The Shadow Zone 2: Winning Madeline
Isabella Jordan

All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2010 Isabella Jordan

ISBN: 978-1-60521-511-2
Formats Available:
HTML, Adobe PDF, EPub
MobiPocket, Microsoft Reader

Publisher:
Changeling Press LLC
PO Box 1046
Martinsburg, WV 25402-1046
www.ChangelingPress.com

Editor: Crystal Esau
Cover Artist: Reneé George

Adult Sexual Content

This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some may find offensive and which is not appropriate for a young audience. Changeling Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

Legal File Usage -- Your Rights

Payment of the download fee for this book grants the purchaser the right to download and read this file, and to maintain private backup copies of the file for the purchaser’s personal use ONLY.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this or any copyrighted work is illegal. Authors are paid on a per-purchase basis. Any use of this file beyond the rights stated above constitutes theft of the author’s earnings. File sharing is an international crime, prosecuted by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Border Patrol, Division of Cyber Crimes, in partnership with Interpol. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by seizure of computers, up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 per reported instance.

The Shadow Zone 2: Winning Madeline

Isabella Jordan

While tailing a Lycan soldier through the Shadow Zone, the dying world of the humans, the vampire Maddox finds himself falling for the frail, beautiful prostitute his subject visits. When Madeline is caught in the crossfire, Maddox takes her under his protection, and offers her a life with him as her exclusive client.

The Lycan, his plans foiled, wants revenge, putting everyone Maddox knows in danger. Maddox has only one recourse -- hunt the hunter, before he becomes the prey.

Maddox can deal with cold-blooded killers and the deep and seedy underworld of the Shadow Zone. But he has no clue how to win Madeline’s heart. What will happen to him if she can’t see past the monster to the man who wants her, body and soul?

Chapter One

Earth, 2070

“You’re quiet.”

Maddox followed his friend Rick through the ornate door of his mansion. It was concern he recognized in Rick’s voice. Why deny the truth? “I know. I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“I’m very grateful to you.” Rick’s dark eyes met his, his Spanish accent thicker as it always was when he conveyed any sort of emotion. And that was rare. Maddox had always found it an endearing trait. “I asked a lot of you. You stayed here, guarded my home, and held the Lycans at bay. I really shouldn’t ask you to stay and help me protect Julia now.”

Maddox smirked at him. “You’re saying you owe me?”

Rick grinned, rolling his eyes. “I’m trying to have a moment here.”

“But you just said, in so many words, that you owe me,” Maddox pointed out.

“I’ll never hear the end of that, will I?” Rick laughed.

“No, probably not.” Maddox clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’m glad to do it. Besides, I don’t think the Lycans will be after Julia so ardently even when they realize she’s back here. As the Elders mentioned at the meeting, they’re hitting the zone harder now. They’re convinced that if she somehow managed to unearth the humans’ secret, they surely can. She’ll just be a backup plan now. Think about it. It makes sense.”

The Shadow Zone. They called it the zone for short. The world of humans had been devastated, they’d thought, by war and disease. Their kind, the vampires, had watched in amazement as the world of humans came apart in less than fifty years.

It wasn’t until later that they’d discovered there was something else going on at the center of the fragile creatures’ world. Something dark and sinister. A cult within the human ranks found a way to unnaturally prolong life using black magic. They sucked the will out of the victims among their own kind as surely as the vampires drained the lifeblood from their prey. The victims of the cult lived. Yet the experience left them emotionless drones, robbed of their free will and easy to control.

To Maddox, it was ten times worse than being a vampire. Better to just die than be robbed of a happy, meaningful existence where one could make his or her own choices, right?

Besides, vampires fed because they had to do so in order to survive. The members of this cult didn’t have to do what they did to their victims to survive. They did it out of a selfish need to prolong their own lives, to preserve their youth and vitality. The end result was nearly the same except they could opt out of it at any time -- just stop participating in the cult’s rituals. He wasn’t sure of any consequences they faced in doing so, especially after many years, but they had a choice. Something his kind didn’t. Once you were a vampire, you were dead. There was no opting out of that.

Well, he knew one consequence they faced. Neither the cult members nor their victims seemed to be able to produce offspring after their experiences. They were left barren. Considering the cult encompassed more than half of the remaining human population, it was easy to do the math and realize that they’d run out of victims soon.

Then there were the damned Lycans. Werewolves. Julia’s kind. They thought the cult was some great secret to their salvation. Their view of the picture was distorted. They were worried about the vampires when they should have been worried about the dangerous human cult. With the human population dwindling, the stupid mongrels were convinced the vampires would hunt them -- not stopping once to think that his kind was smarter than that. They’d come up with a backup plan that would eliminate the need to take life, human or otherwise, for their sustenance. It wasn’t as satisfying as hunting and feeding according to a vampire’s instincts -- but there it was. It was a way to coexist with the humans. It was a way for the two groups to survive.

The Lycans decided at some point that they needed to be immortal too. Just because a few idiot vampires -- there were some in every crowd -- picked off a few werewolves, they believed themselves in danger of being wiped out by them. They wanted the humans’ secret, the cult’s secret, not realizing they should be running like hell from it. They were convinced it would give them a chance at growing their population, offer them protection from extinction.

Couldn’t the Lycans see they were the humans’ next target? The vampires wouldn’t be vulnerable to the human rituals obviously. The werewolves were living beings and since that was true, there was a chance their dark magic might work on them. And the humans hoped to harness their strength. They’d proved that when they’d captured Julia -- his friend’s werewolf lover.

“Do you think they’re right?” Rick asked, his expression thoughtful.

Maddox knew his mind-reading friend had been following the line of his thoughts. They’d just come from a meeting with the Council of Elders, the oldest of their kind and their governing body. Rick usually wasn’t quick to agree with anything they said. Hell, he thought his friend often defied them to entertain himself. Maddox had been certain when he learned about Julia that Rick only used her to piss them off.

When he’d discovered his friend was clearly in love with the mongrel, he’d been genuinely surprised.

“That’s my beloved you’re thinking about.” Rick’s voice was gentle but held a note of warning.

“Sorry.” He’d have to remember to curb his pet names for the werewolves. “Old habits and all that.”

Rick chuckled.

“Well?”

“Do I think that they’re right? In having us try to save the do -- Lycans?” Maddox shrugged. “I can argue both sides of that one. On the one hand, I want to leave them to fend for themselves. If they’re too stupid to have been in the zone as many times as they have been and know what they do know and not be afraid? I say let the humans have them.”

Rick nodded.

“But, one thing they brought up worries me. If they gain control of the wolves…”

“That could be a problem.” Rick closed the door behind them, walking around Maddox to the enormous window that offered a view of the perfect landscape of his estate. “We have the strength to handle their population now and then some. But if the humans grew that population, controlled it…”

That wasn’t where Maddox was going with it.

“What?” Rick cocked a sable brow at him.

“I’m not so worried about that. If the humans are left barren after they do whatever it is they do in their little rituals, don’t you think the Lycans would suffer the same fate? Be unable to procreate?”

“I don’t know. What are you getting at, then?”

Rick hadn’t been able to pick that out of his head? Interesting. He must have been distracted and Maddox knew why. He could smell her approaching.

“I was thinking about something they took from Julia while she was there,” Maddox explained. “Wonder what they are doing with that? They wouldn’t care if the wolves could procreate if they could produce their own.”

Her ovum. Depending on their remaining scientific capabilities, they could be learning all kinds of secrets about the Lycans. They could be making plans…

“Hello, beautiful.” Rick was lost to him as the flame-haired one in her human form sauntered into the room to join them.

Maddox had to admit for a werewolf female, she was extremely attractive. Slender but curvy with a beautiful face and penetrating eyes that seemed to be able to see through any façade or defense one could consider putting up.

Maddox didn’t even try. He enjoyed annoying her too much.

For the moment she didn’t even notice he was in the same world as she took Rick in her arms and kissed him in a very promising way. He didn’t mean to stare at them. He could imagine a kiss like that. Only it wasn’t Julia he saw. No, he saw a pale beauty with wispy blonde hair and eyes the color of rare amethyst…

“Hello, Maddox.” Julia’s eyes flashed at him when she noticed he stood there. “Are your bags packed yet?”

“I’d started packing,” he began, letting the sarcasm bleed into his words. “I left the one bag right next to your dog dish. But it seems Rick wishes for me to remain a while longer yet. So I’ll move it back to my room right away. I wouldn’t want to keep you from the table scraps.”

“Arrogant asshole.” She glared at him, then at Rick.

Rick’s glance seemed to say thanks. Not in a nice way.

“What do you mean he’s staying here longer?” Julia’s temper was riled now.

Maddox would let Rick explain it. It was his decision after all. His crafty friend could probably go out in the zone as the Elders wanted and keep Julia safe. Yet he knew how much the female really meant to his friend. So he’d help him ensure her safety. Rick would stay close to home. Maddox would work the zone.

It was an assignment he wanted for a few reasons. One of them, the one he dwelled on most often, was tiny, human, and blonde.

“Have fun,” he said casually as if he weren’t leaving what was gearing up to be a big fight from the look of both Rick and Julia, and made his way back out of the mansion.

Maddox had time before giving his latest report to the Elders and he’d wanted to give Rick and Julia some time to themselves. Automatically, he headed for the zone, his body knowing his mind’s will without being told.

Just maybe it was the will of his heart. His dead, frozen heart would have thundered in his chest if it could have as he reached the door to her small, dirty cottage. There didn’t seem to be anywhere else he wanted to be these days. When his missions kept him away, his mind was here. Always here.

It was very early morning in the zone, the human world. Only a couple of hours until dawn. Making his way to her tiny window, he reached in to push the tattered curtain out of the way, just as he always did so he could see her.

There she lay on the lumpy contrivance that was supposed to be a bed. Why the fragile human woman fascinated him so, he couldn’t have said. Her silky fine hair curled like honey colored ribbons on her pillow. Her slender body was curled up as she lay on her side under a blanket that had seen better days. She wore only a worn shift, what she always slept in and the sight of it always made him long to see what she’d look like in a decent gown, in beautiful colors. She was painfully thin, probably because she didn’t make enough money to eat at times. How glorious would she look well fed and healthy?

Maddox had been sent to follow one of the higher-ranking Lycan soldiers, Vincent G., into the zone and that was how he’d found her. She earned money selling her body and the soldier visited her often. The first time he’d watched her with that brute had been hard to take. He hated how rough the mongrel always was. It was unnecessary for him to be so, knowing she was human and could easily be harmed.

His job was to shadow the Lycan so he hadn’t really had a choice. He’d had to watch. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

By the next time he followed the soldier to her door, Maddox was imagining himself in Vincent’s place. In his fantasies, it was him in her arms, inside her. Once those fantasies had formed, he carried them everywhere in his mind, playing them like a favorite dream each night.

Impossible. He didn’t have Rick’s ability to manipulate human thoughts and perceptions. He couldn’t project an image in her mind that he was just another human client. Oh, if he could have. He’d have had her so many times… He would have had to take such care not to hurt her, knowing he could kill her so easily. But he would have found a way.

As it was, his skin was cold. He had no heartbeat, no warmth. No amount of money would persuade her to take him. Most humans, the humans outside of Rick’s village anyway, while aware of the existence of his kind, still acted as they had back in Europe centuries ago. They treated them like terrifying monsters. Something to inspire absolute mortal terror. It was as if they couldn’t see beyond that to the fact that they co-existed, shared the same world.

A vampire… Hell, even the Lycans were accepted, as opposed to his kind. Why? Because they lived?

She twisted in her sleep, a small frown forming on her lovely face. She looked almost like a child in sleep. She’d become restless. Did she sense danger in her sleeping conscience? Did his presence disturb her sleep?

He shared her restlessness. Not content with watching through her window, he silently made his way past the shadowy curtain that served as her door. Since he’d gone that far, he moved to the edge of her bed. He didn’t want to stand over her like a predatory monster so he sank down onto the floor, sitting next to her.

The smell of her was an earthy perfume that made his mouth water. Her blood. Shoving aside the thirst that cursed him, he focused on the other need she inspired in him. A man’s physical need for a woman. That need never really left him. He got hard just thinking of her now.

Madeline.

In his mind’s eye, he could see himself gently climbing onto her makeshift bed, gathering her to him until his presence pulled her from sleep. Her eyes would flutter open in surprise, they were the most beautiful shade of purple, and she would smile up at him, offering him the warm curve of her lips.

He’d claim those lips in a tender kiss while the heated softness of her body crushed against him. He’d explore all that warm flesh with his hands. His palms itched at that thought. First he’d pull the simple shift she slept in up and over her head to reveal the wealth of warm skin that tantalized him. And she’d trust him and welcome his touch.

Then he would focus on her breasts and the beautiful length of her neck. He could so easily imagine running his lips along the flesh beneath the angle of her jaw, enjoying the fragrance of her blood while his hands palmed the gentle weight of her breasts. Her nipples were tiny red medallions when she was excited and he’d tease them gently, until she was so sensitive that she’d twist against him, arching her back to demand more of his touch.

Lost on the trail of his thoughts, Maddox sighed. His cock throbbed intensely.

He’d lower his mouth to the tiny ridge of first one breast and then the other, running his tongue all around each tight peak until she wrapped herself around him in a heated tangle. He wouldn’t rush. No, he’d take his time in savoring the taste of her skin and learning each delicate inch of her body. He knew from memory what her breathy little cries sounded like when she entertained the clients she was able to get, always wondering how genuine they were. Would she do that with him as he suckled her? Would her cries be more magnificent with him? After all, he wouldn’t be her client. He’d be her lover.

More than anything he wanted to be her lover.

So easy to imagine being surrounded by her unique smell when he’d ease down her body to the small patch of blonde down at the apex of her thighs. He could smell her private scent even now, could practically taste it on his tongue. Madeline would part her thighs for him, just allow them to fall open so he could smooth his hands over the creamy surface of her inner thighs.

She’d moan for him when his fingers reached the heated wetness at the top in her secret folds. Gently he’d part those inner lips until she had no secrets from him, until every part of her body was offered to him -- to worship, to pleasure. And he wanted that ownership, he realized. He wanted her to belong to him. Only him.

Maddox wanted to taste every part of her pussy, with his hands and his mouth, until she was mindless with pleasure beneath him. Her clients rarely lingered there, always too eager to dive right in with their cocks. How would she react to feeling a man’s tongue lashing her clit like a rare delicacy? How exquisite would her passion be when he kept her on the edge of orgasm while he satisfied his need to trace her opening with his tongue, to sink his fingers into her delicate warmth and ready her for his claiming?

“Maddox,” she’d whisper.

The need to have her say his name overwhelmed him at times. He’d imagined it so often.

He’d make her wait, make her come, before claiming her completely. When he sank his cock into her tight little body, she’d beg for him and wrap her limbs around him like a vine. She was so slight for a human, maybe half his size, and he’d remind himself to be gentle as he pushed inside her. He’d have to control his movements because of what he was. Because of what she was. So fragile…

His cock jerked at the thought of that challenge, and he groaned at the power of his desire for her. She’d fit around him so tightly, all wet heat that would drive him insane as he made her his. Her small breasts would be brands of fire against his skin. Her lips would blaze a path over his neck and shoulders and she’d move her hips to keep up with him.

