Page 25 of Sun-Kissed Fangs
“Pay attention,” Harper whispered. “Just feel what I’m doing. Andrelax.”
Her voice was pure tease. Maya would have matched the provoking tone, but the sudden proximity stopped any clever responses from forming.
Citrus perfume curled through the air. Fresh and sharp, and her attention fixed on it further when her fingers brushed over Harper’s wrist. Feeling her pulse thump under her skin.
“Alright. I’mrelaxed.” Maya grabbed the club handle, covering Harper’s hands, and put her mouth right by her ear. “Now what?”
Rather than follow her own advice, Harper tensed, and a sweet smell mingled with her perfume. One Maya had sensed before, but never from Harper herself.
She had gotten used to fear, but its distant cousin she had less personal experience with. She’d liked it well enough when she’d produced it before. Found it a pleasant addition to everything else that was going on. But even though desire always brought a saccharine taste to the air, it had never been sweeter than when it came from this woman.
When Harper didn’t move, Maya pulled back the club—guiding Harper’s hands along at the same time—and tapped the ball. Instead of flying out of bounds, it rolled slowly over the track and tipped into the hole.
“See?” Harper looked over her shoulder, putting their lips only inches apart. “Easy…”
Neither of them moved. Harper’s breathing stilled, her pulse increasing in speed as her eyes fell to Maya’s mouth. Settling there.
Then, her attention shifted. The scent of desire vanished, a hint of smoke replacing it.
Turning, Maya followed her gaze. The place was spacious, with plenty of people roaming around. Smiling families, tipsy college students, laughing children.
Amidst all that merriment, two men stood out. Both were fit and rugged, wearing clothing ill-suited for the cold season, and leaning against the far wall. And both of them werestaringat Harper.
Maya recognized one of them. The redhead. She’d seen him havefunat the Lucky Penny only a few days before, when his fondling made a woman run away from him. She might just be telling herself as much, but his gaze seemed a little hungrier than the cool stare of his companion.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Harper straightened and turned her back to the onlookers. Maya stepped forward, positioning herself between Harper and the unwelcome audience.
“Know them?”
“Sort of. The creepy redhead is Booker. He’s one of Kieran’s cop buddies, which is why he’s here, I’m guessing. Kieran knows I like this place. He knows everywhere I like to go.”
“Everywhere?” Maya’s eyes darted back to Harper. “He knows where you live?”
“We dated for a couple of months, so yeah, obviously.” She let go of the golf club, all but shoving it to the floor. “He made enough post-breakup visits that I don’t go back there anymore. I’m staying with Trish until I can find a new place he won’t know about. But that clearly doesn’t matter. I can’t go anywhere now, since he has his fucking brutes surveilling me.”
They weren’t there tosurveil. Going by how their focus had shifted to Maya, the only reason they kept their distance was because they didn’t want to upset the lethal Chains daywalker.
“Can we go?” Harper said tiredly, pulling on her jacket. “Getting stalked is taking the fun out of this. I only like an audience if they’re paying for the privilege.”
She started walking towards the exit, sneering as she went. Her scowling at nothing meant she didn’t spot the two men sticking their heads together, whispering.
They would probably follow them out. Shadow them and look for an opportunity. Wait for Harper to be alone.
Maya took Harper’s hand and hurried towards the door. Harper let out a surprised yelp as she got pulled forward.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Getting rid of them.” In her periphery, the two men rushed towards the exit, slowed down by rowdy family groups and wandering service staff.
“Getting rid of… Maya, what exactly—”
Maya placed a finger over her lips, killing the question but not the confusion still playing in Harper’s eyes. It only grew more apparent when Maya led her outside and into a small alleyway close to the entrance, pressing her up against the wall.
Most aspects of her new nature were more curses than blessings, but right then Maya was grateful for them. Vampires could wear darkness like a cloak, causing watching eyes to glide past rather than linger.
The ability was useless against therians. They could catch a vampire’s scent with ease, so the darkness offered no refuge against a roaming pack of wolves. But Maya was like a void to them. As she leaned so far into Harper’s spacethat her perfume tickled her nose, she hoped that protection would extend to people near her.
Seconds later, the entrance doors slammed open, and the two men came rushing out. They scanned the street and then set off in separate directions. The redhead ran right past the mouth of the alley, and Maya pressed herself harder against the wall, covering Harper from view.
