Suckers Bite Back (San Francisco Vampires #5) (Vampires of San Francisco series) (21 page)

“We ended up at a cabin deep in the mountains. It was warded so no one would be able to find us. He really was fixated with me. Promised me children and everything he could think of to win me over.” Sebastian stiffened at the mention of children. I know he would give Lilith the world if he could and that’s the one thing he will never be able to give her.

“I let him think that I was considering it. I told him I couldn’t just shut out my feelings for Sebastian but would keep an open mind if he would give me some time. He said we had nothing but time and then untied me. I pursuaded him to sleep in the guest room. Well, Hades persuaded him. I knew if he forced a mating on me that it would all be over.” Sebastian growls and I know my eyes flash with fire. The room heats up and everyone looks at me so I do my best to tone it down. The thought of that bastard raping Lilith is almost too much. She squeezes my hand this time.

“When I heard him fall asleep, I crept in and broke his neck. He was holding the tranq gun in his sleep. Then I hit him and screamed for a while until Hades pulled me away. I was still woozy from the drugs but I had to get away. I changed clothes, grabbed a bag with a knife and some other stuff and started down the road. When it got close to dawn I knew I had to find a hideaway to sleep for the day. That’s when all hell broke loose, pardon the pun.”

“What happened next?” Sebastian says while holding deathly still.

“I smelled it first and then this monster boar-cat came out of the cave and attacked us. I got in one cut before Hades got its neck. He clamped down. The thing was twice as big as Hades and tried to shake him loose. But that Hell Hound was like super glue. Then the monster really got mad and charged me. I rolled but got gouged by his tusk and it carried some kind of poison. I started to go numb but was able rip his throat out with my teeth and gut him at the same time. I was covered in so much blood. Hades held on until it died. Then I crawled into the cave and didn’t come to until the next afternoon. Hades never left my side.”

Helena is openly weeping and Julian is running his hand up and down her back but the look on his face is terrifying. Liam is holding Andrew in his arms as Andrew looks like he is going to fall apart any minute. Manda’s eyes are huge. She was trying not to be afraid but I could sense it on her. She relaxes when I take her in my arms and kiss her on the forehead. Lilith gathers her strength and continues.

“The next day it took me a while to be able to move without passing out. Eventually, Hades and I made our way down the mountain and I slept in a grove of trees. Today I made it into the city and Aidan found me. I must have been a mess to look at because he zapped me clean and in new clothes. Thanks for that, my friend. I’m not sure they would have let me through the portal in the state I was.”

“Always, Lilith. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there sooner.”

“Aidan, don’t be sorry. I kicked butt. I did it myself. I’m totally stoked. Just need to feed and heal now.”

“Yes you did, ma cherie. You did kick butt. Hannah will be so proud of you. I am so proud of you. Come, let me take you upstairs to feed and then we will rejoin everyone,” Sebastian says as he looks around at us. We all nod and he is like a blur up the stairs.

“Since when has Lilith been feeding off Sebastian?” I ask Helena and Julian.

“Since she developed an abhorrence to human blood,” Helena says and continues crying.

“That is so not good. We have to help her with that. She must be able to feed off others during the moon phase.”

“She is getting help, Aidan, but it is not my place to tell you,” Helena says and stills.

When Lilith and Sebastian return, Sebastian’s still carrying her but she has the soft color in her cheeks that shows a vamp has fed.

“How do you feel now, Lilith?” I ask her. She looks at me levelly and her eyes brighten.

“I’m much better now. I can feel the gouge finally knitting together and my insides don’t burn any more. I am so thankful to you all for helping me and not giving up on me. I’m so sorry about Hannah being involved. That bastard had it all planned out. With Diel here with Hannah there was no way to get Hades back. I don’t think anyone would have found us in the cabin anyway. The wards were so strong.”

“I would have had liked the chance to try. I’m sorry I acted foolishly. I turned my phone off and made it disappear.” Sebastian grunts at this. I’m assuming he is not impressed. On the other hand I would have expected him to try and crush me with his free hand.

“The important thing is that he is dead and Hannah and the baby will be okay. That’s all I care about,” Lilith says.

“Dead once is not enough,” I say and Sebastian meets my eyes in total agreement.

