by Cynthia Eden
“Adam…”
His jaw clenched and he withdrew, hating the loss of her creamy warmth.
After the whisper of his name, she didn’t speak again while she dressed. Her movements were fast, too quick, and her shoulders were stiffening on him again.
He adjusted his jeans while he watched her. Adam was uncomfortably aware that while he’d just taken Maya’s body, her mind and her heart were closed to him.
“You—you’re something else, you know that, Slick?” She didn’t look at him as she tossed out the words.
He wasn’t sure how to take that. Slick. He was growing to hate that nickname. He liked it when Maya called him Adam, her voice flowing softly over the name.
She took three steps away from him.
“Maya.” He needed her to look at him. Was she angry about the sex? He’d thought she wanted him, but maybe he’d been too rough. Maya might be a vampire, but she was so much smaller than he was. He could have hurt her and not known and—
Her gaze met his. So many secrets were in her eyes.
“Did I—” Aw, hell, this was one damn awkward conversation. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? I-I know I lost control and I—”
She smiled at him. One of her real smiles. “Slick, you gave me just what I needed—exactly what I’d been hoping for.”
He blinked. There was a ring of truth to her words that he couldn’t deny.
Her smile dimmed. “Good-bye, Adam. Tell Cammie that I’ll keep my promise.” Then she walked away, opening the glass doors and slipping inside.
What the hell?
He stared after her. Good-bye. Not “good night.” Good-bye.
She did the job you hired her for. She got Cammie back. Of course, she’s going to leave now.
No, no, he couldn’t let her just leave.
She’s going back to her old life.
But he didn’t want to go back to his life, not without her.
He took a step forward, stopped. Something else was happening. Something that nagged at the back of his mind.
Good-bye, Adam. Tell Cammie that I’ll keep my promise.
All the puzzle pieces clicked into place and a hot, blinding rage burst through his veins.
Hell, no.
A good-bye fuck. That’s what she’d given him, then she’d walked away.
She’d known all along what she was doing. She’d told Cammie, “Those vamps—they’ll never hurt you again. You’ll never even so much as see them for the rest of your life.”
How could she keep a promise like that—unless she meant to go after the vampires?
Fuck.
Adam ran to the edge of the balcony. Maya was below him, stalking toward the line of parked cars, and there was a gun in her hands.
A good-bye fuck, then off to monster slay. On her own.
No damn way.
Maya Black had a lesson to learn.
She couldn’t walk away from him. If she wanted to fight vampires or demons or any other monsters that waited in the night—well, she’d damn well do it with him watching her back.
Adam grabbed the railing, swung his body over the wrought iron, and dropped to the ground two stories below.
Chapter 16
Maya tucked her gun into the back of her jeans. It was fully loaded with her silver/holy water bullets. After she’d left Adam, it had taken her all of thirty seconds to find Lucas and force the wolf to return her weapon.
It felt good to have her baby back. Now, if she could just get some transportation—and stop thinking about Adam—she’d be good to—
Ah. Three motorcycles were lined up just past the row of black cars and SUVs. Perfect, gleaming Harleys.
“Come to mama,” she whispered, her hands already curling in anticipation of feeling the handlebars beneath her fingers.
The air rustled behind her. Maya spun around, and came face to face with a very pissed-off-looking Adam.
“Going hunting?” A velvety voice chaining fury.
Her chin lifted. She’d tried to play this nice and easy with him. No big scenes. Just a good memory for them both to carry through the future.
Well, a good memory for her, anyway. She wasn’t sure how Adam felt about what had happened on the balcony, but the pleasure had been the best she’d ever had.
Adam had been the best she ever had.
“You didn’t really think I’d take the good-bye fuck and let you just walk away, now, did you?”
Good-bye fuck. Her shoulders tensed. It had been more than that, at least to her. A hell of a lot more. “I did my job,” she said. “It’s time for me to go.” He didn’t need to make this any harder on her.
Come.
It was already more than damn hard enough.
Hell, when had she started to care for the dragon? Back in L.A.? In Vegas, when she’d pulled him out of that cave-in?
Before that—when he’d stood so silent and steady by her side when she’d confronted that abusive bastard Chuck?
It didn’t really matter when she’d started to care, Maya realized. The problem, well, the problem was that she did care. Maybe too much.
The time had come for her to face the devil in her own past—and to make absolutely certain that devil never hurt Cammie or her uncle again.
In Adam’s arms, the desperate voice in her mind had quieted, if only for a few precious moments. But the call was back now, and she had to leave him.
There was no choice for her.
There never had been.
“Where are you going? Back to L.A.?” he asked, taking an aggressive step toward her. “Or maybe somewhere else? Maybe some place where a Born Master is resting?”
Smart bastard, she’d give him that.
Another long step forward. He was closing in on her. “Come on, tell me. Don’t just say good-bye and walk away. You tell me exactly what you’re planning to do.” He was on her now. Jaw clenched, eyes blazing.
Maya held her ground. “You know what I’m planning.”
He shook his head. “You think you can kill them all? Torrence? Nassor? The rest of the vamps in their sick little family?”
Sick little family. A family she was part of, whether she liked it or not.
