by Kathy Love
Sebastian pulled in a deep breath of his own, his cock pressing against his jeans. His fingers squeezed hers in his attempt to temper his needs. She squeezed his fingers back, and then licked the wetness of her lips. A slight smile curved her lips, softening her features, taking his breath away.
Before he thought better of it, he pulled her to him and kissed her.
Mina never liked rain. At least not since that night…
She forced that memory away and did what Sebastian asked. She just felt the rain rather than the memories it conjured.
She realized the droplets on her face felt like dozens of tiny caresses. But more than that, she could feel the texture of the water, the way the molecules bonded, the exact grouping and regrouping as they rolled in cool, silky paths on her flesh. The water was cold, but her skin didn’t sense it as a chill, but rather a pure, refreshing tingle. Even the scent of the rain, a strange combination of freshness and city, was more than she recalled ever experiencing.
At first she hadn’t understood what Sebastian wanted her to do. All she could focus on was his hands holding hers, his strong fingers against the backs of her hands, his thumb pressing into her upturned palms. But then she let herself go. Let herself feel.
She smiled at the wonder of such a simple thing, amazed that she’d never really felt the rain before-not like this. It was incredible, fantastic, exhilarating.
Then her world shifted, and she found herself pulled against Sebastian. Her chest flattened against his broader, muscular one. Their damp clothes clinging, a wet friction between them, making her breasts tingle with each brush. Before she could even begin to become accustomed to those sensations, his soft, persuasive lips molded to hers, licking the rain from her. Tasting the moist heat beyond.
Desire snapped over her already oversensitized body like electricity over a bare powercord. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, trying to find something solid, something concrete to ground her, before her body just went up in sizzling smoke. But the feeling of his hard muscles, the undulations of them under her palms did nothing to lessen the crackling need, making her weak and overwhelmed. And all the while, his lips, strong and soft all at once, molded and remolded to hers like the rain had done on her skin. Except Sebastian’s kiss was a hundred-a thousand-times more thrilling.
His large hands on her back pulled her tighter against him, and she found the strange urge to rub against him. She wanted more-much more-of something she didn’t even understand. She whimpered against his lips, overwhelmed, desperate.
He used the slight parting of her lips to slip his tongue inside her mouth. The rasp of his tongue, the taste of him. Then his mouth left her lips, licking the rain on her cheeks, clinging to her jawline.
“God, I want you,” he whispered against her ear.
She wanted him too. She did. She had to at least admit that truth to herself. And her need scared and excited her all at once. But like with the rain, she just wanted to feel him.
She groaned, shocking herself by turning her head and kissing him fully, her tongue slipping into the moist heat beyond his sculpted lips. Her arms locked around his neck and she rubbed against him, feeling. Only feeling. No thoughts. Just sensation.
His tongue traced the curve of her bottom lip. She licked him back, the rain adding to the tang of his mouth.
“You taste so good,” he murmured against her lips, the words low and velvety-and as sobering as if the rain falling on them had suddenly turned to sleet.
She pulled away, blinking at him. What was she doing?
He stared back at her, his golden eyes hooded, dazed. He started to reach for her again, but she stumbled backward, her heel catching on a grate in the sidewalk. Sebastian caught her, but dropped his hand as soon as she was steadied.
“I should go home,” she said, surprised her voice sounded so calm.
Sebastian stared at her for a moment. Then he nodded. He glanced up at the sky. The rain fell in big fat drops, splattering loudly on the concrete. He gestured to a storefront with a large striped awning.
“Wait under there until I find a cab.”
She nodded numbly, automatically doing as he asked. She watched as he strode to the curb, waiting for a cab to pass. Even though she was shaken, she couldn’t help noticing how beautiful he was, standing in the rain, his clothes clinging to his tall, muscular body, his hair wet and tangled.
Her body ached, but she forced herself to focus on the rain, the passing cars, the buildings surrounding them. Anything but that man and her desire.
Finally, he flagged down a taxi and gestured for her to join him. She did, still feeling like her body wasn’t her own. Once in the car, she slid to the other door, putting as much space between herself and Sebastian’s big body. Sebastian didn’t close the space, staying against his door. They were both silent.
“I’ll walk you up,” Sebastian offered once they reached her apartment, but Mina shook her head, opening the cab door.
“No. I’m fine,” she managed to say, surprised how calm her voice sounded. She was anything but fine, her legs were trembling, her hands… She was a mess.
She started to step out onto the curb, when his fingers caught her wrist, the contact making her breath catch. She looked at him, knowing her eyes were wide, anxious. But that simply wasn’t something she could disguise. She was far too overwhelmed by him.
He smiled in a way that he meant to be comforting, but it just made her all the more aware of how beautiful he was.
“Mina,” he said softly. “I’ll come here to get you tomorrow night.”
She nodded, unable to speak. His quietly stated intent wasn’t said to sound ominous, but it sent another chill through her.
“Night,” he said, releasing her. She nodded again, and half-scrambled, half-fell out of the taxi. She didn’t look back to see if he was chuckling over her gracelessness. Her only thought was to get into her apartment to where she could think.
