Called by Midnight, page 11
“You can’t be serious!” She was in no mood to argue. “I told you, I’m not signing up to be your roommate for eternity, Maz. They just helped you rescue me! We’ve got to go help them, right now!”
“I just got you back,” he snapped. “There’s no way I’m risking you all over again!”
She sat down beside him, realizing the emotional toll the conversation was having on him. “I know you want to keep me safe, want to keep me wrapped up in your bubble so that nothing can touch me, but it isn’t realistic. And I won’t betray my friends like this. I can’t.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “We’ve got to go back.”
His face was like stone. He was silent for a long moment, then let out a sigh. “There is only one condition under which I will allow us to leave the safety of my realm,” he said, his voice heavy. “One and one alone.”
“What is this condition?” she asked warily. Whatever he was about to say, she was halfway to positive that she wasn’t going to like it.
“I can’t risk letting you slip out of my grasp again. It is too easy to lose you, to not know your location. I want some assurance that I’ll know where you are when I need to.”
Hollie shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, big boy. Unless you’ve got a smart phone tucked somewhere in that coat of yours, I can’t help you. But if you want, I’ll put you on my plan and share my location with you.”
He looked at her as if she were speaking a foreign language. “I don’t know what a ‘smart phone’ is, but I have an easier solution. In order to pinpoint you in space, I only need a little taste of your blood.”
Hollie looked stunned, then told herself she must have misheard him. “I’m sorry, you need what?”
“To taste you. Just the tiniest sip. Then we won’t be separated again.”
His face was impassive, but she could see the intensity in his eyes. This was something he wanted very badly. She shivered, envisioning the sensation of his fangs piercing the soft skin of her neck.
A bite from a real live vampire, or my friends remain imprisoned. Most gals my age are deciding between which fad diet to try or the type of nail art that’s hottest on social media nowadays. How come I get the hard choices?
Hollie bit her lip, debating her answer. If I choose one way, people could get hurt. I choose the other, and I know I’ll get hurt.
Which decision was the right one? Like everything else when it came to Maz, she had no earthly idea.
Chapter Fifteen
“I THINK THE PHONE PLAN is easier,” Hollie said, shaking her head and scooting away from him on the sofa. “Matter of fact, why don’t we put a pin in the whole discussion? When we get back to Earth, I’ll take you to the mall and get you the latest in mobile tech, but for now, let’s go help our friends.”
“They’re your friends,” he corrected, “and you won’t be able to end this discussion so easily.” He watched her frown, and it pricked at him. I hate to see her sad. Even a hint of sorrow makes my heart ache.
Unfortunately, there had been precious little for Hollie to smile about of late. It made him doubt the timing of his request, but he’d felt justified in making it. He knew he was taking a massive risk, one that could blow up in his face, but nothing could stop him from asking.
Instinct was riding him hard. After all they’d been through, every fiber of his being was screaming at him to bite her. To claim her. To brand her as his mate for eternity. He was nearly powerless against the onslaught of matehood and his need to protect and provide for her.
Still, he managed to keep himself in check. Managed not to show her what sort of ravening beast lay just below the surface. The fact that he was able to have a calm conversation about tasting her proved how well he was doing at reining in his emotions.
That didn’t mean that he wasn’t a moment away of losing it every second he spent next to his mate. The scent that floated above her auburn waves intoxicated him. The flush of her skin when she was excited. The twinkle of mischief in her eye. The laugh that reminded him of the tinkling of a thousand tiny bells. All of it drove him wild.
But it was not his wild side that she needed to see. He knew that he needed to convince her, and to do that, he had to remain rational.
At his silence, Hollie let out a noise of frustration. “What is it exactly that you want from me?” she asked, her expression skeptical.
“A taste of your blood. It will ensure that I will be able to find you again should I lose you, as I seem to have a habit of doing, through no shortage of attempts to the contrary.”
“So you’re telling me that swallowing my blood is like installing some sort of homing beacon in your system so you can track me down somehow, like a bloodhound with a scent?”
“Something like that,” he admitted, leaving out that he could already smell better than a dozen bloodhounds. “So you can see how it would come in handy.”
“Assuming I want to be found,” she muttered. “There was a time not that long ago when I called you my ‘vampire stalker.’ If I do this, then you’ll be able to find me for what...a week?” He shook his head. “A month?” Another shake. “Longer?” she asked, her expression strained.
“Forever,” he said simply.
Hollie leaned back against the sofa, staring at the ceiling. “You’re telling me that you’ll always know where I am from just a tiny drop of blood. Always. No matter whether we’ve gone our separate ways?”
He nodded. “It is part of the matehood bond. Our blood has complementary properties.” Not only will I be able to tell where you are, but I’ll know how you’re feeling. If you’re hurt. Sad. Lonely.
Needy.
The thought of being able to feel his mate’s arousal almost had him drooling, but he kept all of that to himself, not wanting to overwhelm her. It wasn’t something he would be proud of after the fact, but at the moment, instinct was in control.
“This is insane,” she said, clutching her head. “I can’t believe we’re even sitting here debating this. We should be helping our friends!”
