Bring Out Your Dead Read online

  It took a few seconds for him to sigh heavily into my mind. No. But—

  I leaned into him. The sooner you shake his hand, the sooner they'll leave and I can reward your generous nature.

  You count too heavily on my ability to forgive, woman.

  And you are adorable beyond words.

  "Pax, then," Sebastian said, grabbing Adrian's hand and giving it a hearty handshake. He all but ran to open the door for them, sliding me a look that expressed both his annoyance at having to forgive Adrian and his intention to claim his reward.

  Adrian laughed, but said nothing as he collected his family and herded them toward the door.

  "Can we stop at a supermarket before we go to the museum?" Damian asked, handing his stepmother a bulging carrier bag. "Be careful, he's sleeping."

  "A supermarket? I suppose so," Nell said, looking curiously at the bag.

  "Good. Belle said I can keep William, although he's only to have vegetables and no meat at all."

  "William?" Nell asked as she walked through the door. "Is William a hamster or something? I suppose we could handle a little pet, but nothing large…"

  Sebastian closed the door just as she was peering into the bag. I held my breath for the count of five, expecting Nell to be pounding on the door asking what on earth we were doing giving the disembodied head of a revenant to her stepson, but for once, the Fates were with us.

  "And now, my sweet Beloved, you will pay for forcing me to behave in a polite manner to the man who has so much of my blood on his hands."

  Before I could protest—not that I intended to—Sebastian scooped me up and carried me into the bedroom in the best romantic hero tradition.

  "You've been watching too many French movies," I told him with a kiss to the tip of his adorable nose. "No, Sebastian, seriously, we must talk."

  "You may talk. I will feast."

  "I can't possibly… wait." I pushed back on his chest until he put a few inches between us. "Are you hungry?"

  His eyes went midnight gray. "I am hungry for you, sweet Belle."

  The flood of images into my head had my toes curling in delight. "Oh, that all sounds lovely—I particularly like that third idea you had; was that whipped cream and strawberries?—but what I meant was, are you hungry hungry? You know, for… er…

  lunch?" I tipped my head to the side and presented my neck.

  Sebastian growled again, a sound that just about caused my blood to boil. His mouth was hot on my flesh, and I was tempted to throw morality and friendship to the wind and grab him, but fortunately, my errant companion chose that moment to check on me.

  " Les zombies sont partis alter home, thank Dieu. How did— sacre bleu and all the saints! Il ravishing vous?"

  "No, but—"

  "Yes," Sebastian said, rolling off me and onto his feet. Sally's eyes widened as he stalked toward her, his hands on his shirt. With a short rending noise, he ripped the shirt off, two buttons flying right through her. "Yes, I'm ravishing her."

  Sally looked in surprise at the buttons behind her, then back to the now bare-chested man approaching her. She backed up toward the door. " Zût!"

  "Unless you wish to watch me make lengthy, passionate love to Belle, I would advise you to leave now," he told her, pausing to kick off his shoes.

  Her eyes grew huge as he whipped off his belt.

  I rolled over onto my side and admired the sight of the man I was bound to heart and soul… souls… as he did a striptease. It was funny how life worked out. I never in five hundred years would have imagined that I would fall in love with a vampire.

  Dark One, a voice in my head corrected.

  "Are you… you're not going to… Belle, he's not going to—holy merde!" Sally made an odd eeping noise and disappeared through the door just as Sebastian's pants came off.

  "You ought to be ashamed of yourself scaring her that way…" The words, which seemed to have no problem rolling off my tongue while I ogled Sebastian's backside, legs, and back, suddenly dried up when he turned around. "Holy merde, indeed."

  Sebastian rolled his eyes as he strolled toward me. " I am just a man, Beloved. There is nothing here out of the ordinary. Well, perhaps extra-ordinary, but nothing to make that much of a shocked face over."

  "My other husbands—" I started to say.

  "We will not discuss your previous husbands," he interrupted, his movements like a big cat stalking its prey.

  My gaze wandered across an incredibly broad chest, down abs that were impressive without being too sculpted, ultimately following a dark honey trail of hair that led to an impressive male endowment. "Fair enough. But—"

  "No. You are mine now, Belle, and you will have no other man. What passed before we Joined does not matter to us."

  "But—"

  He pounced on me before I could finish the sentence, pulling off my shoes, pants, shirt, and underthings so quickly, I didn't have time to do more than blink before I was naked. He rolled me over until I was on my back underneath him, my breasts, my thighs, my hidden female parts all tightening at the sensation of his flesh against mine. Erotic images filled my mind, images of what he wanted us to do together, sending my temperature up several degrees. He kissed me then, a long, thorough kiss that lazily explored my mouth, demanding I respond without holding anything back.

  "Yes, it does," I said a few minutes later when I managed to pull my mouth from his, desperately trying to hang on to the few fragmented wits I had left. "At least, one thing does—Noelle."

