Blood Moon (Moon Books) Read Free Page A

to be saying what he was saying.
    “Look, Zack. I can’t do this. I think it’s probably just better if we weren’t friends anymore.”
    He walked away then, ending a thirteen-year friendship and whatever had blossomed the night before with a few words that felt like shards of glass ripping into my insides. I collapsed on the dock and cried, not caring who saw or heard. My heart was broken and I knew it was somehow my own damn fault.
    * * * *
    “Noah, what on earth are you doing here?”
    He pulled back and looked at me sadly. “I like the dock. I come out here when I need to think. It reminds me of better times, you know?”
    He looked different. More than I did, I thought. The hints of roundness had melted out of his cheeks. If anything he looked even more aristocratic, and damn he was so gorgeous. I tried to stifle that thought before I could complete it but ended up sighing. It was useless.
    “I don’t mean what are you doing on the dock, I mean here. At the lake.”
    He gave me a confused look. “Why wouldn’t I be here? I live here.”
    “But you weren’t here last summer or the year before.”
    He looked at the ground. “Yes I was,” he mumbled quietly.
    Pain sliced through me. I couldn’t believe he’d been so close and obviously still avoiding me. I would have done anything to see him. I turned to walk away but his hand on my arm stopped me.
    “Please don’t go,” he whispered. I looked at him not even trying to hide the hurt in my eyes. “Listen, I don’t even know if I have the right to ask, but how’ve you been?” He cocked his head to the side like he’d always done when he asked a question.
    I didn’t know how to answer him. How do you tell someone you’ve spent the last three years keeping as frantically busy as possible so that you didn’t have time to miss him?
    “Okay, I guess.”
    He reached up and traced my cheek with his thumb. The gesture was so wonderful, so confusing that I couldn’t even react.
    “I’ve missed you, Zack.”
    The combination of the words and the touch made my pulse leap. “Then why?”
    Noah sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a second. “Because I was stupid.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I let my family stuff take over. I wish I could explain it to you, but it would sound so crazy.”
    “Everyone’s family is crazy, Noh.”
    He smiled at his old nickname. “I know but I let mine get in the way of the best thing that had ever happened to me.” He touched my face again and rubbed the ends of my too-black hair between his fingers.
    “Do you really mean that? I thought I’d scared you off by kissing you.”
    “No! It wasn’t like that at all.” He shuddered and wrapped me in his arms. “I hated what I did to you three years ago. It was what my parents wanted and I should have said no. Losing you nearly broke me.”
    I looked up at him and smiled hesitantly. Our faces were only inches apart.
    Was this really happening? Ten minutes ago I was angry and lonely and now all of a sudden I had Noah back in my life holding me like he’d never let go? I guessed I could have decided to be mad at him, to walk away and hurt him like he’d hurt me. I didn’t. He was forgiven the second I felt his arms around me.
    I was pretty sure he was going to kiss me. I wanted him to kiss me. My eyes drifted shut and suddenly I was engulfed in another tight hug. I could feel his body trembling. His mouth descended on mine, sweet and pliable, and I dragged my tongue across the lips I’d been desperately trying to forget. It had been such a waste of time. I trembled too and shimmied closer knowing in a second that I would have never forgotten such a feeling. He nibbled gently on my bottom lip and dipped his tongue into my mouth. I rubbed up against him with my body, my tongue, buried my hands in his hair. I did everything I could think of to touch him.
    “Noah,” I whispered against his mouth, never wanting the kiss to end. It was just like I remembered. Better