Once they had gathered up what few things they had brought into the trailer with them, they joined William in the truck. Their dusty ride through the desert to the main residential area of the Reservation was made in silence. No one had anything helpful to say…and so they said nothing. William focused on the driving as Maia and Ignacio sat, hand-in-hand, gazing out the window together. At this point, it had almost become instinct to scan the sky for a helicopter.
Johnathan was waiting for them at his home. William showed them in and then left, not saying where he was off to. Their old friend welcomed them and offered them a seat and a cold root beer for their troubles. Again, as if it was a ritual all of a sudden, they took the soft drinks but didn’t bother to pop the tabs. Maia wondered for a moment if they were the same two cans from before.
“I’m sure William explained why it was time for you to leave the trailer,” Johnathan said as he popped the tab of his own can of soda.
“He said there were people asking about Maia and her car,” said Ignacio, glancing towards Maia who gave a thankful look to him. She was still processing everything and was going to need a minute.
“Federal agents, yes,” Johnathan answered after sipping from his can. “Two men, asking about your car and our security footage. They have been told that our system wasn’t working, but I don’t think they believe it.”
“So now you think they might start sniffing around here…” Ignacio said, more to himself than anything else.
“Yep. Which means it’s high time you two kids got moving.” Johnathan took a few steps towards them and handed Ignacio the keys to his truck. “You’ll need it.”
“Johnathan, no,” said Maia, finally speaking for the first time since their arrival. “We can’t take your truck. You’ve already done enough.”
“You need to move faster than your feet can carry you,” he answered, casually. “You need to blend in. A beat up old truck is your best bet right now. Besides, it’s time I looked into a new one anyway.”
Johnathan smiled a bit at the two of them. Ignacio was still holding the keys a bit dumbfounded as Maia threw her arms around Johnathan and gave him a tight, gracious hug. She had considered him a good friend, but she had never expected him to be so selfless in helping them.
“Thank you, Johnathan,” she said. “I’m pretty sure we owe you our lives at this point.”
“She’s got a point. But yes, thank you Johnathan,” Ignacio said and shook his head, standing with the keys in his hand. “So, where should we go?”
“Personally, I would suggest getting out of Las Vegas,” Johnathan offered. “I’m sure they have people sniffing around the city already.”
“That’s not a bad idea, Maia. Hell, we could even go down to Mexico. That way these government people really won’t be able to follow us,” Ignacio chimed. “Or at least they would be slowed down by it.”
Maia just stared at the two of them for a moment. They were talking about going on the run, crossing the border as fugitives. She loved Ignacio, she knew that without a doubt. But she couldn’t imagine herself going on the lamb like that. Besides, she had built an entire life for herself here in Vegas and leaving it behind wasn’t an option she was willing to entertain right now. It would mean starting all over again. Besides, the show she had spent the past few months practicing for was only a few days away, assuming she hadn’t already been cut due to all her time spent MIA. She had to be a part of it, she had worked too hard not to be.
“I don’t think we need to go as far as Mexico,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t just disappear, Ignacio. If we are going to leave Vegas, there are a few things I have to take care of, at least.”
The look on her face was all the convincing Ignacio needed. Maia had given up and gone through enough because of his foul-ups, he couldn’t expect her to drop everything and run across the border with him. He nodded in agreement and moved to give her a kiss on the forehead.
“Alright,” he said in a warm voice. “You ready to hit the road?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she answered, slipping her hands to his hips when he kissed her.
“The truck should have plenty of gas to get you into Vegas,” Johnathan piped up. “Don’t worry too much about what happens to it. Like I said, I think it’s time I got a new one anyway.”
The two smirked at him before saying their goodbyes and then hitting the road. There wasn’t much reason for them to stick around any longer and the sooner they started moving the better. They left Johnathan in his home and went out to the truck, though as Maia was about to climb into the passenger seat, she noticed Ignacio standing there with the keys in his hand and a certain…look…on his face.
“What’s the matter, babe?” She called to him, squinting against the sunlight.
“I… uh. I’ve never driven before,” he admitted. He didn’t seem embarrassed, more confused than anything else.
“Oh… well… then I guess I had better do that,” she almost laughed as she said it. She found his befuddlement adorable. “Better we don’t die in a car crash while dying to escape the hands of the feds.”
“Ha, ha,” he said, tossing the keys at her as he walked to the passenger side to trade places with her.
She just smiled, glad to have a moment of lightheartedness even in this chaos. Once they were settled, she turned the engine over and they were off. The ride out of the Reservation was quiet, but once they got out onto the highway, they both grew tense. The plaza was still swarming with people, though not as many news crew vans were hanging around. They were both thankful when the plaza and Crystal disappeared in the rearview.
The ride was uneventful and eventually they had parked the truck in a lot a block or so away that Maia knew she could see from her living room window. They had talked about it on the way, parking the truck in the lot of her building would be asking for trouble, so leaving it a few blocks away was the choice they settled on. As they walked through the Vegas heat to her apartment, she gave him a friendly warning about Celia. Oddly, the old woman wasn’t in her regular lawn chair in the main lobby. As they passed through to head upstairs, Maia contemplated knocking on her door but thought better of it. Celia was better off not knowing what was going on.
