Chapter Nine

 

Strolling beside Diana, Colette licked the ice cream dripping down the side of her cone. “You two look hysterical.”

“Thanks a lot,” Diana and Sebastian said in unison.

Sebastian glanced at Diana. She hadn’t said much since coming to, back at Colette’s. He hadn’t been able to get close enough to talk to her privately. For some insane reason, Colette and Luna acted like they had to protect her from him.

“I think Sebastian’s bump looks funnier than Diana’s, don’t you, Mommy,” Luna said, popping a piece of caramelized corn in her mouth. “His is all red and lumpy.”

Colette giggled. “Oh, Luna, I think you’re making him blush!”

Sebastian came to such an abrupt halt that Colette, Luna, and Diana continued on a few more feet before realizing he was no longer with them. When they turned, he crossed his arms and glared at their surprised faces.

“I believe I’m red from anger, ladies. I’ve been the brunt of your jokes about my bump for the entire ride here, during the fireworks and that ridiculous tour through Alien Attack.” He reached up and tenderly touched the lump above his brow.

“I think it’s cute.” Diana walked up. Her fingers slid around his neck and pulled his head down.

He closed his eyes, needing her kiss. Just before she awoke at Colette’s and slammed her forehead into his, he’d come to a frightening realization. Sometime during the last month, he had fallen in love with Diana Nostrum. Sometime during the last month, she became his life’s essence.

Her lips pressed gently onto the bump. Not what he’d wanted, but he felt his anger at the three females dissolve.

He opened his eyes. They stared at his forehead, then burst out laughing. He spread his hands out. “It’s just a bump, for chrissakes!”

Tourists ambling up and down the sidewalk turned to peer at him. Some giggled, others merely shook their heads and moved on. Diana, Luna and Colette clung to each other as their laughter grew more and more out of control. Tears rolled down Colette’s face.

Sebastian’s heart ached. For the first time since his stepbrother’s death, Colette was having fun—smiling, laughing, crying tears that had nothing to do with grief.

He watched Diana whisper something into Colette’s ear, wondered what she could have suggested to make his sister-in-law emphatically shake her head. His mouth dropped when Colette stifled a hiccup, ran up and kissed his bump. He watched Diana’s eyes grow wide.

“What?” Sebastian frowned, grasping just what the love of his life and his sister-in-law had done.

He strolled over to the Frankenstein in front of the House of Wax. “Hey, Frank,” Sebastian said, grinning into the green face. He winked at the vampire beneath the costume. “Do you find anything funny about my bump?”

Frankenstein shook his head, then doubled over and slapped his leg.

Luna squealed. “You got lips. Pink and red lips on your bump.”

“Traitor!” Diana yelled, wrapping her arms around the little girl before she could run away. “Now you must be tickled until you pee-pee in your panties.”

“No, don’t.” Luna gleefully wriggled free and clutched her crotch. “I’ve been holding it in all night.”

“Oh, Luna.” Colette grasped her hand and quickly led her across the street.

While Colette took Luna into the public restroom, Diana and Sebastian waited on a nearby bench. Sebastian stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankle. Diana lifted his arm, draped it over her shoulder and snuggled against his side. Her warm breath flowed over his neck as she peered up at him.

By now her finger had healed completely, but her blood remained on the bandage, and when she brought her hand up to his cheek, the hunger he’d denied much longer then he should have reared its ugly head.

The stench from the bathroom mingled with the odors rising from the dumpsters behind the nearby restaurants and bars. The incessant chatter of the people milling in the nightclubs, restaurants and attractions coupled with the pounding bass of the various radios, bands and DJ booths assaulted his ears. The simplest breeze pelted his skin like a thousand grains of sand. His hunger devoured him, weakened his power to control the overload of sensations surrounding him. His stomach roiled. He drew in a deep breath and held it until his lungs burned.

Diana’s hand grabbed the front of his shirt. “Stop that. You’re scaring me.”

Her voice calmed the beast that would have driven him to sink his teeth into her flesh. He brought his forehead down to hers. “By holding my breath?”

“You held it too long.” She tilted her head up until the tips of their noses touched.

Sebastian chuckled. “Scared I’ll pass out? Bump my head?”

Diana blushed and rested her cheek on his chest. “You have lipstick on your forehead.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I know.”

“I thought so. Thanks.”

“For what?” He shifted so he could see her face.

Diana’s eye welled. “For bringing a little light into their lives.”

He chucked her under the chin. She’d set their dark world aglow. They spent their entire existence avoiding the sun’s dreaded rays, yet they basked in the warmth of the light that seemed to follow Diana wherever she went. “You did that, goddess. Not me.”

