Riley's Torment, A Moon's Glow Novel #2 (4 page)

"What?" I
asked, curious at his expression.

"Later," was
all he said, shaking his head.

I leaned
into him, giving him a kiss on the lips and wanting to linger, but
knowing I couldn’t. "I'll get rid of her, and we can continue where
we left off." I touched his cheek with the tip of my finger, and
slid it down over his jaw. "I love you," I whispered before leaving
him in the room. I heard a frustrated growl as I closed the door
behind me.

I was
grinning as I entered the living room. I
smoothed my hair, turned off my iPod, and went to
open the door.

Lauren stood on
the porch. Her sandy colored hair was plastered to her head and
face. It was raining, and I hadn't even noticed. She looked
awful—her face was red, her eyes puffy with tears mixed with the
rain. Her chest heaved as she sobbed.

"What's wrong,"
I cried, grabbing her hand and pulling her inside out of the wind
and rain.

I led her to
the couch, took her coat, and handed her a throw blanket to wrap
around her. She kicked off her heels, and I shoved them near the
door out of the way. As she sat down next to me, I could smell her
guava shampoo enhanced by the wet weather.

"Tell me,
what's wrong," I said again.

"Jo...seph,"
she sobbed, her body shivering.

Not
understanding, I reached out and placed my hand on her arm—her red
sweater was a soft cashmere. "How did you see him? I thought you
went to Manic with the girls?"

She nodded her
head, her face scrunched up in pain. "He was there..." her lip
quivered. “With another girl. They danced all night." She closed
her eyes and put her head in her hands, her shoulders shook as she
sobbed.

White hot anger
rushed through me; I could kill Joe. What was he thinking?

"He was with
another girl?" I asked, sure I had heard wrong. I had been begging
Joseph to tell Lauren the truth about them. I knew Lauren would not
be as hurt if she understood what was going on. Before I got
together with Nate, he ran hot and cold for reasons I couldn’t
understand at the time. It was so confusing.

Now that we
were together, I certainly didn't miss the constant sting of
rejection. The thought of what we had been doing just a few minutes
ago entered my mind, and my face became hot. Lauren didn't notice
though—she was covering her own face with the throw blanket.

The bedroom
door swung open, and Nate popped his head out. "Is everything
okay?" he asked softly. His eyes were filled with concern. He was
wearing a white t-shirt instead of the dress shirt he wore to
dinner. His thick wavy hair was tousled from our previous
encounter. My cheeks started to redden as I recalled Nate’s tender
kisses on my neck. Thankfully, no one was looking at me.

Lauren lifted
her head up to face him and smiled softly. "I'll be okay, Nate. I
just need to talk to a girlfriend, and Megan's the only one I can
really do that with." She reached out and touched my arm. Her hand
was cold and damp from the rain. "Do you mind if I borrow her for a
little while?"

Nate glanced at
me and smiled, letting me know he understood why I couldn't just
get rid of her like I had planned. Her heart was broken—we couldn't
throw her out. "Sure, you can borrow her. I'll just be in the
bedroom catching up on some paperwork." He glanced at me, and his
eyes moved to the ring box on the table. His hand went out and
grabbed it so subtly I barely noticed the move. I understood why he
did it. He didn't want to flaunt our happiness when Lauren was in
so much pain. With a nod, he grabbed his briefcase and
disappeared.

I sank back on
the sofa. "Okay, he's gone. Now tell me what happened."

She stretched
her legs out over my lap. I couldn’t help but notice the tiny hole
in her tights just above her left pinky toe with the purple nail
polish shining through.

"Like I said, I
went to the club with the girls. Ally said she was tired of seeing
me moping at school. She told me that I had to go out."

I knew that
Lauren was depressed because of the situation with Joe and had
decided to focus on college. According to Ally, her roommate,
Lauren hardly ever left the room in the two months since they
started school. She constantly studied and never went out for fun.
Ally, although not the most observant of our group, had been
worried.

