Sara Humphreys - Vampire Trouble

“I’m so tired, Shane,” she whispered, running the edge of the cloth between her fingers. “My body…my soul.” She sniffled and he knew she was crying. Unable to stop himself, he ran his hand gently down the length of her ponytail and wrapped the silky ends around his finger while she spoke. “I’m tired of being afraid, and sometimes I think Olivia should have just left me in that alley. Everyone would be a lot better off. Including me.”

“I wouldn’t,” he murmured, reaching around her and placing his hand over hers along the edge of the fabric. She stilled and allowed her body to sag ever so slightly and lean against his, but she didn’t let go. He kissed the top of her head gently. “And neither would you. If Olivia hadn’t turned you that night, I may never have found you.”

“You would be much better off without me in your life.” She swiped at her eyes and her frustration rose. “You would be going about your business as a sentry, doing the job you love instead of babysitting a troublemaker like me and getting into fights with werewolves.” Maya let go of the fabric and spun to face him. With her blue eyes flashing angrily, she shoved at him with both hands. “You should leave. I mean it. Get away from me, Shane. Go back to New York.”

“No.” Shane didn’t move. Maya was a vampire and she was strong, but he was older and stronger and knew exactly what she was trying to do. “I will not.”

“Don’t you get it?” she shouted. “I’m no good, Shane. I was a terrible human being, and now I’m a hot fucking mess of a vampire. I’m defective merchandise.”

“Oh really?” Shane folded his arms over his chest and raised one eyebrow at her foolishness. “If I recall correctly, you don’t exactly have a clear memory of your human life. So what makes you say that?”

Maya’s jaw set and her lips quivered while she fought the tears and struggled to get the words out.

“No one came looking for me,” she said in a barely audible whisper. When he gave her a quizzical look, she continued. “After that night in the alley, I vanished from the human world, Shane, and no one came to find me… Nobody cared enough about who I was to even report me missing.” Her eyes filled with tears, and when one fat drop fell down her cheek, something inside him crumbled. Weeping, she sat on the edge of the bed looking at her intertwined fingers and murmured, “It’s like the world was relieved that I was gone.”

Resting her elbows on her knees, she put her face in her hands and sobbed. Shane stared at her for a moment, uncertain of exactly what to do. Watching the woman who was destined to be his bloodmate weeping deep, soul-shredding tears was not something he could slice with silver or wipe out with ultraviolet ammunition.

Viciousness and calculated death-dealing were things he was comfortable with. Crying and emotions were not.

Shane did the only thing he could think of. He dropped the other bag on the floor, then removed his long sentry coat and draped it over the foot of the bed before sitting down next to Maya. Without a word, he wrapped one arm over her shoulder, gently pulled her down onto the bed, and lay back, cradling her body against his. He held her there while she cried, her tears beading off the shirt of his sentry uniform in what seemed like a never-ending ocean.

“Sleep, Maya,” he murmured softly. “Sleep, my love, and I promise that I will come looking for you.”

It was happening again.

Maya whimpered when her attacker dug his fingers into her bicep and tried to smother her mouth with unwanted kisses. His alcohol-soaked breath filled her head and made her stomach churn in protest. She shook her head and pushed his face away with her hands, but he was too strong. Her knees gave out and she squeezed her eyes shut as he started dragging her toward the frightening darkness of the alley—and that’s when she heard Shane.

You have the control, Maya. Shane’s powerful baritone rumbled through the air around her. He can’t hurt you anymore, and you can stop this. A whisper fluttered in her ear like a caress . Show him, Maya. Maya’s eyes flicked open, and looking past the shoulder of her attacker, she saw Shane. He stood on the sidewalk, his leather coat flapping in the breeze, looking like the angel of death. He lifted his lip, bared his sharp, white fangs, and growled, Show him who you are.

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.