  He froze at the mention of her name.

  "I'm sorry, Sebastian." I put my hands on both-sides of his face, willing him to understand my somewhat tangled emotions. "I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved another person, but she is my friend, and she has a bond to you—"

  "You are my Beloved, not her."

  "But she—"

  His eyes lightened as he pushed back a bit to glare down at me. "You bring me happiness. You brought light and love into my life, ended my torment, and gave me the most precious gift anyone has ever been given. How can you believe you are not my Beloved?"

  "Well…" I tried to come up with convincing proof, but he was right. The one thing I hadn't thought I'd been able to do for him had worked out.

  Perhaps it wasn't the traditional method of soul redemption, my love, but the result was just as successful. And I will be eternally grateful that I was blessed to find you.

  The words, and emotions behind them, were enough to make me blush, but one thing still bothered me, one problem that we had yet to overcome.

  "I am willing to accept that we were meant to be together. But Noelle is a friend, and we've hurt her. I must do something about that, or it will taint our relationship."

  He was silent for a moment, his beautiful face reflecting the thoughts he shared with me. "We've proven beyond any doubt that she is not my Beloved. Thus we will help her find the man for whom she was meant."

  I nibbled my lip. "She's never been one for blind dates, but honestly, I don't see much of an alternative. I just hope she understands that we will be doing everything in our power to help her, though."

  "We will make her understand," he promised, his mouth descending to mine, gently tugging my lip from where I was still nibbling on it. Whatever it takes, we will do. I do not like these feelings of guilt within you. They distract you from the proper adoration of me.

  Arrogant vampire, I answered, gasping when he found a ticklish spot behind my ear. You never answered me. Are you hungry? For… blood?

  I didn't want him to know, but I was a bit squeamish about the whole blood-drinking aspect to our relationship. I'd never been one of those women who thought vampires were sexy… the thought of someone feeding off me was almost repugnant.

  I will not feed, sweet Belle. You will provide life for me, but it will not be an act of feeding. You will give me life, and in return, I will worship you as a slave might.

  I don't want a slave, I said, my body burning as his mouth kissed a hot path down to
my breastbone. I want a man.

  I am yours. His cheeks, roughened slightly with golden stubble, brushed against my left breast. At the gentle abrasion it suddenly became the most demanding part of my body.

  "Oh," I gasped, waves of little shocks rolling down my body. Sebastian lifted his head long enough to send me a look so heated, it damn near set the bedding alight.

  "I think we can do better than that," he growled, his mouth hovering over my suddenly insistent breast. Every muscle in my body was taut with anticipation, my breath so ragged it was a wonder I was getting any oxygen. When he took the tip of my breast in his mouth, I thought I would die. When he suckled that breast while gently tugging on my second nipple, I knew I was in heaven.

  And when he nuzzled the soft area on the underside of my breast, his teeth grazing the flesh for a second before piercing the skin, a white-hot pain dissolving into a feeling of profound pleasure that was multiplied by the joy he felt in taking life from me, I exploded into a nova of ecstacy.

  This is not feeding, my Beloved. This is a celebration of life— of our lives together, today, next month, and a millenia from now. His voice was soft in my head, full of love and appreciation, and my heart swelled to know he was mine.

  Always, he said, moving over me. I parted my legs, reveling in the purely physical pleasures to be found in the weight of him on me, of the sensation of my legs rubbing against him, of his chest hair teasing my already sensitive breasts. You will always be mine.

  I bit his lip, sucking it into my mouth, and demanded that he do something about the tight ache he'd built up inside me. I will hold you to that, Sebastian. Now stop tormenting me!

  His chuckle filled my mind when he entered me, the feeling of him gently pushing into my body a familiar pleasure, yet wholly

  different. I pulled my knees around his hips to accept more of him into me, digging my fingers into the muscles of his behind. His hips flexed as I twirled my tongue around his, drowning in the sensation of the taste, scent, and feel of him. He was everywhere, in my head, in my body, his mouth possessing mine until I broke free to breathe. His eyes were dark as night, but glowing with more love than I ever thought I'd see.

  "I love you, my adorable zombie," he murmured against my neck.

  "Revenant," I said on another gasp of pleasure as all my insides began to tighten even more. "I'm… a… rev… rev… oh, God's bones!"

  My words trailed off into a high scream of absolute rapture as he surged hard into my body, his teeth deep in my flesh, the sensation of his approaching orgasm mingling with my own, as well as the sensation of him taking blood from me. My back arched as I clutched him, our bodies moving quickly in a rhythm that seemed to start in my heart.

  God's blood, I had no idea it was going to be like this. Why didn't I meet you a century ago? I asked just before my being burst into a thousand little pieces of dazzling brilliance. Our souls, my own and the one I'd given him, touched, and for a moment, we were one glorious being as his orgasm claimed him, sweeping me along.

