Vampire Trouble (15 page)

“I'm so tired, Shane,” she whispered, running the edge of the cloth between her fingers. “My body…my soul.” She sniffled and he knew she was crying. Unable to stop himself, he ran his hand gently down the length of her ponytail and wrapped the silky ends around his finger while she spoke. “I'm tired of being afraid, and sometimes I think Olivia should have just left me in that alley. Everyone would be a lot better off. Including me.”

“I wouldn't,” he murmured, reaching around her and placing his hand over hers along the edge of the fabric. She stilled and allowed her body to sag ever so slightly and lean against his, but she didn't let go. He kissed the top of her head gently. “And neither would you. If Olivia hadn't turned you that night, I may never have found you.”

“You would be much better off without me in your life.” She swiped at her eyes and her frustration rose. “You would be going about your business as a sentry, doing the job you love instead of babysitting a troublemaker like me and getting into fights with werewolves.” Maya let go of the fabric and spun to face him. With her blue eyes flashing angrily, she shoved at him with both hands. “You should leave. I mean it. Get away from me, Shane. Go back to New York.”

“No.” Shane didn't move. Maya was a vampire and she was strong, but he was older and stronger and knew exactly what she was trying to do. “I will not.”

“Don't you get it?” she shouted. “I'm no good, Shane. I was a terrible human being, and now I'm a hot fucking mess of a vampire. I'm defective merchandise.”

“Oh really?” Shane folded his arms over his chest and raised one eyebrow at her foolishness. “If I recall correctly, you don't exactly have a clear memory of your human life. So what makes you say that?”

Maya's jaw set and her lips quivered while she fought the tears and struggled to get the words out.

“No one came looking for me,” she said in a barely audible whisper. When he gave her a quizzical look, she continued. “After that night in the alley, I vanished from the human world, Shane, and no one came to find me… Nobody cared enough about who I was to even report me missing.” Her eyes filled with tears, and when one fat drop fell down her cheek, something inside him crumbled. Weeping, she sat on the edge of the bed looking at her intertwined fingers and murmured, “It's like the world was relieved that I was gone.”

Resting her elbows on her knees, she put her face in her hands and sobbed. Shane stared at her for a moment, uncertain of exactly what to do. Watching the woman who was destined to be his bloodmate weeping deep, soul-shredding tears was not something he could slice with silver or wipe out with ultraviolet ammunition.

Viciousness and calculated death-dealing were things he was comfortable with. Crying and emotions were not.

Shane did the only thing he could think of. He dropped the other bag on the floor, then removed his long sentry coat and draped it over the foot of the bed before sitting down next to Maya. Without a word, he wrapped one arm over her shoulder, gently pulled her down onto the bed, and lay back, cradling her body against his. He held her there while she cried, her tears beading off the shirt of his sentry uniform in what seemed like a never-ending ocean.

“Sleep, Maya,” he murmured softly. “Sleep, my love, and I promise that I will come looking for you.”

***

It
was
happening
again.

Maya
whimpered
when
her
attacker
dug
his
fingers
into
her
bicep
and
tried
to
smother
her
mouth
with
unwanted
kisses. His alcohol-soaked breath filled her head and made her stomach churn in protest. She shook her head and pushed his face away with her hands, but he was too strong. Her knees gave out and she squeezed her eyes shut as he started dragging her toward the frightening darkness of the alley—and that's when she heard Shane.

You have the control, Maya.
Shane's powerful baritone rumbled through the air around her.
He can't hurt you anymore, and you can stop this.
A
whisper
fluttered
in
her
ear
like
a
caress
. Show him, Maya.
Maya's eyes flicked open, and looking past the shoulder of her attacker, she saw Shane. He stood on the sidewalk, his leather coat flapping in the breeze, looking like the angel of death. He lifted his lip, bared his sharp, white fangs, and growled,
Show him who you are.

Maya
gasped
the
instant
her
gaze
locked
with
Shane, and every ounce of rage, frustration, and fury simmered through her body and boiled to the surface. Maya's fangs hummed and vibrated. A primal scream built in her chest, and when the sound ripped from her throat, her fangs erupted.

As
the
brute's hands held her tighter and his thin lips tried to capture hers, he rasped,
I own your ass.

NO!
Maya
ripped
her
arms
free
from
his
grasp, causing her rapist to stumble back and stare at her with white-hot fear. With fangs bared and unnatural speed, she grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around, and pinned him up against the brick wall of the club. His thin lips quivered and sweat broke out on his upper lip as he fought to understand what he was looking at
. No more!
Maya
shouted
.

Then, as if by magic, her attacker vanished in a swirl of smoke and the world around her grew quiet. Shaking from a feeling of victory, as opposed to fear, a huge smile cracked Maya's face and the sun in the dream- scape began to rise with time-lapse speed. Smiling, she tilted her face toward the brightening sky and a familiar voice wafted over her shoulder.

I told you I'd come looking for you.

Shane.
His
name
escaped
her
lips
in
an
almost
reverent
tone. She spun around and saw him standing on the sidewalk across the street. She started to walk toward him but stopped short and looked down at what she was wearing. For the first time since the nightmare replayed itself, Maya wasn't wearing the outfit on the night she was attacked. Instead, she was clad in the borrowed sentry uniform.
It's over, isn't it?
She
looked
back
at
Shane, and holding his stare, she walked over to meet him in the middle of the empty city street.

Maya
squeezed
her
eyes
shut
and
linked
her
arms
tightly
around
Shane's neck, hugging him as though she may not get another chance, and to her great delight, he returned the embrace. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and he lifted her off her feet. She smiled as his rich, wild, male scent filled her head in an almost dizzying way. Maya felt utterly and totally safe.
You made it stop.

