Page 102 of His True Beloved

“He’s gone,” the deep voice from the other side of the room muttered. “His body has retreated to the Underworld. Hopefully, Hades will take care of him. I’ll take my leave.” Hearing the creek of the door open, it let in the sounds of arguments down the hall. Both voices were that of Rowan and Justin, who were hissing at each other.

“How did he get that close to her!? Christine has been through enough, and now her ex got inthishouse!?” His hands slapped some part of his body while Rowan groaned.

“They sound like cats,” I murmured. Sebastian winced, feeling the fangs that went through his clothing and into his skin.

“Can you let go, Bella? You haven’t put your venom into the cut, and this hurts like a bitch.” Mumbling a sorry, I let go but kept my head away from where the blood was probably stained on the carpet.

“He isn’t there. Nothing about him is left here on this Earth.” Sebastian gently turned me to look at the floor where the incubus once laid, only to find nothing there. Not his body or the stain that would have surely ruined the fluffy white carpet.

“Where is the body? Why isn’t there blood?” I dared to question as Sebastian led me to our bathroom. He pushed the door open, turning on the blinding light. He winced, muttering a quick apology, and dimmed the lights.

“I know your eyes are still tender. I keep forgetting. Hopefully, you won’t turn me in and get a better model of a beloved.” he smirked. I couldn’t help but smile at the vampire. After all, he was mine, and there was no going back to get rid of him.

“Is there an exchange policy?” I quipped. The washcloth he held under the sink stopped and continued to pour cold water into his hand.

“I certainly hope not because I don’t think any other woman would put up with my sexual tendencies,” he said. “I’m sure I’ve got your scent all over my cock anyways, no woman would come near me.” I snorted, laughing until I felt the cold cloth hit my face.

My face had become heated, well heated enough for a vampire in my state. I’m sure I felt nothing but a gentle flush to a human. As smooth as he was, looking like the perfect gentleman, he definitely had a wild, unfiltered sexy streak in him. His hands were hot and his hair wild from where he ran his hands too many times through it.

Sebastian’s hands stroked my face, wiping away the bloody tears.

“As for the incubus,” Sebastian began as he pulled towels from under the sink. “An incubus can be killed easily when he is in his true form if you have a cursed dagger like the assassin had. And he isn’t dead, Christine. He was just returned to the Underworld. That is why there is no body. It was returned to where it was supposed to be all along.”

I hummed in understanding. I don’t know why I had felt sorry for Wyatt—I mean, Ir’ak—when he stood in front of me. I was glad he was gone. He wouldn’t hurt anyone on Earth, and he certainly wouldn’t hurt me by playing with my feelings.

“Can an incubus play with your feelings?” Sebastian sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

Crap, I hope he didn’t take that the wrong way.

“They certainly can. That’s what they do. That is their mission to help them feed. An incubus is strong in ways of the power of persuasion sensually, more so than any vampire compulsion. Ir’ak was playing at your heartstrings, trying to get you to remember what you both had. He wanted you to feel sorry for him, to show any shred of emotion for him.” Sebastian’s jaw ticked in agitation.

I hummed again, not sure what to say. Now that he was gone, the feelings that bubbled up inside me, the worry for him, the hint of sorrow, had faded along with his Earthly body. Ir’ak had his claws in me, deeper than I ever realized.

“The bond made sure most of those feelings didn’t come to the surface, Christine.” Sebastian drew closer to me, putting his hands behind my thighs and putting me on the counter. “It protected you. If we had not bonded, he would have tried to take you from me. He knows a bond is more powerful than any of his seduction powers. Ir’ak also knew both the assassin and I were there. He showed his true form, and let down his guard. We knew he gave up. That was why we let him say his piece.” Sebastian gripped the wet cloth. “As much as I didn’t want to, I thought it would be easier for you to close the wound of your past life. Now you are with me, and I will never let you go.” He growled.

Sebastian’s hand gripped my thigh in a warning. Not that I would try to leave anyway. I smiled at the devilishly handsome vampire. I’ll never know why I ever tried to push him away in the first place.

I chuckled softly. My smile barely reached my eyes. I felt guilty for even feeling sorry for the incubus, but maybe it was out of my control. Sebastian was far greater than anything I had ever hoped for in a lover, friend, and bonded soulmate. He may be a little dominant and bossy, but it was what I needed. He knew everything I needed because our hearts beat as one.

“You hold onto your feelings a lot, don’t you?” he muttered to himself. “I can’t have that anymore, Christine. We are a team, remember?” I nodded, my fingers tracing up the sleeve that he had meticulously rolled up his forearm. It was hot as hell seeing a dark shirt on this gorgeous vampire, rolled up, a bit messy than his usual.

His red eyes stared at me with such fierceness. Sebastian wasn’t kidding. He was damn well serious. “I want you to talk to me. You have been through enough today, and you keep it all inside. You are eating away at yourself.” his fingers traced my jaw, finger drawing down to my neck.

Instinctively, I exposed my neck to him, my scent diving deeper into his lungs. “It’s just a lot.” I whimpered, feeling his body press up against me. Grabbing the back of my legs, scooting me in between his, Sebastian’s lips pressing below my ear.

My hands reached for this shirt, keeping him close. He sighed, rubbing his nose against my neck. “I feel like the world just crashed around me, Sebastian.” I rubbed my cheek into his neck. “Sure, the whole Ir’ak thing sucked.” I wrinkled my nose. “Now that I know a lot of it was his weird demon magic, I don’t feel as bad about myself,” I said. I began picking at my nails behind his back. Sebastian immediately pulled my fingers away, making me stop.

“A lot of today sucked, but I’ll live. The worst thing about it all was my siblings.” I sniffed. “I had… a brother and a sister that I’ll never get to know. I grew up alone. Mom thought she couldn’t have kids anymore, and it wasn’t like she was looking to get pregnant again with the sperm donor going on ‘long business trips’.” I groaned.

“They were just babies, little, tiny, helpless babies. Babies that couldn’t defend themselves. They will never know Mom or me. How much love we would have given them!” I cried out again, and Sebastian’s hands ran up and down my arm, his lips kissing my forehead. “I can live with the other stuff. That’s fine.” I waved my hands dismissively. “It’s my little brother and sister,” I ground out. “And why in the hell every time I cry, I get this red bloody shit all over me!” Wiping the tears with the back of my hand, Sebastian grabbed the dark cloth and wiped them away from my cheeks and hands.

“It’s why most of the things we wear are dark colors, keep the stains away,” he smiled. “Thank you for telling me, my beloved.” He kissed my forehead again. Sebastian pulled away, and I whined.

I just wanted to crawl up in a little Chrissy ball and have him spoon me. Maybe let him grab a boob, let him know that I’m his.

Gah, such a wussy right now.

“Shh, it’s all right.” He leaned in to kiss my forehead. “Now, what if I told you that your siblings weren’t dead? That Broderick didn’t kill them? Would that make things easier?” Looking at him strangely, my eyebrow raised and mouth hung open.

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