Blood Moon (32 page)

I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard
that last “principle,” forcing Nick to do the same. “Have you
ever…” I swallowed thickly, unable to form the rest of my
question.

Nick read me, though. As always. “Killed
someone?” My head bobbed, nervous. “Not a human.”

Not a human,
I mentally repeated.
That wasn’t exactly the “no” I had been hoping for. “Wh-who?”

With a sigh, Nick urged me back on our way.
“It was a while ago, and believe me when I say they all had it
coming. But they weren’t human.”

“Were they your—
our
kind?” I asked,
my curiosity still not satiated.

Another headshake, and I was even more
confused than before. If they weren’t human, and they weren’t
werewolves, then…what?

“Look,” he spoke up, interrupting the
cacophony in my head. “As I said before, there’s still so much I
have to tell you, but this is one of those things I need to keep
from you until you’re ready. Can you trust in that…trust in
me?”

If I was being totally honest with myself, I
could trust him. Even though he betrayed that trust the day he
walked out on me, something deep down told me he would be here for
me through this. So I agreed without pause. “Yeah. I can.
Just…promise you’ll tell me sooner rather than later.”

“Deal.”

With three blocks between us and my house
left, Nick asked me about work. At first, I missed any and all
undertones, thinking he was only trying to fill the silence between
us with casual conversation. But then his attention focused solely
on that club we’d been unable to locate.

Gianna’s
.

“It’s still nowhere to be found,” I informed
him. “We found the location it was believed to be, based on a
witness’s encounter with one of the clients—”

“Encounter?”

“She was approached in another creepy-ass
‘vampire’”—yes, I even used air quotes—“club, and was given a
business card. Unfortunately, we were unable to lift any prints,
DNA, or any useful information from it. Other than the address, of
course.”

“And when you got there?”

“That was the night I blacked out,” I
reminded him, blushing as the memory of us stumbling naked down his
hallway and falling into his bed rushed back. “The place was
abandoned. Almost like they knew we were onto them… We just don’t
understand how they found out.”

Nick fell silent for a minute, his eyebrows
pulling together contemplatively. “It’s possible they knew,” he
agreed, “but I told you it moves around a lot. It could be that
they just switched locations. Got bored of Arizona.”

I shook my head, disagreeing wholeheartedly.
“No way. That place was trashed—as in midnight-move trashed. They
panicked. Unfortunately, they’re not sloppy under pressure like
every other criminal out there.”

“That they’re not,” Nick muttered under his
breath. There was a good possibility he never meant for me to hear
him, but I did.

One question that kept me going this entire
time rested on the tip of my tongue, and before I could weigh the
pros and cons of asking it, it just slipped out. “Is Bobby’s death
related to all of this?”

It was Nick’s turn to stop walking suddenly,
and I followed suit, turning and standing directly in front of him.
“Brooke…”

“I know you want to keep things from me—out
of safety or whatever—so I’m not going to ask for specifics if you
have them…yet. But I think I deserve to know if I’m even going
after the bastard who killed my brother.” A pause. “Your best
friend.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Nick conceded.
“Yes. But trust me when I say that’s all I can tell you right
now.”

While I wanted to know more—
needed
to
know more—I was content enough with his answer. I believed he would
tell me when the time was right. Until then, I would just keep
using my super-sleuth prowess as a detective and hopefully uncover
a few clues of my own.

When we arrived at my house, Nick walked me
to the door. Normally, this would be pretty risky, but we both
heard David’s gentle snoring from the upstairs window. That same
unreceptive look returned to his face, like he was building a wall
around any emotion he might have toward me, and before he turned to
leave, I reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“Thank you,” I told him. “For being there
earlier and keeping me from doing anything stupid.”

His resolve slipped, but only for a second.
“I promised I’d look out for you, and that’s what I intend to do,
Brooke.” His tone held firm, but I heard the subtle notes of
affection underneath.