No, youngling.
Shane
put
her
back
on
her
feet, cradled her face in his hands, and brushed his lips over hers with heartbreaking tenderness. He whispered,
You did.

The heavy fog of sleep lifted, and Maya slowly began to register the sensations and sounds seeping into her conscious mind bit by bit. For a moment, she was disoriented and struggled to remember where she was. Shane's familiar scent filled her head, and a smile curved her lips. They were in Lottie Fogg's attic, and he'd held her as she cried herself to sleep.

Her eyes fluttered open. She remembered what had happened in the dreamscape, and her smile grew wider. The last thing she recalled was what Shane had said: “No youngling, you did.” Was he right? Had she finally found a way to make the nightmares stop? Was standing up to the memory of what happened the secret to freedom? She sure as hell hoped so, especially if waking up in Shane's arms was part of the deal.

She nestled deeper into his strong embrace and draped one leg over his, her hand resting on his flat, muscular stomach. Her head lay comfortably on his shoulder, his arm curled around her, holding her close. It was the first time she could recall ever sleeping with a man, and as she remained cuddled up against him, Maya thought this was the most intimate moment of her life…and they were still fully clothed.

Just as Maya was about to ask Shane if he was awake, his hand found its way to her thigh and pulled her leg farther over his. He kissed the top of her head. “Good afternoon, youngling.”

“Afternoon?” Maya lifted her head and could see glimmers of light behind the makeshift drapes that were keeping out the damaging sunlight. She frowned. “That's weird. I've never woken up before sunset.”

“It's at least another hour or so until the sun goes down.” Shane's body tightened against hers, and his fingers brushed featherlight strokes along her arm. “You could try to go back to sleep and see if the nightmare has stopped.”

“I suppose I could do that,” Maya murmured, laying her head back on his shoulder and making tiny circles on his belly with her fingertip. The edge of his shirt had come untucked from his pants and exposed a strip of flesh. Unable to resist, Maya ran her fingers back and forth over his skin, which evoked a groan from Shane. The vibrations rumbled beneath her cheek as she slipped her hand beneath his shirt and rested her palm against the rippled muscles of his abdomen. “Any other suggestions?”

“There's only one that comes to mind,” he murmured as his hand, curled in the crook of her knee, pulled her leg up higher. His other hand grasped the elastic of her ponytail and gently took it off before he tangled his strong fingers in her hair and massaged her scalp. “But I'd like to know what you want, Maya.”

Maya's eyes fluttered closed while his fingertips whispered over the back of her head, his other hand drifting up the side of her thigh before resting on the swell of her hip. She knew what she wanted. She wanted him, to feel the rush of his skin against hers and to be cradled in his embrace forever.

Intellectually, Maya knew she was safe with Shane and that he would never do anything to hurt her, but she hadn't been with anyone sexually since she'd been turned. Shane placed a tender kiss on her forehead, and though Maya could tell he was aroused, he was patiently waiting for her to take the lead. With courage fueled by desire, Maya lifted her head and shifted her body so she could look him in the eye. He peered at her beneath those thick, dark lashes, and she not only felt his restraint in the tightness of his body but could see it in his eyes.

Maya lifted one quivering hand and brushed the back of her fingers along his stubble-covered jaw before running her thumb over his full lower lip. She gasped as his lips parted and he took her thumb into his mouth and suckled, all while holding her gaze. His tongue ran slow, erotic circles over her fingertip before he gathered her hand in his and trailed butterfly kisses along her palm.

Lust coiled deep in Maya's belly and heat pooled between her legs while she watched him practically make love to her hand. Her entire body quivered with anticipation and she rubbed herself against him. The insistent need to touch him was consuming her like the sun. Exquisite pleasure rippled through her from the attention he was giving her palm, and she wondered how it would feel to have him lavish kisses on the rest of her body.

She tore her fingers from his, pushed herself up, and straddled him before placing both hands on the pillow on either side of his head. A slow smile spread across Shane's face, and he slid his hands up her thighs and settled them on her hips, pulling her against the rock-hard evidence of his desire.

“I've decided what I want,” Maya whispered. Her hair fell to one side and she leaned closer so that her lips hovered just above his. She flicked her tongue over his mouth. “It's you, Shane.”

Shane's restraint shattered as the words escaped her lips and their mouths collided. He opened to her immediately and teased her tongue with his, his hands gripping her hips tighter and pulling her closer. As she kissed him, Maya's hands gripped the pillow like her life depended on it, and tiny licks of pleasure shot through her while his thick erection pressed against her most sensitive spot. Maya moaned and began to writhe, lust and combustible desire firing through her with every pump of her hips.

Her body felt as though it was on fire, and she wanted nothing more than to be naked and feel her chest press against his. Breaking the kiss, Maya whipped up to a sitting position while Shane watched through a dark, hooded gaze. His fingers gripped her hips, holding her still as she unzipped the top of her catsuit and peeled it off to her waist, revealing her bare breasts. The cool metal of the necklace lay against her skin, and the teardrop-shaped emerald lingered along the curve of her bosom. It was a bold move for Maya to bare herself to Shane, but even as she did it, she knew he'd already seen the most vulnerable parts of her.

“
Bellísima
,” Shane whispered reverently as his hands trailed over her bare flesh.

His fingers curled around her waist briefly before he brushed his knuckles lightly beneath the curve of her breasts. Holding her stare, he cupped her breasts in both hands and ran his thumbs over her nipples. Maya gasped as licks of fire flickered through her body from the friction of his flesh rushing along hers. She threw her head back and reveled in the waves of white-hot pleasure that rippled through her body—and then she started to move.