by Folsom, Tina
Gabriel wasn’t surprised. His second in command’s choice of entertainment always included sex, and if it was peppered with violence, even better. He followed his nose and found Zane in one of the booths.
He stopped outside of it and looked through the gauzy fabric.
It was easy to make out Zane’s distinct form. His bald head glistened. He was stretched out on a bench, his stiff cock sticking out of his leather pants. A woman was giving him a blow job while he had his fingers up the ass of a second one who was straddling his face.
The women were dressed, but on closer inspection Gabriel would see that the woman who was straddling Zane wasn’t wearing any panties under her ultra-short skirt.
Gabriel kept himself rigid as he watched how Zane sucked on the woman’s pussy and worked a third finger into her ass, ignoring the woman’s attempt to pull away. With his free hand he slapped her ass cheek and the woman squealed.
“Do as you’re told,” he heard Zane order her.
Gabriel contemplated interrupting him, but two things stopped him.
Interrupting a vampire while he was having sex could turn ugly – Zane would turn his sexual energy into violence and Gabriel didn’t want to be on the receiving end of it.
The second reason was his own arousal. Gabriel liked watching – it was all he often got. And this time, it was more than just watching some people in a porn movie. This time, he could pretend that he was the man, and the woman above him was Maya.
The situation turned him on within seconds, awakening sexual desires darker than usual. Why he suddenly wanted unspeakable things, indulge in sexual acts that seemed depraved and taboo, he couldn’t explain. Was he getting so desperate that anything would arouse him these days? Gabriel shook his wicked thoughts off.
When Zane sank his teeth into the woman’s thigh to draw blood, Gabriel knew the wait was over. A few moments later, he’d disentangled himself from the two women and sent them on their way.
He didn’t seem to be surprised that Gabriel was at the entrance to the alcove.
Zane waved him in. “Been waiting long?”
“Long enough.”
“You should have joined in. I’m not proprietary.”
“No, thanks.” Gabriel cleared his voice and sat down on the bench.
He’d never gotten undressed in front of his friends or colleagues, and he wasn’t starting now. Nobody knew what horror he was hiding. “I hope you wiped their memories.”
“Standard procedure,” Zane confirmed and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “You have a job for me?”
“The rogue was watching us at Maya’s apartment tonight. He knows she’s with us, so we’ll have to step up our search. Have you found anything yet?”
Zane shrugged his shoulders. “I’m working on it, as you can see.”
Gabriel frowned – having sex with two women didn’t look like working on finding a rogue.
“I have my methods.”
“I’m aware of your methods. What could you possibly find out from two women you’re fucking?”
“More than you think. Women talk. They notice things.”
Gabriel gave a brief snort. “I want you to look into the alibis of all vampire males for the night of the attack. The editor of the San Francisco Vampire Chronicle should have a complete list of all vampire households. I’ll make sure you get the list. Work your way through it.
Only the males, only the straight ones. Exclude all blood-bonded males since they wouldn’t physically have been able to drink her blood. I’m suspecting he’s a jilted lover.”
He hated the thought. Had Maya slept with him? Had she allowed him to touch her the way Gabriel wanted to touch her?
Eleven
Maya tossed in her bed. She’d told Yvette upon their return to the house that she was tired, and given that it was about an hour before sunrise, Yvette had shown no surprise at her request to rest.
Yvette had told her she was staying at the house on Gabriel’s orders.
According to Yvette there was a safe room in the basement of the house behind the garage where no light penetrated. That’s where Yvette would be sleeping. Since Gabriel would be using the master bedroom when he got back and Maya occupied the only guest room, there were no other bedrooms available in the house.
At this point, Maya didn’t care much about what anybody thought –
the hunger pain was getting so bad, not even Yvette’s open hostility could faze her. She could guess Yvette was annoyed – Gabriel’s reprimand had probably stung.
All Maya cared about was assuaging her hunger. She’d heard Gabriel come back shortly before sunrise, had heard him talk to Yvette before he’d come upstairs. She could have sworn he’d paused in front of her room, but then had walked to the master bedroom and gone inside.
Now everything was quiet.
Maya wrapped her arms around her stomach and curled into a ball.
The cramps were getting worse. Not even her worst menstrual cramps could compare to the pain her empty stomach caused as it contracted in short waves. Having grown up in an affluent society, she’d never before experienced hunger. Was this what millions of people went through daily, or was it this painful because she was a vampire now, and all her sensations seemed to be magnified?
She couldn’t let this hunger defeat her. She was stronger, she had to be. As the next wave of pain rolled over her and stole her breath, she knew she had to act. Maybe her hunger was great enough for her to overcome her aversion to the ghastly bottled blood. She would give it one more try – there was no way she could make it through the day.
And there was no chance of Drake showing up until it was dark again even if he had good news.
Maya glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It was mid-morning.
No, she couldn’t last till eight o’clock when sunset would occur.
Ignoring the pain, she swung her legs out of bed. She wore her short red nightgown but shivered in it, so she reached for her terrycloth robe and put it on.
