Blood Moon (New Moon Series Book 2)

by Belle Harper

  I heard a sound…footsteps. I froze. Shit, what if Galen wasn’t here…or he was dead? And that was why he didn’t hear my knocking? My palm pressed tightly to my chest to stop my racing heart. If it was a supernatural person, they would hear me, smell me. Fuck. I was so fucked. A door opened and closed. I was on the floor now, trying to crawl towards the front door.

  “Lexi? What the hell are you doing?” I gasped and turned to see Galen standing above me, his hands hovering in front of him, then reaching for me. I let out a shaky breath. It was just Galen, oh god. How did I work that up so much in my head? I guessed from all the shit I had seen and lived through. Nothing was as it seemed…especially here in Kiba.

  “I was coming to talk to you.” I reached up and took his hand. It was cold in mine. He pulled me to my feet, and I brushed the dust off my clothes. As if they even had dust on them, this house was too clean. Even the bookshelf had no dust when I had touched it. He took great care of his home.

  He gave me a smile, the beautiful one that he didn’t show very often. He scratched his head, his curls bouncing around. Then he gestured for me to go into his small kitchen. I pulled out a dark wooden stool on the other side of the counter, then jumped up to sit at it as he opened his refrigerator. I couldn’t help myself, I peered over his shoulder, thinking he must keep blood bags in there. I hadn’t seen him eat before, so I was curious. Did he have a preferred blood type? I had no idea what my blood type was.

  “Juice?” He spun around, holding out a bottle of orange juice. I could now see into the refrigerator and it was full of…food?

  “Ah, yeah…do you always have food in there?”

  He turned back to look at the food I was staring at, and when he turned back to me, he smiled and chuckled.

  “Not always, it’s a new thing.” I smiled at that. Did he buy the food for me? When I didn’t say anything, he added, “I was hoping that you would come over and want to eat here sometimes. You’re always welcome in my home, Lexi.”

  He poured the juice for me into a tall glass and pushed it across the counter to where I was sitting. I took a sip, and it was so good. It wasn’t that cheap shit. This was the real deal, freshly squeezed.

  “Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say. I had too many thoughts and feelings running through my mind. So, I quickly added, “For the juice and the offer.” There was an awkward silence between us as he put the juice bottle back and pulled out some eggs and bacon.

  “Are you cooking me breakfast?” I didn’t know what to say, since I wasn’t expecting this at all when I came here. I’d nearly given myself a panic attack, and now Galen was making me breakfast.

  “Well, I haven’t done this in like…ever. So if it’s terrible, let me know. But I remembered you liked it when I took you to the diner…and I watched some cooking shows.”

  Oh god, the diner. I could feel my cheeks pinking at that, my hands going to my cheeks to hide them. I remembered that diner too well. That was when I figured out he was a vampire and I told him I was team shifter, but I knew that was a lie when I said it. God, he was so fucking hot right now with his tousled morning hair and green knitted sweater. It seemed out of place today with it being warming up nicely, but it looked so right on Galen. He had on black jeans that hugged his ass.

  He rolled up his sleeves and brought out a frying pan from a lower draw. That was when I noticed the scars on his arms, criss cross scars up both of them. When he cleared his throat, I realized I was staring at them. Fuck. What the hell caused scarring like that on a vampire?

  “How do you like your eggs?” My eyes flashed up to see his. I could tell my staring made him uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to do that to him.

  “Shit, um…fried is fine.” He nodded and turned his back on me, hiding his arms more. Fuck. I looked around the kitchen, trying to find something to say, when he spoked up, the bacon sizzling in the pan.

  “You can ask me.” I sat frozen on the stool. “I know you’re wondering what happened to my arms. I can hear your heart beating faster, and you’re not good at hiding your emotions. I don’t often show the scars, but it’s okay, you can ask. And well, I guess if you’re here,” he turned to me, a spatula in one hand, his left arm straight out, showing me the silvery scars on his arm again, “you want to get to know me?”