She leaned over and kissed his neck, then took a tissue from her purse and tenderly wiped away the lipstick.

He recalled his mother’s warning that if he fell under Diana’s spell, she’d introduce him to the sun and a pain he could never imagine. Well, he’d definitely fallen under her spell and she had become his sunshine, his light in the dark. And the mere thought of losing her when he revealed what he was, what he’d done that night in her bedroom, pained him more than if someone thrust a red-hot poker into his heart.

He had no doubt that sometime in the near future, he would lose Diana.

What could he possibly offer her to convince her to accept eternal darkness by his side? A life devoid of sunshine? Children doomed to spend their days abed, keeping one foot on the floor even as they slept in case some misguided fool tried to plunge a stake through their hearts? Teens who were virtual slaves of their community until they could control the erratic behavior of their adult fangs?

His eyes burned. Diana had spoken so often about how she loved the way the stars peeked through the ebony blanket covering the night sky, how pools of moonlight floated across lake and how the fireflies arose from the grass and bushes like fairies heralding the arrival the moon.

But she also loved the heat of the sun on her bare flesh, how bright the colors of flowers looked in the middle of the day and recounted with glee each and every time she caught sight of a hummingbird hovering over a bloom as it drank the sweet nectar.

Because of his carelessness she soon would have to bid farewell to the sun and enter a life where one year of darkness would only age her one day. She could spend the endless nights by his side as his mate or alone.

Either way, now that she’d tasted his blood, there was no turning back. Diana either completed the bonding ritual with him or joined the Slashers on Fentmore Island. Even if she accepted him, even if she grew to love him enough to want to be his mate, he had no doubt that once she discovered what had transpired the night he, Diego and Tomas had entered her bedroom, once she grasped why they had been there, she would want nothing more to do with him.

“What’s wrong, Sebastian?”

He gazed down at her concerned face. “Hmmm?”

“You look like you just lost your best friend.” Diana pressed her body into his side.

“You’ve captured me, you know. And I’m terrified by the thought of you setting me free.” He shrugged, embarrassed that he’d spoken aloud the fears he’d only just discovered. “Let’s walk by the lake while we wait.”

 

When they reached the lake, Diana stared up into his face. Her hand trembled as she slid it up his chest. She’d wondered about his absence during the day long before tonight.

She’d seen the way his eyes had dilated exactly like Colette and Luna’s when he’d seen her finger, the way his tongue had wrapped around it and drawn her blood into his mouth for a second before he’d removed it. And she’d seen the drawing with Sebastian’s name. They’d all assumed she’d fainted from the sight of the blood, but Diana knew the growing evidence pointing toward the possibility that Sebastian might be a vampire had been too much for her to handle.

When she awoke to find him gazing down at her, his heart in his eyes, she made a decision she hoped she wouldn’t regret. She knew, vampire or not, she couldn’t just turn her back on him. Not because her grandmother considered him her soul mate or because her body recognized him as such.

Sebastian had worked his way into her heart. If she was right, if he was indeed a vampire, then she had to give him the opportunity to reveal himself, had to convince him that he could trust her with his secret. What choice did she have?

Somehow, Sebastian had become the very air she breathed.

She longed for his touch more now than ever before. Flattening her palm on his chest, she felt his heartbeat flow into her, merge with her own and set it on fire. How could she walk away without ever knowing what it felt like to make love to the one man who could awaken her body with a mere glance? She had to take this further, had to let the bud of love lodged in her heart bloom before she made any decision.

Colette and Luna emerged from the bathroom and joined them. Colette looked at Diana and Sebastian, then turned to Luna. “I think it’s time we went home.”

“But I wanted more caramel corn and cotton candy.” Luna crossed her arms and stuck out a perfect pout.

Diana yawned. “Sorry, sweetie, but I’m pooped.”

Later, when she and Sebastian returned to the car after they had made sure that Colette and Luna were safely in their house, Diana turned to Sebastian and calmly asked, “Can vampires go out during the day if it’s cloudy?”

Sebastian, in the midst of backing out of the driveway, nearly slammed into the white picket fence he’d helped Marek put up only last year. “Vampires?”

Diana brought her hand to his cheek. He was so beautiful it took her breath away. “Yes, Sebastian, vampires. I know you know about Colette and Luna.”

“Well,” he hesitated, threw the car into park, then shifted to face her. “If there are scattered clouds, no. But there are times when the clouds are dense and completely blanket the sky. On those days…I’m told…vampires can come out.”

