Shifter Romance Box Set

by Unknown

  “Mr. Elias—”

  “When are you going to start calling me Theo?” He clucked at her, shaking his head. “We are one big family.”

  “Theo then. Really, I can’t take this. It’s far too expensive.”

  “I wasn’t speaking metaphorically, dear. I literally got it for a song. Sal and I sang a rousting chorus of O Mimi, Tu Più Non Torni from La Boheme.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Sebastian laughed.

  “Well, it helped that Sal also bought a three-thousand dollar hand mirror from the man’s special collection.” Theo grinned.

  “But it’s worth so much,” Katie whispered, looking down at the charm.

  “You are worth far more,” Theo insisted. “You keep it. She will serve you well. And you, I think, will serve her. We saw her temple in Bubastis. A more beautiful thing, present company excepted, I’ve never seen. The pyramids are magnificent, masculine feats of labor and strength. But the temple of Bubastis is a sheer feminine pleasure to look upon. She is all curves and water, and island unto herself.”

  “You saw it?” Katie stared at him as if marveling at this fact. Sebastian sometimes thought Katie really believed anything beyond her borders didn’t really exist, she looked at it with such wonder.

  “Truly, there are two canals on either side, a hundred feet wide!” Theo exclaimed. He was painting a picture with his words and he did it well. “They are fed from the Nile and circle the temple, like so, but do not meet. Like the twin sisters, Bast and Sekhmet—alike but separate, yes?”

  “Amazing,” Sebastian said, looking at the rapt expression on Katie’s face. Theo had her under his spell.

  “The temple gate is sixty feet high and the twins guard it, Bast and Sekhmet, one on each side. Can you see it, Katrina?”

  “I can.” Katie’s eyes were shining. “I’d love to see that some day.”

  “Who are you and what have you done with Katie?” Sebastian asked with a little laugh.

  She gave him a haughty, sideways look.

  “It’s just that you don’t even like getting into a car, let alone a plane,” he reminded her. “You know Egypt isn’t in the neighborhood, right?”

  “Don’t be mean, Sebastian,” she chided him.

  “Sorry.” He sat back in his chair, glancing at Theo, who hadn’t taken his eyes of Katie. It was like the two of them were sharing something he couldn’t be a part of.

  He didn’t like it.

  “You can feel it, can’t you?” Theo murmured. “Her grace, her power?”

  Katie nodded slowly, her eyes trained on his.

  “It’s yours, Katarina.” Theo reached out and touched the necklace at her throat. “Will you accept it?”

  “Yes,” she breathed, touching the necklace and Theo’s hand too. Sebastian looked at the old man’s hand—a little too close to Katie’s breasts for his comfort—and wondered about the gift underneath it.

  “Good!” Theo checked his watch. “Almost show time! Our production of Cléopâtre will take you back in time to Egypt tonight, my dear.”

  “I can’t wait.” She smiled up at him, her face lighting up from the inside. Sebastian thought he’d never seen her look so beautiful. “Thank you again for this. I don’t know what to say.”

  “No need!” Theo waved her protest away. “Sal keeps telling me I need to purge, give it all away, simplify. And so I am!”

  “Come on,” Sebastian stood, holding his hand out to Katie. “Let me show you to your seat. Best in the house.”

  Sebastian had reserved one of the two boxed seats for Katie and three of their friends. Well, they were really his friends. Katie didn’t have any friends. She talked occasionally about people from work but she wasn’t the type of girl who made quick attachments. It had taken Sebastian almost a year of near-constant, every day contact just to get her to go out with him. His mother had decided to rent out a room in their house for extra cash while he was still an undergrad and living at home. Sebastian had protested—loudly—but when he saw the pretty, young co-ed moving in, he changed his mind.

  That had been four years ago. Sebastian’s mother hadn’t been keen on them finding their own place but he’d insisted. He didn’t want to be twenty-five and still living in his mother’s basement. Besides, he figured getting Katie out from under the watchful eye of his mother would allow her to feel more free. They’d managed to steal time back then, secret kisses, heavy petting, but they’d never had sex.

