Gabriel's Mate by Tina Folsom

willing to have Zane protect him had to be completely loony if anybody asked her.
    “That’s how I started out, but these days I don’t do any fieldwork anymore. I now run the operations in New York,” Gabriel corrected.
    For some reason his statement made her feel disappointed. Why should it matter to her where he lived? Wasn’t it better that he lived in New York and would soon be physically removed from her temptation? At least then she could come to terms with the hunger she was fighting. Even now, she could barely stop herself from attacking him to drink his blood. And the closer she was to him, the worse it got. Maybe if he was back in New York she could find a way to deal with this.
    “Maya.” Gabriel’s voice jolted her.
    “What?”
    “I asked whether I can have permission to delve into your memories.”
     All three vampires looked at her expectantly. “How do you do that?” The idea that he wanted to somehow probe around in her head didn’t sit well with her. What if he saw things she didn’t want him to see? Would he see that she lusted after his blood? And if he found out, what would he do about it? Lock her up so she couldn’t attack him?
    “It’s a psychic gift I have,” Gabriel explained calmly, “I can reach inside a person’s mind and see their memories. It won’t hurt.”
    Maya wrapped her arms around her waist. “Does that mean you can read my thoughts?”
    He shook his head. “No. I can’t read minds. I can only see memories of events the way the person saw them with their eyes. I can’t see what a person was feeling or thinking.”
    Relief washed through her. At least this sounded less like a violation than she had first suspected. “Fine. Go ahead. But I’m telling you, I don’t remember anything else.”
    “We’ll see.”
    Gabriel sat down next to her on the couch. It only intensified the scent of his blood. “I can do it remotely without touching you, but it works more effectively if I can put my hands on you.”
    His statement made her flush. She felt blood pumping through her veins at warp speed. If he touched her, would she drag him toward her and sink her fangs into him? Maya swallowed hard and willed her voice to sound disinterested when she answered him. “Sure, you can touch me if that helps.”
    “Thank you.”
    Maya moistened her dry lips. She felt the heat in the room more intensely now, but it was nothing compared to what hit her when Gabriel took hold of her hands. A searing bolt of electricity shot through her body, and she jerked involuntarily.
    “Relax, Maya. It won’t hurt. I promise.” His voice was soothing, but it did nothing to ease the uproar in her body.
    She clenched her jaw shut, and for the first time she was truly aware of her fangs. They itched to descend and lengthen. She closed her eyes and inhaled to try and make herself relax. But it had the opposite effect. All she could smell was Gabriel’s masculine scent and the richness of his blood, a mixture of expensive wood and the distinctive scent of bergamot.
    The glands in her mouth salivated for a taste of him. Even just a little trickle of blood from his lip would ease her thirst. Maybe that combined with the soft press of his lips against hers, or a stroking of tongues against each other. And maybe by accident, her fangs would graze his lip and draw blood that she would lick from him as he lay panting underneath her.
    “I’m not sure I can do this,” Maya said, her skin feeling flushed and hot.
    “Shh, I’ll only go back to the night when it happened. I won’t probe into anything else.”
    She hoped it would be quick. How many more minutes would she have to endure the soft touch of his warm hands that created a delicious tingling sensation on her skin? A woman could go crazy like that, or was it the lack of blood? Was it the insanity Drake had warned her about? Had it already started? If it was getting worse, she’d have to lock herself into a room and throw away the key;