by Folsom, Tina
Another scream came from the kitchen. “Let go of me!”
A moment later, Gabriel burst into the room. The scene he met with wasn’t at all what he’d expected. Instead of an unknown intruder, his own colleagues Thomas and Zane were holding the struggling Maya against the wall, while Yvette was trying to pour a bottle of blood down her throat. Maya kicked viciously, her face furious, her lips pressed together now, refusing the bottle Yvette held against her lips.
“What the fuck is going on?” Gabriel shouted and rushed to jerk Yvette away from Maya. “Let go of her, now. All of you.”
Neither Thomas nor Zane complied.
“She won’t drink,” Yvette explained as she let her gaze run over his form, a question mark clearly written on her face as she saw his muddy pants and boots.
“I said, let go of her, now.” Maybe it was the fury in his voice, or the fact that his fangs had pushed through and were showing, but Thomas and Zane instantly dropped their hold on Maya. She immediately moved toward him. Gabriel cupped her shoulders with his hands.
“What happened to you?” Thomas asked. Gabriel gave him an impatient look.
“Don’t ask.” There was no way he could explain his visit to a witch.
Besides, he was the boss and didn’t owe anybody any explanation.
Gabriel’s eyes scanned Maya’s body for any injuries. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, but said nothing. Instead, she sought shelter in his chest as if she hadn’t noticed his damp and messy clothes. Gabriel welcomed her trust in him, yet wondered why she felt comfortable with him. He was just as much a stranger to her as the others – a rather wet stranger at that.
As he put his arm around her back, he looked back at his colleagues.
“Explain yourselves.” He caught Yvette’s look, which focused on his arm around Maya. The flash in her eyes could only be interpreted as jealousy. The realization caught him by surprise. He’d never given Yvette any reason to believe that he was even remotely interested in her other than as a valued colleague. Or had he leaned on her too much for companionship and she’d interpreted him wrongly?
“She spit out the blood,” Thomas claimed. “We called the doc, and he said to get her to drink.”
“Where’s Drake?”
“On his way,” Thomas replied.
Gabriel pulled away slightly from Maya to look at her face. “Is that true, that you didn’t want to drink the blood?”
“It’s disgusting! It tastes vile. It makes me puke,” she spat.
“We weren’t lying,” Zane snapped.
Gabriel shot him a furious look. “And I guess it was your idea to restrain her and force her to feed.” He didn’t need to wait for Zane’s answer to know he was right. “May I remind you that this is not World War II, and you’re not in a torture chamber.”
Zane’s eyes narrowed. Gabriel watched as the cords in his second-in-command’s neck bulged. At the same time, he felt Maya’s body tense. Her instincts were sharp, he realized instantly. Zane had a short temper and a vicious streak. Violence was a way of life for him, and she was right to fear him.
“Whatever works.” Zane’s voice was cold and devoid of any emotion. If he wasn’t such a great fighter, Gabriel would have fired him years ago. But it was smarter to have Zane fighting on their side rather than the enemy’s. And once Zane chose a side, he stuck with it. Where his fierce loyalty stemmed from, Gabriel could only guess, but knew he’d never know the true reason.
“You ever touch her again, I’ll kill you,” Gabriel warned, then swept his gaze over the other two. “That goes for all of you. Maya is under my personal protection. You harm her, you will feel my wrath.”
The shocked looks on his colleagues’ faces told him that they took his threat seriously – as they should. He never made empty treats, and he never bluffed. And he was the worst poker player ever for that very reason.
“Good.” Gabriel turned his attention back to Maya. He was all too aware that he still held her in his arms, and maybe at this moment she felt the same awkwardness that he experienced, because she suddenly stepped out of his hold.
“Yvette was trying to force the blood down my throat when I’d already told her that it was making me gag,” Maya said.
Yvette took a step forward. “I gave her the best quality stuff. She’s making it sound like I fed her animal blood.”
“That’s not what I said. The taste and smell of it makes me sick. I can’t drink it. Don’t you get that?” Maya fisted her hands at her hips and stared at Yvette.
Not wanting a cat fight on his watch, Gabriel raised his hand.
“Okay, let’s just go over this in detail. Yvette, what did you give her?”
“Nothing I wouldn’t drink myself.” When Gabriel raised his eyebrow, she continued, “First the O positive bottle, then even the O
neg. You know Samson always has the best supplies. But she wouldn’t even drink O neg. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Maybe I’m allergic,” Maya interrupted.
“Impossible,” Thomas answered.
“Unheard of,” Zane agreed with his colleague. “Vampires are not allergic to blood.”
Gabriel nodded. He had to agree with them. Never in his long life had he heard of a vampire who would be repulsed by human blood.
“Maya, a newly turned vampire’s overwhelming thirst makes sure you drink whatever human blood is available. It’s instinct, pure and simple.”
Maya’s other instincts seemed to be working just fine – her instant response to Zane’s aggression had shown Gabriel that she was fully attuned to her natural sense of self-preservation, but why she wouldn’t feed, he couldn’t explain.
“Maybe I’m not a vampire then,” she replied.
