Sebastian knew at that moment what I was going to do. Asmodeus screamed as Sebastian leaped forward to me, but I stepped backward, off the stone plateau, down into the flames that called my name.
I love you beyond life itself, was my last thought to Sebastian before I was consumed by the fire.
Chapter Nine
Such a dramatic exit.
Oh, be quiet.
If I’d known you were capable of such acting, I would have suggested that you simply brazen your way out of the situation.
Such a funny man.
You had me believing you were sacrificing yourself.
I wasn’t sure it would work. I didn’t have time to talk to the director about whether a soul transfer could be conducted via a sacrifice.
Had I known of your plan, I wouldn’t even have bothered to destroy Orinel. You could have acted him to a grave.
I reached behind Sebastian and pinched his delectable rear. One more smart comment like that, and I’ll regret thinking I was dying for you.
Immediately, my head and heart were flooded with a wave of love so profound, it made my breath catch in my throat. Beloved, nothing will ever approach the unselfish acts you conducted on my behalf. I know what it cost you to believe you were sacrificing your life for me, and I will spend eternity humbled by your show of love.
That’s a little more like it, I said, allowing him to see the smile in my mind. I couldn’t resist a possessive little touch to Sebastian’s shirt as Sally opened the door to the suite. They’re here. Behave yourself.
I have promised to do so in front of the Betrayer. But once he has left, all bets, as they say, are off.
The accompanying growl in my head left me breathless and wishing that Damian’s parents would hurry up and take him off our hands so I could fling myself shamelessly on Sebastian and allow him to pleasure me in all the many ways he had been imagining since I had woken up in his arms.
Those are only the tip of the iceberg, he said with a silent laugh, stiffening slightly as an auburn-haired man entered the room.
“Hullo, Papa,” Damian said, glancing at Adrian and a woman I assumed was his wife. “Hullo, Nell.”
“Don’t bother getting up on our behalf,” Adrian told his son in a dry tone.
I looked him over, wondering what sort of life he had led to be named the Betrayer.
You forbade me to dwell on it.
“Sebastian,” Adrian said, turning to face us, giving Sebastian a little nod.
“Betrayer,” Sebastian said, making a stiff nod of his own. I elbowed him. “Er…Adrian.”
I smiled at the love of my life, filled almost to bursting with the joy he brought me.
Adrian’s dark blue eyes, so like his son’s, passed over me with curiosity. “I do not know what miracle Ysabelle has wrought to turn you from predator to protector, but Nell and I are grateful nonetheless that you have kept Damian from harm.”
Adrian held out his hand. Sebastian’s jaw worked, but the rest of him was frozen into a big, unyielding block. I nudged him again. It wouldn’t kill you to be polite, you know. He’s offering you his hand, if not in friendship, then at least in peace.
He is the Betrayer—
Yes, I know, the one who handed you over to Asmodeus to be tortured, but you survived that just as I survived being burned at the stake. Twice. Tempered, remember? It’s now time to move on, Sebastian. The present holds enough challenge—we can’t live in the past.
Sebastian’s struggle was evident on his normally stoic face. I bit my lip to keep from smiling as he wrestled with the memories of the hell he survived with an understanding of what I was asking of him.
“You can do it,” Adrian said, dimples flashing to life for a moment. “It’s painful at first, but it gets easier. Or at least my Beloved keeps telling me.”
“Honest to God, these men. You’d think asking them to behave in a civilized manner meant the end of the world,” Nell said with a roll of her eyes as she walked over to Damian and told him to gather his things.
The boy’s nose wrinkled when she stopped next to him. “You still smell,” he told her.
“And you’re still obnoxious,” she responded with a ruffle to his hair that spoke of affection despite her words. “Get your things and we’ll stop by the museum so you can say hi to the mummies.”
I raised an eyebrow at Sebastian. He was still imitating a statue, staring down Adrian, whose hand was still extended. “Stop acting so stubborn,” I hissed, nudging him with my hip.
“I can stand here as long as you can,” Adrian said, humor lighting his eyes. “You might as well give in.”
Sebastian ground his teeth, his hands fisted tightly at his sides.
You stubborn man. Don’t you see that Adrian was forced to betray you by Asmodeus? If he didn’t sacrifice you, who knows how many innocent people would have been killed? You wouldn’t have wanted them to suffer in your stead, would you?
It took a few seconds for him to sigh heavily into my mind. No. But—
I leaned into him. The sooner you shake his hand, the sooner they’ll leave and I can reward your generous nature.
You count too heavily on my ability to forgive, woman.
And you are adorable beyond words.
“Pax, then,” Sebastian said, grabbing Adrian’s hand and giving it a hearty handshake. He all but ran to open the door for them, sliding me a look that expressed both his annoyance at having to forgive Adrian and his intention to claim his reward.
Adrian laughed, but said nothing as he collected his family and herded them toward the door.
“Can we stop at a supermarket before we go to the museum?” Damian asked, handing his stepmother a bulging carrier bag. “Be careful, he’s sleeping.”
“A supermarket? I suppose so,” Nell said, looking curiously at the bag.
