Chapter Thirteen

Maddie's Las Vegas Bunker

Monday, 11:00 AM

Maddie reclaimed his hand as she snuggled against his warm body. Why was she surprised by that heat? As a vampire he might have a lower body temperature, but after the round they'd just had, they'd both damn near caught fire.

And she'd actually let him bite her.

Not just let, she'd encouraged it. And then thoroughly enjoyed the way their magic danced together almost violently. She knew firsthand how quickly vampires could lose control after ingesting the blood of her kind. And yet… Quinn was different.

"Maddie…"

She could almost hear his thoughts before he spoke. Covering his mouth with one palm, she kept him from apologizing for what he saw as a transgression. "Don't."

He kissed her palm.

"You are the only one I have ever wanted to feed." In all her years she'd never once considered how precious the feeling of giving life to another would become. "You didn't force me to do anything."

"But…"

"Yes, your temptation magic is very strong. That power to lure in prey and ensure that you can feed even when weak is a force to be reckoned with, but at no point did it suppress my own willpower."

He relaxed against her hand. His gaze softened to the color of summer moss.

She snuggled closer and brushed a kiss across his lips. "I don't want there to be any feelings of guilt between us."

"I've never felt anything like what we have."

"Me either." It was funny how she was more scared of loving him than of the danger he could become. "I've spent my life hunting vampires and now it seems I might be falling for one."

"Maddie, I'm afraid of you and what you're changing inside me."

She was embraced in the arms of an ancient vampire so strong that he was like a force of nature, and he was afraid of her? Of the changes she was having on him?

"I love you. When I think about what we've both been through and what we might have together in the future… I'm conflicted but still optimistic."

She stopped his quiet rambling with another light kiss. This side of him that was quietly thoughtful was just as charming as his more dominant side. Both called out to her. It made her wish she'd known him all his life. His youthful mistakes, his struggles for independence and the times when he'd gathered up and accepted the pieces of what made him the man he was today. She wanted it all. "We've had a lot of yesterdays, but all our tomorrows are still within reach."

The mushy nonsense coming out of her mouth surprised her probably more than him. She wasn't one to make lovely promises when there were still so many things that could go wrong. She was practical and used logical thinking like a hammer when needed.

"I think you might be wearing off on me." To hide her embarrassment, she used her magic to form a thin sheet and started to pull it up over them.

"How so?" His hand feathered over her hair, twisting one long curl down over the curve of her back. The motion, slow as it was, blew the sheet back down their bodies. It tickled its way over her skin as it went.

She was a wolf, not a cat. Why did his touch feel so good and make her want to purr? That warm silky tension reawakened within her body. It wasn't like her to be this hungry either. Other than her sporadic heat cycles, she'd rarely even bothered with sex. It had always felt like her own desire was stunted or damaged. She just hadn't needed it taking up space in her life.

His fingers stroked up and then back down until they lingered over her upper thigh. He'd put a whisp of magic into his touch and it burrowed into her flesh, warming her in a delightful way. Had he done it on purpose or was this his magic seeking out her own?

He was a feast for the newborn side that was her sexuality. Her hand rested on his chest, and she was certain she felt the steady thud of an almost normal heart rate. Of course, her own was gearing up for a race while his was out for a lazy stroll.

"How are you so beautiful?"

She'd never really thought about her looks. Being strong enough and fast enough to hunt down her prey had always been more important than her looks. She was just average, wasn't she?

"Every motion and expression capture my focus completely. You're so beautiful that I can't tear my gaze away." True to his words, Quinn was focused entirely on her.

She tingled under the appraisal. More than that she understood his feeling because she was tangled in the same net. There were so many other problems they should be dealing with but in this moment all she could consider was if making love a second time would offer the same wild intensity or if it would become something completely different. And how both options sounded like tasting heaven.

"I want you." The hard nudge at her bent knee confirmed just what it was he wanted.

"What a coincidence." Her own body was damp with need.

It wasn't her style to lay back and take it, not in any aspect of her life. She shoved his shoulder, rolling him to his back and shifted to take the top. His hard thighs pressed between her own. Her hand stroked over his hard length, and she rubbed her heat against him.

"Maddie…" He'd only uttered her name, but his command was clear.

Maybe the next time she'd tease him a little longer, deny him his arrogant command. He must have the luck of the devil because right now she couldn't think of anything she wanted more than sinking down over his delightful length.

A flex of her hips and she took him deep. Letting her body adjust to the invasion, she leaned forward and claimed his lips. She intended to tempt him into a slow deep kiss, to match what she expected to follow. Instead, his arms locked her in place and his mouth devoured her in a powerful demanding battle.

That was when the door upstairs busted open. She recognized the sound and the stomp of boots coming down the stairs from the trapdoor.

Quinn's grip relaxed and his expression was one of annoyance and maybe embarrassment.

She caught and identified the scent immediately. His family had come to find Quinn, probably to rescue him. In a flash of power, she pulled free and was about to shift to wolf form, when Quinn's adopted son burst into the room.

The sheet she'd formed earlier fluttered around them, pinning her to Quinn's chest. "Close the fucking door, boy!"

