By the Pale Moonlight (Book One of the Moonlight Series) (17 page)

I started at the anger in his voice. How dare
he be mad at me?

"I saw you, Ty. I'm not stupid." My words
tumbled out, stumbling over each other in their haste. "At least
have the courtesy to tell me the truth."

His eyes boiled. "Have I ever lied to you? Do
you really think I'm capable of doing something like that to you?
Jesus, I'm not David!"

I recoiled. "What the hell is that supposed
to mean?"

His jaw tightened and he looked away. After a
long pause, he returned his steady gaze. "You know exactly what I'm
talking about."

My chin trembled. "Get out."

"No." He stood his ground. "The guy cheated
on you—more than once. Everyone seems to know that but you. I'm
sorry he did that, but
I
am not him."

"You look the same from where I'm standing."
Fat tears pooled in my eyes. I batted them away, angry at their
betrayal.

His shoulders went slack at my words, and he
stepped toward me, stopping when I retreated. He took a deep
breath, exhaling slowly. "Do you really believe that?"

I started to nod, but I couldn't.

His green eyes traced my face. A blossom of
pain spread through my chest to see the confusion and frustration
tug the corners of his mouth down. I wanted to smooth away the
frown lines between his brows. To believe everything he said.

I shook my head instead. "No."

He moved toward me again. This time I didn't
back away. He pulled me into his arms and rested his cheek against
my forehead. My tears wet his shirt as all of my pent up emotions
poured out of me. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Sssh." He cupped my chin. "It's my fault. I
shouldn't have left you today." He forced me to look at him. "I
swear nothing's going on with Carrie. You have to know I'd never do
that to you."

I laid my hands over his. "I know."

His thumbs drew circles across my skin,
wiping my damp cheeks. In a sudden need to feel him, I reached up
and kissed him. The salt of my tears mingled on our lips, and I
pressed forward.

He held back, his body tensing. I ignored it,
ignored everything. A part of my mind argued that this wasn't
right, but I pushed all thoughts aside as I nibbled on his bottom
lip, focused on provoking a response from him.

I ran my hands across his broad chest and
down across his hard stomach so I could tug his T-shirt over his
head. He neither resisted nor tried to help, and I eventually
pulled the material free and tossed it across the room. I played my
hands across his body. He was an intoxicating mixture of hard
muscle and silky skin. I wanted to touch every inch of him.

When I kissed him this time, his lips moved
beneath mine, pulling me in with a need that matched my own. He
crushed me to him. I ran my hands through his hair, urging him on.
His tongue slid against mine, and a low heat spread in my
belly.

I stepped back, forcing him to follow lest
our connection be broken. When the back of my thighs hit my
mattress, I tumbled onto the bed, pulling him down with me. He tore
his mouth away; our sudden horizontal position seemed to startle
him.

"We can't do this." He climbed off the bed
and scoured the floor for his shirt. When he spotted it, he quickly
pulled it back on, the tag flapping around his Adam's apple as he
took deep swallows.

I pressed a finger to my bruised lips. "Don't
you want me?" Humiliation rushed across my face.

He threw me an exasperated look, just now
noticing the state of his T-shirt. He pulled it off again and put
it back on correctly. "You have no idea," he said as his head
emerged again.

"Then what are you doing?

"I'm stopping this before you do something
you're going to regret." His eyes dropped to the hem of my
nightgown, now hiked up to mid-thigh, and turned away.

"What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you."

"But you don't want me, even when I'm
offering you all that I have." Tears slipped down my cheeks. "And
David—I was never enough for him. Instead he went behind my back
and screwed anything in a skirt."

I'd never admitted the truth about David out
loud and I stopped, stunned at my words.

Ty was at my side in seconds. "There's
nothing wrong with you—not a damn thing. David's an idiot for
letting you go."

I buried my face in his neck. "
I'm
an
idiot."

He smoothed my hair, his lips pressed to my
temple in a soft kiss. "No you're not, Mac. You're wonderful. I
just wish you could see it."

