Each brush of those fingers drove her mad. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against his chest, basking in each caress-as maddening as they were. But Sebastian seemed to have other plans.
"Oh no, you don't." He physically lifted her away from him, so she nearly brushed up against the man in front of her. The man didn't seem to notice.
"Why not?" she asked, knowing her tone sounded petulant. But really, he couldn't touch her like that and not expect her to respond.
"Sorry," he said against her ear. "I have to behave myself. It's very hard, knowing you're naked under that skirt."
She didn't comment, because she couldn't. Her body was too busy aching for him to allow for actually coherent thought. His hands returned to her waist, but he kept his fingers still this time.
More people crowded in around them, bumping against her in their attempts to get closer to the… For the first time, she realized they were standing in makeshift rows, and over the sea of heads and shoulders, she realized they faced a stage.
"We're here for a band?" She frowned back at him. He'd rather be in a run-down bar listening to a band than in bed with her? She couldn't help feeling a little offended.
"For the band, among other things."
Her breath caught at the mention of "other things," but his hands remained still at her waist. She frowned, casting another look around at the patrons surrounding them. More leather. Lots of makeup. Lots of aggressive vibes. These humans were here for a good time, but they were a tough crowd, the men and the women alike. She waited for their aggressive emotions to bombard her.
A woman to her right lurched against her as she tried to light a cigarette, and Mina waited for the contact in conjunction with the rest of the crowd to overwhelm her.
But it didn't.
"Sorry," the woman said, then exhaled a long stream of smoke.
Surprised by her lack of distress at the woman's touch, Mina only managed a nod in response.
The woman looked her up and down with a frown. She obviously found Mina's silky, feminine dress and the white cotton shirt tied over the top rather out of place. The woman then glanced at Sebastian, her eyes widening slightly. She looked him up and down too. She smiled. Obviously Sebastian's black t-shirt and faded jeans passed the woman's inspection.
Mina rolled her eyes. Of course, Sebastian could have been wearing a pink tuxedo and the woman wouldn't have been put off.
She noticed the woman stepped closer to him.
"I don't think this is my kind of place," Mina muttered to Sebastian.
He chuckled and pulled her closer to him. She had the feeling he knew the other woman's interest bothered her. Oh well. It did.
"A little too wild for you, huh?" he asked, his lips brushing her ear. "My goody-two-shoes." She felt him smile.
"'You don't bite. Don't shift. What do you do? "
She didn't recognize the tune to which he sang his comments. And she tried hard to ignore that fact that his singing voice was as rich and sexy as when he spoke, because she got the definite feeling he was making fun of her.
She started to turn in his arms, to tell him she didn't appreciate his teasing, when the crowd swelled up around them in a loud cheer.
She watched as the band, which was composed of rather haggard-looking older men, took the stage. Some of the band members had long hair, others didn't. All had traces of gray.
"Who is this band?" she asked.
"The Grateful Dead," he said, then laughed at some joke only he got. "No, not really. They are just a cover band that I really like. They play some good rock."
"I like classical music," she said primly.
"I know."
And again, for a split second, she wondered how he knew. Oh right, from his uninvited visit to her apartment. For some reason, that didn't bother her as much as it once had.
"This is classic rock. You'll like it, too," he assured her with a little squeeze. Then the band started to play.
They sang about some boys being back in town. Then they were getting no sugar tonight in their coffee. Or apparently their tea either. And currently they were just going to let it ride. She didn't really understand the lyrics, but she had to admit she did like the beat and the lead singer had a nice voice. Of course, she suspected the solid feeling of Sebastian pressed against her back, holding her, swaying to the music helped her opinion. And she loved the low timbre of his voice as he sang a verse here and there. Much better than the lead singer's, really.
"Like it?" he asked her when the song ended.
She smiled at him over her shoulder. "If I admit I do, will you be smug about it?"
"Absolutely." He leaned forward and stole a quick kiss.