Lauren sighed,
leaning her arm against the top of the sofa. "Anyway, I had decided
to forget about Joe and enjoy the night. Since Eddie and Lilly are
joined at the hip, he came with us and brought a couple friends. We
were dancing, the music was great, and we were having fun—until I
spotted him. He looked so good. I thought he was going to finally
tell me how he really felt." She frowned, her eyes starting to
water. "And then I saw him holding some blond chick’s hand. When he
noticed us, he turned away and kissed the girl, right in front of
me. Like he was waiting until I saw him. He didn't even come over
and speak to me." She took in a ragged breath. "I was devastated. I
wanted to leave right then, but I drove. I couldn't ruin Ally's
fun."

I placed my
hand on her knee. The words, "You're his mate,” burned on my
tongue. I wanted to tell her so badly that my chest ached. She was
my best friend, and she helped me through one of the hardest times
in my life. Now I knew how she felt when I was pining for Nate, and
she couldn't tell me his secret. I opened my mouth; the words were
itching to be said, until I heard Nate cough in the bedroom. I knew
he could hear everything we'd been saying, and he must have guessed
that it was killing me to see her in so much pain.

"He's a jerk,
and I intend to give him hell." It wasn't what I wanted to say, but
it would have to do for now.

She smiled
sadly. "Thanks, but I don't want him to know he upset me." She
glanced toward the kitchen where our dishes were still out on the
table. "Oh my god. I forgot about the dinner you were planning for
Nate. I'm so sorry. I must be interrupting" She stood up, tossing
the blanket back onto the couch. "I'll leave you guys alone."

I grabbed her
arm, and pulled her back down, the cushions made a pff sound as she
fell into the sofa. "No, you're not going anywhere. Nate and I have
every night to be together. You're only here for the weekend.
Besides, did you leave me the night I was upset at Manic?" I asked,
thinking back to months before when Nate was being as much of a
jerk as Joe.

She shook her
head and smiled softly with her eyes still filled with pain.
"No."

"Exactly. So
you're going to stay the night, and we're going to talk if you want
to, or we can watch a movie. Anything you want." I felt a twinge of
guilt thinking of Nate in the bedroom waiting for me. But I knew he
would understand.

She leaned back
on the couch and reached for the throw again. "Thank you. I really
don't want to be alone." A tear slid down her cheek, it dropped on
the blanket that covered her lap, leaving a wet dot.

"He's just so
confusing. Last week, he was so nice. He took me out to lunch in
between classes, and when we finished eating, he leaned towards me,
and I was sure he was about to kiss me. Of course, he didn't.
Instead, he stood up abruptly and made an excuse that he had to get
back home.”

Joe lived on
the Riley estate in a small house where the gardener used to live.
It was also the former home of my ancestor Lucy, Nate’s first
fiancée, the girl that was killed when Nate was bitten.

"Wait. He went
to see you at school?" I asked, surprised and a little ticked
off.

"Yes, last
Friday. I thought I told you that."

I shook my
head, my anger returning. I had told Joe to stop stringing her
along. I knew it was hard for him to be away from his mate, but
knowing how it felt to be led on, I asked him to leave her alone if
he wasn't going to tell her the truth. He didn’t say anything in
response.

"It doesn't
matter. I have to stop pining for him. He's never going to want
me." Lauren rubbed her eyes.

Instead of
answering, I jumped up rushing to the freezer to get a container of
ice cream. After grabbing two spoons, I settled back on the couch
and we dug in. We stayed up the rest of the night bashing
werewolves.

The soft click
of a door brought me out of my peaceful slumber. I heard the sound
of an engine starting and then driving away. Remembering the night
before, I opened my eyes. I was curled at one end of the couch,
while Lauren was sprawled at the other. My blue duvet I had brought
from home when I moved in four months ago was spread out over us.
Nate must have covered us in the night. As that thought entered my
mind, disappointment settled over me. Our night hadn't gone how
either of us planned, but Lauren was important to us. There was no
way we could have turned her away. As I turned on my side, I heard
the sound of paper crinkling. I sat up and looked around. A piece
of paper was lying on the couch next to me. I opened it and
smiled.

Meg,

Although our
night didn't turn out how we planned, my thoughts continue to drift
to your soft touch and the taste of your skin. I can't wait to pick
up where we left off. Until tonight...

