Sex and the Single Vampire полностью

Evidently Mrs. Turner's impression of Christian's eccentricities covered two near strangers appearing at the door with her employer's girlfriend and a nearly dead man, because she didn't even bat an eye as she stepped back and allowed us in. Oh, she blinked a bit once she got a good look at my eyes, but she didn't faint or run screaming from the room, so I figured we were well ahead of the game.

"Will Mr. Dante be along shortly? There is a young lady waiting to speak with him," she said as we started up the stairs.

I stopped on the first stair. "Oh, really? What sort of a young lady?"

"It's a good thing you're not denying your fate any longer," Roxy called from the top of the stairs. " 'Cause that's the most jealous 'What sort of a young lady^I I've ever heard."

"Christian has been"—torn from my side… held prisoner… forced to endure who knows how many torments—"detained. Is this something I can help with?"

Mrs. Turner looked doubtful. "The young lady said Mr. Dante had asked her to repair some damage done to a floor in the wine cellar."

The Guardian! I'd forgotten all about her. Drat, what a time for her to come and put a cork in the conduit to hell.

"If it will make you feel better, I'll have a talk with her."

Mrs. Turner didn't look as if she'd feel a whole lot better, but I guess she figured I was the lesser of two evils, because she nodded and bustled off to dust something. I limped as quickly as I could up the stairs.

"This is all I need, a Guardian hanging around just when I need to focus on saving Christian."

"You don't know that anything happened to Christian," Raphael pointed out as he carried Sebastian into Christian's bedroom.

I trailed behind, wringing my hands and wishing I could scream and yell out my frustration and worry. "Oh, sure, he's in a house filled with ghost and vampire hunters, not to mention at least one demon and a triumvirate capable of destroying any of us without breaking a sweat, and I have nothing to worry about? Cow cookies! Christian sacrificed himself for Sebastian; I just know he did. And now he's in trouble and I have to go save him. So if you don't mind setting Sebastian down on the bed, I'll get him tucked in and then be on my way to rescue the man I love." I headed for the door as the last word left my lips.

"What about him? You can't just leave him like this. Even I can tell he's not going to last much longer," Raphael said as he set Sebastian down. The Dark One lay limp and exhausted on the bed, too weak to move.

I stopped at the doorway. Blast. I knew he was going to call me on that. "He needs blood."

Roxy and Raphael looked at Sebastian doubtfully. I waved my hand toward him. "It's obvious; I can feel his hunger from here. One of you is going to have to allow him to feed."

"Feed?" Roxy yelped. "You mean… feed?'

I tsked. "It's just a little blood. Think of it as a donation to a worthy cause. Look, I don't have time to stand around explaining it to you. I have Christian to go save."

"And just how do you plan to do that?" Raphael asked as Roxy stared at Sebastian in horror. The latter moved in feeble protest under her gaze. "You barely made it out of there on your own; how do you expect to find Christian and free him—that's assuming he isn't staying there of his own free choice?"

I was across the room and in front of Raphael even before I could draw breath. "Christian is strong. He would never yield to the triumvirate. Never!"

"Not them," Sebastian whispered, his voice a frail reed of sound. I glanced down at him, the tatters of his shirt making it possible to see his ribs clearly outlined beneath the tautly stretched skin of his chest. His breathing was labored and slow, much slower than it should be. His sunken, hopeless eyes begged me for a release to his nightmare. I was torn between the need to rush out and save Christian, and helping the friend I knew meant a lot to him.

I stood next to the bed, hesitating, knowing that if I didn't do something, Sebastian would slip away. He needed help, and I couldn't turn to either Roxy or Raphael for that help. They simply did not understand.

I hope you're all right, Christian. I hope you understand that I have to do this first.

Sebastian moaned a wordless protest as I sat on the bed next to him.

"You need blood," I told him quietly, rolling up my sleeve. Roxy moved away from the bed, giving us room as I offered my wrist.

Sebastian closed his eyes, his lips thinned into a tight line.

"Come on," I said, shaking my wrist beneath his nose. "I'm offering this to you of my own free will. Please take it. Christian would want you to."

His breath hissed through his teeth.

"I want you to."

He turned his face away from my wrist.