I’m so sorry.”

His hug took me by surprise and I faltered a little, but my legs were strong and I caught myself. I could tell he’d been holding that apology in for a while and it made me chuckle. I reached up with my thumb and trailed it along his jaw.

“It’s okay, Noh. What happened, happened. At least the end result was what we wanted all along, right?”

Noah smiled exhaustedly and nodded. “How do you feel?”

“Different, but still the same, you know? I mean, my mind is still me—at least so far. But my body feels really different.” I reached up to touch his skin, still in wonder over the out-of-this-world softness. “My senses are so out of whack.”

“You’ll get used to it. I was planning on telling you about that. I was planning on a lot of things. Didn’t quite work out that way.”

I threaded my fingers through his hair and pulled him close. I needed to kiss him, to let him know it was fine.

The sensation of his lips on mine was flat out incredible. If I thought my fingertips were sensitive, they felt nothing in comparison to the surface of my lips. I couldn’t believe how amazing his kiss was. There were no words to describe the silkiness of his lips and tongue sliding and gliding over mine, no flavor to compare to the intoxicating taste of him. Thundering lust galloped through my body, stampeding over the questions, the uncomfortable sunlight, and the weird touch of the air. I wanted to ravage every part of him, to lick and bite (hell yeah I wanted to bite), and kiss and love. I yanked him as close as I could get him and...devoured every last drop.

“Holy fucking shit,” I panted when we finally ripped our lips apart. “You definitely forgot to mention that part.”

Noah grinned and stepped back a few inches. It was the only way we would be able to keep from tearing each other apart.

“What? How every tactile sensation is about a hundred times more intense? You probably wouldn’t have understood anyway. Not until you felt it yourself.”

“Probably not.”

He pulled me close again. I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist and breathed him in. His scent was enough to make me tremble; the Noah smell I’d always loved mixed with the impossibly delicious aroma of his juicy, wet, fragrant blood...Mmmm.

Stop that! I had to force myself to look up before I opened my mouth and attached it to his neck.

He brushed his lips across mine with a smile. I bet he knew exactly what I was thinking. “I really am sorry, Zack. I had the whole thing all planned out. I was going to have candles, get you your favorite dinner one last time, make love to you; it was going to be so romantic—well as romantic as being turned into a vampire could possibly be.”

I laughed and pinched him on the side, glad to be distracted by talking. “No more apologizing, okay? We have all the time in the world for romance now. Besides, it’s not like you did it on purpose. What did happen anyway? I thought you guys, well we, could control it.”

Noah smiled when I said ‘we.’ Then he sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know what happened. I was drinking and then suddenly I could feel the venom shooting out and there was nothing I could do to stop it. My only explanation is that I was injured and weak and still in fight-or-flight mode. My instincts must have taken over. I pulled away from you as soon as I’d done it. I’ve been sitting here beating myself up for nearly two days.”

I drew in a sharp breath. “I’ve been out for two days?”

“Yeah. It was a long time. Usually doesn’t take that long to come out of the paralysis. I was only under for a few minutes. I must have given you one hell of an injection of venom. Good part is it seems like you’ve changed more than most would have by this point. It usually takes about two weeks for it to completely happen. You’re almost there.”

“How can you tell?”

“By the way your eyes react to the sunlight, the way you’re feeling every tactile sensation so intensely. Usually that builds gradually. It’s not so overwhelming that way.”

“I didn’t know that either.”

He cupped my chin gently and kissed my forehead. “I know. That’s why I was going to talk about all this with you, so you’d be more prepared. I really wish I’d had the chance. Now we’re going to be doing a lot of figuring things out together.”

“I know one thing I want to figure out together.” I slipped my hand under his shirt and into the waistband of his shorts.

He laughed and put his hand over mine, stilling it. “Don’t tempt me. We’ve got to get you fed before we try anything like that.”

I pouted, just a little of course.

He tugged on my hand. “C’mon, let’s get a shower. I haven’t left this chair for two days and you’ve been all feverish and sweaty. Besides, wait till you see how awesome water feels.”

