Sweeter Than Wine (19 page)

At least with Jeff, she’d labored under the misconception that he wouldn’t kill her.

She’d always believed he wouldn’t want to go to jail, but that last blow-up had proven her wrong. He’d killed her. Only Sebastian’s intervention allowed her to continue drawing air.

Only Sebastian. Her savior.

“Fear not, my love.”
He came to her in their underground chamber. She’d bathed the stink of fear and the clods of dirt from her skin while he’d dealt with the people above.

But he’d been connected to her all the while, in her mind, calming her when fear threatened to take over.

Sebastian threw off his jacket and tugged her into his arms. She reached up to unbutton his shirt collar. She continued down the line of buttons until they were all 149

undone, and pulled the shirt’s tails out from his waistband so she could push the sides apart and snuggle into his warm chest.

“I was so scared.”

“I know.” He soothed her, running his palms over her shoulders and down her back, covered now only in a thin, white silk nightgown. “But you were brave. You stood your ground and used your wits. I’m incredibly proud of you.”

“I knew you’d come for me. I think that’s why I was able to be brave. I knew all I had to do was hold on until you could get there.”

“Sweet stars above, I almost lost you tonight, my love.” Anguish filled Sebastian’s whispered words.

Christy soothed him, stroking her fingers over his skin as she helped him out of his clothes. “I was frightened at the time, but I had faith in you, Sebastian.”

He captured her hand and brought it to his lips for a tender kiss. “You had more faith in me than I had in myself, Christina. Please, don’t ever scare me like that again.”

She smiled. “Not by choice, lover. I didn’t enjoy having fireballs lobbed at me anymore than you enjoyed seeing it happen.”

Sebastian covered her on the large bed, his body blanketing her in warmth. “I love you with all that I am, Christina. If anything ever happened to you—” He choked on the words.

Leaning up, she kissed his lips, then drew back to look deep into his eyes. “Nothing happened tonight. The care you took in turning me paid off in ways you never expected.

My
were
cougar superpowers kicked into high gear when that jerk came at me. I acted on instinct that certainly didn’t come from me, but the cat knew what to do. Sebastian, your foresight is what saved us tonight. Your generosity in giving me what I didn’t know I needed. Matt’s gift to us both.”

Sebastian’s eyes darkened with emotion a moment before his lips claimed hers in a devastating kiss. It held all his worry, his torment, fear, love and the triumph he’d felt when she’d proven stronger and more clever than her adversary. She felt all of it again now, sharing his mind and heart as she did, and she gave him back all the confidence, 150

pride in him, gratitude and love she had. Everything she had—everything she was—was for him. He’d given her enormous gifts, first by changing her, then by asking Matt to give her even more potent instincts than most vampires could claim. That alone had saved them tonight.

She owed it to Sebastian’s generous spirit and to Matt as well, of course. Without Matt’s friendship and willingness to participate in giving a newly turned vampire the benefit of his
were
blood, she would never have survived the encounter with Mario Gonzalez, and both she and Lissa would be dead.

Sebastian broke the kiss as tears formed in her eyes.

“Don’t think like that, Christina. You saved both your lives this night, plus mine and Atticus’s as well. Without you, I would not want to live. I’d hunt down those responsible and kill them in gruesome ways first, but then I’d join you in death, seeking your soul in the realms beyond. I couldn’t go on without you and I’m pretty sure Atticus feels the same about your friend, Lissa.”

She leaned up and kissed his jaw. “Make love to me, Sebastian. Make me forget the fear. Make me yours.”

He pressed against her. “You are always mine, my love. From now until forever.” He kissed her again and this time there was no room for thought, no room for distraction. His kiss was her world, his warm body, her life.

Their loving was soft and gentle at first, then harsh and needy. Both reveled in the glory of each other and seemed to want to make up for the close call in a very physical way.

Cameron stuck to Steel’s side like glue the rest of the night and into the next day.

Around dawn, he let Steel go back to his hotel for a change of clothes.

“You guys may not need much sleep, but I need to recharge.” He yawned as he opened the door to his hotel room. He’d had about enough of his new babysitter.

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“You can sleep. I’ll just be making sure you don’t leave or communicate with anyone while you’re in this room.”

“You can do that?”

Cameron winked as he lifted one hand. “I can do much more than that, boyo. Now, personally, I feel like you can be trusted, but there’s more than me to consider. So get yourself into the center of this room and be still for a moment while I do this.”

Cameron crowded Steel inside the room. He didn’t like being ordered around, but he also didn’t want to mess with the immense power he could feel building. This creature was downright scary.

The amount of magical energy he felt coming off Cameron was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. It also had a weird flavor, not quite of this world. The rise in power peaked and then suddenly…nothing.

Steel felt his skin crawl. After the intensity of the moments before, the room was now devoid of magic, but yet…

There was a small hum at the back of his mind. It was comforting, in a way.

“What
is
that?”

Cameron smiled. “A shield. In essence, you’re in a magical bubble. This room, and the attached bath, are contained. No signals—magical or mundane—in or out until I release the shield. It’s for your protection and ours. While you’re in this room, you can’t contact anyone by phone, computer, or even magically. Nor can anyone contact you. Or enter, without me knowing about it. Only someone with magic that rivals mine could hope to breach this shield and by the time they did, I’d be here.”

“Wait. What if Mario knocks on the door? He doesn’t know I’m on to him. Maybe I could learn something.”

“Not a problem. You can still talk to people face to face, but keep him out in the hall.

