Bring Out Your Dead (5 page)

“
No, you are not. You are
mangling a perfectly nice language—”

“
Zût
alors!
” she interrupted, shaking an
ethereal fist in his face. “I should pop
vous
on the nose—”

“
All right, that’s enough,
you two.” I gave my spirit guide a very stern look. She bristled,
her eyes flashing. “Sally, please leave us alone.”

“
Like Abaddon I will! You
are not…not…whatever the word for ‘safe’ is—”

I shooed her toward the door. “Don’t be
silly. He’s bound quite tightly, and if I need any help, I’ll yell
for you.”

“
Mais
—” She shot both of us a shared indignant look as I shoved
her through the door.

“
I’m sorry about that,” I
said, giving Sebastian a wide berth as I returned to the desk I’d
been leaning against. “She’s a bit ecentric.”

One of his eyebrows rose. “An
understatement, but one I am willing to let go in order to deal
with more important issues.”

“
Yes…your injuries seem to
be healing. I take it you received them fighting the demon? Why did
you do it?” I asked, desperate to distract myself from the strange
attraction.

Damian and I had half dragged, half carried
the unconscious Sebastian into the library, a room filled with
comfortable leather chairs and several bookcases, all dominated by
a large rosewood desk. As my aching arms attested to, he was a big
man—imposing, but not fat—with hair the color of rich, dark honey,
his eyes a stormy grayish blue. Despite his arrogance, my fingers
itched to run along the stubborn line of his jaw, to feel his
touseled hair, to gently brush the width of those broad shoulders,
tracing the solid planes of his chest down to that flat belly, and
still farther below to where tight jeans accented masculine
attributes. My lips positively burned with sensual delight at the
thought of kissing him again.

“
I disabled the
demon…after a bit of a fight. What were you thinking, running
straight into it?”

“
I was running down the
alley because you told me to.”

He had the audacity to look annoyed. “I told
you to turn left. You would have been safe if you’d done so.”

“
Moot point,” I said with
a smile. “I am…erm…sorry about running into you. And
the…er…kissing. I’m not normally so forward.”

He frowned. “That also is a moot point.
Where is Adrian and the charmer? Why have you tied me to this
chair?”

“
Mr. and Mrs. Tomas are in
Germany at the moment. As for the bonds—I’m sorry, but I felt it
prudent given the nature of your arrival and Damian’s avowal that
you’ve come to destroy him.”

“
I have,” Sebastian said
simply, pulling uselessly at the ropes. Because of my weaving
experience, I could tie a quality knot. “Germany. I should have
known. Very well, we will go to Germany once you give me the ring.
You will release me now and bring it to me.”

I rested my hip against the edge of the
desk, considering the man before me. “We? We will go to Germany? We
as in you and who, exactly?”

“
You try my patience,
Beloved. You know full well I am referring to you. Now cease these
games and release me. I have limited time to destroy Adrian, and we
must Join as soon as possible.”

“
Hold on,” I said, raising
a hand to stop him. “Back up a moment—you expect me to go to
Germany with you?”

“
Of course. You will go
wherever I go.”

“
Are you insane?” I
couldn’t help it, I goggled at him for a moment. “I don’t know you!
Wait—is this because I kissed you back?”

The look in his eyes was almost insulting.
“Why do you pretend ignorance? I am a patient man, but you are
pushing my limits. Release me!”

“
Not on your life. This is
about that kiss, isn’t it? You think you’re going to take me away
to Germany just because I kissed you? Once? God’s blood, what do
you do with the women you sleep with—marry them?”

“
I will marry you, yes.
Now cease with this useless conversation and release
me.”

I shook my head. “I’m going to call in some
professional help. Honestly, I think you must have bumped your head
on the pavement when we fell. You’re not making any sense—”

He swore in French, and his muscles bunched
for a moment before the rope exploded around him. One second he was
sitting, the next he was before me, his hands hard on my hips as he
yanked me up against him. “We do not have time for these games.
Your presence complicates matters somewhat, but we will overcome
the obstacles you present. The first task at hand is to complete
the Joining. Remove your clothing.”

“
What?” I shrieked, trying
desperately not to melt against him.

“
We must make love to
complete the Joining. We will do that first, then retrieve the
ring.”

His body was hard against me, hard and
aggressive and overwhelming to my senses, but it was an oddly
exciting feeling, not at all the frightening one I’d expected. He
was a vampire, I desperately reminded myself. A cold, heartless
parasite who preyed on humans.

We prefer the term Dark
One, actually
, he said. With a start I
realized he was speaking directly into my head.
And I assure you I am anything but cold and heartless. Right
at this moment, I am very, very hot.

My eyes widened as his head dipped toward
mine, freezing as his gaze narrowed for a second on me. I had the
sensation that he was seeing deep into my soul, baring all my
secrets. I knew then that he’d noticed my handicap, and I turned
slightly to avoid his piercing gaze. I felt like a succulent bit of
prey watched by a dangerous predator—a feeling I did not enjoy, no
matter how many tingles of excitement rippled down my body.

His voice, which had been deep and forceful,
softened. “You do not know what I am talking about, do you?”

“
No, I don’t. All I know
is that you mean Damian and me harm—”

“
Beloved, I could never
hurt you,” he said, his thumb sweeping along my lower lip, teasing
me until I turned back to look into those all-seeing
eyes.

“
You are a vampire. Hurt
is what you do best, isn’t it?” For some reason, I felt it
necessary to remind my errant body that this man was not for
me.

“
I am as you see me. And
you are—”

“
I am quite well aware of
my handicap, thank you,” I interrupted, looking down, trying to
control my breathing. Being pressed up against him was proving to
be an overwhelming experience, one my body wanted to explore more
fully.

“
Handicap?” His heavy dark
honey brows pulled together. “You consider having a double soul a
handicap?”