She smiled. “Tomorrow, you’re calling in sick and taking me on a picnic.”

Sebastian’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

“It’s supposed to rain. I love picnics in the rain. Take me home, Sebastian.”

“You’re awfully bossy all of a sudden.”

“You want bossy? Okay. Tomorrow, we’re going to have a picnic in the rain. Then I’ll go home. At exactly, hmmm, eight, you’re going to pick me up and take me to your house.”

“My house?” Sebastian pulled up to the curb in front of Diana’s house.

“Yes, so you’d better clean up the place.”

He smirked. “You got that right. Anything else, boss?”

Diana slid over and brought her lips to his ear. “You’re going to make love to me, Sebastian.” She pressed her breasts into his arm, felt his muscles harden. “I’ve been waiting a whole month for you to make a move, now I’m taking charge. And, Sebastian?”

He opened his mouth, then simply nodded.

She slid her hand down over his stomach, over the waistband of his jeans, then cupped the hard ridge rising up alongside the zipper. “You’re really big and, hmmm, how can I put this? You’ll be my first, which means I’ll be real tight.”

“You’re killing me, you know that?”

“Well, I just figured that once you felt how very tight I am, you might feel the need to be extra gentle.”

“I will.”

“But you won’t.”

His eyes dilated. “I won’t,” he asked, his voice huskier than she’d ever heard it.

“Don’t go wild on me,” she whispered, then ran her tongue along his lower lip, “but don’t be too gentle either.”

“I won’t hurt you.”

“I know. Now kiss me goodnight.”

Sebastian drew her onto his lap.

Diana moaned. Linking her arms around his neck, she brought her lips to his. She felt his fingers dig into her hips as his mouth crushed hers. His tongue slid past her lips and took possession of her senses. Enflamed, she ground herself onto his cock and greedily sucked his tongue deeper into her mouth.

Suddenly she was standing on the sidewalk on wobbly legs watching Sebastian close the car door. “Sebastian? How…”

He smiled. “Rain, huh? What time do you want me to pick you up for the picnic?”

* * * * *

The weatherman erred and Diana found she was neither surprised nor frightened when Sebastian called to say he couldn’t see her until dusk. She spent the day wondering if she was right or if her revelation that vampires really did exist had clouded her judgment where he was concerned.

Plenty of people were too busy to socialize during the day. She should be grateful that he took his job so seriously. And how many mothers sucked the blood from their children’s cut fingers? Plenty. And he’d said he lived near Colette and Luna. That would explain his name on Luna’s picture. Plenty of kids called neighbors and friends of the family uncle. Plenty.

She spent her day waiting for sunset, waiting for Sebastian and convincing herself she had jumped to a ridiculous conclusion.

The day dragged on. Just when she thought she would smash all the clocks in her house, it was time to get ready. After pouring herself a glass of wine, she slid into a lavender scented bath. Candles rested on every available surface. She ran the fat soapy loofa up her leg and grinned. Her body trembled with need. With her heart more involved than it would have been a month ago, she longed to offer him what she’d worked so hard to keep over the years.

She only hoped he’d believe he was her first after he entered her and found nothing barring his way.

An hour past dusk, she sat clutching the phone and staring bleakly at her reflection in the mirror above her vanity. Her makeup couldn’t be more perfect. The sundress she’d bought that afternoon flattered her figure. Two thin straps tied at her shoulders were the only things holding it up and she’d imagined in the store how it would feel sliding over her bare breasts when Sebastian untied them, imagined his eyes when he beheld her sheer pink thong. High heeled shoes with a satin ribbon that tied around her ankle created the picture of innocence and sensuality she’d been striving for.

But Sebastian never came.

The doorbell rang, but it was her father.

The phone rang, but it was Terry asking her to go to the movies.

A car pulled up, but it was her neighbor’s date.

And now it was ten and she was all dressed up with nowhere to go.

The phone rang again. “Please, God, let it be him,” she prayed as she picked up the receiver. Keeping her voice calm, she said, “Hello?”

“Oh, Diana. Thank God you’re home.”

Diana gripped the phone. “What’s wrong, Stan?”

“It’s Midnight. He got out again and I can’t get him to come in.”

Diana’s chin dropped down to her chest. “Don’t worry, Stan. I’ll be right over.”

“I’m sorry, Diana.”

“That’s okay. I have nothing else to do.” Grabbing her coat, she cursed herself for bringing up vampires to Sebastian. He probably marked her off as a nut and had gone out with someone else.

* * * * *

Sebastian glanced at his watch and cursed.