The shower was filled with more intense sensations. Of course there was the water, Noah had been right about that. The feeling of all those little shooters of warm liquid on my newly sensitive skin had shivers of pleasure radiating all over my body. The steam was really cool too. It was like the air in the room had been only...more. The best part of course was Noah. His body all warm and wet and naked rubbing up against mine was nirvana. I tried to put my hand between his legs again but he laughed and swatted at me.

“Knock it off, horn dog. I told you, we have to get you some blood first.”

“But your skin feels so nice.” I ran my fingers over his back and shoulders lightly then drew back to look at his face and his chest. The marks from two nights ago had faded to near invisibility. “You look way better. It’s almost like the fight never happened.”

He laughed. “It seemed way worse than it was. I took a few huge chunks out of him before he ever got to me. I’m sorry I took off like that, by the way. It was stupid and impulsive.”

“Please don’t ever do that again. You scared the shit out of me. What did end up happening anyway?”

Noah made a face. “Leila got him. He’d managed a good swipe to my head by the time they got to me. I was losing blood quickly, so PC carted my dumb butt out of there and she went after him. He was so weak that it wasn’t much trouble for her.”

“But you wish it could have been you that did it.”

“In a way.” He shrugged. “But I’d far rather be here with you than dead with my parents avenged.”

“Yeah. Me too.” I squeezed him close in the warmth of the cascading water.

“C’mon, baby. Let’s get ready. The sooner we get blood for you, the sooner we can come home, right?”

I grinned and reached behind him to turn the water off.

* * * *

That night, he took me back to the Park Avenue club where I’d run into the nasty vampire three nights earlier. It seemed like it had been a month. I couldn’t believe how different I felt, walking in with Noah as an equal and not his little human sidekick. It was great.

The trip to the bar had been somewhat of an adventure for me. The street smelled like some all you can eat buffet, a variety intense aromas wafting by me with each new beating heart. Noah was right, though. There were some people who definitely smelled better than others. I wouldn’t have expected my taste to be much different than his. But it was. Opposite actually.

Even though I’d never been attracted to them sexually, the women smelled way better to me; like the most delicious of desserts compared to the men who were more like a rare steak. Every time a pretty college girl or a sexy woman in a business suit walked by, I swear to god, my mouth started watering. Even the giggling group of high school punk girls who made no secret of checking Noah and me out were enticing in their raw energetic kind of way. It was so disconcerting to notice women for the first time instead of men that it freaked me out a little bit. I laughed silently under my breath, shaking my head.

I hate to break it to you, Noh, but at least when it comes to blood I’m straight as a board. You’re going to be so disappointed.

The only exception to my all-female rule so far seemed to be Noah himself. Nobody smelled as good as him. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how amazing he would taste. He obviously wasn’t human, and I remembered him telling me that his blood would never feed me, but I wanted it all the same. So bad. The smell was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. It couldn’t be related to food, like the humans I’d smelled so far. It was different. I remembered him saying before that the blood of a hot guy kind of tasted a little bit like sex. That was probably the closest description for the way his scent hit me. It smelled like everything I’d ever desired, pulsing out into the air and making my mouth water. I knew I needed to feed on a human soon if for no other reason then so I didn’t pounce on him in the middle of Manhattan’s crowded streets.

I’d been concerned about the safety of coming out in public with Noah. I was afraid of who would be out there waiting for us as soon as we weren’t paying attention. Even though he’d told me earlier that the other vampire was gone, it was almost second nature to look over my shoulder. It seemed a bit anticlimactic that the evil villain of a vampire was actually dead and I’d slept through the whole damn thing, but I’d rather have anticlimactic any day than have some rabid vampire still on the loose hunting us.

Weirdly enough, for the moment it seemed that everything was peaceful. I was still worried about the hunters and whoever his family had spying on him but Noah said it was fine, and that he’d keep a look out. I supposed Noah had no intentions of letting me try to feed on my own for the first time, like he had to. Even though I was willing to do the same, it always made my heart melt when he insisted on taking care of me.

* * * *

When we walked into the vampire bar, I could feel the heads turning to look at us. I knew they were staring at Noah, in his fitted button up and butt hugging designer jeans. Sweet Mrs. Clooney had shipped a few boxes of his clothes to the apartment the week before and I could never get over how amazing they were. So I totally got why people stared at Noah. They always had and they always would.