by Lyons, Rene
Constantine winked and the kid almost fell off the chair.
Flustered, he jumped up, said something to Allie, then lost himself in the crowd. Allie held up her water at them in a mock toast, laughing before taking a long swig.
Moments later another guy approached her. Disappointingly, he too was of the living. Again, Allie made quick work to get rid of him, keeping herself available to any dead who happened to decide to show.
She cocked a brow at Sebastian and shrugged, wiggling her foot.
“She said to tell you it must be the boots the boys like.”
Knowing Allie put the sarcastic comment into Constantine’s mind, Sebastian arched a brow regally. “Did she?”
Allie watched him warily when he stood and strode over to her. He whispered in her ear. Her eyes went as wide as saucers and her breath caught in her throat.
When he returned to the bar, leaving Allie shaken at the table, Constantine looked at him. “What did you say to her?
“None of your goddamn business,” he shot back smoothly. “Trust me when I say Allie will never look at those boots the same way again.”
*
After another hour of wasted time, Allie got tired of watching Sebastian watch her. Besides, her ass went numb from sitting on it for so long, always an indication it was time to wrap the party and go home.
What a waste of a perfectly good night.
Allie stood and stretched before maneuvering her way through the crowd back to the Templars. The bomb Sebastian dropped in her ear earlier still rang loudly in her mind.
She glanced down at her boots and laughed, knowing she’d never look at them the same again.
But she was damn sure she’d wear them again to torture Sebastian for what he’d said.
“Tired of getting hit on by boys in puffy shirts?”
She gave Sebastian a face that clearly proclaimed she was not amused by his sarcasm. “Just plain tired, actually.”
“Here I thought you were enjoying all the attention.”
“Clearly, you don’t know me.” She squeezed herself between the two hulking men so she could leave the empty water bottle on the bar.
“Clearly I don’t.”
The truth of his statement hit her as she stared at him. He knew no more about her than she knew of him. Though practically strangers, they had an undeniable bond since the first night they’d met.
Constantine was eyeing a pretty brunette standing alone at the other end of the bar. “I’m keeping your Charger. Hitch a ride with Allie.”
Before Sebastian agreed or not, Constantine was already making his way toward the girl. By the time he reached her, the girl looked all but ready to jump him right there in the club.
Women obviously loved his whole badass look, since with nothing more than a lifting of his brow and a crook of his finger Constantine turned them to jelly.
Allie threaded her fingers through Sebastian’s, the calluses on his palm scraping against her soft skin. She tugged him toward the door. “Come on. I promise to play nice.”
Sebastian caught her easily before she moved away. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed her against his chest. Leaning into him, she loved the feel of him.
I can’t make that promise, sunshine.” His rich voice was a purr in her ear.
Allie shivered, his portentous words sending wonderful chills dancing all through her body. Lifting her arm, she reached behind his head to lightly caress the nape of his neck. She smiled wickedly at the tiny shudder she felt rip through him at her touch.
“I didn’t think you would.”
Chapter Nine
Sebastian stepped behind her when Allie went to fit the key into the lock of the driver’s side door. His strength at her back, his arms coming around her, caused her hand to go limp and her breath to catch in her throat. The wonderfully cool feel of him against her caused everything in her body to come alive, especially when he traced the exposed part of the tattoo on her back with the tip of his finger. His tender touch nearly undid her.
“A Templar sword.”
He sounded mystified by what was inked onto her back.
That he never noticed the pommel of the sword bore a red cross pattee surprised her, but then she remembered how little they were together since they first met and how he avoided her when they were. Besides, it was only recently warm enough to wear tops revealing enough to show the tattoo.
“I got it after Constantine and Raphael saved my life.” She shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal when in fact, it was. Getting the tattoo was an incredibly emotional experience, every moment of the ordeal lost in the moment when she thought she was going to die and her friends rushed in and saved her life. “I wanted to honor them. A Templar’s sword seemed the best way.”