  He remembered that first time—on their newly acquired Salvation Army double bed surrounded by boxes in their cheap basement apartment—how Katie had cried afterward. She wasn’t a virgin, by her own admission, but he’d never seen a girl so afraid of sex before. She told him then, in the dark—sex with Katie was always in the dark and he had yet to see her fully naked—it had something to do with an ex-boyfriend. Slowly, over time, she had revealed more about Malcolm. Katie had lived with him too, for a while. That was before she’d moved into Sebastian’s mother’s newly created guest room. For most of his life, it had been the “sewing room,” but his mother had moved all that to the basement when Katie moved in.

  “A whole box, for me?” Katie’s eyes widened as Sebastian ushered her in.

  “Well. I invited John and his wife. They said they were going to try to get a sitter,” Sebastian said. “And I sent a ticket to Dan. He hasn’t seen me perform since high school.”

  John owned a local music store and had hired Sebastian to give guitar lessons. He’d done that for a while but quit when he realized he could make more money giving private lessons somewhere else, where John didn’t take a cut. There were no hard feelings though—John and his wife had invited them to dinner a few times. Once they’d even gone.

  Dan Harper was his old high school choir teacher. He’d run into him at the drugstore just two weeks ago and they’d started reminiscing. He was surprised Dan hadn’t retired yet. Sebastian offered him a ticket, since he had an extra, and the old man had taken him up on it.

  “I hope I don’t have to talk too much.” Katie wrinkled her nose, taking a seat.

  “Just smile and nod a lot.” Sebastian leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I promise I won’t leave your side at the party tonight. Deal?”

  “Do we have to go?” Katie looked down at the stage, fingering the pendant hanging around her neck. She looked up when he sighed. “You know I love to hear you sing—it’s just, all those people…”

  “Stuck like glue, I promise.” He took a seat beside her, taking her hand. “You and me against the world. You’ll be safe with me.”

  “Okay.” She still looked doubtful but didn’t say so. “What in the world was this about?”

  She lifted the necklace, showing him. The lights were up and he had a better view.

  “Theo likes you.” Sebastian smiled. “If he was a straight man, I’d be worried. I just think he’s got a little girl-crush on you.”

  She smiled. “Did you ever think he might be trying to use me to get to you?”

  “No way,” he scoffed. “Sal would have his balls on a platter.”

  “It must be worth a fortune.” She looked down at the charm again. “Don’t you think?”

  “Probably.” He shrugged. “But he likes giving extravagant gifts. Remember earlier this year? He gave me those silver candlestick holders after we did Tristan and Iseulde?”

  “You pawned those,” she reminded him.

  “Shh!” He glanced around as if someone might overhear them. “What was I going to do with silver candlestick holders? We were better off eating with that money.”

  “Stomach before beauty?” she teased.

  “Do you want to pawn that?” He pointed to her necklace.

  “No way!” She clung to it. “Never! I’ll starve first.”

  He laughed. The doors had opened downstairs and people were starting to come in.

  “That’s my cue,” he said, nodding down to the crowd. “I’ll see you after the show?”

  “Aren’t you
going to kiss me goodbye?” She tilted her chin up. He bent to kiss her forehead but Katie slid an arm around his neck, pulling him in for a real kiss, her lips opening under his. Sebastian staggered back when they parted, so surprised he could barely breathe.

  “Katie?” he whispered, looking into those startling blue eyes of hers.

  “You better hurry,” she said, nodding down to the theater below where seats were filling quickly.

  He took a step toward the door, glancing back at Katie peering over the edge of the box, watching all the people, the charm Theo gave her still around her neck, clenched in her fist.

  Chapter Three

  The first time Sebastian went to one of Theo and Sal’s “encore” parties, he spent most of the time staring around in awe. She’d been to at least one performance of every show Sebastian had been in, but she hadn’t gone to any of the parties. He knew how Katie felt when they pulled up to the huge, opulent house. He didn’t know how many rooms it had to have to be classified as a mansion but he was pretty sure it qualified. It wasn’t one of the newly built McMansions either. It was a grand old Victorian with two turrets and all sorts of eaves and peaks. It reminded him of the old black and white re-runs of the Addams Family. Only in color.

