Gabriel's Mate (16 page)

Ricky grinned. “Don’t worry about that. I have a special gift.”

Another vampire with a special gift?

Gabriel smiled at her. “He’s right. Ricky can dispel doubts in people. That’s why he’s so good at his job. Whenever somebody raises doubts, Ricky uses his gift to make them disappear. It’s a little like mind control, but it works on anybody, even vampires. And it’s helped us many times to get difficult situations under control and avoid mass panics.”

“But won’t they notice when you’re doing it?” Maya worried.

“That’s the beauty of Ricky’s gift,” Gabriel answered for the other vampire, “they won’t even notice it’s happening.”

“That’s right. So don’t even worry about it,” Ricky said calmly and took the piece of paper. “I’ll keep you guys posted.”

“Thanks, Ricky, I really appreciate it,” Gabriel said and shook Ricky’s hand while Maya still tried to process the news. It appeared all vampires had some sort of special gift to cope with their lot. Gabriel could see other people’s memories, Ricky could dispel doubts. Did Thomas and Yvette have special gifts too? And Zane? Would she develop one too?

A moment later, Ricky was gone. She was alone with Gabriel. She was hot and found it difficult to breathe. She wanted to talk to him about what had happened.  To get answers.  But she’d felt something creeping up on her earlier. Now she recognized it for what it was.

The fever was coming back.

***

Maya stood in the middle of the kitchen looking like a deer about to bolt. Gabriel wondered whether he’d scared her so badly with his behavior that she couldn’t stand being alone with him. He wanted to make it up to her, but he didn’t know where to start. He was afraid that whatever he’d say would be the wrong thing.

“Are you thirsty?” he asked, trying to stamp out the silence between them.

“No. I’m fine. I’m not hungry.” Was she truly not hungry yet, or was she denying herself because she didn’t want to feed off him in such an intimate setting?

“You can feed off my wrist instead of my neck if that makes you more comfortable,” he offered. It would be less intimate, but still create the same arousal in him as well as in her.

Maya turned toward the door.  “I’m not hungry. I’m not feeling great right now. Maybe I’m coming down with something.”

He stopped her when she opened the door. “Coming down with something? Maya, I told you, vampires don’t get sick.” Did she have to lie so blatantly just to get out of his presence?

“Well, I don’t know about other vampires, but I’m feeling lousy, so, if you don’t mind, I’d like to lie down.” Without another glance at him she walked out of the kitchen.

He took two steps and followed her into the hallway where he watched her walk up the stairs. Shit, he’d truly screwed it up with her. He should explain things to her, tell her that whatever she was thinking of him was probably wrong. Of course, he didn’t have the faintest idea what she was thinking. But he could guess. After coming out of her arousal when Yvette had interrupted them, she probably felt disgusted with him.

“Gabriel,” Thomas’ voice came from the study.

He turned and responded, “Yes? Anything on the phone records?”

“Unfortunately, AT&T is having a problem with their servers—they’ve taken them down for emergency maintenance. I can’t get into them right now. Could take as long as twelve hours they’re estimating.”

“Damn,” Gabriel cursed.

“But we’ve examined the medical files.”

Gabriel walked to the study where Thomas stood in the door frame. He closed the door behind them. “What did you find?”

Thomas shook his head, frustration clearly written on his face. “Nothing. See for yourself. They are both as clean as a whistle. No genetic defects. Maya can’t have inherited it from her parents.”

Thomas stepped aside to let Gabriel look at the computer. He scrolled through the file, scanning page after page. Maya’s father had had a few broken bones, an appendix operation, but nothing else. Her mother’s file was a bit denser, but nothing struck him as odd. Some allergies, the occasional infection, some notes by an OB-GYN, a broken ankle.

Gabriel slammed his fist on the desk in frustration. “How can that be?”

Thomas shrugged. “Not sure. The doc can’t explain it either. He was certain it had to be inherited. Maybe a birth defect?”

Gabriel looked back at her mother’s file. “Let me see what the OB-GYN says here.” He skimmed through the notes, until it hit him. It couldn’t be, but it was right there. “Her mother had a hysterectomy.”

“Cancer?”

“Yes.”

