Blood Moon (Moon Books) (6 page)

“Is it awful to say that I’m glad they’re dead then? I hated not seeing you, but just the idea of you being gone for good gives me heart palpitations.”

He rubbed his nose against mine and gave me a slow kiss that had my heart pounding in a much more pleasant way. “Don’t worry I’m not going anywhere for a long time. A very long time.”

Oh yeah. I’d forgotten that part.

“So you’re really immortal?”

“I’m not sure if it’s immortal or just extremely long lived. But yeah, for all intents and purposes I am. There are vampires around here that saw the revolutionary war.”

“Are any of them like you? You know...nice?”

Noah smiled. “Of course. Doesn’t it seem impossible that any sentient species would be all heartless killers?”

“True.”

“I wish I could help my family see that. They are judging every vampire based on the lawless few.”

“Hey, what do you guys do for food? The nice vampires, I mean. Animal blood?”

Noah made a disgusted face and gagged a little. “No, I tried it once out of curiosity. It was awful. We can still feed from humans without hurting them. There are places where you can find, uh, very willing snacks.”

“But wouldn’t you turn them? I mean isn’t that how you get turned?”

“I did get turned from a bite, but that hardly ever happens by accident. You know how some animals have venom that stuns their prey?” I nodded. “Well, we do too and it’s that venom that causes the turn to happen, like it did with me. I was lucky, though. Usually if a vampire chooses to shoot venom into someone, the person ends up dead before it would ever get a chance to work. But we can choose. The venom isn’t involuntary. If we don’t need it, like if the person is willing, then we don’t release it and no one is harmed.”

“But why would anyone be willing?”

Noah looked embarrassed. “I’m sure you’ve heard that vampire bites can be, um, pleasurable?”

I chuckled a little bit. “Yeah. So that part is true, obviously.”

“Very true. And the more the vampire likes the taste of a certain human, the better it is for the human. They can feel the vampire’s blood lust.”

“And there are places where these ‘willing’ people go to get bitten.”

Noah looked even more embarrassed. “Yeah. Want to know something weird though? All human blood is definitely not the same. It took me a while to figure out what I liked, but I finally noticed that the taste for blood seems to run where your attractions lie. At least mine does. Maybe it’s the pheromones or something. For example, I can tolerate the taste of female blood, but I don’t really like it. It’s kind of like what I remember diet pop tasting like; pretty bland with a weird aftertaste. But an attractive guy’s blood? That’s like the best meal I ever had mixed with the taste of sex and this wild high that takes hours to subside.”

A vivid picture of him biting the neck of some hot turned-on guy jumped into my head. I could see Noah’s fingers curling in the guy’s hair and his tongue licking a long line on the exposed neck before biting into it with those shiny fangs. It was sexy as hell but it made a violent curl of jealously unravel in me.

“What was the best blood you’ve ever tasted?”

“Do I have to say it, Zack? The more attracted I am to someone, the better his blood tastes to me. Think about it and take a guess.”

My mouth dropped open. “Really?”

He could tell from one drop?

“Tell me you couldn’t feel it just a little, even through that tiny prick.”

I realized that I had felt it. Way more than a little. I’d assumed it was just me reacting to the attraction I’d always had towards Noah. But that wild sexual thrill when his tongue slicked the drop of blood from my finger had been like nothing I’d ever felt before. I shivered a little, remembering.

“Yeah I felt it.”

“And you probably wouldn’t mind feeling it again?”

I laughed. Mind? If it felt like that every time, I’d drag his mouth to my neck and impale myself on his teeth! “Okay, I get it. Willing snacks.”

“Very willing.”

The grin he gave me when he said that was so hot that I pounced. I wanted him. Badly. I wanted him to lick and suck and, yes, I wanted him to bite me all over. I wanted him inside of me most of all. I couldn’t wait to feel that with him. He growled a little like he had the night before, but instead of finding it scary I thought it was the hottest thing I’d ever heard. It made me want to rip his t-shirt in half. I kissed him hard, pulling on him and getting as close as I could. His hands roamed under my shirt, making my already overheated skin feel like it was about to combust. I wanted more of him.

“Will you feed from me?” I asked, my breath coming in short pants. “I want to know what it feels like.”