35 LILITH

After I assure everyone that I am fine and Diel reports that they found the sedative Mark dosed Hannah with and have a remedy, I feel I can finally give into my need to retire to my room.

Sebastian’s ready, cocooning me in his strength and the safety of his arms.

“You’re too good for me,” I say. The aftermath of the last few days and my exhaustion make me emotional.

“I think you have that backwards, ma cherie,” he says hoarsely into my hair, running his fingers through it, soothing me.

“Seeing Aidan that night was more than I expected. I felt it viscerally. I thought that since my love for you is so strong so all-encompassing and enduring that I wouldn’t feel like that. I knew I was angry at him for how he went about things.” I sigh and put my hands on the sides of Bast’s face. “But I didn’t think it would hurt still. Does this make me a bad person?”

“No, Lily. It makes you a vampire with a loving, giving heart. A truly rare commodity. You can’t just turn off everything you felt overnight…”

“But how can you feel this way? Aren’t you worried?”

“No. I know how you feel about me. I have faith in you. I love you. Are you telling me you would rather be with Aidan?” he asks.

“No! Not at all. I just have some unresolved feelings for him that I need to work through. I can’t imagine my life without you in it, Sebastian. I finally got you back.” I lean in and kiss each of his cheeks before kissing his smooth, firm lips. I lick him and he opens his mouth for me eagerly and we kiss greedily until I reluctantly pull away. His eyes are smoldering with lust and love.

“Promise me we will never be apart again, Bast. I couldn’t live through it again. Not now, with the way I feel about you and after I was taken. I can endure anything but you not being in my life,” I plea.

“Never.” His eyes devour me and his mouth is set firmly in a determined line. “Never, Lily. I could no longer let you go than I could live without you.” He captures my lips in a bruising embrace.

Sebastian walks me back until I am against the wall, never once letting our lips part. Fumbling with his buttons, I finally get his shirt open and can run my hands across the rippled muscles of his stomach and chest.

Sebastian pulls away from me and pulls my dress over my head in one fluid motion. He is a man on a mission. He reaches behind me and unclasps my bra, taking one of my nipples in his mouth. At the same time he reaches down and shreds my panties and tosses them to the side. I pull his mouth closer to me and arch my back. Then my hands are in his soft, sweet smelling hair.

“Pull your legs up around my waist, Lily.”

With his help I wrap my legs around his waist. Sebastian undoes his jeans and pulls his glorious erection out and with one swift mood he buries himself inside me. Our sex is frantic with a need to reconnect. He is at my throat kissing and nipping.

“Bite me, Bast. Oh gods, bite me.”

He doesn’t hesitate. First kissing the vein, he sinks his teeth into me and I instantly orgasm, squeezing him inside of me. He pulls long and hard and just as he finishes, I bite him back. He cries out but doesn’t lose his rhythm. It doesn’t take him long, one, two, three thrusts and he is shouting my name. We collapse onto the floor, breathing heavy and snuggling.

“You are so beautiful. Do you know what you do to me, cherie?”

“Tell me,” I whisper.

“You are the reason my heart beats, the reason I live. My God, Lily. Let me worship your body with mine forever. Marry me, Lily. Please?” I sit up and throw my arms around Bast.

“Yes, Sebastian, oh yes. Always with you. Forever.”

Sebastian reluctantly lets go of me and carries me to the bed. He goes to his side table and pulls out a small Cartier box and gets on one knee before me. He opens it and inside is a stunning princess cut emerald with huge diamonds on either side. If I could cry I would. As it is my heart is melting. I lean into him and kiss him gently.

“Lily, I want to make love to you while you wear nothing but this ring.”

OMG

“Yes, Bast,” I whisper, looking at him with half lowered lids.

He slips the ring on my finger and it is a perfect fit, of course. Then he slowly strips in front of me. Sebastian climbs onto the bed. He slowly kisses his way up my body until I feel like I may combust. He nuzzles the space between my breasts, inhaling deeply. Then he is kissing and nipping my neck. He grazes his fangs across my jaw and then his mouth is on mine. My fangs are out and he licks them almost sending me over the edge. The feeling is exquisite and raw with its primal sexuality. I mirror him, licking his fang and he groans deep in his chest kissing me even more intensely. I’m lost in him and before I realize what is happening he is between my legs, hovering, holding his weight off me. He pulls his mouth away from me.

