Immortal Danger (Night Watch 0.5)

Shit. Her knees almost buckled on that one. He loved her? Her pulse raced now, far too fast. Her hands were soaked with sweat and a wild, raw pleasure filled her heart.

He loved her.

"I know you-you don't love me, not yet, but, dammit, we've got a hell of a lot of years ahead of us, and if you'll just give me a chance-" Adam broke off, drawing a deep breath. "One day, one night at a time, Maya. That's all I'm asking."

One night at a time. She could handle that, but Adam, well, he deserved more. Stop being afraid.

It was time she put her past to rest, and fought for the future she'd longed for. Her fingers curled over his. "Adam…"

He flinched.

She shook her head. "No, please, listen." Ah, but she still didn't know what to say. "Shit, Adam, I-I care for you." Care. Far too weak a word.

A muscle flexed along his jaw. "Like you care for your friend Sean? Or for Cammie? Or for-"

"No! Look, I worry about you. All the time. I mean, I know you're a freaking dragon and can pretty much kick everyone's ass, but I worry about you. I want to protect you. And I want you. I want you so much but I also, dammit, I just want to hold you." She was screwing this up.

A frown lined his brow.

"I like it when you hold me," she whispered and the admission was one of the hardest she'd ever made. "I like it when you smile, even when you get all arrogant and ass**le-like on me, I still like it."

His eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

Did the man want her to have absolutely no pride? Fine. If that was what he needed, then-"I'm saying I think I love you, dragon."

Savage satisfaction flashed across his face. "Good, because I'm f**king insane for you." His lips took hers, the kiss hard and deep. She could taste his hunger, his lust.

It matched hers perfectly.

But then, Adam had matched her from the beginning.

Dragon.

Warrior.

Lover.

And with a soul as dark as her own.

She wanted to get him somewhere dark and quiet where they could be alone and naked and she could make certain this wasn't some kind of dream.

But first…"Hold the thought, Slick," she murmured against his lips. "I got a little bit of business to take care of here."

His head lifted, and he glanced back at the warehouse. "What did the ass**le do?"

"Messed with the wrong cop." A good cop, one who just hadn't known how to handle a demon.

"Huh." Adam slowly stepped away from her, but he didn't release her hand. "Then lead the way, sweetheart. We'll take care of him, then I'll take you."

A quiver of excitement heated her blood. "That a promise, dragon?"

"Vampire, think of it more as a guarantee."

Maya smiled at him, reached for her gun, and got ready to kick ass.

It was, after all, one of the things she did best.

It had been a near miss, Adam realized as he stalked behind Maya into the darkened building.

She'd nearly escaped him-and left him in the darkness all alone.

But he'd managed to convince her that they had something together, and she was willing to give him a chance.

Willing to give them a chance.

She was still afraid. Maya didn't trust easily, and love for her, well, that would never be easy, either.

But as he'd said, they had plenty of time. Time for him to prove to her that he was exactly the man she needed.

Yes, they had plenty of days. Plenty of nights.

He could be patient.

After all, he'd already waited a thousand years to find her.

He smiled as he watched her kick open a door, shattering wood. The demon was running from her, and Maya was telling him that he had two options.

"Option one," she snarled, "I kick your ass and then watch you drag your sorry carcass out of L.A. And you stay away from my cops."

The demon backed into a corner. Its claws were up, but Adam could smell his fear.

Apparently, Maya's reputation had preceded her.

A tough bitch to stake.

An unstoppable killer.

And the woman who could tame a dragon.

"What's the second option?" the L7 asked, voice high.

Maya spared Adam a glance over her shoulder. "My dragon gets to show you how hot his fire burns."

The demon began to shake and then he started making promises, fast. Swearing he'd never so much as look at a cop, or any human, again.

Maya's words whispered through his mind. My dragon. He liked that. A lot.

Because she was sure as hell his.

A perfect mate.

A woman who could touch the fire and never feel the burn.

Maya Black .

The vampire who held the heart of a dragon in the palm of her hand.

Eternity with her was gonna be one hell of an adventure.

Blood, sex, and fire.

He could hardly wait.