I slipped my key into the lock, and just as
I pushed the door open, Nick stopped me. I turned to acknowledge
him. His eyes were hard—steely—and it made me shiver. “You know it
can’t work, right?” Confused, I looked at him. Even though I was
happy and in a relationship with David, it still cut me deep to
hear him just come right out and tell me he and I would never
work.

It was stupid to think this way—I knew that.
I loved David, but I couldn’t deny the growing emotions I had for
Nick either. I was a terrible person.

“You and him,” he clarified. “He’s human.
You’re not. It’s dangerous for you to be with him.”

And just like that, any warm and fuzzy
feelings I had for Nick evaporated, and my defensiveness reared its
ugly head. The emotional whiplash I’d been put through lately
finally took its toll. I stalked toward him, menace and fury
blazing in my eyes. “Excuse me?” I demanded, keeping my voice low
so as not to alert David to my absence. “Who the hell do you think
you are to think you can just prance back into my life and tell me
who I can and can’t have a relationship with? I’m pretty sure you
gave up that right the day you walked out on me.”

“And I told you why I did that,” he argued.
“Having almost hurt my own mother, I knew I couldn’t put you at
risk. Just like, if you love him as much as you say you do, you
won’t put him at risk either. What we are…” He sighed, his resolve
finally slipping away completely. “We’re unpredictable. Dangerous.
Just…think about it, okay? If not for him, then for your own peace
of mind. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if something
happened.”

Speechless, I stood there and watched him
disappear into the darkness. Once again, moments later, I heard a
wolf howl, but this time it wasn’t to locate the rest of his pack.
This sounded almost broken.

While I knew I should, I couldn’t seem to
find it in myself to care that he was hurt; telling me that my
relationship wouldn’t work pissed me off. If I could survive losing
my brother and who I thought was the love of my life within weeks
of each other, I could figure out how to make my relationship with
David work. I was resilient. I was strong. But, more importantly, I
wasn’t Nick.

He’d proven himself to me time and time
again, and it was time I did the same.

D
avid was none the
wiser as I slipped into the bedroom and removed my yoga pants and
shirt, leaving me in the same skimpy tank and sleep short set I was
in when we crawled into bed. I placed them in my top drawer before
settling into the cool sheets next to him, and his body barely
shifted as I pulled the blankets over myself.

I should have been tired considering it was
just past three in the morning, but I was wide awake, and it was
all Nick’s fault. I was still raging over what he said about my
future with David. Hurt him? Did he really think I could do
something like that?

I understood that he left because he lost
control, but how could he compare the two of us like that?

The bed dipped beside me, and it startled me
when David draped his arm over my waist, pulling me toward his
body. His body was warm as he pressed it along the length of mine,
and he groaned as he pressed a kiss to the spot just below my ear.
“You cold?” he asked, his voice still thick and heavy with sleep.
“You feel cold.”

“Hmm?” I hummed softly, trying to make it
sound as though I just woke up. “Oh, a little, maybe.”

Yes. I hated myself for lying. I was a
terrible person. I know I should’ve just told him, but what would
that accomplish besides a fight of epic proportions?

Ever so thoughtfully, David tugged the duvet
up over my shoulders before getting up and closing the bedroom
window. Because the chill lingered in the room, he grabbed the
throw blanket I kept at the end of the bed and pulled it over us as
well. I really wasn’t uncomfortable with the temperature, but he
was probably feeling the chill of the night air on my skin.

“Better?” he asked, slipping back in behind
me and sounding a little more awake.

Looking over my shoulder as he pressed
against me, I smiled and nodded. “Toasty. Thanks.”

“I’m nothing if not considerate,” he
murmured, resting his head on my pillow. His breath fanned across
my neck, blowing a few strands of hair over it that tickled. I
expected him to fall right back asleep, but when his hand roamed
over my belly and down between my thighs, I knew he had other
plans.

Goosebumps rippled up in the wake of his
lips as they brushed across my shoulder, and my breath shuddered
when his teeth scraped my skin, using them to pull the strap of my
tank top down. I knew we needed sleep, especially given the hour,
but my body immediately warmed to David’s intentions when I felt
him grow aroused behind me. I rolled over to face him, my desire
sparking to life and flaring rapidly.

