by Tina Folsom
Two vampires lowered the coffin into the hole. Nobody moved until it had disappeared completely, then Samson took the shovel and tossed the earth after it. But he didn’t stop at the customary shovel-full of earth. He continued.
Maya looked to her side, and Gabriel lowered his head to her. “He sired Carl. It is his duty to see he rests in peace. He dug the grave, he’ll fill it,” he whispered.
A single tear rolled down Maya’s cheek as she understood the meaning of Samson’s actions.
When the last grain of dirt had filled the grave, Samson put the shovel aside and spoke. “Good night, my friend.”
Then he walked away from the group. Delilah stayed back, making no attempt to follow him. When she approached Maya, she simply said, “He needs to be alone now. He’ll meet us at home.”
“You seem to understand him without many words,” Maya answered.
Delilah smiled and hooked her arm under Maya’s. “Gabriel, you don’t mind if I steal Maya for a few minutes, do you?” But she didn’t wait for his reply and pulled her away.
“Do you mind if we walk through the cemetery for a bit?” Delilah asked.
“Not at all.” Maya fell into step with her new friend.
For a moment, Delilah was silent. But then she came out with what she wanted to say. “I know it’s not your specialty, but I was hoping you’d consider continuing with medicine in a different field.”
Maya raised a surprised eyebrow. “What did you have in mind?”
“OB-GYN,” Delilah confessed. “It’s not like I can go to a human doctor anymore. Once they do tests on the fetus, they’ll realize that it’s not entirely human. And this won’t be our only child. We plan on having many. And then there’s Nina, of course.”
“Is she pregnant, too?” Maya asked.
“Amaury wishes.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “They haven’t quite fought this one out yet.”
“Nina and Amaury fight?”
“All the time.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I thought they looked good together.”
Delilah laughed again. “They wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s what Amaury needs, a woman who doesn’t let him get away with anything. Besides, their make-up sex must be spectacular.”
Now Maya had to chuckle. “So you think she’ll finally give in and have children with him?”
“I don’t know. Only those two know. Either way, whatever they decide, it’ll work for them.”
“I hear talk about children,” a voice came from behind them.
They both turned to Francine, who had followed them. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I hoped to catch you without Gabriel listening in.”
“I’ll leave you two then,” Delilah offered.
Francine held up her hand. “No, please don’t. It’s only Gabriel I don’t want to know yet; otherwise, he might get his hopes up and dashed later.”
Curiosity rose in Maya. “What is this about?”
“I analyzed your blood, and it’s confirmed. You are satyr, not that we didn’t already know that. But it led me to something else. Satyr females are fertile. They go into heat, just like you did.”
Maya held her breath. Was it possible?
“I’m not one hundred percent certain, but I believe that because you continued to go into heat even after you’d turned vampire, you might still be fertile.”
“Do you think it’s possible?” Maya asked the witch, trying to wrap her brain around it.
Delilah nudged her gently in the side. “Only one way to find out.” A soft smile curled around her lips as she winked.
Francine’s mouth widened into a grin. “I agree.”
Maya grabbed the woman’s hand and squeezed it. Her heart was too full to say anything, but Francine’s eyes told her she understood. And Maya knew exactly what she wanted to do right now.
***
Gabriel looked around the crowd still assembled around the grave. Small groups had formed as everybody was talking about Carl and the things that had happened over the last few days. Maya was nowhere to be seen.
He stopped Zane as he walked past him. “Have you seen Maya?”
“She was talking to Thomas earlier.”
Gabriel nodded and looked for Thomas. He saw him standing with Eddie. Gabriel strode to him. “Do you know where Maya went? I haven’t seen her the last half hour.”
Could Thomas hear the desperate tone in his voice? God, he was getting pathetic. Being separated from her for even a few minutes filled him with worry and longing. Only when she was near him, did he feel at peace.
Thomas gave him a knowing look. “If that isn’t the look of a man in love.”
