He gently reached out to touch her mind. The shock of the connection moved him back a few steps rocking his whole being and his eyes popped open.
“It’s her,” he whispered urgently. “What is she— How did-”he stopped in mid thought and starting pacing again, kicking her things out of his way. Stopping by the front door, he took a deep breath and went back to her, grabbing her shoulders.
“Amber, wake up.”
“Hmm.” She stirred slowly, then her eyes popped open. At first she was entranced by the marble like ebony eyes that were looking back at her, then she screamed and pushed him back. “Who are you?” She jumped to her feet looking around. “Where am I?”
“Ok, calm down. I don’t know how you came to be here, but you’re at my house. You were asleep on my porch when I came outside. I’m the one that should be angry at you for invading my space.”
“Your house?” She looked around again, holding her head. “You live here? I had no idea anyone even lived here. I found this house a few weeks ago. I’ve been coming here ever since to have a picnic on my days off. It was all boarded up, so I thought it was abandoned or something.”
“Well, it isn’t. I live here. I don’t come out during the day. If you come here during the day to have a picnic, why are you here so late?”
Her eyes lowered and she sat back on the swing. “Well, I, I guess I fell asleep.”
“Yes, I guess you did.”
“You don’t have to be so snappy. I apologize for trespassing, but I didn’t know anyone lived here. I’ll just get my stuff and leave you in peace.”
He watched her as she gathered her things and stated pacing again. He couldn’t tap in her mind and bend her to his will; it was forbidden to do so to the one who would be your wife. He had to stop her, make her fall for him on her own. She was almost done and he paced faster, then stopped and took a deep breath.
“Amber, you don’t have to leave,” he said gruffly.
She turned to him with her arms full. “You don’t have to use that tone with me, you know? I did apologize for disturbing you. I didn’t hurt anything or break your swing. You could be a little nicer.”
He frowned. “What tone? I didn’t use a specific tone. I just said you didn’t have to leave.”
She stuffed her things into the back seat and leaned on her car with her arms around her chest. “Oh, yes you did and you’re doing it again.”
“I am not using a tone, Amber.”
“And that’s another thing. How do you know my name? I don’t know you, we’ve never met.”
“I, I know your friend Elsie. She was supposed to bring you to meet me tonight at the hospital.”
“Ohhh, so you’re the guy she wanted me to meet. What a coincidence that I would end up on your porch to have my picnics,” she said with a chuckle. “Almost like karma.”
“Yes, karma.”
She raised her eye brow. “But that still doesn’t explain how you knew I was Amber when you saw me.”
Now he wrapped his arms around his chest. “I saw you at the wine tasting festival taking Elsie home. “
“Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense. I should go now. I’ve taken up enough of your time. You probably have things to do.”
“No, I don’t. I was going to meet you, that was it. But since you’re here, why not come in so we could talk.”
She wrapped her arms around her chest again and looked him over. He was tall, slender, and everything about him was black. His long black hair was pulled back into a wavy ponytail. His beard covered most of his face, even tee shirt and jeans were in the color scheme, but his skin was different, a smooth olive color standing out against all the black.
A quick smile came to her face and disappeared just as fast. “You’re not some kind of murderous killer are you? I know judo and I can defend myself,” she added as she walked by him.
He chuckled opening the door for her. “I’ll consider myself warned.”
Inside they sat on the sofa and talked for a few hours, and then Amber looked at her watch and stood.
“I’ve been having a great time talking with you, Sebastian. You’re not a bad guy, but it’s getting really late. I have about a two hour dive ahead of me and I’m getting hungry so I’m going to leave.”
“Wait, Amber, I...” he started and sighed. “I have this mission I’m supposed to be on and only you can help me.”
“Well, I’ll help you if I can.” She back down. “What’s your mission?”
“I have to find a wife. I never wanted one, but my leader said that I must, it was my duty. I want you for my wife.”
She blinked a few times before her brain could form something to say. “What?”
He sighed again. “Here, let me share myself with you.” He moved closer to her and put both hands on both sides of her face.
The images slammed into Amber’s mind with the force of a thunderstorm. She gasped and her body started to shake as she took in the sights that were presented to her. Feedings...old ones, new ones. Emotions...loneliness, pride, depression. Images...so many images, all slamming into her mind one after the other. Tears filled her eyes and rolled down her face as she took in what she was seeing and feeling. Her hands shook as she tried to move them and she forced her mouth to work.
“Stop, Sebastian, stop,” she said panting breathlessly.
Sebastian opened his eyes and severed the connection. “Amber, what is it? I—”
She held her hand up and turned away from him as the tears continued to roll down her face.
“Amber, please, let me—”
She shook her head and wiped her face. “No, no, I have to go.” She jumped to her feet and moved quickly to the door.
“Wait, Amber, I don’t understand. What did I do?”
He followed her to the door only to see the car speed off down the dark road. His confusion grew as he watched the two red lights until they winked out of his view.
Chapter Four
Amber woke the next morning and went through her regular routine and headed off to work.
