Julia’s laugh was a dry, bitter huff. “You almost sound like you mean it.”
“He does mean it.” Rick’s voice echoed behind them. “I know as well as he does himself.” A meaningful glance passed between the two men as the handsome Spaniard joined their group.
“You have to get Julia out of here,” Maddox told him.
“We don’t know for certain that she’s the target,” Rick replied. “Perhaps it’s only vengeance he seeks. From what I know of him, through you, that’s likely the case.”
“But none of them know Julia is here. If they find her…”
“We will come up with a plan.” Rick placed a hand on Maddox’s shoulder.
I should go, Madeline thought. I can’t help them. I wish I could.
“Madeline,” Rick spoke directly to her now. “You can be of help. You know as much or more about Vincent than Maddox. Stay. This involves you too.”
Shock overrode the pleasure she felt at his including her. It was as if he’d heard exactly what she’d been thinking.
Maddox smiled apologetically.
Julia snickered. “You get used to it. Unless you’re in love with him. Then it sucks.”
“I did hear what you were thinking,” Rick explained. “I can read minds. It’s part of my abilities, if you want to call it that, as a vampire. It’s not necessarily fun for me either.”
He shot Julia a playful glance before turning his gaze back to Madeline. “I will tell you, Madeline, that you have one of the kindest minds I’ve ever unwittingly read. It’s a sharp mind too. Let’s put it to use. Let us form a plan.”
* * *
“They like you, you know,” Maddox said the moment they made it back to the room.
“Can you read minds too?”
“No, I can’t.” Maddox chuckled. “I didn’t get any special gifts like that when I joined the ranks of the undead.”
Madeline was relieved. She couldn’t imagine what life was like for Julia. To have the man she was in love with be able to read her thoughts?
But Maddox couldn’t read her mind and she wasn’t in love with him. She missed him when he wasn’t there and the thought that Vincent could appear and harm him bothered her greatly. But that was all.
Watching Maddox pull his sweater over his head to reveal his gorgeous upper body, Madeline walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His arms automatically closed around her.
“This is nice.” His smile took her breath away. “Do you want to eat first? At some point, we really need to arrange for you and Julia to take meals together since you both eat… human food.”
Madeline laughed at how awkwardly that came out. “I think I’d like that.” She meant it. “But I’m not hungry for food right now.”
His grin widened. “What are you hungry for?”
Taking a deep breath, she stretched up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. Maddox froze and she sank back onto her heels, unsure. “Sorry, I don’t really have a lot of experience with that,” she admitted.
His expression was apologetic. “I wasn’t expecting it. That’s all. But since you’re interested in learning, let me show you.” Lowering his head, he pressed his lips to hers, tenderly coaxing her to move her mouth against his.
It was a kiss meant to entice, to seduce. He angled his head to deepen the kiss and Madeline opened her mouth to him. Their tongues dueled as he cradled her head gently. She forgot to breathe; she felt light headed. And her body instantly went on alert, hoping for more of the delights he’d treated her to the night before.
His hand slid up into her hair and caressed her scalp until it tingled. All of her was tingling as she lost herself in the sensual web he was weaving around her. Heat flooded her body and desire unfurled in her center and began to spread through her in irresistible waves. Madeline relaxed into that kiss, realizing it was his attempt to relax her and get her ready for more. She had no idea a simple kiss could have that kind of power.
Maddox pulled her more tightly against him and his hands began to search out all of the sensitive places that now demanded his touch. She let him guide them to the bed, allowed him to lower her into its luxurious comfort.
“Am I getting better?” she asked when he broke the kiss to work on ridding himself of his clothing. He rolled them until she was the one on top.
“Somewhat,” he replied, but he was smiling. “Need a lot of practice.”
She could live with that.
He undressed with slow, graceful movements and she enjoyed just watching him. The muscular planes of his body were truly something to admire, all set in hard white flesh. His blond hair gleamed in the faint light of the room.