"Okay," he said, his lips again by her ear so she could hear him over the guitar intro to the next song. "An appreciation for classic rock. One objective down. Now, for the real reason we are here. What do you feel around you?"
She shot him a wry glance as a woman in front of her tossed her hair, the long lock nearly hitting Mina in the face.
"People. Lots of people."
Sebastian raised his eyebrows expectantly as if he waited for her to add something else.
She shrugged.
"What don't you feel?" He rested his chin on her shoulder, waiting, as she again cast a look around the mobbed room.
She didn't feel the humans' emotions, she realized. She looked at the woman, who'd been admiring Sebastian earlier, and focused. She could feel the woman's attraction to Sebastian. She could feel her enjoyment of the band, and a little bit of loneliness. But until she'd thought about it, Mina hadn't noticed any of those things.
"I'm blocking the emotions," Mina said excitedly.
Sebastian smiled back at her. "See, once you learn to look outside of the emotions, it just starts to happen naturally until you have to focus to feel the emotions. Not the other way around."
She couldn't stop smiling as she looked around the room, focusing first on one person, then another. She felt each person's emotions separately, and when she moved on, they weren't there any more bombarding her.
"That's wonderful," she said, with a sigh. She felt almost normal, she realized.
He leaned forward, catching her chin, turning her head so he could kiss her fully, slowly. Then she didn't feel normal at all, she felt like her skin was sizzling, desire snapping through every nerve ending in her body.
Sebastian continued to kiss her a moment longer, his tongue brushing against hers. Then he broke the kiss as they watched the band again, who now, quite appropriately, sang about feeling like making love.
Sebastian's hands moved on her waist, one sliding under the loose cotton shirt. Nimbly, his fingers plucked open the buttons of her dress, until his fingers could slip inside to touch her bare skin. Throughout the remainder of the song, his hand caressed her stomach, the underside of her breast. She could feel the moisture gathering between her thighs, her arousal somehow more keen with the lack of underwear.
"Is the lesson done?" she asked her voice breathy when the song ended.
He growled low in his throat, the sound thrilling. "Yes, very soon. Because I need to get you alone. And naked."
She nodded, leaning heavily against him, feeling his erection prodding her bottom. She pressed against it, wiggling her hips, feeling him pulse even through their clothes.
"Then let's go now." She wriggled against him again.
He growled again, a low rumble against her ear. She felt his chest expand as he took a deep breath.
"Okay, one more lesson, then we go."
She took a deep breath too. "Okay."
"I'm going to go to the bar and get us drinks," he said, dropping his hands from her body.
She turned and frowned at him. "I don't want a drink. I want you."
He smiled indulgently. " And you are going to see if you can handle the crowd with your focal point gone."
He nodded as if to tell her to get to it and then he headed toward the bar on the other side of the room.
She gaped at him, unable to believe he could behave so calmly. She felt like she was going to implode. She pulled in a calming breath and tried to do as he asked. Handle the crowd without her focal point.
It wasn't until the crowd shifted back around her, nearly blocking Sebastian from her view, that she realized exactly what he'd said. With your focal point gone.
He'd known all along that she'd been using him as her center.
She shook her head. That overconfident-
"Hey."
Mina's thoughts stopped as she looked back from where Sebastian had disappeared to stare directly into a barrel chest clad in white t-shirt and black leather. Her gaze moved upward until she saw that the mountain beside her was the huge, bald man she'd first seen when she entered the bar.
"You looked like you were having fun." His gaze dropped pointedly to where Sebastian had been touching her. Her dress was still unbuttoned, though the man couldn't know that since it was hidden under Sebastian's shirt.
"I can show you a good time too, darlin'."
He grinned at her, and even without her focal point, she realized she could center easily on his emotions. They were loud and clear.
Lust. Lust and violence.
Sebastian was impressed with Mina. She learned how to handle human vibration very quickly. Far more quickly than he would have thought possible given the fact she'd been a vampire for so long and had never been able to control it before. He'd thought it would be harder for her. But she was a quick study.
