Vampire Trouble (16 page)

Slowly at first, she rocked her hips, pressing herself against his erection while Shane continued to tease her nipples with his talented fingers. Sounds of pure pleasure escaped Maya's lips as the combination of sensations swamped her and the sweet, tightening coil of the orgasm built. Sensing that she was reaching the edge, Shane sat up and linked his arms around her waist before dipping his head and taking the rosy peak of a breast in his mouth.

Maya cried out and grabbed Shane's hair with both hands, holding him to her as he teased one swollen nipple and then the other. As another wave of searing carnal pleasure shot through her body, Maya's fangs erupted and she knew what she needed.

Blood. But not just anyone's… She needed his.

With the specially tuned instincts of a bloodmate and the intuition of a remarkably tender lover, Shane lifted his head and curled one hand around the back of her neck. Maya linked her legs around his waist, held his stare, and gasped when pressure hit her in just the right spot. Writhing in his embrace, she leaned in and trailed her tongue along his neck, just below his ear. His voice tumbled into her mind on a rush:
Taste
me, Maya. Take what is meant only for you.

Shane's arms tightened around Maya, holding her body firmly against his, her hips pumping and grinding against him. As the sweet, torturous pangs of desire surged, Maya sank her fangs into his neck and the orgasm ripped through her with shattering strength. In that moment, the world fell away and all she could see, feel, or hear was
him
. Shane surrounded her, filled her, and lit her up from the inside out as images of the centuries he'd lived roared through her mind.

Power. Death. Duty. Honor. Loneliness.

When the bone-melting orgasm subsided, Maya licked the wound closed and went limp in Shane's embrace. As she rested her head on his shoulder, her body trembled with sheer exhaustion, and for the first time she could remember, Maya knew what it felt like to be cherished. Shane gave her what she needed but took nothing. He put her happiness and pleasure above his own so that she'd feel safe. Tears stung the back of her eyes, and the magnitude of his generosity settled over her.

Without a word, Shane lay back on the bed and pulled her into the shelter of his body. Her eyes fluttered closed, and Maya thought about all of the images and feelings she absorbed from Shane's blood memories. The one constant in his four-hundred-year existence was his dedication to being a sentry and to the Presidium. He was a soldier. No family. No love. Only duty.

Could this man, this ancient warrior, give her his heart, or was she merely part of his duties? Maya was finally repairing her broken spirit, but she didn't think she could survive a broken heart.

Shane let Maya sleep, even though the sun had set an hour ago and he knew he should wake her up to start combat training. A grin cracked his face as he stood in the moonlit yard behind the massive house and laid a series of weapons out on the weathered picnic table. Based on what he could sense, Maya wasn't in the dreamscape. He'd watched her while she slept and sensed the deep, leaden sleep of a vampire but absolutely no signs of a nightmare or dream of any kind.

Having changed into a T-shirt and jeans, he felt surprisingly relaxed and was truly looking forward to teaching Maya how to fight. He'd trained plenty of other vampires, but Maya was obviously special. Based on the way she handled herself in the dreamscape, when she finally stood up to her fears, he suspected she'd be one hell of a warrior.

Shane took stock of the various throwing weapons he'd taken from Xavier's place and readied the area for Maya's training. He placed targets on the trunks of three moss-covered oak trees that lined the edge of the spacious backyard. To the left were the calm, moon-dappled waters of the bayou swamp and to the right was a natural landscape of trees, bushes, and low-lying plants. He could hear Lottie banging around in her kitchen, and based on the aroma drifting through the open window, she was making herself dinner.

The vibration of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts, and his gut clenched when he saw that it was Olivia's phone number. He'd texted her once they'd arrived safely, but he hadn't spoken to her yet. Guilt tugged at him when he realized she must have had the meeting with Horace and his pack last night, but he hadn't given it a second thought until this minute. All he could think about was Maya and her well-being. Not exactly the focused calculation of a sentry.

He swore and swiped the touch screen to answer the call.

“Nice to talk to you too.” Olivia's teasing tone came through the line loud and clear.

“Sorry.” Shane pressed his fingers against his eyes in an effort to squelch his embarrassment. “It wasn't meant for you.”

“Then I guess it was meant for Maya? It couldn't be for Lottie, because if you speak to her like that, she'll curse your sorry ass.”

“No.” Shane cleared his throat and looked out over the moonlit waters. “Did you meet with Horace and his pack?”

“We did,” she said on a sigh. “It was one hell of a night, and you would have loved all the tension in the air, but we managed to get through it without any fur or fangs flying. Besides, they were totally outgunned.” She let out a short laugh. “I thought Horace would piss himself when he saw the firepower the girls, Pete, and Damien were carrying.”

