Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Sebastian!” James’s urgent shout sounded close to Sebastian’s ear. Strong arms held him steady.
“I’m all right.” Sebastian braced himself against James, regaining his balance. He looked back into the yard but couldn’t see anything by the back fence.
James pulled him back, away from a tendril snaking along the floor. The shadow coming into the house wasn’t stopping.
“We need to find out where it’s coming from. Attacking it like this isn’t doing enough.” Parker stepped closer to the open doorway. “I’ll fix the fractured ward. Then we need to go outside and find the source of this shadowy mess and stop it that way.”
Hazel swept the hair that had escaped her ponytail out of her face. “Sounds like a plan.”
James kept an arm around Sebastian, like he was worried Sebastian might tip over again. Parker secured the wards around the house without trouble, stopping more shadows from seeping inside. Once the last tendril left in the pool room had been banished by a burst of fire from James, they made their way onto the back patio.
The charging shades were absent for the moment, and the creeping shadow didn’t line the ground as Sebastian had expected. Confused, he turned back toward the house, pulling James with him.
“Oh no,” Sebastian breathed, and the rest of the group turned to look.
The shadow they’d seen from the doorway was covering the entire house. It rolled like a fog but clung to the building unnaturally.
“What the hell?” Eli gripped the fire extinguisher, a mixture of awe and horror on his face.
Hazel looked up in disbelief. “It’s huge.”
James’s hand on Sebastian tightened. “Is it coming from the sky?” There was a dark haze above the house. If they were hoping to find the source, and it was in the air, that wasn’t good.
“I thought I saw something by the fence. Like the figure I saw in town.” Sebastian turned toward the back of the yard. “Look. That corner is almost pitch black.”
The back left corner of the yard was so dark you couldn’t see the fence. Whatever was shrouding the corner seemed to continue into the sky, just like the shadow attacking the house. They had to be connected, and sure enough, the longer Sebastian looked, the more sure he was that the shadow in the corner was flowing up, like a reverse waterfall, while what was covering the house was flowing downward. The source could very well be hiding in the corner.
Parker must have been thinking along the same lines as he said, “Looks like whatever’s back there is our best bet. Let’s go for it together.” He elbowed James, who nodded.
The two men inched around the tree. A shade swooped in behind them. Sebastian sent sparks at the beast just as it reached out to grab James. As flames banished the shade at their backs, James and Parker sent sparks into the darkened corner. The first were swallowed by the blackness and didn’t ignite, but James and Parker didn’t stop. They sent sparks into the dark until, finally, one caught.
The flames didn’t penetrate the darkness enough for them to see what was lurking there. The only indication that the sparks had caught was the shrill scream that pierced the night. Sebastian flinched and covered his ears. The fire roared, flames crackling behind the dark curtain, and the shadow enveloping the house was slowly sucked back up into the sky.
When the last tendril left the house, the darkness in the corner burst, revealing a column of flame. The scream cut off and the fire fizzled out. The floodlights seemed to flare, like the whole yard had been darkened unnaturally and had suddenly returned to normal.
The corner was now empty.
“Shit,” James panted, bracing himself against the tree.
Sebastian rushed up to him. “Are you okay?” He rubbed James’s back, scanning him for injuries even though he hadn’t seen anything that could have hurt him.
“Yeah.” He pushed off the tree and let Sebastian wrap him in a hug. “Don’t think I have much magic left in me though.”
“Come on.” Sebastian led him back toward the house, and the others followed, Eli at Parker’s side and Hazel bringing up the rear. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I need to sit down.”
The group left Parker’s house after a second dinner, necessary for everyone but Eli to recoup the energy they’d lost doing so much magic. No one had any idea why Parker’s place was targeted out of all the houses on the street, but it was probably best to leave for the rest of the night. Eli insisted Parker come home with him, and Parker didn’t argue.
Hazel offered to stop in on the mayor at home and tell her what happened. Sebastian wondered if that was necessary, but no one else seemed to find it odd for Hazel to show up at the other woman’s house like this. He supposed the news that shades had a way of getting past wards couldn’t wait.
James drove Sebastian back to the duplex in silence. They arrived at Sebastian’s place to find the entryway dark. He’d forgotten to leave a light on, unlike his neighbor, whose home was cheery and bright.
Sebastian wrapped James’s jacket tight around himself, shooting a look at James. “Want to come in?”
James took Sebastian’s hand, dislodging it from where it clung to the jacket. “Yes, I’ll always want to come in.”
Sebastian didn’t release James’s hand. James would always want to come in, wouldn’t he? God, that felt good. Sebastian had no desire to be alone tonight. Not after thinking about everything Parker had said and not after the scare of the attack. He needed James and didn’t care how clingy he came across.
