Sucking Bites (San Francisco Vampires Series #3) (31 page)

Queen Zoe eyes us malevolently.

“Good afternoon, your Majesty,” I say.

“Good afternoon. I take it you had a pleasant night?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Aidan says with a glint in his eyes.

“Lily, I would like you to show me some of the other things you can do. Then I think you can go back to San Francisco. There really is no reason to keep you here the full three days. I’m sure Sebastian is missing you?” she says.

We must have made a lot of noise last night. Suddenly my face falls. I’m sure she can see everything we’ve done as plain as day.

“I presume you are not responsible for your libido while you are under the influence of your condition. I understand Sebastian’s pleas to be able to escort you now. I assure you, nothing will be mentioned. Of course we are only presuming, anyway.” She gives us a malicious smile. A smile that says “I have you by the balls and I own you.”

“Thank you, your Majesty,” I say looking at her straight in the eye. She set us up. The conniving, manipulating, mother of a goat, set us up. She ordered us here, all but forbidding Sebastian to chaperone. She knew what would probably happen.

“You’re welcome. Come now. Show me what you can do!” she says clapping her hands.

A vampire brings in a steel bar for me to bend and I twist it into a curly-q, much to the Queen’s delight. Next I jump clear across the ballroom, which is further than I have ever jumped before. I ask the Queen’s permission and take her with me a few times. Like a child, she shrieks and laughs the whole way. When we are done she thanks me and wishes us well. She gives Aidan a shake of the finger. He winks at her, making her laugh again.

“Make sure you tell Sebastian, pay backs suck. All’s fair and all that…” She then excuses us to pack and sends us on our way. The bitch. ‘Pay backs’? I’ll have to find out for what later but it really looks like we, scratch that mostly me, has been played. Gabrielle, was too coincidental.

When we go back to our room I’m slightly in a panic. I go straight to my hand sanitizer. I put some on right away and then Aidan is beside me and taking me in his arms.

“Calm, lover. I’m disappointed we don’t have more time together, but I will never forget last night and I will never regret it. Ever, for my entire existence. You’ve made me so happy. Please don’t feel bad for that.”

“I will never regret being with you, Aidan. I love you.” I reach up and touch his face. “It was an amazing night. But she set us up, can’t you see that? Celine, Gabrielle, this trip? We were pawns in some sick game she played.” I try to pull away.

“What does it really change? Are you worried what they will think Lilith? Are you still in love with Sebastian?”

“I d-don’t know.”

Aidan sits down. “You need to figure it out, love. I won’t share you like this. I want all of you, especially after last night. I can’t think of you loving him while you’re making love with me.”

“Last night all I thought about was my love for you Aidan, never doubt that.”

He smiles at that and gets up to kiss me.

“Help me pack?” I ask.

“Okay. Should we call them or just pop in?”

“Just pop in and surprise them. I love doing that.”

“Me too,” he says.

Aidan helps me pack the old fashioned way. I think he wants to drag out our time together for as long as possible. I don’t mind. Soon everything is where it should be and we can’t procrastinate any longer.

We walk down the stairway to tell Kathryn that we are leaving. While we wait, Aidan stiffens.

“What’s wrong?” I ask him.

“I just saw someone that shouldn’t be here. Gabrielle is out and about. She is supposed to be in jail with Celine. She was banished from court for life.”

“Where is she?” I hiss.

I immediately draw fang and crouch, ready to get her.

“Oh no you don’t. Take my hand, love.”

We transmanifest into the library and scare the devil out of Sebastian and Liam.

“Lily! What are you doing back so soon?”

“The Queen decided she had seen everything there was to see and released us for good behavior,” Aidan says.

Helena, Julian and Andrew hear us and come in the room. They hear what Aidan says.

“Well good,” Julian says. “I thought her request was a bit excessive to begin with.”

“Did you have a good time?” Liam asks me.

“Yes, I did some shopping yesterday,” I say archly.