“Good. Belle said I can keep William, although he’s only to have vegetables and no meat at all.”
“William?” Nell asked as she walked through the door. “Is William a hamster or something? I suppose we could handle a little pet, but nothing large…”
Sebastian closed the door just as she was peering into the bag. I held my breath for the count of five, expecting Nell to be pounding on the door asking what on earth we were doing giving the disembodied head of a revenant to her stepson, but for once, the Fates were with us.
“And now, my sweet Beloved, you will pay for forcing me to behave in a polite manner to the man who has so much of my blood on his hands.”
Before I could protest—not that I intended to—Sebastian scooped me up and carried me into the bedroom in the best romantic hero tradition.
“You’ve been watching too many French movies,” I told him with a kiss to the tip of his adorable nose. “No, Sebastian, seriously, we must talk.”
“You may talk. I will feast.”
“I can’t possibly…wait.” I pushed back on his chest until he put a few inches between us. “Are you hungry?”
His eyes went midnight gray. “I am hungry for you, sweet Belle.”
The flood of images into my head had my toes curling in delight. “Oh, that all sounds lovely—I particularly like that third idea you had; was that whipped cream and strawberries?—but what I meant was, are you hungry hungry? You know, for…er…lunch?” I tipped my head to the side and presented my neck.
Sebastian growled again, a sound that just about caused my blood to boil. His mouth was hot on my flesh, and I was tempted to throw morality and friendship to the wind and grab him, but fortunately, my errant companion chose that moment to check on me.
“Les zombies have gone home, thank Dieu. How did—sacre bleu and all the saints! Is he ravishing vous?”
“No, but—”
“Yes,” Sebastian said, rolling off me and onto his feet. Sally’s eyes widened as he stalked toward her, his hands on his shirt. With a short rending noise, he ripped the shirt off, two buttons flying right through her. “Yes, I’m ravishing her.”
Sal
ly looked in surprise at the buttons behind her, then back to the now bare-chested man approaching her. She backed up toward the door. “Zût!”
“Unless you wish to watch me make lengthy, passionate love to Belle, I would advise you to leave now,” he told her, pausing to kick off his shoes.
Her eyes grew huge as he whipped off his belt.
I rolled over onto my side and admired the sight of the man I was bound to heart and soul…souls…as he did a striptease. It was funny how life worked out. I never in five hundred years would have imagined that I would fall in love with a vampire.
Dark One, a voice in my head corrected.
“Are you…you’re not going to…Belle, he’s not going to—holy merde!” Sally made an odd eeping noise and disappeared through the door just as Sebastian’s pants came off.
“You ought to be ashamed of yourself scaring her that way…” The words, which seemed to have no problem rolling off my tongue while I ogled Sebastian’s backside, legs, and back, suddenly dried up when he turned around. “Holy merde, indeed.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes as he strolled toward me. “I am just a man, Beloved. There is nothing here out of the ordinary. Well, perhaps extra-ordinary, but nothing to make that much of a shocked face over.”
“My other husbands—” I started to say.
“We will not discuss your previous husbands,” he interrupted, his movements like a big cat stalking its prey.
My gaze wandered across an incredibly broad chest, down abs that were impressive without being too sculpted, ultimately following a dark honey trail of hair that led to an impressive male endowment. “Fair enough. But—”
“No. You are mine now, Belle, and you will have no other man. What passed before we Joined does not matter to us.”
“But—”
He pounced on me before I could finish the sentence, pulling off my shoes, pants, shirt, and underthings so quickly, I didn’t have time to do more than blink before I was naked. He rolled me over until I was on my back underneath him, my breasts, my thighs, my hidden female parts all tightening at the sensation of his flesh against mine. Erotic images filled my mind, images of what he wanted us to do together, sending my temperature up several degrees. He kissed me then, a long, thorough kiss that lazily explored my mouth, demanding I respond without holding anything back.
“Yes, it does,” I said a few minutes later when I managed to pull my mouth from his, desperately trying to hang on to the few fragmented wits I had left. “At least, one thing does—Noelle.”
He froze at the mention of her name.
“I’m sorry, Sebastian.” I put my hands on both sides of his face, willing him to understand my somewhat tangled emotions. “I love you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved another person, but she is my friend, and she has a bond to you—”
“You are my Beloved, not her.”
“But she—”
His eyes lightened as he pushed back a bit to glare down at me. “You bring me happiness. You brought light and love into my life, ended my torment, and gave me the most precious gift anyone has ever been given. How can you believe you are not my Beloved?”
“Well…” I tried to come up with convincing proof, but he was right. The one thing I hadn’t thought I’d been able to do for him had worked out.
Perhaps it wasn’t the traditional method of soul redemption, my love, but the result was just as successful. And I will be eternally grateful that I was blessed to find you.
The words, and emotions behind them, were enough to make me blush, but one thing still bothered me, one problem that we had yet to overcome.
“I am willing to accept that we were meant to be together. But Noelle is a friend, and we’ve hurt her. I must do something about that, or it will taint our relationship.”
He was silent for a moment, his beautiful face reflecting the thoughts he shared with me. “We’ve proven beyond any doubt that she is not my Beloved. Thus we will help her find the man for whom she was meant.”