“Your friends,” he repeated. “And it doesn’t sound like they’re going anywhere anytime soon.”
“Cute,” she said, glaring at him. “Don’t think I don’t appreciate what you did for me back there. But remember, you’re the one who got me into this. You’re the reason Dallon kidnapped me, not once but twice. You’re the one who’s been terrorizing me and my friends. You’re the one who tried to bite me, is trying to convince me right now that I should let you ‘taste me,’ for goodness’ sake. I think you owe me a little payback.”
“I will help your friends, just as soon as you allow me to taste you.” He stood his ground even as his words wounded her. You don’t know how right you are, dumpling. If you were not my mate, you would not be in such danger. Greater danger than even you know. If Samael were to learn of your existence...
Perhaps I should refuse to let her leave regardless, he told himself. The risk of the Angel of Death discovering her was so great. And yet, the need to know what she tasted like was overwhelming his good sense.
“You’re a jerk, you know that?” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “No wonder everyone hates vampires.”
“Yes, I’m sure that’s what they hate about us.” His sardonic tone earned a begrudging smile from her, and his heart felt like it grew a size in that moment.
“Just a tiny taste?” she said after a moment, her voice small.
He nodded, moving closer to her. “I promise that I will do everything within my power not to hurt you.”
“And as soon as you’re finished, you will take me to my friends and help break them out of robot jail?”
“I swear it,” he said, putting a hand over his heart.
“I can’t believe I’m even considering this,” she said, face turned up to the heavens. “Any minute now, I’m going to wake up in some rubber room in an asylum somewhere because I started babbling about fairies in the middle of the grocery store and stabbing chopsticks into strawberries while raving about vampires.”
Maz hid his smile. He was on the verge of trembling, so excited was he by the prospect of what was about to happen. He could hear her speaking softly, a prayer that would have broken his heart if he’d had the ability to think about anything beyond the tiny pulse of blood in the vein of her neck.
Hollie took a deep breath and moved the hair from her shoulder, exposing the long line of her throat. “I’m trusting you now, more than I’ve ever trusted another. Please don’t break that trust.” Her voice was soft, but he could feel the steel in it.
“Thank you for this trust. I will not break it.” His fangs were growing longer, his mouth filling with saliva as he lowered it to the expanse of pale skin. Unable to help himself, he pressed a soft kiss to her neck before settling his fangs into place.
As gently as he could, he pierced her skin, pausing long enough for the enzyme that dulled the pain to enter her bloodstream. The smallest droplet hit his tongue, and his restraint snapped. Maz pressed his fangs deep, moaning as the taste of her hit his tongue.
His moan was answered by another, but he was too wrapped up in the sublime ecstasy that was her essence. It filled his senses in a way nothing else ever had or ever would. It was pure bliss, and he was instantly drunk on the blood of his mate.
Another long draw, much more than the tiny taste he’d promised, flooded his mouth, and this time he heard her low, aching sound of need. He opened his eyes and peered into her face. Eyes closed, her features were painted with pleasure. He swallowed, then forced himself to pull away, retracting his fangs from her neck and licking the last traces of the sweetest elixir in the multiverse from his lips.
Her eyes were dazed when they opened, but they soon filled with embarrassment. Hollie pushed him away, breathing heavily, her hand slapping over her neck where his mouth had just been. “You swore only to take a sip!”
“I did the best I could,” he told her, hoping she would hear the sincerity in his voice. “I’m afraid tasting you proved to be quite... exhilarating.”
“You should write ad campaigns for soft drinks,” she said sardonically and stood, starting to pace his sitting room. “So it’s done, then? You know where I am at all times now, like a helicopter parent who plants a GPS tracker in his kid’s lunch pail?”
“I will always sense where you are, yes.” And what you are feeling. And whether you are thinking of me...
“Great,” she said, hugging herself. Maz hid a frown. He could feel the wall between them rising again, and he was getting tired of scaling it. I had hoped that once she shared the experience of blood exchange together, she might feel differently.
He had to remind himself that the exchange remained one-sided at the moment. She had yet to taste him, to feel the same euphoria that he was undergoing now. It was intense, the sensation of her blood mingling with his. He could sense her, sense the exact position she was standing in even if he closed his eyes and left the room.
Even if I were worlds away, I would know where she was. The feeling of security that filled him now was almost worth the deception of omission he was perpetrating against her. I won’t think about that now, he told himself. I can only hope that one day she will understand.
And forgive me.
“Okay, now that that’s done, what say we head back to BeLafonte?” She was agitated, moody, and although he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and comfort her, to tell her how wonderful she was and how much he cherished each moment they spent together, Maz knew that it wasn’t what she wanted.
He stood, pushing away his desire to enfold her to his chest, carry her into his bedchamber and keep her there with him until time ground the multiverse to dust beneath its wheels. A part of him feared that fantasy would never come to pass, that it would always be like this between them. Always an unscalable wall.
This is a worry for another time, he told himself. Now it’s time to hold up my end of the bargain.