“Well, do you know where she went?” he repeated his question.
“You can find her at my house.”
Surprise flooded him. “What is she doing at your house?”
“I’ve offered it to her for the next three days. Eddie and I are supposed to go to Seattle for a training exercise, so the house will be empty. Samson’s place is too crowded right now. I figured the two of you would want some privacy, but if you don’t—”
“No, of course,” Gabriel replied hastily. “We want privacy.” He’d already wondered where they would find a place to be alone for the bonding ceremony. Unlike a human wedding, a blood-bond was performed in private, with only the two partners bonding present.
Thomas produced a key and handed it to him. “Here. Enjoy.”
Gabriel smiled. He would tell Maya that he wanted to bond tonight. There was no reason to wait any longer.
***
Gabriel closed the door behind him. Thomas’ house was quiet and for a moment he wondered if Maya was truly here, but then he inhaled and took in her scent. He followed the delectable scent to the private area of the house. When he pushed the door to the master bedroom open, the sight that greeting him was a dream come true.
The room glowed in the light of dozens of candles. The bed was covered with crisp white sheets, and on it lay Maya, dressed in a flowing blood-red negligee with a neckline plunging to her navel. Gabriel soaked in the image and knew he was already hard beneath his black pants.
Maya had anticipated his thoughts. He knew instinctively what her display meant: she was ready to blood-bond with him.
“I was waiting for you.”
He let the door behind him snap in, before he crossed the distance to the bed.
“I was worried when you disappeared from the funeral.”
“I wanted to surprise you,” she answered and gave him a longing look from underneath her lashes.
Slowly, he opened the first button of his shirt. “You did.”
Maya sat up and moved toward him. “Let me help you with that.”
Gabriel tried to swallow back his eagerness. He didn’t want to rush this and end up fucking her as frantically as he had in Samson’s living room. But when Maya’s hand came up to ease the buttons of his shirt open and scraped his skin in the process, he let out a frustrated huff.
“Ah, fuck it!” He ripped his shirt off his body with one swipe of his claws and dropped it to the ground.
“Somebody’s impatient,” she cooed and licked her lips.
“Is that a problem?”
Her eyes followed his hands as he tugged at his pants, jerking them off his body just as quickly at his shirt, taking his boxers with it in the same move. The widening of her pupils told him that she was looking at his twin erections now. The scent of Maya’s arousal drifted into this nostrils.
“No, no problem,” she answered slowly, her breath catching in her throat. He liked the way she looked at him as he stood in front of her completely naked. He couldn’t remember ever having shed his clothes this quickly.
Gabriel filled his lungs with her scent. “Yeah, I didn’t think it would be.” He deliberately dropped his gaze to the triangle of dark curls he could see through the gauzy fabric.
When he reached for her, she met him half way. “It’s time,” was all he said as he looked
into her eyes.
“Yes,” she replied before she offered her lips for a kiss. He took them, sinking his mouth onto hers, driving his tongue between her parted lips to taste her.
He lowered them onto the bed, covering her body with his. His hands pushed aside the fabric that barely covered her breasts, and he caressed her naked skin. He loved the way the red color contrasted against her dark skin and hair. With the white sheets underneath her, she looked like a beautiful tableau.
“I like what you’re wearing,” he whispered against her lips. His hand slipped down along her torso to her hip, where he gathered the fabric in his hand and pulled it up. “I won’t undress you.” In fact, he wanted to bond with her wearing it.
Maya opened her thighs and allowed him to settle at her core. The hot little smile she gave him signaled her approval. “I want you now, Gabriel.”
He positioned his lower cock at her wet core and pushed forward. His upper cock slid over her clit in the same instant as he submerged himself in her heat.
A moan dislodged from her lips. “I love the way you do that.”
