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"This isn't a challenge. " He lifted his fist to his mouth and blew. A stream of dust shot straight into Max's face.
The chameleon slumped forward, completely unconscious.
"Huh. Neat trick. " One she'd like to learn.
Skye hefted the chameleon over his shoulder. Didn't even so much as grunt at the weight. When he headed for the door, Adam was at his side, keeping his body between her and Skye.
At the door, Skye paused, glanced back at Maya. "You know, I said it was the right tattoo for you. "
Yeah, he had. Right before he'd picked up his needles and gone to work on her.
"Thanks for the blood. I'll be seeing you, lady vampire. " Then he was gone, hauling the sleeping chameleon from the motel and leaving them in silence.
A silence that only lasted mere moments. Adam slammed the door shut, threw the lock, and turned on her, his eyes hot with anger. "Where the hell did you meet him?"
That was an easy one. "Tattoo parlor. During the day, Skye's the best tattoo artist I've ever seen. " And one willing to work on the undead. It took special skills, not to mention some damn magical ink, to mark one of her kind.
"And during the night?"
Not so easy, mostly because she wasn't entirely sure. "Let's just say that at night, he's much, much more. "
Adam swore, then crossed to her in long, quick strides. He grabbed her arm, holding up the slash, his fingers warm and strong around her. "The asshole cut you too deep. "
Yeah, she knew that. She was still bleeding and getting weaker every second. She needed-
He caught her by the nape of her neck. Pushed her head against his throat so that she could feel the rapid pulse beating beneath her lips. Tempting her.
"Go ahead," he muttered. "Bite me. "
It was all the invitation she needed.
Her fangs sank into his throat, and lust exploded in her blood.
CHAPTER 11
When her lips touched him, his cock swelled, hardening with instant arousal and thrusting against the zipper of his jeans.
And when her teeth pierced his flesh, when she began to suck on his neck and draw his blood into her mouth, he thought he'd come right then.
Adam clenched his teeth, biting back the groan that rumbled to his lips. Damn, but he hadn't expected to feel this way. Not from her bite.
Not with her.
His hands snaked between their bodies, fumbled with the clasp of her jeans. The need to touch her tight, hot sex screamed through him. He wanted to brush past those soft curls and feel her cream coating his fingertips. His cock.
He shoved the jeans down, ripped the panties in his haste. Then he was touching her, finally smoothing his fingers over the silken folds of her sex.
She moaned against his neck. Sucked harder.
Hell, yes.
His fingers stroked over her clit. A tremble shook her body, and his.
Adam's heart thundered in his ears. Her scent surrounded him, warm, wet woman.
Claim. Take.
His fingers parted her. Drove deep. Found her as hot and tight as she'd been before.
So good.
But not good enough. Not yet. Not until he was balls-deep inside her, plunging hard and fast and she was clenching around him, squeezing him tight with that creamy sex.
He lifted her up, heard her kick off the jeans that dangled around her legs. Her mouth never left his neck and the pleasure of her bite just pushed him ever closer to the edge.
He lowered her onto the side of the bed. Jerked open his jeans, and pushed the head of his cock right between her spread legs. Just where he needed to be.
Her tongue licked over his throat, soothing the faint wound.
His fingers dug into her hips.
He shoved deep inside her in one fast thrust.
His balls tightened. His spine tingled and he began to move, plunging into her hot core again and again.
She lifted her mouth from his throat. Met his gaze with eyes gone midnight black. Her lips were red, parted just enough to show him the edge of her fangs.
Adam growled and plunged harder. Her legs wrapped around his hips, clung tight, pulling him against her.
Feel me. He hadn't used their link before. Hadn't thought he'd ever be tempted. But the hunger was too much this time.
He wanted everything from her. Every thought. Every desire.
He wanted her body. Her mind. Her soul.
He opened his thoughts, letting his hunger pour forward and surround her. The lust. The greedy possession. The release that was building in a blinding swirl.
