He hugged her tighter, remembering her terror when he'd blocked the bathroom door in the airport. She was afraid of being confined, unable to escape. Of course, being a vampire, she would have been able to escape, but since she didn't know how to use her powers, she couldn't. She'd stayed in those hellholes. God, she was strong, stronger than she knew.

"Until finally, Dr. Fowler, having heard reports of the crazed woman who believed she was a vampire, came to see me. He was the first visitor I'd had in-two decades, three maybe."

Sebastian closed his eyes, cursing her parents. They'd been as evil as the vampire. Leaving Mina there. Forgotten.

"Dr. Fowler believed me, and he managed to get me discharged. He helped me find a place, I guess you'd call it a halfway house for preternaturals, and taught me how to manage what I was, as best he could. But being a werewolf himself, he couldn't tell me how to use my powers. And at that time, I didn't want to. I just wanted to be-normal. As normal as I could be."

For once, Sebastian actually appreciated Dr. Fowler. Maybe he wasn't quite the loon that he'd always believed.

"And I've been just going on since then."

"You never saw your family again."

She shook her head. "The Weisses are not insane. No, my parents told the world I died. Which I did."

He caught her face, cupping her tear-streaked cheeks tenderly. She looked like a porcelain doll that had been left out in the rain, and he realized that analogy wasn't far off.

More rage filled him.

"You aren't dead," he told her firmly. "And you are not responsible for what happened to you. You are amazing, don't you understand that?"

She stared at him, her gaze roaming his face. Then she touched him. Her fingers stroking his jawline, his cheek, the shape of his lips. He remained perfectly still, letting her touch him as she wanted.

Her trembling fingers remained against his cheek as she leaned forward, pressing her mouth to his, her lips tremulous, unsure and heartbreakingly sweet.

He responded, but didn't take control of the kiss, letting her do what she wanted. She brushed her soft lips over his mouth, then to his cheek. As her lips nibbled his jaw and then returned back to his mouth, his cock blatantly ignored his command to remain calm. He shifted, not wanting her to feel the rock-hard erection against her bottom.

"Baby," he murmured, "maybe we should slow down."

She lifted her head, regarding him with those heartbreakingly solemn eyes of hers. "I like kissing you."

He swallowed as her hand moved to his chest, caressing him through the cotton of his shirt. "Mina, I like kissing you too, but you're upset and not thinking clearly. I'm not sure you would decide this is what you want under normal circumstances."

She nodded, nibbling the redness of her bottom lip.

God, even that was turning him on.

"I'm going to admit something to you," she said. "And this is even harder than telling you about my

past."

"Okay." He couldn't imagine anything more difficult than that story. It had been hard for him to listen

to-and he could only imagine how hard it had been for her to tell. For her to live through.

"I-I really want you." She made a funny face as if she were almost sorry. "I do. More than anything."

Why would she be apologetic about that? He wanted her too, more than he could recall wanting anyone

or anything. Then he realized her dilemma.

"But you don't want to want a vampire, do you?"

She stared at him. "Sebastian... "

He nodded with dawning understanding. She was going to tell him that he was the last vampire she could

ever want. The Society had convinced her that he was pure evil. The last man, undead or otherwise, that she should be attracted to. A vampire like the one who'd destroyed her world, and left her to rot.

But she was attracted to him, dammit. And he wasn't that vampire.

"Mina, you can't let that damned crazy Society tell you-"

She pressed her fingers over his lips to silence him. But he wasn't going to be silenced about this. Not about something as important as them being together.

"Mina," he trapped her fingers in his, moving them from his lips, "I know I mentioned this before but you are believing an organization named after processed meat and unsolicited email."

"Shh," she insisted, placing her fingers back over his mouth, then she smiled. Why was she smiling?

"Sebastian, let me say this. Please. Because I'm only saying it once."

He nodded, his lips still pressed to her fingers. "I don't know anything about processed meat or email for that matter, but I do think you might be right about the Society." She gave him a stern look, warning him with her eyes not to interrupt. "And I don't think you are the third most dangerous vampire in New York. In fact, I don't think you are dangerous at all."

At that he couldn't resist nipping her fingers, then he said, "Oh, I'm dangerous all right. Just not in the way ole SPAMM thinks."

He expected her to at least smile, but instead she regarded, him soberly, and for a moment he worried that his teasing remark had frightened her, although he didn't feel fear radiating from her.