Bound by blood. Taken. Linked for all time.
Unless the Born Master died.
Could she kill him? Kill the others? Maya shrugged. “I’m gonna try.”
He grabbed her arm and jerked her close. “Not without me, you aren’t.”
That wasn’t the plan. “No, you have to stay with Cammie. She needs you, she—”
“You nearly died the last time you went out on your own.” She could see flecks of gold in the depths of his green eyes. Flickering, like tiny flames. “I listened to you then, and look what happened.”
“I saved Cammie, that’s what happened.”
“You almost died.”
“Almost doesn’t really count, now does it?”
His fingers bit into her flesh and he lifted her up onto her tip toes. “You’re not going after them alone.”
“Adam.” She was getting tired of this arrogant asshole routine. She’d been trying to protect the guy, to keep him away from the vamps who’d like nothing more than to drain a dragon’s blood and steal his power.
Without Cammie and Jordan, Nassor wouldn’t regain his strength. Another “gift” would be needed—and she didn’t want the vamps to turn their attention to Adam.
“You don’t get it, do you?” He eased his hold and the soles of her boots touched the ground. “The rules of the game have changed, Maya. You’re not flying solo anymore.”
What?
Come.
She winced at the scream in her mind.
Dammit, she didn’t have time to argue with Adam. The bastard Nassor was splitting her head wide open.
His resting place was close. Closer than she’d realized.
“We’re doing this together,” Adam said. “You’re not going to ditch me and take them on your own. You can’t.”
Can’t. She wasn’t too sure about that. She figured that she had about a 40 percent chance of getting to Nassor and killing the bastard.
And giving Torrence the death he was begging for.
“If you try to leave,” Adam said, his voice hard and cold, “I’ll follow you. I might not be able to track Nassor like you can, but I can track you. Anywhere. I’ve got your scent, Maya. You’re not getting away from me.”
Shit.
Gravel crunched beneath a boot. To the left.
Maya jerked her head around. Saw Lucas standing less than ten feet away. “He’s not the only one who can track your scent.”
Her eyes slit. The air around this place was thick with the stench of wolf, so she hadn’t smelled the alpha’s approach. Just how long had he been listening?
“Torrence took my brother.” Lucas’s hands balled into powerful fists. “No way that vamp is getting away from me.”
Pack justice. Do unto others as they’ve done to you. Everyone knew their rule.
“Torrence is my kill.” Adam glared at the wolf. “That fucking bastard took my niece and left me to die.”
Lucas smiled at him, flashing his sharp canines. “Then I guess whoever finds the asshole first gets the pleasure of ripping him apart.”
Maya exhaled heavily. She didn’t have time for this.
Besides, Torrence had tried to kill her, too. The men could rage all they wanted, but she planned on being the one to send the blond vamp straight to hell.
She pulled away from Adam. Climbed on the bike. Lucas tossed her a set of keys. She caught them with her left hand. In seconds, the motorcycle revved to life beneath her legs.
Oh, yeah. She’d missed this.
Adam and Lucas crowded around her.
She didn’t want to take them with her, but she understood their need for vengeance.
And backup, well, maybe it wouldn’t be such a terrible idea. Because she didn’t know how many members of her little “family” would be waiting to greet her.
“So here’s the deal,” she said, raising her voice over the growl of the bike. “Adam and I are going in first. You wait until we’re clear—then you bring your pack in,” she told Lucas. “You wait, got that? If they catch your scent too soon, war’s gonna break out and we’ll all be lucky to get out alive.” Much less succeed in killing Torrence and Nassor.
“You.” She pointed to Adam. “You ride with me, and do exactly as I say.” Maya had a feeling Adam wasn’t going to like the plan spinning through her mind, but if they both wanted to get close to Nassor, well, she figured there was only one way to do it.
The Born Master needed a dragon’s blood to regain his strength.
Maybe she’d just give him one.
“Are we gonna catch the bastard while he’s sleeping?” Lucas asked, his smile curving another inch.
“No.” She pushed back the kickstand. “The Master’s up and waiting.” Calling.
His smile disappeared. “Shit.”
Adam climbed onto the bike behind her. Locked his arms around her waist. “How long?”
A shrug. “About an hour.” So he was still weak. Even if Torrence had a nice food supply lined up for the Master, his strength wouldn’t be at peak level.
Now was the time to attack.
You had to cut off the head of the snake in order to kill the beast. Once Nassor was dead, the vampires would flee. The call would stop.
Her fingers tightened around the handlebars. This was it.
She looked across the desert. He was waiting.
Come.
The bike shot forward with a howl of fury. Spun with a shriek and headed away from the blazing lights of the Strip.
Headed deep into the desert.
It was a beautiful night for death.
Maya lost track of time as she drove the motorcycle. The vibrations from the bike traveled up her legs, pushed against her sex. Adam didn’t speak. Just kept his arms around her. Tight and strong.
With every mile that passed, the call in her mind grew louder.
No wonder Torrence had been keeping Cammie and Jordan at Blood Rock. He’d wanted the Master to have easy access.
They rose over a hill and Maya brought the bike to a shuddering halt.
