She nodded. “It all came back when he touched me. Gabriel, he’ll never give up. He’s obsessed. And he’ll stop at nothing. If you knew the things he’s done.”
Rage boiled up in Gabriel. “Tell me what he did,” he bit out through clenched teeth. If that bastard had harmed a single hair on her head, he would draw and quarter him. He’d torture his sorry ass until Ricky begged to be killed.
Maya blinked her eyes shut, then opened them again. “He was about to rape me when he got interrupted. That’s when he wiped my memory for the first time.”
Gabriel gasped, disgust rolling off him. As gently as he could manage, he stroked over Maya’s back. “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. I wish your memory hadn’t come back.”
“Frankly, I’m glad it did. At least now I know one thing for sure.” She pulled back and locked eyes with him. “Despite what he claims, I never let him touch me. I was never intimate with him.”
He felt himself rejoice at the knowledge that Ricky had never laid claim to her. “Baby, I’m so glad for your own sake. But I’m still going to kill him.”
“I’m not sure how he managed to keep all this from you and your friends. Did nobody have any suspicions?”
Gabriel had wondered the same, but he now knew with certainty what Ricky must have done. “He used his gift, his gift to dispel doubts. When I went over the list of vampire males, who had no alibi for the time of the attack, Zane was adamant that Ricky was in the clear even though he had no conclusive alibi. I was suspicious of it, but somehow my doubts disappeared just as soon as I wanted to raise them. Ricky must have been near. He must have been watching me and Zane and interfered with his mental gift.”
Maya nodded. “I think he did the same to me. I had an uneasy feeling when you introduced me to him in the kitchen, but the feeling went away. And then I was so distracted by the fever that I couldn’t think clearly anyway.”
“He played us all. But that’s over now. I can guarantee you that Amaury has already mobilized the troops. They’ll be out looking for him.”
“During daytime?” Maya gave him a doubting look.
“Yes. We have plenty of human bodyguards who are loyal to us. They’ll be out looking for him now. He won’t be able to move.”
“Let’s hope so.” She circled her arms around him and snuggled into his chest.
Gabriel shelved her chin on his palm and dropped his head. Maya met him halfway. The moment their lips met, warmth flooded through him. For the first time in the last hour he felt at ease. He captured her lips and slid his tongue into her mouth, stroking against hers in one smooth sweep. When her body pressed against him in the most trusting way he’d ever felt a woman, he felt himself harden—and this time he could distinctly feel both his cocks. The awareness reminded him of what he needed to tell her.
He severed the kiss and looked at her surprised face. “I have to tell you something.”
A small frown line built between her brows, almost as if she was afraid of what he wanted to tell her. “Yes?”
“About what the witch found out.” He hesitated. Would she welcome the news? He hoped she would, because if she didn’t, there was nothing he could change about it. His body was what it was: that of a satyr, and as such, he was endowed with two penises. He could only hope that if she truly was a satyr too, her instincts would tell her to accept him.
Maya pulled away and turned slightly, avoiding looking at him. Curiosity rose in him. “I told you it doesn’t matter if it can’t be removed. I’m okay with it.”
Gabriel put his hand on her arm and turned her back to look at him. It was time for that talk he’d postponed, because he’d been at a loss of how to explain everything to her in two sentences. Now they had all the time in the world. “I know you told me that. And we’ve already established you actually want the thing to stay because you’re scared. Let’s talk about that.”
***
Maya felt his warm hand and looked up to meet his gaze. “Once you’re normal again, you’ll want somebody else, not me.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said to you earlier? That I love you.”
The words felt good, but still she couldn’t believe them. “Yes, you said that, but you also said you want a child. Once you realize that you could have anybody when your deformity is gone, then why wouldn’t you want to be with somebody who can give you children?”
Before she knew what was happening, Gabriel pulled her into his arms. “I don’t care about that,” he said gruffly. “All I ever wanted out of life is a wife who loves me and accepts me for what I am. Becoming a father would have been a bonus, but I don’t care about that, not enough. Do you really think I would give up this chance at happiness merely because we won’t be able to have children?”