The sun had set later than usual, then, just as he was about to leave, Diego had arrived and insisted on speaking with him. After divulging that Olympia knew Diana and Sebastian were soul mates from the beginning, Diego begged Sebastian to help him find somewhere safe from Olympia’s wrath. Unable to ignore the terror in Diego’s eyes and saddened by way his scarred cheekbones had marred his looks, Sebastian had wasted another hour setting him up in Albany.

When he finally approached Diana’s house, the sight of her father sitting on the steps of the porch forced him to park further down the street. He crept up to their house, his eyes focused on Frank Nostrum. The man leaned back, puffing on a cigar as he talked on the phone.

Rage consumed Sebastian. He hid behind a tree. Listened.

“Sure, Diana’s got it all under control. Hey, if anyone can coax him in, Diana can. When she talks the talk, they’ll follow her anywhere. Stan, relax. The dumb animals can’t resist her.”

Sebastian felt his lungs seize. He slumped against the trunk, gazing up through the leaves at the stars, the gift he’d planned on surprising her with if she chose him tonight.

“My mother says it’s her inner voice that speaks to them. They trust her. Yeah, he’ll come in. Rain tomorrow? Nah, the sky’s clear. Either way, he’ll be in the pen long before dawn.”

Sebastian pushed himself away from the tree with trembling hands. Turning, he ran faster than he had ever run—not from the web Diana had supposedly spun to entrap him, not from a weapon more dangerous than any his kind had imagined—he ran from the truth, refusing to accept that the woman he’d fallen in love with and the woman the vampire hunter described were the same.

At first he drove around aimlessly, wondering how he could ever return to the life he led before Diana. Eventually, he found himself standing in Colette’s backyard while Luna held a tea party with her dolls on the lawn.

“Luna. Uncle Sebastian wants to ask you something.”

Luna glanced up, a tea cup of water poised at her lips.

Sebastian cleared his throat. He swallowed the lump lodged there since he left Diana’s house. “Has Diana ever spoken to you, well, like we do? Just with her mind?”

“What a silly question.” Luna giggled and sipped at her tea. “Wanna join my tea party?”

“Luna, answer Uncle Sebastian.” Colette reached out to grasp Sebastian’s hand. “He’s serious.”

Luna rolled onto her back and burst into a new fit of giggles.

Colette sat on a bench and covered her mouth, trying to hide her own laughter.

“Laugh all you want, but I just heard her father say she could lure them into the pen because she talks the talk,” he muttered, plopping down onto the bench. He flung his head back and gazed up at the moon. “Talks the talk. Dammit, Colette, you know what that means.”

“Yes, I do. The men at the ranch told me the horses follow her back into the pen every time they escape because she talks the talk. The horses trust her.” Colette smiled down at Luna. “She’s a horse whisperer. Right, Luna?”

“Yup. Diana said she always gets called by Stan—you know, Mommy, Old Jake—well, he calls her whenever a horse gets out. Cause she talks the talk.” Luna glanced down at her locket. “The horses know she’ll help them.”

Sebastian recalled how on the Midnight Trail Diana had continually whispered in her horse’s ear, how it had tilted its head as if intently listening. Running his hands through his hair, he shook his head and grinned. “I’m such a fool.”

Colette patted his knee. “We’re all fools when we fall in love, Sebastian. We constantly worry that our heart will be broken. Try to trust her. Especially tonight.”

He planted a huge kiss on each of their cheeks before rushing out to his car. The ritual would begin much later than he’d hoped, but it would begin. He only hoped he’d be able to stop grinning by the time he saw Diana.

And hurry, Sebastian, Colette called as he drove away. Damien and the elders are already waiting at the ritual grounds.

Hating that the elders would bear witness to their bonding, Sebastian slammed his palm on the steering wheel and wished he were human.

He found her a half hour later. He had no idea how he would seduce her if his late arrival had set up a wall of mistrust around her heart, but he had to succeed.

* * * * *

“Cheer up, Di. He was probably some married guy looking for a quickie.” Terry draped her arm over Diana’s slumped shoulders and steered her into the mall. “Let’s go check out the hot new manager at the Multiplex.”

“No. Something must have happened. He would have at least called. Maybe I should check at the hospital.”

Come to me.

Diana glanced over her shoulder and watched the glass doors they had just walked through slowly close. Her heart lurched. No one had come in behind them.

Come to me.

She turned her head and stared the other way toward the doors to the east parking lot. The familiar cacophony of butterflies that always warned of Sebastian’s arrival took up residence in her chest. She started to walk toward the doors, her steps speeding up as the heat coiling tightly deep in her pussy grew more and more intense.

