Crying for the Moon by Sarah Madison Read Free Book Online Page A

gotta go too,” Tate agreed, rising to his feet with a little stretch. He yawned as he spread his shoulders, the action stretching the shirt over the muscles of his chest in a tantalizing way. He untied his sweater and slipped it on over his head. Alex couldn’t help but be disappointed to see Tate cover up again. He didn’t bother chiding himself over watching Tate pull his head through the neck of the sweater and thread his arms through the sleeves. Watching was just watching. There was no harm in admiring a beautiful thing.
    He walked them all to the door.
    “We had a lovely evening,” Tish said warmly, as they all spilled out onto the front porch. The light from the hall behind them fell in a bright rectangle on the stairs where everyone paused as they said their goodbyes. Alex could see small clouds of vapor as Tish spoke, and he glanced involuntarily up at the sky. The moon was only a thin sliver, but now that Alex paid attention to such things, he knew it wouldn’t be long until it was full again.
    “Good food,” Duncan rumbled. In the darkness, his towering height seemed even more intimidating.
    “I’ll say,” Peter chimed in, stretching backward to give his belly an exaggerated rub. “Yum. Seriously, I can’t remember the last time I had such a good meal.”
    “You say that about every meal, Peter.” Tish laughed, provoking a chuckle from everyone in general. “Thank you, Alex, for having us over. And you, too, Tate, for cooking such a wonderful dinner.”
    “My pleasure. It was nice meeting y’all,” Tate said with a smile.
    “We should do this again sometime,” Peter suggested. “This was fun. Makes a nice change from sitting home and watching television.”
    “Maybe you’d like to start an amateur theater group?” Nick suggested dryly, but Alex could tell he was just teasing. “We had a nice time, Alex. See you at the end of the month?”
    “Yes,” Alex agreed. He wrapped his arms around himself in the cool night air, standing on the porch as everyone moved off and toward their cars at last.
    It was an odd feeling to watch as his friends all got into their various vehicles and drove away. Friends. He had friends.

Chapter 3

     
     
    “ Y OUR light’s out.”
    “Excuse me?” Alex had just clicked the automatic lock button on the black Ford Escape, causing the lights to flash. He paused to look over his shoulder at the unkempt man who was walking past. It was close to dusk and there were few people in the parking lot of the home supply store. It had been a long time since he’d had to worry about a potential mugging. Most predators instinctively recognized another predator when they saw one. The last person who’d mistakenly viewed him as a potential victim had ended up providing him enough blood to slake his thirst for a very long time. Not to mention, he was no longer a threat to anyone else.
    “Driver’s side headlight is out,” the man said, continuing to walk on by, not caring whether Alex heard him or not.
    “Oh. Thanks!” He called out after the man. He came around to the front of the car and pressed the lock button on his key ring again. When the lights flashed, the driver’s side headlight remained dark. Damn it. The last thing he wanted was for some overzealous cop to stop him on the way home. His driver’s license might not bear the scrutiny, despite the fact that Moretti had a reputation for superior work when it came to providing documents for the vampire community. Shrugging, Alex headed into the hardware store to pick up the water filters that he needed.
    He stopped by the auto supply place on the way home.
    “Here you go, sonny,” the man behind the counter said, handing him the light bulb in a small box. He seemed oblivious to any potential insult in his address, and Alex let it go. He realized the old man didn’t mean anything by it. That was just the way he spoke.
    “I don’t suppose you could show me how to replace it?” Alex smiled winningly at him.