His words made her insides turn to quivering jelly. He wanted to protect her. She couldn't remember anyone wanting to do that for her. She waited for it to not be real-that somehow Sebastian would be a fantasy. The embodiment of all her childhood dreams.

She gazed up at him, and he tucked another loose strand of her hair behind her ear, his fingers strong and yet so gentle against her skin.

"I hate that look," he told her. "You look like you want so badly to trust me, but you don't. Not quite."

She blinked, stunned that all those feelings were there in her eyes. The exact feelings that were in her heart.

"Does it hurt?" she asked gesturing to his nose, not wanting to discuss her insecurities any longer.

"Not bad. Is it still bleeding?"

She shook her head. Then she smiled slightly and gave him a pained cringe. "It's very-crooked, though."

Sebastian fingered the bump there.

"I knew that bastard broke it," he said, disgruntled.

She moved closer to inspect the injury, her body brushing against his. His hands caught her waist as she rose up and gently pressed a kiss to the bridge of his nose. Then to his cheek, then to his mouth. She wanted to care for him the way he had her.

But she was only allowed a couple more gentle ministrations, then he tugged her tightly to him, deepening the kiss, and all her tender thoughts fled. She just wanted him. This man who'd protected her. This man who made her feel alive. And safe. And lo- She pushed the word away, putting all the emotions inside her into her kiss. They stayed like that, locked in each other's arms, their lips clinging together as if they would die if they had to part.

Then a group of loud young humans passed them, cheering and hooting at their behavior. Only then did they seem to realize where they were. On the sidewalk in a dubious part of the city.

Sebastian stared down at her, a stunned look in his golden eyes.

"How do you do this to me?" he murmured almost as if he was talking to himself.

She didn't know what she did, but if it was anything even remotely like what he did to her, she was humbled.

"Should we go?" she asked, her voice breathy, her eyes heavy-lidded, dazed.

He nodded.

They walked only a block, when Sebastian suddenly veered into a dark alleyway. He continued deeper into its litter-strewn depths until they were concealed in the shadows of a rickety fire escape.

"What are we doing?" she asked, confused.

"I have to touch you," he said, his voice low, desperate. "Just a little."

She didn't consider telling him no. She had to touch him too. The need crackled in the air between them.

Sebastian sucked in a breath as her hands moved to his sides, sliding over the sinew of his torso. She stepped closer to him, her face turned up to his, and he didn't hesitate to take her invitation.

His mouth fell on hers, his touch not tempered with any restraint or gentleness. She moaned, reveling in his hunger, his urgency. The same need raged through her.

One of his hands moved to cradle the back of her neck, the angle opening her mouth to him. His tongue swept over hers, hot and insistent, each brush stoking the hungry desperation inside her.

She made a small noise in the back of her throat as his fingers tugged at the knot at her waist. He managed to yank the material free, and he found the already opened front of her dress. His hand slid inside, stroking her, finding the swell of her breast, kneading the aching flesh.

Her hands massaged over him. The broadness of his shoulders, the hard, perfect muscles of his back, covered in a layer of thin cotton. Her fingers strayed under the material, wanting to feel his bare skin. Velvet over rippling steel.

"Mina," he growled against her lips. He started to pull back as if he realized how quickly their passion was spiraling out of control. She sank her fingers into his muscled back, anchoring him to her.

"No," she said against his lips. She didn't want to stop. Not yet.

He hesitated, but then growled again. His lips molded to hers, opening her, tasting her. Her arms came around his neck as she strained to get closer to him. Wanting all of him.

She barely registered as he shifted them, only vaguely aware of coarse hardness against her back. The relentless tease of his hand at her breast, grazing over and over her hard nipple was far more distracting. Breath-stealing. Wonderful.

Humid air clung to her skin as he loosened the rest of her dress, exposing her throbbing breasts. He gazed at them for a moment, before dropping his lips to kiss one of the taut peaks. Having first one, then moving to the other painfully pebbled nipple.

Her head fell back against the hardness at her back as he licked and suckled first one nipple, then when she thought she would scream out from sheer need, he turned to the other, repeating the process.

"Sebastian," she cried as he worked the hardened nub between his amazing lips.

She felt his smile as he pressed a kiss to the side of her breast, then she felt his hands going to her skirt, gathering the material upward. More humid, heavy air brushed her bare legs and grazed the tight curls of her sex.

She gasped, raising her head to watch Sebastian sink down in front of her. Her fingers tangled in his hair as he brushed his full lips against her thigh.

She whimpered as his breath stirred the curls. He nudged her legs apart, then just as gently, he parted her. Then his tongue touched her, intense, incredible fire licking between her thighs.

She cried out, her head falling back. Her arms came out to her side, her palms pressing into the rough wall behind her. Her fingers dug into the coarse bricks as she arced her hips forward, demanding more pressure from Sebastian's amazing mouth. He gave her what she wanted, his tongue relentlessly flicking over and around her throbbing clitoris.

She called out his name, her head still raised toward the sky. At first she didn't recognize the wetness on her face, on her bared breasts. The warm roll of moisture was just more torture on her already sensitized skin. All she understood was Sebastian's touch. His fingers holding her open, his tongue delved into her. Her own urgent need.

Then Sebastian was gone.

She stared down at him, disoriented by the sudden loss of his touch. He looked up at her, his eyes golden in the dim light. Intense, searching.

"Sebastian, what is it?"

He glanced up at the sky, and for the first time, she realized the moisture on her skin was rain. It was pouring. She hadn't even known.

She laughed, the sound sudden, surprised.

