by Tina Folsom
Francine took out a tourniquet and a syringe. Gabriel merely glanced at it and shook his head.
“That won’t be necessary. Just give me the vial.”
She handed it to him. He willed his fingers to turn into claws and sliced a small cut into his thumb. Blood instantly oozed from it. Gabriel held the vial underneath it and filled it with the red liquid. A moment later, he licked his thumb with his tongue, closing the incision.
Francine took the vial from him and closed it before putting it into her bag. “Good. I’ll leave you one for Maya. Call me when you have it ready for me, and I’ll send somebody over to get it. Now, let’s check on your problem. I believe we were interrupted last time just as I was about to examine you.”
Gabriel swallowed. This was the part he dreaded most. “Can I have your word that whatever you discover, you won’t discuss with anybody?”
“Witch–Vampire confidentiality, goes without saying,” she joked, but Gabriel didn’t feel like laughing.
With unsteady hands, he loosened his belt, then opened the button of his jeans. The noise the zipper made as he lowered it seemed to echo in the room. Could everybody in the house hear it? When he shoved his pants down mid-thigh, he heard Francine’s breath whoosh out of her lungs.
As he stood before her, she dropped down onto the chaise lounge, bringing her head level with his crotch. “Oh, boy,” she whispered.
***
Maya’s stomach growled, but she tried to tamp down her hunger. She’d paced for a good length of time, deciding what to do. Now, she couldn’t stall any longer. She had to face Gabriel and explain to him why she’d reacted so harshly when she’d returned. For the sake of what was growing between them, she had to make the first step and apologize for her harsh words.
And then she needed to feed. By God, she craved him. Not just his blood, but his touch, his lips, his kisses. She felt weak in the knees just thinking about him, remembering how he’d touched her and kissed her, how he’d made her come, using his tongue and his hands. Small beads of perspiration collected on her neck. She felt hot just thinking about being in his arms.
Maya closed the bedroom door behind her and walked down the corridor. At the stairs, she halted. She could clearly sense Gabriel’s presence. In fact, she could smell his blood. Was it more intense now because she was famished or had she always been able to smell his blood from such a distance? When she turned her head, she realized that the smell was becoming more intense—it wasn’t coming from downstairs, but from the master bedroom.
Maya smiled to herself. If Gabriel was in bed, even better. She could first drink his blood and then devour him. On tiptoes, she walked to his door. As quietly as she could, she turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.
As soon as she took one step into the room, she froze in horror.
Maya stopped breathing.
Gabriel stood near the fireplace, facing her. But he wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was focused on the woman who sat in front of him on the chaise lounge with her back turned to Maya. His face was contorted as if in pain.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. The worst was Gabriel’s pants were dropped to his knees, his naked thighs showing, while his crotch was blocked out by the woman’s head.
Maya blinked, but she wasn’t imagining this. The strange woman was giving Gabriel a blowjob! And the look on Gabriel’s face wasn’t pain. No, it had to be pleasure.
How could he do this to her?
A sob tore from her throat.
Gabriel’s gaze shot to her, and at the same moment the woman turned. They both stared at her, shocked looks on their faces.
Gabriel tugged at his pants, but failed to pull them up. “Maya, please, this isn’t what it looks like.” The woman turned fully, still blocking her view of Gabriel’s crotch. As if Maya needed to see his hard-on to know what they were doing. She needed no proof of it. All the proof was written in their guilty faces.
She spun on her heels and rushed out of the room.
“Maya, listen to me. I can explain.”
His words were lame at best. What was there to explain? He’d brought another woman to the house right after she’d told him she didn’t want to be controlled. Was that his answer to her anger? That he didn’t care what she thought? How cruel.
Maya ran down the stairs, faster than ever before. So this was vampire speed? Just as well. She had to get away, from him and from this place. In the foyer, she saw a set of keys on the sideboard. She knew there was a car in the garage—Gabriel had taken it when he’d met up with Zane earlier.