His words brought my tears back, and I cried
into his shoulder, unable to control or hold them back. He held me,
allowing them to pour out. When at last they started to subside, I
sniffed and ran a hand over my face. "God, I'm such a mess."

"Yeah." His voice was soft.

I laughed, but couldn't bring myself to look
him directly in the eye after making such a fool of myself.

My discomfort didn't go unnoticed. He raised
my chin. "You don't have to hide anything from me. Ever. And as
for..." His eyes strayed to the bed before he jerked them away. "If
and when we take that step, it's going to be when we're both ready.
Not because you feel obligated."

My lips trembled, unable to respond.

"Now—are you going to move over so I can get
in bed?" he asked.

I scooted across the bed and he lay down
beside me on top of the covers, pulling me into his arms. I closed
my eyes and settled in, bone weary and with my emotional energy on
E. I concentrated on his steady heartbeat beneath my cheek, and the
slow rise and fall of his chest. The silent house seemed to watch
over us, a guard against the outside world.

My nose was buried deep in a thick volume
about werewolf lore when Ty pounded his fist on my desk and let out
a frustrated sigh.

"We're going out," he announced.

I peeked over the top of my book and frowned.
My feelings were still prickling over his disappearance with Carrie
the day before. And despite his reassurances, I was in no mood to
humor him. Certainly not with his continued refusal to tell me what
had happened during those long hours they were together.

He looked at me with hopeful eyes; I resumed
my reading.

"Come on, Mac."

"We don't have time," I said in a clipped
tone.

He lifted the book from my hands, slammed it
closed, and tossed it across the room with a loud thunk. I reached
for it, but he yanked me to my feet.

"It can wait," he said. "Tonight I'm taking
you out."

"Call me crazy, but don't you have to ask me
first?"

"Oh yeah, right. Will ya?" He flashed me a
lopsided grin before pulling a jacket out of my closet. When he
held it out for me, I reluctantly thrust my arms through the
sleeves and allowed him to lead me out of the house.

"What's this about?" I asked as we cruised
down the main street of Eddington's small business district. Sunday
evening wasn't exactly a hopping time, and few lights burned inside
the rustic buildings we passed.

"I owe you ice cream." Ty parked his car
outside Lucy's, an old-fashioned parlor. The small seating area was
deserted other than a couple of high school students ogling each
other over a sundae. The guy wore one of those "Vote 4 Pedro"
T-shirts, sans jacket, which was draped over the girl's shoulders.
No wonder—it was freezing inside the small building.

"If this is to make up for yesterday, I
should let you know it's going to take a lot more than ice
cream."

Ty frowned and spoke low. "Give me just an
hour alone with you—no talk of werewolves, no talk of moon cycles.
When my time's up, I promise we'll go right home."

He didn't mention Carrie, but then, he didn't
need to. I tried to stand firm, but soon found I couldn't resist
the plea in his eyes. "Okay. One hour, and I want a double
scoop."

"You strike a hard bargain, woman."

He planted a soft kiss on my lips before
leading me over to the counter.

We got our cones and he pulled me outside,
our hands locked together as we strolled along the deserted
streets. The windows we passed glowed with strings of miniature
pumpkins, ghosts, and candy corn. It seemed every possible surface
was draped with fake cobwebs and spiders. The Halloween season was
my favorite time of year, but somehow all of the decorations looked
sinister.

Ty squeezed my fingers. "What's with the
frown?"

I paused, trying to organize my thoughts.
"Remember when you found out Santa Claus didn't exist?"

"No, but I remember when you did. Good God. I
didn't think you'd ever stop blubbering."

"Shut it." I scowled and elbowed him in the
side. "It's just, Christmas lost a bit of magic when I found out.
I've always loved it--still do, but there was always a part of me
that knew it was fake. All of this is different."

I gestured at the decorations. "Knowing
werewolves exist--it makes it all...creepier. Even though I know
it's for fun." I laughed, nervous. "Stupid, huh?"

The corner of his mouth tipped up, but he
didn't say anything for a long moment. His eyes were serious when
he finally looked at me. "No, I know exactly what you mean."