Then he thought about the way she had just so provocatively rubbed against him. Mina was a quick learner in many areas.
Once he reached the bar, he glanced at the other patrons who waited for drinks. He guessed it would be a good ten minute wait. And frankly, Sebastian wasn't that thirsty. He definitely had other things he'd rather do than stand here.
The lesson was a success. He knew she was handling the reverberation just fine without him. He forced himself to finish this lesson, because he wanted Mina to be comfortable with herself and with the world around her. That was important to him. But now that the lesson was done and a success, he wanted to teach her things that were far more fun-and involved far fewer clothes.
He weaved through the throng back toward where he'd left her, but he didn't see her. He scanned the crowd. Then he sensed it, a prickling of fear, Mina's fear, an emotion of hers he knew too well. But still he couldn't see her.
Then a humongous man, at least 6 5", in a studded leather jacket, moved, and Sebastian realized the hulk was looming over Mina. Mina stared warily at the man, but what made Sebastian more nervous than her expression was that fear, thick in the air like a giant fogbank swirling all around her.
Sebastian strode toward the man, restraining himself from shoving the giant away from her.
"Excuse me," he said instead.
The hulk turned slowly, eyeing Sebastian with an unimpressed scowl. Despite the man's size, Sebastian was equally unimpressed.
"What do you want, buddy?"
"Leave my woman alone," Sebastian stated.
The man crossed his tree-trunk arms over his massive chest. "I don't see anything on her that says she's yours."
What a damned Neanderthal. Sebastian wanted to just punch the idiot and be done with the situation. But then he looked at Mina's wide, frightened eyes and decided against it, afraid violence would be too much for her.
"Well, despite the fact that I have indeed neglected to scrawl my name all over her, she is mine," he said with a small polite smile. "So I'd advise you to leave now."
The man raised an eyebrow, then reached out and snagged Mina's wrist. She gasped, and Sebastian felt her fear spike.
"If I go, I'm taking her with me." The giant eyed him as if to say that there was no way in hell a man an inch or two shorter and a good seventy-five pounds lighter was going to stop him.
Mina made a small noise, and Sebastian acted purely on instinct, lunging at the guy. He easily knocked the giant away from Mina and landed a punch before the jerk even saw the blow coming.
Sebastian couldn't help smiling with satisfaction as the giant's hand flew up to his nose, pressing his fingers to the flow of blood that ran from both nostrils.
Broken, Sebastian thought smugly. Definitely broken.
Unfortunately, Sebastian's satisfaction was short-lived. Distracted both by his smugness and Mina, he didn't sense the other humans behind him until they had grabbed his arms. The hulk, surprisingly fast for his huge size-and broken nose-punched Sebastian square in the face. The blow didn't hurt, but Sebastian did hear a crunch.
His nose. Figures.
Highly irritated by his lack of awareness, Sebastian threw off the two men restraining him with a little more strength than necessary. Both men flew through the air, smashing against the wall over ten feet away. They crumpled to the ground, dazed and with the wind knocked out of them. Sebastian spun back toward the Neanderthal.
The man's expression was no longer indifferent. Now it was almost comically alarmed as he gaped from Sebastian to his fallen friends and back to Sebastian, unable to believe what he'd just seen.
Well, it would have been comical if Sebastian's actions hadn't drawn the attention of most of the bar. A crowd had formed around them, and Sebastian could tell from the other patrons' expressions that they too had found Sebastian's fighting skills to be more than a little unusual.
Damn. It was never wise to draw that kind of attention. But he hadn't been thinking about appearing normal. He'd only been thinking to protect Mina.
Surprisingly, however, it was Mina who seemed to gather her wits first. She hurried to his side, tugging at him.
"Let's just go."
He looked down at the two men, still huddled on the ground. They would be okay. They'd be hurting for a while, but they'd survive.
