Sara Humphreys - Vampire Trouble

Before Shane could say another word, Maya shot up into the sky. Whisking toward the horizon, she heard Shane’s deep voice, edged with sadness, rumbling around her.

Just because you can, Maya, doesn’t mean that you should.

Throwing on a pair of her favorite jeans, black knee-high boots, and a formfitting, red V-neck sweater, Maya got up and ready for the night in record time. Normally, she’d take her time and dither over what outfit to wear, but not tonight. She had no idea what Rat would want her to wear to tend bar, and the truth was, she didn’t even expect to work tonight. In all likelihood they would only talk about her schedule or something, but one thing was for sure—she would not be stripping. She had no intention of dancing at the club, but when Shane threw out an order, something inside her snapped.

Maya snagged a hairbrush off her dresser and ran it through her hair with furious strokes. Ever since she woke up, all she could think about was Shane and what had happened in the dreamscape. She’d never experienced such a roller coaster of emotions in such a short time.

Fear. Relief. Safety. Passion. Lust. Shock. Fury.

Memories of the gentle way he held her hands, the passionate, insistent feel of his mouth on hers…all of it came flooding back in living color. For the first time since Maya had been turned, fear was drowned out by tenderness and she remembered what it felt like to be desired. To be desired for who she was, not what she looked like.

She fiddled with the handle of the wooden brush as she gazed at her reflection in the large mirror above her white dresser. The human men she hunted were easy prey and wanted her for her body, not that they ever got it, but Shane was different. Maya nibbled her lower lip and smiled wistfully. He wanted her physically, that was for sure, but there was more to it. Shane was concerned about her emotional well-being and her safety, which was evident in the way he intervened in the dreamscape.

The dreamscape. What the hell was he doing there? Not that she wanted to seem ungrateful—after all, he stopped the nightmare—but did his presence there mean what he said it did? Were they bloodmates? Her gut clenched at the mere idea of it and what it would mean.

From what Olivia said, there was a blood exchange and bonding, and then both would become daywalkers. But while he had tasted her blood, she hadn’t tasted his. Daywalking was fine, but Maya couldn’t quite get a grip on the whole bonded-for-eternity concept. In fact, the mere idea of it was terrifying. She would be trusting him with her life, and Maya never trusted men, other than Pete or Doug. They were like brothers, and it wasn’t the same thing.

A smile played at her lips and her fangs broke free while she recalled the way her stomach fluttered from that look in his eyes. Oh no, there was nothing brotherly about the way Shane made her feel.

Not. At. All.

A sudden knock at Maya’s front door captured her attention and tore her from her thoughts. With her brow furrowed, she tossed the brush on the dresser and went into the living room. It was probably Olivia or Doug because they were the only two vamps who had access to the apartments that Maya couldn’t telepath with.

Putting on a smile, she gripped the brass doorknob and prayed that they wouldn’t see through her bullshit and detect the swirl of confusion inside her. Since Olivia didn’t know about the nightmares, bringing up Shane’s surprise appearance would take more explanation than Maya was prepared to give at the moment.

Smiling, Maya pulled the door open, ready to greet Olivia or Doug, but to her great surprise she found herself face-to-face with Trixie and Sadie, both of whom looked concerned. The two women exchanged perplexed looks and then pushed past Maya into the apartment.

“Well, gee,” Maya said, shutting the door, “come on in? What’s your deal? If you two needed to talk to me so badly, why didn’t you just telepath?”

Trixie sat on the arm of the overstuffed, pink-and-white polka-dot chair and stared at Maya like she’d just burst into flames, but Sadie paced back and forth while nibbling on her thumb. If she kept it up, she was going to end up eating the fingerless lace gloves she wore.

“What?” Maya threw her hands up. “Why are you two acting so weird?”

“Ha.” Swinging her combat-boot-clad feet, Trixie sat perched on the edge of the chair. “You’re the one who’s gotten weird. Well, weirder.”

“You’re one to talk,” Maya teased good-naturedly. “I’m not the one with hair that looks like an Easter egg.”

Trixie smirked and flipped Maya the bird. “Suck it.”

“You didn’t hear us,” Sadie said quietly. She stopped pacing and folded her arms over her breasts. “Trixie and I have been trying to telepath to you for the past half hour, and when you didn’t respond, we got worried. We went to the Statue of Liberty and looked in your favorite hiding spot.”

“You were worried about me?”

“Well, yeah. So much so that I even flew over the river to check if you were hangin’ in Lady Liberty’s torch, and you know how much I hate the water.” Trixie shrugged. “You may have shitty taste in music”—she glanced around the pink and white decor of the apartment—“and pretty much everything else, but we still love ya. I was telepathing to you, trying to find out what time you were going over to Rat’s place, mostly to see if I could talk your cute blond butt into not going there. When you didn’t respond, I thought you were just being you. ”

“Great minds think alike,” Sadie interjected. “I was hoping to do the same thing, and when we compared notes…”

“Y-you’ve been trying to talk to me?” Maya’s stomach clenched, and for the first time since being turned into a vampire, she thought she might actually barf. Everything Shane said came rushing into her mind, but bloodmate rose above the rest. She tried to remember the last time she telepathed with Trixie and Sadie and realized it was at the club last night—before Shane tasted her blood. If she still breathed, she’d probably have hyperventilated by now. Maya closed her eyes and waved for them to do it again. “Try now.”

Silence filled her head. The ticking of the clock in the kitchen echoed through the room like thunder. But in between each tick there was only terrifying silence. Tears pricked the back of Maya’s eyes and panic welled.

“Holy shit, you’re cut off from us,” Trixie whispered. “This is just like what happened when Olivia and Doug—”

“Shut up,” Maya shouted. She opened her eyes and pointed at her sisters. “Don’t say it. Don’t you dare say it. This is not the same thing.”

“Is it Quesada?” Sadie leaned both hands on the back of white couch and leveled a serious gaze at Maya. “Something happened with him, didn’t it?”

“No.” Maya shook her head and went to the closet to grab her black wrap. “Absolutely not.”

“If it’s not him…” Trixie grimaced and cracked her knuckles. “It’s not Rat, is it? He’s freaking gross.”

“Oh my God, no way.” Maya made a face of disgust and kept talking like her life depended on it. She worried that if she stopped, the world around her would cave in. “I’m going to work for him and that’s it. Speaking of which, I gotta get going. I’ll come see you girls when I get back, and I’m sure everything will be back to normal.”

Before she could leave, Sadie flew across the room and grabbed Maya by the arm. Letting out a sigh, Maya turned to face her fellow coven members and fought to keep from crying because deep in her gut, she knew it wasn’t just some fluke.

“Maya, you can’t run away from this.” Sadie was always the one to tell it like it is. She kept her voice gentle but her meaning was clear. She slipped her hand into Maya’s and squeezed as Trixie sidled up behind her and rested her chin on Sadie’s shoulder.