Gabriel locked eyes with her. “That’s good then, because I love doing it.” To prove his point, he pulled back and repeated the move. And for good measure, he did it again. Then he fell into an easy rhythm. Her body moved in synch with his, or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe he moved in synch with her body. But did it really matter? All that mattered was that they were together.
He found her lips again and took them, claiming her mouth with his tongue the way his cock claimed her pussy. He would never get enough of her, but he knew that he would enjoy the constant hunger he felt for her. A hunger he could no longer deny.
When he released her lips, he felt his fangs itch. “Bond with me.”
A sparkle in her eyes told him she had waited for his demand. When her fangs pushed past her lips, he could barely contain his excitement.
“You’re beautiful,” he mumbled before he sank his fangs into her neck. Then he felt hers pierce the skin on his shoulder. Her blood was everything he’d dreamed of and more. Thick and rich, it coated his tongue. It nourished his heart and his soul. Maya was his, and he was hers.
Before he lost himself in the euphoric feelings her blood and her wet and warm channel gave him, he reached out with his mind and connected with her.
Mine for eternity.
Mine always, her mind answered back and warmed his heart.
Epilogue
Maya arranged the calendar on her new desk and looked around the room. Her own little practice. Sure, her office hours were unorthodox, but so were her patients. She was now officially the first vampire physician in San Francisco.
Gabriel had bought a beautiful Victorian house close to Samson’s, and the basement now housed her medical practice. He’d encouraged her to continue with her medical career even though it meant she had to start all over again and learn everything she could about a vampire’s physical form. Not that she minded. Gabriel was always willing to let her experiment on him. She felt herself smile at the thought.
“You look happy,” a voice came from the door.
Maya looked up.
“I knocked,” Yvette said and entered. “But you didn’t hear me.”
“Daydreaming, I guess.”
Yvette let appreciative glances travel around the room. “I wish you lots of success with your practice.”
“Thank you. I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you wanted to return to New York.”
She could see Yvette hesitate. “That’s why I want to talk to you. With Ricky dead and Gabriel having taken over the running of the San Francisco office, there’ve been some changes.”
Maya raised an eyebrow. Gabriel had not said much about the future of the company and what he and Samson planned on doing after Ricky’s death other than the fact that Gabriel would take Ricky’s place and relinquish his position in New York.
“Gabriel has asked if I wanted to stay in San Francisco. I think he feels he has to offer me something in exchange for saving you from Ricky, when clearly it was a team effort.”
Maya took two steps toward Yvette and put her hand on the woman’s arm. “You were there first. You took him down. I’m grateful for that. I never thought you’d risk your own life for me; I didn’t think you liked me much.”
Yvette smiled. “I liked Ricky even less.”
“Thank you.”
“To get back to Gabriel’s offer—I didn’t want to accept it unless you were okay with it.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“It can’t have escaped you that I wanted Gabriel for myself.”
“I can’t blame you for that. He is an amazing man. But you’ve accepted that he’s mine. I have no quarrels with you. If Gabriel wants you to work with him in San Francisco, you shouldn’t let him wait for an answer much longer.”
Yvette put her hand over Maya’s and squeezed it. “I’m glad you feel that way. It makes it easier for me to ask you for something else.”
What else could there be? She and Yvette weren’t exactly friends, even though she hoped that over the years that would change. “Yes?”
“Drake told me you’re a good researcher.”
“I was,” Maya admitted, a twinge of regret charging through her body.
“You could be again. There’s something—” Yvette broke off.
“What is it?” Concern rose in Maya.
“I want a child. But as you know yourself, vampire females are infertile.” Maya heard the desperation in Yvette’s voice. If Yvette knew of Maya’s hopes for her own ability to conceive, Yvette would only feel more devastated. She couldn’t tell her, but she felt for her. She understood her desperation, her longing.
“Yvette.”
Yvette looked up.
“I’ll do all I can—it’ll give me a purpose. I can’t promise I’ll find a cure, but I’ll do my best.”