He could make it last for a long time, make her come until she was exhausted. And he would. It would be hard with her pussy walls stretched so tightly around him and her liquid fire burning him, urging him on. He’d revel in all of it. He’d enjoy the feeling of her thighs clenched tightly about his hips and the scrape of her nails down his impossibly hard skin as she cried out over and over again at the pleasurable invasion of his cock.

His own orgasm would be so shattering it could well finish him.

Maddox smiled in the dark, watching her sleep. He could think of worse ways to end a long, lonely existence. Death in her arms would be bliss. The joy of holding her afterward, of having her gaze up at him with those beautiful violet eyes would be all he could ever want. She’d be his to protect, to touch and cherish whenever he wished.

Reality returned him to the shadows and the cold. He brushed his fingers against the soft skin of her cheek, not caring suddenly if it awoke her. Yet it didn’t. She even smiled softly in her sleep. Soon, he promised himself. I’ll find a way to make you mine.

It was the hardest thing to do, to leave her to go to the Elders as expected. Somehow he managed, knowing he’d be back very soon…

Chapter Two

Madeline stretched as she awoke, wishing she never had to leave the dark world of her dreams. In her nighttime world, she could go where she wanted, beautiful secret places where she was free in ways she’d never known in reality. She wasn’t trapped there by any circumstance or condition. There were no obligations, no fears. Only limitless opportunity to explore and experience…

If only she could stay in her dreams where she never gave a thought to being hungry or cold… She didn’t have to worry about a thing there and that freedom from all anxiety was her utopia, her impossible paradise.

It all slipped away so fast, spilling from her mind like the flow of sand through a sieve. She was awake now and reality lit up her small window with harsh light. Dawn challenged her with a new day to survive… if she could.

She’d carried two buckets of water up from the lake the night before and she quickly bathed herself with the water from one. The other she’d boil after she dressed for drinking and maybe make a simple stew if she could afford some meat to go with the vegetables she grew in her garden.

After she pulled on one of her two simple dresses, she went out to the garden, carrying the water she hadn’t used from her bath to water it. While the meager vegetables it provided didn’t grow extraordinarily well, they helped keep her from starving. The small makeshift community was centered around the lake and everyone tried to grow some things to eat.

If only life were that simple.

There were a few families in the small community though not many children. There were an abundance of older people, it seemed, and those who were entirely on their own. Those who were able to produce something useful like clothing, weapons, or tools did well. Others, like her, did the best they could with what they had to work with.

Madeline had never wanted to sell herself for money. Her parents had raised her in a similar community to this one, and her father, along with a couple of his friends, had maintained large crops of vegetables and sold them. She’d had an older brother who was to have inherited the business. The son of one of her father’s partners had showed an interest in her. It had seemed right. He’d been attractive enough, and in those days she’d known she couldn’t do better than to find a husband, someone to protect her. They could help with their fathers’ business and make a life of their own.

When her father had disappeared, her life had fallen apart.

People disappeared all the time. It had been the way things were her entire life. People vanished. There were scary stories about the devil’s parties and stolen souls. They were the sort of stories that were only supposed to be scary in childhood but these grew worse the older she got, and more and more she realized that there must be some truth to them.

When her father vanished, so did her family’s sense of security. Her brother had been eighteen but their father’s partners decided he was too young and they claimed her family’s portion of the business. Just took it. Her brother was allowed to work for them for practically nothing.

The young man who she thought might one day be her husband began raping her not long after that. Madeline’s mother and brother both knew about it though she did her best to keep it from them. Her mother, who’d made herself ill from the grief of losing her husband, died within weeks. That left Madeline with a brother whose eyes she couldn’t meet. She couldn’t stand the rage there that came from the fact that he was powerless to protect her. She was a burden to him and knew he’d be so much better on his own.

So one night she’d left and found this community where no one knew her. Another older woman had taken her in, showed her the ropes of prostitution. She’d been aware of such women all her life and it was a common thing to see. Yet she never thought she’d be doing it.

The humiliation she expected to feel wasn’t so hard to bear. It was better to willingly trade herself for money, something she could use, than to be forced and get nothing but pain. After a while she had a few regular customers and began to earn a modest living for herself. Sometimes it was for money, sometimes it was for food. Things weren’t the way she wanted, but her fate hadn’t been as bad as it could have been.

“Maddy,” a tiny voice called to her.

She glanced up from watering her garden to see the small daughter of one of her neighbors, a widower who paid for her services once in a while, making her way through the garden. The girl was no more than seven and Madeline tried to keep an eye out for the child since her father was working all day, leaving her alone. There were sick people out there with a taste for children and the girl’s loving nature had twined around her heart, making Madeline feel very protective of her.

“Come here, Ivy.” She motioned the girl to her. Reaching into her pocket for the scrap of cloth she used as a handkerchief, she dipped it into the water and began to wipe the dirt from the girl’s face. “How are you this morning?”

“Okay.”

The girl’s stomach growled with the ferocity of a small, vicious animal.

“Are you hungry?”

Ivy nodded, the soft brown curls of hair bobbing.

Madeline took her hand, led her around to the front of her shack. She had the bread she’d saved for her own breakfast.

“Here you go.” She handed the child the stale bread, poured the last of her drinking water into a small plastic cup for her.

Ivy began devouring the bread with horrifying speed.

“When’s the last time you ate, Ivy?” Madeline was afraid to ask.

The girl shrugged her small shoulders. She did stop long enough to mumble with her mouth full.

“Daddy said he’d bring home something tonight.”

Madeline shook her head. They weren’t doing well. But then who was?

She watched the child eating the last of her food, confident in the fact she’d make it until later. Vincent was coming by and he paid her well-usually enough to get her through an entire week.

While she wouldn’t have minded him coming by more often for the money, she detested his touch. The fact he was a werewolf made her a little edgy. At first she’d been afraid he might transform into his animal self during their intimacy but he never had. He was, however, rough with her, often leaving bite marks and bruises in the shape of his hand. For some reason, she thought he meant to do it, enjoyed it. But she couldn’t, and wouldn’t say anything. A few marks and bruises were much better than an empty stomach.

Ivy finished the bread and water in record time and Madeline rumpled her hair.

“Would you like something else? Some tomato?”

The little girl shook her head. Then she flung herself at Madeline, wrapping her small arms around her hard.

“Thank you, Maddy.”

She hugged the child just as tight. Wishing she had more time to spend with her. Yet as she watched the girl skipping out of her shack, she knew she had limited time to tend her garden and straighten up before someone darkened her door, looking for sex.

* * *

Vincent was agitated, growling and pacing as he spoke in hushed tones to two of his underlings. They didn’t notice Maddox perched on the rotting roof of someone’s shack, just over their heads. They had no idea that no matter how quietly they tried to communicate, he could hear them as clearly as if they were shouting.

“What part of this didn’t you understand?” Vincent’s voice sounded preternatural, as if he were on the verge of transforming into his animal form. “All I asked of you was to plant some bait there in the market, knowing that Evers would be there looking for a victim. All you had to do was catch him and you failed. How hard is it to catch a single human?”

One soldier leaned against the wall of the shack whose roof Maddox occupied. He could feel the young Lycan’s fear of Vincent. He was right to be afraid. He, himself, had watched Vincent rip his own soldiers limb from limb when he was angry enough. It was the reason he was terrified every time Vincent visited Madeline…

The other soldier’s breathing was a rough, loud sound. Fear would soon consume him. He knelt on the ground at the feet of his superior, his heart pounding so loud it seemed inevitable that it would break free of his rib cage.

“Do you have any idea how long it took us to even identify Evers? How many sacrifices were made just to discover the identity of one of them? Their anonymity is their best and only real defense. Now that we know him, how can we not have him?”

“I’m sorry, sir.” The soldier standing was the only one capable of speech. “He must have picked up on the man’s fear. He did piss himself.”

A low growl rumbled from Vincent’s chest. “Now what? Do we have to wait for the next ceremony? A month from now?” And oh, Vincent’s tone led them to know it would be someone’s head if he did have to wait a month.

“No,” the soldier replied quickly. “He came away empty handed. I don’t think he smelled a trap so much as he realized the man -- the bait -- knew he was coming for him. Maybe that put him off.”

“He could have procured someone else by now.” Vincent’s tone had lost none of its menace.

“No, sir. Ramsley is watching him. I told him to radio at the first indication that he might have someone else but he went back to the facility to work. We think he will come out again later, maybe tomorrow. He has to have someone by tomorrow.”

Vincent’s sporadic growls eased at that. He blew out his frustration in a huge, loud exhale. “Then we will make sure he has someone.”

There was a long pause before he spoke again. The pounding staccato of his soldiers’ hearts were like pouring rain in Maddox’s ears as he waited. “We need someone who trusts us. Someone who doesn’t know the fate in store for them.”

“We’ll probably be able to grab Evers without them being harmed,” the soldier interjected.

“That doesn’t matter to me. Collateral damage. I want Evers. He’s the key to everything for us.”

Maddox waited again for Vincent to speak. The wolf was thinking on the situation. He shook his head at Vincent’s long pause. What he wouldn’t give to have Rick’s ability to read his mind already. Regardless, he had a bad feeling about the entire development.

“Who shall we get, sir?” the soldier asked.

“I have someone in mind.” Vincent’s confidence was growing. “I was going to go visit her later anyway.”

Oh, he couldn’t mean… Maddox tried to control his emotions. Madeline wasn’t the only prostitute Vincent visited though she did seem to be his favorite. For that reason alone, he couldn’t mean Madeline.

“Her, sir? Which her, sir?”

“The blonde one from this village,” Vincent explained.

Maddox felt the rage welling up inside him. The bastard had learned the identity of one of the human cult members and he intended to use Madeline as bait to capture him. She was collateral damage to him? Expendable? All because she trusted him?

“But, sir, you visit her…”

“She’s a whore,” Vincent growled. “A human whore. I have others. More enthusiastic ones. I’m tired of her.”

Anger locked Maddox’s limbs, held him immobile. He wanted to leap from the roof and tear Vincent apart. He easily could. While the Lycans were strong, they had a strength similar to humans. It grew until they reached their prime and diminished as they aged.

A vampire’s strength only increased with age and Maddox was several centuries old. He could move with great stealth and be done with the son of a bitch before the other two soldiers were aware of what had happened.

But what would his action do to the mission? Would he expose the Lycans? Put them in more danger than they were already in? Maybe that would be for the best. If they came to realize the danger they were in, they would stay out of the zone and away from the cult. They’d be out of the way of his kind. Then the vampires could find a way to stop the cult once and for all.

Maddox ground his teeth together, shook his head.

No, his job was not only to keep the Lycans from delving too deeply into the cult, but to learn information about them for his own kind. He’d never hear the end of it if he made any mistake at all.

He knew he should go the Council immediately for direction on the development he’d discovered. Would they want him to capture the cult member himself? To stop his abduction at the hands of Vincent? Who knew?

Maddox knew only one thing. If he left, even for an instant, anything could happen to Madeline and he could lose her. The thought was unbearable to him. An unacceptable risk.

No, if he knew one thing, he knew he had to save her. Steeling his resolve, he considered the consequences of his actions. What was the worst they could do to him, really? They could expel him which he wouldn’t care about. He’d even considered going out on his own before. Most of his kind at least thought about it once in their existence.

They could punish him, he supposed. But considering his age and strength, there were really few things they could do to him to inflict even discomfort.

And any of it would be worth it just to know that she still existed. That Madeline lived. Even if she never saw his face or knew his name, he knew he didn’t want to be in a world where her precious light was extinguished.

“When will you go to her?” the soldier asked.

The insinuation in his tone wasn’t lost on Vincent.

“It won’t be that sort of visit.” Vincent’s voice was calm, determined. “We need to get her quickly and be ready.”

“What will you tell her, sir?”

“None of your fucking business!”

“Yes, sir.”

Maddox watched them make their way to Madeline’s shack. At least he wouldn’t have to endure the bastard touching her again. He’d just have to watch and listen carefully. He’d protect Madeline at the first sign of danger and the consequences be damned.

If he encountered the human cult member… Well, he’d jump off that bridge when he came to it.

Right now, his only priority was Madeline.

Chapter Three

The midday sun hung high overhead when he darkened her door.

Madeline’s heart rate picked up as it always did. Not from excitement but from fear. No matter how many times Vincent came to visit her, she always felt that same apprehension she knew the first moment she’d met him.

He’d told her that first day what he was. The fact he was a werewolf, her first such client, didn’t trouble her long. She’d had a couple of others as customers since. She’d been a little afraid of what would happen if one should transform while she provided her services, and she wasn’t sure how or if she could handle that.

Yet it hadn’t been an issue, not with Vincent or the others. They just wanted to fuck and she just wanted the money. The experiences were not significantly different from her human clients. The sounds they made when they came were loud, growling animal sounds, but she’d quickly become accustomed to that.

Vincent, himself, scared her a little. Always had. It wouldn’t have mattered if he were human either. There had always been an edge to him that made her feel uneasy, like at any moment he could turn on her and hurt her.

He ducked his head to enter her shack. His dark hair stood out in spikes all about his head as it always did, lending him a wild look. His eyes were black in color, their set hard and mean. He was easily twice her size with broad shoulders and legs thick as small tree trunks. His dark-colored clothing did nothing to relieve the severity of his presence. And he dressed plainly. A necessity because werewolves weren’t welcome among her kind but weren’t so easy to identify in their human form.

Fixing her bright smile on her face, Madeline rose and smoothed out her skirt.

“Hello,” she greeted him, walking in his direction. “How are you?”

Vincent allowed her to reach him, didn’t move as her hands flattened against his chest and smoothed over the muscled wall there. He felt tense and it wasn’t the sort of tension she knew in a man’s body from lust.

Not thinking, she allowed her hands to lower until one found the area of his scar on his right side. Once he’d explained the wound had nearly cost him his life and was still a source of pain for him.

Roughly grabbing her wrists, he shoved her hands away.

“I’m not here for that kind of call.” His voice was low and he cut his eyes back in the direction he came from in a conspiratorial way.

Her heart sped up now. If he hadn’t come for that, why was he here? “What can I do for you?” Madeline kept her voice calm, pleasant.

“I’m here to help you,” he informed her. “Your neighbor has gotten himself in a little trouble in the village. The one with the little girl.”

“Ivy?” Madeline’s blood ran cold. “What happened? Is she okay?”

Vincent’s expression was cold, calm, and told her little.

“The girl is fine. But since her father has been… apparently taken into custody… I’m afraid of what will become of her. She’s just wandering around the town.”

Madeline was afraid, too. She couldn’t remember mentioning anything about Ivy to Vincent but he’d seen the child at her shack before, when the girl ran over to visit because she was lonely or hungry.

Now Vincent had come to warn her the child was in danger. While his expression was seemingly emotionless, it occurred to her that maybe Vincent wasn’t quite as… hard as she’d always considered him to be. “It’s very kind of you to let me know. Thank you.” She meant it. “I’ll go right away.”

Madeline went to get the sandals she only wore when she’d be traveling beyond her shack -- shoes were incredibly expensive -- when his large hand shot out and caught her elbow.

“I’ll accompany you.” Again, his face and voice were grave.

“Why?”

“There are some unsavory elements in the human crowd today. I want to keep you here for when I need you.”

Madeline would have smiled at that only she didn’t think he was trying to be funny. He was trying to tell her there was real danger. Swallowing hard, she steeled herself. She had to get Ivy now. She could take care of the little girl. Grabbing her sandals when he released her, she pulled them on as she followed Vincent out the door.