“Let me love you, Lily.”

“Yes.”

At my answer he plunges into me. I let out a cry at the fullness, at the desire that erupts and threatens to overtake me and at the look of pure unadulterated desire. Sebastian begins to move slowly, setting a gentle rhythm, never taking his eyes off me. I look back into his eyes trying to communicate what my heart feels. When my body starts to climb onto that precipice Sebastian nuzzles my sensitive neck and grazes me with his fangs. With the speed of a practiced predator he sucks hard, pulling at the not quite healed puncture wounds making me climax over and over again. In a dreamy state I lick his neck and return the favor. His relentless thrusts make me climax again and he falls down the rabbit hole with me murmuring my name softly in my ear like a prayer.

Sated and fed on my lover’s blood, I lie in his strong arms. We’ve been talking for hours. We’ve discussed things we’ve never shared before and many hurts have been healed. I feel strong emotionally for the first time in a year. Actually stronger than I ever have been, thanks to Sophie, and my ordeal with Mark in Hell. I recognize that I have a ways to go. I know what my demons are, my OCD, my problem with blood, and I am ready to face them with her and Sebastian’s help. I want to recapture some of the joy and humor I once had. My inner snark is begging to come out.

Sebastian coaxes me into the shower where he rubs all the knots out of my muscles and then washes my body so tenderly. Then he washes my hair and turns off the water, dries me and helps me into a gown for bed.

He pulls on some of his magickal appearing pajama pants and crawls into bed with me, holding me again.

“Rest now, sweet angel, we have the rest of our lives,” he whispers into my hair right before sleep claims me.

When I wake up later that afternoon, I am facing Sebastian. He is lying next to me, watching me.

“This is my favorite time of the day. I always want to be the first thing you see when you wake up, Lily. I may be a selfish man, but I want to be the world to you and give it to you too.”

“You are the world to me, Sebastian. I don’t need anything else. Have you been here all night?” I ask.

He nods.

“Maybe I’m the selfish one, but that makes me feel so safe and cherished. I know you can’t do it all the time, but after the last few days I’m glad you did.”

“I just couldn’t leave you. It felt like if I did I would lose you. That you saying you would marry me would have been a dream. If I stayed and kept watch then I knew it wasn’t a dream,” Bast says.

“Honey, no matter what happens it’s going to take some time before we trust this is real, isn’t it? It feels too good to be true.”

Bast nods again. I reach over and run my fingers along his strong jaw. He leans into my hand and closes his eyes. He grabs my hand and kisses my ring finger. I gasp. There is something so sexy about it. He’s claiming me. There is heat in his eyes and they are dilating. Black eclipsing brown. He leans over and kisses me softly at first but it soon turns into a dangerous, punishing kiss. I know if I let him go on we will never leave the bedroom. And then I wonder why I care if we never leave the bedroom.

Bast pulls my silk gown up my leg and squeezes my behind. It feels so good. My body sings in his expert hands. I run my hands across his beautiful, sculpted chest and rest on his muscled biceps. I moan into his mouth reaching a hand up to pull on his hair as he moves his mouth down to my chest. He growls as he laves on my breast. Nipping gently. My body is lighting up and I feel Bast’s hardness against my leg. I move a hand down to it and squeeze and rub it. His body reflexively thrusts into my hand and I continue to pump him.

There is a knock at the door. Shit!

“Lily? You have a shopping date with Hannah and me. She’s back, pissed and wanting some serious girl time. We’re getting baby supplies today. You promised. Don’t blow us off for sex,” Helena says and laughs.

“Oh, shit! Sorry Helena. I’ll be down soon,” I yell at the door, forgetting she can’t hear me.

“Merde.”

“Cherie, we can be really quick, in the shower. Come on…” He drags me into the bathroom. And good to his word, it’s hot and fast and ooh so good. We finish our shower and dress in record time. We still haven’t told anyone about our engagement. I wonder what they’ll say.

I’m wearing a white peasant dress that hits me a few inches above my knee with black embroidered cuffs and neckline and Donna Karan vintage inspired black heels. And of course my beautiful Art Deco emerald and diamond engagement ring. Sebastian is wearing worn but oh-they-fit-so-right-jeans and a cable knit sweater in cream that set off his eyes.