Blood Moon (Moon Books) (20 page)

How could he be so selfless that he still worried about me when his family was in such turmoil? I loved him for it.

When we got to the room, Noah’s mother curled up with Amanda on one of the beds and Colin took the cushioned recliner. I made sure the door was bolted and the curtains were stretched all the way over the windows before I lay down on the empty bed and reached my hand out for Noah to join me.

He looked a little lost, like he didn’t know what to do either. I pulled on his hand until he crawled in the bed next to me. I wrapped my entire body around his and squeezed tight, hoping that I could do something to make the night even a little bit okay.

“I love you. You are so amazing,” I whispered against his neck. He covered my hand with his.

“I love you too, baby. Thank you for being everything you are.”

* * * *

I woke to the sound of quiet conversation. Somehow I’d been shifted so I was lying horizontally across the bed with my head in Noah’s lap. His hand was sifting through my hair absentmindedly. Noah’s mother was sitting cross-legged right in front of me. She’d showered and was wearing a pair of Noah’s sweats and one of my t-shirts. Already, she looked a million times better. She smiled at me when she noticed I was awake.

“Hey,” I mumbled, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. Noah cupped my chin and gave me a soft kiss.

It was slightly embarrassing at first to kiss right in front of his mother but as soon as his lips touched mine I forgot there was anyone else in the room. When our mouths drifted apart it took me a few seconds to realize I was looking at him with a lovesick smile on my face. It took way less time for me to realize I didn’t care.

“You two are so beautiful together.” She said it quietly, still looking apologetic. “Noah told me you just found each other again. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for what happened.”

I blushed a little and leaned against him. “It’s okay, Mrs. Harper, really. We may have had an awful three years, but now we get to be together for so much longer than we would have before. I can’t really be sorry for that.”

“Call me Bianca, Zack. I think we’ve probably gotten past the formalities.” She looked at Noah. “Besides, that was something I wanted to talk to you about.” There was a silence as she formulated her words. I could tell it wasn’t easy. “I loved your father—you know that. But I think I’m going to go back to being a Fitzgerald. After what they did to me I can’t stand being connected to that family any longer. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course it is, Mom. No one’s going to judge you for wanting to forget what happened. Anything you can do that will help, I’m all for it.”

She smiled and reached out to caress his cheek. “Thank you, darling. I can’t believe how much you’ve grown up.”

“Where are you going to go?” he asked. “To the apartment in the city? The lake house?”

“No. Colin and I were talking while you were still asleep. I think I’m going to stay with your grandparents for a little while, get my feet back under me so to speak. I do need to find somewhere for Amanda to go, though.”

“She can stay with us,” I said. “I’ll move the computer stuff out to the living room.”

Noah twined his fingers with mine and squeezed. “We can do that, or I was also thinking of giving PC a call. He has another empty room and it might be nice for Amanda to have a woman around. Things may be different for her than they were for us.”

I noticed all of a sudden that the room was missing one extra-large hunter. “Where did Colin go?”

“To get food, and some clothes for my mom. He should be back soon. We’re just waiting for Amanda to wake up, then we’ll take it from there.”

“How much longer till she wakes up?”

Noah shrugged. “A few hours, maybe a little more. I don’t think we put as much venom in her as I did when I bit you.”

The door opened and Colin staggered in under a mound of shopping bags. “These are for you, Auntie.” He piled bags at her feet from a number of different clothing stores. “And these are for everyone—well except for me. It may not be your favorite kind, but it’s going to have to do. Can’t have you guys passing out on me.”

The bags were filled with little pouches of blood. Immediately, I felt a sharp pang of thirst.

“Where did you get these?”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Hunters always know where all the good vampire bars are.”

* * * *

We stayed in that night, waiting for Amanda to wake. I got a kick out of watching British TV on the hotel set, and Noah beat Colin at about twenty different card games before Colin realized Noah was cheating and gave up. Bianca was happy to take another long shower and trim and blow-dry her hair before she put on new jeans and a sweater from the pile that Colin had bought her.