“
We are not here to
discuss me,” I said sternly, trying my best to ignore the bizarre
attraction. It had been too long since I had been married, that’s
all. My hormones were simply kicking in and focusing on the nearest
male body they could find.

“
On the contrary, at this
moment I can think of nothing more I wish to discuss.” His gaze
flickered over to the clock on the mantel. He sighed. “But I do not
have time to indulge myself. Very well, since you are not aware of
what has transpired in the last hour, I will give you a summary.
You are a
tattu
,
bearer of a double soul, and my Beloved, the one woman who can
redeem
my
soul
and save me from millenia of anguished existence. I knew that the
moment we exchanged blood.”

“
Exchanged blood?” I
asked, my head whirling. “When did we exchange blood? I kissed you,
that’s all! And, for the record, you started it by licking my
lip!”

“
Your lip was cut when you
landed on me. I bit my tongue when I was knocked backward. We
exchanged blood when we kissed. And now we must complete the other
seven steps of Joining for you to be safe from the demon that will
be pounding on the door at any moment. Once that is completed, I
will be able to protect you. Until that time, you are
vulnerable.”

I touched my lip. It was sensitive, still
tingling from Sebastian’s kiss, and in one spot, slightly tender
from our collision. I shook my head again, unable to digest it all.
“Even assuming that I am your soul-saving person, why do you think
that demon will be coming to Adrian’s house?”

“
He will follow your scent
just as I did,” he answered matter-of-factly.

I wanted to bristle at the idea that I
smelled so strongly people could track me all over London, but the
heated look in his eyes generated an answering heat that pooled
deep within me, and left no doubt in my mind that whatever it was I
smelled like, he did not find it offensive.

“
You are
tattu
, a great prize for
the demon’s master. Do you believe it will not do everything it can
to find you and take you to Abaddon?”

I shivered, leaning into him for a moment. I
had just met this man, this vampire, but already I felt safe with
him. It was as if an empty part of me was suddenly filled with
life. “I…I don’t know what to believe. This is all going too fast
for me.”

“
I am sorry,” he said, his
eyes filled with regret. “I would do this differently if I could,
but, Beloved, we have no time. We must Join now so I can protect
you. It is my duty. I do not wish to frighten you, or force you
into something you are not ready for, but you must believe me. We
have no time for wooing.”

His lips brushed mine, gently teasing the
edges of my mouth until I sighed and started kissing him back. The
world had gone mad, everything I knew was being turned on its head,
but damn if I didn’t care.

“
We have completed several
of the steps,” he murmured into my mouth, his tongue flicking
against my lips. I moaned and sucked his bottom lip, shamelessly
pressing myself against him. “But we must exchange fluids once
again for the Joining to be complete.”

“
I’m not going to make
love to you,” I whispered just before I deepened the kiss, tasting
his mouth, twining my tongue around his.

“
You must,” he groaned,
pulling my hips tight against his. I had no doubt that he was as
aroused as I was, but even though I was giving in to this
unexplained attraction, I wasn’t stupid.

I pulled my mouth from his. “I have been
married five times, Sebastian. I’m no stranger to either men or
lovemaking. But I do not indulge in casual sex, no matter
how…metaphysical the relationship is. There seems to be something
between us that I wouldn’t mind exploring further, but I am not
sleeping with you.”

Your souls are at
risk
, he said, nibbling my lower lip. My
knees buckled, leaving me swooning in his arms, my head spinning
with the scent and taste and feel of him against me.

Do you think they have
never been so in the past?
I slid my hands
under his shirt and let my fingers dance across his back. I wanted
to touch him, all of him, but I knew one of us had to keep some
control, and clearly Sebastian was not going to be that person. I
confined myself to stroking the planes of his back as he kissed me,
allowing him to explore my mouth.

This is
Salvaticus
, he reminded me, his tongue
dancing against mine.
For a week, all will
be chaos, but even when Salvaticus is over and Vexamen upon us, the
demon will not forget you. You will be in danger from here to the
end of your days if you do not Join with me.

“
I can take care of
myself,” I mumbled against his mouth as we came up for air. “I
always have.”

“
That was before you were
marked by a demon. No, Beloved, the only answer is for us to
Join.
Now.
” Hot
kisses burned my neck as he found a spot that sent shivers of
absolute pleasure down my back.

“
Can you explain…oh, dear
God, yes, right there…can you explain just how this Joining is
going to save my souls? As far as I can tell, it’s just some sort
of emotional commitment. I don’t see how that will help protect me
from a demon or its lord.”

Unbidden, my hands skimmed around to his
sides, sculpting the long, sweeping lines of his torso. He nipped
my neck when I found a pert nipple that was all but begging for
attention. “A Beloved is the woman who redeems a Dark One’s soul.
In return, he is bound to her, and protects her at all costs.”

“
You don’t have a soul?” I
pulled back enough to peer into his eyes. They glittered hot with
desire, but I didn’t see anything in them to indicate he was
soulless. There was no sick feeling of dread emanating from him, as
was common in a creature of the dark. The only feelings I got from
him were desire, need, want, and an overwhelming sadness that
pulled at my heart. “You don’t look like a demon.”

“
I am not a demon. Dark
Ones are cursed to remain soulless until their Beloveds regain it
for them, but we are not demonic.”

His eyes, dark navy-gray, regarded me as I
tried to sort through what he’d told me. “You seriously believe I
can regain your soul for you?”

“
I know you can. It
follows the Joining.”

A little burst of pain zinged through me at
the realization that I was means to an end for him. I was certain
that the whole business with him protecting me from a demon was
simply a little sugar-coating over the more important issue of his
soul. Regardless of all that, I was shaking my head even before he
finished the sentence. “I can’t be your Beloved.”