“Di? Where are you going? Di!” Terry grabbed her arm.

Diana glared at her and yanked her arm away. “Let go.”

Terry gasped. “Great, you broke a nail. I just had them done too.”

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry, Terry.” Her eyes darted between her friend and the dark exit.

“Shit, Di. What’s gotten into you? You know the east lot is virtually empty at night. You do not want to go out there.”

“Didn’t you hear him? Sebastian. I have to go, Terry,” she whispered, “Don’t tell anyone I left. He’s waiting for me.

“I didn’t hear anything.” Terry’s eyes focused on the darkness beyond the glass. “Look, I don’t like this, not one bit. You sure that’s him?”

Diana could barely hear over the pounding of her heart. “I have to go to him, Terry. I’m so hot for him I can barely wait.”

“You mean you’re finally going to do it? With this Sebastian guy?” Terry stared at her a moment, then held up her hand. “No, don’t tell me. If this turns into an all-nighter, the less I know, the less I can tell.”

“Promise me, Terry, if anybody asks, I spent the night at your apartment. Better yet, leave your phone off the hook.”

 

Sebastian watched Diana turn away from her friend. Before taking a step in his direction, she wrung her hands. Her pounding heart resounded in his head. Lines of worry furrowed her brow. And still, she came to him.

His soul mate, the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen, strode toward him in a wisp of a dress that clung to her every curve. Closing his eyes, he saw her without that dress, saw her dancing in the moonlight for wishes, for stars. He longed to kiss her full lips, skim his teeth along her slender neck.

Last night, he had nearly lost control each time her lips rose to his, each time she had moaned and pressed her softness against his cock.

Peering through the glass, he could see her steps falter, then stop. She raised her wrist and glanced at her watch. He’d wasted too much time already, had no time to deal with her anger, and reluctantly used his power to pluck it from her mind. Merging their minds, he compelled her to join him.

When Diana came through the doors, he stepped out of the shadows and silently called to her.

She turned and smiled. As he took a step closer, the light from inside the mall lit his face. Her hand trembled as it rose to her neck. She glanced back at the doors.

“I…last night…” Eyes filled with fear met his.

Don’t fear me, Diana. I will never hurt you. Never.

She tilted her head. “Did you say something?”

He didn’t answer, merely held out his hand.

Diana stared at it. “Where are we going?”

Sebastian smiled. He knew exactly what she expected from this night. What she’d expected every night. What he, up ‘til now, had withheld.

He doubted she’d come with him if he told her where he intended to take her, doubted, after the incident with the worms, that unless she were overpowered by her passion she’d willingly lie naked with him upon the sacred ground.

But tonight he couldn’t take her, couldn’t compel her to leave with him. Tonight she had to come willingly. They could not leave until she placed her hand in his.

She crossed her arms under her breasts and glared at him. “You don’t bother to call and let me know that you’re going to be late and now I’m supposed to just go off with you? Maybe I was wrong about you. Maybe I don’t know you as well as I thought I did.”

His eyes fell to her chest and the small bumps from her erect nipples. He had to have her tonight, couldn’t waste any more time. Reluctantly, he blocked every thought in her mind except the desire he could smell racing through her veins. The more aroused he became, the more the blood she’d taken in boiled in response, inciting her to once again merge the two.

She fought back with a mental shove that nearly succeeded in releasing her from his hold. He grinned, proud that she did not give in so easily. But the night was short and, unfortunately, he did not have the time to give her what he knew she needed, time to be sure that he should be her first.

I will win, you know. He grinned smugly.

Diana’s eyes opened wide. Her hand rose to grasp the locket that now hung from Luna’s neck.

He took a step closer.

Stop right there, buster!

He obeyed with a bow.

“You heard me,” she whispered, awe filling her voice. Her cheeks flushed. “You’ve heard me all along.”

He chuckled and ran his knuckles down both sides of her neck, down over the swells of her heaving breasts. He stopped just short of touching her nipples. “Our souls were once one, goddess. We do not need words to know what the other desires.”

He felt Diana’s valiant battle for control, but her mind welcomed his touch, her body craved it. “You know? About us being soul mates?”

“Don’t you?”

They stared into each other’s eyes.

Submerged in her mind, Sebastian was shocked by the extent of her arousal. All of her nerve endings converged beneath his hands, waiting for them to continue. Her nipples throbbed painfully as they tightened. Her clit pulsed, her inner muscles tensed, and her body wept.

A cloud passed over the moon, casting them in darkness. A cool breeze lifted the wisps of her curls. Diana shivered. Without a thought, he warmed the air surrounding them.