She snatched the keys and ran down into the garage. With a click, the doors of the Audi R8 unlocked. She’d never driven a sports car before, but it would do. Maya jumped into the car, slammed the door shut and jammed the keys into the lock.
A second later, the engine roared to life. The garage-door opener was where she expected it to be—on the visor. Valuable seconds passed as the garage door rose. When it was halfway up, Maya hit the gas pedal and raced out.
Her new superior vampire senses helped her avoid a crash as she pulled onto the street. From the corner of her eye, she saw Yvette stopping on the sidewalk, looking at her. Maya ignored her, pressed the gas pedal harder and raced down the road.
Her eyes burned, and only now she realized she was crying.
Damn Gabriel!
She’d let him come too close, and all it had gotten her was a hell of a lot of pain. He was just the way Yvette had laid him out to be; all he wanted was a human woman, not an infertile vampire. It hadn’t escaped her notice that the woman who’d had her head buried in Gabriel’s crotch was human. Her scent had definitely been human, if just a little off. But certainly she wasn’t a vampire. Maya sniffed. It hadn’t taken him long at all to replace her. After all the things he’d said when he’d been in her bed; the promises that he’d take care of her, that he’d always be there for her. Had he lied when he’d claimed that Maya feeding off him was heaven for him?
With the back of her hand, Maya wiped the tears off her cheek. If it meant that men like Gabriel could treat her with such disrespect, such callousness, then she didn’t want to be a vampire.
She hit the brakes at a stoplight, letting the engine idle, and took a deep breath. Were vampires really all that different from humans? When she recalled the situation in Gabriel’s bedroom, she realized with disgust that even his “it’s not what it looks like” was decidedly human—any man would have said the same to get out of this mess. No, vampires weren’t really all that different when it came to that. What it boiled down to was that Gabriel was just another cheating bastard, no worse than any human man.
So she would just have to do what she would do with any other man: forget him. And bitch about him with her girlfriends. Yes, that’s exactly what she needed now.
Maya checked her watch. Paulette would be at home and wouldn’t mind if she showed up unannounced. She’d break open a bottle of wine and commiserate with her. For a moment, Maya wondered how much to tell her, but then she decided that honesty was the best way to go. If she wanted to keep Paulette as her friend—and she desperately needed a friend on whose shoulder to cry—she had to tell her the truth. Slowly, and very gently.
Twenty
Gabriel almost collided with Yvette when he ran into the foyer. If he hadn’t been struggling to pull his pants up and gotten the witch’s hair caught in his zipper, he could have caught Maya before she’d managed to flee the house.
“Have you seen Maya?” he asked gruffly.
Yvette raised an eyebrow. “She left in Samson’s Audi.” Then she walked calmly past him as if it didn’t matter.
Anger churned in him. He spun around and grabbed Yvette by the shoulders. “And you didn’t stop her?”
She shook off his hold and snarled at him. “I don’t make it a habit of jumping in front of cars driven by pissed-off females.”
He narrowed his eyes. He wouldn’t take any disrespect from his subordinates. “It’s your job to prote
ct her.”
“I was OFF DUTY! Why didn’t you protect her? She must have had a reason to run out of here, so maybe you should look at yourself before you blame somebody else.” Yvette planted her fists at her hips and glared at him.
“You don’t like her.” It was all too clear to him.
“And why should I?” She let out a huff. “She gets attacked and turned, and everybody goes gaga over her, as if she’s someone special. And where does that leave me?”
Gabriel took a step back as the realization sunk in once more. Yvette had had designs on him. “By ‘everybody,’ you mean me, don’t you?”
“Forget it!” she spat and turned.
***
A viselike grip on her arm held her back. Yvette swallowed back the tears—she wouldn’t give Gabriel the satisfaction of admitting that he’d hurt her. All these years they’d worked together and she’d thought they’d gotten closer. Their relationship had evolved from a purely professional one to more of a friendship. She’d hoped that eventually Gabriel would let his guard down and come to her for more than just work and friendship. She’d given him enough signals to show her willingness to take things further.
