Maya gasped the instant her gaze locked with Shane, and every ounce of rage, frustration, and fury simmered through her body and boiled to the surface. Maya’s fangs hummed and vibrated. A primal scream built in her chest, and when the sound ripped from her throat, her fangs erupted.
As the brute’s hands held her tighter and his thin lips tried to capture hers, he rasped, I own your ass.
NO! Maya ripped her arms free from his grasp, causing her rapist to stumble back and stare at her with white-hot fear. With fangs bared and unnatural speed, she grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around, and pinned him up against the brick wall of the club. His thin lips quivered and sweat broke out on his upper lip as he fought to understand what he was looking at. No more! Maya shouted.
Then, as if by magic, her attacker vanished in a swirl of smoke and the world around her grew quiet. Shaking from a feeling of victory, as opposed to fear, a huge smile cracked Maya’s face and the sun in the dream- scape began to rise with time-lapse speed. Smiling, she tilted her face toward the brightening sky and a familiar voice wafted over her shoulder.
I told you I’d come looking for you.
Shane. His name escaped her lips in an almost reverent tone. She spun around and saw him standing on the sidewalk across the street. She started to walk toward him but stopped short and looked down at what she was wearing. For the first time since the nightmare replayed itself, Maya wasn’t wearing the outfit on the night she was attacked. Instead, she was clad in the borrowed sentry uniform. It’s over, isn’t it? She looked back at Shane, and holding his stare, she walked over to meet him in the middle of the empty city street.
Maya squeezed her eyes shut and linked her arms tightly around Shane’s neck, hugging him as though she may not get another chance, and to her great delight, he returned the embrace. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and he lifted her off her feet. She smiled as his rich, wild, male scent filled her head in an almost dizzying way. Maya felt utterly and totally safe. You made it stop.
No, youngling. Shane put her back on her feet, cradled her face in his hands, and brushed his lips over hers with heartbreaking tenderness. He whispered, You did.
The heavy fog of sleep lifted, and Maya slowly began to register the sensations and sounds seeping into her conscious mind bit by bit. For a moment, she was disoriented and struggled to remember where she was. Shane’s familiar scent filled her head, and a smile curved her lips. They were in Lottie Fogg’s attic, and he’d held her as she cried herself to sleep.
Her eyes fluttered open. She remembered what had happened in the dreamscape, and her smile grew wider. The last thing she recalled was what Shane had said: “No youngling, you did.” Was he right? Had she finally found a way to make the nightmares stop? Was standing up to the memory of what happened the secret to freedom? She sure as hell hoped so, especially if waking up in Shane’s arms was part of the deal.
She nestled deeper into his strong embrace and draped one leg over his, her hand resting on his flat, muscular stomach. Her head lay comfortably on his shoulder, his arm curled around her, holding her close. It was the first time she could recall ever sleeping with a man, and as she remained cuddled up against him, Maya thought this was the most intimate moment of her life…and they were still fully clothed.
Just as Maya was about to ask Shane if he was awake, his hand found its way to her thigh and pulled her leg farther over his. He kissed the top of her head. “Good afternoon, youngling.”
“Afternoon?” Maya lifted her head and could see glimmers of light behind the makeshift drapes that were keeping out the damaging sunlight. She frowned. “That’s weird. I’ve never woken up before sunset.”
“It’s at least another hour or so until the sun goes down.” Shane’s body tightened against hers, and his fingers brushed featherlight strokes along her arm. “You could try to go back to sleep and see if the nightmare has stopped.”
“I suppose I could do that,” Maya murmured, laying her head back on his shoulder and making tiny circles on his belly with her fingertip. The edge of his shirt had come untucked from his pants and exposed a strip of flesh. Unable to resist, Maya ran her fingers back and forth over his skin, which evoked a groan from Shane. The vibrations rumbled beneath her cheek as she slipped her hand beneath his shirt and rested her palm against the rippled muscles of his abdomen. “Any other suggestions?”
“There’s only one that comes to mind,” he murmured as his hand, curled in the crook of her knee, pulled her leg up higher. His other hand grasped the elastic of her ponytail and gently took it off before he tangled his strong fingers in her hair and massaged her scalp. “But I’d like to know what you want, Maya.”
Maya’s eyes fluttered closed while his fingertips whispered over the back of her head, his other hand drifting up the side of her thigh before resting on the swell of her hip. She knew what she wanted. She wanted him, to feel the rush of his skin against hers and to be cradled in his embrace forever.
Intellectually, Maya knew she was safe with Shane and that he would never do anything to hurt her, but she hadn’t been with anyone sexually since she’d been turned. Shane placed a tender kiss on her forehead, and though Maya could tell he was aroused, he was patiently waiting for her to take the lead. With courage fueled by desire, Maya lifted her head and shifted her body so she could look him in the eye. He peered at her beneath those thick, dark lashes, and she not only felt his restraint in the tightness of his body but could see it in his eyes.
Maya lifted one quivering hand and brushed the back of her fingers along his stubble-covered jaw before running her thumb over his full lower lip. She gasped as his lips parted and he took her thumb into his mouth and suckled, all while holding her gaze. His tongue ran slow, erotic circles over her fingertip before he gathered her hand in his and trailed butterfly kisses along her palm.
Lust coiled deep in Maya’s belly and heat pooled between her legs while she watched him practically make love to her hand. Her entire body quivered with anticipation and she rubbed herself against him. The insistent need to touch him was consuming her like the sun. Exquisite pleasure rippled through her from the attention he was giving her palm, and she wondered how it would feel to have him lavish kisses on the rest of her body.
She tore her fingers from his, pushed herself up, and straddled him before placing both hands on the pillow on either side of his head. A slow smile spread across Shane’s face, and he slid his hands up her thighs and settled them on her hips, pulling her against the rock-hard evidence of his desire.
“I’ve decided what I want,” Maya whispered. Her hair fell to one side and she leaned closer so that her lips hovered just above his. She flicked her tongue over his mouth. “It’s you, Shane.”
Shane’s restraint shattered as the words escaped her lips and their mouths collided. He opened to her immediately and teased her tongue with his, his hands gripping her hips tighter and pulling her closer. As she kissed him, Maya’s hands gripped the pillow like her life depended on it, and tiny licks of pleasure shot through her while his thick erection pressed against her most sensitive spot. Maya moaned and began to writhe, lust and combustible desire firing through her with every pump of her hips.