Chapter 11
Charlotte stood outside Sebastian’s door and bounced on her heels in the chilly air. She didn’t visit his home often, purely because they all preferred the manor. She looked around as she waited for him to answer the door, and spotted his elderly neighbor walking her dog down the sidewalk nearby. She lifted her hand in a wave and smiled. “Good morning, Mrs. Sodeko. How are you doing? How’s Pookie?”
“Good!” the woman responded, waving in return. Her small Yorkie began yapping excitedly at the sight of a new person, and Charlotte gave an apologetic smile.
The door opened, causing her to whip her head back to the front. “Sebby, there you are. I was beginning to think you’d never answer the door. I was just checking up on you,” she said, walking past him without an invite. She shed her coat and shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. “Jesus, Sebastian, how cold is it in here?”
“Sixty degrees,” he said, then shut the door and locked it. He handed her her coat again. “You ought to get used to being cold. When you’re a corpse, that’s all you’ll be.”
“Don’t start this with me,” she said warningly, before sliding her arms back into her jacket. “Why do you have it so cold?”
“I’m trying to get used to the cold,” he answered.
“Why? It’s never cold in Louisiana. Except for, like, a month out of the year. Even then, it’s chilly at best. Give or take a few days.”
“Because—” he said pointedly, signaling her to stop making assumptions, “I intend to take Leona out on a date. And if we’re going to be around each other, I’m going to need to get used to the cold. Have you touched one of them? They’re freezing.”
“Hold on,” Charlotte said, a grin plastered across her pretty face. “You’re just going to gloss over the fact that you’re taking Leona on a date?!”
“It’s not a big deal,” he muttered, knowing she was going to react like this. It was part of the reason he’d been avoiding her, despite needing her help for the planning.
“It absolutely is a big deal, Sebby! What are you thinking of doing? What are you going to wear? If you’re going to date her, are you going to let her turn you? How does this even work between a vampire and a human?”
“Take a breath,” he said, putting his hands out to steady her shoulders. “Nobody’s turning anybody. I do need your help with this though. I want you to be a part of it.”
“I am not third-wheeling your first date in forever, Sebastian. No way.”
“Not a third wheel,” he reassured. “She was born hundreds of years ago. At a time when balls and courting and all of these grandiose celebrations and gestures were a big thing. She never got to enjoy any of that, not really. I know how much you love to throw themed parties, so… I was thinking we could arrange an old English-style ball where we dress up. Skirts, corsets, powder, makeup… all of it. Do you think that’s stupid?”
“Oh, Sebby,” Charlotte said, placing her hand over her chest. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was about to cry. “I think that’s beautiful. She’s going to love it. When do you want to do it?”
“Maybe this weekend… Saturday?”
“Perfect,” she said, clasping her hands together. “I’ll start getting invitations made. How many people do you want to show up?”
“You can invite whoever. But… the girls, obviously.”
“Obviously,” she teased. “We’ll need to get you something to wear. Luckily, that won’t be very hard to find in this city. You and Victor can go to the tailor together. I’ll get a dress made and ordered for me. I’ll also talk to the girls about what they want. I will help Leona find resources, but you will not be seeing the dress until the night of. It’s bad luck otherwise.”
“Charlie, we aren’t getting married.”
“Sebastian, you’re about to hop in bed with a vampire. Marriage isn’t that insane of a concept, all things considered.”
He ignored that. They hadn’t even kissed. They’d barely held hands so far. Was this too much? Too fast?
“Thanks for your help, Charlie. I owe you,” he finally said.
“You don’t owe me anything, Sebby. You never have. Seeing you happy is the only thanks I need,” she said while smiling. “I really do want you to be happy. Whatever that means. You deserve it more than anyone I know.”
“Thank you,” he said softly. “You and Victor are everything to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I know you’re being sweet right now, but it also sort of feels like a guilt trip, so I’m going to ignore your last sappy statement,” Charlotte teased, pinching his cheek gently. “Now then, enough of things that might make me cry. I will start on all of that and Victor will come back by to pick you up so you can get fitted. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said. Sebastian watched her leave just as quickly as she came. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling overwhelmed with nerves all of a sudden. As much as he wanted to do this, he was extremely apprehensive. He had come off as cocky, but he was truly terrified that Gideon person would come for him. He supposed dying for a woman he liked wasn’t that bad of a way to go, but he never thought he’d get caught up in the middle of a vampire love triangle.
Still, it was the most exciting his life had ever been.