Julian rolls his eyes. “Okay, spill it. What happened? You never joke about clothes.”

“We just saw Gabrielle, Sebastian,” Aidan says. “I think the Queen has been orchestrating things behind our backs.”

Sebastian gets a stony expression on his face.

“That mother of a goat has moved us all like chess pieces from the beginning,” I hiss.

“Lilith, let me help you take your new things up stairs,” Aidan says.

“I’ve got it, Aidan. I want to talk to her for a minute,” Sebastian says.

“Sebastian, I don’t have anything to say right now.”

“I do, Lily, and you’ve been avoiding me. Come on.” He grabs my bags with one hand and takes my hand with the other. I give Aidan a desperate look and he watches me with serious concern, but he doesn’t interfere. Oh God, please don’t let Sebastian suspect anything.

Sebastian and I make our way up to my new suite and he puts my suitcase down and grabs me in his arms. He holds me tight and breathes in the scent of my hair. I relax in his arms. It is going to take a long time to reconcile what he and I have done.

“I know you were with Aidan,” he whispers.

I jerk back from him. He grimaces.

“I can smell him on you and I can smell the fear on you.”

I can’t say anything. I reach for him but he backs away. That hurts more than if he had hit me.

“I know I let this happen. I set the situation up when I was with… I can’t even say her name. I hurt you so much. I would die rather than do that. These last few days watching you with Aidan, I’ve wished I was dead.”

“Bast…”

“No. Don’t say anything right now. Let me talk. I love you, Lily, with everything in me. I know I cheated on you and I am just beginning to get what that felt like. I think you had about as much control over your actions as I did over mine. At least I know Aidan loves you. That’s the worst part.”

He’s quiet and closes his eyes. I wrap my arms around him and he lets me hold him. He quickly gets himself under control and brushes me away again. Every time he does that it feels like he is stabbing me.

“I guess the question is, do you still love me?”

“I don’t know.” I start crying. “You are part of me. I need you like I need blood.”

“I need you too, Lily. I feel like I would rip apart without you.”

Finally he kisses me. He pulls my head back roughly by my hair to kiss me hard. He is claiming his territory, he is taking me back and I don’t mind.

We talk. Mostly Sebastian talks about how hurt he’s been. He’s surprised he can be hurt this bad. I tell him I know what it feels like.

“I think this was part of the Queens plans. The look she gave me this afternoon was too knowing to be innocent, Sebastian.”

“I think you’re right. Especially since you saw the other one there, walking freely.” He can’t even say her name.

We go downstairs, much subdued. Everyone is smiling until they see our grim faces. Aidan is still here. I think he anticipates this and is hoping I will run away with him. Sebastian looks over at him and his hands ball into fists. His fangs come out.

“Easy, Bast,” I say.

“Well, glow boy. You finally talked her into it. Are you happy? Was it worth it?”

“You should know the answer to that,” Aidan says.

Sebastian launches himself across the room at Aidan who promptly pops out of the way to the other side of the room.

“Fight fair!” Sebastian bellows.

“I don’t think you want to have this fight, Sebastian. I love her. I would kill you if it meant I could have her. Let’s not go there.”

“You son of a bitch!”

“How could I not do something that I’ve waited my entire existence to do? Waited over five thousand years for this woman to do it with. She holds my body, mind and soul in her hands. Anything she wants of me she can have, anything!”

“Then leave. Leave her be. Go away,” Sebastian demands.

“I can’t do that,” Aidan says hoarsely.

“Then leave her alone. Never touch her again. If you do, I swear I will find a way to bind you myself.”

I gasp.

Helena and Julian have been following the conversation with a look of horror on their faces. Liam and Andrew hug each other not knowing what to do. I don’t know what to say. I grab Helena and take her into the other room.