Chapter Sixteen
“COME HERE, WINDY,” Hollie called to the bot, knowing the little guy wouldn’t be far. He’d discretely excused himself during the little scene that had just taken place, and Hollie was grateful for it. She would have hated to know the robot had seen her lose herself in the vampire’s bite.
No wonder the women in those movies are always swooning over Dracula, she thought, her hand creeping to her neck again to feel the tiny puncture holes there. There was something so powerful and passionate about the way his fangs held felt inside her that it shook her to her core.
Windy Buckets rolled into the sitting room, for once his dome absent of cascading lights. “Stick close,” she told him. “We’re about to go back to the workshop.”
“Are you certain that is the correct course of action?” he asked, catching her off guard.
“Oh, not you too, Windy!”
“Your vampire companion is right in his assessment that your current position is the most defensible. If this realm is undetectable, which my own testing seems to indicate, then your safest course of action would be to remain.”
“That may be, but my friends need me. And humans don’t abandon their friends. Robots shouldn’t either.”
“I don’t have any friends,” he replied, a few blue lights firing in his dome.
“Don’t say that,” she said, taking his little white hand in hers. “We’re friends.”
He looked up at her, a rainbow of connections firing in his transparent head. “Then I stand corrected. Your assessment is the most sound. One does not abandon one’s friends.”
Hollie smiled, and Maz let out a groan. “Okay, you two,” he grumbled. “Hold on tight.” A moment after his command, they found themselves once again in the storage closet in Gresh’s workshop on BeLafonte.
“Where do you think they’ve taken them?” Hollie asked Windy, but before the robot could reply, Maz held up a hand.
“I can hear a struggle, not far from here.” He threw open the door, startling a small round robot that had been rolling down the corridor. It zagged out of the way and sped off to safety.
“Careful, Maz,” Hollie admonished him. “Better let Windy help you navigate. This place is like a maze.” She followed after the vampire as he set off down the hallway. I can’t hear anything, she thought, straining for any sign of a fight. Then again, I don’t have vampiric hearing.
She watched his broad back as he hurried down the hall, Windy accelerating to keep up with him. Her mind couldn’t help replaying the exchange in his pocket realm, the intimacy that they’d exchanged lingering in her body long after he’d let her go.
She’d been blindsided by the whole experience. I’ve never felt anything like that. The intensity, the closeness, the melding of bodies and emotions. Hollie had expected it to hurt, despite Maz’s promises to the contrary. Instead, it had been the most pleasurable experience of her life to date.
I’d better not let Maz know that, she told herself. It would make her even more vulnerable to him than she already was. At the moment, it felt like the vampire held all the cards. She needed him to protect her, to help her friends. And in exchange, she’d given away her privacy.
That thought poured cold water over the heated attraction she’d been feeling. He’s got me tagged for the rest of eternity, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Dark emotions flooding her, she turned her attention outward, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand.
Windy was advising the vampire on the layout of the building as they jogged, allowing Maz to make the correct turns to follow the sounds that only he could hear. “This way,” the robot called, making a sharp left turn into a dimly lit archway. “This is a shortcut.”
They followed the robot down a spiraling ramp that went down and down until Hollie figured that they must be underground. Halfway down the spiral, she picked up the sound of impacts, something crashing against something else. She hurried her steps, fear for her friends flooding her with adrenaline.
“They’re in there,” Windy said when they reached a metal door that didn’t open for them.
“Can you open it for us?” Hollie asked, her nerves jangling when the robot didn’t answer right away. “Please, Windy. My friends didn’t do anything wrong.”
Lights flashed, and at last the bot lifted its hand to the door. “When this opens, be ready for a battle. The security units shoot first and ask questions never.”
Maz nodded. “Understood.” He stepped in front of Hollie, ready to shield her. “You two stay out of the way. I can’t focus on the fight if I’m worried about something happening to you.”
Hollie nodded. “You don’t have to tell me twice. I’m not exactly fond of battles with killer robots myself.”
“Security units,” Windy corrected, then the door whooshed open. Hollie peeked around Maz’s broad shoulders to see four identical humanoid robots, each equipped with shoulder weapons which were pointed at the cage in the center of the room. The robots stood, each on one corner, observing the three females, who weren’t happy to be behind bars.
“About leafing time!” Phaedra shouted. “What took you so long? Did you forget how to teleport, leech?”
Maz didn’t answer, but Hollie figured he was likely re-evaluating whether he’d really gotten the better of the bargain between them. The moment the vampire crossed the threshold, two of the security units turned to aim their weapons at him.
“Halt. Do not enter. This is a restricted area.” Maz ignored their robotic warnings, traveling to appear next to the nearest droid and punching him directly in the head.
The robot’s neck rocked back, a crack appearing in its face plate. The blow had hurt it, but it wasn’t down for the count. The weapon at its shoulder lit up, and a laser beam shot from it, headed straight for Maz. The vampire vanished just before it passed through the space where he’d been.
Hollie held her breath, realizing that these robots might not be the easy win of other lesser life forms that Maz was accustomed to. “Hey, security dink,” Phaedra shouted from the cage. “Why don’t you come a little closer?” she said, motioning one closer to the cage. “I want to tell you something.”