* * *

Deven leapt back and slammed the door closed. He'd never heard the old man sounds so deadly.

Beside him Tessa grabbed his arm and stared wide-eyed for several heartbeats. And then she giggled. "Looks like he didn't need saved after all."

"Ahh… yeah. I guess not."

Should we wait here or give them some space."

"Space…" A galaxy worth of it, if he wanted to live. His wolf had reacted to the old man like he was an imminent threat. As if he should retreat, immediately. As if it wasn't the man who had saved him, raised him, taught him how to live.

"That was Quinn, wasn't it?" Tessa was staring at the door with the same expression of surprise that he'd felt.

"Yeah."

"And the woman was the one on the footage that by all appearances was in the act of kidnapping him?"

"Yeah." He'd only caught a glimpse, but it had been enough to confirm the woman's identity. He couldn't be sure what had happened over the last few days, but he was positive that Quinn was not presently in any danger.

"Come on, Deven."

He thought he asked where, but then again, maybe not. She guided him back to the trapdoor and upstairs to the rundown shack of a rental.

Once they were upstairs enjoying the late afternoon sunlight and the waves of sweltering heat, only then did Tessa give in to a full-on fit of laughter. "Oh man… the look on your face. Maybe if we hadn't been carrying assault rifles, this could have been out of some kind of sitcom show. I mean really, who actually walks in on their parents doing it?"

He imagined that more kids than she realized had been through a similar experience. Maybe they hadn't waited until they were in their eighties like he had. "Guess it's a good thing we didn't bring Zeven as backup."

"Do you think it's serious? Or did he just slip and fall into a little booty?"

"What?" He choked back a bit of his own laughter. It really was ridiculous. He'd been worried about the old man and here he was out in the middle of nowhere getting laid.

"Are you actually upset?"

Was he? He hadn't sorted out what he was or even what he should be feeling. He was still busy repressing the vision he'd seen and the shock of being so very wrong about the planned rescue.

"It's kind of weird, right? Not bad, just unexpected."

"Yeah." Leave it to his mate to understand. "I want him to be happy."

"Obviously. You're not a sociopath." She jumped up to sit on the kitchen counter. "But it's Quinn. I've never seen him so much as look at a woman. At his age I thought maybe he just didn't need that kind of action anymore."

"He's not dead, you know."

She laughed again. "Well, yeah, he kind of is."

"It's not the same." What healthy male would just give up sex? No, that wasn't fair. Surely there was someone out there. And deep down he must have always thought that one guy was Quinn.

"Then when is the last time you saw him checking out a woman?"

He could imagine Quinn taking a woman out on an elegant date, wining and dining, with all the fancy romantic gestures easily enough. But he'd never actually seen a hint of such an event taking place. "Never."

"Right?"

"Just because we've never seen it, doesn't mean…" What exactly was he trying to justify?

"Doesn't mean he hasn't gotten lucky lately? I suppose you're right. He's not the kind to flaunt his hook ups. If he had any, he'd have kept it on the downlow."

He felt a little bit hurt that he'd never seen this side of Quinn. Not that he wanted to see it like this, but he didn't want the old man to feel like he had to hide things either. "Would he have hidden this one, too, if we hadn't just seen all of it?"

"I'm thinking this one might be a little different. We did see her knock him out cold and kidnap him. Doesn't seem like the kind of girl that he'd be able to keep hidden long."

There really was no way to mistake that part of the evidence. The woman, Madeline, had definitely attacked Quinn and taken his unconscious body away. But why had she done it? "Do you think she kidnapped him because they were having an affair? Or because of a lover's quarrel?"

"Or to be her sex slave?"

"What? Why would your mind go there? Quit traumatizing me any worse."

Silence fell between them. He wasn't ready to think about Quinn in any of these situations. He was Quinn after all. He wasn't some kid out hooking up as she put it. He was… well he was a man and probably had normal needs. But in all their years together he'd never noticed that side of Quinn even once.

Then again, he'd always thought of Quinn as being romantic at heart even if he'd never seemed to have an intention to use that nature in actual romance. Why hadn't he considered it? It kind of made him feel like an ass. Quinn deserved love every bit as much as anyone else. And yet… the idea of him in love had never really seemed like a possibility.

"Whatever Quinn decides I'll support him."

Tess held her arms open, and he moved between her thighs and wrapped his arms around her. "Let's meet her first."

"Already met her. She's connected to another old vampire out in California."

"His sister Bella? I saw her file."

"I recognized her right away from the video." But something about her had bothered him then and it still did. "Her smell wasn't right."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure how to put it. She was wearing a manufactured scent that seemed designed to camouflage her own identity or maybe her reactions."

"Do you think it's related to her being black? We don't know many African Americans."

"No, this is different. It's sort of like if a stranger walks into a crowded room and introduces themselves with a ‘Hi, I'm Bob. You can trust me.' It's so blatant that it suggests a danger."

"Ah…"

The door downstairs clicked open. And a gust of scented air swirled through the bunker. After a few seconds, Quinn called out, "Okay, you can come back down now."