Shane lay down and pulled Maya with him so she was on her knees straddling him. She leaned forward, bracing her hands on either side of his head, her blond hair spilling around them. His erection, hot and full, was pressed beneath her in just the right spot, and his large, strong hands rested on her hips.
Maya ran her tongue along the seam of his lips and rocked her hips, sliding her hot center along the rigid length of his cock. Kissing him deeply, she moved faster, sliding her slick, swollen flesh over his in long, hard strokes. She rode him with total abandon and brought them both to a fever pitch. Maya whimpered as the orgasm coiled tight and deep. Knowing she was ready, Shane reached between their bodies and slipped himself inside her.
Maya cried his name as the steely length of him filled her. She sat up, taking all of him in, and he gripped her hips tightly, encouraging her to move. Slowly and with deliberate motion, Maya tilted her hips, keeping her gaze locked with Shane’s. She put her hands above her head, feeling wild and free, riding him faster while delicious friction sent white-hot pleasure whipping through her body.
As wave after wave of the pounding orgasm tore through them in unison, Maya’s fangs erupted and the surge of a familiar primal need took hold. Still buried deep inside her, Shane sat up on a growl with his razor-sharp fangs bared. He tangled his hands in her hair while she rode him, and Maya let out a gasp of sheer pleasure when his mind melded with hers and he growled, “Bloodmate.”
Shane sank his fangs into Maya’s shoulder, and another orgasm slammed into her with toe-curling force. Maya shrieked her pleasure into the dark Louisiana night before dropping her head and sinking her fangs into the strip of flesh along his neck.
He tasted wild and spicy, and ripple after ripple of bone-melting ecstasy soared through her body. Maya’s eyes fluttered closed, the orgasm subsided, and a subtle but insistent sound rumbled through them like a bass beat at the club.
A heartbeat.
Once. Twice. Again.
The pounding continued while they clung to one another and the tiny aftershocks of the orgasm fluttered through them. Licking the wounds closed, they remained wrapped up in each other’s arms, neither one wanting this moment to end. Even after they stopped the blood exchange, the heartbeat continued for several more minutes. They were alive. Even if it only lasted for those few brief moments, for that instant in time, Shane and Maya were alive.
Chapter 10
Maya lifted her head and the expression of wonder on her face was one of the best sights he’d ever seen. Shane cradled her cheeks with both hands and gingerly brushed his thumb over her flawless skin. A wistful smile played at his lips, and he held her gaze while their synchronized heartbeats slowed beat by beat until finally stopping and leaving them quiet once again.
“Did you feel that?” Maya asked in barely audible tones. “We…we had heartbeats. Both of us.”
“I did.” A sly grin cracked his handsome face, and he kissed the corner of her mouth. “But it may only have been a fluke. Perhaps something that happens only once between bloodmates.”
“Once? Hmm.” Maya linked her arms around his neck and flicked his mouth with her tongue. “Then I guess we better do it again. You know, to prove it wasn’t just a fluke.”
“Your wish is my command, youngling.”
Shane made love to her again on the rooftop, beneath the black velvet blanket of the star-dappled sky, and proved that the presence of a heartbeat during a blood exchange was not merely a fluke. Once again when they joined in every way possible, a heartbeat thundered between them loud and strong. Afterward, while they lay next to one another, naked as jaybirds and with their fingers intertwined, Maya struggled with whether or not to ask Shane the question that lingered in her mind.
“What is it, youngling?” Shane turned onto his side. Propping himself up on his elbow, he played with a long strand of her hair. “Something is bothering you.”
“Are you a mind reader?” Maya playfully smacked his arm with the back of her hand.
“Not exactly.” Shane went back to playing with her hair but kept his eyes on hers. “But I can sense there’s something troubling you.”
“We’re bloodmates.” Maya made the statement with some uncertainty. “Right?”
“Yes.” Shane rested his hand over her lower belly and stroked the soft flesh gently. “If I had any doubts, they were eliminated during the blood exchange. I haven’t had a heartbeat in four centuries. It took a minute even to figure out what was happening, but it was the most erotic, intimate moment of my existence.”
“I saw your memories.” Maya smiled and stared into the night sky. “The battles, the sadness when your maker left you, and the loyalty you feel for the Presidium. I saw it all.”
“Yes. That is part of the process, of giving myself to you.”
“Were you able to read my blood memories?” she asked quietly. “I know that you should be able to but…I’m kind of defective or something. I know Olivia couldn’t really read them, either.”
“Not all of them.” Shane’s mouth set in grim line, and he tipped her chin toward him with one finger, forcing her to look at him. “There is nothing wrong with you, Maya.”
“Yes, there is. Did you know that my turn took five days?” Maya took his hand in hers and sat up, pulling her knees to her chest, suddenly aware of her nakedness and feeling remarkably vulnerable. “Five days! It’s like I ride the short bus of vampires.”
“No.” Shane’s brow furrowed. “I was unaware that your conversion took so long. A traditional turn is two days, although Doug’s was only twelve hours.”
“Yeah,” Maya scoffed. “But he’s got angel blood. If we’re bloodmates, then I should be able to share all of myself with you but I can’t.”
“That’s it.” Shane’s tone was quiet but serious. He studied her closely and nodded. “Your bloodline must carry some kind of unique trait. It could explain why your blood memories are shrouded and why your turn took so long. You’re not Fae or Amoveo. I’ve tasted that type of blood before and I’d recognize it. And since you haven’t sprouted fur, it’s a safe bet you’re not a werewolf,” he said with a wink. “It’s not angel or demon either, because you don’t exhibit any of the traits that Doug and Pete have as vampires. It’s something else. That has to be the reason.”
“Will you help me, Shane?” Maya rested her cheek on her knees and looked at him pleadingly.
“Ask and it’s yours,” he whispered. He brushed the hair from her forehead. “Anything.”
“Help me find out who I am. How can I commit myself to you, to this whole bloodmate idea, if I don’t even know who I am?”
“Like I said”—Shane gathered her into his arms and held her, brushing the top of her head with a kiss—“I’ll always come and find you.”
The sound of Lottie’s car coming down the driveway prompted Maya to get dressed in record time. Shane offered to pack up the weapons and suggested Maya go inside to see if Lottie required anything of them. Maya picked some grass out of her hair before opening the creaky screen door and stepping into the brightly lit kitchen. Turning to close the door behind her, she caught a glimpse of Shane and couldn’t help but stop and stare.
He still hadn’t put on his shirt, and the clear, moonlit night was giving her a beautiful view of his broad, well-muscled back. Maya leaned against the doorway and watched him organize the weaponry with the same focused intensity that he did everything else, including lovemaking. A smile played at her lips, recalling the way his hands ran over her naked body and the heartbreaking tenderness that lingered in his kisses. Her hand went to her mouth, which tingled at the memory of rasping along his stubble-covered jaw.