“You sounded like a caveman,” I wheezed. Gods, it had been so long since I’d laughed.
“Are you hurt?” He started running his hands over my arms, then crouched by my legs before I shook my head, still laughing, and grabbed his biceps to pull him back up to his staggering height.
“People don’t usually laugh when they are hurt,” I said and wiped the tears from my eyes and looked up at him. “This whole situation is just… bizarre. I think I’m going to snap.” My laughter died down, and I kept smiling up at him as I lifted my hand and cupped his cheek. “But…” I felt my face warm at what I was about to admit. “You make it bearable.”
His scruff was coming in as a dark beard now, and I couldn’t lie… facial hair made him look that much hotter.
I saw the way his expression changed from worry to something softer. He lifted his hand and ran his fingers over my lips, growling low.
“Come on,” he said and turned to grab the leg of the bird-creature with one hand, and took mine with his other.
A good chunk of time later we found ourselves in a tiny alcove, with a fire started thanks to Sebastian. Stopping probably wasn’t the best course of action seeing as we had limited moonlight in this world, but I couldn’t find it in me to speed things along.
We talked and laughed, threw bits of food at each other as we joked, and then we just told the other about our lives.
“So you have no family aside from your brother, Kane, and your cousin, Adryan, who happens to be the leader of the American Vampire Clan?”
He grunted his affirmation.
“Never heard of him or this group. What is it, like a club or something?”
Sebastian was drinking water, which he’d gathered from the small pool we’d found close to the alcove and boiled to make sure it was clean.
But after I spoke, water sprayed out of his mouth as if my question had taken him off guard. I had to lean back to avoid being drenched.
“Club?” he asked incredulously, coughing slightly and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
I shrugged. “Yeah, like Boy Scouts in the human world?”
It was his turn to cock an eyebrow a second before he said, “No, baby. Not like the Boy Scouts.”
I waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn’t right away, I held my hands out, palms up, no doubt looking impatient.
“Well, are you gonna tell me about this big, bad vampire clan and your cousin, Adryan, who runs it?”
He took another long drink of water before handing it to me. I shook my head, and when he did that typical Sebastian scowl, I rolled my eyes and grabbed the canister, then took a drink from it. I gave him an expression that spoke loudly. Are you happy now?
He grunted again, appeased with me obeying him. Otherworld males were definitely a dominant kind.
“Adryan is the leader of the vampires in the United States, with connections to other clans all over the world. He’s based out of Ryeka, New York.”
Sounded important. “And what exactly do you do for him? Paperwork? Bookkeeping?” It was hard keeping a straight face after I said that.
I saw the darkening of Sebastian’s eyes as if he were highly offended that I’d ever suggest such a thing. It took everything in me not to chuckle.
“Enforcement.” He said the word matter-of-factly and puffed out his chest. “And I’m the fucking best.”
It was strange how arrogance coming from him could be so… hot.
And I wasn’t surprised that his title was such a brutal and violent one.
He was big and strong, and he had this air about him that made me think he’d never allowed himself to have much pleasure in life, if any.
“Well, it’s just me,” I said and shrugged, looking at the small fire that burned between us. I used my foot to push a couple of the larger rocks closer that we’d used to make a border around the flames and wood.
When I glanced up because of Sebastian’s silence, I saw that he watched me intently, waiting for me to continue, to go at my own pace.
“My parents passed away ten years back. No siblings. It’s just been me staying below the radar because it’s easier to not be anyone than to be someone.” I shrugged again, more to myself than because of what I’d said.
After that the continued silence stretched on uncomfortably.
“You’re not alone any longer. Not ever again.” He leaned in and braced his forearms on his thighs, looking at me severely as if those words were the only bond I needed.
And all I could do was nod.
He handed me another piece of meat he’d torn off the feathered creature and cooked on a large rock on top of the fire. I was glad the moment had shifted to something else.