Chapter 9 Sebastian #2
“What the fuck changed Nic’s mind about keeping this quiet?” My question was explosive.
But Kyle looked blank. It was his usual expression, only even less interested in the answer.
“You know what?” My voice was stronger when I spoke again, and I nodded in agreement at myself for the decision I’d just made. “Screw my brother. Send the box somewhere else. Mail the ashes to the shop where Leia met her. They’ll know better what to do with them than we do.”
And I didn’t want to take the chance Kayla might just stumble across them lying around my house.
She’d done her share of exploring already, and who knew where she’d go next?
It was the fucking worst possible time. I couldn’t let Kayla find this box.
Not before I’d explained it. She’d never trust me.
“If you’re sure.” Kyle lifted an eyebrow.
I nodded. “I am. I need to go see Kayla now, though. I don’t have time to think about any of this.
Just deal with the ashes.” I waved a dismissive hand.
Shit. This was all such a mess. “I just need to get them out of the house.” Out of the house and away from Kayla, like she might somehow sense them.
I walked quickly up the stairs then headed right to the door that led outside so I could cross the bridge to the guest wing.
The air outside was still humid but it was taking on just a touch of bite…
Something different that said fall was coming.
Or trying to come, anyway. I’d be interested to see if New Orleans handled fall any differently than Baton Rouge and how the people partied.
I knocked on Kayla’s bedroom door. I hadn’t known which room she’d chosen, but her jasmine scent was centered here.
Jasmine and that damn other fragrance that was playing with my mind and driving me mad.
I waited a moment before she opened the door, appearing in front of me in pajama shorts and a strappy tank top.
Her hair was even wilder than it had been when we went out, the curls coiling and tumbling over her shoulders, and her face was make-up free.
My cock jerked and I barely suppressed a growl of desire. “Kayla.” I could only manage her name, but it would do as a greeting.
Without even waiting for an invitation, I moved into her room, and she backed up, her eyes widening as her shoulder blades hit the wall behind her. Her cheeks pinked as her eyes brightened, and a different scent overtook the others.
Arousal. I breathed deeply and lust ripped through me. But once again, I had to control myself.
I pressed my palms to the wall on either side of her and leaned in.
“I’m really sorry about before. I never should have let those vampires get near you. And I’m sorry about the way I spoke to you when we got back.” My chest tightened. “I was just… I was afraid.” I stopped talking, unused to making such admissions.
“I forgive you.” Kayla’s voice was no more than a whisper, and she pressed a little closer, tilting her head as half of the distance between us disappeared.
I sucked in a quick breath but followed her lead, closing the remaining distance, and our lips met. Fire burned inside me, and awareness of Kayla surged through each of my limbs and muscles, putting my entire body on alert as if she was the only important thing in the whole world.
Mate. It was the only word in my head. Not her name, not how beautiful she was. Simply mate. One thought to drown out all others. I pressed closer, intensifying the kiss, and her arm curved over my shoulders, drawing me to her body. I lifted her against me, and her legs wrapped around my waist.
I walked us to the bed before collapsing on it, cradling her from the impact and my weight. Our kiss was desperate at first. Hungry. I’d never been so aroused. My cock jutted against my pants, and I yearned to tear her clothes off and claim her with my bite… But I mentally pulled back.
I couldn’t move too fast or too far. Kayla might not know the things I did… the things that I needed to do. I couldn’t scare her.
I kissed her some more, caressing the inside of her mouth with my tongue, moving my lips against hers, worshiping her mouth with mine.
Her pajamas stayed on, but I touched her skin everywhere I could reach—running my hands over her shoulders and the sliver of skin at her waistband.
I cupped her ass under my palms, my fingers kneading into the soft skin there, and more deeply into the muscle, and she angled herself into my touch.
She sighed softly then moaned, and I moved against her, her sounds driving me a little crazy as I adjusted the angle of my rhythmic thrusting to touch against her in just the right place.
She moaned again, and I grinned against her mouth.
Maybe if I moved like this a little longer, I could bring her to orgasm with nothing else.
Fully clothed. I wanted to try. Softening my kisses a little, I intensified my movement, striking where she was hottest. And she was wet for me. I could tell.
