Can't Fight The Moonlight (Whisper Lake Book 3)

by Barbara Freethy

  "What's going on?" Lizzie demanded as she reached the group first.

  The woman turned her face into the light. "He saw me, and he passed out," she said.

  Lizzie sucked in a breath. "Oh, my God! Alice? Is it you?"

  Chapter Fourteen

  Justin could not believe that Noah's long-lost love had just appeared, the way Noah had always thought she would. It had been ten years, and now she'd come back. No wonder Noah had passed out cold. Hopefully he hadn't had a heart attack. "Should I call 911?" he asked, pulling out his phone.

  "What's going on?" Carlos Rodriguez asked, as he came out of the adjoining room. "Is he all right?"

  "He's waking up," Patty said, as Noah opened his eyes.

  Noah gave Patty a bemused look. "What happened?"

  "You don't remember?" Patty asked. "There was a knock on the door, and you opened it."

  Noah's gaze moved past Patty and connected with Alice. His eyes widened, and he struggled to sit up. "Am I dreaming?" he asked. "Is it you?"

  "It's me, Noah. I came back." Alice's gaze took in the couple in front of her. "Maybe I shouldn't have. You're with someone else now. I should have guessed you would be. I should go."

  "Hold on." Noah struggled to his feet. "You can't leave, Alice. I've been coming here every year for ten years."

  "I didn't really believe you'd be here," she said. "It has been so long. I thought you would have forgotten about me."

  "Never. How could I?"

  "This is crazy, isn't it?" she murmured, as the two locked eyes.

  Justin didn't think they were even aware of anyone but each other. He could not believe Alice had come back to find Noah, that the old man hadn't been as crazy as he'd thought.

  "I've thought about you many times over the years," Alice said. "But I wasn't free."

  "Are you now?" Noah asked.

  "Yes. At last."

  "At last," Noah echoed.

  As they went into each other's arms, Patty cleared her throat. "I'm going back to my room, not that anyone cares."

  He could see the pain in her eyes before she walked away.

  Lizzie gave him a helpless look. "I need to go after her. I know she's just my guest, but—"

  "She's in pain," he finished. "Go."

  "I'm sorry, Justin."

  "Don't be."

  As Lizzie hurried down the hall, he saw Noah and Alice exchange a kiss. Noah had waited over a decade for Alice. He could wait a little while longer for Lizzie.

  On his way back to his room, he was stopped by several guests, who wanted to know what was going on. He reassured them all, including his grandparents, who had come up from their room on the second floor after having heard a loud thud. Most were excited for Noah, having heard his story or at least parts of it. The incredibly romantic reunion got everyone talking.

  It took him almost an hour to extricate himself from the other guests, plenty of time for his blood to cool and his pulse to slow down. But when he got back to his room and flopped down on the bed, thoughts of what had almost happened with Lizzie brought his temperature right back up. She was clearly taking her time with Patty, and he doubted she'd come back to him when she was done.

  For better or worse, the moment between them had passed, and he doubted he was going to get another such moment.

  Unless he went to her. There was nothing stopping him from doing that. But he felt a little like Noah now, like it was up to Lizzie to come back to him.

  That was crazy. He didn't wait for what he wanted.

  Maybe he was waiting, because he wasn't sure that what he wanted was what he should have. There was incredible chemistry between him and Lizzie. And he wanted to take her to bed more than he wanted to do anything else. But what about after?

  Damn! He never thought about after, not when it came to sex. What was happening to him?

  An odd creaking sound brought him into a sitting position. The rocking chair in the corner moved back and forth, a gentle rocking motion. He frowned. The window was closed. He didn't feel a breeze. But there it went again, rocking back and forth. It had to be a vibration from the floor or the wall or the heating system—something.

  He got up and walked around the room, searching for some breezy spot that would make the chair move, but he couldn't feel a thing. The chair was no longer rocking, but he couldn't stop staring at it. He looked at it so long that his eyes began to blur. He felt like he was seeing the shadow of someone.