He’d protect them. He’d make sure she got the child back safe.

Her heart still pounded in her chest as she began to follow him and two of his men, younger wolves, in the direction of the village. Why then didn’t she feel anything but unease?

Maddox growled as he watched the bastard and his soldiers lead Madeline to the village. He hadn’t had an ounce of trouble luring her out, telling her the child needed her. What a bald-faced lie that had been. The same child slept in a little ball safe in her father’s bed in his shack. Her father would come home as he normally did. Nothing in their lives had changed at all.

But Madeline’s life was about to change. Either the recruiter would have his victim tonight or Vincent would get rid of her for being his witness. Either way spelled doom for her.

As he moved quietly behind them, Maddox considered his own actions. He was here on behalf of the Elders, his kind, to keep the Lycans from learning the dangerous secret they sought. His only focus should be keeping them from obtaining their target -- the human recruiter. That and to harvest information on the cult for his own kind. Nothing more.

But there was something more. A lot more. Madeline was precious to him. He couldn’t -- wouldn’t -- allow her to come to harm in all of this. She was an innocent woman. None of it was her fault.

And he wanted her desperately. How laughable was that? He, who’d had lovers aplenty over the centuries and had his pick of many beautiful creatures of his own kind, taken with a human of all damned things. He who’d prided himself on being strong and indestructible; he was in love with the frailest creature imaginable.

They reached the village, Madeline following them with her amethyst eyes scanning anxiously around for the child she wouldn’t find. When she began to wander away from them in her efforts to find the girl, Vincent grabbed her arm roughly. Too roughly. Maddox wanted to take the mongrel’s head off as Madeline winced in pain from his too tight grip.

“This way,” he heard Vincent growl as he dragged her in the direction of one of the larger farmer’s shops.

Maddox followed behind closely, his body tensed and ready for anything. Vincent’s soldiers looked around anxiously, one of them eyeing him when he turned around. But if the Lycan sensed any danger from Maddox, it didn’t show in his face. He went back to scanning their surroundings until they reached the largest shop on the outskirts of the village.

The same soldier signaled to Vincent, who nodded.

They’d reached the place then. And it made sense really. The recruiter could go any number of directions from the location, make off with the victim easily before anyone even noticed.

“The girl was seen here,” Vincent barked at her. “Look around.”

With a shove, he pushed her in the direction of the shop and of course Madeline headed for its door. It made sense that if the child were really there she might be in the store where it was safer, waiting.

Vincent and his soldiers pulled back into the shadows of a small, abandoned shack next to the store. They’d watch their bait, wait for any sign of the recruiter.

Maddox considered his options. Shit. He really wanted to take out Vincent and his men. It would keep them from learning anything about the cult, which was his objective at the moment. But he could well imagine the reaction of the Elders if he did that -- regardless of how satisfying it would be. And they might have already communicated what they’d learned to others of their kind.

He could take the recruiter himself but he wasn’t supposed to interfere with the cult either, just learn more about them so an intelligent course of action could be decided on. Vampires took plenty of time to plan anything. They had time. Problem was, Madeline didn’t. She was in danger now and he had to make a decision.

Basically he had to keep the wolves and recruiter from meeting up. That was the order of the Elders.

And he would take Madeline. That was the order of his heart.

Ignoring Vincent and his men, he could feel them watching behind him, he made his way into the store, looking for Madeline.

He found her quickly, already talking to a short, balding man with eyes black as obsidian and a short, stocky body. He wore the shoddy clothing most humans did -- to blend Maddox supposed. But little details gave him away. The way the sleeve of his jacket was frayed looked so because of a razor and not from wear and over use. He had a gold ring around the smallest finger of his left hand, no human would be able to afford a ring like that with everything so scarce. He’d either barter it or keep it in a safe place. He’d never wear it.

Maddox cleared his mind, listening to what the man said. He’d see if his suspicions were correct.

“What did she look like?” the man asked, smiling at her in a way that made Maddox uneasy.

Madeline described little Ivy for him, her voice quick and frantic in her growing anxiety.

The man kept his voice pleasant and reassuring. “I saw the child. Not twenty minutes ago. I’d be glad to help you look for her.”

Maddox knew in an instant that Madeline had likely found the cult recruiter. Even if he wasn’t, and he was lying for another reason altogether, he didn’t care for the covetous way the man’s gaze raked over her slender form.

Even in the rags that were supposed to be her clothing, Madeline was beautiful, fragile. And at the moment, she also looked terrified. Her amethyst eyes were wide, haunted.

Maddox had had enough. It was cruel to put her through any more of this.

The man’s eyes met his as Maddox approached them and his expression turned hard. He’d be staring in fear if he had any idea of the danger he really faced. As it was, the man gazed at him with an expression of anxiety mixed with irritation. And both emotions could make a man desperate.

Madeline turned to see what the man was staring at just as Maddox reached them. Those amethyst eyes on him, finally on him, momentarily caused him to lose his purpose. He lost everything in that moment as he stopped, mesmerized by the woman he’d wanted so badly for months. A small, slender, frail slip of a human, but the object of his desire nonetheless.

That same desire jarred him out of his daze, spurred him to action.

“I’m sorry about this,” he whispered to Madeline before he clutched her slender neck with just the right amount of pressure in the correct place.

He eased her to the floor while the recruiter watched in horror. Yet his movements were too fast for the recruiter to make an escape and he was grateful that Madeline wasn’t awake to see him kill the man.

* * *

Maddox felt Rick’s presence behind him as he headed for the bedroom he’d been using in the mansion. He didn’t pause until he’d carried her to the enormous bed he rarely used and settled her under the luxurious blue coverings there.

Madeline’s breathing was steady and slow, easing his fears that he could have accidentally harmed her in his efforts to get her out of danger. Exhaling deeply, he turned to face Rick. His curiosity was a living thing in the air between them.

“There’s a dead man down in the servant’s quarters,” Rick began slowly. “And you’ve brought another souvenir from the zone as well, I see.”

Rick meant Madeline, but he didn’t even look in her direction. Maddox knew Rick was busy scanning his thoughts. Relaxing, Maddox allowed it.

“The dead man was the cult recruiter. You killed him?”

Maddox nodded.

“Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? The Elders expect us to keep the wolves from learning more than they already do about the cult. Without interfering. It’s ridiculous. Shadowing that vile brute day after day to keep him from acquiring that recruiter would be a waste of resources and would drive me mad. If the man’s dead, they can’t acquire him or force him to reveal the cult’s secrets. Problem solved.”

Rick chuckled at that, a dry humorless sound.

“I won’t argue with that logic,” Rick told him. “But I can’t wait to hear what they’ll decide.”

Maddox wasn’t looking forward to that either.

“So what about her?” Rick nodded in Madeline’s direction. “Does she know why she was there? Who that man was?”

Maddox shook his head. “Nothing. She was there, she thought, to protect the child of a neighbor. She’s very fond of the little girl.”

Rick’s gaze locked with his, dark eyes widening. Maddox waited for his reaction to what he’d obviously picked out of his mind.

“And you’re very fond of her.” Rick stated the obvious. “This woman is the reason you conducted yourself as you did, isn’t she? He threatened her.”

Maddox tried to read Rick’s expression. It was probably just as well he didn’t share Rick’s gift for mind reading. He was probably deciding he’d lost his mind.

“No, I wasn’t thinking that at all.” A corner of Rick’s mouth curved up into a half smirk. “Who am I to judge you? I fell in love with a werewolf, didn’t I? Besides, you can change her into one of us, make it work.”

Turning back to gaze at the woman sleeping in the bed, the meaning of Rick’s words ran through his brain. Sure, he’d considered that possibility. But he couldn’t even think about it right now. He’d just saved her life. He had no idea what he’d do with her now. He had even less of an idea of what she’d think of him or the situation she was facing.

What if she detested him? What if she never wanted anything to do with him?

“You’ve got a full plate,” Rick pointed out. “I’ll take care of one problem for you. I’ll have my servants take care of the recruiter’s body. It can never be found.”

Maddox appreciated that.

“No one saw you? The Lycans?”

Maddox shook his head.

“They didn’t see a thing.”

“What about this child you mentioned? The child of her neighbor.”

“It was a ruse,” Maddox explained. “They only told her that to get her to accompany them to town. To use her as bait.”

Rick’s expression was thoughtful.

“So it’s just the child and one parent?”

Why was Rick so curious?

“Because the Lycans will want to know what happened to the recruiter they wanted so badly. This woman -- Madeline, is it? -- disappeared at the same time. They know more about her than him. If this child means something to her, they could use her and the parent to try and draw Madeline out.”

“I’d never let her off the property,” Maddox assured him.

Rick cocked a sable brow at him. “What does this neighbor do?”

Maddox shrugged. “Best I can tell, he tries to find work to feed the child. Madeline fed her half the time.”

“Because he was unsuccessful or lazy?”

Maddox hadn’t paid very close attention to the man and his child in all honesty. All he had was his impression of the man.

“He seems willing to go out day after day to look for work. I wouldn’t say he’s a lazy man.”

Rick nodded.

“So they could be brought here? The two of them? He could work for me. He’d be paid well, he could feed his child. They couldn’t be used against her.” Rick tilted his head in Madeline’s direction, his expression thoughtful. “Since she won’t be leaving the property without you, it might even be a small comfort to her. Someone familiar. Her kind.”

Maddox hadn’t considered that. He was grateful. It was a good plan, at least in the short term.

“You’re welcome.” Rick’s mouth curved up into a smirk. “Wait. She’s not attracted to the man, is she?”

Not that Maddox was aware of.

“Was he ever a… client of hers?”

So Rick had picked that out of his thoughts? Her profession? Well, her former profession. Very thorough. “Not often.” Maddox knew the answer to that. “He couldn’t afford it.”

Ricked laughed at that. “Good enough. Now, we need to consider how to get the man and his daughter here safely. The sooner, the better.”

Maddox couldn’t agree more. “I’ll go. Right now. Offer him a job.”

Rick shook his head. “Take someone with you. If you have to move against the Lycans, two of you will dispatch them faster. You’ll have a better chance staying beneath the notice of the humans.”

Maddox agreed. He turned to where Madeline was still out, hoping she wouldn’t awaken before he returned. He didn’t want her more scared than she was already bound to be.

“Best get going then,” Rick told him. “And, yes, she’ll be scared. I can’t help you with that.”

Maddox shook his head as he watched his friend lead the way out of the room. After knowing Rick hundreds of years, he wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to his unique style of conversation.

Chapter Four

Madeline stretched, very comfortable and warm where she lay.

Then she started awake. Where was Ivy? Ivy! Her heart thumped in her chest as she took in the enormous bed, the rich blue of the fine coverings draped over her body like a caress. She’d never even seen a bed so fine, much less slept in one, but she couldn’t focus on that. She had absolutely no idea where she was.

The room beyond the bed was beautiful, clean, and richly furnished. Blue draperies were pulled closed to only allow a sliver of daylight to filter through. At least it was still daytime.

Madeline just hoped it was the same day. How long had she been here? How had she gotten here? She stretched again, doing a physical inventory. No injuries. She felt fine. Her neck was a little sore at the back.

Shaking, she tried to remember what had happened as she slid to the edge of the bed. On trembling legs, she rose from the bed and headed for that window where a beautiful wooden table and chairs, the likes of which she’d never seen before, sat in an elegant display. Maybe a glance outside would help her determine where she was. She could hope…

No sooner had she reached the curtain to pull it back than the door opened behind her. Barely a whisper but audible in the silence of the room. “Madeline?”

Whoever he was, he knew her name. She didn’t know whether to be comforted or terrified by that. Turning slowly, she faced the speaker, staring at the man who slowly closed the door behind him.

It was an understatement to say he was as beautiful as his surroundings. The man who stood there watching her was incredible. Beyond words. He was tall, nearly as tall as Vincent, with the same wide shoulders and powerful, long limbs. He wasn’t as thick as her werewolf client, however. He was sleeker, elegant.

His blond hair was swept neatly from his face, shining and straight. His hair was pale, his skin was paler. And the blue of his eyes was the deep hue of a summer sky. The features of his face were a study in perfection, all smooth lines and hard angles. His mouth kept his face from being too hard, his lips softer.

Yet, once she got past the beauty of him, it struck her. The instinct that something wasn’t quite right about the man who seemed just as absorbed in staring at her as she was in him.

“How do you feel?” he asked, his voice unlike anything she’d ever heard before. Perfect and silky.

“I’m fine.” Except that I don’t know where I am and why I’m here. “Who are you?”

The man smiled then, a gentle smile. Even so, it didn’t make her feel better. “My name is Maddox,” he answered. Madeline waited for him to say more but he didn’t. He just continued to watch her. Had he even blinked?

Well, her other questions were worth a try. “Where am I? Why am I here?”

The smile fell away with a speed that had her wondering if she’d imagined it. “You were in the marketplace with Vincent and his men. Do you remember that?” He kept his tone calm, soothing.

She was anything but soothed. She wanted an answer to her question. “Of course I remember being in the marketplace. Why is that your concern and how do you know Vincent?”

Maddox held up his hands as if to say there was no reason for her upset, he meant no harm. His hands were long and sleek like the rest of him, and for the first time she noticed his nice clothing, his pressed slacks and a deep blue pullover sweater. She’d only ever seen clothing like that in old photos.

“Vincent told you that Ivy was there in the village lost and that her father was taken away. He lied.”

Shocking to have someone state the facts as she knew them and then refute them with such certainty. She stared at him with a million more questions in her mind.

He didn’t give her a chance to ask one. “Ivy is fine and so is her father.”

“How do you know?” Madeline fought against the anxiety that grew more with each second. “How do you know any of this?”

“Everything is fine, Madeline.” He didn’t move but he seemed to be willing her with his eyes to listen to him. Something strange about his eyes…”I’ve been watching Vincent for a while now. You know he’s a Lycan, of course.”

Yes, she knew that. She nodded.

“He’s very dangerous, Madeline. I’m sure you realize that too.”

“Are you?” The words came out before she could stop them. If he’d been watching Vincent and he was dangerous, what did that make Maddox?

Maddox appeared to take a deep breath. Then he answered her. “Yes.”

Anxiety bled on fear. Her heart pounded in her chest. What did all of it mean?

“You’re safe. Nothing will hurt you now,” he promised. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Why should I believe that?” she demanded.

“What reason have I given you to doubt it?” His tone didn’t change, still calm. “Vincent was using you as bait to catch a man. A man who was also dangerous on many levels. He made you believe Ivy was lost in town to get you there and then he tried to use you as bait to catch that man.”

So Maddox was trying to say he’d protected her? Well, she wasn’t there anymore and she was perfectly fine. Yet…”If all of this is true, why did you save me?”

Maddox stared at her silently for the longest time. His gaze on her was so intense it was uncomfortable. He exhaled loudly, the quiet whisper of a sound filling the room around them.

“Because you were… innocent. None of what was happening was your fault.”

Something about his words didn’t ring true and he was still staring at her in such an unnerving way. She didn’t feel threatened. She felt…

Well, she didn’t know exactly what she felt at the moment. “You said Ivy and her father were fine. How do you know?”

“They are here too, for their protection.”

“And that’s why I’m here?”