“It’s beautiful.”
The way he said it sent tiny chills traveling over her skin. “Thank you.”
Unable to resist the temptation, Allie stepped back into him. It felt so good to have his strength at her back.
“Do you have any idea how badly I want you?”
Sebastian’s voice was thick with need. His words wove their way through her body, settling at the juncture of her thighs. It caused a delicious pressure there, which she desperately needed him to relieve.
Allie hoped he wanted her as much as she wanted him. “I think I can imagine.”
She threw her head back, resting it on his shoulder and groaned. The movement exposed her throat, which Sebastian caressed. He rubbed his cheek on her hair, breathing in deeply, smelling her. When she felt him grind his erection against her ass, her knees went weak. If he wasn’t supporting her with the arm wrapped around her, she would have crumbled to the ground.
The way he held her, she felt how huge he was—and how hard. Her body undulated for him, for what she knew he could do to her with the long length of him.
His voice wove through her when he spoke quietly. “I want to use my entire body to bring you pleasure.”
Oh God…
Allie’s mouth ran dry and her legs nearly buckled at the images racing through her mind. It was any woman’s sweetest fantasy come to life. All she had to do was reach out and grab it.
Her limited sexual experience couldn’t even begin to comprehend all the wonderfully wicked things he could do to her, but she was more than willing to find out.
“Sebastian…”
His name came out on a sigh as his fingers traveled over the column of her throat.
“I love my name on your lips.” His head dipped and he placed a feathery kiss on her bare shoulder. His cool lips made her shiver with a delicious thrill. “Do you know what I would love even more on your lips?”
Allie was beyond words. All she could do was shake her head.
He traced the line of her jaw with his thumb. “My mouth.”
Oh dear God…
Sebastian turned Allie around and looked down into her flushed face. The temptation of her parted lips was too much for any man to resist.
He certainly wasn’t just any man.
Being celibate for three hundred years was a hell of a thing when confronted with his desire for Allie.
With the resolve of a warrior heading into battle, Sebastian knew it was time to stop the bullshit and claim what belonged to him.
Letting go of the invisible chains binding him, he refused to hold himself back any longer. Looking into her eyes, he hesitated for only a moment before he claimed her mouth in a fierce kiss that rocked them both. The keys slipped from Allie’s fingers, landing at her feet. She gripped his shoulders, her fingernails biting into the flesh as she whimpered into his mouth.
All civility was stripped from him when he engulfed her in his arms and crushed her against him. Her soft breasts pressed into him, her heartbeat strong enough that he felt it pumping wildly against his own chest. The scent of her desire came to him in rich waves, filling his senses as he fought the losing battle of control
Realizing Allie was forced to stand on her tiptoes to accommodate his
height, he leaned forward so she was again flatfooted. Once she had her footing she wrapped one leg around him. The heat of her seeped through their clothing to touch the part of him he ached to bury deep inside her.
Growling into her mouth, Sebastian inhaled deeply, taking her breath into himself. Needing more contact with her, he gripped her leg and held it against his hip. He crushed his pelvis against hers, the bare flesh of her thigh under his calloused palm warm with life.
It would be so easy to slip off her panties, unzip his jeans and slide into her. The thought of taking her body under the night sky, the moon lending an alabaster glow to her flesh moved him closer to madness.
Lost in her, in the taste of her mouth and the feel of her body against his, Sebastian felt her need throbbing through every part of her. Her desire for him was a physical hurt in his own body as he ached to sheath his length in her. He needed to feel the warmth of her body surround him.
As his sexual need for Allie reached feverish heights, the bloodlust rose in its wake. Groaning when it hit his gut with the force of a truck, his mouth ran dry at the same moment. A splash of reality, it brought him out of the raging desire. Reminded him that they weren’t alone, but in full view of the road and the small group of people who stumbled out of The Gate.
