by Folsom, Tina
“May I?”
She met his look. It was full of desire and promise. He wanted her.
There was no doubt about it. Maya pulled his head toward hers. “Touch me,” she breathed against his lips.
When his mouth claimed hers, she felt an unknown euphoria travel through her body. Everything about him was so familiar, yet so new.
His kiss was different from the times when he’d kissed her before. Gone was the hesitation she’d felt from him before, replaced by the confidence of a man who was used to making demands.
His hands explored her with sure strokes. His fingers teased her heated skin, promising pleasure, demanding surrender. Like a conqueror he forged ahead, his tongue dueling with hers, his lips crushing any doubt she’d ever had.
Closer and closer he pressed her to him, his body heat searing her, yet she couldn’t pull back, didn’t want to. He set her aflame. No other man had ever been able to ignite her like he did with merely a kiss and a caress. Like her body knew him, recognized him and connected to him on a different level.
His hands on her conjured up images of wild and untamed sex, not simply a joining of bodies, but of minds and souls. A deeper connection.
All the things she’d ever wanted from a man – all the forbidden cravings she’d never voiced – tumbled to the forefront. She wanted to be taken by him in every way possible.
As his lips traveled south, as he sucked one nipple into his mouth and greedily devoured it, her body heat spiked. She was feverish, but this wasn’t the fever she knew. This was desire for Gabriel. She arched toward him, demanding he give her more. With a low growl, he scraped his teeth against her sensitive nipple.
“Oh, God, Gabriel!”
His chuckle was a deep rumble. By the sound of it, he knew exactly what he was doing to her. He was turning her into putty in his hands. No man had ever been able to do that.
He only lifted his head briefly, his dark chocolate eyes now sparkling red, his fangs protruding from his lips. “You’ve seen nothing yet.”
Just the thought of what his words implied made her shiver with delight. A moment later, his mouth moved lower, planting open-mouthed kisses, interlaced with playful bites down her stomach. Each one of them felt like a little explosion going off inside her. Had she ever been this sensitive to a man’s touch, or was her vampire side doing this to her?
No, this couldn’t just be because she was a vampire now. Even if she were still human, she was certain, Gabriel’s touch would ignite her the same way. But she couldn’t think any further, because the second his mouth reached her pussy and buried itself in her dark thatch of hair, her brain shut down. All she could do now was to feel.
When his tongue lapped at her moist folds, Maya moaned. He answered with a growl. She couldn’t imagine a sexier sound. As she steeled herself for the onslaught of sensations his tongue unleashed on her, she slid her hands into his hair and felt him tremble. A smile stole onto her lips. The knowledge that she had the same effect on him as he had on her filled her with satisfaction.
His tongue drove deep into her while his thumb rubbed over her clit.
His action stole her breath. Again he speared his tongue and forged deep into her, then he pulled back and let his tongue slide over her clit. Her need spiraled.
“Need you inside,” she demanded. She wanted to feel his hard shaft inside her, filling her, taking her, making her submit to him.
A finger plunged into her, then a second one, but she wanted more, needed more.
“Your cock. Let me feel you inside.”
But he didn’t heed her demand. Instead, he drove three fingers into her and sucked greedily on her engorged clit. Before she could repeat her demand, he clamped down on her clit and drove her over the edge.
The waves of pleasure crashed over her like a tsunami annihilating the Pacific coast.
By the time her breathing returned to normal and her body’s spasms had subsided, Gabriel had pulled her back into his arms and cradled her to his chest.
She lifted her head to look at him. “I want you inside me.”
He smiled and put his finger on her lips. “Next time, baby, next time.”
How could he not want this when she clearly felt his raging erection press against her stomach? “Now, please.”
Gabriel cupped her face with his palm. “You need to rest a little. I want you, baby, don’t ever doubt that. And soon, I’ll make you mine.”
His kiss prevented her next question.
Seventeen
Maya took a deep breath before she stepped into the kitchen. She felt invigorated by her shower and by having slept in Gabriel’s arms. He had given her more pleasure by touching and kissing her than she had ever felt during regular sex. When she was with him, things felt right again in her life. Almost as if everything was normal again, no, not normal – better.
For the first time since the transformation, she had a true awareness of her new body. She could feel how her senses were attuned to her surroundings, how her body processed stimuli differently. It was a strange experience, almost as if this wasn’t her body, but somebody else’s. Somebody else’s, because for the first time in her life, she’d felt true sexual satisfaction in this body. Or maybe it wasn’t that she had a vampire body now, maybe it was all because of what Gabriel had done: he’d showered her with tenderness and passion without taking any pleasure for himself.
Maya knew Gabriel was in the kitchen even before she entered it.
He’d slipped out of bed an hour before sunset, reassuring her that he would want nothing more than spend the entire night in bed with her.
But he had work to do.
Gabriel greeted her with the smile of a satisfied man plastered on his face and drew her into his arms.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked against her lips.
“Only up until you left bed.”
His lips curled upwards before he brushed them against her mouth.
