She pressed her thumb to the brand and nearly dropped him to his knees.
Fire, hunger, lust all rushed through him so quickly he didn’t have time to grab control. Instead, he grabbed her. Fast and rough, he lifted her against the wall and moved in, taking her mouth in a way he’d dreamed about since the first day they’d met.
She did taste like peaches.
He dove deep, pressing her to the wall and plastering his hard body against her soft one. So much softness combined with sweetness.
She moaned, and her hands dug into his hair as she returned the kiss.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, dragging her harder against him while the other hand went through her silky hair to cup her head and hold her where he needed her. He kissed her, taking her taste and sweetness into him, letting her soft moans drown out the roaring in his head.
In his body.
The kiss consumed him in this small space where only they existed, but every predatory instinct he had spiraled out from the two of them, seeking for threats in a natural way most people used to breathe. The primal being at his core held her close, tasting her, finally appeased that she was right where she should be.
Where they both should be.
The marking on his palm cut deep with an insistent drum that he mark her—that he mate her. Only Mariana, no matter the cost.
At the thought—the only thought that would bring him back to reality—he lifted his head. Her eyes had darkened while a lovely peach flush covered her high cheekbones and matched her now slightly bruised mouth. A mouth he wanted to take again. Right now. “I want you,” he said.
Humor melded with the need in her eyes. “Yeah. I got that.” She didn’t attempt to draw away.
How could she make him want to smile and tear off her clothing at the same time? “I’m dying.” Shit. He hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that.
She blinked and then stiffened. “You’re what?”
He tried to release her head, but her hair had tangled around his fingers. “Hold on.” He gently wound the stands free and was careful to keep from hurting her. Then he stepped back, releasing her completely. She’d gone pale. “It’s not contagious,” he hastened to explain.
She barely shook her head. “Wait a minute. How are you dying?”
“Huh.” He shouldn’t blurt things out. “It’s a genetic disease with no cure.” That was partly true. It was definitely genetic, and the cure wasn’t one he’d pursue.
“What kind of genetic disease?” She was all business now.
He lifted one shoulder. “We call it the Maxwell Curse.” At least that was the truth. “It affects every Maxwell male.” Considering he had vampire blood in his veins, he could only have boys.
“It’s a family disease?” She tapped a finger on her bottom lip. “I have a friend from my golf league who’s a geneticist in Dallas. Have you gotten second opinions on this? There’s so much we can do with genetics these days.”
“You golf?”
“Yes. Well, I did in Dallas. I’ll probably join a league here when I finish getting settled.” She frowned. “You didn’t distract me from my question, by the way. Have you gotten a second opinion on your genetic disease?”
“Yeah. There’s nothing that can be done.” The last thing he could do was have his genes sampled and studied by a human. He and whatever scientist he hired would be dead before the needle was even drawn out of his arm and probably with a good deal of pain first. That much he knew for sure. “We have met with a doctor during the last couple of years, and she’s working on it, but we have no answers.” Dr. Faith Cooper was mated to an immortal while not being part of the Realm, which was a coalition of species. His family couldn’t go to the Realm with this information, but he trusted Faith Cooper—because Benny trusted her.
Mariana looked him up and down. “You seem strong with good color, and your eyes are clear. What exactly happens with this genetic mutation?”
“I die,” he said simply. “We live to a certain age and then our bodies break down. I haven’t studied it and just worked on living a full life to this point.”
She grabbed his harm and dug her nails in. “You haven’t studied it? Come on. That’s crazy. You’re what? I’d say you’re around thirty, but your eyes look older. Maybe thirty-five? How can you just start tearing down at this age? I’ve never heard of a disease or mutation like that.”
He liked her hand on him. A lot. “We don’t really go around advertising it. I just wanted you to know.”
She looked up at him, confusion and suspicion now replacing the need in her pretty eyes. “Why?”
“So when I asked if you wanted to have a brief affair, you’d know that I meant it.”