  It seemed to take hours for me to finally come to my senses, but I'm sure it was just a matter of minutes. I was pleased to notice, as Sebastian rolled onto his back, taking me with him so I rested on his now damp chest, that he seemed to be having as much difficulty catching his breath as I did.

  Smug vixen, he said, one hand caressing my behind in a gesture of love so sweet, it brought tears to my eyes. What was that you were saying about your previous husbands?

  What husbands? I smiled into his head and let myself relax on the solid body beneath me, warm, contented, and for the first time in I don't remember how many centuries, truly happy.

  Epilogue

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  "Noelle—"

  "No! I don't want your help! You and… and… blood boy there can just go about your merry little way. I can find my own man, thank you." Noelle stalked over to the window in the flat, the same window I'd been looking for such a short time ago. Her body language bespoke anger, leaving my heart aching to know I had caused so much unhappiness.

  "I have promised Belle that I would help you, and I will, regardless of your pride," Sebastian said calmly. His hand slid around my waist. I leaned into him, the feeling of him next to me giving me strength. "I will personally see to it that every unredeemed Dark One in Europe is brought before you, so that you might find the one for whom you were meant."

  I assumed Noelle would bristle up at that, but to my surprise, the look in her eyes when she turned toward us was more cautiously speculative than angry. "You think another Dark One is the answer?"

  "I do." Sebastian nodded. "You are a Beloved—there is no denying that. Since there is also no denial that Belle is my Beloved, we can only assume that the one for whom you are intended is still out there, waiting to find you."

  It took a moment for the meaning of what they were talking about to sink in. "Wait one minute!" I pulled out of his embrace to stand in front of him, my hands on my hips. "Let me see if I have this correct… she's a Beloved, originally yours until you met me."

  Noelle straightened her shoulders and tried to look huffy, but sighed and slumped into a chair. "Oh, I give up. I'd like to be angry about this, I really would, but it's clear to me now what Sebastian meant all along. We just aren't compatible, and you two are."

  "Well?" I asked Sebastian, nodding to Noelle to show her I'd heard her comment.

  He looked momentarily disconcerted. "That is as good a summary as I believe can be made in a single sentence."

  "In other words, you're saying Beloveds are not unique? That they can be passed along from Dark One to Dark One?" I poked him in the chest. He captured my hand, casting Noelle a long-suffering glance over my shoulder. It just made me want to poke him even harder.

  A faint giggle escaped Noelle.

  "It's not quite as stark as you stated, but in this instance, yes. Noelle was born a Beloved, but has yet to find the Dark One she was meant to redeem—"

  I punched him on the arm. Hard. "You told me a Beloved was the one woman in the world who could save you. That is, one woman in the whole history of time who could bind herself body and soul to you, who would fulfill you, complete you and make you whole. And now you're saying that we're… disposable? I thought I was the only one for you!"

  Noelle covered her mouth and pretended to cough, but I knew she was hiding her laughter. Sebastian made like he was going to pull me into another of his mind-meltingly wonderful embraces, but I held him off with an outraged glare.

  "You are the only one for me, but since you bring it up, I would like to point out that you had five husbands before me. Five. Did you love them?"

  "I… they… I was lonely…" My teeth snapped shut over the protestations I wanted so badly to make, but damn it, Sebastian had a point, and he knew it.

  "You see? You managed to have five husbands whom you loved, and yet you still love me to the exclusion of all else."

  I grumbled to myself that I could change that if I really wanted.

  "Add to which the fact that I don't love her," he said, pointing at Noelle. "I never have."

  "You know how to make a girl feel so special," Noelle said, her lips twisting slightly.

  Sebastian offered her an apologetic smile. "I meant no insult."

  "Oh, none taken." She sighed again, then stood up and gave us a watered-down version of her usual cheery smile. "Men tell me all the time that they don't love me. It seems to be a frequent theme in my life. Very well, I give you two my blessing, not that you've asked for it in particular. I'm still a bit confused by this whole Beloved thing, but it's obvious to me how much in love you both are. I will hold you to your promise to find me a Dark One of my own, mind you, so don't think you're getting off easily."

  "It will be our pleasure to help you," I said as Sebastian grabbed my wrist and started pulling me toward the door. "We won't rest until we've found the perfect man for you, one who is tender and witty and wholly deserving of your affection, not like th
is monstrous beast I seem to be stuck with."

  Sebastian stopped in the doorway, raised one eyebrow, and growled deep in his throat.

  My legs melted. I just can't resist you when you do that, I told him as he pulled me through the door into a blessedly empty hall.

  That is the plan, my sweet little zombie, he said as I met him halfway in a kiss so hot, it came close to melting my shoes. I'm so very glad it's working.

  Behind him, Sally appeared for a moment, smiled, then turned back into the flat. "Noelle! Vous avez besoin de a spirit guide tres groovy cool! Luckily, je suis maintenant available. Shall we talk about how je peux aider you be tres jolie Guardian?"