He moaned and licked my neck. It was the best sort of torture. “I want to,” he breathed in deeply and moaned again.

“But?” I ground my hips into his and pulled his hair.

“It would be so intense. I’m not sure if I could control myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s been a few weeks since I’ve fed and you taste so...good.” He shuddered. “I’m afraid I’d lose control.”

“You think you might accidentally kill me?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never tasted anything that amazing before. If I bit you when I was hungry, it would be so hard to stop. I’d like to say I could but I’d never want to take that chance.” He shook his head slowly, then looked at me with an intense stare. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone else, either. I don’t know how that affects things.”

“You haven’t?”

He lifted my chin so I had to look at him. “Of course not. Zack, you know I love you, right? I guess I never actually said it out loud, but I’ve felt it for a really long time.”

“I love you too. I always have.” I’d thought the words so many times, but they almost felt strange coming out of my mouth.

Noah squeezed me tightly against him and shuddered. “I want everything with you. I want to hold you and kiss you, fall asleep with you in my arms and tell you every day that I love you. But I also want to taste you, to feel every inch of your body against mine, inside of me, surrounding me. I’ve been dreaming of it for years. I just can’t take any chances with you the first time.”

I trembled at the mental picture Noah was painting. I wanted all of that too. As soon as I could have it. “So what do we do?”

“I need to, uh, eat before I can be with you. Before I can trust myself to lose control and keep you safe.”

“Okay, so we’re going out to get you dinner. When do we leave?”

“You want to come?”

Was he kidding? He was going to some vampire bar that I pictured being all dark and red and pulsating, kind of like an orgy without any actual sex. They’d shown approximations of those places in the movies, but who would miss an opportunity to see something like that in real life? Besides, there was no way I was letting Noah out of my sight.

“Uh, yeah I’m coming.”

I couldn’t wait.

This Time We Mean It

A few hours later, after the sun had finally set, I’d packed a backpack of clothes and was getting ready to sneak out with Noah in tow. Sure, I was in my twenties, but somehow I’d never quite gotten over the fear of my mother getting mad at me. I didn’t have a good story to tell her about what had happened and the truth sure as hell wouldn’t work.

Oh yeah, Mom, I’m going with Noah to this vampire bar to watch him feed then we’re going back to his house where we’re going to spend the night in bed naked making each other come over and over...oh and by the way, I’m gay.

The picture I got in my mind of that scene was horrifying but funny. Even without the vampire part I couldn’t imagine their faces.

I listened at my door for sounds of movement in the living area. When I heard complete silence, I figured that my family was out for their evening walk. Perfect. I picked up the nonchalant little note that I had written earlier about spending the night at Noah’s house for a bonfire or some other lame excuse and laced my free hand through his. I brushed our lips together one more time and with a wicked smile of anticipation, cracked open the door, ready to slip out.

I thought we were home free for about five whole seconds but when I went to drop the note on the coffee table I saw my very quiet parents sitting on the couch, waiting expectantly. There was no way they could have missed the fact that Noah and I were holding hands.

“Sit,” my father ordered.

“Explain,” my mother added. “Maya, honey. Please go to your room and read for a little while. We need to talk to Zack.”

Maya looked annoyed. She could tell this was going to be good. I could already see the texts that were going to be flying back and forth between her and her friends the second she got within range of a decent cell tower.

Noah and I dropped each other’s hands and sank slowly onto the second couch. I felt like wild game being cornered in the forest.

“All right, you two. What’s going on?” My mother looked concerned, but not hostile.

I thought I should just get it out of the way. It was too late to lie and I didn’t really want to anyway. I reached over and pulled Noah’s hand into my lap, twining his fingers with mine once again. “Mom, Dad, Noah and I are together.”

“But I don’t understand. The last thing I knew is you two had some falling out three years ago and hadn’t spoken since. You just saw each other for the first time a few days ago. When did this happen?” I noticed she didn’t say anything about me being gay. Maybe Mom was more perceptive then I gave her credit for.