Chapter 6
Mariana would’ve stepped back, but her rear was already flush to the wall. “Get the hell out of my house.”
Raine didn’t so much as twitch. “What?”
She sidled by him and exited the room, heading straight for her kitchen and a glass of wine. “You’re dying? Seriously?” Anger flicked down her back and heated her skin on the way. Just how stupid did he think she was? Yeah, she’d pegged him for a player from day one, and she’d been right. “Get out of my house. Now.”
He followed her in that sexy lope he had. “I don’t understand.”
She flipped around to face him, and her body was still on fire, damn it. “You’re dying so we need to fuck a few nights and then you’re gone? You just wanted me to know all the details?” The sarcasm on her tongue almost burned. “That has got to be the worst line I’ve heard in my entire life, and I’ve heard a couple of doozies before.”
He scratched his whiskered chin and eyed her like she was unstable. “It’s the truth.”
“Right,” she drawled, turning back for the already open bottle of 2017 La Carrodilla Syrah on the counter. “If you don’t leave now, I’m calling the moron sheriff. At least he doesn’t act like I’m stupid.” The worst part was that they’d been headed to the bed if Raine hadn’t pulled this jackass move. She’d wanted him, and she probably would’ve said yes.
Raine’s phone rang in his back pocket, and he pulled it out to press to his ear. “Raine here.” He paused and listened. “Hi, Grams. Yes, I know.” Then he quieted as he listened for almost a minute. “Yes. I understand.” He sounded patient and stubborn at the same time. “But I—” He became quiet again and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes. Okay. Love you, too. Bye.” He put the phone back into place.
Mariana crossed her arms. “You’re telling me that was actually your grandmother.”
“Yes.” He rubbed his forehead as if a headache loomed. “She was just checking in.”
The guy made no sense. He propositioned her after giving the worst line ever, and then he talked to his grandmother like a nice person? “It sounded like she was giving you the business,” Mariana observed, pouring herself a glass of wine.
“You could say that.” Raine tucked his thumbs in his pockets.
“About what?” Mariana inhaled the fragrant wine and then took a testing sip.
He shook his head.
“Is she concerned about your impending death?” Mariana drawled, her lips still tingling from his kiss.
His gaze sharpened to emerald blades. “Yes.”
Right. Maybe he was crazy. It was sad, but she’d rather he was nuts than purposefully trying to manipulate her. She could deal with nuts. Assholish was beyond her level of expertise. “Then you should probably go back to Montana or wherever your family is and spend your last days with them.”
“I don’t much care for your sarcasm,” he said, sounding more thoughtful than irritated.
“That’s easy to remedy.” She took another drink of the wine. “Get out of my house.”
His stance remained relaxed. “I thought I’d take care of your stalker before leaving.”
Oh yeah. “You’re my great protector, now aren’t you?” She studied him and tried to see beneath the too handsome exterior. What if
he had engineered her kidnapping? She had trusted him until he came up with the dying ruse. How could he be dying? He looked perfectly healthy, and if a genetic mutation was so prevalent it killed all males in his family, there would’ve been some research conducted. “How exactly are you going to die?” She sipped more.
He blinked. “I slowly get weaker and then my brain stops functioning.”
Yeah, he was full of crap. “So somebody has to pull the plug, huh?” The wine was good. She should stock up on more.
“In a manner of speaking.” He cocked his head. “You don’t believe me, and I guess I don’t blame you for that. How about we forget the last hour and go back to trying to find this stalker before I leave town?”
“That plan no longer works for me.” She swirled the liquid in the glass. “Either you’re deranged or you’re a moron, so I don’t want your help. I do, however, want you to leave.” It was too bad he was the sexiest man she’d ever met.
“Deranged or a moron? How do you figure?” His drawl held the slightest bit of warning.
