The Shadow Zone 2: Winning Madeline (5 page)

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.