  He was losing his mind. There was no ghost in his room. He didn't believe in ghosts. Not anymore.

  That caveat reminded him that a long time ago, he'd desperately wanted to believe. He'd wanted a sign. He'd wanted to know there was more out there, that there was a life beyond this one. But he'd never ever gotten a sign. And he'd stopped looking for one.

  He walked into the bathroom and brushed his teeth, then took off his clothes and got into bed. He snapped off the bedside lamp and slid under the covers. The sheets felt cold. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but fifteen minutes later, he knew that wasn't going to happen. The rocking chair had started rocking again, and the creak was making him crazy.

  Turning on the light, he grabbed his computer off the nightstand. He wouldn't sleep; he'd work. That was the one constant in his life. And he almost immediately felt better when he started digging into the latest testing report on their newest robotics device. Numbers and charts always helped him focus on what mattered. He concentrated on that instead of the rocking chair, instead of the woman he'd almost taken to bed, instead of the reunion going on downstairs.

  "You must think I'm crazy to be so upset," Patty told Lizzie as they sat at a small table in Patty's room.

  "Not at all," Lizzie said, as Patty blew her nose again. The tears had finally stopped, but now Patty just looked miserable.

  "I barely know Noah. And I've been aware from the first minute we met that he was in love with someone else. It's not like this was a surprise. I knew he was waiting for Alice, desperate to have her show up. I just didn't think it would happen."

  "I don't think any of us did, not even Noah," she said. "I still can't believe it."

  "It's a good thing," Patty said, trying to sound positive. "Noah has been waiting a long time. I've never met anyone so devoted to someone who they weren't married to, who they'd only spent a week with. But Noah just kept telling me that love isn't defined by time. It just is. It's there when it's there. You can't force it. You can't fight it. You just have to decide whether you want to accept it or not."

  Patty's words made her think about Justin, about the decision she'd made to sleep with him. If not for Alice's sudden appearance, they'd be in bed together now. She would have taken a step she couldn’t take back. And she probably would have loved every second of it. But now that they weren't kissing, she could see how fast she'd been running toward the edge of a cliff. Maybe it was good she'd had a chance to rethink. Or maybe it wouldn't matter, because she could still feel a tingle run down her spine every time she thought of Justin. Whether she slept with him or not, she didn't believe she was ever going to forget him.

  "What do you think, Lizzie?"

  She suddenly realized that she'd lost track of the conversation. "I'm sorry, Patty. What did you say?"

  "Should I leave now or in the morning?"

  "Definitely not now. It's late, and you don't want to drive through the mountains in the dark."

  "That's true. It's just difficult to sit in this room and think about what's going on two doors down." She paused. "Noah kissed me earlier. It was really nice. I was feeling very close to him. But he's not mine. He belongs to Alice, and I need to go back to my life and stop pretending otherwise."

  "I wish I could help" Her heart went out to Patty, who had clearly fallen for Noah.

  "You are helping. You're sitting here listening to me when I'm sure you have lots of other things to do. Or maybe you'd just like to go to bed."

  "I'll get there. I don't mind hanging out with you."

  "Reall
y? You wouldn't rather be spending time with Justin? You two seem to be together whenever I see you."

  "We've become friends."

  "Perhaps more than friends?"

  "Haven't gotten there yet."

  "But you like him."

  "I wish I didn't."

  Patty gave her a weak smile. "We can't choose who we love, and Justin is very handsome."

  "I don't love him, but he is handsome. I get that nervous feeling every time I see him."

  Patty gave her a knowing smile. "I feel the same way when I see Noah. But I think his heart only flutters for Alice. What about Justin? Is he available?"

  "He's single. I don't know that he's really available, though. He's very guarded when it comes to his feelings. I think maybe he's been hurt by someone, but I don't know. He hasn't opened up. I hit a wall every time I get close. Clearly, he doesn't trust me enough to share his truth. How can I like someone who can't really talk to me?"

