“I’m well aware of what that would mean, Shane.” Her voice shook, but her expression remained resolute. “It means you own me for the rest of my immortal existence.”
Shane blinked as though she’d slapped him in the face.
“Is that what you think?” he whispered. “No, youngling. That is nowhere near what it means to be bloodmates.”
“Then what does it mean?” Maya folded her arms over her breasts defensively.
“This.” Shane placed a gentle kiss at the corner of her mouth. “And this,” he murmured, brushing his lips over hers briefly. He remained there, his lips achingly close to hers, and the need to touch her clawed at his gut with brutal insistence. “My one priority for the rest of my existence will be to see to your happiness…and pleasure.”
“I don’t know which end is up with you,” Maya whispered. Desire bloomed between them. Maya’s lips parted and her hands slipped inside his jacket, settling on his waist. “One minute I want to slap you…and the next…” Maya tugged his hips against hers and moaned softly when his growing erection pressed enticingly against her. “I can’t get close enough.”
“I am familiar with the feeling, and all I can think about is the taste of you—”
“Shane?” she murmured against his lips, her blue eyes glazed with desire. “Stop talking.”
“Gladly,” he growled before covering her mouth with his.
Shane dove deep, tasting and teasing her tongue with his as though he’d never get enough. Her lips melded with his and a fire burned in his gut, shattering his restraint. Kissing her deeply, he reached down and grabbed her firm, round ass with both hands, pressing her to him, but it simply wasn’t sufficient. She fumbled with his shirt and pulled it from the waist of his jeans before raking her fingers along the bare skin of his lower back.
She smiled against his mouth when he growled with pleasure. Her flesh brushed over his exquisitely while he blazed a trail of kisses down her long, lovely throat. It didn’t matter that someone might walk in and see the two of them together. All he cared about was getting closer and tasting every beautiful inch of her porcelain skin.
He nudged the heavy pendant out of the way before pulling down the top of her dress to reveal her full breasts. Cupping one soft mound in his hand, he bent his head and flicked her nipple with his tongue. Maya wrapped one leg around him, writhing against him as she threaded her fingers through his hair and held him to her, urging him on.
“Never stop touching me that way,” Maya rasped.
His fangs hummed, begging to be freed so they could pierce that perfect flesh and taste her, but Maya tugged his hair and pulled his mouth to hers. He let her take the lead, allowing her full control in teasing and suckling his tongue. She slowed the pace and kissed him with long, languid strokes before finally suckling his lower lip and breaking the kiss.
A knock at the door made them both freeze. Shane blinked. What the hell was he doing mauling Maya in the back hall of a strip club with a pack of werewolves out there? He’d lost his damn mind.
“Whatever you two are doing in there, finish it up, would ya?” Rat shouted. “I’ve got a pack of wolves out here that are requesting Maya serve their drinks, and they won’t buy another one unless she brings it to them.”
Shane opened his mouth to respond, but Maya pressed her finger to his lips and shook her head.
“I’ll be right out, Rat.”
Shane kissed her finger before brushing her lips gently with his. Helping her put her top back in place, he fought the urge to take it off again. She giggled and playfully pushed his hands away so she could do it herself, and though he’d enjoyed removing the garment, it was almost as sexy to watch her put it back on.
“Tuck in your shirt and keep your hands to yourself, mister.”
“As you wish for now, but I make no promises about later.” Shane made quick work of putting himself back together, but he was relatively certain his raging hard-on would need time to die down. “We wouldn’t want to keep Horace waiting, now would we?”
Maya rolled her eyes and pushed past him, but Shane took her hand in his, stopping her before she opened the door. She glanced over her shoulder, her blond hair flowing in silken waves down her back, and met his stern stare with her own.
“Watch yourself, Maya.” He squeezed her hand. “Horace is not a wolf you want to toy with. He’s aggressive, and according to Olivia, he came here without his father’s blessing. I suspect he’s here to cause trouble. I can’t imagine you want to be a part of that.”
“You sure know how to ruin a moment, don’t you?”
“I have your best interests in mind.” His jaw set. “But I also have a job to do.”
“You know what? I changed my mind.” Maya pulled her hand from his. “I don’t need a babysitter or a bodyguard.”
Then without another word, she disappeared through the door. Shane swore under his breath and followed her into the club. He took a seat at the bar this time and spent the next three hours watching Maya flit back and forth between the bar and the wolves. To her credit, she managed to stay out of Horace’s reach, but no matter where she went, that wolf had his dark, shifty gaze glued to her. Every warning bell Shane had was going off in his head. Whatever Horace’s plans were, he clearly wanted Maya to be a part of them.
Chapter 6
Maya couldn’t believe how quickly her first night of work at The Dollhouse went, and while she was cleaning up behind the bar, a smile played at her lips. Even with Shane lurking in the club all night doing his broody, staring thing, Maya felt freer than she had in a long time. She got on well with the other girls at The Dollhouse, and Rat let her do her thing behind the bar.
All in all, aside from the one tense moment when Shane overreacted, it was a good night.
I will escort you home when you are finished. Maya’s breasts tingled the instant Shane’s deep, seductive voice touched her mind, and the unexpected contact almost made her trip over her own feet. It was intimate, erotic, and oddly familiar to have him speak with her like this, but at the same time, the sudden inability to hear her siblings was unsettling. Her world was changing at a breakneck pace, which made her feel unsteady and unsure and gave her an overall feeling of unease. The sun will rise in just a couple of hours, but we could fly for a while, if you’d like.
Maya shut her mind without responding and her smile faded. So much for feeling like she had freedom. Snagging a wet rag from the bar sink, she started wiping down her work area and glanced up to see Horace give her a wave. She smiled back and studied him for a moment before looking away. He was handsome—not in the tall, dark, and sexy way that Shane was but in a ruggedly handsome way. There was a wildness about him that she found appealing, and after that one grab-ass moment at the start of the night, he’d been a perfect gentleman.
Maya was wondering what all the fuss was about.
All of the men in his pack behaved while they were at the club. They might have been a little loud, but they weren’t acting like the crazy animals everyone warned her about. Horace was actually nice, and there was something about him and all the wolves that intrigued her. Maybe it was because she’d never met any before, but for whatever reason, she was drawn to them.