“The chemo could have done something to Maya,” Thomas mused.

Gabriel looked at the date of the notes and suddenly stared at Thomas. “She had her uterus removed
before
Maya’s birth. Maya isn’t her daughter.”

A stunned Thomas exhaled sharply. “Adopted?”

Gabriel considered it. Back over thirty years ago, surrogacy wasn’t as prevalent as today, which meant her father probably wasn’t her biological father either. “Most likely.” As he said it, he remembered the photos in Maya’s living room. “I should have figured it out earlier. I saw pictures of her parents. They looked nothing like her. Maya’s skin is so much darker—her parents are both blonde and of a much lighter complexion. There’s no way she could be their biological daughter.”

He looked straight at Thomas. “We have to find her real parents. Only then can we figure out what’s wrong with her.”

“I think we might have to ask her whether she knows that she’s adopted.”

Gabriel shook his head. “Let’s wait on that. Check the adoption records first. Start with Social Services and see what you can dig up. I don’t want to tell her about her genetic abnormality yet—she’s got enough to worry about. Promise me you won’t mention anything.”

“Your choice, Gabriel, but you’ll have to tell her eventually. And between you and me, the sooner the better. Women don’t like it when they think they’ve been lied to.”

“What suddenly makes you an expert on women?”

Thomas shrugged. “Common sense.” After a brief pause, he added, “And you might also want to tell her how you feel about her instead of moping about.”

Gabriel snorted. Was it that obvious what he felt? And if Thomas had noticed, did that mean Maya had noticed too? Was that why she was avoiding him? Did she not want his attention? “I don’t remember asking for your advice on my private life.”

His colleague grinned. “Prerogative of a gay man.”

“And besides, there’s nothing between me and her.” Who was he kidding?

“Uh-huh,” Thomas answered.

Fourteen

Gabriel didn’t want to sleep. It was midmorning and most vampires would be in their beds. Instead, he sat in the armchair in the living room, staring into the low fire crackling in the fireplace. Maya hadn’t called to feed off him. He’d listened for her, figuring she would be thirsty by now, but she hadn’t asked for him. He guessed she was mad at him. He had to do something about it, but he didn’t know what.

He’d used her vulnerability and exploited it without concern for her wellbeing. As if she didn’t have enough to deal with as a new vampire. She shouldn’t have to fight off a horny vampire who wanted nothing more than to get into her pants.

Why had he suddenly become so aggressive in his sex life? All these years, he’d never had a problem keeping himself in check. He’d never truly pursued a woman before. It had never mattered. Yes, he’d always wanted a companion, a woman to hold, a woman to have sex with, but he’d been okay with taking what he could get and paying for the rest.

Of course, the loneliness had started getting to him, and that’s why he’d contacted Drake, but while there had been a desire to get rid of the ugly deformity, there’d never been this urgency before. Now he couldn’t wait to be rid of the darn thing for one reason, and one reason only: so he could go to Maya as a real man and woo her. Of course, there was still the ugly scar on his face.

A woman like Maya could do much better than taking a man like him. Once she had adjusted to her new life, she would have all kinds of offers from eligible vampires in the city. If he didn’t make a play for her now, he’d have even less of a chance later when all the competition kicked in.

He had to try now. A small glimmer of hope had sparked when she’d responded so passionately in the study. He hoped it hadn’t all been due to the feeding. Maybe there was a tiny sliver of attraction she felt for him. Or why accept his demand for a kiss at all? He couldn’t give up his fight for her as long as he could cling to this tiny spec of hope.

Gabriel closed his eyes and imagined what it would be like to feel Maya’s love, to know she cared for him. He knew he was torturing himself by daydreaming like this, but he couldn’t let go, not when it filled his heart with warmth and pride. It was all a dream: to call a woman like Maya his own, to love her day and night, to live with her, share a home, to laugh together.

It was fate that had brought them together, and while he was reluctant to believe in fate, he wanted to believe that they were meant to meet, because he’d realized one thing: he was falling in love with a woman too beautiful, yet perfect for him in every way.

A soft knock at the front door made him snap his head around. Who would be coming to a vampire’s home during daylight? It had to be a human. Gabriel stood and walked to the door. He sniffed. Or a witch.