“What?” He turned to find her staring, but his smile never faded. “You’re staying dressed?”
Madeline shook her head, smiling back. She allowed him to pull the simple blue dress over her head and then strip away her undergarments. She giggled as he planted kisses all over her body as he revealed it. Wetness gathered between her thighs as she waited for him to stop playing. She was more than ready when he snatched her up and lifted her over his cock. He throbbed against the slick lips at her opening that were eager to pull him inside.
Madeline knew how to ride a man. Keeping her movements slow while she straddled him, she intended to drive him wild. She enjoyed him with a relaxed desire that surprised her. With a wet glide, his naked flesh pressed gently against hers. She moaned in delight, her pussy walls quivering. For once she was enjoying wanting pleasure for herself, not just calculating how to get the man off in a way that would ensure he’d pay her and come back for more.
Sensual heat flooded her and his cool skin moved against her breasts and legs in a way that pushed her pleasure higher. With a single smooth stroke, his cock slid upward into her until his balls met the sensitive flesh of her pussy. Madeline groaned at the pleasure of having him inside her. She surrendered completely when he began to move within her, angling his cock to fill her pussy in ways that had her moving her hips in rhythm with his.
His mouth caressed hers in a powerful kiss. His hands were soft whispers all over her body. His cock was buried so deeply within her that she didn’t know where she ended and he began and didn’t care. She rode it out, the rising cadence of her cries filling the room while her pussy milked the hard, steely length of him. The sound of their bodies slapping together increased in time with the harsh rasps of her breathing while Madeline rode him.
Her belly tightened and her pussy walls clenched around him hard. Close to the release she craved, she was thrilled when he thrust in her harder and faster. She threw her head back, clawing at his chest as the exquisite pleasure of orgasm ripped through her body, waves of ecstasy crashing over her. She thrashed wildly above him, lost in a storm of carnal delight that she never wanted to end.
Coming down from her incredible release, she was aware of falling back onto the bed. Maddox wasn’t done and continued to relentlessly fuck her, his weight pressing her into the bed with her body still quivering all around him. He pulled her legs up around his hips, deepening his penetration until she felt impossibly filled with him. The position had her clit rubbing delicately against him with each stroke. Pleasure curled hard in her center and she wanted more.
Maddox’s movements were powerful and controlled, a smooth flexing of his hips. Her fingers clutched in his hair and she wrapped her legs around his slim waist. He settled more of his weight onto her and she grabbed him, pulling him to her for a passionate kiss. When he began to thrust his tongue inside her mouth with a rhythm that matched his thrusting cock, she thought she’d lose her mind.
Madeline came again, the release stronger than the one before. Her pussy convulsed around him with incredible force. His body tightened above her while she screamed at the extremely pleasurable sensations that made her feel like she’d completely blow apart.
Madeline couldn’t remember feeling more satisfied as she watched him throw back his head and growl out his release. He erupted insid
e her, over and over, and she realized it pleased her to make a man happy. With every touch, he demonstrated he actually wanted her. Every kiss was a promise that he didn’t mean to discard her anytime soon.
He finally collapsed on the bed next to her and pulled her to him, cradling her against his silent chest.
Once she finally caught her breath, her mind drifted back to the plan they’d made with Rick and Julia. “Do you think it will work?” she asked.
“Everything will be fine.” His tone was ever confident.
“I don’t want any of you to get hurt. Vincent is…”
“We’ll deal with Vincent.”
“But, Maddox --”
His lips claimed hers in a kiss that wiped everything from her mind but him.
Chapter Nine
The wait was nerve wracking and it went on and on. It was the second day and everyone was in place. Rick had staged leaving his home unattended for the second straight day. Maddox strolled the grounds at intervals because that’s what Vincent would expect them to do -- be vigilant.