  I tried to smile, but I thought I gave him that sad version of a smile no one liked to see. I nodded.

  “Yeah, I was here to talk, since I want to get to know you. I won’t ask you though. If you want to tell me, I’ll listen. Some people wear their scars on the inside, and no one asks about them because they can’t see them. So I would never ask about the ones I can see.”

  Galen just stood there, his mouth slightly agape. The popping of the bacon had him turning around and flipping it. He didn’t say anything, he just stood there staring into the bacon. I guess he was thinking about what I said, maybe wanting to know what scars I hid on the inside. Though he did read my file, so I guess he knew a few of mine.

  “You can’t hear me anymore, can you?” he asked, and I sat up straighter. No, I hadn’t heard him at all.

  “It’s not there anymore is it? We can’t talk like that anymore.” I sounded sad because I was. I’d really enjoyed that yesterday. Like when he slipped up in the bedroom and I thought Ada had heard him and I was freaking out.

  “I thought it might have gone. I guess this morning was a little strange for me. It was almost as if I was waking up after a bad hangover, and I haven’t had one of those since I was a human. I feel a little off, sluggish and tired.”

  Wow, I didn’t realize my blood would have such a bad effect on him like that. I guessed he wouldn’t want to drink from me again if that was how he was feeling after.

  “I was going to ask if you wanted more, but…” He turned now, a plate full of bacon and two fried eggs on the side. I guessed this was pretty good for someone who never needed to cook. I would’ve preferred some toast too, but I wouldn’t tell him that. He’d made me breakfast. Galen Donovani cooked for me, and it looked and smelled perfect.

  “I can’t, Lexi. I don’t know what else could happen if I drank from you. I can’t compel you, and I won’t ever cause you pain. I felt so guilty after… I just couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d hurt you more than Callum had.”

  I shook my head and jumped down off the stool. Galen had his hands covering his face, and he looked shocking, the painful memory hurting him as much as me. Although I wanted to talk to him about what happened, I also just wanted to forget everything and only focus on the positives.

  “Galen.” I took his wrists in my hands, but he didn’t budge when I pulled. He was still powerful and strong. I gave him a moment, a chance to really pull away from me, but he didn’t. Instead, his hands dropped from his face. He looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes and a sad expression. God, he looked so young right now. It was hard to image he was this super old vampire, when he looked like a lost young man who had lost so much.

  “You didn’t hurt me. I honestly don’t remember the pain of you biting me. I did like when I could hear you in my head. I loved that, in fact. It was like our own private conversation, something that doesn’t happen around here often. Maybe if you just drank like a little?”

  I didn’t know why I was begging a vampire to drink my blood. I just knew I wanted Galen too. In a way, it was our own personal connection. Even if we never were more than what we were now. I wasn’t sure if he still wanted me…but this way, he would always have a piece of me and I would always be with him, even just a little.

  He slowly shook his head no, but I could see he was rolling the idea around in his head, overthinking everything. I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms around his very tense body. He sagged a little into me as he wrapped his arms around me. There was comfortable silence for a long time. I knew my breakfast was now cold, but Galen hadn’t moved at all and I didn’t want to let go. This was perfect, but my stomach decided now was a good time to growl.
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br />   “You want to suck my blood?” I did my best vampire voice. I didn’t know why I said that, but it just felt right to cheer him up. Galen pulled back slightly and looked down at me, and I watched as the corner of his lip twitched up into a smile.

  “You know I don’t sound like that.” I laughed and shook my head.

  “You do, maybe you just can’t hear yourself. You sound just like a regular old vampire. Is the Count from Sesame Street your uncle?”

  That had him chuckling, and it was a beautiful sight. He was so gorgeous in this moment. He was beautiful when he smiled, but that laugh had my insides heating up.