He looked through the spy hole and knew it was Miss LeBlanc, the witch who’d only a short while ago leveled a crossbow at him. It appeared that this time she was unarmed.

“You gonna open the door, vampire, or shall I leave?” she said through the door.

How could she tell he was watching her?

“I’ll unlock it. Then count to three and come in. I’ll be in the first room to your left.”

Gabriel flipped the lock and stepped back into the living room, closing the door behind him, so the light from outside wouldn’t penetrate into the darkened room. Not only were the front windows made of a special tinted glass, light drapes covered them and while they didn’t shut out all light, it was dark enough to be safe for a vampire.

A moment later, he heard the door open. When she joined him in the living room, he pointed toward the sofa. She looked less imposing today, unarmed as she was. Dressed in a business suit, she could have fooled anybody that she was some ordinary human. If he had to guess, he would have put her age at mid-thirties. She was attractive and to his surprise, a smile curled around her mouth.

“This is definitely a first.” She looked around the room. “So, this is how you guys live.”

“The house belongs to my boss. And, no, we don’t live in caves or sleep in coffins.”

“Pleasantries aside, I believe you know why I’m here.”

He nodded. “You’ll help me with my problem.”

“You said you would give me anything I wanted.”

Gabriel cringed. He’d said it, and he would keep his word. Now the question was, what did she want? “So I did.”

“Drake mentioned your gift.”

“Figured he couldn’t keep that little piece of information to himself. What happened to patient-doctor confidentiality?”

She gave a little snort. “I’m not here to talk about Drake and his ethics.” She paused. “Or lack thereof.”

“Fair enough. What can I do for you?” As if he didn’t already know.

“The use of your gift. One time only.”

He nodded and hoped whatever she would do with the memories he extracted from her victim wouldn’t cause pain to anybody.

“Good, then we’re in agreement. Now, to your problem. Tell me what’s so important that you want to deal with the likes of my kind.” She leaned forward on the sofa and looked at him expectantly.

Gabriel swallowed hard. This would be embarrassing.

***

Maya threw the bedcovers off. The place was stifling hot. Her red silk nightgown clung to her damp skin. Tiny rivulets of sweat formed, starting on her throat and running down between her breasts.

She knew it was the fever, but she’d hoped as a vampire she wouldn’t be ill anymore. Hadn’t Gabriel told her that vampires didn’t get sick? Yet the fever was gripping her again, and this time it was worse than it had ever been. Her skin was hot to the touch, her insides were burning already, and it had only started an hour ago. She’d felt it creeping up on her during the conversation with Ricky and Gabriel and had hoped it would stop. But it hadn’t.

She had to do something about it, had to cool her body down so she wouldn’t burn up. With shaking legs she stumbled out of bed. Every step she took ached and contributed to the heat in her body as if adding fuel to the fire. Her head spun as she tried to focus on the bathroom door. A cold shower—she had to take a cold shower.

Another step and another brought her closer to the bathroom, but her instinct told her it wouldn’t work. Deep down she knew what her body needed and craved. She’d always known, but never wanted to admit it.

The fevers made her crave a man’s touch. Ever since the fevers had begun when she was thirteen, all she’d been able to think of was having a man touch her, kiss her, fuck her. She’d never given into it, and always made it through her pain. The doctors hadn’t been able to explain it and written it off to some exotic virus she might have picked up somewhere—like malaria. Yet, she’d never been anywhere, and blood tests had come back negative.

Her own research into her condition had ended in a dead end. And the fevers continued several times a year. Sometimes mild, sometimes stronger. And they were always accompanied by cravings for sex.

This time it was worse. She knew now that there was only one man who could douse the fire in her body: Gabriel. Her body didn’t listen to her brain anymore and changed direction. Instead of continuing to the bathroom where cold water beckoned, her shaking legs carried her toward the door of the bedroom.

Her breathing sped up. She needed more and more oxygen to make her body work. It wasn’t enough. She wouldn’t make it, not this time.

Maya reached for the door handle, turned it and pulled. Black blotches appeared in front of her eyes, and she lost her balance as the door swung toward her.

***