His kiss was one of possession and passion. No man had ever kissed her like that, with such fervor, such determination. And yet such tenderness and reverence—as if he worshipped her. She gave herself over to the delicious feeling of being desired by a passionate man. Her entire being hummed from his kiss, and she felt herself become aroused once more.

All the pain she’d been through was forgotten. This last episode had been her worst by far. Never had she felt the fever so intensely. What had Gabriel called it? Heat? She didn’t know what he’d meant by it, but she’d sensed even in her delirium that her body had been burning. She would have to ask Drake about it later, but now she didn’t want to waste the moment.

She was in Gabriel’s arms, arms that wrapped around her back and held her to him with such fierceness she could barely breathe. It didn’t matter. She didn’t need to breathe when she could inhale his scent instead. Just like his blood, the taste of his lips was drugging. Her body responded to him so naturally, she couldn’t have pulled away from him even if she’d wanted to.

This was the man she wanted to make love to. She instinctively knew that he would be the one who could fill that gaping void that she’d always felt when having sex with other men. Nobody had ever been able to completely satisfy her cravings, nor had she even been able to truly express to anybody what she needed. She’d never felt safe enough with anybody to admit her darkest desires, but in Gabriel’s arms she felt secure and cherished.

When he released her lips, she saw him smile at her.

“We were so worried about you.”

“I get these fevers, but this time it was worse than ever before.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“You know? How?”

He stroked his palm over her cheek. “We looked at your medical file.”

She opened her mouth to voice a comment about Drake’s lack of ethics, but Gabriel put his finger to her lips.

“I’m sorry, but I forced Drake to tell me. Anything that concerns you concerns me.”

“Why?”

He placed a soft kiss on her lips before he answered. “Because I’m only happy when I know you’re safe and you’re well. I care about you—a lot.”

Maya felt her heart swell at his admission. “You do?”

“More than I can tell you.”

She took a deep breath and let the knowledge sink in. It felt good. For a moment, she merely smiled at him, then she brought her thoughts back to other things. “Didn’t you say that vampires don’t get sick?”

“Yes, that’s true for all of us. But the doctor doesn’t think it’s an illness. He thinks it’s heat—the way a feline would go into sexual heat during her cycle.”

“But I’m not a cat—I’m a vampire now. And Yvette told me that vampire females are infertile. So it doesn’t make sense that I would go into heat. What for?”

Gabriel stared at her. “Yvette told you that?”

“You mean it’s not true?” Was there hope after all?

“No, it’s true.” He swallowed. “But I should have been the one telling you this. In fact, I should explain things to you. There are so many things nobody’s told you yet. I should be doing that. I’m sorry, I haven’t so far.”

She pushed back the disappointment—so she probably was sterile. Hopefully, she would come to terms with it one day. Would Gabriel? “It’s not your fault. I didn’t give you much of a chance to explain things to me.”

He pulled her closer to his chest. “How about I tell you now? Or are you tired?”

“No, I’m not tired.”

“Good. Where shall I start?” he asked.

“How about at the beginning?”

“The beginning?”

Sixteen

Maya played with the buttons of Gabriel’s shirt, easing one after the other open before she slipped her hand onto his naked chest.

“Are you trying to distract me? Because if you are, you’re doing an excellent job,” he said in a low voice. Damn, his voice was sexy.

“How did it all start? The vampires. How did vampires come to be?”

Gabriel took her hand and clasped it with his, stopping her from stroking his chest but keeping it pressed against his warm skin. “There are many legends, or course, but much of the lore in popular fiction is false. The belief among our kind is much different. It’s said that the first vampire was an evil man who made a pact with the Devil and drew the wrath of God onto him. He was a misguided man destroyed by greed. He wanted to rule the world, but rule it with violence. When God learned of his plan, he cursed him to walk the night, so his own creatures would be safe from him by day.”