Gabriel swept a long look over her form. He could clearly sense her aura, and if that wasn’t enough to prove to him what she was, he remembered the moment she’d bitten him. He’d felt her fangs graze him. No, she was a vampire. “Something is wrong.”
* * *
Maya swallowed hard at Gabriel’s words. Wrong? There were a hell lot of things that were wrong. For starters, she was a vampire – even if she couldn’t yet accept this fact – when she should right now be at the hospital diagnosing and healing patients. In addition, she was pretty much locked up in a strange house with four strangers – no, make that five with the butler – when she should be at her own little apartment.
p. She wore the clothes of a woman she’d never met. Wasn’t that enough?
Apparently not. So she hadn’t turned into a normal vampire then – that was just her hard luck. Instead of craving human blood, like they told her every newly turned vampire did, she found it disgusting and gagged on it.
But what they didn’t know and what she wouldn’t – couldn’t – tell them was that what she really wanted was to take a bite out of Gabriel.
Literally. The moment he’d stepped into the kitchen to rescue her from his obnoxious friends, she’d fought against her urge to sink her fangs into his arm and feed from him. Yes, feed. That’s what they called it.
When he’d held her to his chest, she’d inhaled his scent deeply. Her senses were so sharp that she could virtually smell the warm blood underneath his skin, so close for the taking. If only his friends would leave the room, maybe she could somehow overwhelm him and take what she needed. And what she needed wasn’t only his blood. She wanted his arms around her and his naked body on top of her or underneath her – whichever way she could get him.
Maya shook the thought from her mind. She wasn’t an animal that attacked without regard for its victim, but by God, she wanted Gabriel’s blood. And she wanted his body just as much. What had she become? A creature driven by her needs alone? Had she lost all her humanity?
She didn’t want to believe it. Her sense of right and wrong was still in place. Her fears still the same as ever, her passion unbridled and ready to be unleashed on the unsuspecting man who’d don
e nothing but help and comfort her.
She looked up at Gabriel. Strange, only hours ago she’d been scared out of her wits at the sight of him. The ugly scar had looked menacing.
But all the things he’d said and done since had started overriding his outside appearance. When she looked at him now, there was no ugliness, only a man who was trying to protect her.
And how did she want to repay him for his kindness? By biting him.
She couldn’t allow herself to do that. She had to get out of this place. Without a word, she turned on her heels and rushed out of the kitchen.
“Where’re you going?” she heard Gabriel’s voice behind her.
“Maya!”
But she didn’t want to listen to him.
In the corridor, she turned toward the stairs. She needed her handbag with her keys so she could go home. Before she could set even one foot on the first step, Gabriel was already behind her and turned her around to face him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his face a mask of concern and confusion.
She tried to find the right words, but nothing came out. How could she tell him what she really wanted? To sink her fangs into his neck while she explored his naked body with her hands, when all he wanted was to protect her.
“I promise they won’t hurt you anymore. They fear me too much.
I’m their boss. Nobody will touch you or force you to do anything you don’t want to do,” he promised.
Maya shook her head. She believed him, but it wasn’t enough. “I don’t belong here. I’m going home.”
Gabriel’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t go home. That rogue is still out there. It’s too dangerous.”
“I need to go home. I can’t stay here with you. This is not my life.
This is not me.” Tears started welling up in her eyes again, but she pushed them back. “I have a job, a life. My parents – what will I tell my parents? And my friends? Paulette and Barbara will be so worried if I don’t tell them where I am.”
“We’ll help you figure things out. I will help you,” Gabriel insisted.
“And what, make up lies to hide what I am? Or will I be dead to everybody else?”
His hand stroked over her arm in a gesture so comforting, she wanted to lean into him.
“We all have to make up new lives for ourselves. We stay young while everyone around us ages and dies. I’ll help you figure out what to do about your parents and your friends. But for now, you can’t tell anybody, not while we’re trying to take out the rogue.”
“And then what? What will I do with my life? I can’t be a doctor anymore. That’s all I know how to do – and now, I’m a freak, don’t you understand? I’m not normal. And I won’t drink human blood. I just won’t.”
“You’ll die if you don’t,” a voice came from the entrance door before it slammed shut.
Maya’s gaze snapped to the man who now stood in the foyer. Tall and skinny, he looked at her.
“That’s Dr. Drake, and as much as I’d like to disagree with him, he’s right,” Gabriel added.
“Looks like I came just in time.” Drake stepped further into the house and stretched out his hand toward Maya. “We’ve met before, but I’m afraid at our last encounter you were unconscious.” Then he turned to Gabriel and looked him up and down. “I see your visit wasn’t welcome.”
Maya had no idea what the doctor was referring to, but apparently Gabriel did, because his next word sounded more like a warning than a greeting. “Doc.”
With a smile Drake perused her. “The turning completed well thanks to Gabriel.”
Maya looked at the doctor. What did Gabriel have to do with her turning? They’d told her a rogue had attacked her and turned her. When she gave Gabriel a questioning look, he dropped his lids slightly as if he wanted to hide from her scrutiny.
“What do you mean?” she asked the doctor, staring right into his blue eyes.
“Well, surely, they told you what happened.”