“One night,” she murmured and reached out until her fingers left the cocoon of warmth, “by the lake. The air around me grew warm. And other nights…a warm breeze…” Her fingers trembled as she raised her hands to his face. “You?”

Unable to speak, fearing her reaction, he nodded, inching his knuckles lower, closer to where she longed to feel their touch.

“The breeze,” she breathed and glanced down at his hands resting on her breasts.

Still unable to voice his confession, he whispered into her mind. Your breeze, goddess. Your phantom. Merging their memories of that first week, he watched her expression soften, then flush. And tonight…your lover.

Blinking, Diana whimpered, “I’m dreaming aren’t I? You’re…I…I can’t handle this.”

“Say the word and I’ll leave and never bother you again, Diana. Or take my hand, take me.”

He thumped his knuckles, one by one, over her sensitive nipples. She swayed, then grabbed his hand.

Before she could change her mind, before her hand could slide free and change the course of the night, Sebastian moved. He brought his mouth down upon hers. Opening up a small nick on the inside of the corner of his mouth, he gathered a few droplets of blood onto his tongue. When her lips opened beneath his assault, his tongue and life’s essence delved in.

Still kissing her, he lifted her into his arms and took to the sky. Soaring over the treetops, he headed to the clearing where the elders waited.

Look up at the stars, Diana. Make a thousand wishes, my goddess, and I’ll grant each and every one.

She tore her mouth from his. Instead of looking up at the sky, she gazed into his eyes and blessed him with another glimpse of the dawn that dwelled in hers. Doubts and fears he’d harbored since meeting her turned to ash beneath the radiance of her gaze.

Wind lifted her hair as they descended. This time, shielded by the silken curtain of her hair, she brought her lips to his. Heedless of the late hour, of the elders waiting below, Sebastian slowed their descent and lost himself in their kiss.

When their feet touched the blanket of grass in the clearing, he ended the kiss.

Backing away, he started to unbutton his jeans.

Looking dazed, she silently watched him remove his clothes. Still merged, he saw himself through her eyes, followed the path of her gaze. She took in the muscles on his arms and legs. Her eyes widened as they focused on the curls at the base of his cock. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. His cock jerked, growing longer then he thought it ever had. Blinking, she sent her gaze back up the length of his torso.

“Your tattoo,” she said on a gasp. A smile swept across her face, lit her eyes.

Touching the black raven tattooed across his chest, he grinned. “I take it you like tattoos?”

“My grandmother said my soul mate would have one. A raven, just like yours.” Reaching out, she ran her fingers over the tattoo. Over his heart.

The feel of her fingers burning a path across his skin never failed to amaze him. Tonight he would feel her searing touch over his entire body. Hissing from her fingertips grazing over his nipple, he stepped back. “Tonight, I please you.”

Compelling her to remain where she was, he walked to the edge of the clearing and sat with his back against a tree. As he bent one leg, he nonchalantly rested his arm on his knee.

Proving that his blood strengthened her, as he knew it would, she followed. Sebastian burned with desire as he watched her approach. When only a few feet separated them, he remembered that they were not alone. That the elders surrounded them as witnesses. They would remain until his union with Diana was consummated, until she offered her body and blood up to him.

“Undress for me, Diana. Let the greedy creatures of the night dwell upon your beauty. Show them that you are giving yourself to me of your own free will.”

Diana peered into the shadows surrounding them. She jumped back when an owl hooted from a nearby tree. After a few agonizing moments, she met his gaze and untied the straps holding up her dress. As the dress slithered down her body, the collective gasp of the elders set his blood boiling. Still holding his gaze, she untied the sides of her thong. Completely exposed, her eyes once again darted to the shadows.

“You’re beautiful, Diana. Any goddess would envy you.”

“I’m afraid I’ll wake up and realize this was just another dream.”

Taking her hands, he pulled her down onto his lap, turning her so his body shielded hers from the elders. He wanted to spread her legs and taste her sweet juices mixed with the essence of her life as he had that night in her bedroom, but he refused to expose her to the elders any more than was necessary.

Sliding his hand down her belly to her silken curls, he spared a moment enjoying the pleasure of their touch upon his skin before delving further down. He caressed her swollen lips, spreading her moisture over them while his tongue imitated his movements on her mouth. When a warm drop landed on his thigh, he gave her what she had been silently begging for and plunged his fingers into her moist pussy. Her guttural moan sent a jolt of exquisite pain to his already engorged cock.

Diana spread her legs wider and wider, covered his hand with both of hers and pushed his fingers deeper. With a growl, Sebastian took possession of her mouth and merged their minds. Her cries filled his head. The slick muscles surrounding his fingers convulsed as she shattered in his arms.