“I sort of…left in a rush. Don’t judge,” she said with a little grin as she unlocked the door and welcomed him into her home.
As they walked in, Maia gestured for him to make himself at home and then went into the bedroom to finally plug in her phone. She left it turned off though, just to be safe. When she came back out, she found Ignacio standing in her living room with an adorable smile on his face.
“What’s that look for?” She said with a soft laugh.
“You put it right in the middle of everything...” He said, glancing towards her.
“What?” She asked, giving him a cute but quizzical look.
“The piece I made you,” he said, pointing towards the large chunk of desert glass he had given her.
“Of course, I did! Ignacio, it’s the greatest thing anyone has ever given me.” She gushed, coming to slip her arms around him.
“I’m glad to hear that, Maia,” he said, smiling down at her. “I’m so sorry I’ve put you through all of this. I never meant for any of it to happen. I promise to keep you safe from here on out.”
She lay her head against his chest with a smile, though it slowly began to fade as a pang of guilt rose in her chest. How could she be so selfish as to keep him close to all of this danger just so she could dance in a show? That was the only reason she didn’t want to leave Vegas and she felt like shit for it.
“Ignacio,” she sighed. “I have a confession, promise you won’t hate my guts for it?
“What? Never,” he said, leaning away from her as he slid his hands to her shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
That pang of guilt rose in her chest again. He was the sweetest person she had ever met. She closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat
before she bit the bullet and told him everything.
“I sort of, lied to you…in a way,” she admitted. “The real reason I don’t want to leave Vegas is because I’m supposed to perform in a show that has been in the works for months. I know it’s selfish and I am so sorry. I know it makes no sense and I’ll probably just get us killed but I just can’t disappear. I’ve worked so hard to get where I am…”
She shut herself up before she continued to ramble on and on. Ignacio didn’t say anything at first and she was afraid to look up at him, but when she did she was met with a warm smile and those gorgeous amber eyes.
“What?” She said, almost afraid for when he opened his mouth.
“You are amazing, Maia. You really are,” he said, which was a surprise to Maia, to say the least. “I have never met someone with such fierce loyalty and dedication to what and who they care about. Never apologize for that, ever.”
“God, why do you have to be so damned perfect?” She asked him, shaking her head in disbelief.
“You bring it out in me, what can I say,” he said with a shrug and a playful smile. “I promise you, Maia. You will dance just like you want to. I swear.”
She had no words. Instead, she leaned further into him and brought her lips up to his for a kiss. He met her with his own, holding her shoulders tightly before his hands slid down along her arms to find her hips. He pulled her close, the fire in his belly blazing at the touch of her skin and his admiration for her strength. Not just any woman could hold the love of a dragon. He drew her in, his lips seeking to taste every inch of her as they worked their way along her jawline towards the slender curve of her neck.
Maia whimpered softy at the feel of his lips along her jaw. His warm breath flowing across her neck caused a wave of goosebumps to wash over her skin as her hands crawled up along his chest to grip at the fabric there. She’d had him so many times in the past few days, but it wasn’t nearly enough. His touch alone set her aflame and fanned her desire for him. Case in point, when his hands slid under the edge of her shirt to caress the curve of her waist with that gentle touch. It was electric, and she pulled herself closer against him in response.
He purred against her neck as his hands found her flesh and took in as much of it as they could. He wasted no time, lifting the t-shirt right off of her without hesitation to leave her topless and totally bare to him. He wrapped his arms around her to pull her close once more and to allow his lips the chance to attack her neck once more.
Maia gasped at it all, loving his demanding hand as he stripped her down and pulled her in. Her hands went to his chest again, tilting her head to give him all the room he wanted to ravage her neck. Her leg rose up against his hip, prompting his one hand to swoop down and grab a firm handful of her ass. She purred for him, which only seemed to spur him on.
In one swift motion, he picked her up and gently tossed her down on the nearby couch. His own shirt was pulled off just as swiftly before he joined her, his strong arms holding himself just above her as he smiled down at her for a moment. His lips went to work again, giving one last bit of attention to her neck before beginning a slow and teasing trek southward along her body. His tongue traced along her collar bone before his lips lingered over the curve of her breasts. Her back arched at his touch, her hands groping and reaching for every inch of his warm, exposed and muscular back that they could find.
When his lips found those tender, perky Hershey kiss nipples, she gasped once more. The way his tongue snaked around them before gently sucking, sent a wave of pleasure through her. Her body trembled softly, and a faint moan slipped from her lips. While her attention was on how tender he was being with her breasts, Ignacio’s hands were working to free his lover of her pants. Slowly he slid them down over the curve of her hips and her legs, gently pulling them free of her. His hands then ran up her bare legs, lingering over the pink cotton of her panties as his lips now hovered over her stomach. He kissed her belly, his lips moving to her hips. He dropped his own pants to leave himself naked above her.