Then he straightened himself, and his face turned serious again. “I had to get in contact with my people. I spoke to Ricky, but he hasn’t been able to get in touch with your friends yet. I guess they are harder to pin down than we thought.”
“I could page them if you want.”
Gabriel shook his head. “And tell them what? Ricky said that a neighbor saw Paulette leave with an overnight bag.”
“Oh, I forgot. She has that one-day seminar in Seattle once a month and likes to go there the night before so she won’t be too tired.”
“Good. Then she’ll be back tomorrow. I’ll tell Ricky. As for Barbara, he’s trying to catch her at the hospital.” He looked at his watch. “I have to meet with Zane now. Do you want to feed before I leave?”
The thought of sinking her fangs into his neck made Maya feel flushed again. If she fed from him now, there was no way he would leave this house within the next hour or two, because for certain she would drag him back to bed.
“No, I’m fine right now.”
He gave her a look she thought might be disappointment. “If you say so.”
She stretched her arms out and put her fingers to his lips. “You know what will happen if I feed from you right now, don’t you? So why don’t you go and meet with Zane. In the meantime, I’ll work up an appetite.” She licked her lips. “I’m sure I’ll be ravenous when you get back.”
The wicked glint in his eyes made her heart beat twice as fast as before.
“Good. I look forward to dinner.”
She followed him out into the hallway, where Gabriel called out, “Thomas, where are you?”
A moment later Thomas emerged from Samson’s study. “What do you need?”
“Take care of Maya. I have to go see Zane.” Before he turned, he added, “Any news on the phone records?”
Thomas shook his head. “AT&T’s servers are still down. I’m having Eddie monitor them. He’s supposed to call me as soon as they are up again.”
Gabriel nod
ded. “Thanks.”
After a quick kiss on her lips, he was gone. Maya turned around to look at Thomas. “What phone records?”
“Yours – we’ve figured that maybe the rogue called you at some point, especially if you were dating him.”
Maya cringed at the thought. She could have never been intimate with somebody so evil, could she? Would she have recognized what he was like early enough – before she’d jumped into bed with him? Why could she not remember anything about him? For a moment she closed her eyes and concentrated, but no flash of memory came.
“You okay?” Thomas’ voice sounded concerned. “It was touch and go for a while there. Are you well?”
She was acutely aware that Thomas knew full well what she Gabriel had been doing during the last few hours, and she felt surprisingly tongue-tied about it. When she lowered her lids to avoid his gaze and only mumbled a quick “yes”, he clicked his tongue.
“There’s nothing wrong with what you guys did. Gabriel is a good man.”
“I barely know him, but for some reason, I do know him. Does that make sense?”
“As I said, it’s all good.”
Maya lifted her head and smiled at him. She liked Thomas and knew she could have an easy friendship with him. “Thanks. About those phone records: I get itemized bills from my cell phone provider. Would that help?”
Thomas nodded eagerly. “Sure would. I can’t hack into AT&T right now, so if we can access the records any other way, it would speed up the search.”
“I only have the last three months online. This month’s isn’t available yet.”
“Better than nothing.”
After spending half an hour looking through the cell phone bills, Maya had to admit defeat. “I know all those people: friends, patients, colleagues. There’s not a single unfamiliar name amongst them. Sorry.”
Thomas shrugged his shoulders. “It was worth a try.”
“Maybe he called me on the landline – unfortunately I don’t get itemized bills for that.”
“Don’t worry. As soon as the servers of the telephone company are back up, I’ll access the records and have you look through them. In the meantime, there’s not much else we can do about that.”
Never one to sit around idle, Maya felt restless. She was sure it would take hours until Gabriel was back. “Do you think you could teach me a few things? Gabriel mentioned that you do mentoring.”
“That’s right, I have a new vampire under my wings right now. It’s a very rewarding role.”
“What do you teach him or her?”
“Him,” he answered. “I teach Eddie how to control his urges, how to use his special skills.”
Maya smiled at him. “Gabriel told me you’re the best at teaching mind control.”
Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Starting with the hard stuff – you’re ambitious.”
“I’ve always been an A-student.”
“This is a little different than studying. It’s got more to do with emotions than with knowledge. I think we should wait and work on some more elemental skills, like how to control your strength.”
Maya squared her chest. “No. I want to learn mind control. And I want to learn it now.”
Thomas smirked. “Gabriel is going to have his hands full with you.”
Then he laughed. “Does he know yet?”
“Know what?”
“That you’re headstrong.”
“He’s a smart man, he’ll figure it out soon enough.”
“Okay then. But we need somebody to try mind control on.”
Thomas wrinkled his forehead. “Ever been to a gay bar?”
“Why are we going to a gay bar?”
“Because it’s the least likely place somebody will know you.”
Maya shrugged her shoulders. “If you keep the lesbians away from me, I’m game.”
“Deal. Just don’t keep the cute gay guys away from me.”