  “I was thinking that maybe I could take a little of your blood. I shouldn’t, but fuck, you’re hard to say no to, did you know that?” I winked and turned my neck to him, brushing my hair off my shoulder so he could have better access. The move made him tense up again.

  “I was going to draw your blood, you know into a blood bag, so it won’t hurt so much.” I watched his eyes as they focused on the racing pulse in my neck and started to get darker. His hand came up the column of my throat, his thumb brushing over my skin ever so lightly. He moved closer until he was breathing me in.

  “You smell amazing, Lexi.” His cold nose ran up my throat to my ear. I felt him press a small kiss just below my jaw, and my fists clenched in his sweater, holding myself upright at the feeling. I let out a sharp breath and felt his smile against my skin. My breathing grew deeper and I pulled him closer to me. I wanted to feel his lips against mine.

  He chuckled as he pulled away.

  “Go have breakfast before it gets cold. I’ll go get some things ready.” Then he was gone, using his super vampire speed to run away from me. I felt cold at his sudden change, which was strange, as he’d been making me hot. I wrapped my arms around myself and returned to my now cold breakfast.

  I wasn’t hungry anymore. For food that was.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Galen

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was practically hiding in my basement thinking about how I was fucking this all up. I shouldn’t be taking her blood, I shouldn’t even be thinking about this. I’d even told Alaric what my plans were for Lexi and school. That even if she didn’t want me…I would still quit and take care of her full time. She needed someone to protect her. I quit then on the spot. It was done.

  Shit. I was so close to taking her back there. I wanted to bite into her soft neck, to drink straight from her, to spread her out on my kitchen floor and taste her, and not just her blood. I wanted to touch her, bring her to heights she never knew existed. I was so hard just thinking about it, but I couldn’t just rush into this. I wanted to do this right, court her, get to know her before things went to the next level.

  I could hear her upstairs. She’d returned to the stool, but she wasn’t eating. I’d been so close to giving in and just kissing her there in my kitchen, but now I worried I had upset her with my sudden movement away from her. She was so warm in my arms, and I needed the space to clear my head. I’d felt my fangs itch at her scent. I’d felt the darker side taking over. So I’d needed to get away before I did something stupid, before she saw me as that…a vampire.

  She looked at me like a person and treated me as an equal. I loved that she took the time to tell me what her food tasted like and insisted I buy foods that I wanted to try. This was why I fell for her…hard. She was so different to anyone I had ever met. I quickly grabbed a bottle of whisky and downed a mouthful, hoping the effects would take place soon. I didn’t want her to feel me cold like a vampire. I wanted to feel warm and human for her.

  When I returned to the kitchen, she was looking down at her food and took a bite of her egg. Maybe it wasn’t my sudden escape from her, and I really didn’t cook it right. It had looked the same as the lady on the cooking show. But when she didn’t look over at me, I knew it was me and my need to get away from her that upset her. I didn’t know how to fix this, so I did the next best thing. I tried to speak to her about something else.

  “It’s best if you have something to eat and drink some water.” I placed the equipment to draw her blood on the coffee table. When she didn’t say anything, I grew worried.

  “That’s if you still want to, you don’t have to give me your blood, Lexi. You know that, right? It doesn’t make a difference in how I feel about you if you choose not to. I…”

  She glanced at me, and her big amber eyes almost glowed from the sunlight streaming through the windows. All the words escaped my mouth as I froze. Her lips curled into a deadly smirk—deadly to me, because I would do anything for this girl. She jumped off the stool and slowly walked towards me. I watched her as she sized me up, like she was stalking prey.

  “And how do you feel about me, Mr. Donovani?” I let out a small groan at the way she said my name. Her hand pressed against my chest as she came closer. Whatever I said was the right thing to be rewarded with this.

  “When I told you that I love you, was that only one sided?” Fuck, I loved this side of Lexi, when she took control and she knew what she wanted. It was hot as hell and one of the reasons I had fallen for her. She’d been a little unsure of herself lately, and I put that down to all the changes she had been through, but she was still a little fireball inside.

