The Highwayman

by Michele Hauf

  “The Regina,” Aby started, but Max shushed her.

  “Nice digs,” Rainier said. “Why don’t we all head over there and discuss the possibilities?”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Max threaded his fingers through Aby’s. “But not right now. I’ve, uh…promised Aby we’d do the Eiffel Tower.”

  She flashed him an incredulous look, but he avoided her gaze. He was so eager to lose the demon within. Why take a break to do the tourist thing now?

  “Why don’t you stop by later, after ten?”

  Rainier checked his watch. “It’s eight now. The Tower will take you a couple hours if you’re going to the top. How about midnight?”

  “Appropriate,” Aby said. She allowed Rainier to kiss the back of her hand, before he said goodbye and crossed the street to the black Hummer that waited.

  “We’re really going to do the Tower?”

  Max put an arm around her shoulders and watched as the limo rolled away. “Nope. Plans have changed. We’re going to see if Ginnie is home.”

  He punched a fist into his palm. His jaw pulsed. Aby could smell the aggression. If he were a cat his spine would be arched right now.

  “What is it?”

  “He got it all,” he muttered. “That bastard got it all.”

  She would finagle a trip to the Eiffel Tower before they left Paris. Aby was determined. But the alternative—visiting Max’s vampire friend—was equally as intriguing, if not more. Now was her opportunity to meet a vampire.

  He led her to an apartment building fronted by gorgeous gold-and-silver-mirrored tiles edging a huge park he called the Bois de Boulogne.

  “Used to race the horses through that park,” he commented as they entered the building. “And take pretty jewels from around women’s necks.”

  Aby touched the diamond necklace he’d given her. She’d rather experience the taking than the gifting, she decided, because having him steal anything from her could be sexy fun.

  So why hadn’t she come to terms with him stealing her dreams?

  There was something a little twisted there she couldn’t quite embrace. And yet, he’d been honest with her, and she didn’t want to lose him.

  Was there a way for her to experience his walking in her dreams?

  But really, this would all be taken care of as soon as they exorcised the demon from him and Rainier. If Rainier would cooperate. She crossed her fingers, and whispered a plea as they entered the foyer.

  They were buzzed inside after a soft French female voice verified Max as the Highwayman.

  A short woman who barely topped Aby’s shoulders greeted them at the door. Her sleek blond hair was tugged into a ponytail. A pale-pink silk suit emphasized her generous curves, and a strand of pearls gleamed at her neck.

  She hugged Max for the longest time.

  It surprised Aby to see him express emotion—and to a vampire. She was the last person Aby expected would want an emotional hug.

  They said a few things in French, exchanged kisses to cheeks, and Max turned to Aby and spoke in English to introduce her.

  Ginnie kissed both her cheeks. She smelled like lavender and lemon.

  “Are you on your way out?” Max asked.

  “I am. Oh, Max, mon cheri, and it’s been so long since we’ve visited. But I’ve an appointment at Versailles tout de suite. I’ll be absent the entire weekend. Will you be in town longer than that?”

  “Not sure. I’ve found Rainier.”

  “Oh?” Something flashed in her dark eyes. Recognition. Or perhaps, compassion. “Oh, come inside for a bit. I have a few minutes. Aby, you’re so beautiful. I love the color of your hair.”

  “Thank you.” She beamed at the unexpected compliment. Usually Aby received glares and snotty looks from other women. She didn’t like it when people judged her by her appearance.

  The vampiress dug in her huge Dolce & Gabbana bag for a pair of dark sunglasses and a scarf, which Aby suspected would see her to the curb and into the back of a cab or limo with enough protection from the sunlight.

  “So, Rainier Deloche after all these years? Does it feel real, Max?”

  “It won’t until I’ve slept my first night. But I found out he’s been experiencing the opposite as me.”

  “He can sleep and eat?”

  “And have satisfying sex.”