Standing, supping on lips he dreamt of every day, he carried her to the center of the clearing. He laid her upon the damp ground, compelling her to feel the touch of satin. Opening her eyes when his lips released hers, she reached out.

And screamed.

Through her eyes, Sebastian saw himself kneeling between her legs, his blood-red eyes fixed on her terrified face. His fangs, so damn long from wanting her, so damn sharp. His heart shattered when she continued to scream and scrambled back. Tears filled her eyes.

“Diana, please…” Sebastian inched closer, realizing too late that moving forward on his hands and knees made him look even more animalistic, more dangerous.

“Oh, no, no, no.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh, Sebastian, no.” She hugged her knees and began to rock back and forth.

Consumed with grief over her loss, he rent the night with a roar that ripped free of his throat. Nothing compared to the pain of her rejection.

With a yelp, Diana covered her ears.

An argument amongst the elders filtered into Sebastian’s mind a moment before he felt them open his mind and heart to Diana. Shocked by their intrusion, he watched her face as his emotions crashed down upon her head. She winced when she felt the pain of her rejection. Exposed to his torment over his existence as a night creature, she buried her face in her knees.

“Do you want me to take you home?”

When she shook her head, he silently thanked the elders. “If it meant winning your heart, I’d sell my soul to be a normal man.”

“A normal man with no soul?” Raising her head, she peered out from her lashes. Her lips turned up into a sad smile. “Not very appealing.”

Smiling back, he bared his fangs. “This is better?”

Diana laughed on a stray sob. “I don’t seem to have a choice.”

“Yes, you do, Diana. You can leave.”

She held out her hand. “No… I can’t.”

He crept up to her, lowered his head and rested his cheek in her warm palm.

“Will you drink my blood, Sebastian?” Her voice quivered.

He closed his eyes. “Exchanging blood is inseparable from our passion.”

“Is one bite enough to change someone into a vampire?”

Sebastian stilled. Lifting his head, he steeled himself for her reaction to the fact that it was too late, that she’d already started to change. “Diana, I—”

“Will it hurt?”

Closing the gap between them, he ran the pad of his thumb over her trembling lips. “When you scream, Diana, it will be from infinite pleasure. Not pain. You have my word.”

Her gaze flicked between his teeth and eyes. She brought the tip of her finger up to touch one of his fangs. The point pierced her skin.

“It doesn’t hurt,” she murmured, staring at the drop of blood rising on her fingertip.

While holding his gaze, she ran the tip of her tongue over the small hole, entrancing him.

She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him with her as she lay back down. “I want you, Sebastian. Man or vampire.”

His heart felt as if it would burst free. Resting his forehead upon hers, he drew in a shaky breath. “I feared…” He brushed the tip of his tongue over her lips, then rose up to gaze into her eyes. “Never have I been so afraid.”

Her eyes filled with horror as he bit down on his lower lip. His blood splattered her breasts. She mentally cried out to him that she didn’t understand. Her cry changed to one of rapture when he thrust his cock into her. He stilled, reveling in the feel of her body’s embrace.

When she wriggled her hips, he withdrew, then entered her deeper and deeper until he was buried to the hilt in her moist pussy. Cupping her face in his hands, he gazed at the gift she gave him with every glance. “My gift for you, Diana.” A curtain of cascading stars arose from the ground, surrounding them in a shimmering cocoon. “For my goddess,” he whispered, “a million stars to grant her every wish.”

“Oh, Sebastian.” Diana blinked as tears filled her eyes.

Raising his hips, he groaned from the caress of her body on his cock. Plunging back into that slick heat, he brought his mouth to hers and kissed her tenderly. His blood flowed over her tongue, down her throat.

That sweet, sweet taste…blood!

He felt her stomach lurch, her mind rebel. Shifting the kiss, he slid his lower lip between hers and rejoiced when she only hesitated a moment before taking what little blood he was allowed to offer tonight.

His rhythm had been slow, torturous, but swiftly picked up momentum when her nails dug into his hips. He slammed into her, caught himself and tried to be gentler. Diana moaned into his mouth and raised her hips.

Faster, Sebastian. Harder. Faster.

Sebastian smiled against her lips. Your every wish, goddess.

Take me. Her mind cried out to his.

He drove himself into her again and again, sending her higher and higher, until her body started to tremble beneath his. He swept the hair from her neck.

Yes, oh, yes, Sebastian. Take me. Take all of me.

Sebastian tore his mouth from hers and brought it to the spot on her neck that had pulsed incessantly for weeks.