Barefoot, she slipped out of the room and snuck downstairs. She didn’t want to wake anybody, least of all Gabriel. He would make mincemeat out of her efforts to try human blood. Even now she could smell his blood. A shiver went through her, and she sped up and raced down the hall to the kitchen. The further away she got from Gabriel, the better.
The kitchen was empty.
Maya opened the fridge and peered into it. As expected, it was filled with bottled blood. She grabbed one of the bottles and let the fridge door fall closed.
Trying not to give herself an opportunity to back out of it, she unscrewed the top. She held her breath like she’d done before and set the bottle to her lips. A moment later, she tilted her head back and took a gulp. The red liquid spread in her mouth. For all she knew, it could have been battery acid, so vile was the taste. She aimed at the kitchen sink and spat.
The drops that had reached her throat made her gag and she coughed. There was no way she could drink this, not even if her life depended on it, which unfortunately it did.
She held her mouth under the faucet and let the cold water wash out the taste in it, before she straightened. An instant later, her body cramped again and she doubled over. Trying to hold onto the counter, she accidentally knocked the bottle over, tossing it into the sink where it made a loud clank.
Unable to stand any longer, Maya tumbled to the floor. Black blotches appeared in front of her eyes. Before she could pull herself up from the cold floor, the kitchen door swung open. She first saw the long robe, then looked up and stared at Gabriel’s face.
“Maya, oh God, what happened?” he asked, his voice frantic.
Without waiting for her answer, he crouched down and pulled her up. His scent instantly wrapped around her, making her hunger pangs even worse.
She pushed him away. “Nothing. Nothing happened.”
He didn’t let go. Instead, he clasped his hands tighter around her arms.
“Let me help you. You’re weak.”
“Let me go,” she demanded, knowing she couldn’t resist much longer. She made a jerky movement and was surprised when she broke free of his hold. When he reached for her again, she lashed her hand at him, trying to stop him. Her hand swiped his forearm, but when her nails scraped over his skin, she realized her fingers had turned into sharp claws.
Blood trickled from the two short cuts she’d left on his skin. She stared at them. Blood. His blood. Right there. All she had to do was snatch his arm and pull it to her mouth, just lick it off him.
Her stomach lurched. Of its own volition, her hand reached out. She licked her lips in anticipation of the unexpected treat. Her nostrils flared, soaking in more of the delicious scent, and a deep growl dislodged from her chest. She felt like an animal, but she didn’t care anymore. Her drive for survival was stronger.
Gabriel snatched her wrist before she could touch his arm and made her look at him. Realization flashed in his eyes. He dropped his gaze to the injury on his arm, then back to her.
She was prepared to fight for what she wanted.
“Oh God, it’s my blood you want, isn’t it?” he asked full of disbelief.
Maya only answered with a low growl.
“Come.”
With an iron grip he dragged her out of the kitchen and down the hall. Would he lock her up now to make sure she didn’t attack him? She couldn’t allow that. She had to fight him.
When he pulled her into the study, she wanted to protest, but her mouth was too dry to speak. She needed his blood, and she needed it now.
A second later she found herself on the couch, sitting in his lap.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me you wanted my blood?” His voice was furious.
She jerked at his hold, trying to get out of his arms, but he didn’t allow it. “Damn you,” she cursed.
“You stubborn woman. I could have fed you last night. Do you know how much I worried about you?”
Had he said fed her? Did this mean that he was prepared to let her drink from him?
“I need -” She broke off. She couldn’t say it, felt ashamed to express her need.
“I know what you need.”
He pulled away the collar of his robe and swept back his hair. She hadn’t noticed until now that it wasn’t held back in its usual ponytail.
As he exposed his neck to her, she watched him. Did he mean it? Did he want her to feed from him?
* * *
Gabriel caught Maya’s confused look as he prepared his neck for her. He could let her feed off his wrist or forearm, but he wanted her closer, wanted to feel her body when she latched onto his vein and sucked the blood from him. Call him selfish, but he wanted to experience the pleasure of having her pressed against him when she took his blood inside her.
p. “Sink your fangs into me,” he ordered and pointed at the vein that he knew was clearly visible under his skin. “Here, I want you right here.
And you won’t stop until you’re sated. If you even dare to stop before you’ve had enough, there’ll be hell to pay.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she mumbled.
He was astounded that with the hunger he could clearly see in her eyes she had any strength left to resist.
“You won’t. Now drink or I’ll make you.” He recognized his own voice as gruff and knew it was because he was already aroused by the mere knowledge that a part of him would soon be inside her.
Maya nudged closer, and finally she dropped her head to his neck.
Her plump lips brushed against his skin. He couldn’t suppress the shiver that raced over his body, all the way from the spot where she touched him down to his big toes.
“Bite me, Maya, do it,” he urged her. He’d never wanted anything more than her teeth in his neck.
Gabriel felt her fangs graze his skin and run slowly over his vein, which was ready to burst. Then her mouth opened wider and the sharp tips of her fangs pierced his skin, drove deeper and settled in his neck.