It was close to dawn when Amanda finally started to mumble in her sleep and move. Noah and I had been lounging next to each other on the bed, Colin was napping on the big cushy chair again. Bianca had gone down to the hotel gift shop for a few minutes. I got the feeling that it was going to be hard for her to stay in an enclosed room for a long time. Those kinds of things took years to get over.

Amanda went from barely stirring to sitting up in about two seconds. She looked confused. I vividly remembered how different everything felt the first time I woke up as a vampire.

“What the hell?” The first words out of her mouth clashed with her angelic face. It made me laugh for a second before I smothered it.

Noah leaped up and went to sit next to her on the bed. “Hey there, how are you feeling?”

“What happened, Noah?”

“Um, Grandfather—”

Memory dawned on her beautiful face. “Oh, yeah. That bastard shot me. Why am I not still hurt and why do I feel so weird?”

“Because I turned you. It was the only way, Amanda. You would have died.”

“Turned me? You mean, I’m a vampire now?”

Noah nodded.

I waited for her to freak out. She hadn’t wanted it like I did. I expected tears, anger, fear. What I didn’t expect was for a huge smile to break out across her face.

“This is perfect!” She jumped up and pumped her fist in the air once before she swayed a little and sat. “I was so tired of Grandfather and all of his shit. Now they’ll stay as far away from me as they have from you. Oh, I’ve missed you so much, Noah!” She dove forward and gave him a huge hug.

I could feel the relief emanating from his skin. “I missed you too, munchkin. I can’t believe how tall you’ve gotten.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not twelve anymore. I turned eighteen last month, you know.”

Noah laughed. “So physically, we’re the same age, now.”

I groaned. “Please, don’t remind me that I’m with a teenager!”

Noah turned to me with a grin. “I can’t believe I forgot. Amanda, this is my boyfriend, Zack. I think you met him once a long time ago.”

“Isn’t he the one who helped you fill all my shoes with dirt?”

We both laughed out loud. That had been one of my favorite afternoons ever.

“That’s me. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Listen, Amanda. You obviously can’t go back to Grandfather’s house, and it sounds like you don’t want to anyway. Zack and I were thinking you could come stay with us in New York.”

She gave us a long look. “Is there another choice? No offense cousin, but I don’t really want to be intruding on the love nest, even if you two were nice enough to invite me.”

Noah smiled. “I think so. Let me make a phone call.”

Over For Now

We were home. It felt like we’d been gone for months but it hadn’t even been four days since we were sitting in the bar with our friends and teasing Noah about going dancing on his birthday. The whole world looked different through eyes that had seen all of the insanity we’d experienced in the past few days.

As soon as the front door closed, we dropped our backpacks and Noah pulled me into a loose comfortable embrace. We’d dropped Amanda off with PC and Leila and stayed for an hour or so until we were sure that she was going to be fine. From what we saw, she fit in perfectly already.

“Is it really over?” I whispered.

“For now. As far as permanently, I doubt it. There will always be some lunatic hunter with a vampire death wish to deal with. And there will always be rouges to get rid of.”

“But that’s just normal stuff for us. Every day life, right?”

“Yeah. Back to the daily grind.”

“What are we going to do?” It felt weird not to have a huge threat hanging over our heads.

“You’ve got classes starting in a few weeks, right? And I’ve still got hunting work.”

“You’re going to keep doing that?”

“I’m good at it.” He shrugged. “And it pays well. Helps with the designer jeans addiction for sure.”

I rolled my eyes at him. Designer jeans? That was a bunch of crap. His real addiction was the danger. He loved being a hunter.

“What about now that the others know you’re a vampire?”

“I have a feeling things are going to be a little different with the Fitzgeralds on our side and Amanda. I have a feeling the Harpers are going to be singing a different song pretty soon. Sophie knows we’re on the right side.”

“Even so, you’re not going out alone. I’d never get a second’s sleep with you god-knows-where and in danger.”

He winked at me. “Every good hunter needs a partner, right?”

I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder. We swayed silently for a few minutes slow dancing to nothing and not caring at all that there wasn’t any music.