  So Max had told Ginnie everything. Apparently they were closer than Aby had thought. Then again, Max had lived so long, and had so many more experiences than she could know of. In a way, that made him all the more appealing to her, and she wanted to learn all those experiences, even if it took five more lives to do so.

  Very well, so she was being hard on him. He had confessed everything to her, and no doubt faster than he would have liked. He deserved a second chance. Not necessarily at dream walking her, but certainly at being her guy.

  Because she wanted to be his girl.

  “We plan to meet later, which is why I’ve come to you. Do you think Aby and I could stay here a day or two?”

  “But we have a room, Max.”

  “We’re not going back to the Regina. Rainier was lying. I know him too well. And something didn’t feel right.”

  “Brimstone,” Aby said. “I smelled it on him.”

  “So did I.” Max cast her a curious look that told her they were on the same wavelength. “Which means we need to reassess. Play it cool. I’d rather relocate and keep a low profile until I figure what’s up with Rainier.”

  “He wasn’t being honest,” Aby added. “Why do you think so?”

  “I’ve heard things about him.” Ginnie tilted her wrist to check her watch.

  “And you never told me?” Max asked her. Aby could see his fingers itching to clutch the whip beneath his duster coat. “Ginnie, you know I’ve been searching for him a long time.”

  “But not until a few years ago did you start to seriously consider you might be able to exorcise the demon, mon ami. And you’ve never suggested that you needed Deloche to do so.”

  “What have you heard? Do you know where he lives?”

  “Not in the city, but close. I’ve no clue where. I’ve heard whispers that if you need a demon to work black magic, Deloche is the man to go to.”

  “Black magic? Rainier is summoning demons? Why would he want—” Max rubbed his fingers over his jaw. “To make a buck. Always after the easy money. I can’t believe it. Isn’t his life satisfying enough with a gluttony of pleasure? But if he’s summoning demons, he must be working with a familiar.”

  “I don’t know about that.” The vampire tied the scarf over her head and under her chin. “But I do know you need to be careful, Max. If you and Rainier get in the same room, and the demon is exorcised, what’s to say he won’t turn it on you?”

  “It will have to be a controlled bridging. That’s why I have my own familiar.”

  Ginnie gave Aby a less-than-pleased look. “You trust her?”

  Aby straightened her back. But she didn’t protest. It probably wasn’t wise to argue with a vampire.

  “Aby’s on my side.”

  “I certainly hope so. Well, I have to run. I wish you would have called, Max, I could have rearranged my schedule. But I’m happy to offer my place to the two of you for the weekend. Just wash the sheets when you’re done, très bien?”

  She kissed Max on the cheek, and pushed around him to enter the hall. “There’s an extra key under the bathroom sink, and the walls are thin as paper, so be warned.”

  With a wink, the vampire skipped down the stairs.

  “She thinks we’re lovers,” Aby said as Max closed the door. She leaned against the wall and spread her palms across it. “I like how that vampire thinks.”

  Max smirked audibly. “Do you? What’s that twinkle in your eye? You change your mind about this dream walker?”

  “Maybe. Not about the dream walking, but I still like you.”

  “I’ll take like.” He hugged her and kissed the corner of her mouth.

  “But what about
Rainer? What are your plans now?”

  “Not sure.” The change in subject seemed to set him back. He wandered the living room that lay behind the long, black leather couch. “I know Rainier is up to something.”

  “So we’re not returning to the Regina at all? But my clothes…?”

  “I’ll buy you new stuff. You want to run to the market across the street? I’ll guarantee you there’s no food in Ginnie’s fridge.”

  “I’m not hungry yet. But if you’re trying to get rid of me, I can go for a walk.”

  “I don’t want you going anywhere alone, Aby. Just stay, but give me some room to think.”

  She could do that. After all, he’d done the same for her.

  He strode across the living room. The wall-to-wall window offered a spectacular view of the Tower, which, though twilight barely grayed the sky, now twinkled brightly.

  Aby walked to the window and clasped her hands before her mouth. “It’s beautiful!”