Sebastian glared at the hulk. He was the only one Sebastian had really wanted to injure. Mina tugged Sebastian's hand again, and he allowed her to pull him away from the growing crowd of onlookers. But Sebastian couldn't resist taking a step toward the huge man as he passed. The giant jumped back like Sebastian was a poisonous snake about to strike.
Sebastian snorted. Ha, that ass would think twice before he touched someone else's woman. Sebastian grinned to himself, which quickly turned to a grimace as he tasted the blood trickling from his nose. He wiped the droplets away with the back of his hand, and then let Mina lead him outside.
Mina didn't release him, as she hurriedly tugged him away from the bar, not looking at him, just hell-bent on getting them away from the place.
"Mina, stop." Sebastian dug in his heels.
She stumbled to a stop, but she didn't look at him.
"What's wrong?" he asked, leaning forward, trying to see her face.
Finally she looked up at him and he could see tears in her eyes, making them glitter like polished sapphires.
"You were right," Mina said, barely able to look at his battered face.
"Well, I often am," he said with a slight smile. "But I'm not actually sure what I'm right about at the moment."
Somehow he managed to look cocky, even with a broken nose. The realization didn't make her feel any better, however.
"I panicked and you got hurt," she told him.
He frowned at her. "You think that was your fault back there?"
"I shouldn't have panicked," she said miserably. "I should have handled it."
"You could have," he agreed. "You are a vampire and that makes you physically strong enough to deal with a jerk like that."
He stepped closer to her, touching her cheek, brushing a wisp of her black hair back from her face. She fought the urge to nuzzle her cheek against his large palm.
"But you didn't have to," he said quietly. "I wanted to protect you. That guy was a damned Neanderthal."
His words made her insides turn to quivering jelly. He wanted to protect her. She couldn't remember anyone wanting to do that for her. She waited for it to not be real-that somehow Sebastian would be a fantasy. The embodiment of all her childhood dreams.
She gazed up at him, and he tucked another loose strand of her hair behind her ear, his fingers strong and yet so gentle against her skin.
"I hate that look," he told her. "You look like you want so badly to trust me, but you don't. Not quite."
She blinked, stunned that all those feelings were there in her eyes. The exact feelings that were in her heart.
"Does it hurt?" she asked gesturing to his nose, not wanting to discuss her insecurities any longer.
"Not bad. Is it still bleeding?"
She shook her head. Then she smiled slightly and gave him a pained cringe. "It's very-crooked, though."
Sebastian fingered the bump there.
"I knew that bastard broke it," he said, disgruntled.
She moved closer to inspect the injury, her body brushing against his. His hands caught her waist as she rose up and gently pressed a kiss to the bridge of his nose. Then to his cheek, then to his mouth. She wanted to care for him the way he had her.
But she was only allowed a couple more gentle ministrations, then he tugged her tightly to him, deepening the kiss, and all her tender thoughts fled. She just wanted him. This man who'd protected her. This man who made her feel alive. And safe. And lo-
She pushed the word away, putting all the emotions inside her into her kiss. They stayed like that, locked in each other's arms, their lips clinging together as if they would die if they had to part.
Then a group of loud young humans passed them, cheering and hooting at their behavior. Only then did they seem to realize where they were. On the sidewalk in a dubious part of the city.
Sebastian stared down at her, a stunned look in his golden eyes.
"How do you do this to me?" he murmured almost as if he was talking to himself.
She didn't know what she did, but if it was anything even remotely like what he did to her, she was humbled.
"Should we go?" she asked, her voice breathy, her eyes heavy-lidded, dazed.
He nodded.
They walked only a block, when Sebastian suddenly veered into a dark alleyway. He continued deeper into its litter-strewn depths until they were concealed in the shadows of a rickety fire escape.
"What are we doing?" she asked, confused.
"I have to touch you," he said, his voice low, desperate. "Just a little."
She didn't consider telling him no. She had to touch him too. The need crackled in the air between them.
Sebastian sucked in a breath as her hands moved to his sides, sliding over the sinew of his torso. She stepped closer to him, her face turned up to his, and he didn't hesitate to take her invitation.