“Yes.” He answered that just a little too quickly.

“Where is here?”

“It’s actually not my home but the home of an old and trusted friend. You’re all safe here.”

Safe, maybe. But…”Thank you, for saving me and bringing me here… I guess. But…”

Concern clouded his expression. “But?”

“It’s your friend’s home but people like us… Ivy’s father and myself, well… you mean to say that he’s inviting us here as his guests?”

“Ah.” Maddox nodded as if he’d anticipated her question. If one could call it that. “Gerald had been looking for work anyway and Rick needs quite a bit of help in maintaining a manor like this. It all worked out, you see. He has a very good job now and he’ll be able to provide for his daughter. And they are out of that village where Ivy could fall prey to monsters… like Vincent. Or worse.”

Madeline felt some of the tension in her body ease at his words. Well, that was a relief if what he said was true. Ivy safe and fed? Her father with a job? That was a blessing for them.

But what about her?

“You have nothing to worry about, Madeline. Please don’t worry.”

Was it that obvious on her face?

And then something occurred to her…

“Gerald is working for your friend who owns this house?”

Maddox nodded.

“Do you think maybe he has work for me?” It was worth a try. “I am good at growing things. If he has need of someone to tend his gardens…”

His gorgeous face was smooth, his expression closed now.

“Are you a gardener by trade?”

Okay, so he hadn’t been watching her. If he had, he’d know she wasn’t a gardener. And there was no point in lying. “No, that’s not how I made my living,” she admitted.

“What was your trade?”

There shouldn’t be a reason that she felt so uncomfortable in stating what she did for a living. It had been a long time since she’d felt real shame at what she’d become. Still, here, in the presence of this oddly beautiful man, the words seemed to stick in her throat. “I’m a prostitute,” she told him. Would he throw her out now? How would he react?

His expression didn’t change. “I see.” His gaze lowered finally at that and her heart sank as she waited. “There’s no need for more help with the gardens, I’m pretty sure on that point.” When he looked at her again, his gaze was sympathetic. “But if you’re looking for a safe haven, for work like your friends…”

Madeline had to concentrate to keep the eager Yes? from escaping her lips the moment after he said that. But the small pebble of pride she had left, it wasn’t much, kept her from it.

“You could work for me.”

Work for him? “You mean what I normally…”

“Yes.”

“I see.” Her mind spun, trying to work that all out.

“I would be your exclusive client, of course.”

Madeline swallowed hard, heat pooling in her stomach. Sleeping with someone who looked like him would certainly not be a hardship. Depending on what he liked, how he liked to do things…

“I would pay you well, provide for your needs.”

As long as he was here…”For how long?” She had to ask that. Surely he didn’t plan to stay with his friend forever. And when he left, what reason would he have to take her with him?

A smile slowly formed on his perfect mouth. “Indefinitely.”

As an answer it was vague.

“No worries. We won’t be staying at my friend’s residence long term. I’ve already been here a little while. But I have a couple of places that are… comparable.”

A couple of places? Like the place she stood in now? She’d only seen one room and it was a palace next to what she was accustomed to. How could she refuse? If Ivy and her father were really here, then she had the only friends she really had with her. That concern was gone. She wouldn’t have to live in a pitiful shack, in the heat and the cold. Surely there would be food, water…

She couldn’t go back home. If Vincent had used her as bait and this man had saved her…”I can’t go back home because of Vincent?”

Maddox nodded.

“He used me as bait to catch that other man. Did he get him?”

He hesitated a moment before mouthing the word, “No.”

Well, now she understood. If Vincent didn’t catch the man it wouldn’t take a big leap for him to assign her blame. He’d kill her. Not only could she not go home; if it was all true, she’d need this man’s protection.

“Do we have an agreement?” he asked gently.

Slowly, she nodded, having no idea what she was getting into really. She knew nothing about this man, Maddox. Of course, she never really knew any of her clients. Normally they came to visit, got what they wanted, and left. It sounded like she’d be living with Maddox, her exclusive client.

Maddox seemed to release a deep breath he’d been holding. Like he was relieved about something. But she didn’t have time to ponder that as he took a step closer to her.

Instinctively, she took a small step back. Something about him…

He nodded, his gaze on the floor now before he turned and walked slowly to the door.

Madeline felt a small wave of panic. Had she insulted him? It hadn’t been her intention and she hoped it wouldn’t put their arrangement off to a bad start.

“I’ll have some food sent up. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

Hunger was her constant companion. She was always hungry. It didn’t keep her from nodding like an eager child.

“Is there anything in particular you’d like?”

Now she stared at him in wonder. Why was he asking what she’d like? And how to answer…”Anything…” Her voice came out with all the awkwardness she felt. “Anything is fine.”

Maddox nodded his perfect blond head. And then he was gone.

* * *

It had been a long time since Maddox had felt anything close to the excitement he felt as he waited to go to Madeline. It was almost comical. He’d been around for centuries and there he was, waiting to see one small human woman. He felt like a child about to receive a long anticipated treat. And the wait was the most excruciating thing he could recently remember.

He’d had Rick’s servants take her some food and given them instructions on seeing that she was able to shower or bathe as she wanted. Allowing her time to do what humans needed to do, he decided to sort through the pitiful few belongings he’d found in her home earlier when he’d gone to bring back the child and her father.

He would almost swear that the heart that hadn’t beat in his chest for centuries had squeezed in something like pain as he took in all she had. There was a cracked plastic comb with teeth missing and a worn old Bible with various dried flowers pressed into its pages. There was something he supposed could have been a toothbrush and a couple of small elastic bands, probably for her hair.

Among the small assortment of simple items, an old faded photograph was the most compelling of her belongings. It was a picture of four people; one of them was her and the others resembled her. Parents? A brother? What had happened to them? How had she ended up living on her own, vulnerable and selling her body for survival?

There’d been only one other dress, aside from what she’d been wearing, the fabric worn paper thin and beyond salvaging. Well, he’d see about her clothing. Yes, he was anxious to take care of that. What would she look like dressed up in rich colors, fine fabrics?

And then, from the other side of the house, he heard it. A sound he’d not heard before though he knew it came from her. It was a wonderful sound.

Was she laughing?

Maddox was on his feet and moving in the direction of that sound before he realized it. How long had he given her? Three? Four hours? Was it enough time?

And then he realized it didn’t matter. He loved that sound. That happy sound…

Her voice and that of another girl became more distinct in his head as he grew closer.

“Please share this with me,” Madeline asked with friendly laughter in her voice. “There is enough food here for ten people.”

The servant girl’s voice was light too. “I know what you mean, miss. But I’m not allowed. And you look as though you can use it. Please. Eat something.”

And Madeline was eating. He could hear those gentle sounds too. Good. Still he couldn’t help but laugh that she was trying to offer food to the serving girl, having no idea the girl was a vampire like he was.

Maddox had just reached the door to the room where he’d been staying -- her room now until she allowed him to share it with her -- when she asked the girl how long she’d worked in the house. He spared the girl from answering by opening the door.

There Madeline sat on the edge of the enormous bed, her pale blonde hair shining in drying waves around her heart-shaped face. She wore his black robe and it nearly swallowed her because she was so small. Still, the rich black set against the creamy white skin…

And the fact that she was wearing something of his. His robe…

“I’ll leave you now,” the girl said, careful to avoid eye contact with Maddox. Most of Rick’s servants were young vampires who had a healthy respect for those older and so much stronger than they were.

Madeline’s smile lingered about her lips as he walked in and closed the door behind him. It gave him real hope. Something he could enjoy until he broke the ice about what he was…

“Hello.” Her expression turned wary but she maintained eye contact.

“Hello.”

Maddox sank onto the carpet, crossing his legs in front of him. The sight of her sitting there on the bed in his robe with the half-eaten apple in her hands… He’d never seen anything so beautiful. Still, he had to chuckle at the enormous amount of food that waited on the cart next to the bed.

“What?” she asked nervously.

“When I asked her to bring up food, I thought I’d specified it was for one person.”

“Oh.” Her gaze drifted to the cart and slowly back to him. “Thank you.”

It bothered him that her hand slightly trembled as she placed the apple back on the tray.

“It’s okay,” he assured her. “Please take your time. Eat.”

But that wasn’t going to happen. The mask was on. He’d watched her too many times with clients not to recognize the mask her expression became when she was readying herself. He knew she wouldn’t allow herself to relax, to eat, until she fulfilled her part of the bargain.

Now he was her client. Well, he wanted to be. Hell, he wanted to be so much more than that. But he had to start with client. And to be that, he’d have to clear one very important thing up first.

“Madeline,” he began. “What do you see when you see me?”

The question had taken her off guard. She recovered quickly, her little hand still shaking as it moved to provocatively toy with the front of the robe she wore.

“You’re a strong, handsome man,” she started. “You’re --”

“Madeline,” he cut her off. “What do you really see? Do you find me different from other men you’ve seen before?”

Now she stared at him, fear clouding her features. He hated that she felt so vulnerable, so afraid.

“I promise you, Madeline, that I will never hurt you. Ever. In any way.” He truly meant it. “You’ll never be made to do anything you don’t want to do.”

He could feel the unease and confusion coming off her.

“Madeline, I know I’ll have to earn your trust. But first, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Slowly something like understanding crept into her gaze.

“You said you were dangerous before.”

“I did,” he encouraged. “What else do you see?”

“You’re beautiful,” she whispered.

And he would have enjoyed that except for the fact that she said the words as if she were admitting a poisonous snake were beautiful.

“What are you?”

Did he just blurt it out then? Sit quietly as he watched her run screaming from the room? “You don’t have any guesses?”

“You’re not a Lycan,” Madeline pointed out.

“How do you know?”

“They have a smell. A distinct smell. You don’t have that.”

“What else could I be?” He pressed. “Did you have any dealings with any other non-humans?”

Her amethyst eyes were wide as her mind worked.

“Other non-humans?” Panic cracked her voice now. “You’re not human?”

Why lie? “No. I’m not.”

“My father…” Madeline slowly moved away from the edge of the bed. “My father used to tell stories about… about these… creatures who… they hunted humans.”

Here we go. Would he be able to go on when she ran away from him?

“You mean like… vampires?”

Chapter Five

Her eyes flew open wide as she stared at him, cowering further back on the bed. Her fear ate at him. It made the man in him want to comfort her. It made the vampire in him want to chase her. He could have her flat on her back in a second and be buried inside her not long after that. He could feed on her… What would her blood taste like?

“Is that what you are?” Her voice was higher now. “You’re a vampire?”

Maddox nodded, holding his breath though it was hardly necessary.

“You… said you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I won’t.”

“Aren’t you… dead?”

Well, she was talking to him instead of running in fright. That was a positive thing. “From a certain point of view.” It was the best answer he had to that question.

“You can… have sex? With people?”

Maddox had to fight back a smile. “Yes. With care.”

She stared at him from the center of the bed and her heartbeat was a thundering sound in his ears. She was brave. Scared as she was, she stayed in place. What he wouldn’t give to have Rick’s ability to read thoughts. Her mind had to be going in a million directions.

One thing he was certain of. She didn’t know what to do in that moment. Normally, the mask held in place and she had sex with her client. When she was done, she could relax and that’s all he wanted for her.

Rising from the floor, Maddox approached the bed slowly.

“You… won’t hurt me?”

The pale perfection of one of her thighs had slid from the black folds of the robe. He reached the edge of the bed, hard for her in a way that was almost painful. “No.”

She was frozen like a rabbit trapped by a coyote and rooted to the spot in fear, watching him climb on the bed. “Do you mean to… bite me?”

“No.” He wanted her body. It would alleviate half of his pain anyway, help assuage his lust for her blood. Maddox didn’t touch her. Instead, he stretched out in the middle of the bed, kicking off his shoes.

“What are you doing?” she asked, clearly surprised.

“Allowing you to satisfy your curiosity,” he offered, wanting to make her feel less vulnerable. “Do what you want, Madeline.”

It was hard not to laugh at the wide-eyed way she stared at him. But soon enough understanding chased away the clouds of confusion in her beautiful amethyst eyes. The mask was slowly sliding back into place.

And even though he knew she’d do something, get him off somehow because he was her new employer, his body was as tight as a bow. Anticipation left him excited in a way he’d forgotten. How long had it been since he’d wanted something as much as blood? More? Had he ever?

Madeline proceeded just as he knew she would. Like in a favorite dream, he watched her settle herself on her knees at his side. Her slender white hands hovered over him tentatively, like she was getting ready to pet that same poisonous snake but wasn’t sure she should. He watched her throat work as she swallowed hard.

It took everything he had to stay still, not to pull her into his arms. He’d mean to comfort her but he’d just frighten her more. It wasn’t a good place to start. He’d tucked his own hands behind his head, wanting to be as non-threatening as he could be.

After her moment of nervous hesitation, her hands lowered to his chest and a jolt of excitement like nothing he’d experienced outside of blood shot through him. Her fingers clutched lightly at the fabric of his shirt, gently probing the hard skin beneath.

Her gaze darted to his face in surprise. “You’re… warm,” she whispered. “I thought…”

Maddox nodded. “I fed, so I’m warm for now.” Then he realized he might want to explain that. “No humans died. No worries. I’ll explain it all one day when you’re… ready.”

She swallowed hard again. Her hands trembled. But they moved up his chest until they found the buttons at the top of his black shirt and slowly began to undo them.

Maddox’s breath caught, and he didn’t have to breathe, as she efficiently undid all of the buttons, her fingers swirling against his skin with feather soft touches. When she undid the top of his slacks and pulled down the zipper, it felt like it would destroy him to stay still.

Her fingers slid into his slacks, finding no other barrier, and wrapped around his cock like open flame. Damn! He’d forgotten how warm a human woman’s touch felt, particularly on that part of his body. It was hot, soft, indescribable when she pulled him free of the slacks and began to caress him with both hands.

“Do you like this?” she whispered.

Was she kidding? He nodded. What else could he do or say? He really wanted to strip the robe from her slim, fragile body so he could explore every inch of her delicate human flesh. Then he wanted to bury himself inside of her, surround her…

The soft pads of her fingers were torture on his aching, engorged flesh. First things first. It was pretty clear what she intended to do and while he’d take anything she wanted to give him, he had to survive it. With some dignity intact. Right now he felt like he could blow come all over her pretty face but it wasn’t the most romantic way to start.

And he wanted to get to a place somewhere in the neighborhood of romantic with Madeline… One day.

“You are… beautiful for a…”

It was the second time she’d called him beautiful. He liked that. He also liked that she was talking to him. He knew from watching her in the past that if she really detested a client she didn’t talk or make a sound. It was promising.

Madeline sighed, her breath a flame blowing across his hard skin. Her head lowered and he watched in fascination as her tiny pink tongue slid out to stroke the swollen head of his cock in a gentle circle, hesitant because she probably wondered what he’d taste like.

Well, he was made to be appealing to his prey and that’s what she was in reality. His prey. Maddox couldn’t fight back a smile when she paused and then lowered her mouth to slide the head of him in.

Her low groan had his hips lifting from the bed and his dick aching. She lost her hesitation more by the second and with her mouth working up and down on him, her tongue swirling around him inside that warm, wet cavern. It was all he could do to hang on. Madeline teased, sucked, licked his cock with her expert tongue, the practiced fire of her mouth, and his sanity began to shred.