“Hey, you’re dancing,” I finally whispered, leaning back to smile at him again.

“I like this kind.”

“I’m going to get you to a dance club before the summer’s over.” I swatted him gently on the butt and he laughed.

“You better work quickly. I think I can feel a chill in the air.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll have help.” I thought of something I’d been meaning to ask since we left England. “Are you sure you’re okay with your mom changing her last name back to Fitzgerald? I mean, does it feel weird for you because of your father?”

“No, I ‘m okay. I know she loved Dad and I understand why she’s doing it. I honestly don’t want anything to do with those bastards either but I’ve always been Noah Harper and I don’t know what other name I would use.”

“I do.” It was out before I’d even thought it completely. Damn mouth got me in trouble all the time. My stomach flipped violently. “Noh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

I was cut off by his lips crushing down on mine.

“Are you really ready for that?” he whispered when we pulled apart.

I laughed softly and cupped his face between my hands shaking it a little. “I wanted to become a vampire because one lifetime would never be enough with you. You’re my love, my life, my family. Of course I’m ready. But if you’re not, then we can just pretend I never brought it up.”

He gave me a sweet lingering kiss and withdrew, smiling. “I am. I have been for a long time. By the time I was old enough to realize what love was I knew I loved you. I want to be yours forever.”

“Hold on.”

He probably thought I was nuts, but I suddenly remembered something I’d been holding on to for a long time. I dashed to my dresser, where I’d hidden a small blue velvet pouch. When I got back, Noah was standing in the same position, looking at me curiously.

“I got this for you a long time ago. It seems like the right time for you to finally have it.” I shook the little pouch and a braided silver ring fell out, gleaming on my palm. “See, it matches my necklace.”

“It’s beautiful, Zack.” He held out his hand and I slipped the ring onto his finger. Then I brought his hand up and put it against the charm on my necklace. I couldn’t believe how serious, how real, the moment felt.

“Noah Parker, I will love you until the very last breath I take.”

He shuddered and wrapped his arms around me as tight as he could. “Longer than that.”

Then he took my hand and led me to our bedroom and the bed where we first tasted each other’s dreams and desires. He undressed me and I him, our clothes falling to the floor, our bodies colliding dreamily, languorous and slow.

We didn’t feel any urgency at first, just relief that we were both alive and together and safe for the foreseeable future. I loved his hands on me, and the small chill of the ring that hadn’t quite warmed to his body yet. Every time it brushed against me I smiled at the reminder of the promises we’d just made. It felt different being with him after what had just happened in the hall. Every touch, every kiss, was saying mine forever, like I was branding him in a thousand invisible ways.

When he rolled us over and hugged my hips with his thighs, I moaned.

“Make love to me.” He whispered it in my ear before he bit down on my earlobe hard.

I couldn’t help it. My fingers clutched in his hair and I pulled, arching his neck for my lips and my teeth. “How do you want it? Here?” I bit gently at the skin, barely drawing blood. Just a drop of the violently delicious liquid on my tongue made me shudder.

“Yes,” he groaned.

“How ‘bout here?” I slithered down his body and took his straining shaft deep into my mouth.

“God, yes.”

“What about here? Do you want this?” I pushed into him with one wet finger. He arched his back and cried out.

“Quit teasing, I want you.”

He pulled at my shoulders, head back and eyes half lidded and hazy. I still couldn’t believe that this gorgeous man wanted me forever. I crawled up him and felt his legs surround me again. I hooked my elbows under his knees and leaned forward to tangle our tongues in a kiss. Rolling my hips against him, I teased both of us for long breathless seconds. I loved the feeling of us sliding against each other hard and damp and turned on to the point of incoherency. He grabbed on to the wrought iron headboard and cried out.

“Fuck, Zack. Now. I need you in me!”

I plunged my tongue into his mouth and fumbled blindly for the lube resting on our night table. Finally Noah stretched out impatiently and grabbed it himself. He poured some in his hand and reached between us to massage the slickness all over me. I could feel the rush of my orgasm careening towards the surface.