“As if I could.” Maya looked Thomas up and down. He was a formidable specimen of the male kind, and the way he filled out his leather pants was distracting to say the least. Thankfully, she had her heart set on Gabriel, otherwise she would be in serious trouble falling for a gay man.
“Thanks. That’s nice of you to say.” Thomas seemed surprised at her comment.
* * *
Half an hour later, she and Thomas squeezed through a throng of people to get into the Q Bar in the heart of the Castro. He used his body to drag her behind him through the crowd which miraculously parted to let them through. The bouncer barely looked at them before he waved them in.
p. Maya voiced her suspicion. “Did you use mind control on -“
He cut her off. “Don’t use those words. Call it skill while we’re in public.”
She nodded, doubting anybody had heard her in the crowded bar where the music blared and everybody tried to shout over each other.
“Did you use your skill?” she asked instead.
She knew she didn’t have to shout. Thomas could hear her just fine, as she could him. In fact, she noticed how she was able to tune in and out of conversations at will.
“I didn’t have to. The bouncer knows me. I don’t waste my skill where it’s not needed. It takes energy. If you use it to excess it exhausts you. Only use it when it’s necessary. And never on one of our kind.”
Maya nodded. “Yvette told me already.”
“Good. Then you’re forewarned. Very few of us can avoid a battle and pull their skill back once we are attacked.”
Curiosity overtook her. “Can you?”
Thomas gave her a serious look. “Too personal a question. I’ll pass.”
“Sorry.” She turned toward the bar, not wanting to see his reprimanding look.
With a hand on his shoulder he turned her back to him. “There are things each of us keeps close to his heart – you will understand one day.
We all have things we won’t talk about. Just like you do.”
Maya’s breath hitched. What did he know about her? For a few moments she felt frozen in time.
“Maya, I can’t read your mind, so relax. I have no interest in knowing what you don’t want anybody to know. Someone else might though.” He winked and grinned. “Now let’s start with our little lesson.
Otherwise I might be accused of just using you as an excuse to go out.”
The tenseness in Maya’s shoulders eased and she smiled back at him. “You mean you weren’t?”
“If you tell Gabriel that I was, I swear, I’ll tell him you forced me.”
“You’re a nice guy, you know that, Thomas?”
He tossed a look to his right, then his left. “Don’t say that so loud, woman. If that news spreads, I’ll never get another date around here.”
He frowned in mock-anger. “Nice guys don’t get laid.”
“Okay, then, teach me.” Maya was curious now. If she had to embrace her new life she would make the most out of it. And if this meant she got some superpower, then even better.
“Good. Here’s what you do. See that man nursing his drink in the corner. He’s shy. I want you to make him get up and walk up to that dark haired hunk at the bar, and put his hand on his ass.”
Maya looked at the man Thomas was referring to. He sat in the corner, his lids lowered as if he was ashamed to be here. Every so often he led his beer glass to his lips and sipped. She felt sorry for him. He clearly didn’t feel comfortable. Then her eyes drifted to the dark haired man at the bar. She looked him up and down. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Thomas. He’s got no chance.”
“That’s precisely the point. That’s why you will help him. You’ll plant the confidence in his mind so he can walk up to that guy and ask him out. You will control his mind to think he has a chance.”
Maya shook her head. “How?”
Thomas looked straight into her face. “Look inside yourself.
Concentrate on your heartbeat. Then concentrate on the man in
the corner and tell him what to do. Send your thoughts out to him. Try it.”
She took a few deep breaths, then tried to shut out the noise from the bar. She’d done yoga before, so she tried to remember what it felt like to center her body and calm her mind. A pleasant warmth filled her body.
“I feel warm.”
“That’s good,” Thomas praised. “Your body is telling you you’re collecting your strength. It’s the energy that you gather inside you that creates the warm feeling.”
She nodded without responding, trying not to break her concentration. She looked at the man and formed words in her mind.
Get up. Go to the bar. Put your hands on the dark haired man’s ass.
Maya repeated her thoughts and directed them toward the man again. But he didn’t move.
“Try again,” Thomas encouraged her. “Put all your energy into it.
Think of nothing else.”
Again, she collected her strength and calmed her mind. All she tried to concentrate on was the man in the corner, how he sat there, eyes lowered to his beer, his hand clasping the glass. She closed her eyes and sent his thoughts to him again, telling him to put the beer down and get up. The sound of a shattering glass made her snap her eyes open.
She stared at her victim. Before him on the table were the remnants of the glass, the spilled beer running down the edges of the table. With horror he stared at his hands, which had crushed the glass.
Maya spun to face Thomas. “Did I do that?”
Thomas nodded. “Did you tell him to break the beer glass?”
“No, of course not. I told him to set the beer down and get up.”
Thomas rubbed his chin. “Hmm. That’s odd. Let’s try again. But I think that poor sod’s suffered enough for one night. I think he needs a bit of a treat right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Watch.” Thomas turned away from her and looked into the direction of the hunk at the bar. A moment later, the man turned and looked toward the guy in the corner. Without hesitation he walked toward him, sat down next to him and took his hand.
Maya tuned into their conversation.