alley. His clothes were soaked and askew, his hair a mess, and his lips pinker from their kisses.

"And while you probably look much better than I do," he said as he watched her perusal of him, "you still look like a woman who's been pretty thoroughly ravaged against a brick wall."

She let her gaze drop to the ground, feeling ridiculous and petty. He wasn't trying to hide her from the employees at Carfax Abbey, he was trying to save her from being embarrassed in front of them. He might not love her, but he wasn't ashamed of her. But then, she suspected that Sebastian was rarely embarrassed about anything.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I shouldn't have said that."

He shrugged and gave her a brief smile, then he started toward the side alley, but this time Constantine stopped him.

"Sebastian," the large wolf yelled from his post at the front door. "There you are. Everyone's been trying to find you."

Not releasing Mina's hand, Sebastian started up the steps. She waited for Constantine to frown or make some surprised expression about their contact. But he didn't seem to notice.

"Why? What's up?" Sebastian asked once they reached the bouncer.

"Some guy... " Constantine frowned at Sebastian. "Is your nose broken?" His dark eyes moved to Mina, his gaze drifted over her disheveled appearance. "What happened to you two?"

"We got mugged," Sebastian said automatically, then asked. "So what did this guy do?"

"Oh, yeah right. He attacked a woman. In the back alley."

"Shit," Sebastian muttered. "Was he-you know?"

Constantine glanced at the people waiting behind them to enter the club. Three humans. A man and two women.

"Yes, he was different," Constantine said.

"Shit," Sebastian said again.

"Your brothers are with the girl. They are waiting for the police."

Sebastian nodded again to the bouncer and hurried into the club.

As soon as Nadine saw them, she pointed to the backroom. Sebastian nodded again and strode in that direction, never releasing Mina's hand.

They entered the employee lounge to find two tall, very handsome vampires standing near the door. Right away, Mina could tell they had to be Sebastian's brothers. Two female vampires sat on the lounge's worn sofa with a human woman between them. The human had her head down and she was crying quietly.

As soon as the male vampires saw Sebastian, they gestured for him to go back out of the room. Again, Sebastian didn't let go of Mina as he followed them into the hall.

"What the hell happened?" Sebastian asked as soon as they were away from the distressed mortal.

"Apparently, one of the vampire patrons convinced her to leave with him and he attacked her. In the alley," said the taller of the two men. Then his eyes, the same color as Sebastian's, narrowed as he surveyed Sebastian.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Mugged," Sebastian said.

"Wow, that sucks," said the other brother. He was the same height as Sebastian, but instead of golden brown eyes, his were the palest blue Mina had ever seen.

No, that wasn't true, she realized. Lizzie had nearly the same color eyes.

The blue-eyed brother held out his hand to her. "Hi. I'm Christian, Sebastian's brother. Sorry to meet you under circumstances like this."

"Hi," she nodded, accepting his hand. "I'm Mina."

"Rhys," the taller brother said. She shook his hand too.

"Did he bite her?" Sebastian asked, barely registering the introduction. Mina could see he was very

upset by what had happened. "Yes, but Mick interrupted him before he could really hurt her. She's badly shaken, but she will be okay. I don't even think she'll need a doctor," Rhys said. "The bite is already fading."

Mina noticed that while Sebastian seemed relieved about that news, he still looked worried. "The police are going to have a lot of questions. Especially when she tellshow the guy attacked her." "I don't think so," Rhys said. "They'll think she's a very upset woman, who isn't recalling things accurately." Mina stiffened. She knew how it was to be that woman. Sebastian must have sensed her tension, because he squeezed her fingers.

For a minute, she considered that Sebastian was only worried about the club. Protecting it from inquiry and other bad press. "Shit," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "The patrons here know the rules. They know that any violence won't be tolerated. This is the first problem in over eighteen months, since that wacko weredingo got a little too frisky with one of the ladies. And he didn't actually hurt her, just got a little too overexcited."

"Weredingos are crazy anyway," Christian said.

"Exactly," Sebastian agreed. "But this attack sounded premeditated, and he has to be found. I bet he won't stop at this girl." Mina suddenly felt terrible for thinking he was only concerned with Carfax Abbey. He wasn't. He was upset because a mortal had been hurt. And others might be too. He turned to her. "Do you mind waiting here with my brothers and their wives? I want to talk to Mick before the police get here?" "No, go ahead." He nodded, then strode down the hallway toward Mick's office. "Were you really mugged?" Christian asked as soon as Sebastian disappeared. "No," Mina admitted. "Did you break his nose?" he asked. Mina's eyes widened at the question. "No!" "We wouldn't blame you if you did," Rhys said. "He can be a real pain in the ass."