“Good morning, Elsie. How was your night?”
“You have to come back after work, Amber, so you can meet my friend.”
The memories from last night came flooding back to her mind and she shook her head. “Your friend, huh? I think I met your friend last night.” She grabbed her arm and pulled her around the corner. “He’s crazy. He said he was a vampire. Well, I think he said it.” She frowned as she searched her memories. “Well, anyway, I don’t know what he said, but I think he’s a vampire. He said he wanted me for his wife.” She lowered her voice even more pulling her closer to her. “Do you know how vampires make you their mates?”
“No, do you?”
She sucked her teeth. “Yes, everyone knows that. They suck the blood out of you until you die, that’s how.”
Elsie laughed and walked back to their station. “Ok, now who’s acting crazy?” She looked at Amber as she gathered her things. “You believe him, too, don’t you?”
“You don’t think I should?”
“The question you should be asking yourself is, why should you? You don’t even know him.”
She grabbed her head again. “Yeah, but he wouldn’t lie to me.” She shook her head again. “Well, how do you know Sebastian?”
“Who’s Sebastian?”
Amber’s eyes widened. “What do you mean, who’s Sebastian? Your friend, the guy you wanted me to meet.”
“Oh, is that his name?”
“What? You don’t even know his name?” she asked alarmed. “How is he your friend and you don’t even know his name? How do you know him?”
Elsie thought for a moment then she laughed. “I don’t know. Look, let’s meet for lunch and we’ll talk more, ok? A late lunch, around one o’clock at Tso Ping’s, ok?” she added as he went to the elevator.
Amber went through her whole day staring at the clock waiting for one o’clock to come around and when it did she ran out the door and down t
he street to meet her friend. When she arrived Elsie was already eating.
“Sorry, girl. I was so hungry and tired when I woke up. I don’t know why.”
“It’s ok; I’m not very hungry today. Elsie, this guy, Sebastian, is he crazy?”
“Not that I know of. I only know I was supposed to get you to come back to the hospital to meet him and tell you he was a worthy mate.”
She laughed. “A worthy mate, huh? Yeah, ok.”
“I don’t remember how we met or even when, that’s about all I do know. Weird, huh?”
“Yeah, weird. He scares me, Elsie. I have all these pictures in my head and all these feelings...he’s a vampire. I can’t help but believe that. They kill the people they feed from, don’t they? He said he wanted me to be his wife. I don’t want to die.”
“How long were you with him before everything got all weird? Is that all you talked about, him sucking the life out of you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, no, that’s not all we talked about. He seemed really nice while we were talking. I was there for a few hours just hanging out. I don’t even think we talked about it. I just know, you know?”
“No, I don’t know. Did you like him?”
She picked up Elsie’s drink and shrugged. “Yeah, I did. I felt really comfortable being around him especially since he was a stranger and all.” She took a few sips. “I asked him about his family. He said his clan was large and they met every year.”
She finished her food nodding. “Right, right, that family thing is a big issue for you.”
Amber chuckled and slid her cup across to her. “Yeah, when you’re an orphan you don’t really have a family. People tend to want what they’ve never had. I’d like one of my own one day.”
“Hold that thought.” Elsie refilled her plate and came back to the table. “Ok, now, Amber, you know that in order to get this family you want so bad, you have to have a man?”
She twisted her lips. “Yes, Elsie, I’m aware of that.”
“Now, just hold on a minute. Don’t get all bent out of shape. All I’m saying is did it ever occur to you that Sebastian might be one of those guys with the weird sense of humor? He could be just joking with you.”
“No, I hadn’t thought of that. You think so?”
She shrugged. “It’s possible, right? What did he look like? Was he cute?”
She leaned on the table as her mouth dropped open. “What? You don’t even remember what he looks like?”
“What, sorry, I don’t remember. So, was he?”
She sat back and tried not to smile as his image came into her mind’s eye. “Yes, he is very attractive.”
“He probably was just joking. The cute ones always have some crazy sick sense of humor. They think it’s charming.”
Amber thought for a moment holding her head. “I don’t know. He touched my head and all of a sudden—”
“You may be totally overreacting to all this. Give the man a chance. Go back and see what he’s talking about.”
She thought for another moment and caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall behind her friend and stood up. “I have to get back. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Sebastian arrived at the hospital again. He stalked inside the building and straight up to the nurses’ station where Elsie was. He stepped out of the elevator and saw her with another woman. He stayed at the end of the hall for a while pacing, clinching his fists and breathing hard. Finally he stopped and took a deep breath and reached out to touch her mind.
“I swear, Elsie,” the woman said stifling a yawn. “I can’t see how you can work these nights. I’m so tired I can barely see this chart. I’ll be glad to get checked off so I can go back to my regular shift,” the woman said with a chuckle. “How do you do it?” When Elsie didn’t answer her and she looked up. “Hey, where are you going?”
Elsie continued to walk down the hall toward Sebastian. She turned the corner to where he was pacing the floors again.
“Who is that woman?” he snapped. “That is not Amber. I said to bring Amber back to the hospital to meet me.”