James studied Sebastian silently, his eyes narrowed in confusion when Sebastian remained quiet. “That surprises you?”
Sebastian held James tight, his face obviously giving him away. “I know it shouldn’t. But yes,” he whispered. Admitting this insecurity gave him an uncomfortable jolt, but he wanted to be honest.
James looked thoughtful but didn’t comment or tell Sebastian he was wrong for feeling that way, and Sebastian was grateful.
Sebastian only let go of James because it was necessary to get out of the car. Inside, he and James went directly up to the bedroom. Sebastian pulled James close, letting himself be comforted by the press of their bodies. He tucked James’s face into the crook of his neck and held him for a long time, his nose buried in James’s hair, breathing him in. The hint of chlorine mixed with James’s shampoo and his musky scent was Sebastian’s favorite smell.
James gripped him around the waist, seeming content to hold the tight embrace. Neither of them said anything. Sebastian wasn’t sure what he would even say. He was so grateful for James. He’d rescued Sebastian in so many ways. He was still saving him, even now, with this hug, showing Sebastian what it was like to have good things in his life, making him believe he didn’t need to earn love, that he was accepted and worthy just as he was.
He could be what James needed. They could build a resilient relationship if the things they’d already faced were anything to go by. He’d been there for James at Storm House and shouldn’t have discounted the significance of that. He’d had something to offer then and even more to offer now.
With a kiss to the top of his head, Sebastian released James. They stripped each other and tumbled into bed. Sebastian pulled the covers over them and nuzzled his face against James’s chest like a cat, worshipping him and letting James fill all his senses.
He was exhausted emotionally from the conversation with Parker and physically from using so much magic. He and James were probably too worn out for much in the way of sex, but that was okay. Sebastian needed a different kind of comfort tonight.
He rubbed his face against James, his cheek gliding over James’s left pec and nipple. He turned his head, burying his nose in James’s chest hair, and breathed in. It felt so good. He wanted to crawl inside James, feel him everywhere. He gave in to his neediest desires and did what felt right, touching and pressing into James’s body, rubbing every inch of his face against James’s chest, smelling him, and making him his whole world.
“Hope I don’t stink.” James let out a tired laugh as Sebastian continued to rub.
“Love the way you smell,” Sebastian murmured. “I can’t get enough of being close to you.”
James let out a soft sigh, close to a moan. He pulled Sebastian tighter against his side and buried his other hand in Sebastian’s hair. “I’ll never get enough of you, Sebastian.”
The words washed over Sebastian like soothing, warm water. Good feelings enveloped him, and he banished his doubt. He wouldn’t let himself be consumed by the ungrounded fear of James changing his mind.
“I like hearing that. I like knowing you can’t get enough of me,” Sebastian whispered as his head came to rest, too caught up in the way James was massaging his scalp to continue nuzzling.
Sebastian felt calm with his ear resting above James’s steady heartbeat. He was settled in a way he hadn’t been, maybe ever. He’d been telling himself to trust James, but this was the first time he felt like he actually did, all the way to his bones.
Sebastian had never fully trusted anyone. Not his mother, uncle, or the people he’d had passing friendships with, and in most of those cases, he’d had good reason not to. Trusting had been dangerous and had left him hurt and betrayed, but in James’s arms, he knew what it was like to be completely safe and secure for the first time.
James laid a kiss on his head. “I can tell you I’ll never get enough of you every day. It’ll always be true.”
“You’ll spoil me.” Sebastian craned his neck to look at James.
He smiled, soft and lovely on his usually hard face. “I don’t know if that’s spoiling you, but if it is, you deserve it.”
Sebastian tightened his hold on James. He did deserve it. If James thought so, how could he argue? If James could accept him and see the good in him, it must be there. He was more than a messy causer of problems. He was someone worth choosing, and he was going to start living his life like it.
Sebastian kissed the firm pec he was resting on, burrowing back into James’s chest. “You do too. I’m going to spoil the hell out of you, James. I want all the good things for you.”
“I don’t know what more I could possibly want.” James’s hand stilled in Sebastian’s hair. “Not when I’ve already got you. Everything I need is right here.”
“Really?”
James tugged Sebastian’s curls until he looked up. “Yes.” He had that thoughtful expression again. “You’re everything to me, and I’ll keep reminding you. If that’s what you need?”
Sebastian nodded. It was what he needed. Maybe it shouldn’t be, but reassurance helped him push away the fears he was trying to let go of.
James gave him a tiny, delicate smile. “You’ve got it, sweetheart.”
Sebastian settled back on James’s chest. He was still astounded he was who James wanted, but not because he felt unworthy. He felt lucky.
Sebastian clung to James all night, and James didn’t seem to mind.