She’d given him time to get used to the idea, and then Maya had shown up. And within days, Gabriel had turned into a horny, lusting man just like all the others. Only, he wasn’t lusting after her, he was lusting after Maya. What did Maya have that she didn’t?
“Take your hand off my arm or I’ll break it,” she warned him.
He must have heard the seriousness in her voice, because a moment later he let go. “I think a talk between you and me is long overdue.”
She turned to look at him. “There’s nothing to be said.” If he thought he could get her to confess her feelings, he’d be waiting till the Devil strapped on ice skates and skated in frozen over hell.
Was there pity in Gabriel’s gaze? No, she didn’t want pity.
“Yvette, I’ve never given you any reason to believe that I had any interest in you other than as a valued colleague and friend. I have no other feelings for you. If I ever gave you the impression that I did, I apologize.”
He apologized to her? That was rich! “You men are all the same. Nothing will ever change that, will it? A new woman shows up, and suddenly you start panting. Damn it, you don’t even know her!” She knew she was out of line talking to him like that, but at this point she didn’t care anymore. Let him fire her. Maybe it would be best for all of them.
“No, I don’t know her. But I love her.”
His words were like a stab to her chest with a sharp knife. She met his gaze, and there in his eyes she saw it. It was true. He loved her. No pretense, no bravado, just pure and simple honesty. Something in her shut down. If she’d had any hope left that one day there could be something between them, that his infatuation with Maya would fade, the sparkle in his eyes told her it would never happen. He’d found what he was looking for.
“She’s your mate?” Her voice cracked.
“If she’ll have me. Unfortunately she’s misinterpreted something and hates me right now.”
Yvette recalled the look she’d caught from Maya. “I don’t think hate is the right word. A woman who hates doesn’t cry, not like Maya did.” Tears had streamed down her face, pain so clearly etched into her features. “She wants you still.”
There was a glint of hope in Gabriel’s gaze now, and something inside Yvette shriveled. She wasn’t a bad person, just a misguided one. All these years she’d hoped for Gabriel to turn to her for more than just friendship, yet he was right: he’d never given her any reason to believe he was interested in her. She’d been the one imagining it. Because she’d been lonely. How pathetic was that?
She was better than that, stronger. “I’ll help you find her.”
“You will?” Gabriel took a step toward her and opened his arms in an awkward attempt to embrace her, emotion clearly overwhelming him.
Yvette pulled back. “No hugs.”
He dropped his arms and lowered his lids, looking embarrassed by his exuberance and her rejection, but at the same time relieved. “Thank you.”
“She’s headed south.”
Gabriel blinked. “Her apartment in Noe Valley. Let’s go.” He looked to the door than back at her. “Is that your dog?”
Yvette turned. On the threshold, the dog who’d been following her for the last few blocks sat waiting patiently. Before him, it had been a different dog. And before that, a cat. “I have no idea why every damn cat and dog in this town keeps following me. It’s like I’ve turned into some goddamn dog whisperer or something.” She motioned to the dog. “Shoo!” She didn’t even like animals.
“I think he likes you.”
She sniffed and was about to retort when a whiff of something entirely disagreeable caught in her nostrils. Within a blink of an eye, she swiveled and looked up at the stairs, where a woman she’d never seen before stood. “What the hell is a witch doing in Samson’s house?”
***
Maya put the Audi in park and switched off the ignition. As she stepped out of the car and into the night, she took in her surroundings. Never before had she been so aware of her senses. At the end of the residential street, a neighbor walked his little white Westie. When she concentrated, she could hear the clutter of dishes in a kitchen nearby. The news blared from a TV in a house across the street.
