by Amber Lynn
“I just wanted to make sure your beaus didn't interfere with my ability to talk to you like this. I rarely ever mark anyone and usually they are just marks to make it so the wearer doesn't forget they owe me a favor.”
“I have some more questions for you,” I say speaking before I think. I don't believe my phone follows me into my dreams, but being metaphysically, or whatever this is, with him and asking questions seems safer than having him drop by the apartment. “I even had a list on my phone, but I don't think my dress has a pocket that it is hiding in.”
“We are in a dream. If you want something, just think of it and it will appear.” I think of the mace hanging on my wall at work. It appears, but with a flip of his hand, it vanishes. “It wouldn't do you any good here anyway.” He speaks for himself. I think having a mace handy would be a great comfort to my mind.
I think of my phone instead and it pops into my hand. “Are you willing to answer a couple of questions?”
He smiles and nods.
“Okay, first question,” I say bringing up my app. “Would you like to have sex with me?”
“Yes. I would. Thank you so much for asking,” he says with a wicked grin.
I glare back down at my phone. “That was not one of the questions. Fix this,” I say waving the phone in his general direction.
“As you wish,” he says waving his hand subtly in the air. “I can make it easy for you. North America. Ancient tablet. And I am still thinking about it.”
“When did you read the questions?”
“When I replaced them with my own. I have to say mine were much more interesting. I think you would have got a kick out of my third one.”
“I didn't much care for that first one, demon,” Sebastian says appearing next to me. Man, are my dreams getting crowded.
“I wondered if either of you would be able to show up,” Ben says as a flicker of red passes in his eyes. I don't think he is very happy with Sebastian right this second.
“Dream jumping is something I have studied aggressively over the years. I was worried you would try this. I thought you would give her at least a little rest. She isn't your play thing.”
“I am aware of that, vampire. She will wake well rested. I do not cause an energy drain with my dream sharing. Even you jumping in here will not cause the drain it would normally. I am very invested in keeping Nyx in tip-top shape.”
I think their conversation is going to be very interesting and it doesn't seem like they need me for it, so I just sit back to listen and observe.
Ben has become a lot tenser with Sebastian's arrival. His playful smile has vanished and he has started to scowl. Sebastian on the other hand is very relaxed. I find that a little surprising, but I think he has more experience with these things and knows what to expect in this dream world.
“You wouldn't care to share what makes her compatible with your kind, would you?” Sebastian asks.
“I know what genes she carries, but I don't have the full story on how she came to be, so even though I know you want to know the missing link, I cannot totally provide it. I can tell you that it isn't solely her third nature that I am interested in. It is the sum of all her parts.
“The third species alone isn't a fertile one, so if I found one of them, which is very difficult, I would still not be able to produce a child. I believe it is the werewolf in Nyx that allows for her to be as fertile as I sense. I am sure you can feel it, too.”
“Yes, but Nyx does not desire to have children. She already has a werewolf she cannot tolerate on most days, starting to badger her to procreate. She does not need added pressure from you,” Sebastian states in a very cold tone.
Why anyone wonders at my preference for Sebastian as a mate is beyond me.
Ben carefully eyes Sebastian. “And you don't want any offspring? Having a child is as rare a feat for your species as it is for mine.”
“My desires don't always matter. It is her body and her decision. I will accept what she chooses.”
“Wait, you want a baby too?” I ask inserting myself back into the conversation.
“Not necessarily. Your reasons for not wanting a child make sense. Our lives are not conducive of raising a child. We also don't know what part of your genes would be passed on. I think we would need to do more research before bringing a baby into the world. Unless I am one hundred percent for sure the baby, or anything about a pregnancy, wouldn't cause you harm, I will fight to make sure it doesn't happen.”
“You have valid concerns,” Ben interjects. “When she finds out what and who she really is, I will provide you with the necessary documentation.”
“I take it you have some prophecy just lying around somewhere that will ease all of my fears.”
“I wouldn't call it a prophecy. I do have medical documentation that should make you feel better. It may even make Nyx change her views.”
“So there is, or has been, someone like her?” Sebastian asks.
“Oh no. She is totally unique. I do have some papers in my possession that document numerous experiments that you will find very interesting. When the time comes, I will happily share them. I have had them for a while, but thought them too fantastical to be true.”
I am tired of all these secrets. All the years in the Collective were full of them. In fact, my whole life is just one big secret. It really sucks. I doubt anything Demon Boy has will make me change my mind on the baby front, though.
I zone out of their continued conversation. If anything important is revealed, Sebby can just relay the information later. I get up and head towards one of the curio cabinets to see what goodies a demon collects over the years.
When I look inside, I wish I hadn't. It is filled with little porcelain, wooden, and glass children figurines. I see children in every imaginable scene. Little kids playing hockey, fishing, holding their dolls, sleeping, and list goes on. They vary in age from little babies up to probably five or six.
“For someone who has spent centuries collecting souls and wreaking havoc on people's lives, I want to be able to actually create life,” Ben explains his reasoning as he watches me study his collection.