"Kinda makes you wonder what else is out
there, doesn't it?"

"I'll be okay as long as jackolopes remain a
twisted fantasy."

I giggled at the image this conjured.
"Amen."

He chuckled softly. "A sexy vampiress
wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, though."

"How did I know you were going to say
that?"

We fell into silence for a couple of blocks.
A small park came into view and we took a seat on one of the
benches scattered throughout the area. Despite the heat wave from
the previous week, the weather had taken a turn back to what you
would normally expect out of October. I shivered slightly and
tugged the thin sleeves of my jacket down to cover my hands.

"You're cold," he said. "We should go."

I smiled. "Not yet, okay? I kinda like having
you all to myself—minus the computer and musty books for once."

His fingers sought mine, coaxing my hands out
of hiding. He cupped them inside his, gently rubbing warmth into my
skin. When at last he was satisfied, he lifted my hands to his
lips, kissing one palm and then the other.

"I'm sorry, Mac. For everything."

I stared at the buttons of his shirt, unable
to answer. I wanted—no needed—to know what had happened between
Carrie and him. But he'd made it clear he wasn't going to break
whatever confidence they'd formed. I didn't know whether I could
let it go.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," I said
finally, too tired to fight about it.

"Don't do that." He frowned and deep worry
lines formed between his eyebrows. "You don't have to pretend with
me. And you don't have to apologize for
my
mistakes."

"I'm not—"

"Yeah, you are. Right now you're thinking you
did something wrong and you didn't."

"But..." I sighed, exasperated. "I don't
understand."

There was a small playground not far from
where we sat. The swings creaked, gently swaying back and forth in
the light breeze. Ty focused on them. I didn't know whether or not
to be grateful for the interruption.

His eyes made a quick circuit of the area.
Most likely he was counting to ten, worried he would explode at my
obvious ignorance. I braced myself for an argument.

When he raised my hands to his lips instead,
letting them linger there, my breath caught.

"You deserved better than David. You need to
know that," he said softly, cutting off my protests. "Just let me
say this."

He laced his fingers through mine and laid
them in my lap. "I don't want you to hide your feelings from me.
Ever. You've done enough of that for a lifetime already.

"I watched you with him, Mac. You always
tried to please him, ignoring what you wanted and how you felt." He
hesitated before adding, "He knew it, too. And he used it to his
advantage."

I wanted to deny what he said, but I
couldn't. Hot tears flooded my eyes, and I blinked them back.

"I can't begin to tell you how many times I
wanted to rip his throat out. But I couldn't—I knew you'd never
forgive me."

He smiled then. "As my friend, you never had
a problem smacking me around when I deserved it. Please don't let
that change."

My mind whirled with the contradiction.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to put
you in your place for acting like a jerk, except where Carrie's
concerned?"

"No, no." He leaned in close, his soft
breaths stirring my hair. "It's okay that you're angry about her.
It was stupid and thoughtless, and I'd do things differently if I
could." He exhaled sharply. "Even so, I need you to trust me and
accept that I can't tell you everything. But I promise you—nothing
did or will happen between Carrie and me. Ever." He rubbed his
thumb lightly along my jaw. "I'm with you now. And I'm not going
anywhere. I need you to know I would never hurt you."

He pressed warm lips to my forehead. "Do you
believe me when I say that?"

I bit the inside of my cheek to fend off
tears and nodded. "Yes."

"Good," he whispered. We inched closer to
each other, until at last our mouths met.

I breathed him in, wanting to feel him close,
to believe all that he said. Self-doubt filled me, and for once I
refused to listen. Here was my best friend, the one constancy in my
life. Deep down I knew he would never lie to me, and that was
enough to vanquish my insecurities, if only for as long as he held
me in his arms.

There was no telling how long we were there.
By the time we pulled apart, I was on Ty's lap, the heat of our
kiss rushing through my entire body. It felt good to lose myself in
the moment, and we only pulled apart when a gust of wind delivered
a fast food wrapper against Ty's shoulder with a loud thwap.