She’d never noticed these noises before and had always thought of Paulette’s neighborhood as eerily quiet. It wasn’t—not anymore anyway. With her enhanced senses, she could hear that life was happening inside the little houses dotted along the hill. From her vantage point, she could see the ocean or could have seen it if it weren’t for the fog hanging out at the beach.
Midtown Terrace was a middle-class neighborhood, the houses all built in the late 50s, their floor plans all essentially the same with a few variations. Paulette’s house was no different: three bedrooms and one bathroom over a two-car garage. A small yard out the back. Maya had spent many an evening here with Paulette and their friend Barbara, drinking, eating, joking, and ultimately bitching about the horrible dates they’d had. Just like all girlfriends did.
Maya hesitated as she approached the front door, stopping at the foot of the terrazzo steps. Would she look any different to Paulette? When Maya hugged her, would she crush her with her superior strength just like she’d smashed the little night table in Samson’s house? Maybe it was best not to hug her. Safer for Paulette.
She lifted her foot and set it on the first step. There was a chill in the night air, but Maya didn’t feel cold. Her vampire body seemed to protect itself from the cold despite the fact she’d forgotten to don a jacket. And in June in San Francisco you needed a jacket—a thick one. Clearly, there were some advantages to being a vampire. Maybe one day she’d truly accept that and make the best of it.
Would Paulette freak if she found out what she was now? Would she even believe it? They had always played pranks on each other. It was their way of showing friendship, and so Paulette would think that she was joking. She’d then have to prove what she was. And she’d have to do it without frightening her best friend.
She didn’t want to frighten anybody.
Maya took a deep breath to give herself the courage to walk up the steps and face her friend. Something stung her nostrils. Her stomach flipped. She’d only ever had that same feeling of disgust when she’d tried to drink the bottled human blood. A thought raced through her mind, one she didn’t want to acknowledge.
Her heart pounded as she ran up the stairs and reached for the doorbell. But she didn’t ring it. She didn’t have to—the front door was ajar.
Even though the neighborhood was a safe and quiet one, nobody ever left their door open. Nobody. Certainly not Paulette.
She pushed the door fully open. A bout of nausea overwhelmed her as she inhaled.
“Oh God, no,” she whispered to herself.
The scent stinging her nostrils and assaulting her sensitive s
tomach grew more intense as she stepped into the house. The lights were on in the living room, but it was empty.
Maya’s vocal cords clamped up. She was unable to call out to her friend, because deep down she already knew it wouldn’t make a difference. The house was quiet. There wasn’t a single sound except for the dripping faucet in the bathroom.
Her soft-soled shoes made barely a sound as she slid down the corridor to the bedrooms like a thief. The light drifting into the hallway came from underneath a bedroom door. Paulette’s bedroom.
Maya steeled herself against what she already knew she would find and turned the knob. She pushed the door open, finding it uncharacteristically heavy. It creaked, but she barely heard the sound because the scene in the bedroom made her heart drum so loud it drowned out any sound.
The bed was a pool of blood—dried, but still fresh enough for her stomach to turn. Had she had any contents in it, she would have lost them now, but it appeared vampires couldn’t throw up. Even though she wanted to, needed to, to curb the nausea.
The sheets were tangled as if there’d been a struggle. Paulette hadn’t died easily, but Maya knew she was dead, even though there was no body. She raised her eyes to the wall behind the bed and hugged her arms around her torso.
Scrawled in blood was a message, and it was meant for her.
It’s your fault, Maya.
A sound finally left her throat, but it amounted to nothing more than a helpless gurgle. Her friend had died because of her. He’d done it. She knew it. The man who’d attacked her: he’d killed her friend to cover his tracks.
All because Maya had told Paulette about him, even though she didn’t remember doing so. Paulette had to have known about him for him to attack her. Maybe she’d even known his name and what he looked like. It had cost her her life.
She felt numb all over her body. It was all her fault. She should have taken care of her friend. She should have known he’d come after her. Why hadn’t she thought about it? Why?
The door fell shut behind her and made her spin around with vampire speed.