By the way,
thank you for taking care of my cousin.

I love you so
much,

Nate

I held the
paper to my heart and sighed. Happiness swelled in my chest. God, I
loved him. I couldn't wait to tell everyone that we were
engaged.

I stumbled off
of the couch, trying to avoid waking Lauren, and headed to the
bedroom. I called my financial advisor and then the executer of my
inheritance. It was my grandmother’s lawyer and old family friend.
When I told him that I wanted to buy the house and what I wanted it
for, he told me he was proud of me and would take care of it. He
said it would be mine by the end of the day. I was so excited; I
was humming when I hopped in the shower.

“Hey, Meg. I'm
sorry I dumped all over you last night. But I had no one else to
talk to.” Lauren’s voice came from right outside the shower
stall.

I popped my
head out of the curtain. My long, strawberry-blond hair appeared
dark brown since it was soaking wet, and it dripped onto the tiled
floor. "Stop apologizing. I told you it was fine. I'm here for you
anytime."

She smiled,
looking much better than she had last night despite her bed-head
and smudged makeup. "Does that mean I can borrow your jeans?"

Closing the
curtain, I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair. "Sure, take what
you want. We have to be at the shelter in a couple of hours, and I
still have to clean up the dishes from last night."

"Nate must have
done that. Because the table’s clean and so is the sink." I could
see her silhouette through the curtain. She was sitting on the
closed toilet seat.

I hadn't
noticed the table as I walked by earlier. I was too busy replaying
my time with Nate before Lauren showed up.

Once I finished
my shower, I stood in front of the mirror and pulled out the blow
dryer. When I turned it on and tipped my head, exposing the right
side of my neck, I noticed a red mark.

“Is that a
hickey?” Lauren asked, walking up behind me in a borrowed robe and
a towel hanging over her arm.

My face turned
fiery red. I was so embarrassed. “Uh…” I rubbed the mark and felt
puckered skin. “No, I don’t think so. It feels more like a
scratch.”

Lauren smirked
at me with a hand on her hip. “I interrupted something last night,
didn’t I?”

If I thought my
face felt like it was on fire before, I now felt like it was about
to explode. I turned on the dryer, effectively ending the
conversation. She rolled her eyes and hopped into the shower.

How did Nate
scratch my neck? He had nibbled a few times, but I didn’t feel
anything more. Although with all the sensations that were swirling
around in my head, I was lucky that I could remember my name let
alone notice what he was doing. Since the idea of asking him about
it made my face flame again, I figured I’d just drop it.

When I finished
my hair and makeup, I stood in the closet looking for some clothes
to wear. Even though the weather had been warm for the end of
October, there was still a slight chill in the morning. With that
in mind, I chose a long gray short-sleeved sweater and black
tights. Just as I was finishing up, Lauren walked out of the
washroom. Steam billowed out, along with the scent of my raspberry
shampoo. She was wearing a towel turban on her head.

I tossed her a
pair of my jeans and a blue silk blouse so we wouldn't have to stop
by her house, not that it was far—it was just up the driveway.
Nate's cottage was located by the lake at the back of the Rileys'
property. His father had built it for him after he was turned into
a werewolf to hide his visits from the town. Everyone thought he
was away at college and eventually dead. They had to lie because he
would no longer age.

"I won't be
long," Lauren assured me, heading back into the bathroom.

"No worries," I
answered absently, noticing the ring box on my night stand. I
opened the lid and grinned. It was just as beautiful as I
remembered. The main diamond was a princess cut with smaller stones
lining the band. At the sound of Lauren moving around in the
bathroom, I quickly closed the box and tucked it into my drawer. I
wasn't ready to tell her yet. I held the pendant I was wearing
around my neck in my hand and admired the blue-green gem. It was so
beautiful, and the diamonds surrounding it sparkled in the sun that
shone through the window. The fact that it had once belonged to my
ancestor made it even more special. I had worn the silver necklace
ever since he gave it to me, only taking it off at night to avoid
burning Nate in his sleep. I had learned months ago that silver
burned a werewolf’s skin, and a silver bullet was the only way to
kill one. That was how we got rid of Rowan.