“I bet your fellow demons get a kick out of this room,” I respond turning to retake my seat.
“As you can see there is no door for them to enter and I have very strong wards in place to keep them out. You are the first person I have allowed to be in here. I would have preferred if tagalong hadn't joined us, but it was expected. I doubt my efforts to have a child have gotten past the other demons, but they don't know, or need to know, the depths of my desires.”
“You do know you cannot make me feel sorry for you. Many have tried to toy with my emotions before and they figured out pretty quickly that I am a heartless bitch.”
“I know you have had a hard life and it has made you callous. I think meeting your friend here has softened you a little.”
He is probably right, but I am not going to admit any softening on my part.
“We get along because we allow each other to be the people we want to be. Neither of us has changed from the day we met,” Sebastian states.
Ben laughs. “It must be nice to have a permanent 'yes man' by your side. Does he ever disagree with you?”
“More often than not. We fight all the time. Not as much as I do with other people, but he is not my 'yes man', or anything that vaguely represents one.”
“Well, I think we have spoken enough for the night. I will try to stay away for a while and give you a chance to think about things. Until you hear from one of your parents what you are, there isn't a rush for my end goal. You can still call me if you need me and I may drop by if I get bored.”
“You do know I would have to be breathing my last breath to summon you, and I am pretty durable.”
Ben smiles and nods.
I jerk awake to see that I am in my own bed. Sebastian is wrapped around my body. He is still asleep and I wonder if he stayed behind to talk to Demon Boy more. The clock in the room says it
is only five, so I settle back down to get some more sleep. Even if Ben decides he just cannot stay away, I hope he stays out of my dreams.
Chapter 21
Today might just be a good day
I am borderline chipper when I get up for the day. Maybe today will finally be a good day. Sebastian is still wrapped around me, so I wiggle around until I am facing him. He feels a little chilly and it makes me wonder if he needs to feed.
He can usually go a long time between feedings, at least a month, and he has fed within the last two weeks, so him being cold has me a little worried.
His eyes flip open and his beautiful onyx eyes meet mine. I hate when he catches me staring at him. It makes me feel like some silly schoolgirl.
“Good morning,” he says leaning down to kiss me.
I open my mouth just a little as our lips touch and he sneaks his tongue inside. I allow it, knowing we will stop in a few seconds. Even though his skin is chilly, his tongue is on fire. It traces along mine tempting me to come out and play. I curl mine around his and suck him deeper into my mouth. The passion igniting causes my fangs to drop. I can feel that his have as well.
His arms tighten around my body pulling me flush to his. The heat we are generating warms his skin to the point of inferno as I rub my hand down one of his arms. He starts to roll us in the bed so he is situated on top of me.
“Knock it off,” Alex shouts from the other room causing an abrupt end to Nyx and Sebby fun time.
I settle on my back and collapse my head against my pillow. “Cold showers all around this morning,” I announce trying to catch my breath. We try not to let play time get this far. I know we are both still dressed, so nothing was even close to happening, but it is frustrating all the same.
Sebastian chuckles and leans down for a last little peck. “You know I dreamed of you last night. I think you were a Greek goddess.”
“Imagine that, you were in my dream, too. I don't think I was a goddess, however. I think it was laundry day and I didn't have anything else to wear but the spare sheets. Of course, none of my sheets are white, so it was a little odd.”
“It was a different look for you that's for sure. Too lily white, sacrificial virgin for my tastes, though.”
“I bet you liked the chaise. It was right up your alley.”
“It was a little too narrow to be any fun. Plus, any activity that I would like to enjoy on it with you gets a little sweaty. Sweat and leather don't tend to mix all that well. You would probably end up stuck to it, and what fun is that?”
“You have a point. Did you stay behind after he released me?” I ask moving to get up so I can stretch. I arch my back to get any kinks out and then crank my neck to each side so it will pop. That's better. I always hate the mornings I cannot get it to snap.
“Just for a second. I wanted to see if he would let anything slip without you being there. Since you have had more experience with him, you can imagine the brick wall I hit with my attempts. He is very set in his idea that you will eventually change your mind about babies and he wants to have one with you.”
“I guess I should be happy he isn’t asking for a football team worth of rugrats.” The clock says it is nine, so I don’t have a ton of time to get ready and get to the office before Josephina arrives.
I start by gathering up my knives for the day and then hit the closet to get my clothes. With my bundle in hand, I walk into the bathroom to take a shower.
“You mentioned cold showers for all of us; you need anyone to wash your back?” Sebastian asks. “It would save water.” He likes to use that line on me a lot. It has never worked out like he hoped.
“I don’t think we are hurting for money, so we will be partaking in separate showers today, big boy.”
I take a quick, normal heated, shower. My hair feels much better clean. I brush it out and pull it back into a ponytail. Trying to dry it would be next to impossible in the amount of time I have. Even with a full hour dedicated just to it, I don't think it would fully dry.
Hair taken care of, I attach my thigh sheaths and insert their knives before shimmying into a pair of my patented black pants that have slits cut in them to reach the knives underneath. Once they are on, I arm and clothe my upper half. I forgot my socks, so I have to return to the bedroom to find a pair.