  “How can Theo afford this?” Katie gasped as they went up the walkway.

  “It’s Sal’s.” He squeezed her hand. “Family money I guess. He’s set for life.”

  “Must be nice.” She looked up at him with wide blue eyes as he rang the doorbell. “And they’re going to try to sell this so they can move to Italy?”

  “Doubtful.” Sebastian couldn’t help admiring her in that dress. He’d never seen her look quite so radiant. “They’ll probably just have the staff keep it up for them.”

  “The… staff?”

  He didn’t think Katie’s eyes could get any wider but he was wrong. When the butler opened the door, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. The butler was tall, but not quite as tall as Lurch from the Addams Family. He was completely bald though and wore little round glasses.

  The party was already in full swing. He and Katie had talked in the car for half an hour in the parking lot after the show about Theo’s offer about Italy. He knew it wouldn’t go over well—and it hadn’t. But she’d been more open than he thought she would be. At least she didn’t burst into tears and take off running, which he’d been half expecting.

  “There she is!” Theo beamed, grabbing the sleeve of a tall, well-dressed man as he passed, bringing him along. Sebastian had met Sal on several occasions. The younger Italian was a beautiful masculine specimen—even he had to admit it. Sal was probably twice Sebastian’s age, but half Theo’s. Soft, dark curls framed his baby face and big, dark eyes swept over Katie, drinking her in with obvious delight.

  “This is Katrina?” Sal took Katie’s hand and she blinked in stunned silence as he bent to kiss it. “She is everything you say and more, Theo. Lovely. Just lovely!”

  Theo nodded, looking pleased with himself, as if he’d been the one to bring such beauty to life himself.

  “I told you so.” Theo wagged a finger at the younger man, a smile spreading over his face. “And doesn’t it look beautiful on you? You wear it all the time and it will bring you much luck.”

  “It’s true.” Sal nodded. “Of course, the old man here didn’t specify which kind of luck, did he?”

  Katie laughed, a bright, bubbly sound, and both men laughed too. Sebastian noticed Sal was still holding Katie’s hand and she didn’t even seem to mind. That was odd because Katie had a hard time letting even Sebastian touch her. She hated being touched by strangers. But the most puzzling thing was Katie herself. She had always been beautiful, but tonight she was radiant, as if something had sparked inside her.

  “I’m so glad it’s found its rightful owner.” Sal smiled, teeth perfectly white and perfectly straight. “You know there is another out there, somewhere.”

  “Like this?” Katie touched her necklace.

  “Yes, although yours are green—emerald or jade?”

  “Jade,” Theo interjected.

  “Right.” Sal nodded. “But the other, she has blue stones.”

  “Too bad you didn’t have the other one,” Sebastian said. “Katie’s eyes are blue.”

  Sal smiled again with those perfect teeth, giving Sebastian an acknowledging nod of his head, but he was clearly focused on Katie.

  “Egyptian mythology speaks of sisters, Bast and Sekhmet,” Sal told her.

  “Twin sisters,” Theo reminded him.

  “Yes, twins,” Sal agreed. “Beautiful twins, each born from the sun god, Ra. They are reflections of one another, night and day.”

  “Which one is Bast?” Katie asked. “Night or day?”

  “Night.” Theo said.

  “She is a moon goddess,” Sal went on. “Her body ever tuned to the earth’s cycles, the pull of the tide.”

  “Each ruled and protected one half of all Egypt.” Theo grabbed two glasses of champagne from a passing server, offering Katie one. She shook her head shyly.

  “They were cat lovers too, Katrina.” Sal said her name with a slight lilt. “They loved their cats so much they buried their bodies with them in tombs.”

  “Cat mummies?” Sebastian laughed.

  “You laugh but it is serious business.” Theo handed Sal the second glass of champagne and he took it. “Egyptians knew something about cats we do not.”

  “What’s that?” Sebastian asked, slipping an arm around Katie’s waist. She looked up at him, smiling. God those eyes, that smile. It was like falling in love with her all over again.