She groaned from routine. He groaned from a place where he was in complete and utter ecstasy. Watching her pretty blonde head bobbing up and down as she tortured him with her mouth nearly undid him, but he fought on selfishly, wanting every second he could stand, wanting her mouth and hands on him forever. Wanting to die, finally face oblivion, from it.

Maddox’s hips pumped, his hands shredded the pillow behind his head and he growled. His balls tightened and he felt like his entire body would explode and kill her in the process. Damn, what had he been thinking? That this pitiful human girl would pose no threat to him? That she wouldn’t be able to drive him crazy with the skills she used so effectively on her human and Lycan clients? He was a fool.

As orgasm violently charged through him, he yelled, his gaze fastened on her. He wanted to die. He wanted to bury himself in her. He wanted to taste her blood while he fucked her. He wanted… he wanted.

He came in an explosion that ripped through his body and had him thrusting furiously beneath her. Madeline held on, catching every drop of his semen that her clever mouth drew out until he was spent. Considering his strength, that was saying a lot. She swallowed before easing him down with little flicks of her tongue, tender touches of her slim fingers.

Maddox was wrecked. The bedding was kicked everywhere and feathers littered the mattress around his head where the remains of the pillow rested. Before he could straighten himself up, her hands were there, gently fastening his slacks but leaving the buttons on his shirt undone. Would she let him do that part? Did she want to see his chest?

Could he be more of a pathetic, weak-minded fool?

She stayed where she was as he struggled to sit up. Fresh guilt hit him hard when he heard her stomach’s familiar growl. All that food within her reach behind him. More than she ate in a month, he realized.

Smoothing her now dry hair back from her perfect face, he shook his head. He’d like to kiss her more than anything, have her fall asleep against the heart that would be pounding so hard for her if it could.

But what he wanted and what she needed were very different things. It was time to free her of responsibility. That’s why she waited.

“This is my room at Rick’s home,” he said simply, wanting to cut to the chase. “So we’ll share it. Is that all right?”

Concern clouded those pretty purple eyes but she nodded.

“I would very much like to read, relax my mind right now,” he explained, trying to come across as bored and no longer interested in her. As if. Pulling a thick tome of Shakespeare from under the bed where he’d planted it earlier, he patted her on the head gently. “Do what you will. I won’t require you for the rest of the night.”

“As you wish.” Her voice was low, respectful. Oh, how familiar he was with that tone. Her eyes, however, were alight. He knew she was hungry. Slowly she rose and he feigned interest in some boring passage from A Midsummer Night’s Dream that he’d read two hundred times.

Maddox pretended not to notice when she retrieved the apple and devoured it with more zeal than he’d ever seen a newborn vampire display. The grapes, the pears, the cheeses, all went the same way, and after a few moments, she seemed to forget he was even there.

He got to watch her in between mindlessly scanning the meaningless words before him. She sipped the fine wine from Rick’s cellars when she’d finished eating and Maddox smiled, knowing it would help her sleep. Hoping, anyway.

He didn’t have to hope long. Less than an hour had passed and she fell asleep on the carpet by the tray of food, sleeping more soundly than he’d ever witnessed -- and he’d watched her a lot.

Well, he’d have to wait to taste her lips, her body. He could do that. But he decided he would enjoy one thing. Rising silently, he lifted her from the floor and carried her back to the bed to lie beside him.

Madeline never stirred, curling on her side with her small hands tucked under her chin like a child. Maddox faced her in the enormous bed, watching her breathe, wondering what she dreamed of. One day he hoped she’d dream of him.

She was his now. One day, she’d know it.

* * *

Maddox was gone when Madeline awoke the next morning and that was only the start of the seed of unease growing in her stomach. An older gentleman brought in a heated cart loaded with all sorts of foods, some of which she’d never seen before. But she didn’t feel like eating much. She wasn’t entirely certain whether the gentleman was human like her or…

Shortly after that another young woman came in to help her bathe. It was her second bath since she’d been brought here, only now it was less of a surprising treat and more of a worry of why they were so concerned for her hygiene. They wanted her clean when they ate her?

The room where she bathed was unlike anything she’d ever seen. Where did the water come from anyway? Madeline had never lived in a place where water came into the house by any means other than her two hands and a bucket. She’d read about the bathrooms civilization had a century ago but never expected to see anything like it.

The young woman Madeline had enjoyed talking to the night before was frightening to her today. Now she noticed how Amy was pale like him… Or was she only imagining things?

Maddox was a vampire. That was what he’d told her anyway. Unease grew every time the word echoed in her mind. All Madeline knew of vampires was what her father had mentioned to her mother once when he thought she and her brother were asleep.

He’d said they couldn’t go out in the sun and they were cold as the dead. He told her they drank a person’s blood until they drained them dry. That they were monsters. She’d been too terrified to sleep that night and that fear never really left her. People disappeared often in her world. It was just the way things were. Was it because of the vampires?

Lycans she accepted. They’d always dwelled along the fringes of humanity. They didn’t feed on people, of course, though they definitely posed a danger. But they were marginally accepted with some among her kind and they had a pulse.

Madeline couldn’t say that of vampires. She’d never even seen one until now. And Maddox was claiming to be a vampire. She had no way of knowing if his claim was true or not. Her mind spun on and on with questions and fears.

By the time she was dressed again in the robe, another woman waited in her room. The woman said she’d been sent by Maddox to fit her for new clothes. New clothes? Would she be alive long enough to wear new clothes? Besides, she was his whore now. What did it matter what she wore?

Still, that was the only thing that gave her hope. Why would he order clothes made for her if he planned to kill her?

And he wasn’t the only vampire here. Would he protect her from the others? Or would she be on her own?

When that appointment was over, she was dressed in a new blue robe that was a better size for her. Another meal was brought by the same older gentleman who’d brought her a morning meal. When she saw him again, she was sure he was human. But she was able to eat even less than she had earlier which wasn’t saying much.

Finally she was left alone, and in the silence, with nothing to do but stare out the window at the magnificent view until the sun began to set, fear began to gnaw at her. Where was Maddox? Was he hidden because the sun was up? Did they need humans to guard them?

There were other humans here. The gentleman who brought the food, her. Ivy…

That reminded her of Ivy and her father. Maddox had explained they’d been brought here for their safety just as she had, that Ivy’s father would work for his friend. Had that been true? He’d promised they’d be safe. He’d promised not to hurt her.

Deciding that perhaps seeing Ivy and Gerald, verifying that, would make her feel better, she resolved to see if she could leave the room. Her heart quickened at the thought. No one had told her not to leave the room. Still, there was the chance that by leaving the room, she’d be in danger.

Well, she’d just have to take that risk.

Madeline was almost surprised the door wasn’t locked. She pushed down the handle and it opened silently.

The corridor beyond was open and light. With wide eyes, Madeline took in her surroundings. Maddox’s friend lived in a palace. The floor gleamed. The corridor was lined with tall elegant pillars that were laced together by an intricate fencing. Beyond them was a great open space.

The sound of voices reached her then, one of them his voice. Her heart thundered in her chest but she was brave enough that she silently edged closer to the nearest pillar to get a closer look. When her back was pressed against it, she dared a peek in the direction of the voices.

Madeline had to look down to see that they were in an elegant room below that held an enormous shining table with dozens of chairs surrounding it and beautiful paintings on the walls all around.

Maddox stood below, dressed completely in black again today, with his arms folded across his chest and a displeased look on his face. Seated at the head of the table was another man with dark hair and swarthy skin looking unhappy too. He wore a white shirt unbuttoned halfway down his chest and was glancing back and forth between Maddox and a woman who had her back to Madeline. All she could see of that woman was her long, flame red hair and her curvy figure encased in black pants and a snug white blouse.

“What did you tell him exactly?” Maddox demanded.

“Truth is best,” the other man said simply, in a Spanish accent. “So I stuck to that as much as I could. I told the council’s messenger that the Lycans’ attempt to obtain the human recruiter was intercepted.”

“And?” Maddox pressed.

“I told them, unfortunately, the chain of events set in place led to the human recruiter’s demise…”

The woman snorted. It wasn’t a friendly sound.

“Like they’ll believe that,” she said flatly.

“You have a point,” Maddox shot back. “If a dog could figure it out…”

“Asshole.” Julia shot him an angry look.

“Julia.” The dark-haired man held up a hand in her direction. “Please?”

“What about Madeline?” Maddox’s tone was anxious now. “Did you say anything about her?”

The reference to her had Madeline’s heart racing.

The dark-haired man’s voice was calm. “No. There was no need to mention her. Or the girl and her father. The Lycans used them to draw the recruiter out. The council doesn’t need to be concerned with all the mechanics of their plan.”

The woman turned to completely face Maddox now and Madeline couldn’t deny that she was stunningly beautiful. She frowned at Maddox at the moment, clearly not a friend of his.

“I saw the little human girl outside with her father. Why are they here? And who is Madeline?”

Chapter Six

The angry tone of the woman’s voice didn’t imply jealousy at all and for whatever stupid reason, Madeline felt a tiny measure of relief at that. And the woman had seen her friends. That was a good sign.

But Madeline strained to hear the answer that didn’t immediately come. She knew what he’d told her. What did he really want with the three of them? With her personally? Would his answer to them be different?

“Madeline,” Maddox said finally, “is none of your business.”

“Julia --” The dark-haired man attempted to break in.

“Are you going to feed on her, you leech? Is that it? A plaything you can fuck and feed on to amuse yourself for a while?”

Maddox growled at her, a startling sound that reverberated through the huge space and had Madeline gasping in fear.

“Julia, it’s not like that.” The dark-haired man tried to calm her down. “I’ll explain later.”

“Sick bastard,” she spat back at Maddox.

Maddox was still growling. Julia was glaring back at him. The dark-haired Spaniard put a hand over his face in frustration.

He looked up and ignored the standoff between the other two. “The bottom line is that the council is not happy the recruiter is dead even though the Lycans didn’t succeed in getting him.”

“I don’t give a damn if the council is happy or not,” Maddox snapped.

“Perhaps you should.” The Spaniard stood, meeting his gaze. “If they were to learn of our new residents immediately, and a full-blown inquiry would bring them here for that reason, it would raise more questions. Yes?”

Maddox didn’t respond but the angry expression on his face eased.

“We’ll let some time go by. I don’t want to create more trouble with the Elders. As you know, they aren’t exactly happy that Julia is here, are they?”

“Forget your people,” Julia threw in. “You don’t think the Lycans are going to let this go, do you? You took away their shot at the cult recruiter. They’ll hunt you down. This is not the end of it.”

Vincent. Vincent wouldn’t let it go. What if he came here, was able to take Maddox and his friends out? He would kill her too. If Maddox had told her the truth, Vincent had used her as bait to get the recruiter, whoever he was. If she had been expendable then, she certainly would be now. “She’s right, Maddox.”

“I’ve thought of that. And I’m sorry.” Maddox was looking at Julia now. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you at risk.”

Surprise lit up the woman’s eyes at that. The other man’s expression was one of surprise as well.

Vincent was after Julia as well? How bad was Vincent then? And what did they mean by “the human recruiter?”

“We have company,” Julia said and when Madeline dared another glance, she found the red-haired woman staring in her direction.

Maddox caught sight of her next, his eyes calm and blue when they glanced up at her. And in the next second he vanished, reappearing at her side. Madeline had no time to scream as he pressed a cool finger to her lips.

“It’s okay,” Maddox said in a calm voice. “Don’t be afraid. Come and meet my friends.”

Meet his friends? Even as he took her arm with great care and began leading her in the direction of the stairs, her heart still fluttered in her chest.

“How… how did you get here … so quickly?”

Maddox smiled gently. “Sorry. I forget you… We can move quickly, my kind.”

He walked slowly, matching his pace to hers.

“Your heart is thundering. Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she lied.

She felt so small walking down the stairs with the elegant tall man at her side. Wearing just a thin blue robe made her feel vulnerable and she pulled it more tightly about her in response. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the Spaniard rose from his chair and smiled at her. Like Maddox, he was beautiful. His black eyes showed her warmth and his smile was devastatingly handsome.

He extended a hand to her, and like Maddox at times, his skin was unnaturally cool.

“I am Rick. Welcome to my home, Madeline.”

Warmth flooded her face at the way her hand shook. Rick seemed to sense her unease and placed his other hand over hers.

“Don’t be afraid. No one will harm you here.”

Turning, he held out an arm in the direction of the beautiful woman with red hair.

“This is Julia.” The other woman’s green eyes widened when her gaze fell on Madeline. After a moment, she extended a hand and Madeline jerked in surprise at its warmth. Then she noticed the smell.

“You’re Lycan?” Madeline asked, trying to keep her tone polite.

The expression on Julia’s beautiful face turned defensive for a second and then eased as they let their hands drop.

“Yes, I am.” Julia said simply. “Sounds like you’ve known a few.”

“I have.”

Julia almost smiled. “Don’t judge us all by that lot.”

“I wouldn’t.” Madeline meant it. “I guess not all of us… are so great.”

Julia’s expression seemed one of approval.

“Was there something you needed?” Maddox’s eyes were clouded with concern.

She swallowed hard. Then she decided to stick with the truth.

“I was hoping to see Ivy and her father.” Her voice dropped off to a whisper. “Familiar faces, I guess.”

“Of course,” Maddox said, looking almost relieved. “We’ll go see them right away. If you’ll excuse us…”

Rick and Julia nodded as Maddox again took her by the arm and guided her in another direction.

With each step she felt her anxiety ease. No one was angry that she’d been caught listening in on their conversation. No one minded her being here. His friend had welcomed her to his home and assured her that no harm would come to her. Even the woman who didn’t seem to like Maddox was kind to her.

And if she saw that Gerald and Ivy were okay and just as Maddox said? Well, it was a step in the direction of establishing trust between Maddox and herself.

Glancing up, she found him smiling at her. When was the last time someone had looked at her with… caring? Encouragement? It had her heart squeezing in her chest.

* * *

“Mrs. Kilmer tells me it won’t take her long to create some things for you to wear. She’s an excellent seamstress.” Maddox thought he’d start a conversation with Madeline when he returned to the room. It wasn’t easy. His mind was on anything but her clothes right now. “I hope you’ll enjoy having some nicer garments.”

Madeline sat on the edge of the bed, a gold-trimmed plate of dark grapes resting on her lap. Wariness lingered in her violet eyes, but he sensed a lot less tension in her tonight. It gave him hope. Perhaps one day she’d come to trust him.

Just one look at her sleek little body had him staring at her, hard. Though he loved her wearing his robe the night before, the blue robe was sleek and revealed her shape. Her breasts were full and beautiful, the curve of her hip and thigh a temptation.

She only nodded in response to his words. And what was she going to say really? That she expected new clothes when she was accustomed to wearing rags? He knew she was beyond her element right now. Nervous as a young man courting his lady love, his mind scrambled to come up with something else to talk about. It was ridiculous. Yet he couldn’t do a damned thing about it.

“Did you enjoy your visit with your friends?”

A small smile formed on her lips. It would have stopped his heart had he been mortal.

“I did. Thank you.”

The visit had been wonderful for him as well. Watching her play with the child, hearing her laughter. He didn’t even feel threatened by the child’s father, knowing he’d been a rare client of hers. He didn’t sense anything between the man and his Madeline now. The man’s fear of him did come through clearly, however.