Mina frowned at Sebastian's brothers, until she saw the affection in their expressions.

"He can be," she admitted.

They chuckled, then ushered her into the room.

Mina was quietly introduced to Rhys's wife, Jane, a petite, almost elfin-looking woman with huge green

eyes and a sweet smile. Jolee, Christian's wife, was taller and willowy with gorgeous dark red hair and

wide, sultry lips. Both women were stunningly lovely, Mina thought, shifting awkwardly, realizing how she must look to them. A drowned rat. A plain, pasty drowned rat. They had to be wondering what on earth Sebastian was doing with her.

Mina focused on the human, instead of her own awkwardness. The woman looked very young, maybe just twenty-one. Dark hair, lovely skin, sky blue eyes. She looked wholesome rather than gorgeous. Mina's heart went out to the poor girl. She'd stopped crying now, only sniffing a bit, and she looked like she just wanted to leave. Occasionally she'd glance at Rhys and Christian, and Mina suspected the big men were making her nervous. They were rather nerve-wracking.

"Can I get you a drink, Annie?" Jane asked the mortal, her voice was as sweet as her face. "A soda or something?"

The young woman nodded, seeming to relax just a little. "That would be nice. Thank you." Annie's voice contained a lazy twang. She wasn't from here, Mina realized, and she wondered if she had any family nearby. Then she wondered if her family would be supportive of her. Or would they blame her for the attack? Blame her for being in a nightclub. For letting a guy convince her to leave with him.

She hoped not.

Jane left the room to go get the drink, and Mina moved closer to the woman.

"Do you have anyone you'd like to call? Your parents?" Mina asked, perching on the sofa beside her.

Annie shook her head. "I'm here for college. My parents didn't want me to come to New York in the

first place. They'll make me go home if they find out."

"You're going to have to tell them something," Mina said.

Annie shook her head again. "I'll be okay." She offered Mina a tremulous smile. "I have my roommates

and other friends." Mina nodded. At least she had them. Mina hadn't even had that. She wondered how different she'd be now if she had had someone. Mina looked up as she heard footsteps entering the room, hoping it was Sebastian. She suddenly felt the need to see him. To be near him. But it was Jane, returning with a glass of soda.

The room fell silent as everyone waited for the police to arrive. Soon they did, followed by Sebastian and Mick, a large, bald, goateed preternatural. A faery if Mina was reading him right. For a moment, Mina thought of that huge biker back at the other bar-Mick did look similar to that man. But the physical resemblance was where the similarities ended. Mick didn't give off any of the violent vibes the biker had. Mick protected the helpless, like Annie, not preyed on them. Then Mina looked at Sebastian's poor battered face. He may not love her, but he had protected her.

She glanced at Annie. Sebastian would see that this woman was protected too. "Okay," Rhys said to the mortal. "I guess we should clear out so that you can talk to the police. Good luck, Annie." Annie nodded, giving both of Sebastian's brothers her thanks. Jane hugged her. And Jolee smiled at her reassuringly, telling her to take care of herself. Mina also started to rise, but Annie touched her arm. "Please stay," she asked and Mina nodded, wanting to stay, because she did understand this woman's fear, and Annie seemed to sense that too. Mina looked to Sebastian, then she sat back beside the woman. Mina took Annie's hand as the two officers began to ask the young woman questions. "So he attacked you in the alley between Carfax Abbey and the parking garage?" one officer asked. Annie nodded. "Did he have a weapon?" She shook her head. "No, but he was very strong. I tried to fight him, but he was just... " She shook her head as if she couldn't explain, which she couldn't. Mina knew preternatural strength was hard to put into words. Mina gently squeezed her cold fingers to give her comfort.

"He was just very strong," Annie said with a helpless shrug.

"What did he look like?"

Annie took a breath. "He was about six feet tall. In his mid-twenties. Curly brown hair. Dark brown eyes."

Mina shifted, an uncomfortable feeling coming over her. She looked at Sebastian, who watched her rather than Annie. She offered him a reassuring smile. This woman was describing a thousand men. There was no reason to think this person could possibly be- "He had a dimple in his left cheek. And an Italian accent."

Mina swallowed, her stomach roiling. Sebastian saw her discomfort and took a step closer.

"Did he give you a name?" the officer asked.

Annie nodded. "Yes, Donatello."

Mina would have bet that vampires couldn't faint. She proved herself wrong.

Chapter 24.

