Page 4 of Captured Desires

It was closer to eleven by the time Pearl got back to the saloon. She hoped she hadn’t missed Maverick. But she didn’t have to wait long. A cool wind on the back of her neck had her whirling to see who was behind her.

It was the vampire himself. Maverick Richman stood before her, his blue eyes glinting in the darkness. He was just as the sketches had depicted him—tall and broad-shouldered with a face that might have been handsome if not for the cruel twist of his mouth.

"They said a woman lawman was looking for me," he drawled, his voice like honey and razorblades. "They didn’t say she was beautiful."

Pearl reached around her back to grip the stake that she had strapped to her belt. "Maverick Richman, my name is Pearl Thompkins, and I’m here on behalf of the Pinkerton Detective Agency."

Maverick laughed. "Are you now? And what makes you think I'll come quietly?"

At least he hadn’t attacked first. That had to be something. "I have a proposition for you. The Agency is willing to offer you a deal. Disband your gang, come back with me, and work for us. You'll have a chance to atone for your crimes."

Maverick's eyes narrowed, a flicker of something unreadable passing over his face. "And why would I do that? I've got a good thing going here."

Pearl sensed it then—a glimmer of something more beneath his rough exterior. A hint of the man he'd once been, before the darkness had claimed him. It was a spark of unlikely connection, a whisper of possibility in the shadows.

She played a hunch. "Because deep down, I think you want to do the right thing. I think there's still a part of you that remembers what it was like to be human."

Maverick stared at her, his jaw clenching. For a moment, Pearl thought she saw a flash of vulnerability in his eyes, a crack in his armor. But then it was gone, replaced by a cold, hard smile. "You don't know anything about me, sweetheart. And you never will."

He lunged at her then, a blur of speed and fury. Pearl reacted on instinct, drawing the stake. She was too slow to bring it to bear on his chest, and he knocked it away. She kicked out at him, but he dodged. Pearl held on to his vest and tried to use her body weight to bring him down. His momentum worked against him, and they crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs, grappling for dominance. Pearl could feel the coiled strength in Maverick's muscles, the raw power that thrummed beneath his skin.

She reached for her other stake, but Maverick was faster. He pinned her wrist to the ground, his face inches from hers.

"Nice try, darlin'." His breath was hot against her skin. "But it'll take more than that to bring me down."

Pearl stared up at him, her heart pounding. She could feel the strength of his body, the weight of him pressing her into the wooden floor of the saloon. But instead of feeling afraid or angry, she was confused by a spike of lust.

Maverick paused too. The curiosity in his eyes had to be the only reason he wasn’t chomping on her neck right now. In that moment, suspended between danger and desire, she knew one thing for certain: There was something weird going on between them.

Just then, the saloon doors burst open with a thunderous crash. Pearl’s and Maverick's heads snapped toward the commotion, their bodies still locked in a tense embrace.

A group of men stormed in, guns drawn and eyes blazing with malice. "Well, well, well," the leader sneered, his gaze zeroing in on Maverick. "If it ain't the infamous vampire outlaw himself."

Maverick's grip on Pearl loosened as he slowly rose to his feet, his eyes never leaving the intruders. He extended a hand, and Pearl reluctantly took it. He effortlessly pulled her to her feet. "You boys picked the wrong night to come knocking."

The leader spat on the ground. "We ain't here to talk, bloodsucker. We're here to collect the bounty on your head."

Pearl's mind raced as she assessed the situation. They were outnumbered and outgunned, but she'd be damned if she let these thugs take Maverick. This was her job. “Back off. The Pinkertons already have a claim.”

Maverick smirked. “Staking a claim on me?”

“Stakingbeing the operative word,” she said.

“Fuck the Pinkertons,” one of the men said.

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Pearl asked.

“I’ll kiss you with it.” He leered.

“That won’t be tolerated,” Maverick said. Moving quickly, he zoomed toward the bounty hunter and backhanded him so hard, he flew back several yards, spitting teeth as he went.

But the bounty hunters weren’t having any of that. They opened fire with silver rounds that smelled like they had been soaked in garlic juice. Pearl overturned a table in front of her and scurried behind it. Grabbing her revolvers, she popped up, firing off shots with deadly precision.

Beside her, Maverick moved with inhuman speed, dodging bullets and striking with brutal efficiency. He tore through the bounty hunters like a force of nature, his eyes glowing with a feral intensity.

“Shit.” He had been taking it easy on her. Pearl's heart pounded as she watched him, a strange mix of fear and fascination coursing through her veins. She'd never seen anything like him before, a creature of such raw power and savage grace.

Pearl's keen marksmanship and Maverick's supernatural strength turned the tide of the battle, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

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