I worked one hand under her top and pushed at her breast until she gasped. It was hard but not rough enough to bring her pain, and she opened one eye to meet my gaze. Lust burned there, and I pushed a little harder, forcing another gasp from her. I nodded my satisfaction, and she drew closer to me.
Her hips moved, answering my call, nudging against me again and again, until her movements became more rapid, a little jerkier, less controlled.
Her breathing quickened, and I didn’t let up on my rhythm, keeping it steady and just the same as her mouth moved from mine.
She was totally using me, but I was very much on board with that.
Man, this was almost a wet dream situation.
A beautiful woman in my arms, using me for her release, seeking her pleasure from me.
And not just any beautiful woman. This was Kayla.
Already, I thought of her as my Kayla.
Her legs clamped around my thighs like she was holding me in place as she gasped softly. I waited, my lips hovering over her neck as I breathed her in, torturing myself. I flicked my tongue gently over her pulse as she relaxed in my arms.
I drew back and studied her flushed face and bright eyes. Her eyes held a mix of satisfaction and awe, and knowledge settled deep inside me.
Kayla was a virgin. My virgin.
Her eyes started to close even before I’d disentangled our limbs, and I pressed a kiss to her forehead before standing and drawing the comforter over her to tuck her in.
Kayla
I woke with a start, still conscious of the wetness between my legs and the residual throbbing of my muscles. I pressed my thighs together, and an answering spike of desire burst through me.
Sebastian had made me feel things no other man had ever made me feel.
Things were obviously different between us now — getting physical with a guy was always going to change a relationship—but it felt like more than that, like something inside me had shifted, and now I craved him.
I needed to know him better, to understand him. And I didn’t know what to make of that.
I’d said no more contracts, no more vampire royals… But now I didn’t know if I could say no to this one.
He'd been so gentle with me. Giving me what I needed but not taking anything for himself. He hadn’t asked for a thing.
I pressed my thighs together again, relishing the second sting of satisfaction-tinged desire.
I drew the comforter closer around myself—not because I was cold, but because it reminded me of my last awareness of Sebastian the night before.
He’d tucked me in. A smile captured my lips at the memory.
Hell, it had been a long time since anyone had actively tucked me in.
Maybe I’d been a kid the last time anyone cared that much.
I couldn’t remember. That tender touch had warmed my heart, and it buoyed me even now.
And that orgasm…I’d touched myself before, but I didn’t think anyone else would ever be able to bring me such pleasure the way Sebastian had.
His fingers hadn’t even sought my flesh.
He’d barely touched me at all, and I’d still fallen apart in his arms. My entire body heated at the memory of the noises I’d made as he held me and how I’d strained against him, wanton and waiting for more.
I laughed at myself—part amused, partly embarrassed, even in the privacy of my room. I’d had so many reservations about losing my virginity. Men I wouldn’t even think about going near, circumstances where I wouldn’t get naked, situations that just didn’t feel right…
But I had no such reservations now. Perhaps this ancient vampire could show me everything I wanted to know about sex, including how to enjoy it. That thought excited me, where before the idea of sex had more usually been accompanied by apprehension and the hiding of my status.
And, maybe… Just perhaps it was a good deal for being made to stay here in the first place.
I climbed from bed and grabbed my thin robe as I headed out the door on the way to search for coffee. Pausing on the bridge, I inhaled the familiar rich scent emanating from the kitchen below.
Someone had already beaten me to it. Yesterday it was Sebastian… It could be him again. I hurried the rest of the way to the kitchen, stopping short when I burst through the door.
My scream pierced the air as two strange vampires turned to face me.
Shit. Oh, no. Oh, no. They’d accosted us on the street yesterday, and now they were here in his home. I backed away, pressing myself against the wall as I screamed again.
“Sebastian!” His name left my lips as I called out for the only man who could save me.
He was suddenly in front of me, seeming to blur out of thin air to catch me against him. I clung to his solid form, shaking.
“Kayla. Are you okay?” He studied my face, his eyebrows drawn down, his breathing rate elevated.
I lifted my and pointed behind him. “Vampires,” I whispered.