Maya gasped, and those fangs flashed even more. Then, it was as if a wall had fallen, and suddenly he was inside her mind. Feeling her desire. The tension that tightened every muscle in her body.
Closer.
Harder.
Deeper.
More.
Her thoughts, his, it didn't matter. The desire was one and the same. So he gave her what she wanted, what he needed, and drove deep into her creaming sex, loving the way her delicate muscles closed over his shaft and squeezed his cock from tip to root.
Then he felt the blast of pleasure slam through her. A white-hot ball of flame that burned her from the inside, taking her breath and leaving her shaking with the force of her release.
He felt it. Every single second. The tremors that rocked her, the ripples of her sex-milking him with her silken sheath.
Then he was falling-surging over the edge and climaxing deep and long in the cradle of her body. He came hard, pumping into her and holding her tight, marking her skin with the force of his passion.
More.
The whisper was in his mind. In hers. So he kept thrusting after his release. Driving deep, feeling his cock swell once again and thicken in the tight clasp of her sex.
Maya was moaning. Panting. And thrusting her hips back against him with desperate force.
He grabbed the hem of her shirt. Jerked it up so that he could find one ripe breast. He pushed the lace of her bra out of his way, and caught her breast with his mouth, sucking strongly on the nipple-
Even as his cock surged inside her in ever demanding thrusts.
She tasted good. Sweet. Not like a human. And sure as hell not like one of those undead vampires he'd killed in the past.
His tongue swirled over her nipple. Sucked the engorged tip.
Her fingers dug into his shirt, her claws pressing through the fabric and into the skin. Oh, damn, but he liked that. Liked the idea that she was marking him.
Even if the marks would fade all too soon.
His turn.
Adam bit her breast lightly. Not enough to break the skin. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to-
"Adam!" Maya shuddered, those black eyes hot with lust. "Not too much, my blood-"
Probably wouldn't change him. A victim had to be drained nearly dry before an exchange in order for a transformation to work. "Don't worry, baby, I won't make you bleed. " Just scream with pleasure.
His fingers pushed between their bodies. Found her sensitive clit. Adam squeezed it lightly with two fingers and sucked deeply on her breast.
She came, her body jerking beneath his. " Adam!"
He slammed into her. Again. Again. Then stiffened as a second release shot through his body.
He emptied into her, pouring every bit of his semen into her tight depths. When the climax finally ended, he felt hollowed out and so satisfied he never wanted to move again.
Beneath him, Maya stirred faintly. She blinked up at him, eyes slowing shifting back to brilliant blue. She licked her lips, and he realized he hadn't kissed her.
The passion had been too hard. Too fast.
He lowered his head. Pressed his lips against hers. Tasted the copper of his blood. And the sweetness of her mouth.
Maya broke the kiss, turning her head slightly and swallowing.
H
er mind was closed to him again. As his was to her.
The way it should be.
But it just felt so cold.
His cock was still cradled in her sex. He didn't want to move, but he knew she was exhausted.
The night ahead would be dangerous and she'd need all the strength she could get.
While she slept, his blood would recharge her, giving her added energy and power.
Then they'd face the vampires who waited for them.
And he'd get his revenge on the bastard who'd left him to die.
Slowly, he withdrew from her body, enjoying the way her muscles clamped over his shaft-as if she didn't want to release him.
They shifted in the bed, actually managed to make it to the pillows.
Maya turned away from him. Curled in on herself.
He stared at her back a moment. Came to a sudden decision.
Hell, no.
She'd taken his blood and his seed. She'd damn well sleep in his arms. He grabbed her, pulling her toward him and tucking her flush against him.
"No! What are you-"
"Shh. " He stoked her cheek, and she blinked up at him as if she were completely confused. As if no one had ever held her before. "Just sleep, Maya. "
"But, I-"
"Sleep. " And he'd hold her. Protect her. As she'd protected him.
At first, she lay stiffly against him, her muscles too tight. Her lips thinned. But he stroked her back, smoothing his hands over her soft skin until she gradually began to relax.
