Gabriel's Mate

“Gabriel, I don’t know what to say,” she stammered. Was she blushing? Could a vampire blush? She hoped not, because if she could, her cheeks would be a deep red, as red as Gabriel’s blood.

There—it was all she could think of: his blood, his mouth, his hands on her, the way his erection had pressed against her. Another hot flush brought her to her senses. She could not turn into a quivering mess as if she were some virgin.

“I want to apologize,” he said. “I shouldn’t have run out like that.”

She waved him off. She didn’t want apologies. What she wanted to know was whether he’d felt something when he’d kissed her, or whether it had just been a typical male reaction. Did he like her? Did he want more from her? Suddenly Yvette’s warning words rang in her ears: a vampire male wanted to bond with a human woman who could bear him children. All she was good for was sex. Was that how Gabriel saw her too?

She cast him a quick glance, but couldn’t work up the courage to ask. “It’s fine.” Then she cleared her throat. “You called me?”

“Yes, will you join us in the kitchen please?”

Maya sensed the other vampire the moment she took a step toward the kitchen. She shook off an uneasy feeling, walked through the door that Gabriel held open for her and forced a smile. The man who was casually leaning against the kitchen counter was a quarter foot shorter than Gabriel. His red hair was slightly curly and his eyes were a dull brown, not the sparkling brown Gabriel’s eyes were. Did she have to compare every man to Gabriel?

Straightening her spine, she glanced at Gabriel, who’d come back into the kitchen behind her and gave him a questioning look.

“This is Ricky O’Leary. He’s the Operations Director of Scanguards, and he’s offered to help us find the rogue.”

Maya stretched out her hand and shook his. “Nice to meet you,” she said automatically. When she pulled her hand back, she felt a fraction of a second’s hesitation from him to let her go. He was looking at her just like that bald vampire, Zane, had.

Damn, did they all see her as fresh meat for sex?

She felt Gabriel step closer to her before he addressed her again. “I think we might have another way to get a lead on the rogue. But we’ll need your help with this.”

“Sure. But I thought you’d already looked at all my memories and found nothing.” What else he needed from her, she didn’t know. If she knew anything else, she would have already told him. She wanted that asshole found more than anybody else.

“Yes, your memories. But how about your friends’?” With a cryptic smile he continued, “We need to know which of your friends you might have told about him. See, he wiped your memory, but he can’t know who you told about him. It might help us identify him.”

“Great idea, Gabriel. I hadn’t thought of that,” Ricky praised.

Gabriel put his hand on her forearm. Why did he have to touch her like that? Didn’t he realize that his touch burned her skin like a hot iron? Had he no idea that one touch by him made her want his hand on every part of her body?

“Maya, can you tell us who you might have told about him? If you were dating him, and then rejecting him, would you have discussed him with one of your girlfriends?”

“There are only two people I would discuss men with: Paulette and Barbara. Those are the only two I was really close to. I’m pretty sure I would have mentioned a date to either one of them. And if I rejected him, and he was some jerk or something, you can be sure that we spent an entire evening over a bottle of wine bitching about him.”

Gabriel gave her a surprised look, but Maya merely shrugged. It’s what women did. Didn’t he know that?

Ricky cleared his throat. “Well, that’s great. Why don’t I start with them? Let me have their full names and where I can find them, and I’ll go see what they know. I’m sure it’ll put us on the right track.”

“Good plan,” Gabriel agreed. “Make sure you’re not too conspicuous. We don’t want anybody suspecting anything. They don’t know what happened to Maya, and we don’t want them asking any questions.”

“I’m not an amateur, as you well know. Trust me, I’ll take care of it,” Ricky assured him and looked at Maya. “So, where can I find your two friends?”

She reached for a notepad on the counter. “Here. I’ll write it down for you. Paulette is easier to get a hold off. Her schedule is pretty regular, so at night you’ll probably find her at home.” She scribbled her friends’ addresses on the pad. “Barbara has quite an irregular shift, so if she’s not at home, you’ll find her at the hospital.” She looked up at Gabriel. “Shouldn’t I maybe call them and talk to them?”