Sara Humphreys - Vampire Trouble

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.

Her body felt as though it was on fire, and she wanted nothing more than to be naked and feel her chest press against his. Breaking the kiss, Maya whipped up to a sitting position while Shane watched through a dark, hooded gaze. His fingers gripped her hips, holding her still as she unzipped the top of her catsuit and peeled it off to her waist, revealing her bare breasts. The cool metal of the necklace lay against her skin, and the teardrop-shaped emerald lingered along the curve of her bosom. It was a bold move for Maya to bare herself to Shane, but even as she did it, she knew he’d already seen the most vulnerable parts of her.

“ Bellísima ,” Shane whispered reverently as his hands trailed over her bare flesh.

His fingers curled around her waist briefly before he brushed his knuckles lightly beneath the curve of her breasts. Holding her stare, he cupped her breasts in both hands and ran his thumbs over her nipples. Maya gasped as licks of fire flickered through her body from the friction of his flesh rushing along hers. She threw her head back and reveled in the waves of white-hot pleasure that rippled through her body—and then she started to move.

Slowly at first, she rocked her hips, pressing herself against his erection while Shane continued to tease her nipples with his talented fingers. Sounds of pure pleasure escaped Maya’s lips as the combination of sensations swamped her and the sweet, tightening coil of the orgasm built. Sensing that she was reaching the edge, Shane sat up and linked his arms around her waist before dipping his head and taking the rosy peak of a breast in his mouth.

Maya cried out and grabbed Shane’s hair with both hands, holding him to her as he teased one swollen nipple and then the other. As another wave of searing carnal pleasure shot through her body, Maya’s fangs erupted and she knew what she needed.

Blood. But not just anyone’s… She needed his.

With the specially tuned instincts of a bloodmate and the intuition of a remarkably tender lover, Shane lifted his head and curled one hand around the back of her neck. Maya linked her legs around his waist, held his stare, and gasped when pressure hit her in just the right spot. Writhing in his embrace, she leaned in and trailed her tongue along his neck, just below his ear. His voice tumbled into her mind on a rush: Taste me, Maya. Take what is meant only for you.

Shane’s arms tightened around Maya, holding her body firmly against his, her hips pumping and grinding against him. As the sweet, torturous pangs of desire surged, Maya sank her fangs into his neck and the orgasm ripped through her with shattering strength. In that moment, the world fell away and all she could see, feel, or hear was him . Shane surrounded her, filled her, and lit her up from the inside out as images of the centuries he’d lived roared through her mind.

Power. Death. Duty. Honor. Loneliness.

When the bone-melting orgasm subsided, Maya licked the wound closed and went limp in Shane’s embrace. As she rested her head on his shoulder, her body trembled with sheer exhaustion, and for the first time she could remember, Maya knew what it felt like to be cherished. Shane gave her what she needed but took nothing. He put her happiness and pleasure above his own so that she’d feel safe. Tears stung the back of her eyes, and the magnitude of his generosity settled over her.

Without a word, Shane lay back on the bed and pulled her into the shelter of his body. Her eyes fluttered closed, and Maya thought about all of the images and feelings she absorbed from Shane’s blood memories. The one constant in his four-hundred-year existence was his dedication to being a sentry and to the Presidium. He was a soldier. No family. No love. Only duty.