“The woman is Rachel,” she answered blankly.
“I didn’t ask for Rachel, did I? I don’t want Rachel, I want Amber. Where is she? Didn’t you see her or talk to her today?”
“She says you’re crazy.”
“What? I showed her everything that I am in order to get her to understand me and she said I was crazy?” He was almost yelling.
“She said you scared her.”
He stopped in front of her and his frustrated anger faded away. “She said I scared her?”
Elsie nodded.
He sighed. “Then I’ve lost her.” He looked around the corner to the nurses’ station, then back at Elsie and sighed again. “Where can we go to be alone?”
“The nurse’s lounge will be empty until the morning.”
“Take me there,” he said and pulled the small bottle of blood wine from his pocket.
Chapter Five
Many nights went by. Sebastian spent each one pacing the floors of his room or staring at the stars wondering what he did wrong, wishing he had a chance to fix it. Only the thirst could make him move and do something other than that.
He went back to the hospital to see Elsie each night in hopes of getting some information from her on what Amber was doing. All he found out was she hadn’t seen her or talked to her except for work related issues. After searching her mind he gave her the blood wine and fed from her, unwilling to make the effort to hunt for another.
One evening he woke with a sigh and left his room to sit on the couch. He sat there for hours until the urge was too much for him to bear. He left his spot and swung the door open and gasped.
“Amber.”
She left the swing and walked over to him. “I, I think we should talk.”
He stepped out of the way so she could enter and closed the door behind her. They sat on the couch for a while with the thick silence around him before Sebastian spoke.
“I missed you so much, Amber. I didn’t think you were going to come back. To share with you everything that makes me, me. Then have you run away from me...it was almost unbearable.”
“I’m sorry, Sebastian. That was not my intention. I just needed time to think. I don’t understand what’s happening to me and I knew only you knew what was going on. Ever since I left here that night, I’ve been seeing all kinds of, I don’t know, visions. At first they were freaking me out, but now that I’ve had time to get a handle on them I realize they are you or parts of you.”
He nodded. “Once our minds touched you became a part of me and I became a part of you,” he explained and gave her a weak smile. “I love you.”
“Our minds touched? I don’t understand and how can you love me? We’ve just met.”
He turned to her. “I don’t have much experience talking to humans; I may come off a little harsh when I’m not trying to be. I have been alone for a long time. I’m only around humans long enough to feed from them. My social skills are not as keen as my psychic ability,” he said with a smirk. “I want to share everything with you so you can understand, but I don’t want to scare you away again.”
She took a deep breath and a hesitant laugh escaped her. “I think the worst has passed. Go ahead.”
He nodded and rested on his knees. “I’m a loner, Amber, always have been. I’ve lived alone, traveled alone and even when I’m with my clan, I’m not really with them; I’m just there. I was happy, well, I thought I was happy.” He sighed. “Let’s just say I didn’t realize I was unhappy until my lord Nikolas told me it was time that I found a mate to help rebuild my clan.”
He stood and started pacing. “I was furious at first that he would ask me. I never expressed a want or a need for a mate,” he slowed to a stop. “But he said it was my duty and I must obey.”
As he spoke the images went across her mind’s eye, then she looked up at him. “Is that what I am to you? You’re just doing your duty and
finding a wife as your leader asked you to?”
“No, no, no.” He sat back next to her. “No, that’s how I felt in the beginning, but I ran into you at the wine festival and touched your mind; everything changed for me.”
“What do you mean?”
He smiled. “From that moment on all could do was think of you. You have consumed my every waking moment. I know now that I wasn’t happy being alone, I was just alone. When our minds were linked for that short amount of time, it was the most amazing feeling I had ever felt,” he said excitedly. “I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to really be connected to you, knowing what you wanted and needing to be one with me,” he added and touched her face.
“I don’t know what to say, Sebastian. I was scared to death at first, but now, I know you’re not lying to me. I trust you and I don’t know why. I know you.”
“And I know you.”
“No, you don’t know—”
“You never knew your family; you were an orphan. The people who raised you told you that you were found on the doorstep of a church with your name pinned to your blanket and that’s all. You live in the city because your job is there, but you would live out in the middle of nowhere if you could, because you’re a country girl at heart.”
She gasped but he kept talking.
“I know everything about you and I can give you everything you need.” He took her hands and kissed them.
“How can you know all—”
“You want, no, you need to be loved unconditionally. I can give that to you. When my mind touched yours, it spoke to me. It said things words could not express.” He took her hand and put it to his face. “I know the gentleness of your touch will only get better and my body cries out to be touched by you.” He leaned forward to brush his lips against hers. “The softness of your lips whispers the bliss that awaits me in your kisses. To hear your body sing as we become one is all my body wants. No one else can have from me what is already yours.”
“Sebastian—,” she started, but he continued.
“You need a family bond and I can offer you that, too. Let me be everything you need. Stay with me, be my wife. I don’t think I can be alone again. I love you.”
Sebastian's Surrender Page 2