Maya’s hackles went up. They were keeping something from her.
They hadn’t told her the truth. “No. Why don’t you?”
Drake looked from her to Gabriel and then back. He appeared flustered.
“You were in pretty bad shape when they found you. The turning had started, but it didn’t take. We only had two choices: let you die or turn you fully.”
Memories of the previous night flashed in Maya’s mind. “You didn’t let me die.” She remembered the pain and the cold. And the strange dream she’d had.
“No, Gabriel turned you fully. He gave you enough of his blood for the turning to take. For all intents and purposes, he’s your sire.”
Maya’s mouth gaped open as she looked back at Gabriel who stood a mere three feet away from her. Now it all made sense. Her dream hadn’t been a dream at all. That night she’d fed from Gabriel’s wrist, she’d felt his body warm her, comfort her. Now it was no surprise that he was so protective of her. To him, she must feel like his daughter. No wonder he’d been so reluctant to kiss her and had looked so ashamed and guilt-ridden when the kiss had ended.
Was it regret she saw in his eyes now?
“There was no time to waste. I had to act,” Gabriel said, and it sounded like an apology.
Had he acted rash and made a decision he now regretted? She didn’t want to know, couldn’t ask him, but his eyes said it all: so much regret, so much pain. He’d taken on a responsibility she wasn’t sure he wanted.
That’s what she was to him: somebody he had to take care of because he’d turned her. He’d made her into what she was.
“You owe me nothing. You saved my life, and I thank you for it,”
she pressed out, trying not to cry. But she wouldn’t take anything else from him. Not even his offer of protection which clearly came from a misplaced sense of responsibility of knowing that it was his blood that had eventually turned her into a vampire. His blood that ran through her veins. Was that why she lusted after his blood? And was that the reason she felt this attraction for him?
“Dr. Drake, I’d like you to examine me.”
“Certainly. Let’s use Samson’s study,” he answered and pointed toward a door at the end of the corridor.
When Gabriel made a move to follow them, she added, “In private.”
Maya caught his look from the corner of her eye. What she saw stunned her. He was hurt? Shouldn’t he be relieved that she had released him from his obligation to take care of her? Yet he looked anything but.
Maya shut the door of the study behind her and let herself fall against it. The room was wood-paneled with dark wood and a collection of overstuffed bookcases. The large antique desk held two computer screens and other assorted gadgets. It appeared the owner of the house –
Samson, she assumed – liked his electronic toys.
“How are you feeling?” the doctor asked.
She gave an impatient wave with her hand. “Let’s cut to the chase and talk doctor to doctor.”
He nodded. “Fine.”
“Even though I hear you’re a psychiatrist, I guess you’re the closest they have to a real doctor in San Francisco.”
Drake frowned. “Psychiatry is a real medical discipline.”
“Whatever you say. Let’s just hope you can clear up a few things for me – at this point I wouldn’t care if you were a veterinarian.”
“What is it I can help you with?” The doctor didn’t seem to mind the reference she’d made, and silently she thanked him for his good-natured behavior. She needed his cooperation.
“You said that Gabriel sired me. Does this make me his daughter?”
God help her if she was lusting after her father’s blood – and body.
“Not at all. Of course, there’s always a certain affinity between a sire and the vampire he creates, but mostly it is because when a vampire is created, he generally sticks with the sire and his family. Take Carl, for example. Samson sired him when he found
him dying after a vicious attack. It was entirely natural that Carl would stay with Samson, since he was the only vampire he knew and could teach him all he needed to know. So, while friendships often develop, it is not a matter of whose blood you carry. There have been plenty of incidents where a vampire killed his sire.”
While Maya was relieved to hear that she wasn’t considered Gabriel’s daughter it didn’t explain why she would want to drink his blood.
“Have you ever heard of a vampire who wouldn’t drink human blood?”
Drake pursed his lips. “Well, it’s very unusual. I admit I’ve heard rumors of vampires drinking synthetic blood somewhere on the East Coast, and even of some vampires who drink animal blood because they don’t like the idea of hurting humans. But I’ve never actually heard of one who won’t drink it at all. Tell me why it is that you don’t want to drink it,” he prompted.
“It tastes disgusting. I gag as soon as it touches my taste buds.”
“Fascinating.”
Maya gave him an exasperated look.
“Sorry,” he apologized. “But you must admit that from a medical standpoint this is quite intriguing.”
She had to agree with him. Whether she wanted to or not. During her research while a fellow, she would have loved to be presented with a case like hers – something to really sink her teeth into. But now that she was the case, the fascination wasn’t quite as huge.
“How are your research skills?” she asked Drake.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Reasonable, why?”
“Listen, I need you to do something for me. I need you to research what could cause this aversion to human blood. Anything you can find.
Allergies, genes, pre-existing conditions.”
She would research it herself, but she knew nothing about vampires – where would she even start? No, Drake had a better chance of connecting the dots, and besides, she needed all her energy just to fight her desire for Gabriel’s blood. Maya grabbed a pen and piece of paper from the desk and scribbled on it. “Here, this is my logon and password to my medical files. It will give you anything I’ve ever suffered from. I want you to find out what’s wrong with me.”