I nibbled my lip. “She’s never been one for blind dates, but honestly, I don’t see much of an alternative. I just hope she understands that we will be doing everything in our power to help her, though.”
“We will make her understand,” he promised, his mouth descending to mine, gently tugging my lip from where I was still nibbling on it. Whatever it takes, we will do. I do not like these feelings of guilt within you. They distract you from the proper adoration of me.
Arrogant vampire, I answered, gasping when he found a ticklish spot behind my ear. You never answered me. Are you hungry? For…blood?
I didn’t want him to know, but I was a bit squeamish about the whole blood-drinking aspect to our relationship. I’d never been one of those women who thought vampires were sexy…the thought of someone feeding off me was almost repugnant.
I will not feed, sweet Belle. You will provide life for me, but it will not be an act of feeding. You will give me life, and in return, I will worship you as a slave might.
I don’t want a slave, I said, my body burning as his mouth kissed a hot path down to my breastbone. I want a man.
I am yours. His cheeks, roughened slightly with golden stubble, brushed against my left breast. At the gentle abrasion it suddently became the most demanding part of my body.
“Oh,” I gasped, waves of little shocks rolling down my body. Sebastian lifted his head long enough to send me a look so heated, it damn near set the bedding alight.
“I think we can do better than that,” he growled, his mouth hovering over my suddenly insistent breast. Every muscle in my body was taut with anticipation, my breath so ragged it was a wonder I was getting any oxygen. When he took the tip of my breast in his mouth, I thought I would die. When he suckled that breast while gently tugging on my second nipple, I knew I was in heaven. And when he nuzzled the soft area on the underside of my breast, his teeth grazing the flesh for a second before piercing the skin, a white-hot pain dissolving into a feeling of profound pleasure that was multiplied by the joy he felt in taking life from me, I exploded into a nova of ecstacy.
This is not feeding, my Beloved. This is a celebration of life—of our lives together, today, next month, and a millenia from now. His voice was soft in my head, full of love and appreciation, and my heart swelled to know he was mine.
Always, he said, moving over me. I parted my legs, reveling in the purely physical pleasures to be found in the weight of him on me, of the sensation of my legs rubbing against him, of his chest hair teasing my already sensitive breasts. You will always be mine.
I bit his lip, sucking it into my mouth, and demanded that he do something about the tight ache he’d built up inside me. I will hold you to that, Sebastian. Now stop tormenting me!
His chuckle filled my mind when he entered me, the feeling of him gently pushing into my body a familiar pleasure, yet wholly different. I pulled my knees around his hips to accept more of him into me, digging my fingers into the muscles of his behind. His hips flexed as I twirled my tongue around his, drowning in the sensation of the taste, scent, and feel of him. He was everywhere, in my head, in my body, his mouth possessing mine until I broke free to breathe. His eyes were dark as night, but glowing with more love than I ever thought I’d see.
“I love you, my adorable zombie,” he murmured against my neck.
“Revenant,” I said on another gasp of pleasure as all my insides began to tighten even more. “I’m…a…rev…rev…oh, God’s bones!”
My words trailed off into a high scream of absolute rapture as he surged hard into my body, his teeth deep in my flesh, the sensation of his approaching orgasm mingling with my own, as well as the sensation of him taking blood from me. My back arched as I clutched him, our bodies moving quickly in a rhythm that seemed to start in my heart.
God’s blood, I had no idea it was going to be like this. Why didn’t I meet you a century ago? I asked just before my being burst into a thousand little pieces of dazzling brilliance. Our souls, my own and the o
ne I’d given him, touched, and for a moment, we were one glorious being as his orgasm claimed him, sweeping me along.
It seemed to take hours for me to finally come to my senses, but I’m sure it was just a matter of minutes. I was pleased to notice, as Sebastian rolled onto his back, taking me with him so I rested on his now damp chest, that he seemed to be having as much difficulty catching his breath as I did.
Smug vixen, he said, one hand caressing my behind in a gesture of love so sweet, it brought tears to my eyes. What was that you were saying about your previous husbands?
What husbands? I smiled into his head and let myself relax on the solid body beneath me, warm, contented, and for the first time in I don’t remember how many centuries, truly happy.
ABOUT KATIE
For as long as she can remember, Katie MacAlister has loved reading. Growing up in a family where a weekly visit to the library was a given, Katie spent much of her time with her nose buried in a book. Despite her love for novels, she didn’t think of writing them until she was contracted to write a non-fiction book about software. Since her editor refused to allow her to include either witty dialogue or love scenes in the software book, Katie swiftly resolved to switch to fiction, where she could indulge in world building, tormenting characters, and falling madly in love with all her heroes.
Two years after she started writing novels, Katie sold her first romance, Noble Intentions. More than thirty books later, her novels have been translated into numerous languages, been recorded as audiobooks, received several awards, and are regulars on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. She also writes for the young adult audience as Katie Maxwell.
Katie lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and dogs, and can often be found lurking around online.
Katie MacAlister, Bring Out Your Dead (Dark Ones series)
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