When she sucked the first drops of blood from him, he shuddered.
Never in his long life had he experienced anything like it. Yes, she’d fed from him before, but she’d been unconscious and he’d given her blood from his wrist. Her fangs had never lodged within him. There had never been any occasion for anybody to bite his neck – no lover who might have done so in the heat of passion as he knew was common amongst vampire couples, if not to feed, but to heighten their arousal.
He was completely unprepared for his body’s reaction to her bite.
Paradise. It was the only way he could describe it. Like an electric current, a tingling warmth spread to every cell in his body, coiled around his spine and settled in his groin. His entire being buzzed with awareness.
Despite the bathrobe she wore, he could feel her body as if she was naked on his lap. Sparks seemed to jump from her body to his, like little electrical charges dancing between them. But there was still too much space between their bodies.
“Straddle me,” he whispered into her ear. Without protest, she shifted and he helped her move her legs to either side of his hips. For an instant, he wondered whether it was right to exploit the situation like he did, but it was too late: he wanted her as close as he could possibly get her. His body was craving hers.
With every ounce of blood she took from him, the euphoria in his mind increased. He’d never felt such freedom, such lightness, such bliss. Not a care in the world touched him. Loneliness was a word of the past. Pain might as well have been Chinese for he had no comprehension of the concept.
He buried his hand in her hair and held her to his neck, not wanting her to stop. His erection pressed against her, and she surely had to notice it, but she didn’t pull away. He slid his other hand to the base of her spine and fanned his fingers. The light pressure he exerted was enough for her to respond: she moved to align her core with his hard length and rubbed against him.
Gabriel couldn’t stop the loud moan from escaping his lips. He took a deep breath and inhaled her scent. Maya smelled of pure woman, ripe and aroused. He knew from his own feedings from humans – before he’d started on bottled blood – how sexually arousing it could be to drink directly from someone’s vein. If he were a gentleman, he would ignore her arousal, stop pressing her against him and not take advantage.
But the last thing on his mind right now was behaving like a gentleman.
Hell, he desired her, had from the moment he’d first seen her. Could anybody blame him for taking this little slice of heaven and enjoying it for as long as she would not resist? For as long as she was too blood-drugged to care who was shamelessly rubbing his cock against her warm center?
The pressure in his balls built, and he knew he would have to stop holding her this tightly before he made a complete idiot out of himself and came in his boxer shorts. But not yet. He needed to feel her a little while longer before he would go back to his bed, alone, only with her scent still clinging to him, and the ghost of her soft body pressed to his.
Then he would touch himself and imagine it was her soft hand stroking him, and not his own rough calloused one that squeezed him tightly until he would release his seed, pretending he flooded her warm sheath with it.
Too soon, he felt her pull away, removing her fangs from his neck.
He wanted to hold her back, tell her to continue, but he knew he couldn’t. When he looked at her eyes as she faced him, he knew she was stated. Her face looked fuller, her skin glowed, her eyes had a brilliant sheen to them. She’d never looked more beautiful to him.
“Thank you,” she whispered and dropped her gaze as if she was ashamed of what she’d done.
“My pleasure,” he answered and meant it. “You’ll have to feed from me daily.”
She raised her eyes to look straight at him. “But I ... I mean you can’t -“
“Your body clearly needs it. We all feed daily,” he insisted. It was the truth, but nevert
heless he felt like a thief – knowing he’d steal this pleasure from her every day.
“I can’t just take from you without giving anything in return. It’s not right,” she claimed, proving to him that she had more integrity than he could ever muster.
“If it’s the only thing you can drink, then that’s what it’s going to be. You’ll feed from me. And you don’t owe me anything.” She’d already given him more than she could ever imagine. Just knowing that he would get to hold her every day when she fed from him was more than he could ever wish for.
“But I want to give you something in exchange. I can’t just eat for free. It would just be like paying for dinner.”
He smiled at her comparison. He had more money than he knew what to do with. There was nothing he wanted. Except maybe …
“A kiss,” he blurted before he could stop himself. When he saw her reaction, he instantly wanted to take it back. Her eyes widened in surprise and her lips parted as if she wanted to make a snide remark.
Then her gaze zeroed in on the right side of his face where his scar marred his skin.
He swallowed hard and turned his disfigured face away from her.
He’d screwed up the most perfect moment of his life because he had let his desire rule him for an instant. It was stupid. Now, not only would she not kiss him, she would most likely fight the idea of having to feed from him again. “It’s fine,” he said keeping his voice emotionless, “you don’t have to. I, uh -“
He felt her hand grip his chin and tilt his face back to her until he was forced to look into her eyes.
“One kiss for each feeding?” she asked, then nodded slowly.
Each feeding? He’d only meant one kiss for all future feedings, but he couldn’t bring himself to protest. He wasn’t noble enough to admit that all he wanted was one single kiss. She’d misunderstood him, but he wouldn’t correct her, instead he just nodded.