Noah looked over at me and smiled, squeezing my hand. “Let me explain. First of all, this isn’t new. I’ve been in love with Zack for years. He was my best friend and my first crush and, well; I just never got over him. I never wanted to. Three summers ago I finally found out that he felt the same way about me. I was happier than I’ve ever been before but I was also weak. When I went home to tell my parents the news, they told me that their son couldn’t be gay and they didn’t want me talking to Zack anymore. They threatened to take my college money away, to send me to live with my grandfather in England. I was eighteen and an adult, but I’d never been away from my family. I didn’t know what to do so I did the worst thing possible. I pushed Zack away just like they’d asked. I hurt him to keep my family happy; I’ve been half dead without him ever since.” Noah took a deep breath, looking like he was close to tears.

Damn, he was good.

“Anyway, when Zack found me at the dock that first night I told him how sorry I was. I can’t even begin to explain how grateful I am that he decided to let me back into his life.”

My mother didn’t look quite convinced. “Why is it different now? Don’t you still live at your parents’ house? I don’t want my son getting hurt again. You have no idea how long it took him to get over losing you the first time.”

Noah shifted uncomfortably in his seat. This wasn’t his favorite topic and my mother was acting like a defensive mama bear at the moment. I didn’t envy him.

“Zack’s never going to lose me again. Not unless he wants me to go.” Mom opened her mouth to speak, but Noah held up his hand. “My parents are no longer with us, Mrs. Parker. They were in a car crash a few years ago when they were on a business trip. I live at the house with Mrs. Clooney. I told Zack that I would have found him as soon as it happened but I thought he hated me after what I’d done.”

That was enough to make my mother forget about the interrogation. After all, she’d loved Noah too. Her eyes got all wide and teary. I could see a huge gushy mom love fest coming on.

“Oh, honey, come here!” She stood and pulled him into a big hug. The hug lasted for a minute or two before she held Noah back with her arms. “I’m glad you two found each other again. I didn’t think Zack was ever going to meet anyone else that he could love as much as he loves you.”

“Mom?” I looked at her with my mouth open.

She rolled her eyes. “Zack, I’m not blind. You may not have actually said anything, but you two have been broadcasting your feelings about each other loud and clear for years if anyone took the time to pay attention. I thought it was adorable.” I was mortified but blindingly happy at the same time. “Now, unless I’m mistaken you two didn’t get any dinner, and, Noah sweetie, you’ve gotten so pale. You need something to eat.”

Uh oh.

“Actually, Mrs. Parker, I’d love to stay but there’s a movie in town Zack and I were hoping to see and you know how long the drive is. We were planning on grabbing something on the way.”

“And I was going to stay over at Noah’s so I don’t wake anyone up when I get in. It’ll be really late.” My mother gave me her best ‘I wasn’t born yesterday’ look. I sighed and rolled my eyes at her. “Mom, I’m twenty-one, I think I’m old enough to stay over with my boyfriend.”

Just saying the word out loud made happy little thrills race up my back. She raised her eyebrows at me but nodded reluctantly and told us to have fun. My father was still sitting in the same position he’d been in for the entire conversation. He looked a little shell-shocked. Apparently his intuition wasn’t quite as good as my mother’s.

Noah and I finally escaped after another round of hugs and kisses and promises to call in the morning so she’d know we made it home safe. We dashed, laughing and holding hands, along the path that surrounded the lake. Our plan was to get changed as quickly as possible and head out by nine. The bar was a few counties over and we didn’t want to waste the entire night driving.

When we got to his place, I ducked into one of the guest bathrooms to get ready. I luckily had decided to pack a few nicer things at the last minute. I wasn’t sure what people would dress like where we were going, so I just went off of a barely educated guess.

I had a pair of dark jeans that were, in my opinion, the best pants I owned. Not too baggy, perfect on my ass. I paired them with a black button-up which I wore untucked and unbuttoned a little at the top so the Celtic pendant I always wore tied around my neck with a thin black cord would show. I rolled the sleeves up to my forearms, made sure my hair was swept perfectly off to the side, and even put on a little bit of the black eyeliner that I’d swiped from Maya. I figured that if there was ever a night to try something like that, this was it. I stepped back, looking in the mirror. It was kind of startling. I didn’t look like myself at all. I actually looked like a guy that belonged in a vampire bar with someone as beautiful as Noah.