“Baby, are you coming up so we can —” Gabriel said from the door. “Oh, hi, Yvette.”
Maya looked at her man. He seemed more handsome as each day passed. “Gabriel, Yvette’s come to give you her answer.”
“Excellent; let’s talk.”
Yvette walked toward him, but then looked back. “Thank you, I mean it.”
Gabriel was almost out the door when Maya called after him. “Baby, what was it that you wanted?”
He turned and raked a hungry look over her body, making her shiver with pleasure. He could do that to her with just a look. Her voice was hoarse when she said, “Don’t answer that. I think I get the idea. I’ll be waiting for you.”
THE END
Excerpt of A Touch of Greek
What would the punishment be this time? A year in Hades for giving it to Zeus’ mistress du-jour? Seemed like a fair exchange, Triton thought. It could be worse. He could be bridled from any sexual activities for a decade – which would suck to say the least. Anything, just not that! He’d never survive it. Not sating his sexual urges for a week bordered on excruciating, a decade would be pure torture.
At least in Hades he could screw some desperate souls, and the year would pass by in delicious debauchery. He could deal with the heat and the stench, and surely, Father’s other brother, Hades, wouldn’t make the stay too uncomfortable for him. As long as he kept his hands off Hades’ wife. Now there was a beauty, if there ever was one.
Despite his thoughts, Triton kept his head down and his eyes averted, not willing to piss the king of gods off any further. He cringed convincingly as Zeus lifted his arm and sent another thunderbolt across the blue sky. A sound as loud as a thousand horses’ hooves cracked through the white clouds that hung over Olympus. For sure, his uncle gave an impressive show right there on the terrace of his home overlooking the mortal world of Greece.
Better to play the repentant servant to Zeus. There was no way he was getting out of this mess unscathed. Not even his father Poseidon could help him right now – not that Triton wanted to ask the old man for help. All he�
�d get would be a lecture.
Besides, in his current state Uncle Zeus wouldn’t listen to anyone, least of all his brother.
Whatever punishment Triton was due, however, would be worth it. By the gods, how Danae’s pale thighs had wrapped around him when he’d pumped into her. Her pink nipples had been erect little peaks topping voluptuous breasts that had bounced up and down, side to side with every thrust he’d delivered. Oh Gods, he’d delivered it to her – several times. She’d screamed her pleasure to the heavens and professed he was a better lover than Zeus, and by the gods, he’d lapped that compliment up the same way he’d gobbled up the cream that had oozed from her quivering pussy.
She’d milked him so many times, he’d collapsed in her arms, unable to move another limb. And that was exactly how Zeus had found him: in her bed, bare-assed, and with his dick still inside her. Talk about in flagrante. He wasn’t going to smooth-talk himself out of that one.
Triton took a deep breath and filled his lungs with the sweet scent of ambrosia that drifted his way from just inside the palace. He eyed the spectators who had gathered around them. It hadn’t taken long for them to assemble – one word to the right person and the news had spread like wildfire. Zeus liked an audience as much as the next god, especially when he was ready to hand out punishment.
“Did you hear me?” Zeus’ voice boomed through the warm air, hitting him like a tornado sweeping over the sea. Unlike any storm over the world’s oceans, this was one Triton couldn’t calm, not even with his powers as the god of seafarers and sailors.
Triton lifted his head to meet his uncle’s glare, but was careful not to show his defiance. “Of course, Zeus.”
“Then choose.”
Zeus looked nothing like the mortals depicted him in their books and paintings. He was no old man with a white beard. No, the god of all gods was a virile man looking no older than thirty-five in mortal years, with a chiseled face as beautiful as Michelangelo’s David and as hard as the granite the famous artist had used. Unfortunately, Triton mused. It made competition for some decent pussy on Olympus darn stiff. Only around women would Zeus turn on his charm and melt any female right into his perfect body – or under, which was the preferred position for any woman when around the god.