There. A massive house, with a thick security wall surrounding it on all sides. Guards. Dozens of them. Patrolling with weapons, and with fangs and claws. Vampires.
Lights blazed from the house—not really a house, Maya thought. Too big. Made of heavy stone, the place looked more like some kind of fortress, rising from the desert.
She counted at least three stories. Knew there had to be a basement. With vampires, there was always a basement.
Four floors. Maybe more.
So where would she find Torrence? Nassor?
Her foot pressed against the hard earth as she stared at the Master’s lair.
“What’s the plan?” Adam’s breath blew against her ear. “How are you planning to get past the guards?”
Ah, that was the tricky part. Odds were good that Torrence wouldn’t be one of the low-level goons patrolling the gates. So, getting in shouldn’t be a problem, not with the gift she was bringing.
Maya glanced back at him. “Do you trust me?”
They were so close that barely an inch separated their faces. She could see straight into his eyes.
“Yes.”
Absolutely certain.
Maya swallowed to ease the lump in her throat. The damn bad thing was that she trusted him, too. With every bit of her soul, she trusted the dragon. “Th-that’s good, Slick. Real good.” She revved the engine. “Remember that, okay?” She shot down the hill, forcing the bike to go as fast as it could.
The guards saw them coming. The vamps ran for them, shouting and drawing their guns.
Bullets rained into the ground on either side of her. One slammed into the front of the motorcycle.
Maya whipped the bike to the right, brought it to a stop in a cloud of fumes and burning rubber. “I’ve come for the Master!” Her voice rang out, cutting past the shouts and the bullets. She barred her teeth and said, “I’m answering his call.”
The vamps closed in, suspicion heavy on their pale faces. Black eyes drifted past her to study Adam. The tension that swept over the crowd had Maya leaping from the motorcycle and jerking Adam behind her.
“He’s got no scent.” This came from a short, bald vamp who stepped forward with his gun raised and his lips peeled back into a snarl. Ah, the one in charge. The boss always liked to speak first.
Maya’s gaze dropped to the gun. Probably just regular bullets, in case any curious humans happened by. The shots would hurt like hell, of course, but it wouldn’t be anything fatal to her.
But she couldn’t afford to be slowed down.
Maya lifted her hands, moving them in a fast blur, and locked her claws around Adam’s throat. “Don’t even think about hurting my gift,” she warned, voice deadly.
The vamps hesitated.
“What is he?” This came from the leader, who eyed them both with deep suspicion.
Maya smiled at him and deliberately pressed her claws into Adam’s flesh. A trickle of blood flowed down his neck.
He didn’t flinch. His body was rock-hard beside her.
“He’s a dragon,” she said, and brought her mouth to his throat, licking away the blood. “He’s going to make Nassor very, very happy.”
A rumble swept through the crowd. Most of the vamps began to inch back.
But the guy in front just curled back his lip. “Bullshit.”
“Adam.” A little demonstration would be in order. “Why don’t you show these guys just what you can become?”
He held up his arm.
The skin slowly began to shift colors, getting darker. The flesh become harder. Scaled.
“That’s enough,” she said, not wanting to push him too far, yet.
Adam’s arm transformed back to a man’s.
“Are you crazy?” The vampire shrieked, rai
sing his gun. “That bastard can kill us all!”
Well, at least he believed her now.
“No, he can’t.” Sorry, Adam. “He’s linked with my blood, and he’ll do whatever I want.” She turned slightly, looked up into his eyes. Sleep.
He blinked.
She’d never wanted to force her power onto him, but there wasn’t an option now. If the vamps thought he was any kind of threat, they’d never let him inside.
Sleep.
His eyelids flickered. “Y-you…”
She forced the compulsion on him, hard and deep.
Then she stepped back as his body began to fall.
Adam hit the ground with a thud.
She forced a shrug. Glanced back at the leader. “Problem solved.”
The vampires rushed forward, hands reaching for Adam’s body with greedy lust.
“No!” She stepped in front of them. “This one’s for the Master, and only the Master.”
The guy who’d been screaming at her minutes before now spit onto the ground and snapped, “Fine, but when he’s done, we get what’s left over.”
Maya laughed at that. Idiot. “There’s not gonna be anything left.”
She grabbed Adam, hoisted him over her shoulder. Barely felt his weight. “Now are we gonna stand out here, screwing around all night, or do I get to see Nassor?”
“What’s happening?” The whisper from Daniel, his second in command, drifted on a breath of sound.
Lucas tightened his hold around the binoculars. “They’re going inside.” Although not the way he’d anticipated.
What game was the vampire playing?
He’d thought she wanted him to wait in the shadows and then attack to cause a distraction for her and the dragon.
But what if Maya had a different plan in mind? What if she had been playing him? What if she was inside, even now, telling the others about his pack?
He could be walking straight into a trap.
Lucas was willing to bet the dragon sure as hell hadn’t counted on being carried into the vamp’s lair, unconscious. Vulnerable.
Could he trust her?
“What’s our move?” Daniel asked.
Lucas drew in a deep breath. He’d never trusted a vampire before.
Maya had gone back into Temptation to save Jordan. He couldn’t overlook that fact.