“Did Horace and his pack come to the meeting armed?”

“Of course they did, but they don't have Xavier creating awesome shit all the time—and you were right about Rat. He's definitely in bed with the wolves, but I'm not sure why.”

“Rat was with them?”

“Yes. The slippery son of a bitch escorted them to the meeting and acted like some sort of self-appointed liaison between our races. He's probably in it for some kind of financial gain. Anyway, Horace is willing to let bygones be bygones and overlook your attack on him…if…” Olivia trailed off, hesitating to say the rest.

“If?” Shane asked.

“If we give him Maya.”

“What do you mean, ‘if we give him Maya'?” Shane bit out, his entire body going rigid with fury. “What the fuck is he talking about? That furry piece of garbage will not lay another hand on her.”

“Calm down, Shane.” Olivia's voice was calm and clear but firm. “It's a ridiculous demand, and I'm not handing Maya over to him or anyone else. I told the little bastard that I was well aware that he got rough with Maya and refused to let her leave, and that's why you had to intervene. He and his pack denied it vehemently, of course. They said that you started the entire thing and accosted a member of the royal family with no provocation.”

“They're lying.”

“I know that.”

“So what now?” Shane straightened his back and glanced over his shoulder at the house when he heard Maya's voice. She was in the kitchen with Lottie. “Are we to stay down here indefinitely?”

“No. We explained that you and Maya ran off together and that I, of course, have no idea where the two of you went. He started to give me shit and threatened to tattle to his daddy, but when I told him that the king already knew what was going on, he backed down. Big time.”

“Interesting,” Shane said quietly. “Then he is definitely acting without his father's approval and clearly has his own motives. Why does he want Maya?”

“Are you serious?” Olivia asked incredulously. “Why does any man want Maya?”

“I'm well aware of Maya's beauty,” Shane said with waning patience, “but there's something else going on. His behavior is desperate and surprisingly aggressive. It doesn't make sense to me that this is simply about possessing a woman. He wants to reignite the war between our races and he's using Maya to do it, but why?”

“I'm not sure, but Horace and his pack of delinquents are refusing to leave the city until we relinquish Maya.”

“Then he's going to be in Manhattan for quite a while,” Shane responded flatly.

“I relayed the events to Emperor Zhao directly, and he will be speaking with King Heinrich while they're at the summit. If Horace is still here at the end of the week, then perhaps I can persuade the king to come to the city and deal with his kid. You and Maya should be staying with Lottie for about a week. My guess is that Horace won't leave on his own, and from what I hear, he and his pack had to leave the Plaza after that big mess you all made. Now they're crashing at a hotel here in the Village and spending their waking hours at The Dollhouse getting drunk and banging strippers two at a time.”

“Understood.” Shane walked over to the water's edge and watched an alligator float by like a log, waiting for some unsuspecting animal to get too close. “We will make good use of our time down here.”

“Shane?” Olivia asked tentatively. “How are things going with Maya?”

“They're…progressing. In fact, I'm about to start weapons training and then hand-to-hand combat.”

“Right.” Olivia laughed. “Well, good luck with that. Sit tight, and I'll be in touch by the end of the week or sooner.”

Shane hung up the phone and slipped it in the front pocket of his jeans. A moment later, the screen door from the kitchen creaked open and Maya's scent drifted over him on the breeze. A smile curved his lips, and when he turned around, he saw her standing at the table, inspecting the weapons he'd laid out a few minutes ago. She was clad in the sentry catsuit and once again had her hair tied back in a tight ponytail.

“I see you are ready for training.” Shane closed the distance between them and walked around to the opposite side of the table. He glanced over to the kitchen window and noticed that there were actually lights on in the house. Apparently Lottie used her electricity sparingly, but this eccentricity only made her more endearing to him. “What is our friend Lottie up to?

“She's fixing herself something to eat, but then she said she's going into the city for a while. I guess she works as a fortune-teller at a few bars in the French Quarter,” Maya answered, holding out a mug for him and taking a sip from the one in her other hand. “But she had something ready for us too.”

“I see.” Shane took the mug and looked at her intently. “I thought for certain you'd be trying to talk me into letting you go hunting.”

“Not really.” Maya lifted one shoulder and peered at him over the edge of her mug beneath a row of thick, long lashes. “I'm feeling rather satisfied at the moment.”

“At the moment?” Shane smirked before emptying his mug in one big gulp.

“Yes. But you never know when a girl will be hungry for more,” she murmured coyly. Maya placed her mug on the table and her smile faltered when she eyed the array of weapons. “Any word from Olivia yet?”