  “No. It might have been one sided…before you fell for me. But I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you, Lexi. When you were in the school office, I couldn’t look away. I saw a beautiful, smart, and defiant young woman. But you’re young, and I’m much older. I never thought you’d look at me the way you do. I never thought that I could have you. That you would want me.”

  I knew I shouldn’t, that I was too old for her, not good enough for her, but I couldn’t hold back. I wanted her, I needed her. My hand snaked up behind her head, and before she could say another word, I took her mouth. This wasn’t a sweet kiss, this was primal. All the hunger I felt for her, all the times I wanted to kiss her smart little mouth, this was all of that in one heated moment, and she didn’t pull away.

  She gasped, grabbing ahold of me, and I pulled her tight to my body. Her hand on my chest was crushed between us, but she could feel how hard I was for her. How badly I wanted her. I licked the seam of her lips, and her tongue came out to meet mine. I groaned at her taste, so sweet, so fresh. We stayed like that, learning each other’s mouths, breathing each other in. She rubbed herself against my erection, and I groaned at the friction. I nipped gently at her lower lip, not wanting to draw blood, but wanting her to remember this kiss for the rest of the day. Even though she healed fast, she won’t forget what happened here.

  “That…” She pulled back, touching her lips with her fingertips, her eyes moving to my mouth as she traced her fingers along my bottom lip. I felt her index finger touching what I knew she saw there. I couldn’t control myself when I was so worked up, and my fangs came out. I watched her expression, knowing that she would see them in a way I didn’t want her to. But I couldn’t hide my fangs, she knew what I was. And it didn’t bother her, it was me that was more hung up on that.

  I felt her run her finger along the bottom of one fang, and it felt good, different. I closed my eyes as she pressed hard, I smelled the iron in her sweet blood.

  My eyes flew open, and I found her watching me intensely. Our eyes locked, and she didn’t look away as I grabbed her wrist to stop her. I pulled her hand back and saw the red beading at the tip of her finger.

  “Why?” I asked, but it was a stupid question. We both knew why. I pulled her finger up to my mouth, my tongue swiped the blood away, and I moaned at her taste. God, why did she taste so amazing? I pulled away, but she pressed her finger to my mouth.

  “Suck,” was all she said, and all the blood I did have left in my head rushed straight to my cock. Fuck, I knew I shouldn’t do this, but it was so good. I sucked her finger gently. She was healing fast, but I wanted more. Though I knew I needed to stop before I lost control and took more than she was offering.

&nbs
p; “Lexi, you trust me more than you should.” I didn’t trust myself most of the time, but this girl… This amazing, smart, and stubborn girl. I knew I was done for when I met her. I needed to slow the brakes on this a little.

  “Go sit down. I’ll warm up your breakfast, and if you still want to, I can take some blood from you.” I’ll be smart about it though, ration it out to a small amounts every day. I didn’t want to feel like I did this morning. Just that small amount already had me feeling a little better, and I would be able to feel her emotions again. It was a matter of safety that I could feel her. Well, that was what I was telling myself.

  “Sounds good to me, and after, can you take me into Port Willow? I have some things I want to buy.” The smile on her face as I told her yes made me happy. Did she think I would say no to spending alone time with her?

  If she did, then she didn’t know me, and today that would change that.

  She chatted away as I set everything up. I’d done this many times before, but I didn’t want to tell her that. Some things should be kept a secret.

  “Why were you in the woods that night?”

  I looked up from what I was doing, and her mouth quirked slightly as she glanced out the window. What was she talking about?

  “I left you a note, and you didn’t come, so I went to the woods to follow you.”

  My heart sank when I realized what she was talking about. She was in there because of me? I was in the woods watching her, then it became too much, so I went for a run to the cliffs to clear my head. When I heard her scream, I raced back. Fuck, it was because of me that it happened.