It took twenty minutes before her breathing changed and she softened against him.
Adam smiled and pulled her closer.
Her hand rested on his chest. Small fingers, pale and smooth. He stared down at that hand, then frowned, his eyes narrowing.
There was blood beneath her nails.
Her fingers had dug into his hips when they'd made love-but not deep enough to cut.
He lifted her hand, brought it close to his nose, and inhaled.
The blood was old and it was hers.
The chameleon's words whispered through his mind. " I gave you my blood. It helped you-
healed you. " Because she'd been hurt. "Your hands-I saw what happened, how they changed . "
He'd been buried under a mountain of rocks. Maya had dug him out-with her hands and claws.
He hadn't realized what the chameleon meant until that moment.
Why hadn't she just left him? Why had she risked so much to save him? More rocks could have fallen down on her. She could have been trapped. The vampire who'd attacked him could have come back and killed her.
Why had she stayed in the darkness and saved him? "Maya. " The whisper fell from his lips.
She frowned in her sleep but didn't awaken.
Adam realized his questions would have to wait.
But not for long.
She hated it when blood was on her hands. Of course, that was a situation that happened all too often for her.
Maya showered as fast as she could, trying to rinse the scent of blood and sex off her body. The water barely trickled out, thanks to Max and Adam, but there wasn't much of a choice for her.
When she left the bathroom, she found Adam sitting on the edge of the bed. His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of her body. For a moment, she was tempted to go to him, to climb on those strong thighs and straddle him.
Then it would be her turn to ride.
But the sun was setting. Power and energy hummed through her veins-and she knew they couldn't delay the hunt.
Cammie needed them.
And the vampires who'd taken the girl, well, they needed to die.
The sex would have to wait.
Maya stalked to her bag, began to dress.
A warm, strong hand settled on her lower back. Right over her black tattoo. "Why the dragon?"
Because after her change, she'd realized that she didn't need anyone to protect her anymore. She was the fierce creature that threatened others.
She forced a shrug. "Impulse. " Maya stepped away from him. She liked his touch too much and didn't trust her own self-control.
"Huh. " The guy didn't sound particularly convinced by her answer. "Skye-you said he was the one who gave it to you?"
Maya tucked her gun into the back of her jeans. Slid a knife into her boot. "Yeah. "
"So this isn't your first trip to Vegas?"
She smiled at that. "No. " Good thing, too, or they would've had one hell of a time finding the feeding room.
But she remembered the place. Had even gone there once, only to leave when the stench of death began to choke her.
Skye had told her that place wasn't for her. "For the others," he'd said. But not for her.
Should have listened to him.
Should have listened-the story of my life.
Too late to change things now. She dug a second gun out of her bag, and gave it, handle first, to Adam.
His brows lifted. "You know I don't really need that. "
"Yeah, well, I'm sure you can probably huff and puff and blow the whole place down-"
A muscle ticced along his jaw.
"-but if you did that, well, that wouldn't exactly be keeping a low profile, now would it?"
"And a gunshot is quiet?"
"Nah. Just not as messy as a four-alarm fire. " Her gaze scanned the room. The weapons were ready. The sun was barely flickering through the blinds.
It was time. "Come on, Slick. Let's go find us some vampires. "
It was the blood that drew her. The heady scent that floated on the wind and teased her nostrils, sending her heart racing and making her palms sweat.
She drove past the glittering lights and flashing signs of the main Strip. Went past the casinos with their elaborate promises of wealth. Drove past the pawnshops that offered more money for the next hand of cards.
The crowds were just as thick off the Strip. The bright lights still flashed.
She kept driving.
And the scent of blood grew stronger.
There. Maya pulled the SUV to the curb. A good fifty feet away from the feeding room.
Temptation . That was the name of the bar. She could see the scantily clad blond women strolling on the sidewalk near the entrance. Lures.
Not that they had to work too hard to reel in the prey. It was barely nine o'clock, far too early for the normal clubbing scene, yet already there was a line snaking around the building.