Madeline had been happy to see them and that he could do every single day. And would, he decided. He’d just feel better once they didn’t have the Elders and their old friend Vincent to worry about any longer. “You’re welcome. We can see them any time,” he said easily.

“No, I meant thank you for their situation. Ivy looked so…”

On the way to being well fed? Clean? Adorable in the small dress Mrs. Kilmer had insisted on making before anything else? “Rick treats his servants well, Madeline,” Maddox assured her.

“They are his servants now?”

It was a clever question. Maddox thought carefully before he spoke. “I’m sure Rick would have no problem with my taking them when we leave this place. But I think much would depend on what’s best for them at the time. A man with a small daughter. Perhaps they should have some say in where they go.”

Her brow knitted. “But they are servants,” she pointed out.

“I didn’t dispute that.”

“Servants don’t have choices.”

Maddox smiled. “Here they do.”

“And with you?” she asked in a lower voice.

“I don’t think of you as my servant, Madeline.” No, he thought of her as so much more. If only he could tell her…

“I’m your…”

“Employee?” he offered. Lover? Dream? Mistress of my frozen heart?

“Since that is the case, may I ask you something?” She was speaking so carefully, it tore at him just how precarious she thought her situation was.

“Anything,” he promised, daring to move closer and sit on the edge of the bed with her.

“You weren’t angry that I wandered out?”

“No.”

“I can… leave this room whenever I like?”

“Yes. I just ask that you stay close to the manor. Stay where you can be seen. For your safety.”

“Your friend said I wouldn’t be harmed…”

“And he meant that,” Maddox assured her, not sure where she was headed with her line of conversation.

“I’ve seen servants here who are… human. Like me.”

Maddox fought a smile. Madeline wasn’t stupid. “He does have servants here who are human. The rest are vampires. But they live together relatively well. Though I won’t lie to you, there is a social hierarchy. The vampire servants clearly run the house.”

Madeline nodded, seeming to consider this. “The vampires are stronger,” she said after a moment.

“Yes.”

“How is it that humans and vampires can get along here?”

Okay, now he thought he knew where she was heading but he wanted to clarify. “In what regard?” he asked.

“Humans are food for vampires. Right?”

He loved her way of simplifying it. Now, how to explain it? “The vampire servants aren’t allowed to feed on their human counterparts here. Rick won’t allow that. That would lead to your next question, an obvious one -- how are the vampires fed then? How are all of us -- Rick and myself included -- fed? Isn’t that what you want to know?”

Madeline nodded, managing to look guilty.

Tipping her chin up with a finger, he stared down into her eyes. “Why wouldn’t you wonder that? It’s a good question.”

When she said nothing, he continued. “For a time, we did hunt humans. We aimed for the dregs mostly, the ones who committed crimes against each other. We hunted human monsters. But our council realized, as we all did, that the human numbers have been dropping at an alarming rate for the last half century. They decided we had to find another way to feed. Their solution was cloning.”

Madeline’s eyes rounded in fear.

“Technically, that’s still the law of the land, though…”

“What?” She was brave, wanting to know more. He’d give her that.

“There have been problems with the cloned blood. It’s been causing strange effects in some of our kind over time.” He wouldn’t go into detail about that. “Some of us pretend to go along. Rick recently came up with another way that we can have human blood, real human blood as was intended by whatever evil force created us, and not destroy the source of our existence.”

“W-what way?”

“Just like the castles and villages of a time… more familiar to Rick and I, he is the noble lord so to speak and there is a village of people who work his land and depend on his protection.”

Now her expression was clouded by confusion. He had to remember that he didn’t know what education, if any, she had. “On the other side of this manor, is a village of humans like you. They live on and work the land that Rick owns,” he explained.

“Work the land?”

Maddox nodded. “They grow crops of food that humans eat. They produce wheat and barley, vegetables. They grow fruits, raise livestock for meats and milk. They are farmers. They work the land to provide food for everyone -- the humans -- and in return, they are allowed to live there and prosper. Rick provides anything they need.”

“How does that feed the vampires?”

Clever girl. “There is one other requirement of the humans in the village. In exchange for their support, their protection, they provide blood for us.”

“How…” Worry darkened her lovely face. “Do you pick someone or…”

“No, no.” He didn’t like the way her hand trembled as it clung to the plate of grapes on her lap. “It’s not like that at all. All of the villagers of proper age and size give blood, in small amounts, every few weeks. They aren’t even required to give enough to weaken them. Those who are ill or too old don’t have to offer blood at all. It’s a rather large village and they just need to provide enough for Rick, his guests, and his vampire servants. There aren’t many of us.”

“How do you… Do you bite them or…”

“No, Madeline. That would be cruel. They draw it themselves, using needles and storage bags.”

“Your kind doesn’t mind that?” Madeline revealed more by the moment what a sharp mind she had. As if she could become more appealing to him.

“It’s not the natural way we’d prefer to feed, no. But the compromise works. It’s a way for us to feed ourselves and ensure our survival, and at the same time, we provide the humans support and protection so they can survive. Madeline, the humans in the village live good lives. They are able to care for their families and have a natural existence. They have nice homes, plenty of food. They don’t have to worry about the poverty and lawlessness of where you came from. We protect them from the threat of other vampires and even other humans. The village hasn’t been there long and we’ve had a couple of defections. But so far, it’s working well.”

Madeline didn’t say anything for a couple moments. Her hands loosened on the plate of grapes however. Surely that was a good sign. “I could live there, right? You could come see me there…”

Maddox pushed back the stab of pain those words brought. He tried to remember that she had no idea how he felt about her. She’d had no time to develop feelings for him.

She would develop the same feelings for him, wouldn’t she? What would become of him if she didn’t?

“Madeline, is that what you really want?” he asked gently. “To continue to sell yourself to other men for money?”

“No, it’s not what I wanted. I guess I thought…” Her throat worked as she swallowed hard. “I guess I thought I could live like that. Growing a garden, giving a little blood here and there. You said you’d be my only client so just you…”

Maddox did smile now. She remembered his conditions. She wasn’t trying to get out of their agreed sexual arrangement which made him happy. She was, however, testing the waters about living in the village. Away from him. No, he wouldn’t allow that as a possible avenue for her.

“But we have Vincent to consider,” he reminded her. The flash of fear in her eyes bothered him but he could tell it effectively ended any talk of her moving away from him.

A low rumbling growl echoed in her body and he shook his head.

“I’m told you’ve eaten very little today. Why?” he asked her. “You’re starving.”

Her face flushed pink. “I am hungry, but I…”

Maddox waited patiently but she seemed at a loss for words. “Yes?”

“I’m adjusting to everything, I suppose. And you have to realize that the food here is, well, a lot more than I normally have to eat. I guess I’ll eat more in time.” And with that she set the plate of grapes to the side, glancing up at him with determination in her face. The look that told him she was ready to fulfill her agreement to sleep with him was in place on her face like a mask.

Maddox sighed. Physically he didn’t care that she was going through the motions as his hired lover. His body ached for her and would take her any way he could. His heart ached for her too and not in a good way. He didn’t want to be her obligation. He wanted her to want him.

He just hoped one day she would.

Chapter Seven

Madeline took a deep calming breath as she contemplated the evening ahead. Now she did feel hungry after worrying all day about the mysterious world of vampires she’d entered. Her new and exclusive client was one-or so he claimed. There was still some unease for her in knowing he wasn’t technically alive. How easy it would be for him to kill her at any moment.

Still, Vincent had been just as dangerous and unlike Maddox, he’d been ill-tempered. As a Lycan, he too had incredible strength and had been rough with her on many occasions. Out of bed, he’d been civil but never kind.

Maddox had shown her more warmth in a day than anyone else had in years. He’d been unconcerned with her wandering around the enormous house. He’d taken her to see Gerald and Ivy who were safe and well cared for just as he’d promised. And it had made her heart so light to see the little girl in her pretty dress, her stomach no longer growling because of the food available to her now.

Gerald, like Madeline, seemed a little haunted and cautious, considering their circumstances. They were surrounded by vampires and it was foreign and dangerous territory. But like her, it seemed he’d been treated well enough to give it a try.

Maddox’s blue eyes watched her from under impossibly long lashes. Sitting there next to her on the edge of the bed, he didn’t seem real. He was too handsome, too beautiful, to be real. The night before with him had been surreal given what he’d told her and she still hadn’t completely squared with the idea that her new client was a vampire. But he’d allowed her to do what she wanted at her own pace and he responded like her other clients. He’d seemed quite pleased by her efforts, satisfied with just a blow job.

She hated that her hand trembled as she brought it up to his face and all the while she wondered if it was a good idea to touch him at all like that. Touching a man’s body - anywhere -- was generally not a problem. More intimate things like a kiss or a caress to his face were often not welcome gestures for her clients.

Her heart skipped a beat when her palm touched his cheek and he leaned into her touch. Again tonight his flesh was warm like a man’s. But it was so hard. She slid her hand up into his hair, let her fingers glide through the silky pale blond strands. His hair felt normal. It felt nice. And his eyes slid closed as she played with his hair, as if he were really enjoying her attentions.

“Maddox?” she whispered.

“Yes?” He didn’t open his eyes but a small smile formed on his gorgeous lips.

“You’re really a…”

“Vampire? Yes.”

“Can you… prove it?”

His sigh was a long whisper. “I could but I don’t want to scare you, Madeline. I don’t want you to fear me.”

She needed to see it. “Does it have to be so scary?”

Now his eyes opened and the enjoyment faded from his expression. Slowly he opened his mouth wide. As she watched in silent fascination, she watched his teeth change. Two upper teeth and two lower teeth slowly elongated into sharp, deadly fangs. Madeline could imagine how they’d rip through the skin and a shudder passed through her.

“See?” In a movement so quick she barely saw it, his mouth closed and she thought his teeth were perfectly normal again. “I knew it would scare you.”

“I’m not scared,” she said automatically, wanting him to relax and not worry about her. Her job was to relax him, turn him on, and keep him happy.

“She says as her heart pounds furiously…”

And it was true. Her heart was racing. “Maybe it’s desire.” She tried to sound sultry but didn’t quite hit that note.

“I wish.” Maddox’s smile widened. “But you can’t easily fool me, Madeline. I can hear your heart beat. I can sense your fear. It makes me a better hunter. Not that I’m hunting you. It’s just part of what I am.”

“It’s not my job to fool you,” Madeline said in an unsteady voice. “It’s my job to please you.” She slid her hands down to his shoulders, to the buttons of his shirt. He seemed perfectly content to let her work the buttons with shaky fingers until they were all undone and she’d pulled the shirt free of him.

His upper body was revealed and she had to do a double take. His flesh was white, too white, but flawless. He was all lean, powerful muscle and her mouth felt dry. “What do you like?” Madeline asked, anxiety blending with something else to quicken her heart and send tiny sparks of anticipation running all through her.

Maddox, gorgeous as he was, seemed unable to decide what to say. That made her think. “You’ve had sex with human women before?” Madeline kept her tone sincere.

He nodded. “But it wasn’t the same. That was either to feed, sorry, or boredom. I probably didn’t put as much care into it as I could have, though I never killed a human woman having sex with her.”

“You’re not bored or…” She couldn’t bring herself to say hungry. She didn’t want to think about it.

“No.” His smile was back. “What you think, how you feel, matters to me. I know you’re not used to that and I’m not going to explain it, but that’s the best answer I can give you.”

“Oh.”

“What would I like right now?”

Madeline nodded. She did want to know.

“I want to get to know you. I want to know what you like, what makes you feel good. That’s a… turn on for me.”

Warmth flooded her body from her head to her toes. His chuckle only made it worse.

“Do you even know what you like, Madeline?”

The question caught her off guard.

“All of those clients, all of those times. They got what they wanted, but have you ever been satisfied?”

Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. Here it is. Now he felt more familiar with her, his true kinks would be revealed. There was no way to anticipate how wild or how mild he would be. She did the only thing she could do and waited.

“I want to satisfy you,” he whispered. “Will you trust me? Will you let me do what I want with you?”

Madeline nodded, her heart thumping tellingly in her chest. She knew he could hear it. Gently he wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her up the bed with him. It seemed an easy movement for him, as if she weighed nothing at all. She adjusted herself on the pillows while the hand at her waist slipped over her hip, down her thigh. She shivered.

“Madeline, relax,” Maddox whispered. “I won’t hurt you. I promised you that, remember?”

He did look so wonderful with all the white skin of his upper body revealed. Rising over her, Maddox gazed down at her and his deep blue eyes held fascination. “If I tried to kiss you, would you let me?” he asked, chuckling.

“Okay.” Her voice came out a breathy whisper and it portrayed her nervousness perfectly.

Lowering his head, Maddox came closer and she breathed in the scent of him. An enticing scent of man with something sweet and dark. When his lips brushed hers in a gentle kiss, she shivered but didn’t kiss him back. She didn’t know if he wanted her to -- it wasn’t usually something her clients were interested in. When she didn’t, he backed away.

“We’ll work on that,” he assured her. His hand was surprisingly gentle, feeling as if it were barely touching her skin as he swept the hair off her forehead, as he caressed her cheek. His fingers were cool as they skimmed down to the column of her neck and for an anxious moment, lingered on the point where her pulse throbbed beneath her skin. She watched Maddox swallow hard and then the moment passed and his hand moved further down.

Madeline gasped when his hand slid inside her robe, gliding over her skin to cup the warm mound of her breast. Heat gathered beneath his hand and pooled low in her belly. Her nipple tightened into a hard little peak that seemed to dance between his fingers and they moved to caress it. The simple touch sent tiny sparks of pleasure shooting through her.

“Do you like this?” he asked gently. “This is okay?”

It was better than okay. She arched under his touch, the sweet torment sending pulses of need all through her body. To say she enjoyed it was an understatement.

It wasn’t familiar territory though, so she fought against the instinct to touch him, pleasure him. Her clients wanted hand jobs, blow jobs, for her to ride them while touching herself. No one had ever cared what she felt or what her body would respond to.

He pulled her robe apart, his gaze moving down her body, and she froze under his scrutiny, wondering what he thought. She was so skinny even though her breasts were round and decent. Just as she worried he wouldn’t find her appealing, he smiled in something like triumph and his mouth dove for the same breast he’d just been paying attention to.

Madeline sucked in her breath at how good his suckling mouth felt. His lips and tongue toyed with her in a way that had her squirming beneath him, had wetness gathering in her pussy. The wet lash of his tongue drew heat from her flesh, combining with the cool of his mouth, to make her feel feverish and drive her insane with need. When he moved to the other breast, she arched to meet his mouth. Like they had a will of their own, her hands came up to clutch in his hair, to hold him to her.

His appreciative growl reverberated through her. “Yes, that’s right, Madeline. Just feel. Don’t think.”

Maddox continued to tease her breasts, only now one strong hand skimmed down to her thighs. His fingers drove her crazy, too, tracing slowly over the sensitive skin at the top of her legs.

“Maddox,” she cried out when his fingers found the wet curls at the apex of her thighs.

Lifting his head, he grinned at her, though his fingers sank deeper into her pussy, delving easily in the moisture there to find the hard nub of her clit. So softly he teased her with the easy touch of a fingertip while her sanity was shredding from a flood of sensations that were unfamiliar.

“Say it again, Madeline. Say my name again.”

“Maddox.”