  “Cats are magic.” Theo’s eyes brightened, looking at Katie.

  “Do they pull rabbits out of hats?” Sebastian smirked.

  “Do not joke!” Theo wagged a finger at him. “Cat magic is deep, dark, feminine magic.”

  “But I thought one was a sun goddess,” Sebastian reminded him. “Sehkmet, right?”

  “True,” Sal agreed, sipping his champagne. “She is nothing without her sister. Together, their power is so great it is unstoppable. The Egyptians kept them separate for that reason.”

  “Ah yes,” Theo agreed, excited. “Like the temple, where the water flows, but does not meet? The light never touches the dark. The day and the night, they are always separate, no?”

  “Well, scientifically speaking, the moon is just a giant rock,” Sebastian reminded them. “It has no reflection without the sun. And they’re not all that separate either. Haven’t you ever seen the moon’s reflection at dusk?”

  “Meh!” Theo dramatically rolled his eyes. “Science schmience! They try to explain away all the magic in the world, but in the end, what do they know? Nothing! Can they cure cancer? No. Can they prove the existence of God? No. They try to explain everything by the human brain’s function, as if our hearts, our bodies, our souls, have no meaning or influence. They are no closer to understanding the universe than the first caveman who looked up at the moon’s face and saw a man, his own likeness. Men have walked on the moon, but we have not howled at her, have not bowed down to her power. We are full of ego and bravado and hubris. Science wants to explain the universe, but understanding is not what humans want, not what we were put here for. Humans don’t long to understand the universe, we long to experience it. That experience, that is Bast and Sekhmet. It is magic.”

  Sebastian glanced down at Katie, expecting to share a look of, “Well aren’t they crazy?” but she was looking at the two of them with shining eyes.

  “It’s true,” Sal agreed with his partner. “You know, this necklace you wear, it is magic.”

  “Oh come on.” Sebastian frowned at the Italian. He didn’t like them filling he head up with nonsense. Katie was far too impressionable.

  “Egyptian mythology says there were women who walked the earth as incarnations of the goddess,” Theo said, ignoring Sebastian’s dismissal. “They were twins, sun and moon. Light and dark. Thousands worshipped at their feet. They were sp
ecial, magic. In mythology, they appeared as half woman, half cat.”

  “You don’t believe that, do you?” Sebastian asked, cocking his head at Theo.

  “I believe there are mysteries in the world we will never understand.” Theo dropped him a wink. “And the first of those is woman!”

  That made them all laugh, even Katie.

  “So, have you two decided to come join us in Italy?” Sal asked, looking between them. “I have a very large villa. You are welcome, both of you, to stay with us as long as you like.”

  “Oh I don’t know.” Katie leaned against Sebastian’s side and he felt gratified by her response. She needed protecting, and he liked being her protector.

  “Ah you have family here then?” Sal inquired.

  Sebastian felt Katie stiffen beside him, knowing it was a sore point with her.

  “Well… no,” she admitted.

  It was hard to get her to talk about her childhood. She’d spent most of it in foster care, and not with one family either. Sebastian had listened in horror the first time she told him about being abandoned—literally, left on the doorstep of a Catholic church as a newborn, her umbilicus still attached and not yet dry—and then the stories she told about foster care. She had scars long before Malcolm came along.

  “So what is keeping you here?” Theo asked. “Sebastian I know would follow me in an instant, just to sing at Teatro alla Scala.”

  He couldn’t deny it, although the truth made him flush.

  “I don’t know.” Katie shrugged. “I’d have to really think about it. When are you leaving?”

  “A month,” Theo replied. “The next full moon!”

  He pointed at the window and sure enough, a fat, round moon was reflected in one of the upper panes.

  “We have to close up this house and ready my villa,” Sal explained. “You should come, Katrina. Come eat grapes and drink wine. Take long naps in the middle of the afternoon. Make love on the terrace.”

  “I’ll think about it,” she replied, looking up at Sebastian, who wasn’t too keen on Sal talking about Katie and making love in the same sentence, even if he was gay.