Devil’s Mate(9)

Cara had no idea that Sebastian longed to have a deeper conversation too. Centuries of trying to find a woman to love, one who would accept him for who he was, not what he was, had left him cynical and bitter.

Until now. Cara was dredging up feelings best left in check. She was bringing out the protector in him, making him want to be someone else. That had not happened in a long time and he didn’t need it now, especially since she was likely a Hunter.

Wouldn’t that just figure? The first woman who had made his heart really feel something would be out to kill him if she knew who he was. What he was.

His fists clenched below the table even as he kept up his end of the conversation easily. His great-grandfather had been one of the original wolves, one of the first Fallen. Everyone knew that it was the damned Tribe that had cursed them, caused them to be creatures of the moon.

Not that he minded. Sebastian didn’t eat people; most of the Fallen didn’t. In the beginning they had, but there were too many alternatives now: blood banks and animals they raised specifically for hunting. They even had ranches out in the country to go to every full moon. Being a werewolf meant running wild and free under the silvery light of the moon, feeling the wind in his teeth and the earth below the pads of his paws.

Not that Hunters gave a shit if the wolves killed humans or just animals. The rogues had given all of the wolf packs a bad name and the Fallen was the worst of them all. Sebastian knew it was because they had the oldest wolves still running; many of them had gone mad or rogue out of simple boredom and blood longing.

He himself had never tasted human flesh, so he didn’t crave it, but those who had did. The rogue that had died tonight had been an old one, and he had loved to take humans before that had been forbidden by the Brand, head of the packs and Sebastian’s own father.

Cara had fallen silent. She gazed through the plate glass at the night moving on past the windows of the coffee shop.

“It reminds me of a carnival every time I look out there,” Sebastian said.

Cara’s head whipped around and a smile lit up her face. “It’s supposed to! It’s part of the city’s charm, after all. That and its magic. There’s real magic here. You can feel it on the very air.”

Sebastian felt it, and he smelled it, too. It did ride the currents of the air; it lingered in the old buildings and rose from the vast graveyards. How had she known that? Had she merely sensed it, or had the magic she possessed called her to this place? Did it speak to her… and if so, what did it say?

Again, a sense of uneasiness spiked through him. His gut was insisting that this woman was dangerous and he should leave her alone, but his body was ignoring that command. He was attracted to her in a way that went beyond the merely physical.

The night was coming down harder. The music grew louder as the bars cranked up. Cara knew she had to get home; her father would be worried if she stayed out too long. “Thanks for the coffee and the… the help,” she said.

Sebastian didn’t want her to go. He wanted to keep her around him, to hold her close. He wanted to embrace her, bury his face in her dark hair and see if it smelled as good as he imagined it did.

Cara was equally conflicted. She wanted to spend time with Sebastian. She wanted to put her hands out and touch those rock-hard abs of his, see if they were as strong as they looked. She wanted to feel his fingers on the long column of her spine, and elsewhere.

She wanted to kiss him, and be kissed by him. Her skin felt too tight, her clothes too restrictive. Her nipples chafed against her lacy bra and she wanted to rub them, to guide his hands to them…

His nostrils flared. Her face went hot. Could he sense her arousal? She had a feeling that he could and that made her feel not only vulnerable but even more excited. Her belly filled with butterflies.

“Would you like me to see you home?” he asked.

It was so wonderfully old-fashioned, that phrase. Her heart beat a little faster, pounding against her ribs. Shit, that was all she needed! As soon as he caught sight of the bikes…

“No, thanks. I’m okay.” She wasn’t — she was far from okay. There was a sense of loss and regret flooding through her. She did want him to see her home, and maybe even tuck her into bed.

Sebastian walked her as far as the end of the business district. They paused under a large magnolia tree, its white and waxy blossoms hanging over them, imparting their delicate scent. His fingers came out and touched the bottom of her jaw. A little shock ran through her, a sense of recognition that she couldn’t explain.

Her mouth parted and his lips came down on hers. His mouth was firm and soft all at the same time. His hands moved from under her jaw to her cheeks then wound around her neck, pulling her closer.