Secrets of the Jaguar (Crimson Romance) (15 page)

“I trust you, Duncan.” With her hands cradling his face, she added, “Any man who can brave the depths of Victoria’s Secret alone is a warrior of love in my book, whether you admit it or not.”

Duncan didn’t say anything; instead, he carefully brought them both down onto the bed. Laying gently on top of her, he wrapped his fingers in her hair. “I love it.” His voice was gentle and pleased.

Curiosity got the best of her. “You love what?”

Instead of answering, he explored her mouth once more.

Michelle was in ecstasy as Duncan’s mouth lingered on her lips for what seemed like hours. They needed no words; instead they simply danced in and out slowly, expertly twisting around each other in an unspoken dialogue of ecstasy. He knew exactly how to move against her mouth so that she always felt as if she were a woman, not just an impassioned teen.

Now she had someone who embraced her true nature and seemed to relish every aspect of her being. Although it seemed too good to be true, she let herself get lost in the paradise of his arms.

With her eyes slitted in pleasure, Duncan laid her on the bed, the darkened room glowing from the muted TV in the background. With her stomach resting on the soft comforter, he came behind her, and slowly slid the blanket down the curves of her body. She heard a tiny click as switched off the TV.

She sucked in her breath, excited and nervous, unaware of how to respond. Not able to turn her head enough to see Duncan, she focused on the sensation of soft lips against the skin of her lower back. As his kisses traveled north, his fingertips slid down her skin.

Before she could protest nervously and ruin the moment, Duncan’s hands moved back up toward her shoulders, squeezing gently as he kissed her neck. He massaged her gently, and tension fled from her body, leaving her only with blissful relaxation at his talented fingertips. She was getting her first massage.

Duncan’s whispered against the skin of her neck, just below her ear, “Your skin was glistening in the rain earlier and I wanted so badly to touch you. The softness of your body is so beautiful. I know it’s early yet to pleasure your body, but I am excited to ease you, so let us start here.”

She gasped at his confession. His voice sexy as hell as he spoke, his lips tickling her neck. His strong caresses worked magic, leaving her body in a state of erotic relaxation.

An hour later, she was sure that he had hypnotized her with his hands, for she had never been so relaxed in her whole life. Duncan took his palms from her back and hugged his body to hers and laid a kiss on her cheek.

After a night that changed Michelle’s world and a morning that topped all mornings past, Duncan took her to the museum she had been dying to visit. The National Museum of Anthropology sat ominously in the rain with Aztec and Mayan monuments jutting out along the landscape. The building was simple cement, not giving away any sign that the most incredible collection of pre-Colombian artifacts lay hidden inside.

“I can’t wait to get you inside now I have a real archaeologist with me to give me the scoop on everything,” he teased.

“I’m hardly a real archaeologist.” But she grinned, soaking up the pride in Duncan’s voice.

After going through security and purchasing a map of the different collections, she stood with Duncan admiring the layout of the museum. It was shaped like a square with a large uncovered plaza in the middle. People scattered to and fro visiting artifacts from various eras.

Making their way to the nearest exhibit, Michelle found herself in a room full of skeletons. Tourists poked their heads as close to the glass coffins as possible to inspect the corpses.

Duncan also seemed to be an exhibition himself, since every woman in the vicinity looked him up and down like some kind of sexual god.
Well, he’s my sex god.

“Hmmm.”

“Not impressed?” Duncan lifted a brow at her muted response.

“Well, no information is provided about the specific skeletons, you know, where they were found or anything. How do we even know if these skeletons are real? They look way too clean.”

“Perhaps they pressure wash their finds nowadays.” He grinned, his eyes full of mischief.

“Ha ha. Someone’s feeling like the boyish comedian I’ve grown to love.”

“Boyish?” He maneuvered behind her, running his fingertips along her arms in a way that caused her to explode in goose bumps. “There is nothing boyish about the way I think about you, I promise.”

She turned to appraise the man who could so instantly make her feel like a goddess. “Good.” She offered him a slow, lingering kiss.