Sebastian is still laid out on the bed with the blankets strategically placed to look inviting. I know he has lounge pants on, but if I didn't I might be tempted to try to see under the sheet.
“Hey, you were pretty cold this morning when we first woke up. Do you need sustenance?” I ask grabbing a pair of socks and my boots, before sitting on the bed next to him.
“Not right now, but maybe after you get home. Dream jumping takes a lot out of me and it is possible that I might be able to regenerate my strength on my own. I almost forgot how it feels in the morning,” he replies moving out of bed.
At some point during my shower, the lounge pants were lost, so he is down to just boxers. I know he is just doing it to taunt me, but I won't let him see how it affects me. And yes, seeing him mostly naked does make my body tingle.
Having just seen Alex in a similar outfit recently, I stop to compare the two. Alex has darker skin, which is kind of a given since Sebby has spent years out of the sun and has only recently started working on his tan. As far as muscles go, Alex would probably just edge out Sebby. Sebby, for me though, looks like a sculpture come to life. There is just something inherently perfect about him.
I could stare at Alex's abs all day because they are just that good to look at, but I could sit back and stare at Sebastian for the same amount of time as a whole body, not just some of his parts. I don't know how to explain and I know my thought process doesn't make a whole lot of sense. In the end, either way you look at it, my mates are studs.
“I am off to my cold shower. I imagine it will take a while, so I will give you your good-bye kiss now.” He keeps this one very chaste, but it is a bit more than just a peck on the lips.
“If you get bored later, come by and watch me teach. I am sure you will find it hilarious.”
“You have Jonas and Marcus with you tonight. I will just ask one of them to videotape it for me.”
Note to self: disable guards’ camera phones.
“You would,” I say to his back.
When I get my feet wrestled into my boots, I slip my boot knife into my right ankle. Now that my knives are in place, I settle into my triple holster for the guns. Usually I don't go total commando just for the office, mainly because my office is armed to the gills, but tonight I want to impress Phee.
Yup, Josephina is too long, so she is getting a nickname. I decided Jose or Joe was just a little bit too masculine.
“Alex, you got my breakfast ready?” I ask as I exit my partition into the living area.
“I thought you were going to be too busy dry humping fang face to eat this morning,” he announces from the kitchen. I just love their little nicknames for each other. Not.
“Very funny. We didn't even get to the dry humping stage. If you want, I can go catch him in the shower so we can give it a try.” We have actually made it to that stage once before. It was during my first feeding as a baby vampire. Things got a little away from us, but clothing was kept in place.
“Princess,” Jonas starts, “I don't know who you been talking to, but I am pretty sure it is impossible to dry hump in a shower. Two bodies all slick with the water slipping and sliding and the next thing you know, oops, something be slipping into a hole and you graduate to plain, old-fashioned humping.”
“Thanks for the visual, Jonas. Now, you are going to have to deal with a hot and bothered ward for the day,” I say teasingly before adding, “You better be ready to leave in five.” I enter the kitchen where Alex is standing with a protein shake in a to go glass reaching towards me. “Perfect just what I wanted.”
“I know, you subconsciously screamed it at me. Now, come over here real quick and give me what I want, so you can go ear
n your teacher of the year award.”
Most days we don't do the whole relationship thing. I allow a kiss here and there to be nice, but there isn't always hello and good-bye kisses guaranteed. Since he already knows that Sebby got some tongue action today and probably ended up really turned on from it, I take pity on him.
I hop over and wrap my arms around his neck trying not to spill my shake in his hair. I stand on tippy toes and he bends down so our lips meet in the middle. It isn't much because he knows better than to push me early in the morning. At least I like to think he knows better, but he doesn't always behave.
The quick kiss ends and I back up waving at him as I leave the room. “The offer to come watch is extended to you, too. It is only supposed to be for an hour, though, so I will probably be back here before you know it.”
“I have to do a few things at the office, but I would like you to stop by later for a chat about the positions Jonas mentioned to you last night.”
It takes me a second, but I remember the talk about them having assassination assignments come up every once in a while. “Any set time or just show up?” I ask excited to see what he has to say.
“Any time will be fine. I have some meetings, but people know to come get me if you grace us with your presence.”
“Sounds good,” I say collecting the guards and heading to the elevator. I forgot to press Demon Boy on whether my resident statues were aware of me. From the way he talked, I am sure at least one of them is. If I had to pick one, I would say he left Venus conscious. He seemed to dislike her a lot for the whole stealing thing. Shoot, she is even missing her arms.
“Do you mind if we take one of the Continentals?” Jonas asks when we reach the garage. “Even though no one believes it will help, your Suburban is getting protectified.”
“You would think someone would mention that to me,” I retort. “I didn't really feel like driving anyway.” Not exactly the truth because I don't enjoy being a passenger, but I don't like driving the Continentals. They sit too low to the ground for me.
“Great. We are in the black one then,” he says leading the way.