He walked over to the sofa, sinking into the cushions. Picking up his phone from the simple, black coffee table, he checked for notifications. He had one from Leona, of course, who had just told him good morning. He enjoyed talking to her. They talked on the phone the last few nights after the river, and he’d found that he loved the sound of her voice. No matter how worried, anxious, or stressed he got, it all seemed to melt away the moment he heard her laugh on the other line. She had offered to come over, but he had insisted he wanted to do things the right way. As much as he’d love to bed her right in that moment, this was important to him. He knew, deep down, it was even more important to her. He wanted her to see that not all men were monsters. She was just as worthy of falling in love and being treated like a lady as anyone else was.
All of his life, Sebastian had wanted something similar. He wanted someone to share life with. Victor and Charlotte, of course, were major parts of his life, but they had each other. They were their own life partners. A perfect world to him would include his trio, plus the woman he chose to do life with. He couldn’t help but wonder if Leona had come into his life for a reason. He had never believed in things like fate or destiny, but as he texted this vampire siren back, his beliefs began to expand.
Rather than tapping out a response to Leona’s text, he clicked her contact info and started a phone call. It only rang once, before he heard her angelic voice on the other end greeting him.
“Didn’t think you’d be awake just yet. It’s barely daylight.”
“Training,” Sebastian said with a smirk. “I called Charlie over to talk to her about something. She goes on early-morning walks anyway, figured she could make a pit-stop.”
“Everything okay?”
“More than okay,” Sebastian reassured. He changed the subject so she stopped asking questions about what he and Charlotte met about. “What did you do all night then?”
Leona hesitated and briefly considered lying.
“It’s okay if you ate. Or drank? What’s the word?”
“We use ‘fed,’ or ”feed,”” Leona responded. “But I did, in any case. You worked up my appetite along the river,” she teased.
“How do you target people? How does the police not catch on?”
“Well, that’s the good thing about this city… law enforcement is so corrupt, they don’t give a shit. They see puncture wounds and assume it’s drug-related. Bodies pop up around here all the time, and there’s such a lack of police force that they don’t care unless it’s something huge. Bodes well for the girls and me because we can just follow any police or crime reports and pick and choose our victims from there.”
“How do you find them from the reports?”
“It’s not that difficult. We go to where the crime was reported and follow the scent from there. Longest it’s ever taken me is about half a day, and that’s just when multiple people are at a scene and I have to use the process of elimination to figure out who actually committed the crime.”
“Why aren’t you a detective?”
“I briefly considered it, among my extensive job history,” Leona laughed. “I think it would draw too much attention. And if I found all the criminals and put them behind bars, where am I going to get my dinner?”
“Fair point,” Sebastian conceded. “Do you ever feel guilty?”
“At first, yes,” Leona said. “But… after a while, you get used to it. I can’t get around it, and surviving off animal blood isn’t sustainable. It’s good in a pinch, but… there’s nothing like human blood. It’s the circle of life, I suppose.”
Sebastian nodded, then walked through to his kitchen to start making his own breakfast. Cradling the phone between his cheek and shoulder, he opened the fridge. “Do you ever miss human food?”
“All the time. We didn’t have nearly the options you lot have now. It’s quite maddening to live in the worldwide hub for delicious food,” she said with a light chuckle. “The smells aren’t quite the same anymore. It’s still good, but I don’t get hungry and want blood or anything. I just appreciate it for what it is. We can eat, like I told you, but it’s muted. I like gumbo.”
“Really?” Sebastian laughed, raising his eyebrows. He nudged the fridge closed with his hip and set a carton of eggs down on the counter next to the stove. “A vampiress with a weakness for gumbo. What’s next?”
“You don’t even want to know my feelings on crawfish.”
“In February we’ll go on a food tour and find your favorites in the city,” Sebastian promised. “Though, nothing is going to beat my gumbo recipe. Not that you’ll appreciate it properly.”
“I would love it if you cooked for me. And I’d appreciate every single second. Just like I do every other encounter with you.”
“Alright, what do you want?”
“What?!”
“You’re being extra flattery today. Spill. And it can’t be my dick.”
“You are such a man,” Leona groaned. “I can’t be nice to you without you thinking there’s some ulterior motive? I’m crushed.”
“Mhm,” Sebastian hummed, the eggs sizzling on the pan as he cracked them in.
“Are you cooking now?”
“Yes. Just some eggs, I may throw some bread in the toaster. No blood though.”
“I’d be concerned otherwise,” Leona deadpanned. “Do you want me to let you go?”
“I feel like we both know letting each other go isn’t exactly an option anymore. I know your big secret. And you know mine.”
“Do I? Remind me.”
“You forgot? Now I’m crushed.”
“Sebastian!”
He smiled smugly to himself and crushed some of the egg yolks with his spatula to scramble them. “My secret is that I’m helpless to a pretty immortal who wants in my pants. Don’t tell anyone though.”
Leona giggled. “Your secret is safe with me.”
Sebastian felt flush with happiness. “And you’re safe with me.”