  "Because you see the shadows in his eyes. You know there's pain somewhere."

  "I believe that's true. He said he loves to run, and I can't help think he's running away from something. Maybe that's also why he buries himself in work."

  "He doesn't want time to think."

  "No, he likes to move fast."

  "Do you bury yourself in work because you're running from something?" Patty asked.

  She frowned at the question. "I'm just busy. I'm building a business."

  "Is that all it is?"

  She thought for a moment. "Maybe I am trying to outrun my insecurities." She shrugged. "Justin and I are two workaholics, for whatever reason. That's also probably a recipe for disaster."

  "You're both passionate. Nothing wrong with that," Patty said. "My husband and I were both passionate about what we did, too. Rick was a musician, and I was a baker. We met when he came into my bakery to buy chocolate eclairs for someone in the band who was having a birthday." Patty's voice softened. "He said he saw me with flour on my nose and the heat of the oven on my cheeks, and he fell hard."

  "What did you think of him?"

  "I was a bit intimidated by his tattoos, but he was the sexiest man I'd ever met. I was twenty-two years old and he was only six months older. My parents didn't like him at all. And he was traveling a lot. It shouldn't have worked, but it did. We made it work. We were too in love not to. We got married five years after we first met, and we were together for twenty-six years after that until he passed away. That was eight years ago." Patty took a breath. "I didn't think I'd ever meet anyone who could make me feel love again. But Noah did that. I don't know how, but he did. I guess I should be grateful for that. Now I know that I have the capacity to love someone else. If it's not Noah, maybe there will be another man."

  "I think there will be," she said, with a reassuring smile.

  "But my point for you, Lizzie—if you like Justin, don't let him get away. Break down his walls, be a little pushy, don't take no for an answer. Give love a chance."

  "It's not love. It's probably just lust."

  Patty smiled. "That's not so bad, either."

  She grinned. "Thanks, Patty. I came here to make you feel better, and you turned the tables on me."

  "I always wanted a daughter, but kids were not in the cards for me. It's nice to give someone younger a little advice, even if you don't take it."

  "It was good advice. I think you would have made a great mom."

  "Thanks. I'm going to go to bed and try to get some sleep before I leave in the morning."

  Lizzie got to her feet. "Can I offer you one piece of advice?"

  "I think that's only fair."

  "Don't leave without talking to Noah. Whatever happens with him and Alice, you need to say good-bye, and I think he does, too."

  "I'll consider it. I just feel a bit foolish."

  "If you were being a fool, so was he."

  She left Patty's room and walked down the hall, pausing by Noah's door. She could hear the murmur of voices, but she couldn't hear exactly what they were saying. It was sad that Noah's dream coming true had hurt Patty, but she had to admit there was something incredibly moving about his reunion with Alice. Ten years had passed but neither one had forgotten the promise they had made to each other. That was something.

  When she got to the stairs, she hesitated once more. She could go to Justin's room, or she could return to her apartment. Before she could question her decision, she jogged up the stairs and knocked on Justin's door. Her heart was beating out of her chest. She hoped she was making the right choice. A minute ticked by. She couldn't hear any sound coming from within the room. She knocked once more. No answer.

  It was only eleven, but maybe he was asleep. He probably hadn't thought she'd come back. It had been almost two hours since she'd left him. She waited one more moment and then walked away, telling herself it was just as well. She'd probably just avoided a huge mistake, but she couldn't shake the disappointment that followed her down the stairs.

  Justin had just turned off the light when he heard her knock. He knew it was her, even though she didn't say anything. And there was a very big part of him that wanted to answer that door, but he'd spent the last hour convincing himself that he should stay away from her.

  Sitting up, he stared at the door, heard the second knock. Dammit. He really wasn't good at being noble, at trying to protect someone's heart. But Lizzie was different.