She sighed. “You’re deranged if you believe your story, and you’re a moron if you think I’ll fall for it. Either way, I’ll handle the stalker without you.” Why hadn’t he pulled this crap after they’d had a night together? Based on that one kiss, it would’ve been a night to remember. “There are several good shrinks I can refer you to.”
“You’re the only shrink I want,” he drawled.
Her lungs compressed, and her nipples sharpened. Just from one sexy statement from him. Maybe she needed the shrink. Enough of this. She drew her phone from the counter. “Leave or I call the police. It’s up to you.”
“Fine.” He whipped his phone out and dialed a number, waiting until somebody answered. “Hi. I’m calling in my favor.” His tone lowered to gritty. “Yeah. Now. I need Faith to talk to Mariana and tell her I’m not full of shit. Yes—within those perimeters. Of course. Thank you.” He handed the phone over.
Mariana gingerly accepted it. “Hello?”
“Just a sec,” a familiar voice boomed. “Hey, Doc Lopez. How are things? This is Benny.”
Benny? Mariana set her glass down. “How are you?” He’d only shown up at the group meeting to pick up Ivar, but the mammoth man made an impression. “And why are you involved in this?”
“Oh, I owe Maxwell a favor, and if all I have to do is hand the phone to Faith, then hey. Why not?” He sounded like he was walking outside in the rain.
“Who’s Faith?” Mariana asked, her head reeling. This was all too weird. Way odd.
Benny chuckled. “That’s a good question. Faith is a pretty famous neurosurgeon or something like that. She’s the only doctor Raine and his family trust enough to consult with. You could look her up if you want. Dr. Faith Cooper.”
Mariana moved for the laptop on her kitchen table and flipped it open to research the doctor. The woman was impressive and had published several papers as well as worked at several different hospitals, most recently in Denver. She was now working in the private sector but didn’t have any forwarding information.
Muffled voices came over the line before a women’s voice cleared. “Hello? This is Dr. Cooper.” She sounded curious.
“Um, hi. This is Dr. Lopez, and I’m wondering how I’m supposed to believe that you’re Dr. Cooper.” Mariana tilted her head to the side to watch Raine. This whole afternoon was spiraling out of control.
The woman laughed. “Well, that’s easy. Flip on the video conference.”
Mariana paused. She should’ve thought of that. “Okay.” She started the camera, and a beautiful woman with soft brown eyes and long brown hair came into view. Mariana compared the woman in the phone to a picture of Dr. Cooper online, and then spent about thirty minutes questioning the woman about neurology, some of the papers she’d written, and other tidbits. By the end of the time, Mariana was convinced the woman on the phone was Dr. Cooper. “Sorry about the inquisition,” she murmured.
Faith laughed. “No problem. Hearing that there’s yet another unknown genetic mutation that causes death is common, but hearing there’s one that causes a male like Raine to die quickly has to make you suspicious. I don’t blame you.”
Mariana sat back at her table. “So it’s true? I don’t see how.”
Faith was dressed in a pretty yellow sweater that contrasted with the rain falling outside the window behind her. “The Maxwell Curse is a little like Huntington’s disease, where a person is healthy until the disease takes effect—usually in the thirties or forties. Or Alzheimer’s, which doesn’t attack until later in life. But for those inflicted with Maxwell’s, the decline is rapid once symptoms appear.”
Holy crap. Nausea rolled through Mariana’s stomach. She was such an asshole. “I thought he was making it up as a come-on,” she whispered.
Faith winced. “Yeah, it does sound crazy if you were looking at him, because he looks so healthy. But the decline will be rapid unless he gets the cure.”
Mariana stiffened. “There’s a cure?”
Faith blanched. “There’s a treatment, I guess. Not really a cure. But sometimes the treatment causes more complications than the disease, and I’m sure Raine is concerned about that.”
“What’s the treatment?” Mariana asked, ignoring the man now lounging on her sofa and flipping through channels to a soccer game.
Faith grimaced. “That’s all I’ve been cleared to tell you. HIPAA laws and all of that. You’ll have to get more information from Raine, and I think you should. You really should.”