Once locked inside her empty home, she collapsed on the sofa, dropping her head into her trembling hands.
What the hell had she been doing? She couldn’t feel this way about him. She had agreed to the bargain he’d proposed, but only to learn how to better stop vampires like him. To avoid telling the Society she had failed. And to maybe go back and tell them that Sebastian Young had been converted to one of them.
Not to fall into his arms.
She thought of that kiss. She couldn’t let that happen again. He was still the enemy, although it was getting harder and harder for her to remember that fact.
She had to remember that the Society had picked Sebastian as a dangerous vampire for good reason.
“It was the rain,” she stated to herself. That had to be the reason she’d reacted to him so completely. He’d helped her overcome something that she’d thought would always haunt her. She’d just… reacted. Well, her body had.
But her body had misled her before. She had to remember that. And she also had to remember she wasn’t that same young girl she’d been. She could handle this situation with Sebastian. She could keep control. She could.
CHAPTER 11
When Sebastian arrived at Mina’s apartment the next night, he half-expected her to be gone. But as he walked down the characterless hallway with its beige walls and dark carpet that might have been blue at one time but was now a murky gray, he sensed her. The scent of lily of the valley and something inherently Mina reached him, and suddenly the antiseptic surroundings seemed far more interesting.
Last night, he’d been stunned by the intensity of his need for her. He knew he’d wanted her, but he was shocked how quickly his desire had spun out of control. He wanted her more than any woman he could recall for a long, long time.
At first, he’d found his loss of control unnerving. He just didn’t lose control like that. Then he decided it wasn’t totally unexpected. Mina presented a challenge, and he loved a challenge. That was really all there was to it. That simple.
He was looking forward to tonigh
t.
He knocked on the door, and it opened immediately as if she’d been waiting for him. Although her narrowed eyes behind her ever-present glasses and her bow-shaped lips drawn tight didn’t exactly state she was pleased to see him.
Okay, maybe she wasn’t waiting in excited anticipation.
“Hello,” he said and couldn’t help adding. “Couldn’t wait for me to get here, could you?”
She gave him a wry look of her own, but moved back for him to enter the small apartment. He noticed right away that her black hair was in braids, and his eyes strayed down her body to see if she was wearing a naughty little Catholic schoolgirl outfit. No such luck. A simple pale pink shirt and faded jeans.
“Come on in,” she said, “since you’ve been here already, I guess I don’t need to show you around.”
Sebastian smiled at her as he passed. “Someone is cranky tonight.”
She followed him into the living room and waited for him to sit, before she said, “Not cranky. Serious.”
Sebastian groaned. “That’s almost worse than cranky. Mina, has anyone ever told you that you are altogether too serious?”
“Well, someone has to be,” she said, although she sounded a little insulted at his observation. That had to be a good sign. There was a naughty schoolgirl in there somewhere. Although he’d be happy with a real smile tonight. Or a laugh. But best not to get his hopes up.
“Sebastian,” she started, and he smiled.
“What?” she demanded, when she saw his pleased expression.
“That’s the first time you’ve said my name.”
She gave him a look that stated that she thought he was a lunatic.
“Go on,” he said, relaxing against the sofa cushions.
She stared at him for a moment, but her eyes were unreadable. Although that could just be the damned glare of the lamplight off the lenses of her glasses.
“Sebastian,” she started again.
“Why do you wear those glasses? I’ve never heard of a vampire with myopia.”
She paused, her frown returning. “What?”
“Your glasses. You don’t need them.”
“No,” she agreed. “I like them.” She took a breath and started again on the important thing that Sebastian could tell she was geared up to tell him.
“I want you to know that-”
“Do you have to wear the glasses tonight?”
Her mouth snapped shut, then she said flatly. “Yes. I do.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “But you can’t know unless you ask, right?”
She frowned at him as if she was trying to decide if he really wanted an answer. Obviously deciding he didn’t, she started her announcement again. “I want you to know that I fully intend to-”
“I like your hair tonight,” he said. “I like the weird, messy ponytail things too.”
She stopped again, giving him a look that said she thought he was mad. “Has anyone ever told you that you are rather annoying?”
“You know, you’d be surprised how often I’ve heard that.”
“No,” she stated, “I don’t think I would. Are you done now? Can I speak?”
He nodded, trying to look properly contrite. Although he was thoroughly enjoying himself. He loved how easily he could get to her-it sort of made up for how easily she aroused him. He straightened against the sofa cushion as if he planned to be a good boy and listen.
She watched him for a few moments, then when he was settled, she asked, “Are you ready now?”
He nodded.
“Okay, I fully intend to keep the deal with you, but I think we need a few ground rules.”
Rules. Okay, now she really did have his attention and not in a good way. He didn’t like rules. In fact, all his plans for her were about breaking rules. Did no one understand that was what vampires were supposed to do? Break rules. Exist outside normal conventions.
But he didn’t speak. He wanted to hear the rest of this nonsense.
“My first rule is no flirting.”
Oh no. These rules were so not going to work for him.
“Also no touching. No holding hands. No… well, no contact, period.”