Maia had watched every move he made as he kissed down along her body and relieved them both of their clothes. She loved it when he took the reins, controlling their love making with that tender dominance that made her wet at just the thought of it. She gasped for him, silently begging him to give her what she wanted. He complied with his lips, smashing them firmly against her own with a low rumbling in his throat. She wrapped her arms around him, her legs coming up to rub along his hips once more.
Ignacio propped himself up against the couch with one hand, his other gripping her hip before sliding up along the outside of her leg. His lips worked against hers, his tongue slipping between them to mingle with hers as his hand explored further. Searching fingers found their way to her inner thigh, caressing gently until they found the edge of her panties. She could feel him growing more and more eager as he pressed against her with a rock-hard firmness. She groaned, aching to feel him within her.
He could tell. In their time together, he had come to read her like a book and her writhing movements told him everything he needed to know. Without hesitation, his fingers pulled her panties aside, sliding gently between those warm, wet lips. She gasped into their kiss, pulling away as her back arched against his touch. He grinned, knowing she was more than ready for him.
Her panties pulled aside, he pressed himself against her, sliding himself into her slowly and to the hilt. They groaned together before he began to roll his hips, pulling himself from her before plunging in once more. Maia held him tightly, her hands gripping the muscles of his back as she felt him against and within her. She brought her lips against his ear, murmuring his name as he began to speed up in his thrusting.
They made love for what felt like hours and only mere moments at the same time. They finally lay spent on the couch, wrapped in one another’s arms, under the pulsing neon light of Vegas through the living room window. They exchanged no words, they simply held one another until sleep came and granted them a well-deserved rest.
Chapter Seven
The following morning, after a wonderfully steamy, shared shower and a bit of breakfast, Maia admitted that she would have to head down to the practice space in order to speak with her producer and stage manager. A phone call wasn’t going to cut it and she knew there would be an argument on her hands with it anyway. Ignacio insisted he come with her, determined to keep her safe no matter what. As he finished his breakfast, she went to the living room window to check on the truck…and what she saw made her stomach drop.
“Ignacio…. we might have a problem,” she said, her eyes never leaving what they saw out the window.
“What’s wrong?” He said, coming to stand beside her.
“It looks like we might have some company,” she said mournfully, pointing towards the truck.
Johnathan’s truck, beat up and blue in the parking lot, was being looked over by two men in black suits. They seemed to be checking out the registration as they talked to one another and looked around. Maia gave Ignacio a look, she felt sick to her stomach. But he had such confidence in her that the look he gave her in response helped to steel her nerves.
“I think we’ll have to find another way to get around…” Maia said, though she had no idea what they were going to do.
They went about the apartment packing up everything that they would need for an extended trip. They had no idea where they would end up going after Maia took care of business, but coming back to the apartment wasn’t going to be an option. With a backpack each, they left Maia’s apartment…possibly for the last time. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Maia caught sight of a familiar face and smiled.
“Maia!” Celia called as she saw them. “Girl, I was starting to get worried about you! Who’s your friend there?”
“I’m just fine, Celia,” Maia said with a smile before gesturing to Ignacio. “This is Ignacio. Ignacio, this is Celia.”
“Nice to meet you, Ma’am,” Ignacio said
with a smile and a nod of his head.
“Ooo. He’s a cute one. Good catch, girl,” Celia said with a grin and a wink towards Maia. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, young man. Where are you two off to in such a rush? Seems pretty important by the looks on those faces”
“Ahh… well, we have to take an unexpected trip for a few days,” Maia said, trying to explain without telling her things she didn’t need to know. “Tricky part is my car is…in the shop and Ignacio doesn’t have one…”
“Oh honey, take mine!” Celia said, fishing into the pocket of her robe for her keys. She fiddled with them to pull her house key from it. “I never go anywhere, so what do I need it for?”
“Celia, no… we couldn’t,” Maia said, glancing to Ignacio. He understood. Too many friends had helped them and they felt guilty accepting more.
“Too late,” the woman said, tossing Maia the keys. “Just leave them in my mailbox when you’re done with it. Oh! And replace the gas you use, sweetheart. That stuff is expensive these days.”
Maia caught the keys, looking to Celia with a smirk before she just shook her head and smiled at the woman. She knew better than to argue with her at this point. She had seen her carry on with that damned cat for hours at a time.
“Thanks, Celia,” she said. “I promise I won’t crash it up too bad.”
“You better not! Now get goin’!” Celia said, waving them off before settling back down into her lawn chair.
They hit the road heading to the dance studio where Maia knew the producer and stage manager would be. Practice would have just been letting out, so she knew they would be there for a while. Parking the car, she asked Ignacio to stay outside and keep an eye out. No sense risking some weird government ambush while they were both inside. Besides, she wasn’t too keen on involving her dance troupe or her bosses in this mess of theirs.
Mad About The Dragon: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Dragon In My Heart Series Book 1) Page 6
