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

fact remains that if I stay wrapped up in your arms all
morning—which, again, I would love more than anything—then we’re
going to be late for work.”
    I pushed my bottom lip out in a mock-pout.
“Oh, boo.” David nibbled at my protruding lip gently, making me
giggle.
    “Come on.” Using both hands, he playfully
tossed me onto the bed before standing up. “Get dressed. I’ll go
start on breakfast.”
    David grabbed a T-shirt from his drawer
before leaving me alone, and I took a minute before getting out of
bed, looking out the window at the blue sky of a new day. I could
already feel the arid heat seeping into the air in my room, and I
sensed that it would be a little warmer than yesterday.
    But something still felt off.
    Even though everything seemed just a little
bit brighter thanks to David’s positivity, I still felt acutely
aware of my troubled past. Usually, the day after my birthday found
me feeling a little less distressed about everything. But not this
year. It could have been Nick’s surprise visit to the city, but it
somehow felt like more than that. I really wished I could put my
finger on it.
    Taking a deep breath, I headed to the
bathroom for a quick shower before David finished preparing
breakfast. After showering and dressing in jeans and a T-shirt, I
dried my hair and applied a little makeup to hide the signs of my
sleepless night. Then I headed out to the kitchen to find David
setting two plates of bacon and eggs on the table.
    “Smells delicious,” I told him, kissing his
cheek and preparing to take my seat.
    Before I could sit, though, David wrapped
his arm around me and pulled me to him, burying his nose in the
crook of my neck and inhaling. “So do you,” he whispered, making me
giggle at how overly corny he could be from time to time.
    “You’re so hokey,” I teased, pushing him
back and shaking my head.
    “Don’t deny it.” He stepped back and let me
sit down. “It’s why you love me.”
    A smile tugged at my lips. “Perhaps that’s
part of it.”
    Looking intrigued, David sat next to me and
inquired, “And the rest of it?”
    “Isn’t really appropriate talk for the
breakfast table,” I confessed, my voice dropping to a lower, much
sexier, tone.
    Smirking, David took a bite of his eggs. An
unexpected silence fell between us as we ate, and when I looked at
him again, he seemed lost in thought. When I finally asked what was
on his mind, he set his fork down and met my gaze. The look in his
eyes was startlingly afraid. “Why did we wait until now to come out
with our relationship?”
    “You know why,” I replied quietly, pushing
my eggs around my plate.
    “I think I do,” he said. “But it feels like
there’s more to it than that. Is it…” A pause. “Is it because of him ?”
    “Nick?” I questioned, even though I knew
that was exactly who he meant. “A little, yeah.” I shrugged
despondently. “It’s been hard for me to open myself up to anyone
else after he left…maybe because I was afraid of anyone else seeing
me the way he did.” David looked at me, his eyes a combination of
curiosity and sympathy, and I took a deep breath before I
concluded. “Broken.”
    Sighing, I dropped my eyes to my
now-fidgeting hands and continued. “After Bobby died, I never
really got over it—how could I? The police couldn’t find anything
that would lead us to who killed him, and his case was eventually
filed away, unsolved.” While David already knew most of this, he’d
never really gotten the full story on Nick and me or how serious
our relationship really was. “I withdrew emotionally from
everything. Bobby was my brother, and one minute he was there with
Nick and me at the club, and the next he was just gone.
    “Nick obviously couldn’t handle having a
girlfriend who was in a near-constant state of catatonia. My moods
had become…unpredictable, and I guess he just couldn’t deal.”
Because I’d already cried for the loss of my first love, I was able
to