Sebastian stood up at that request, his action smooth and sudden. Mina immediately moved back, even though he wasn’t near her. Fear instantly permeated the air.
Sebastian frowned, but kept his tone calm. “Why not?”
She stared at him for a moment, then stated coolly, “Because I don’t like it.”
Sebastian nearly laughed. She was lying, and they both knew it. “You didn’t like my kiss last night?”
For a fraction of a second, her gaze dropped to his mouth, then she met his eyes. “No. I didn’t.”
He knew she wasn’t telling the truth; he’d felt her desire for him, tasted it on her lips. Even now, tiny flares of her need mingled with her nervousness. She wanted him, and he wanted her. It was that clear and simple. But her denial bothered him far, far more than it should have. Her distant expression bothered him, too.
“Are you making up these silly rules because you don’t like me? Or because you are afraid you might like me too much? After all, it wouldn’t do to actually like the Society’s Number One enemy.”
He stepped toward her, and again she backed up a step. More fear pulsed in the room, but somehow this alarm felt different. He wondered if he’d come close to the truth.
But instead of denying or confirming his suspicions, her gaze fell to the floor. “You aren’t the Number One enemy.”
Sebastian slowly approached her, but stopped a few inches away. “Mina, I’m not your enemy, period.”
She looked up at him, and for just a moment, her expression was torn somewhere between hope and uncertainty. Her dark eyes, heartbreaking. But then the emotions disappeared, her pale features unreadable, doll-like.
He hated that empty look. He wanted the woman who’d allowed herself to enjoy the rain. The woman who looked aroused and dazed by his kiss. Even the woman who gritted her teeth and glared at him.
He started to reach for her, but caught himself. She said she didn’t want his touch, and he would abide by that. But he had a rule of his own.
“Okay, I’ll agree to your rules.”
Her eyes brightened.
“But I have one of my own.”
She hesitated. “What is it?”
“I can ask to touch you. You can say no, and I won’t. But I can ask.”
Mina frowned, surprised by his compromise, wondering if she could really trust him to keep to his word. Of course, he hadn’t done anything aggressive to her yet. Actually given what she’d tried to do to him, he’d been surprisingly kind. Even the times he’d lost his temper with her, he’d not stayed mad more than a few moments. Even when she publicly insulted his personality. Even when he’d discovered her attempts to harm his club.
She studied his features, trying to see any deception there. His golden eyes regarded her back, waiting for her agreement.
“Okay,” she said, and he smiled, those sinfully full lips turning up, one corner a tad higher than the other. Lord, he was beautiful.
She forced her gaze away, studying a loose bit of yarn in the worn carpet.
“Want to shake on it?” he asked, holding his hand out. She hesitated, her first instinct to tell him no, but that seemed silly. A handshake truly was harmless.
She slipped her hand against his, noting the slightly rough texture of his palm, and his long fingers curled around her smaller ones. His touch was gentle, and she found herself reminded of his lips that had tasted hers so gently, only to grow more urgent.
She pulled her hand away, and he released her readily. Okay, nothing was harmless when it came to this man.
She expected to see a smug smirk on his lips, as he was probably well aware of her body’s reaction to the brief touch, but instead he just nodded.
“Good, we are agreed. Now let’s go to a toy store.”
Mina was still confused as she followed Sebastian down her
apartment stairs and out to the street. He turned right, walking briskly over the cracked concrete.
“A toy store?” she asked, jogging every few steps to keep up with his pace.
When he realized she was having a little difficulty keeping up with him, he slowed his strides. “Yes. Have you ever been to a toy store?”
“Of course, I’ve been to a toy store.”
He gave her a sidelong look. “Since you crossed over?”
She started to say, of course again, then paused. No, she hadn’t. Of course, she hadn’t. Why would she need to go to a toy store? She didn’t know any children. She hadn’t for centuries. The idea saddened her slightly, but instead of dwelling on the strange sense of loss, she focused back on Sebastian.
“What about you? Have you been to a toy store?”
“Sure. I love toy stores.”
“Even now?” she asked.
He laughed at her incredulous expression, the sound lush and warm. “Yes. Even now.”
“Why?”
He glanced at her. “I like the kids.”
She stopped, her abrupt halt causing two teenage girls, who were talking animatedly in half-sentences, nearly to bump into her. The girls glared at her, then she was forgotten as they spotted Sebastian. They did a double take, then leaned into each other giggling about him as they continued down the street.
Mina frowned at the girls, then turned her attention back to Sebastian.
“You like the kids?”
He shook his head and smiled, tolerantly. “Yes, I like the kids. But not in the ‘nice-little-appetizers’ way you are thinking.”
“I wasn’t-”
He cut her off. “Yes, you were.”
He started walking again, and this time she fell in step with him easily.
“So why do you like toy stores and kids?”
“You’ll see.”
He turned down another street but Mina’s steps slowed as the crowd began to grow denser. Soon they were weaving through the masses, her shoulder bumping against Sebastian at her side and the other shoulder being brushed by passersby. With each unintentional contact, she felt more confused.