Julia was staying hidden as she was told. But if Madeline had learned one thing about her in such a short span of time, it was that Julia had little patience. She could almost picture the beautiful redhead pacing like a wolf in her cage, ready to tear the walls down.
Madeline herself wasn’t doing a lot better. Anticipation ate at her stomach and made it ache. She tended the flowerbeds around the manor endlessly, her part to play, hoping her presence would provoke Vincent and make her his target. After all, she was alive and could possibly know something of what happened that day in the market when he lost the human recruiter.
A loud huffing exhale from behind made her jump. A slim shadow in the fading evening sun had her swallowing hard. When she turned, she found it wasn’t Vincent but Julia who stood above her.
“I can’t take it anymore today,” she declared with her hands on her hips. “And from the look of it, you can’t either. You look sick for a human. No offense.”
Madeline felt sick. “None taken.” Madeline stopped acting like she was gardening and she turned where she sat on the grass and Julia joined her.
“I wonder what the hell he’s waiting for.” Julia’s tone was heavy with the dread and aggravation they all felt. “Why doesn’t he come?”
“He never seemed to be the impulsive type,” Madeline explained. “Quick tempered, yes. But he never seemed to let his temper take over.”
“Well, you did mention that,” Julia gave her. Then she chuckled. “He’s a rare one. Most of us, wolf kind, do have that whole temper thing going. And most of us, me included, do let it get to our heads. Rage now, think later. Ask Rick. Wait. Don’t ask Rick.”
Madeline smiled at that. “He loves you, though.”
“Yes, he does.”
“What’s it like for you?” The words spilled out before Madeline could stop them. “You’re so different from him.”
Julia cocked a red brow at her, but her expression was friendly. “Not a lot different than it is for you and Maddox, I imagine. They are both… undead, immortal. They won’t age and they won’t die eventually like we will.”
Madeline had thought of that. Then she’d stopped because she was afraid to think that way. Maddox enjoyed her now but to develop feelings for him would only end in pain. The only problem was, she was a little too late. “So you have the lifespan of a human?” she asked. “Or…”
Julia nodded. “A little longer. Some of our elderly have made it to a hundred thirty, a hundred forty years. It’s not bad. But like you, I’m mortal.”
“But you’re different,” Madeline pointed out. “Rick and Maddox were once human like me. You’re an entirely different being.”
Julia’s curiosity showed on her face. “What?”
Madeline swallowed hard, not knowing how to word her question.
“Come on,” Julia encouraged her. “You’re living with vampires and werewolves and you haven’t gone running for the hills once. Don’t let me down now.”
“Okay. I was just wondering… could Rick turn you into what he is?” Madeline immediately knew from Julia’s face that she hadn’t introduced a new thought. Still, all the mirth dropped from Julia’s expression.
“He could and we’ve thought about it. I love him. I’d like to be with him forever. But I’m not ready just yet. When I become what he is, I lose the wolf. And I’d do that for him. I will do that for him. It’s a big step. He says he understands. I just hope he really does.”
Madeline reached out to clasp one of Julia’s hands. It felt so warm, but then, she was becoming accustomed to touching Maddox. “Don’t give up. There’s time. And one day when you’re ready you’ll be with him, as a vampire…”
“I’d rather splatter your pretty brains on the ground than to see one of us become one of them.”
Madeline froze at the sound of Vincent’s voice but the terror came when she saw him press the muzzle of his gun to the back of Julia’s head. “Vincent,” Madeline whispered as his cold gaze locked on her.
“You don’t look surprised to see me.” His dark eyes were hard and mean. His body tensed in steely resolve.
“You’d don’t look surprised to see me either,” she responded. Where that pitiful bit of courage came from, she couldn’t have said.
“I’m not. I was watching that day while your vampire friend ruined everything for me. Got you out of there.”
Madeline’s heart crashed in her chest as she watched his gloved finger twitch around the trigger of the handgun he held to Julia’s head. She knew she couldn’t let him hurt her friend. “Please, Vincent,” Madeline pleaded. “She’s not part of this. Point the gun at me.”