Michelle took his hand and pulled him through the next couple exhibits. They displayed everything from ancient animal bones to murals depicting the flora and fauna of ancient Mexico. As she led Duncan through the crowd, she almost forgot about all the lustful, lingering gazes that followed him.

She noticed that Duncan seemed more impressed by her excitement than anything.
He’s looking at me like he’s in love.

• • •

After their visit to the museum and a romantic boat ride at the nearby lake, they returned to the hotel as the sun was setting.

“I’m going to head out and bring us back some food, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“Oh, I’m starving. You read my mind.”

Her giant smile lit him up like a Christmas tree. He kissed her and disappeared before he began to grin like a lovesick puppy. Make that a lovestruck vampire.

If he hadn’t actually floated via mist to Mexico City’s Chinatown, he would have felt like he was floating anyway. Telling himself that he deserved a chance at love, he let himself enjoy the peace that came with knowing there was someone as beautiful as Michelle in the world.

Appearing in a darkened corner in the colorful Chinatown, he made his way toward one of restaurants still open. Looking up at the colorful lanterns lighting the night, he was distracted and never saw the figure come up behind him.

“You are dallying more than I would like, so I assume you have not yet discovered the truth of her blood.” The voice that penetrated the night was low and sinister. “I was surprised to hear that she tore apart one of my messengers. You would be making a grave mistake to let her discover our plan.”

Turning to face the dangerous, anciently accented voice, Duncan’s face turned to a stone expression of impatience and fury. “What exactly is our plan? You never exactly enlightened me.”

“You will bring the Balam Centehua to me, and her blood will spill upon the altar and release the treasure. Free us from all of our curses. Your façade of companionship was convenient for my plan. It is said that the heart needs to beat while the blood spills on the ancient stone. But so many different treasures will be released by her blood, the blood of the Balam Centehua.”

“Yes, Tzinacan,” he let the name roll like acid off his tongue, “but you have not revealed to me where I should bring her to fulfill this treasure hunt.”

Tzinacan’s pale face looked unamused. “I believe you know quite well. Please do not be coy and try to take the treasure only for yourself. Even a young vampire such as yourself knows the Codex Sangre and the ritual needed. Do not tarry with my patience. I will be meeting with you again shortly, and we will both delight in the bounty.”

Duncan gnashed his teeth as he assessed this foe, who continued to speak. “You look thirsty young vampire; clearly I have interrupted your hunt.” Tzinacan looked around carefully with a look of disdain. “Lust for Oriental blood, do you? Wait until you taste blood of the Balam, you will not be disappointed when you lick the blood off the altar.”

As if someone had taken his body hostage, Duncan fought the desire to rip the vamp in half. His mouth watered at the thought of blood, he was hungry indeed. But hearing Tzinacan speak this way made him growl with the urge to protect Michelle.

“So you have tasted the blood of a were-jaguar before then?” He practiced curious admiration to hide his disgust for the vampire.

“Oh, yes, but not for some hundreds of years now. They are only born ever so often. The Balam Centehua were more plentiful while I was leader of my Aztec warriors. We prided ourselves on shedding the blood of the sacred Balam. None were greater than our people. Until the curse. You are young in this world and I am great. But you have what I desire, and so you will help me have it or you will die.”

Before Duncan could further interrogate the ancient vampire, Tzinacan turned and left.

Tzinacan had hinted at many things, including the vampire’s ancient origin and curse that led Duncan to believe the treasure Tzinacan sought was probably not gold. Was it possible the treasure Tzinacan sought might be an ancient remedy to living as a vampire? Whatever it was, Michelle was in greater danger than he imagined. Fury peeled away at his skin like tiny daggers as he passed through the lantern-lit alleys of Chinatown.

The lightness he had earlier was gone.

Michelle had thoroughly enjoyed her hot shower and now she was dressed and ready to chow down. Duncan, who had just returned, set a feast of Chinese take-out boxes on the table near the window. The lights dotting Alameda Park glittered in the darkness as the smell of sweet and sour chicken and fried rice wafted through her senses.

“Oh my gosh, you’re a saint.”

“Not really.” He snorted.

She raised her brows at the disdain in his voice. “I’m starving and I love Chinese food. Therefore you have attained saint status in my book.”