“Helena, we saw Gabrielle at the Queen’s. She is not in jail. What’s more, the Queen looked like she had planned for Aidan and me to be together. She gave me a knowing look this afternoon. I think she planned on breaking us up so I would come to court and she could mess with our lives.” Realizing I’m not conveying the certainty I felt I throw my hands up. “She said to tell Sebastian that pay backs are a bitch and that all’s fair and all that.”

“That conniving bitch! It all makes sense. Oh Lily! I am so sorry you got caught in her power trip.”

She squeezes my hand. We return to the others. Helena wants to talk with Julian. Aidan left after he hit Sebastian with a plane disruption blast. Sebastian was left smoking. It seems Sebastian tried to attack him again. I check Sebastian to see if he is okay and he brushes me off again. I sit down in a chair and hold my head. Sebastian comes over and takes me up in his arms. He kisses the top of my head.

“I’m sorry, Cherie. My pride was hurt. It’s hard feeling masculine when your opponent can wave his hand and send you flying across the room.” The uncertainty on his face devastates me. I’ve never seen him lose his confidence—or be anything less than suave.

“I’m sorry, Bast.”

“Me too, ma petite. I think Zoe sat back like a fat cat and let her game play out.” He shakes his head. “Unfortunately, there were real hearts being broken in the process.”

I simply don’t know which way is up anymore. My body still remembers its night with Aidan and my head is starting to wrap its way around the debacle with Sebastian.

Andrew makes us mulled wine, comfort food, and we pour each other a glass before settling down before the fire. I kick off my heels and pull my knees up to my chest. Pulling the throw off the back off the couch, I curl up into a small ball at the end of the couch so no one can come near me. I want to be alone yet near everyone.

Julian and Helena talk quietly on the facing couch about the Queen’s involvement. They are convinced she planned the whole scenario.

“Zoe has always been jealous of Helena. She didn’t understand why I loved Helena and not her. Then when Sebastian joined our family Zoe tried to seduce him. She desperately wanted to be part of our lives. When Sebastian dismissed her, she visited me in the night and vowed revenge for casting her out.” Julian puts his head in his hands and Helena rubs his shoulders. “I didn’t take much stock in it because I knew we were well protected and I knew she didn’t mean she would kill us. I forgot the depths of her depravity. She has nearly brought this family to its knees. And I will not stand for it. She will be made to pay.”

It doesn’t lessen my tangled feelings. It only makes me angry on top of it all. Knowing that Zoe has threatened the whole family. To know that bitch Gabrielle is walking loose in New Orleans. If I ever get my hands on her… There are a lot of fences to mend.

I go to my room and I call out to Aidan. He appears.

“I was waiting for you to be alone, love. I didn’t want to set Sebastian off again.” I know it’s for my sake. He was not above batting Sebastian around before.

“Thank you, he is too fragile right now. I want to be in your arms.” He gathers me up and holds me.

“You love him still don’t you?”

“Yes.”

Aidan sighs. I look into his face expecting to find sorrow but instead I find resolve.

“I understand. It was too soon. I pushed too fast. I needed to let you work him out of your system but I couldn’t wait any longer. I don’t regret it and I won’t stop waiting for you.”

“I love you too, Aidan.”

“I know you do. That’s the only thing that gives me hope in this world, lover. I will never get the image of our bodies entwined, the taste of your skin or the touch of your hands on my body out of my head. I fall in love with you every time I see you. Sebastian is just going to have to deal with it, because I’m not going anywhere.” He kisses me again. I let his tongue play with mine. He cups my breast and every nerve in my body tingles with the images of our night together.

This is going to be difficult. Loving two men. If I’m honest, I have all along. I untangle myself from Aidan and take a deep breath. He sighs and straightens his shoulders. He gives me a smile and closes his eyes before he pops out.

I endured a werewolf bite, a cheating fiancé and a manipulating Queen of the undead. I can survive this. Right now I need to put my game face on and maybe brush the fangsters. Always good to have fresh breath. Time will tell what comes next. That, and my heart.