His mouth fell on hers, his touch not tempered with any restraint or gentleness. She moaned, reveling in his hunger, his urgency. The same need raged through her.
One of his hands moved to cradle the back of her neck, the angle opening her mouth to him. His tongue swept over hers, hot and insistent, each brush stoking the hungry desperation inside her.
She made a small noise in the back of her throat as his fingers tugged at the knot at her waist. He managed to yank the material free, and he found the already opened front of her dress. His hand slid inside, stroking her, finding the swell of her breast, kneading the aching flesh.
Her hands massaged over him. The broadness of his shoulders, the hard, perfect muscles of his back, covered in a layer of thin cotton. Her fingers strayed under the material, wanting to feel his bare skin. Velvet over rippling steel.
"Mina," he growled against her lips. He started to pull back as if he realized how quickly their passion was spiraling out of control. She sank her fingers into his muscled back, anchoring him to her.
"No," she said against his lips. She didn't want to stop. Not yet.
He hesitated, but then growled again. His lips molded to hers, opening her, tasting her. Her arms came around his neck as she strained to get closer to him. Wanting all of him.
She barely registered as he shifted them, only vaguely aware of coarse hardness against her back. The relentless tease of his hand at her breast, grazing over and over her hard nipple was far more distracting. Breath-stealing. Wonderful.
Humid air clung to her skin as he loosened the rest of her dress, exposing her throbbing breasts. He gazed at them for a moment, before dropping his lips to kiss one of the taut peaks. Having first one, then moving to the other painfully pebbled nipple.
Her head fell back against the hardness at her back as he licked and suckled first one nipple, then when she thought she would scream out from sheer need, he turned to the other, repeating the process.
"Sebastian," she cried as he worked the hardened nub between his amazing lips.
She felt his smile as he pressed a kiss to the side of her breast, then she felt his hands going to her skirt, gathering the material upward. More humid, heavy air brushed her bare legs and grazed the tight curls of her sex.
She gasped, raising her head to watch Sebastian sink down in front of her. Her fingers tangled in his hair as he brushed his full lips against her thigh.
She whimpered as his breath stirred the curls. He nudged her legs apart, then just as gently, he parted her. Then his tongue touched her, intense, incredible fire licking between her thighs.
She cried out, her head falling back. Her arms came out to her side, her palms pressing into the rough wall behind her. Her fingers dug into the coarse bricks as she arced her hips forward, demanding more pressure from Sebastian's amazing mouth. He gave her what she wanted, his tongue relentlessly flicking over and around her throbbing clitoris.
She called out his name, her head still raised toward the sky. At first she didn't recognize the wetness on her face, on her bared breasts. The warm roll of moisture was just more torture on her already sensitized skin. All she understood was Sebastian's touch. His fingers holding her open, his tongue delved into her. Her own urgent need.
Then Sebastian was gone.
She stared down at him, disoriented by the sudden loss of his touch. He looked up at her, his eyes golden in the dim light. Intense, searching.
"Sebastian, what is it?"
He glanced up at the sky, and for the first time, she realized the moisture on her skin was rain. It was pouring. She hadn't even known.
She laughed, the sound sudden, surprised.
Sebastian frowned at her as if maybe she was going mad. Maybe she was. She tugged at his shoulders until he rose. Her fingers went to the button of his jeans, fumbling with the damp material. He caught her hands, stopping her.
"Mina, I don't want anything we do to ever remind you of that night."
She gazed into Sebastian's golden eyes. Warm eyes. Beautiful eyes. Nothing about this man would ever remind her of that night. Not again.
"I want this," she said, pressing her mouth lingeringly to his. Rain clung to his lips. To her lips.
Her fingers began to fumble with his jeans again. He stopped her clumsy fingers, but this time to unfasten them himself.
She watched as he released himself, his penis jutting proudly from his parted zipper. She touched him, the rain making the smooth skin slick. A glistening idol in the dim light, dusky and dazzling.