If they didn’t stop now, they would pass the point where he could.
As much as he liked to think he was in complete command of himself, around Allie, he had little to no control over his raging desires.
Sebastian pulled away from her grudgingly, smiling at the way Allie fell back against the car breathlessly. She stared at him with eyes hooded with desire, a smile on her swollen lips.
“If you keep kissing me like that I’m going to club you over the head and drag you back to my lair like some horny cavewoman.”
Though he tried to hold it back, Sebastian let out a hard laugh. Leave it to her to say something like that.
With some distance between them, he was able to focus his senses on things other than her. The night crept back into him, had him focusing on the things he missed when he was lost in her.
The pump of the club’s music and the loud din of voices took the place of the thundering sound of her heartbeat. He felt the impact of Constantine’s bloodlust and sexual need come at him, heightening his own.
Yet beyond all that, past the scents and sounds of the night, Sebastian felt something else moving through him. A subtle shifting in the air, faint enough that he knew if his senses weren’t so aroused he might have missed it entirely.
Instantly on guard, Sebastian bent down and retrieved Allie’s keys. Once he handed them to her, he went to push her behind him. She held her ground, a concerned frown drawing her brows together.
“What’s wrong?”
He glanced over the roof of the SUV. If he had to get her out quick her truck wasn’t going to cut it. Glancing at his Charger, parked clear across the large lot, he knew they couldn’t reach it in time, especially not when four renegades emerged from the thicket of trees across the narrow road.
Four against one was hardly a challenge for Sebastian. Yet, with Allie here he wasn’t going to attempt to go at this one alone. Having been in enough battles throughout history, he knew firsthand how quickly things could get out of control. He’d not take a risk with Allie’s life, no matter how badly he’d love the chance to take these ragtag bastards out—just for the sport of it.
His upper lip curled back, his fangs bared fiercely. “Looks like our party is about to be crashed.”
“Vampire?” The tremor in her voice was the only indication she wasn’t as calm as she appeared. His woman put on a brave face that would do any warrior proud.
“Renegades.” He clarified, pluralizing the word.
“Shit,” she swore, stepping closer to him. “How many?”
“Four.”
“Leave it to a renegade to ruin a good time.”
If Allie said that at any other time, Sebastian would have shown her how much he appreciated her dry humor. With four vampires quickly approaching them, now wasn’t the time.
The vast expanse of shadowy woods across the road made an ideal hideout. The renegades must have been lying in wait for the perfect victim to come stumbling drunkenly out of the club. They should have kept on waiting, since it was their foolish mistake to think to take him on.
The assholes had to sense his strength, which meant they arrogantly thought to try to take out a Templar.
Peering through the dark of the Pennsylvania night, Sebastian watched them meander across the road and into the parking lot. He growled out a warning they foolishly ignored. Grinning evilly at they way they walked like they were the big bad, everything in him wanted to make them bleed for their arrogance.
He sent out a silent call to Constantine and pushed Allie behind him. She ducked behind him and pressed against his back.
“That’s one fine piece of female you got with you,” the leader of the bunch remarked.
The vampire looked no more than eighteen years old. With his heavy Western drawl, all he needed was a six-shooter and some chaps to look like he stepped out of a history book.
Sebastian felt cold fear run through Allie. Her hands fisted into his duster. “Guess he likes my boots too,” she whispered.
Ignoring her remark, he shrugged off his duster, which she caught before it hit the ground. Unsheathing his sword, he threw the vampire a cold glare. “She’s mine,”
The vampire sniffed at the air at the same time a surprised look crossed his young face. “Holy shit, boys, we got ourselves one of them Templars.”
Sebastian cocked a brow. “Now what the fuck would four shits like you know about Templars?”
A dirty looking kid, obviously hung to death given the rope burns around his neck, puffed out his chest and notched his chin arrogantly. “I know enough. He don’t look so tough. Does he, Poor Pete?”