By the time his name had escaped her lips, his lips were blazing a trail over her ribs, down to her hips. When his lips reached the edge of her blonde curls, she nearly came off the bed. Her thighs tightened in surprise but his hands gently nudged them open as he settled himself between them.

Madeline’s entire body was one big mass of anticipation. No one had ever gone down on her before. She’d always wondered what it felt like, even though with any of her clients it wouldn’t have mattered as long as they got off. Now, with him touching her as if she were something special, looking at her as if she really meant something to him, it did matter.

And she didn’t have time to react as the large pads of his fingers parted her sex before he slowly licked her. His tongue was a sinfully cool lash that roamed from her opening up to her clit where it lingered and began to flick with maddening movements that quickly smashed what was left of her sanity.

“Maddox!”

All of her self-control fell away as he licked her over and over. He teased her labia and her clit, which ached and throbbed from his attention. His lips, teeth, and tongue drove her mad as her hands yanked at the comforter beneath her, ripped at his hair. Madeline screamed and pleaded mindlessly in turns, his teasing and tormenting ceaseless. Her hips worked wildly but he didn’t allow her much movement as he held her in place against his greedy mouth. The wet sounds of his mouth blended with frantic cries in an ancient dance of lust and longing.

The quivering walls of her pussy tightened, wanting more. And Maddox gave her what she wanted as he began to thrust his long, sinful tongue in and out of her greedy opening, fucking her with his tongue. Over and over he speared into her, his tongue maddeningly quick and stiff. His fingers teased her pulsing clit, until her body felt like it would shatter. In the next moment, it did. The powerful orgasm exploded in her and she was lost as she thrashed and tore at him and screamed down the walls. She didn’t immediately recognize the screams as her own as they filled the room and she desperately clawed at his shoulders, his hair.

Heat flooded her body from her face to her throbbing center until she felt as if she’d burst into flames. Delicious spasms shook every inch of her for the longest time, but he never ceased in tormenting her and soothing the swollen, sensitive flesh between her thighs with tantalizing licks and kisses.

“Are you okay?” she thought she heard him ask.

The tremors fading, Maddox pulled her against the impossibly hard length of his body. His movements were a blur as he managed to spread her wider beneath him, rid himself of his slacks, and position himself between her knees, all while she trembled and recovered from the feelings that she’d never experienced before. It had been pure pleasure that she couldn’t have imagined.

His cock was poised and waiting at her entrance and she was all too familiar with that part of it all. Only this was different. Instead of mentally preparing herself for the penetration coming, a thrill of fresh excitement ran through her just at the thought of having him, Maddox, buried inside her. He was thick and throbbing and just the sight of him had her catching her breath.

Maddox’s gaze met hers for a long moment. His eyes were so blue. “I won’t hurt you,” he assured her. Then with a movement so swift it took her breath away, he pressed the crest of his cock into her heated slit.

He leaned down to kiss her as he pushed into her with painstaking slowness and his loving took on an intensity that had her struggling to breathe. His hands and mouth were everywhere, wild on her flesh. They didn’t hurt. He likely had the strength of a hundred humans but he was so careful with her, so caring. Her hands roamed down the hard muscular planes of his back, exploring the perfection of him.

Pulling her legs wide apart, he slid slowly out and hooked her knees with his hands. He positioned the swollen head of his cock against her slick, aching pussy and she gasped when he began to sink into her again. The hard length of his cock stretched and filled her, the heat from the joining of their bodies building. Madeline fought to keep up, pumping her hips with his to speed up his penetration. Moaning, she clutched at the dampening flesh of his shoulders and back, the warm blond silk of his hair.

“Do you like this, Madeline?” He was fully inside her now and his movements within her slow and easy. “Do you want to come again?”

Her entire body clenched in need and desperation. She ground against him, trying to entice him to move within her again. “Yes.” It was the truth. “I want to come again.”

“For me?”

“Yes.” It sounded like a demand.

Grinning, he complied, sliding back inside her to the hilt and lowering himself into her arms. Madeline moaned at the intoxicating pleasure of having him fill her again. Her pussy walls quivered around him as she undulated on him, using every move she knew to drive him on and try and make him crazy.

Her job had always been to bring her clients to great pleasure, make them lose control. Could she make someone like him lose control? She wanted to try.

Maddox moved in and out of her with strengthening thrusts. She wanted more of that. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she found herself moving with him. The flesh of his back was slick under her hands, and drops of his perspiration fell to dot her skin. He was so warm now. The drops were tinged with blood, but she didn’t care, couldn’t care, being caught up in the most sensual torment of her life.

Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and over her sides, the scent of sex filling the air around them. They writhed together on the bed, Madeline crying out against the damp hardness of his shoulder while pure carnal pleasure washed over her in waves. She held onto him tightly while the movements of his cock gained in strength and speed. It felt like flame ignited in her belly before spreading out to claim every part of her.

The orgasm was stronger than the first and certainly better than anything she’d ever felt before. Madeline gasped and bucked beneath him for all she was worth. Maddox thrust faster and harder while she rode out one powerful wave after another of exquisite ecstasy. Her nails scraped across his hard skin and she screamed while her body was wracked by an endless stream of delicious tremors.

Her body milked him, squeezing until he tightened above her. Madeline watched in fascination as Maddox threw his head back and shouted while he pumped into her furiously, his body jerking as he reached his own climax.

Slowly he dropped onto the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. She loved how he felt against her beating heart, even though she couldn’t feel his.

“How do you feel?” He pressed a kiss into her hair.

“Amazing.” She couldn’t help smiling. “I get it now.”

“Get what?”

“Sex.”

Maddox laughed, squeezed her gently. “Sleep now,” he whispered.

At some point during their lovemaking, it had started to rain. The pleasant sound of it just outside the window combined with the comfort of his arms helped make her eyelids heavy. She wasn’t as worried about the fact he was a vampire as she had been earlier, though she knew there’d be other questions.

Held safe and warm as if she were cherished, instead of discarded because her client was done with her, Madeline drifted off into welcome sleep.

Chapter Eight

Maddox watched Madeline walk back to the manor in a gorgeous dress of deep blue, delivered just this morning from the seamstress. She carried Ivy on one hip and sang some song to her in a high lilting voice. Remembering the night before as he watched her walk away, he felt happy. He could still taste Madeline on his tongue, could still imagine the wet heat of her pussy clenched around him as she came.

He couldn’t wait until tonight to do it again, to do more.

It was a few seconds before he realized that he was whistling, some old tune he knew from centuries past. He enjoyed the peace of the moment, the contentment he hadn’t felt in… ages.

But his happiness was short-lived.

He’d have recognized the scent anywhere. Lycans smelled particularly strong and odorous -- to his kind anyway. But Vincent had a unique scent and Maddox caught it in the air.

In alarm, he began racing toward Madeline and the child, reaching her in a second. Her eyes were rounded in fright when he reached her. Probably from him materializing out of nowhere to her perception more than anything.

“Madeline, get in the house, now. Take Ivy with you and find Rick and Julia. Tell them Vincent is here. Go now.”

His tone was harsh to get his point across, but Madeline didn’t even flinch. She nodded and hurried off to do just what he’d said. If he hadn’t been so damned worried about where the werewolf bastard was at the moment, he would have been able to enjoy what felt a lot like her trusting him.

He followed until she was in the house and the door she’d carried the child through was closed behind her. Then he sped off, following the scent along the stone wall that ran along Rick’s manicured lawns until he reached the gate. He hopped over it, hissing. The bastard had just walked right through the entrance to his friend’s home.

Maddox fought back fury as he chased the scent along the narrow dirt road. Fury at himself for not killing the Lycan along with the human recruiter that day. Fury at Vincent for endangering them -- Madeline and Julia -- with his relentless pursuit of power.

Finally rage blinded him to realize that the scent trailed off at the edge of the wood about a mile away from the manor.

Then he froze. A trick? A diversion? If Maddox had been led out here to find nothing, what had he left behind for the others to face.

Madeline. Turning, he raced back using all of his preternatural strength and speed.

* * *

Madeline blew out an anxious breath as she watched Amy, the vampire serving girl, carry Ivy away to her father. She turned back to Julia, who she’d found immediately. The Lycan female wore the same look of concern that Maddox had. Rick, her mate, had gone for a meeting with his council and hadn’t returned.

“I’m sure Rick will return soon.” Madeline hoped to offer her comfort.

“Yeah.” Julia appeared to be sniffing the air. Roughly she grabbed Madeline by the wrist, pulling her behind her with a strength that shouldn’t have been surprising. “We’re not waiting for him or Maddox to get back. We’re going to check things out.”

Madeline swallowed hard but allowed herself to be pulled along.

When they reached the front doors to the manor, Madeline let Julia pull her through the door. The other woman stopped abruptly at the flowering shrubs off to one side of the huge entrance to the house, sniffing loudly. She released Madeline and began digging into the shrubs, emerging with a dark bag. Furiously she opened the bag, smelled the contents.

Turning, she held the bag up to Madeline.

“I know as a human your sense of smell isn’t as strong as mine. But do you think you could tell me if this scent is familiar?” Julia asked.

Madeline leaned close to the bag, taking a big whiff.

And she did recognize it. “It’s Vincent,” she told Julia, certain of it.

Julia’s green eyes widened, and then she nodded as if her suspicions had been confirmed. Grabbing Madeline’s wrist again, the other hand clutching the bag and its contents, Julia marched back into the manor. The door closed behind them with a third party following them.

Madeline gasped in fear until she realized that it was Maddox who had appeared.

“Nice, deadhead.” Julia glared at him. “Scare her even more.”

A low hiss came from Maddox, who appeared angry as he stepped around them and motioned for them to follow him. And they did, right into the elegant dining room where Madeline had first met Rick and Julia.

“There was a trail, his trail, all over the grounds. He walked right through the front door and took a stroll,” Maddox spat. “The trail died off about a mile down the road. And if I find that son of a bitch, I’m going to tear him apart slowly, painfully.”

Madeline flinched, trying not to think about that. She had no doubt that he could do it. But what if Vincent was stronger? What if Vincent hurt him?

“I don’t think he just walked in, took a stroll, and left,” Julia said slowly. “We may have bigger problems.” Without warning she tossed the black bag at him but he caught it easily.

“Vincent?” Maddox inhaled deeply, bringing the bag closer to his face.

“I found that in the shrubs right outside the front door,” Julia explained. “You follow me? You found one end of his trail and I found the other. My question is did he start here and end up in the woods? Or did he start in the woods…”

Maddox threw the bag across the room, hissing.

“The clothing in that bag belongs to Vincent,” Maddox growled. “But it wasn’t him in them. I can smell someone else on those clothes through the stink of mongrel --”

Julia’s glare was pure warning.

“Lycan,” he amended, “has all but obliterated it. Whoever wore these tried to lead me away.”

Julia nodded. “Rick is away right now.”

“Yes.” He nodded, his gaze riveted to Madeline. “Vincent must have seen… I underestimated him. He knows we took the recruiter away from him. He knows where we are. And you…” With that his gaze turned to Julia. “You’re in danger, Julia,” he said gravely. “And this is my fault. I’m sorry.”

Julia’s laugh was a dry, bitter huff. “You almost sound like you mean it.”

“He does mean it.” Rick’s voice echoed behind them. “I know as well as he does himself.” A meaningful glance passed between the two men as the handsome Spaniard joined their group.

“You have to get Julia out of here,” Maddox told him.

“We don’t know for certain that she’s the target,” Rick replied. “Perhaps it’s only vengeance he seeks. From what I know of him, through you, that’s likely the case.”

“But none of them know Julia is here. If they find her…”

“We will come up with a plan.” Rick placed a hand on Maddox’s shoulder.

I should go, Madeline thought. I can’t help them. I wish I could.

“Madeline,” Rick spoke directly to her now. “You can be of help. You know as much or more about Vincent than Maddox. Stay. This involves you too.”

Shock overrode the pleasure she felt at his including her. It was as if he’d heard exactly what she’d been thinking.

Maddox smiled apologetically.

Julia snickered. “You get used to it. Unless you’re in love with him. Then it sucks.”

“I did hear what you were thinking,” Rick explained. “I can read minds. It’s part of my abilities, if you want to call it that, as a vampire. It’s not necessarily fun for me either.”

He shot Julia a playful glance before turning his gaze back to Madeline. “I will tell you, Madeline, that you have one of the kindest minds I’ve ever unwittingly read. It’s a sharp mind too. Let’s put it to use. Let us form a plan.”

* * *

“They like you, you know,” Maddox said the moment they made it back to the room.

“Can you read minds too?”

“No, I can’t.” Maddox chuckled. “I didn’t get any special gifts like that when I joined the ranks of the undead.”

Madeline was relieved. She couldn’t imagine what life was like for Julia. To have the man she was in love with be able to read her thoughts?

But Maddox couldn’t read her mind and she wasn’t in love with him. She missed him when he wasn’t there and the thought that Vincent could appear and harm him bothered her greatly. But that was all.

Watching Maddox pull his sweater over his head to reveal his gorgeous upper body, Madeline walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His arms automatically closed around her.

“This is nice.” His smile took her breath away. “Do you want to eat first? At some point, we really need to arrange for you and Julia to take meals together since you both eat… human food.”

Madeline laughed at how awkwardly that came out. “I think I’d like that.” She meant it. “But I’m not hungry for food right now.”

His grin widened. “What are you hungry for?”

Taking a deep breath, she stretched up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. Maddox froze and she sank back onto her heels, unsure. “Sorry, I don’t really have a lot of experience with that,” she admitted.

His expression was apologetic. “I wasn’t expecting it. That’s all. But since you’re interested in learning, let me show you.” Lowering his head, he pressed his lips to hers, tenderly coaxing her to move her mouth against his.

It was a kiss meant to entice, to seduce. He angled his head to deepen the kiss and Madeline opened her mouth to him. Their tongues dueled as he cradled her head gently. She forgot to breathe; she felt light headed. And her body instantly went on alert, hoping for more of the delights he’d treated her to the night before.

His hand slid up into her hair and caressed her scalp until it tingled. All of her was tingling as she lost herself in the sensual web he was weaving around her. Heat flooded her body and desire unfurled in her center and began to spread through her in irresistible waves. Madeline relaxed into that kiss, realizing it was his attempt to relax her and get her ready for more. She had no idea a simple kiss could have that kind of power.

Maddox pulled her more tightly against him and his hands began to search out all of the sensitive places that now demanded his touch. She let him guide them to the bed, allowed him to lower her into its luxurious comfort.

“Am I getting better?” she asked when he broke the kiss to work on ridding himself of his clothing. He rolled them until she was the one on top.

“Somewhat,” he replied, but he was smiling. “Need a lot of practice.”

She could live with that.

He undressed with slow, graceful movements and she enjoyed just watching him. The muscular planes of his body were truly something to admire, all set in hard white flesh. His blond hair gleamed in the faint light of the room.

“What?” He turned to find her staring, but his smile never faded. “You’re staying dressed?”

Madeline shook her head, smiling back. She allowed him to pull the simple blue dress over her head and then strip away her undergarments. She giggled as he planted kisses all over her body as he revealed it. Wetness gathered between her thighs as she waited for him to stop playing. She was more than ready when he snatched her up and lifted her over his cock. He throbbed against the slick lips at her opening that were eager to pull him inside.

