Blood Moon by A.D. Ryan Read Free Book Online

such
despair. It was another welcome relief. I loved him so much. This
was the perfect moment to prove it.
    “I can’t lose you,” I confessed softly.
“You’re far too important to me.”
    Anger flared in David’s eyes. “What that
Neanderthal did—leaving you?—I would never do that.” I
nodded my understanding, but still held my doubts. “I love you,
Brooke.”
    I knew he meant it; it was obvious in the
way he acted around me daily. The fight to keep my tears at bay was
lost the moment I closed my eyes, and I was angry that I let Nick’s
unexpected visit affect me like this. They rolled down my cheeks as
I turned my face into his hand and kissed the palm of it. “I…love
you, too,” I confessed honestly into the warmth of his touch before
turning and meeting his blazing stare. “And I want to tell
everyone.”
    David’s eyes widened with surprise, his
happiness pouring off of him. “Really?” I nodded, and he wrapped
his arms around me, picking me up off the ground and spinning us
around.
    I laughed loudly and, in that moment, forgot
the horrible memories that today brought with it. This was huge for
me. When David set me back on my feet, he kissed me so hard, I got
a little weak in the knees and had to clutch the front of his
jacket to help keep my balance.
    “Take me home?” I pleaded when he pulled
away, wanting desperately for the two of us to be alone and pick up
where we left off.
    David chuckled, leaning down to kiss the tip
of my nose. “Sweetheart, the night is still young, and your parents
kind of have a whole evening planned.”
    It didn’t take me long to realize that we
hadn’t really been here that long—regardless of the fact that time
seemed to be dragging—and I laughed lightly at myself. “I guess it
just feels like today’s already gone on long enough.”
    David pulled me toward the house, and I
stopped before reaching the door. “You ready?”
    “Are you?” he replied back. “If you’d prefer
to wait…”
    I shook my head hard. “No. I want to do
this. Like you said, it’s been two years. Besides, I figure my
parents would love for this day to hold happy memories. Let’s go
make that happen.”
    With a smile that could light up a starless
night, David pulled me against his side and pressed his lips to
mine once more. “As you wish, sweetheart.”

Chapter three | truth
    E ven with the
unexpected and joyous turn that last night took, Nick showing up at
my party and reawakening that period of my life cut deeply. How did
he not realize the possibility of that happening? As if it wasn’t
hard enough to deal with the night I found Bobby, but for Nick to
come back seven years to the day and act as though nothing
had happened? How did he expect me to react? He left me. He left me when things got just a little too hairy for him; it
didn’t seem to matter what I was going through.
    I loved him—needed him—and he just left.
Over the years, I thought I’d made peace with how things ended
between us, but seeing him again… Well, it brought back memories of
every tender moment we’d shared, and they almost eclipsed the
resentment I harbored for him.
    Almost.
    My eyes burned, bloodshot and beyond
exhausted, as I stared at the white wall ahead of me. I was still
lying in bed after a long, sleepless night obsessing over Nick’s
return to town and feeling guilty that my thoughts were about him
and not the man sleeping next to me in my bed. With every minute
that ticked by on my bedside clock, I had hoped sleep would find
and hold me, but it was sparse and never lasted more than fifteen
minutes at any given time. David had done what he could to help
take my mind off everything, and I’d given in, momentarily
forgetting my troubles in exchange for the way he made me feel
whenever I was in his arms. But he fell asleep, and I couldn’t shut
my mind off long enough to follow him.
    I heard a soft groan behind me, and the
mattress dipped beneath David’s weight as he rolled