Sebastian frowned at her as if maybe she was going mad. Maybe she was. She tugged at his shoulders until he rose. Her fingers went to the button of his jeans, fumbling with the damp material. He caught her hands, stopping her.

"Mina, I don't want anything we do to ever remind you of that night."

She gazed into Sebastian's golden eyes. Warm eyes. Beautiful eyes. Nothing about this man would ever remind her of that night. Not again.

"I want this," she said, pressing her mouth lingeringly to his. Rain clung to his lips. To her lips.

Her fingers began to fumble with his jeans again. He stopped her clumsy fingers, but this time to unfasten them himself.

She watched as he released himself, his penis jutting proudly from his parted zipper. She touched him,

the rain making the smooth skin slick. A glistening idol in the dim light, dusky and dazzling.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice strained. He didn't want to stop, but she knew he would if she said she'd changed her mind. That alone was enough to make her absolutely sure.

She nodded, then kissed him, nipping the lush softness of his bottom lip. Sebastian groaned and shifted so she was pinned between the wall and his hard, hot body. Instead of feeling fear at the trapped position, she reveled in the weight of him. His hard muscles, his powerful strength. His lips found hers, and she could taste the uncertainty on his lips. Concern for her. She linked her arms around his neck, her mouth plundering his, showing him the intensity of her need.

He responded with a groan as his hands came up to cup her bottom, lifting her until his hips were wedged between her legs, his erection tight against the wet flesh of her sex. He held her that way, kissing her, his hips grinding against her, his penis stroking her swollen clitoris until she was writhing between him and the wall. "Sebastian, I need you inside me," she breathed against his ear. Easily he levered himself away from her, still holding her aloft. He positioned himself, inching into her with a glorious deliberate glide until he was buried deep inside her. Stretched and full and complete. "Baby, you feel too good," he gritted, staying perfectly still inside her. "Is there such a thing as too good?" Mina asked, squirming, needing him to move. Needing him to end this ceaseless yearning inside her.

"With you? I think maybe." Something flashed in his eyes, an emotion she didn't quite understand. But she didn't get a chance to question him, because he began to move, his erection pulling out of her until

only the swell of the head remained inside her. Then thrusting back in filling her totally, completely. Each thrust a maddening friction, over and over until he was driving into her with violent force.

She arced against him accepting every thrust readily. Reveling in it. Until her desire ripped through her,

every nerve, every cell disintegrated into pure ecstasy. "Sebastian," she shouted and she felt him tense against her, his own release overwhelming him. She lifted her face toward the sky, the rain washing over them. Pounding against her tingling skin, as relentless as Sebastian. As perfect.

"I love you," she murmured against his wet skin.

Sebastian stiffened against her, and Mina wanted the words back, but she realized that would be like getting the rain back into the clouds.

Chapter 23.

Sebastian watched Mina as she struggled to straighten her clothes. Her fingers trembled as she fumbled with the rain-slicked button of his shirt that she wore.

He was as shaken as she was, but he gently nudged her hands away and began to work them closed. She stared down at his fingers rather than meeting his gaze. He knew exactly what he could say to end this awkwardness between them, but instead he finished pushing the last button through its hole and said, "There."

"Thank you," she mumbled, still not looking at him. Instead she focused her gaze on the streetlight visible at the end of the alleyway.

He stared at her for a moment, knowing he should say something. Anything. But he didn't. He just reached for her hand. He was surprised when she didn't yank it out of his hold. She simply fell into step beside him as they headed back out to the sidewalk.

The rain had begun to let up, just a steady drizzle. Not that it mattered. They were already soaked, he thought, trying to think about anything other than the three words she'd just said to him, back in that alley.

"Mina," he said slowly. He had to say something to ease the awful tension.

"Please, don't," she said. "I was, you know, just caught up in the moment. It's really not worth talking about."

He studied her for a moment, then watched the sidewalk ahead of them. He should accept her excuse; he didn't want her love. It wasn't what he was offering her. But now that he'd gotten the words, it bothered him that she was denying them. Which made no sense to him. He had heard them before, and they always meant things wound up ending uncomfortably.

It was always best to keep things simple. Uncomplicated.

He focused on her, trying to read her emotions, but he couldn't get anything from her. No emotion at all.

She'd learned to block them, he realized with begrudging pride. Right at this moment when he wanted more than ever to know what she was thinking.

That had to be irony.

"I mean, I like you well enough," she said suddenly. She glanced at him. "I mean, I wouldn't do what we just did with someone I didn't like. You know?"

"Right," he agreed. "Nor would I."

She pursed her lips slightly, then nodded. They both watched the sidewalk again.

Sebastian stopped, pulling her to face him. Suddenly, he needed to say something. To let her know that while this might not be love, it was special to him.

"Mina, I like you. More than just well enough."

Her midnight blue eyes roamed his face, then she nodded with a slight smile. "Yeah. I like you more than just well enough, too."

He kissed her, then they started walking again, hands still linked. He had no idea what the hell that conversation really meant. And he still couldn't read her real feelings, but at least the air seemed less tense between them.

When they reached Carfax Abbey, he started to lead her toward the back entrance, but Mina hesitated.

"Why aren't we going in through the club?"

He shrugged. "I figured this would avoid a lot of unwanted questions."

"Because you don't want everyone in the club asking about me? And why we're together-again?" Hurt

made her chest tighten at the possibility that was why, but she tried to keep her expression indifferent.

"No," he said slowly. "Because I look pretty rough."

He gestured to his still battered face, which already looked a little better, but was still quite noticeable.

Then she also saw the knees of his jeans were caked with filth from where he'd knelt in front of her in the