That was bullshit and each one of them knew it.
Pete, the young blond standing next to him, spat on the ground. “Naw. Bet we can take him out and grab ourselves that beauty hiding behind him.”
Sebastian threw the vampires a cold smile. “Please be that stupid and try.”
“Aw, hell, Buck, he got him a sword. I ain’t gonna go and get my head lopped off for no woman.”
“Shut the fuck up, Gavin,” Buck snapped. “We got no quarrel with you, Templar. Give us the girl and walk away.”
Sebastian almost admired Buck’s arrogance. Almost. For the most part, he found it irritating enough to have to kill him for it. “I don’t think you understood me, Buck.” Sebastian replied calmly. “I said the woman is mine.”
He made sure to put enough of a promise of death in his words to have Gavin wisely looking like he was going to drop from fear.
Buck shrugged. “Have it your way. But you’re outnumbered.”
“Albeit not out-skilled,” Sebastian threw back.
“Oh good. A fight,” Constantine remarked blandly as he strolled through the parking lot as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
“Holy shit.” Pete’s eyes widened in horror. “That’s the Dragon.”
Constantine inclined his head. “Always nice to meet a fan.”
Pete pulled on Buck’s sleeve. “Let’s go, Buck. I ain’t fucking with that one. She ain’t worth it.”
Buck backhanded Pete. “Stop being such a pussy. You got any idea what killing these two will do for our reps?”
Gavin backed away, shaking his head. “Poor Pete’s right, Buck. I ain’t tangling with two Templars. One maybe, but not two, and not that one.” He jabbed a finger at Constantine.
Sebastian sighed dramatically. “Bloody hell! Why is it everyone shits themselves at the sight of you even though I’m the one holding the damn sword?”
“I look meaner.”
“You are meaner,” Allie supplied, peeking out from around him. Her comment earned her a nasty look from Sebastian. “Sorry, baby.”
“I took out twenty Saracens
when Constantine was too busy getting the shit knocked out of him to lend a hand.”
Constantine grunted. “And God help us all, you’ve been riding that moment of glory for centuries.” He nodded toward the renegades, who looked like they were going to either vomit or pass out. Pete looked like he might do both. “Let’s do this quick. I’m fucking starving and I left a very willing female waiting.”
Constantine reached down into his boots and pulled twin daggers free. Gavin made a sick sound in the back of his throat at the sight of those deadly blades. Poor Pete looked like he was going to drop dead from fright.
The quiet renegade, clearly too terrified to act the fool and egg on the Templars’ wrath, backed up until he was practically back on the road. Only Buck was stupid enough to puff out his chest and raise his chin in an arrogant stance, which only worked to piss the Templars off even more.
Sebastian pushed Allie away. “Stay back.”
She nodded. “Don’t gotta tell me twice.”
Hurrying behind a parked car, Allie felt it was far enough away from where the fight was going to go down. She wasn’t about to get caught in the middle of this one. She may be a ghost hunter, but her skills didn’t extend to fighting renegades. That’s what Templars were for. They could mow those renegades down like grass. Clutching at Sebastian’s duster, she held onto it as if holding it close to her was the same as holding him close to her. Crouched low behind the car, she peered over the hood so she could watch the fight and see her boys ending those arrogant bastards.
“We didn’t mean no offense. I swear it. We got no fight with you,” Pete stammered nervously.
“Bugger that. Weren’t you all just talking shit?” Sebastian slowly advanced on the ragtag group.
“Look, we only wanted a quick meal.”
“Instead you’re going to get a quick death.” Sebastian promised in a menacing tone.
Sebastian bared his fangs and gripped his sword tighter. Eager to spill blood, the centuries melted away and he was back in the Holy Land, on the threshold of battle.
A quick glance at Constantine, showed the Dragon felt the same rush of adrenaline. Every muscle in his body strained as he barely held himself in check, needing to bleed the ground with their enemy’s blood.