“Yes.” Shane put his mug down next to Maya's and paused for a moment. He didn't want her distracted from her training and decided on a less-is-more approach. “Things are quiet, and we're to stay down here and train for a week. Olivia feels that we can return once the summit has finished and King Heinrich is free to deal with Horace himself.”

“That's it?” Her brows knit together and she paused for a few seconds, studying him intently. “I didn't cause a new war?”

“No.” Shane shook his head and folded his arms over his chest. “But things are still touchy, so until the summit is over and the king is free to be directly involved, we will stay here and you will train. The war with the wolves may not be imminent, but you should know how to defend yourself. Based on what I saw in the dreamscape, you have the makings of a great warrior, Maya.”

“Me?” Maya asked with obvious disbelief. “A warrior? Like you and Olivia?”

“Bella did call you a hunter.”

“Right.” Maya rolled her eyes. “At this point, I'd just like to stop being a liability.”

“Good.” Passing her a pair of leather gloves, Shane noticed that her necklace was no longer around her neck. “Maya, where is your necklace?”

“I took it off.” Her hand went instinctively to the spot where it usually rested. “I didn't know what to expect, and since it's the only item I have left from whatever family I had, I didn't want to lose it while we practiced.”

“Fine.” He watched her pull on the gloves. “Then let's begin.”

Over the next two hours, Shane worked with Maya on her throwing skills, and to his great surprise, she had remarkably good aim. He showed her how to use her sonar-like senses to focus on disturbances in the atmosphere so she could hit a target without even looking at it. He tossed several objects in the air, and after only three or four attempts, she'd managed to hit almost every one. Her aim with the guns was equally good, and based on the way the targets were shredded, she'd do just fine in a gun battle.

Shane did wonder what would happen once the targets were live and fighting back. It was anybody's guess how she'd handle that.

“Would you like a break before we begin the hand-to-hand combat?” Shane asked, removing the targets from the trees. Lottie was kind enough to let them train, so he didn't want to leave any litter in her backyard. “Take a few minutes to regroup?”

“No.” Maya's jaw set with determination, and she stood in the middle of the yard in what could only be considered a battle-ready stance. With feet shoulder-width apart and hands curled into fists at her sides, she looked prepared to take whatever he could dish out. And sexy. The woman looked dead fucking sexy. “Let's do it.”

“As you wish.”

Shane walked past Maya to toss what was left of the targets into a large trash can by the kitchen door. Then, without any warning, he whisked back to Maya, linked one arm around her waist, pinning her arms at her sides, and brought his other hand up beneath her chin. If he were in battle, he could easily break the neck of his opponent, and though he had no intention of harming her, he wanted to see if Maya would try to defend herself. She froze.

Shane kissed her cheek tenderly and released her from his grasp.

“Why didn't you try to defend yourself?” he asked as she turned to face him.

“I—I wasn't ready for it,” she said quickly. “Besides, I knew it was you and not some werewolf.”

“Do you expect there to be a formal announcement before they come after you? Because I can assure you there won't be.”

“No.” Maya's eyes flashed with anger. “I'm not stupid.”

“I know that.” Shane's tone softened. “You were a quick study with the weapons, Maya, but you can't rely on that. More often than not, we are dragged into physical one-on-one fighting, especially with the wolves. We will begin with self-defense techniques.” He stepped back and made a motion for her to turn around. “We'll do it again, but this time I'll walk you through what to do.”

“If I just shoot them, then I won't need to worry about this,” Maya murmured. She turned around and put her hands on her hips. “Okay, Mr. Miyagi.”

Shane paused and his brow furrowed, confusion washing over him. “Who is Mr. Miyagi?”

“Never mind.” Maya laughed loudly. “Let's go, old man.”

“Fine.” Shane stilled and stood about two feet behind her. “You need to focus on and tune in to the changes in the air around you at all times, much as you did with the targets. When you sense the ripples in the air getting stronger, your opponent is getting closer. The more you focus on the changes, the quicker it will become second nature. If you concentrate, you can anticipate your attacker's movements. To defend yourself, it's best to be face-to-face.”

“Then why did you have me turn around?” she asked far too sweetly.

“Close your eyes.” Shane grinned. “Focus on the sound waves in the air. What do you hear?”

“Frogs.” Maya's voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. “Something moving in the water. An owl to the right.” Eyes still closed, she lifted her arm and pointed to the right. “He's in a tree about twenty feet away and maybe fifteen feet off the ground.”

Good.
Shane's voice touched her mind gently and he remained motionless.
Now
keep
your
eyes
closed
and
tell
me
what
you
feel.

Maya's head tilted to the left.
An
animal
is
moving
along
the
edge
of
the
water. It's small, probably a possum or something.

Good.
He took one step forward.
What
else.