  “They light it up at the top of every hour. Can you be satisfied with this view? I’m sorry, but I don’t see a way to run over there when I’ve so much to think on.”

  Aby sighed. “I’ll survive. If you’re here to keep me occupied.”

  Aby closed her eyes as he stroked the base of her neck. Was he getting romantic?

  “You confuse me, Aby,” he said, not quite in a whisper, but achy and low.

  “I don’t mean to.”

  “I know, and that’s another conundrum to wrestle with about you. You are what you are. You don’t put on false airs. If you want something you say so.”

  “Like you?” She turned and leaned against a huge metal support beam before the window. “You are this dream that walked into my life.”

  “Actually, it was I who walked into your dreams.”

  “Yes.” And she was glad he’d seen what she desired from him. “I forgive you for walking in my dreams.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And I’m glad you were able to experience the climax. I did that for you?”

  “You did, Aby.” He leaned over her, his bangs dusting the crown of her head. “You have some kind of power you’re not aware of.”

  “I like having power.”

  “Over me?”

  “I don’t need it over you. But I don’t know about you walking in my dreams again. I want to help you find Rainier, so you can exorcise Gandras and then we can make love and you can feel everything. With me awake and you like this—a man, not a shadow.”

  “I’m with you on that one hundred percent, kitty cat.”

  She roused herself to her tiptoes and slanted her head to kiss him, but she immediately retracted before their lips could touch. “No. You have some thinking to do. I’m going to freshen up.”

  She skipped away from him but felt his gaze follow her all the way into the bedroom.

  The Highwayman was interested.

  Now, to snag him.

  Max kicked back on the leather sofa and listened to the shower beat against the glass doors. The walls were paper-thin, as Ginnie had warned. He imagined Aby slicking her hands over her body, sliding through the soap bubbles, and him cupping her breasts and sucking her nipples.

  He sat upright and swung his legs onto the floor. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he shook his head to obliterate the titillating thought.

  “No thinking about sex right now,” he told himself. “Think of what to do about Rainier.”

  Right. But the naked woman in the next room certainly did seem a better think. All those water droplets glistening on her skin like liquid diamonds. An easy nab for a thief who couldn’t stop himself from stealing.

  “Rainier,” he said aloud, forcing his thoughts to the point.

  Max had his work cut out trying to convince his former partner that a life of unending gluttony wasn’t worth it.

  Damn, he’d drawn the wrong card.

  On the other hand, much as it hounded him, he had accepted this lifestyle. He’d become what he must to survive. Rebecca had been the one to convince him his sacrifice was worth it for the people he saved.

  And he had to admit he’d saved a bundle on food and pillows over the centuries. Not to mention condoms. Not that he would mind fathering a child.

  He shook his head. Not with his lifestyle. That wouldn’t be fair to the child. But someday, when this was over, and he was no longer immortal.

  Someday loomed close. He felt it.

  He heard it in the scatter of water from the next room. Aby was his future.

  She had to be.

  Okay, so a plan. He wouldn’t miss the proposed meeting at the Regina. Yet, he wouldn’t actually meet with Rainier. He’d lurk outside, and then follow Rainier home when he realized he’d been stood up.

  That gave him a couple hours to kill.

  Max swung a look over his shoulder. Steam crept out on a thin mist from the bedroom. She’d forgiven him. And she hadn’t forbid him from pursuing her—when in human form.

  That worked for him.

  Heeling off his boots, he then shrugged off the leather coat and tucked the whip under the couch so Aby wouldn’t accidentally touch it and get cut.

  He padded into the bedroom and knocked on the bathroom door. The water sprayed the glass shower door. She probably couldn’t hear his knock.

  Bleeding cowboys, he’d never wanted a woman so much. He’d experienced what he and Aby could be like together in her dreams. Now he wanted to make it a reality. Be damned the frustration.

  Opening the door a crack, he called, “Aby? Can I come in?”

  “I was wondering when you’d ask. Take your clothes off, Highwayman. It’s lonely here in the nice hot shower.”