He sat at the table across from her as she picked through the boxes with her chopsticks. Plunking a lumpy pot sticker into her mouth, she noticed the startling expression on Duncan’s face. He looked unsettled, ravenous.

Michelle set down her chopsticks and walked to the bathroom, her mouth still full of food. From inside the bathroom, she swallowed a gigantic bite and called out to Duncan. “I thought you’d be just as hungry, so I took the liberty of preparing something for you.”

Sauntering out of the bathroom and toward the table, she carried a glass full of crimson. “Here, this is for you.”

After Michelle sat the glass on the table, Duncan appeared to inhale the scent. But he didn’t react as she expected.

He spoke in a voice so low that she almost couldn’t hear, his brown eyes immediately clouded black. Michelle saw a storm twist across his face.

“What the hell is this?”

He grabbed the glass and ferociously hurtled it across the room. She screamed as the glass collided with the wall and blood splattered and dripped down to puddle in the floor.

“Don’t you ever dare offer yourself up as such!”

The man with the angelic skin stood with his shoulders hunched, his fists clenched, and Michelle almost didn’t recognize him. He looked like a vampire; he looked like someone she wouldn’t mess with.

She opened her mouth to protest his reaction, but she assessed the murderous expression on Duncan’s face and his now tight grip the table, as if he desperately needed a distraction.

“You know, you’re a lot more handsome when you’re less scary looking,” she chided him, hoping to lighten the situation. The truth was, he looked sexy as hell but it was definitely a buzzkill that his frustration was directed at her. He carried his body like a warrior, his eyes full of challenge, and in this case,
she
felt like the bad guy.

She tried to eat, but her appetite was gone. The food in her mouth was tasteless and her mind spun trying to figure why he’d looked so tortured ever since he returned from Chinatown.

“Tell me what’s bothering you,” she said gently.

“No.”

That’s it.
Throwing down the gauntlet, in this case her chopsticks, she challenged him. “Why are you being a jerk?”

His eyes were cold, black stones. “I’m worse than a jerk. Michelle, I’m a vampire.”

She glared back, hoping that her own blue eyes were at least half as intimidating as his. “I’m sorry, I keep forgetting since you refuse to drink blood!”

That got a response as Duncan grabbed her arms. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they were standing in the archaeology museum. He had misted her back to a happier time in their day.

The building was dark, which left her disoriented. Duncan disappeared again and in a moment the lights were on. She didn’t recognize the room. It was huge, housing hundreds of artifacts and large stone carvings. Nearest to her was a giant stone jaguar in the Maya style.

She sucked in a breath as she stood next to the monument, which surely weighed tons. The body of the jaguar was strong and graceful, with sharp fangs jutting out from a wild face with wise eyes. The stone carving would have taken unfathomable effort and skill, and she felt a pang of pride that her own animal spirit was worshipped so highly.

Then Duncan was at her side again. “I thought this was a good place to start.” His long length of body swept her up against his chest so that they were eye to eye. His gaze had softened and his mouth was relaxed. “I’m sorry I — ”

“It’s beautiful. Thank you.” She hugged him close and felt his fingers caress her hair. “I won’t pressure you anymore, but know that I want to take care of you like you take care of me.”

Across the room, the Sun Stone, the Aztec calendar monument, rested against the wall with its ominous presence. Holding all the secrets to the Aztec calendar, the monument, which measured twelve feet across, could easily fit the size of a man within, and purposefully so. Duncan leaned in to study the stone. Every inch of it was covered in intricately carved figures in perpetuating circles. The figure in the middle, the sun god Toniatuih, had a round human-like face, adorned with a wide bar piercing its nose and other head adornments, and a tongue jutting out of the mouth. “Archaeologists believe this stone would have been a sort of altar where blood sacrifices were performed atop to appease the fierce Sun God.” Michelle heaved a sigh. “The Aztecs were both scientific and highly superstitious. Lumped together, the Aztecs were a force to be reckoned with.”

He seemed lost in thought. “Sacrifices?”

“Yeah, blood sacrifices were significant to the Maya and Aztec peoples.”