He should have no awareness of the shield unless he tries to cross the threshold. That’s to protect you in case things go wrong. In that case, step back from the door and wait for me. Nothing he can throw at you should be able to penetrate my shield before I can get here.”

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“How comforting.” Steel made a face, but the man only laughed. “Cameron, if you don’t mind my asking, what the hell
are
you? No creature I ever saw has as much magical energy as I just felt.”

“I’m fey, lad, but more than that, I’m a
Chevalier de Lumiere
. And that’s something even my supernatural friends don’t know.” He winked with a sly grin.

Steel was shocked. “A Knight of the Light. Well, that explains a lot. Damn.” He looked at the older man with new respect. “But why tell me?”

“Despite all you’ve seen today, I sense you still need some convincing you’re on the right side in this. Being what I am,” Cameron started to glow with magical energy that even Steel could see with mortal eyes—a sure indicator of his true power and affiliation with the Order, “I can see through to the heart of you, Benjamin. I know where you’ve been and can glimpse where you’re going. You’re at a turning point. Where you decide to go next will be crucial to the rest of your existence, and to that of many supernaturals in this realm. I reveal myself to you so you’ll know you’re on the right path. This is too important to leave to chance. For eons,
Venifucus
have used trickery to lead soldiers of the Light into darkness. You’ve come very close, but you still have a shot at redemption.

Don’t waste it.”

With his final words, the light began to fade and Cameron didn’t seem quite so imposing. Steel guessed he’d only seen a small portion of Cam’s true power, but it was enough. The AC’s lessons had included information on the Order. They were even more secretive than the
Venifucus
, and had been fighting evil far longer than the
Venifucus
had been in existence. Even the AC was afraid of them, not even trying to ferret out who might be part of their ranks.

“Thanks, Cam. You’re right. I did have questions, despite what I’ve seen so far.”

“That’s understandable, lad. It’s a lot to take in—especially for a mortal. Sensitive or not.”

Steel felt the magic die down and then disappear completely. Cameron had some amazing power there. “I won’t say anything to the others about you.”

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Cameron chuckled as he headed for the door. “I knew that already. You’re the kind of man who knows how to keep a secret. I’ll trust to your discretion. Now get some rest.

I’ll be back this afternoon to take down the shield and escort your sorry arse back to Sebastian’s. I think you should consider moving in there until this is over. He’s got the room and I believe a contingent of
were
are planning to prowl the grounds to help keep the bloodletters safe until we’re ready to face your Mario again. Something tells me you need to make more friends among their numbers if you’re going to be of help to us in the coming battle.”

“You mean against Mario?” Steel asked as the fey knight turned the doorknob.

Cameron’s eyes narrowed. “Aye, in this fight, and the rest of what’s coming. I don’t see much beyond the next battle, except that there will be more.”

“You have the sight? What am I saying? You’re fey. Can’t all your people see the future? Or is that a myth?”

Cameron paused. “Most of us can see a bit, but it’s not entirely reliable, you understand. And I’ve made my home in this realm, so I don’t always interpret what I see clearly. All I can say for certain is that once we take care of Mario, there are more out there that need dealing with, but I didn’t need the sight to tell me that. Your
Altor
Custodis
has been corrupted, lad. A housecleaning is in order and I think you’re just the man to do it.”

True to his word, Cameron picked Steel up several hours later. He felt good after a hot shower and some much needed sleep. Mario hadn’t come by, but Steel wasn’t really surprised. They’d had little contact except when Steel called on Mario for backup, which wasn’t all that often.

He still couldn’t quite believe he was traveling around town with a fey knight. He’d had minimal instruction on the fey realm when he’d joined the AC because the fey were said to be rarer than rare here in the mortal realm.

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Of course, the AC had also taught him that
weres
and vamps didn’t work together either, but he now knew that was false. At least in this instance. But then, these were extraordinary circumstances.

Steel took his duffle bag with him when they went down to the truck, but didn’t bother checking out. For one thing, the room was on the AC’s tab. For another, Mario might come looking for him and it would look strange if he’d checked out without telling his backup. He also wasn’t certain of his welcome at the vampire’s home, though Cameron seemed pretty sure of it.

It was late in the afternoon when they drove through the gates of an impressive estate in the hills outside town. Steel noted the tingle of magic as they went through and the creatures who paused to look at the truck as they drove up the long drive. Two hawks, an owl, a wolf or two, and some big cats that were most definitely
were
creatures paused to allow themselves to be seen. He knew it was for his benefit. These special creatures would never have been spotted by a mortal in the thick forest unless they allowed it.

“Nice house,” Steel commented as the big mansion came into view. Surprisingly, he meant it. Most fancy places like this annoyed him, but there was something about Sebastian’s home that seemed welcoming.

“It is, isn’t it? Sebastian modeled it after his ancestral estate, but on a smaller scale.

He’s young enough to miss the comforts of his mortal life. From what I understand, he still pays for the upkeep of the old place in England through a blind trust or some such.

After his mortality was forfeited, he gave up his claim to the lands and title, but he’s kept it safe for his brother’s heirs all these years.”

“So he was part of the aristocracy? What was he? A duke or something?” Steel chuckled at the idea.

“An earl, actually.” Cameron’s tone was dry as he parked the truck by the side of the house. Nearby, a giant garage stood open to showcase one hell of a collection of high-priced automobiles. The Lamborghini especially, caught Steel’s eye. “But he left England penniless, three centuries ago. All you see here, he earned himself.”

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Steel caught the hint of pride in Cameron’s voice. “You like the son of a bitch, don’t you?”