Madeline knew how to ride a man. Keeping her movements slow while she straddled him, she intended to drive him wild. She enjoyed him with a relaxed desire that surprised her. With a wet glide, his naked flesh pressed gently against hers. She moaned in delight, her pussy walls quivering. For once she was enjoying wanting pleasure for herself, not just calculating how to get the man off in a way that would ensure he’d pay her and come back for more.

Sensual heat flooded her and his cool skin moved against her breasts and legs in a way that pushed her pleasure higher. With a single smooth stroke, his cock slid upward into her until his balls met the sensitive flesh of her pussy. Madeline groaned at the pleasure of having him inside her. She surrendered completely when he began to move within her, angling his cock to fill her pussy in ways that had her moving her hips in rhythm with his.

His mouth caressed hers in a powerful kiss. His hands were soft whispers all over her body. His cock was buried so deeply within her that she didn’t know where she ended and he began and didn’t care. She rode it out, the rising cadence of her cries filling the room while her pussy milked the hard, steely length of him. The sound of their bodies slapping together increased in time with the harsh rasps of her breathing while Madeline rode him.

Her belly tightened and her pussy walls clenched around him hard. Close to the release she craved, she was thrilled when he thrust in her harder and faster. She threw her head back, clawing at his chest as the exquisite pleasure of orgasm ripped through her body, waves of ecstasy crashing over her. She thrashed wildly above him, lost in a storm of carnal delight that she never wanted to end.

Coming down from her incredible release, she was aware of falling back onto the bed. Maddox wasn’t done and continued to relentlessly fuck her, his weight pressing her into the bed with her body still quivering all around him. He pulled her legs up around his hips, deepening his penetration until she felt impossibly filled with him. The position had her clit rubbing delicately against him with each stroke. Pleasure curled hard in her center and she wanted more.

Maddox’s movements were powerful and controlled, a smooth flexing of his hips. Her fingers clutched in his hair and she wrapped her legs around his slim waist. He settled more of his weight onto her and she grabbed him, pulling him to her for a passionate kiss. When he began to thrust his tongue inside her mouth with a rhythm that matched his thrusting cock, she thought she’d lose her mind.

Madeline came again, the release stronger than the one before. Her pussy convulsed around him with incredible force. His body tightened above her while she screamed at the extremely pleasurable sensations that made her feel like she’d completely blow apart.

Madeline couldn’t remember feeling more satisfied as she watched him throw back his head and growl out his release. He erupted inside her, over and over, and she realized it pleased her to make a man happy. With every touch, he demonstrated he actually wanted her. Every kiss was a promise that he didn’t mean to discard her anytime soon.

He finally collapsed on the bed next to her and pulled her to him, cradling her against his silent chest.

Once she finally caught her breath, her mind drifted back to the plan they’d made with Rick and Julia. “Do you think it will work?” she asked.

“Everything will be fine.” His tone was ever confident.

“I don’t want any of you to get hurt. Vincent is…”

“We’ll deal with Vincent.”

“But, Maddox --”

His lips claimed hers in a kiss that wiped everything from her mind but him.

Chapter Nine

The wait was nerve wracking and it went on and on. It was the second day and everyone was in place. Rick had staged leaving his home unattended for the second straight day. Maddox strolled the grounds at intervals because that’s what Vincent would expect them to do -- be vigilant.

Julia was staying hidden as she was told. But if Madeline had learned one thing about her in such a short span of time, it was that Julia had little patience. She could almost picture the beautiful redhead pacing like a wolf in her cage, ready to tear the walls down.

Madeline herself wasn’t doing a lot better. Anticipation ate at her stomach and made it ache. She tended the flowerbeds around the manor endlessly, her part to play, hoping her presence would provoke Vincent and make her his target. After all, she was alive and could possibly know something of what happened that day in the market when he lost the human recruiter.

A loud huffing exhale from behind made her jump. A slim shadow in the fading evening sun had her swallowing hard. When she turned, she found it wasn’t Vincent but Julia who stood above her.

“I can’t take it anymore today,” she declared with her hands on her hips. “And from the look of it, you can’t either. You look sick for a human. No offense.”

Madeline felt sick. “None taken.” Madeline stopped acting like she was gardening and she turned where she sat on the grass and Julia joined her.

“I wonder what the hell he’s waiting for.” Julia’s tone was heavy with the dread and aggravation they all felt. “Why doesn’t he come?”

“He never seemed to be the impulsive type,” Madeline explained. “Quick tempered, yes. But he never seemed to let his temper take over.”

“Well, you did mention that,” Julia gave her. Then she chuckled. “He’s a rare one. Most of us, wolf kind, do have that whole temper thing going. And most of us, me included, do let it get to our heads. Rage now, think later. Ask Rick. Wait. Don’t ask Rick.”

Madeline smiled at that. “He loves you, though.”

“Yes, he does.”

“What’s it like for you?” The words spilled out before Madeline could stop them. “You’re so different from him.”

Julia cocked a red brow at her, but her expression was friendly. “Not a lot different than it is for you and Maddox, I imagine. They are both… undead, immortal. They won’t age and they won’t die eventually like we will.”

Madeline had thought of that. Then she’d stopped because she was afraid to think that way. Maddox enjoyed her now but to develop feelings for him would only end in pain. The only problem was, she was a little too late. “So you have the lifespan of a human?” she asked. “Or…”

Julia nodded. “A little longer. Some of our elderly have made it to a hundred thirty, a hundred forty years. It’s not bad. But like you, I’m mortal.”

“But you’re different,” Madeline pointed out. “Rick and Maddox were once human like me. You’re an entirely different being.”

Julia’s curiosity showed on her face. “What?”

Madeline swallowed hard, not knowing how to word her question.

“Come on,” Julia encouraged her. “You’re living with vampires and werewolves and you haven’t gone running for the hills once. Don’t let me down now.”

“Okay. I was just wondering… could Rick turn you into what he is?” Madeline immediately knew from Julia’s face that she hadn’t introduced a new thought. Still, all the mirth dropped from Julia’s expression.

“He could and we’ve thought about it. I love him. I’d like to be with him forever. But I’m not ready just yet. When I become what he is, I lose the wolf. And I’d do that for him. I will do that for him. It’s a big step. He says he understands. I just hope he really does.”

Madeline reached out to clasp one of Julia’s hands. It felt so warm, but then, she was becoming accustomed to touching Maddox. “Don’t give up. There’s time. And one day when you’re ready you’ll be with him, as a vampire…”

“I’d rather splatter your pretty brains on the ground than to see one of us become one of them.”

Madeline froze at the sound of Vincent’s voice but the terror came when she saw him press the muzzle of his gun to the back of Julia’s head. “Vincent,” Madeline whispered as his cold gaze locked on her.

“You don’t look surprised to see me.” His dark eyes were hard and mean. His body tensed in steely resolve.

“You’d don’t look surprised to see me either,” she responded. Where that pitiful bit of courage came from, she couldn’t have said.

“I’m not. I was watching that day while your vampire friend ruined everything for me. Got you out of there.”

Madeline’s heart crashed in her chest as she watched his gloved finger twitch around the trigger of the handgun he held to Julia’s head. She knew she couldn’t let him hurt her friend. “Please, Vincent,” Madeline pleaded. “She’s not part of this. Point the gun at me.”

To her great surprise, he did just that. “You’re right. As much as it makes me sick,” he fairly spat the word sick, “to see one of my kind with one of those fucking things, she is my ticket back into the good graces of the pack.”

“What?” Julia looked up at him now, indignant. “How am I going to get you anything?”

Madeline couldn’t help wondering, as well.

“I think you know.” He spoke to Julia. “But as usual, Madeline is clueless.”

With the gun pointed at her face, Madeline knew the answer wasn’t as important as their survival. She was afraid to look around and see if anyone was with Vincent. Afraid if she moved, she would give away Rick or Maddox’s position. And if Maddox got hurt… Keep him talking, she decided. “I don’t understand,” Madeline managed. “Why do you need her? I thought it was me you wanted.”

“You have no value,” Vincent shot at her. “You never did. You weren’t very exciting in bed. It’s fitting you ended up with a dead guy really.”

Madeline only nodded, not about to rise to the insult. Pride was a luxury a prostitute couldn’t afford.

“You’re worse than useless, actually. You cost me a huge career opportunity, Madeline.” Vincent’s grip tightened around the handle of his gun. “You cost me that cult member. With him, I would have gotten a nice promotion and would have gotten off the streets.”

“H-how did I cost you that?” she had to ask. “I didn’t even know why I was there.”

Julia’s eyes flashed at her in surprise. The other woman was probably wondering when she’d grown a spine.

“But your lover did.” Vincent’s smile was cold. “The blond one. I saw him a few times, lurking in the shadows. I had no idea he was a vampire. I didn’t realize how involved the bastards were in all of this. He’s lucky I allowed him to live.”

Madeline’s heart sped. Allowed him to live? Could Vincent kill Maddox so easily then? No, she couldn’t allow that to happen. But how to stop it?

“I should have killed him just for being stupid,” Vincent went on. “Turns out it wasn’t me he was watching after all. He was watching you. A whore.”

She swallowed hard, anxiety eating at her insides.

“You ruined everything. And when I found you, came here to return the favor, I found a way to get it all back. Julia here.”

“Julia?” Madeline was surprised she could hear her own voice over the thundering of her heart. “How?”

“She didn’t tell you?” Vincent cut his gaze to Julia and quickly back. “The humans are looking for her. Seems she was a guest of theirs once and they’d like her to come for another visit since her last stay was such a success.”

Real fear haunted Julia’s eyes and Madeline felt her stomach sink. What did that mean? What had the human cult, whoever they were, done to her?

It didn’t take Madeline long to figure out he meant to give Julia to the human cult for his pack. In exchange for what? Julia was priceless to Rick. And to her. Madeline was a mere human and a whore, as Vincent had pointed out. Julia had befriended her, no questions asked.

Hatred for her former Lycan client bubbled to the surface. Vincent stood there with his gun in all his bullying glory. He was a fine one to even think about exposing the weaknesses of others. He had a weakness of his own that she only knew about because of serving him as a prostitute.

Rick! He would be close by, and he could read her mind. Was he close enough to read her thoughts now? She had no idea how it worked. Taking a chance, she thought as hard as she could. He’s got a scar at his ribs on the right side. He said the wound nearly killed him. He couldn’t stand for me to touch it. It might help you.

“You think you’ve got what it takes to deliver me to the humans?” Julia smiled, challenging him.

Vincent grinned. “I do. First I’ll kill you.” He spoke to Madeline now, raising the gun and pulling the trigger.

Madeline’s human eyes weren’t able to capture everything that happened in the next second. She heard the gun go off and flinched, but felt nothing. It was like being in the eye of a storm, but she could see little. Even as she could feel the air rush over her, a furious storm of shadows, she could hear Vincent’s cries of pain and his howls of rage.

When things slowed down enough for Madeline’s eyes to catch up, relief flooded her to see Vincent lying on the ground, a thin stream of blood running from the corner of his mouth. Maddox pulled his fist from the hole in Vincent’s body that he’d obviously put there, using the weakness to kill the Lycan. He’d struck in the location of Vincent’s scar.

Shocked as she was by the scene, Madeline realized she was looking around two people to even see it. Julia was crouched in front of her in a defensive posture. Rick stood before them both protectively.

When Rick turned around, his dark eyes gleamed as his gaze fixed on Julia. Then he glanced at Madeline. “Thank you for that timely bit of information. Now isn’t it time you stopped thinking of yourself as useless, Madeline?”

“Are you okay?” Julia turned to her too. “You didn’t get hit? I heard the gun.”

Madeline shook her head even as Julia looked her over.

“The gun went off when I threw it away. Far away.” Maddox wiped some of the blood from his hand on his slacks as he approached and Rick and Julia moved to let him through to Madeline. “Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine,” Madeline assured him, easing off the ground on shaking legs.

He wrapped his arms around her and it was at that moment she realized that she was trembling. Pulling her against him, he cradled her against his silent chest. Just the slight sound of his breathing reached her ears.

“We need to take care of anyone Vincent might have brought with him,” Rick said while Madeline allowed her eyes to slide closed. “I’ll get a couple of the servants and take care of it.”

“I’m coming too,” Julia announced.

“No, you’re not, love. Stay with Maddox and Madeline until I get back.”

“I’ll keep her safe,” Maddox promised, his voice a deep rumble in Madeline’s ear.

Julia snorted. “Thank you, Maddox. I guess. But if you expect me to be nice to you now, you can forget it.” There was a note of affection in her tone, however. “It would just be too weird.”

Maddox laughed. “I agree.” Then he whispered in Madeline’s ear, “I’ll keep you safe too. Always.”

In that moment, all of the survival tactics Madeline had adopted in life began to come apart. She believed him and she trusted him. Not because she had to. Not because he paid her.

Because she wanted to. And she loved him. She couldn’t deny that any longer.

* * *

Maddox knew if his existence ended that moment, that second, he’d die a happy man. Madeline straddled his hips, her heated wetness clenched around his cock. She was so tight, so hot. She’d drive him mad and he didn’t care. He loved the way her breath hitched when he began to tease the tight bud of her clit. She looked so beautiful with her wispy hair disheveled around her angel’s face. Her skin was flushed a deep pink and her firm, high breasts looked so enticing…

Madeline’s high breathy cries rang out through the room as she came and he pushed into her faster and harder even still. He wanted to join her but he didn’t want it to end. He knew he’d never get enough of her as he pushed into her again and again.

Maddox felt as if he’d exploded when he finally came, careful not to clasp her in his passion so he wouldn’t accidentally hurt her. As he came down, he was aware of her snuggling against him, resting across his chest like a trusting kitten. He stroked her hair, happier than any man -- or vampire -- had a right to be.

“What are you smiling about?”

Glancing up he found Madeline smiling at him, her amethyst eyes twinkling. “Something Rick told me.”

Her eyes rounded then, her hand coming up to hide her face from him.

He easily brushed it away.

“No!”

“What?” he asked innocently, wanting her to say it since she obviously had a good guess as to what exactly Rick had said.

“Did he tell you that I… I mean, did it have anything to do with…”

“You? Yes.”

“I was afraid of that,” she whispered, her eyes closed now.

“What could he tell me about you that could be so bad?” he taunted her.

Madeline groaned.

“Could it be that you love me?”

Her eyes flew open at that. She sat up and to his alarm she looked panicked. “I’m so sorry… I --”

He silenced her with a finger. “Why are you sorry? I love you, too.” It felt so damned good to admit that. “When Vincent told you I’d been watching you, he was telling the truth. I’ve been in love with you for some time.”

“So that’s why you saved me?” Comprehension dawned on her face.

“Yes.”

“You really love me?”

How could she doubt him? “You can’t tell?” He loved the innocence in her expression. Had no one loved her as she deserved in her life? “Well, then I’ll have to spend a very long time proving that to you. I do love you, Madeline.”

“A long time?” She smiled at him, still not totally believing him. He could tell.

Maddox nodded and held her to him. They had as long as she wanted.

Isabella Jordan

Isabella Jordan is the alter ego of an otherwise stressed out web designer, programmer, and internet junkie. When she’s not trying to perfect her own personal caffeine IV drip, she enjoys spending time with her family, doing volunteer work, and writing. She loves creating new stories of all kinds and chatting with readers and friends.

Isabella would love to hear from readers! Visit her on the web at http://isabellajordan.com.

Table of Contents

Start