His arm remained around my waist, holding me
tight against him as we kissed. David’s lips were firm and
insistent against my own, and there was an eager yearning that
burned between us as he slipped his hand under my shirt and palmed
my breast with urgency. Moaning, I arched my body into his touch,
reveling in the way his hands played my body like a well-tuned
instrument and greedy for more. He knew me like no one else. Not
even Nick…at least, not anymore.

Nick used to know me better than anyone. His
ability to know what I needed or what I was thinking far surpassed
anyone’s. I used to think it was because we were meant to be, but
since David seemed to be capable of it also, perhaps it was as
simple as my willingness to let someone in. Let someone love
me.

The mere thought of Nick forced a fresh
surge of rage through my body. How could I even think of him at a
time like this? Who did that?

Angry at myself and desperate to push my ex
from my mind, I made short work of the few articles of clothing we
had on and straddled David’s hips, slowly lowering myself onto him.
When he brought his hands to my waist in an effort to set our pace,
I grabbed and raised them up over his head. Holding them there as
our bodies writhed against each other, I leaned forward and kissed
him hungrily.

It didn’t take long for my climax to build,
my skin buzzing and alight with desire as I released his arms and
dragged my nails lightly down them. His biceps quivered beneath my
touch, registering the ticklish sensation for what it was on his
increasingly sensitive flesh, and I deepened our already voracious
kiss…

“
You know it can’t work, right?”

I bit back a snarl and continued to try to
focus solely on David.

Sadly, Nick kept worming his way into my
thoughts, and it made me increasingly more forceful and dominant
with David.

Lost in my thoughts about Nick, David caught
me off guard, flipping us over on the bed and pinning me beneath
him. While I usually welcomed a change of pace and position, I
needed to be in control. If I wasn’t in control, my thoughts might
slip at any moment.

Like they’re not slipping already,
Brooke.

I used my body weight and rolled us over
once again, but I misjudged just how much bed was left, and we
toppled to the floor, a mess of tangled limbs and joined body
parts. I banged my elbow, the pain rocketing up my arm, but I
forgot about it when David laughed and pulled my face back to his.
He kissed me softly, picking up where we left off, and I sighed as
a wave of contentedness washed over me. He didn’t really seem to
care that we were on the cold hardwood floor as opposed to our
warm, soft bed, and to be honest, neither did I. This moment was
perfect because we were together, so I lost myself in him
completely, moving my hands over his sweat-slickened skin and
feeling his heartbeat quicken beneath my hands as I dragged them
over his chest…

“
He’s human. You’re not. It’s dangerous
for you to be with him.”

No!
Just because Nick was too scared
to even try to make our relationship work didn’t mean he could
scare me away from the one man who’d made me happy after he left.
Yes, I’d changed, but I wasn’t
dangerous
. I cared for
David…loved him. So much. How could I possibly hurt him?

“I love you,” I breathed against his lips,
hoping that declaring it aloud would keep Nick from intruding with
his unwelcome opinions. The first wave of pleasure passed through
me, my skin tingling as it radiated from every pore. My fingers and
toes curled when David returned the sentiment, his words coming out
somewhat broken as his hips stilled beneath mine.

Out of breath, I collapsed onto David’s
chest, and when my gaze traveled along the dark wooden floors, I
giggled, having momentarily forgotten falling out of bed. I lifted
my head, resting my chin on David’s sternum, and met his eyes. He
still looked tired—satisfied, but tired, nonetheless—so I moved to
slip away from him, but he held me in place for a moment longer,
lifting his head to kiss me lightly.

We remained like this for a few minutes,
enjoying the closeness after such intensity, and David’s hand
stroked the length of my hair, tickling my back until I shivered.
All traces of Nick disappeared, much to my relief. The last thing I
needed was for my thoughts to be clouded with him right before
falling asleep.