“Hey. Enough with my phone.” Benny came into focus. “I have a mission to do, and I’m going now. I hope you found your answers, Lopez. If not, punch Raine a few times and make him tell you everything. I swear. Why does everyone have to make every damn situation so difficult these days? Fate matters. When you find the one, you—” The phone went dead.
Mariana stared at the blank screen. “I think somebody disengaged the call. What was Benny talking about?”
Raine didn’t look away from the soccer match. “Benjamin Reese is a quart low of a full tank, if you know what I mean. He’s slightly nutty but a great guy in a fight—so long as he remembers who’s on his side.”
Mariana left her phone in place and poured two glasses of wine this time, taking one over to Raine on the sofa. “I owe you an apology.”
He took the glass. “Don’t worry about it.”
She gingerly touched his arm and waited until he turned to face her. “I’m very sorry I made light of your illness. Honestly, I thought you were lying. It all seems so bizarre.” But comparing the genetic illness to Huntington’s or Alzheimer’s did bring the reality home. “I don’t want you to die.”
His lip quirked. “Sorry. Now you have to be the one to pull the plug.”
She dropped her head. “I’m sorry.”
“I was just kidding. Don’t worry about it. I understand that it’s all crazy, and since I’m not telling you some details, I’m sure this doesn’t make sense. I don’t want to die, believe me. But I think I made the most of what time I was given.”
She set down her full wineglass. “What’s the treatment you don’t want to try?” If she was in the same boat, she’d probably try any treatment to stay alive, unless it was so horrible it wasn’t worth it.
He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to use the treatment, so there’s no reason to discuss it.”
She leaned into him as one of the teams scored a goal and the crowd went nuts on the television. “Is the treatment painful? Experimental?”
He rubbed his knuckle along her jawline, sending nice tingles through her face. “Can we not discuss this any longer? I don’t like talking about any of this, and honestly, this is as open as I’ve been in a long while. Let’s just enjoy a few moments of wine and a game, and then we can get back to your case. I really do want to take this stalker out before I have to head home.” He turned to her, set an arm over her shoulders, and tugged her against him.
Sh
e stiffened for the briefest of seconds and then snuggled into his side. It felt right. They felt right. Why couldn’t she take time to explore this? “Please tell me about the treatments. Maybe there’s something I could do.”
His chest moved as he chuckled. “How about you just relax and enjoy the moment with me?” Then he leaned them both over and reclaimed her wine glass to set in her hand before settling back.
It wasn’t too much for him to ask. “Okay. One more question. You said the disease only affects male members of your family. Do you have any brothers and have they already gone through this?” She took a sip of the drink, her mind still reeling.
“Yeah. I have six brothers, and I’m the oldest. The disease has hit me first in this generation.” He kissed the top of her head and then kicked his legs out to relax. “My offer of sex as we work this case is still on the table.”
She choked on her wine even as her body perked right up.
The doorbell rang, and she jumped. “I’ll get it.”
“No.” He released her and set his wine down. “I’ve got it.” He stretched to his feet, appearing so healthy and virile that it hurt to look at him.
She peered over her shoulder at the door when he opened it and paused.
“Who are these from?” he asked.
Her stomach dropped, and she craned her neck to see better. A teenager handed Raine a bouquet of at least three dozen white roses.
The kid shrugged. “I’m just the delivery guy, but there is a card.”
Raine tipped him and then shut the door, looking at the roses. He tugged out a card and flipped it open. His jaw clenched.
“What does it say?” Mariana whispered.
He looked up, and his eyes burned a bright green. “It says: Mariana, I’m sorry our date was interrupted. I’ll see you soon.”
Chapter 7
Raine sensed the demoness before he saw her. After pacing the kitchen for about an hour, the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He paused and looked toward his bedroom. Sighing, he turned and walked inside the room, shutting the door. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Vampire: A Dark Protectors/Rebels Novella Page 5