"Sebastian, I want you," she said softly. "Well, you know I do. But-"

He didn't want buts. He wanted her, she wanted him. It was simple really. And right. He could feel that.

He caught her face and pulled her against him, kissing her gently, coaxingly. She moaned and tilted her head so he could deepen the kiss. Her hands touched his face, his hair, his shoulder, the touches desperate and hungry. His own need flared, quickly, wildly out of control like it always became whenever he touched her.

Without breaking the kiss, he stood, easily lifting her with him. She made a small noise at the sudden shift and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Wh-where are we going?"

"I don't intend to make love to you on the floor. Not your first time anyway."

His words stunned him too. Was he going to be her first? A strong wave of satisfaction and possessiveness washed through his veins at the idea.

She looked at him with large, wary eyes.

"This is the first time, right?" he asked.

Her nod was almost imperceptible, but it was there. Another wave of satisfaction tumbled through him, followed by a smaller ripple of misgiving. He needed this to be damned good for her. She'd waited over a hundred years. That was pressure.

He gazed down at her face. Her beautiful pale features, those blue eyes that he wanted to drown in, those ruby lips that he wanted to kiss all night.

He was up to the challenge.

He strode to his bedroom, using his foot to nudge the door open. Instead of setting her on the mattress, he gently slid her down his body until her feet touched the thick gray carpeting.

Sebastian cupped her upturned face in his hands. He leaned forward and kissed her, tasting those red lips. No rushing, no demands, just infinitely tender caresses. So thrilling. So breathtaking.

She made a small noise, and for a second, he worried she was nervous. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck, arcing her body to his. He smiled against her lips and kissed her more possessively.

She whimpered, the sound sending a chill through him, a jarring contradiction to the fire also burning in his limbs.

"Are you okay?" he murmured.

This time, he felt the curl of her smile. "Yes."

"So should we keep kissing?"

"Yes, please."

He made a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a groan as his mouth caught hers again.

Go slow, he told himself and managed to maintain gentle, brushing kisses. Velvet against velvet. He

continued his tender onslaught until the need inside him swelled to the point that he had to touch more of her.

She groaned as if she was reading his mind and moved closer to him.

"Are you okay?" Sebastian asked, his lips not fully leaving hers, even though he didn't sense fear.

"I want... more." "I want to give you more." He kissed her again, this time more possessively. His lips molded to hers, wanting to devour her. He slipped his arms around her and brought her flush to his body. She gasped as their bodies rubbed together. He paused slightly, but then couldn't stop his hands from stroking down her narrow back to the soft swell of her backside. He walked her backward until she was against his bedroom door, his cock pulsing against her belly.

His lips left hers with a small, teasing nip and moved to the corner of her mouth. He pressed kisses along her jawline, fluttery kisses designed to get himself in check. Then he moved to her neck. She stiffened slightly, and he kissed her gently, soothingly, licking the smooth skin just beneath her jawline. Sweet, silky skin. The softest he'd ever touched. The scent of lily of the valley surrounded him.

He kissed her again, then nibbled.

Suddenly, a strangled cry escaped her lips and her hands were at his chest shoving him, sending him

backward.

"Stop!" Mina cried. "Stop."

Chapter 19.

Mina had told herself to stay calm. When he'd pressed her against the door, she'd told herself it was okay. This was Sebastian. She trusted him. She wanted him. Calm. Stay calm.

Then she'd felt his teeth. Just a gentle nip at her neck. Not painful. Not frightening. But her words couldn't seem to penetrate the images in her brain. Being held against that tree. Unable to escape. Then his bite. Violent. Painful. Terrifying.

She opened her mouth to tell Sebastian to stop, but her throat felt like it was constricted closed. No words could escape, only a small whimper.

Then she'd been shoving him, her only thought to protect herself. She couldn't be bitten again. Never again.

Sebastian now stared at her, his hand on the bedpost, which he'd grabbed for balance.

She gaped at him for a moment, then dropped her head into her hands. Why couldn't she let the damned past go? Why?

"Mina," he said quietly. "What did I do? Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head, not looking at him. He hadn't hurt her. He hadn't hurt her at all. She touched her neck, then her shoulders slumped.

"I don't think I can do this."

He stepped back to her, not quite touching her.

"What scared you?"

"I-I thought you were going to bite me."

"Baby, I wouldn't bite you without you saying it was okay."

She lifted her head.

His look was heartbreakingly kind. He brushed a curl from her cheek.