The Shadow Zone 2: Winning Madeline (9 page)

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.”