  And then he heard her footsteps as she moved down the hall.

  His heart was racing, but she was gone. He'd let her go because he didn't want to have regrets or for her to have any, but right now that's all he was feeling.

  He laid back down, staring once more at the ceiling, at the slight beams of moonlight creeping through the parted curtains.

  Lizzie had looked so pretty in the moonlight when they'd been at the lake, when they'd been on the roof. But she'd also looked pretty in the daylight, running up the hills with him, sailing across the lake, the wind in her hair, the sun on her face.

  He closed his eyes, wishing he could forget her, but her image still floated through his brain. He stopped fighting it and just let himself remember her smile, her laugh, the way she played with the end of her hair when she was thinking, the kindness in her eyes when she'd dealt with Patty, the laughter and joy she had with her friends, the sexy, sultry look she'd given him right before they kissed.

  The images flew around in his head. He couldn't stop them from coming so he didn't even try. If he couldn't have her, maybe he could just dream about her. Perhaps that would be enough.

  Fifteen minutes later, it wasn't enough.

  He got out of bed, turned on the light, threw on his clothes, and headed down to the first floor.

  He knocked on her door, and a moment later, she answered.

  They stared at each other for a long minute, and then she took his hand and pulled him into her apartment, where the passion between them exploded. He backed her up against the wall as he kissed her, his hands sliding down her body to her hips.

  She slipped her hands under his shirt, and he sucked in a breath as her touch on his back made him shiver. But he wasn't cold. There was nothing but heat between them.

  He moved away from her mouth to kiss her neck. A whisper of delight came from her lips as his tongue slid along her collarbone. She was so sweet. Her scent surrounded him. Every breath he took was her. He went back in for another kiss and then pulled her away from the wall, so he could lift the hem of her top and pull it over her head.

  She shook out her hair as her top fell to the ground and gave him a sultry look as his gaze shifted to her breasts, delightfully spilling out of her lacy pink bra. He cupped her breasts with his hands as their mouths came together once more. Her soft curves drove him mad. He loved the lace, but he wanted to feel nothing but skin.

  When she reached for the back clasp of her bra, he took a quick second to pull off his own shirt, while she slipped the straps down her shoulders, and they moved together in a delicious friction of heat. The
ir jeans and underwear came off next and then Lizzie grabbed his hand and pulled him into her bedroom, making a stop in the bathroom to grab a condom.

  He'd almost forgotten, and he never forgot something as important as protection, but this woman was making him more than a little crazy.

  They kissed their way to the bed, falling onto the soft mattress in passionate abandon. He wanted to go slow, but he couldn't, especially not with Lizzie's mouth and hands on his body. She might have been reluctant to take this step, but now that they were here, she was all in. She made love with the same passion, energy, and generosity that she brought to everything else in her life. She was beautiful and sexy as hell, and it had never felt this right before.

  He tried to hang on to some kind of control, but that was a battle he couldn't win, because he was quickly losing himself in her, and what an amazing feeling that was. She encouraged him to let go, and he did. They flew together, so high, so fast, so deep, so…everything.

  It was a long while before he came back down to earth…

  But she was there, and so was he. They wrapped their arms around each other and held on.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lizzie had no words.

  Her heart was still pounding, her body tingling, every nerve ending on fire. Muscles she hadn't known she had were aching in such a delicious way, and she didn't want the feelings to end. She wanted to stay right here in Justin's arms, in this moment, forever. Or as long as possible, she quickly amended, knowing forever was probably out of the question. But she wasn't going to think about that now.

  How could she worry about the future with the most perfect male body next to hers? And why would she want to?

  Justin's arms tightened around her back, and she lifted her gaze to his. His blue eyes were dark and shadowy, his sexy mouth full and inviting, and she couldn’t help but kiss him again. There wasn't a desperate passion to this kiss, but rather an intimate affection.

  He smiled. "That was nice."

  "I thought you didn't like it when I described our first kiss as nice."