The sound of her blood flowing in her veins roared in his ears. He sucked the quivering flesh between his teeth, teased, nibbled and licked until her head fell back. “You belong to me, Diana. Only me.”

She cried out when his fangs sank deep into her flesh and brought her hands up to push his head away. But when he sucked deeply, when her blood surged through her veins and rose up eagerly to fill his mouth, she clutched his head to her neck, sinking his fangs deeper, silently begging him to suck harder.

Sebastian drove his burning cock in and out of her convulsing body. He shuddered and growled like a wild beast against her throat. Her blood flowed into him as his seed filled her womb. When she thrust the sensations coursing through her body as she climaxed into his mind, Sebastian felt his own soar even higher.

Every star surrounding them exploded and blanketed them with flaming sparks. Unimaginable pleasure streaked through her body into his, pooling where they were joined.

Her screams sent birds soaring into the air, squirrels, raccoons and chipmunks scurrying through the forest. She shattered over and over again, taking him with her as he spilled more and more of his seed and drank more and more of her blood.

Filling her with his seed while taking in her life’s essence consumed him. The hunger he’d denied for weeks mushroomed.

He forgot about the night, the elders, the ritual.

There was only Diana. Diana surrounding him, Diana filling him, Diana screaming from the power of their union.

She’d chosen him, offered up her life to him. He couldn’t get enough of her.

Am I dying?

Diana’s inner voice was so weak, Sebastian almost didn’t hear it.

He tore his mouth from her neck, his gaze frantically darting down to the woman he’d vowed to protect. A scant droplet of blood escaped from each of the two gaping holes over her jugular and trailed down her neck.

Her hands slid from his head and dropped lifelessly onto the grass.

“No,” he whispered, disbelief and terror nearly immobilizing him. He withdrew his arm from behind her neck. Diana slumped to the ground, her breathing shallow, her eyes fluttering.

Did I take too much? He cried out to those watching as his heart nearly imploded. The curtain of stars he’d created for her dissolved. “Answer me,” he sobbed. Answer me!

No. Tobias replied in a soothing voice that slid into his mind. She must learn that she needs you to survive. You have taken her to death’s door but stopped before she could enter. Tomorrow night you will feed her hunger and she will do the same to you.

A nightingale trilled from a nearby tree. Sebastian recalled how terrified she’d been of the worms that had slithered from the muddy grass into her hair and clothes at her pond and gathered her into his arms to keep her away from the ground. His heart thundered in his ears. Blood dripped from the wounds on her throat and covered her lips, her breasts. He licked her until her skin bore no sign. Sitting with her on his lap, he tenderly dressed her.

Her skin was too pale, her breathing too shallow as far as he was concerned. She had no idea when she asked if one bite would transform her that he’d sealed her fate long ago without her knowledge or approval, and it broke his heart that he’d betrayed her trust tonight. He leaned over and brought his lips to her ear. “I would rather face the dawn than hurt you, Diana. If I could, I would take back that first night, even if it meant losing you. Forgive me, Di—ah!”

Rage slammed into his head, pummeling him as surely as if someone’s fists battered his brain. The power of Olympia’s attack grew stronger with each passing second, warning that she approached.

Damien, can Olympia stop us from bonding? He yelled out to the one elder who would know.

He probed the darkness with his mind and could almost hear Damien’s sigh of resignation.

Another elder answered, anger lacing every word. She would be banished. Once a bonding ritual has reached this point, it is against our laws to interfere.

Another laughed bitterly. Since when has Olympia followed our laws?

Sebastian gritted his teeth and slammed his own rage back at his mother. He rose to his feet, Diana clutched in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open for an instant before she leaned her head against his chest and brought her lips to his skin before once again passing out. He examined the wounds on her throat and was relieved to see they were already closing.

Damien stepped out from the shadows. Take her to her home, Sebastian. She’ll be safe there.

His heart dropped at the thought of returning her to her house and the control of a man more dangerous than the Slashers on the Isle of Fentmore. But her father and the Slashers were meek compared to Olympia. The threat of banishment would not stop her and now that the bonding ritual had reached this night, now that Diana’s hunger would grow to unbearable proportions as she transformed, their bonding had to continue on to completion. For her sake.

He silently thanked the elders as he felt their combined powers wash over Diana as they bestowed her with enough strength to carry her through the day.

His grandfather appeared beside him. “With our help, your mate will be fine. She must be under her roof and you under yours.”

Tobias was right. The ritual forbade any contact between him and Diana until tomorrow night. Her father and the sun would protect her until then.