He was back. Oh God, he was back. She had to escape. Terror flooded Mina as she pushed upright.

She struggled to catch her breath, then she cried out. "Baby, I'm right here," Sebastian said softly, his arms coming up around her, a safe haven in the dark. Only then did she realize she wasn't back in that wet, black forest. She was in Sebastian's bedroom. In his bed. Safe.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting his steady warmth replace the fear chilling her skin. His large hands massaged her back as he told her over and over she was fine. He was there. He was there. Gradually she became aware of the fire crackling in the fireplace. The thick quilt that he'd wrapped around her. The ways he'd tried to make her feel warm and secure.

"I passed out," she said as if he didn't know that.

But instead of giving her one of his half smiles, he only nodded, looking very serious.

"I bet that confused the police," she tried to say lightly, wanting one of his smiles to reassure her

everything was fine.

"The police and the girl were fine. It was-fine." He touched her hair almost as if he needed to be sure she was fine too. "It was really him, wasn't it?" she finally asked. His eyes locked with hers. "We don't know that for sure. It could just be a coincidence." "Do you really believe that?" Sebastian shrugged. "Even if it was him. He's gone again. He won't come back here. And I don't believe he was looking for you."

She nodded. If he'd wanted to find her again, he certainly had the time to do it. A hundred years worth of time. "I will admit it is a weird coincidence, but I really believe a coincidence, nonetheless." She nodded again, wanting to believe him. "Mina." He brushed her mussed hair from her cheek. "I won't let anything happen to you. You know that." She met his eyes, seeing the concern clouding their golden depths. She did know that. She caught the hand still stroking her hair and pressed a kiss into his palm, the skin against her lips warm and slightly calloused. She kissed there again, her tongue flicking out to test the roughness. He groaned, his hand moving away from her mouth to curl into her hair. His other hand came up to hold the other side of her head. Then he gently, tenderly brushed kisses to her forehead, across her fluttering eyelids, to her nose and finally to her lips. His mouth remained soft, soothing as it molded over and over against hers.

His lips never leaving her, he eased her back against the pillows. She felt his fingers move to her clothes, unhurriedly working the buttons loose. Then he pressed fluttering, open-mouthed kisses to each inch of skin that he exposed until her dress was open, her body bared to him. With hands that Mina could have sworn trembled, or maybe it was only a trick of the firelight, he stroked her naked skin. A leisurely exploration of her body that was staggeringly arousing because of his almost innocent touches. Her belly. The sensitive spot behind her knee. The arch of her foot.

By the time his hand slipped between her thighs, she was burning for him, as hot as the flames in the fireplace.

"Sebastian," she whispered, awed by the adoration of his touch, the reverence in his eyes. She understood that he didn't return her feelings in the same way, but she felt unable to contain the emotions inside her. Maybe she was a fool, but she didn't care. She had to tell him.

"I do love you."

Sebastian's breath caught at her whispered words. Words that shook him as if she'd bellowed them from the highest mountaintop. Words that he desperately wanted to hear, even as he told himself again that he didn't. Words that terrified him just as much as they excited him.

He watched her face as he caressed her, the damp curls of her sex tickling his fingers. The pulse of her tiny clitoris against the pad of his thumb. He studied the rapid rise and fall of her beautiful breasts. The redness of her bottom lip as the soft skin pillowed around her white teeth. The little whimpers she made as she strained against his hand.

No woman had ever fascinated him as she did. No other woman had been this important to him. This essential to him. His hand paused at his own thoughts, then he pushed them aside, falling back on the mattress so he could strip off his shirt and jeans.

He returned to her, their mouths melding, their bodies fitting perfectly together. He took her gasp into his mouth as she accepted him inside her. His full length deep into her body. He pulled back, gazing down at her. Her perfect pale skin, her beautiful eyes, so dark, so blue he wanted to drown in them. His eyes remained locked with hers as he began to move in a slow easy rhythm. Gliding nearly out, only to slide back in to the hilt, filling her completely again and again.

Her lips parted, a ragged breath escaping her with each stroke. He kept that leisurely pace, fascinated with watching her, painfully aroused by the desire in her eyes. Then she began to squirm under him, her hands growing frantic as they stroked his shoulders, his back.

"What do you want, baby?" he murmured against her lips.

"You," she answered automatically.

"Like this?" He plunged deeper.

She cried out, her head bobbing. "Yes. Oh, yes."

He filled her again, deep, hard. Building the pace until she was thrashing under him, the muscles around his cock clutching him in the same way her arms clasped his body.