To her great surprise, he did just that. “You’re right. As much as it makes me sick,” he fairly spat the word sick, “to see one of my kind with one of those fucking things, she is my ticket back into the good graces of the pack.”
“What?” Julia looked up at him now, indignant. “How am I going to get you anything?”
Madeline couldn’t help wondering, as well.
“I think you know.” He spoke to Julia. “But as usual, Madeline is clueless.”
With the gun pointed at her face, Madeline knew the answer wasn’t as important as their survival. She was afraid to look around and see if anyone was with Vincent. Afraid if she moved, she would give away Rick or Maddox’s position. And if Maddox got hurt… Keep him talking, she decided. “I don’t understand,” Madeline managed. “Why do you need her? I thought it was me you wanted.”
“You have no value,” Vincent shot at her. “You never did. You weren’t very exciting in bed. It’s fitting you ended up with a dead guy really.”
Madeline only nodded, not about to rise to the insult. Pride was a luxury a prostitute couldn’t afford.
“You’re worse than useless, actually. You cost me a huge career opportunity, Madeline.” Vincent’s grip tightened around the handle of his gun. “You cost me that cult member. With him, I would have gotten a nice promotion and would have gotten off the streets.”
“H-how did I cost you that?” she had to ask. “I didn’t even know why I was there.”
Julia’s eyes flashed at her in surprise. The other woman was probably wondering when she’d grown a spine.
“But your lover did.” Vincent’s smile was cold. “The blond one. I saw him a few times, lurking in the shadows. I had no idea he was a vampire. I didn’t realize how involved the bastards were in all of this. He’s lucky I allowed him to live.”
Madeline’s heart sped. Allowed him to live? Could Vincent kill Maddox so easily then? No, she couldn’t allow that to happen. But how to stop it?
“I should have killed him just for being stupid,” Vincent went on. “Turns out it wasn’t me he was watching after all. He was watching you. A whore.”
She swallowed hard, anxiety eating at her insides.
“You ruined everything. And when I found you, came here to return the favor, I found a way to
get it all back. Julia here.”
“Julia?” Madeline was surprised she could hear her own voice over the thundering of her heart. “How?”
“She didn’t tell you?” Vincent cut his gaze to Julia and quickly back. “The humans are looking for her. Seems she was a guest of theirs once and they’d like her to come for another visit since her last stay was such a success.”
Real fear haunted Julia’s eyes and Madeline felt her stomach sink. What did that mean? What had the human cult, whoever they were, done to her?
It didn’t take Madeline long to figure out he meant to give Julia to the human cult for his pack. In exchange for what? Julia was priceless to Rick. And to her. Madeline was a mere human and a whore, as Vincent had pointed out. Julia had befriended her, no questions asked.
Hatred for her former Lycan client bubbled to the surface. Vincent stood there with his gun in all his bullying glory. He was a fine one to even think about exposing the weaknesses of others. He had a weakness of his own that she only knew about because of serving him as a prostitute.
Rick! He would be close by, and he could read her mind. Was he close enough to read her thoughts now? She had no idea how it worked. Taking a chance, she thought as hard as she could. He’s got a scar at his ribs on the right side. He said the wound nearly killed him. He couldn’t stand for me to touch it. It might help you.
“You think you’ve got what it takes to deliver me to the humans?” Julia smiled, challenging him.
Vincent grinned. “I do. First I’ll kill you.” He spoke to Madeline now, raising the gun and pulling the trigger.
Madeline’s human eyes weren’t able to capture everything that happened in the next second. She heard the gun go off and flinched, but felt nothing. It was like being in the eye of a storm, but she could see little. Even as she could feel the air rush over her, a furious storm of shadows, she could hear Vincent’s cries of pain and his howls of rage.
The Shadow Zone 2: Winning Madeline Page 8