  He stripped off his shirt and had his pants around his ankles before he made it across the threshold. Peach-scented steam misted the room. He could taste the flavor at the back of his throat. Instead, he’d taste Aby.

  Kicking off his pants—he wore no underwear, meaning less laundry when living on the road—Max slid aside the shower door and stepped inside.

  “I was wondering if you’d sit out there the whole time I was in here.” Aby touched his chest. The move seared through him. Marked him. Max bent to kiss her under her jaw. “I was clean five minutes ago, but thought I’d wait…”

  “Sneaky, but effective. We have time before I meet Rainier, and I can think of nothing I’d rather do than make love to you.”

  “Oh, Max, really? I want that, too. But will you be all right with it if you can’t climax?”

  “More than all right. I’m all about your pleasure, Aby. And I’m going to enjoy giving it to you.”

  Her fingers slicked down his abs, and she touched the head of his erection. “I’ve never had opportunity to really look at a man before.”

  “Are you telling me you’ve never…?”

  “Nope. All business with Jeremy, remember? So let me look, Highwayman.” She tentatively touched his erection.

  “It’s not going to bite. Take it gently, and then firmer. Yes, that’s—Ah.”

  Water splattered his eyes, but he forced himself to stand and let her study him. It wasn’t a trial by any means.

  “Nice. So big. The head is smooth.”

  She slicked a fingertip over his length and it bobbed against his stomach. When she curled her fingers about it, he moaned deeply. “You don’t have to be so delicate with it. A good firm—Oh, yes.”

  He stepped closer, putting his shoulder under the shower flow. Kissing her gave him the taste of peaches. He slicked his hands over her breasts, and tight nipples skimmed his palms.

  Aby squeezed his hardness. “This doesn’t make the frustration worse?”

  “A little, but the good outweighs the frustration, trust me. It’s like the best massage in the world.”

  Emboldened, she gave him another squeeze and a few rapid slick strokes. When she touched the thick vein on the underside, he moaned. If this was as close to heaven as he might get, then he’d gladly forgo an invitation from Saint Peter.<
br />
  They tumbled out from the shower, patted each other off with the big thick towel, then made a stumbling, kissing, wall-slapping and laughter-filled path to the bed.

  Max laid Aby on the bed and she scrambled to pull away the counterpane and top sheet. Kneeling, her legs spread, she crooked a finger at him.

  She would kill him with her wicked innocent sensuality. It was a death he’d succumb to over and over.

  Max laid her flat and drew up her arms, gliding his hands along the inside of them until he reached her hands. Clasping fingers with hers, he pinned her loosely, hands above her head.

  She giggled as he nipped at her breasts, but quickly those giggles changed to moans and that soft low purring he liked.

  “I want to be on top,” she decided, and struggled against his hold.

  Max set her free, perfectly willing to roll to his back and have her mount him.

  “I’ve never been on top before,” she said. Stroking her clawed fingers less than gently down his torso, she wiggled her bottom and moved to fit her warmth directly over his pulsing erection. “I like it up here. Now to take my Highwayman for a ride.”

  “Hold on tight.” He lifted her by the hips and she directed him inside her. “Because it’s going to be a good one.”

  Biting her lip as he slowly entered her, Aby closed her eyes. Her fingers clenched the sheets near his head. Her spiky hair glistened with watery jewels. A fine sheen of water glittered across her breasts and collarbone.

  She hugged him tightly as he filled her. Inside Aby was an amazing place to be. He gasped at the intensity of rising emotion. He felt so right here, with her, in her. Silently he thanked her for the gift.

  Her motion slicked her wetness up and down him and soon they began to glide. Each movement tugged the flesh on his erection, a tremendous sensation.

  “Max, this is incredible. I can feel you deep inside me.”

  Her voice hypnotized him. She said things any man would like to hear.

  “I wish we could stay like this always. Locked together. One.”

  Her breaths rasped, as did his. She rode him as she desired, and he thought it best to give her the reins, for this was her first time. She’d made love to no man for pure and simple pleasure.