Slowly she struggled to regain command of herself. As she did so, she also became aware of the burning necessity coiled deep within him. It was impossible to hide from the maiden who had become so much a part of him.
Leaning back, she regarded him with a worried gaze. "Sebastian?"
He gently cupped her damp cheek, knowing that the stubborn minx was bound to try and prevent his determined pursuit of Drake.
"Amelia, you must give me the dagger."
Her face whitened. "Why?"
"We both know this must end tonight," he said softly. "You and William will be in danger until Drake has been stopped."
She moaned as she stepped back, clutching the dagger in a white-knuckled grip.
"I do not wish you to risk your life, Sebastian. There must be another way."
Sebastian choked back an incredulous chuckle. The woman had willing allowed herself to be abducted by a crazed vampire and hauled to this remote cottage. She had then proceeded to place a dagger to her heart with every intention of ending her life. And she dared stare at him with that wounded expression and speak of risk.
"Bloody hell, Amelia, you are the last person to lecture me about risk."
She refused to reveal even a hint of remorse for the terror she had put him through. Instead she continued to regard him with that steady, anxious gaze.
"I could not bear to lose you, Sebastian. Anything but that."
A fierce tenderness filled his heart at her simple honesty. Once again, he reached out to press her close to his body, breathing deeply of her sweet scent.
"You will not lose me, Amelia. I intend to devote an eternity to loving you."
She tilted back her head to offer him a tearful smile. "Only an eternity?"
"Oh, my love." He pressed his lips to her tumbled curls. He would have given anything to remain holding her in his arms for the rest of his days. Unfortunately, his ability to sense Drake was becoming ever fainter. He had to act swiftly or he might lose him. He pressed a last, lingering kiss to her brow. "Later, my sweet. For now I need you to come with me."
Allowing herself to be held next to his side, Amelia glanced upward as he escorted her firmly toward the door.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Nefri is just beyond the trees, with William. I want you to remain with her until I return."
They had left the cottage and started across the overgrown garden when Amelia came to an abrupt halt.
"Wait."
Sebastian glanced down in suppressed impatience. He wanted his confrontation with Drake over and done with. Only then could he concentrate on his future with this woman he loved with his entire being.
"What is it, Amelia?"
"I do not want you to leave until we have fully become one."
He frowned, wondering if her recent fright had somehow softened her wits. Surely she could not be asking...
"What do you mean?"
"You said that we were not yet fully bound. I want to complete the binding."
He was shaking his head in denial before she ever finished speaking. "No, Amelia, you do not know what you ask. It is not a simple ceremony with pretty words as mortals use to join themselves together. The Immortal Kiss means that we are truly bound. Our thoughts, our hearts, our souls. There is no going back. No end. It is irrevocable."
That stubborn expression that he was already learning to rue settled upon her tear-streaked countenance.
"My love is already irrevocable," she said in fierce tones. "All I ask is that we complete our joining."
Sebastian shivered, his heart wrenching with the need to concede to her request. Blessed Nefri. There was nothing he desired more than to make this woman his eternal mate. To have her so much a part of him that it would be impossible to determine where one began and the other ended. But the price was much higher than Amelia could ever suspect.
"Amelia, I fully intend to make you my bride," he said softly, his hand reaching to stroke her cheek. "But not until I have finished with Drake. Until then, it is too dangerous."
Her brows furrowed at his words. "What do you mean, dangerous?"
He grimaced, not wishing to add to her fear, but knowing that he had to be honest.
"The Immortal Kiss would mean that you would be bound to me regardless of what happens this evening. If Drake were to injure me, you would feel my injuries as if they were your own. And if I were to die ... you would spend an eternity blackened by a grief that would never lessen, never heal."
She bit her lip at his brutal explanation, but her expression never wavered. Lifting her hand, she pressed it to his heart.
"Such a fate awaits me regardless, Sebastian. If you leave me, my heart will mourn your loss for as long as I draw breath." An unashamed need glowed in her lovely eyes. "Please, Sebastian.
Make us one."
Not even a logical, always sensible, scholar could possibly remain immune to the soft plea in her voice, he acknowledged ruefully. And a vampire consumed by love did not have a prayer of denying her request.
There was a brief, futile struggle as his common sense attempted to remind him of all the reasons he should not allow himself to weaken. Then he heaved a small sigh.
He could not battle her desire as well as his own. Not when he was still weakened by the acute
fear he'd felt when he'd been so close to losing her.
"Amelia, there is no going back," he felt compelled to warn again.
She smiled with a sweetness that reached his very soul. "That is precisely what I desire."
With a low groan, Sebastian at last loosened the restraints upon his most primal instincts. This was his true mate. The woman who would complete him.
His fangs lengthened in the shadowy moonlight, but Amelia showed no fear. Instead she regarded him with an unwavering trust that did not falter even when he lowered his head toward her. In the silence he could hear the rapid rasp of his own breath and he was forced to pause a moment to gather his nerves. He had to be absolutely in control to avoid causing her any pain.
At last convinced that he was once again in command of himself, Sebastian closed the remaining space to the willing curve of her neck and gently eased his fangs to the satin skin.
Within moments, the faintest trace of her blood was flowing through his body, nearly sending him to his knees with the burst of intimatacy that filled his heart.
It was all there. The magical sweetness of her heart, the utter loyalty of her soul, and the overall golden glow of her love for him. It all rushed through him so swiftly that he reeled slightly before pulling back to regard her in amazement. Truly she was a most remarkable woman. And now she was his. Thoroughly and completely.
Lifting his arm toward his teeth Sebastian prepared to complete the binding. He held her wide gaze with his own as he drew blood from his wrist, and then, scooping a drop onto his finger, he pressed it gently to her lips.
Her reaction was just as startled as his own had been.
A small gasp echoed through the silent forest as she clutched at his arms to steady herself.
Sebastian swept his arms about her, briefly concerned that the joining had been too powerful for her to bear. After all, she was a mortal despite the Medallion that hung about her neck.
Slowly becoming accustomed to the potent awareness that they were now bound together, Amelia regarded him with eyes that glittered in the moonlight.
"Oh."
"Are you well, my dear?" he asked in concern.
"Well?" Without warning, she tipped back her head to laugh with an unrestrained joy. "Mr. St.
Ives, you have just made me the happiest, luckiest, most satisfied maiden in all the world."
Chapter Fourteen
It was only with a heroic effort that Amelia allowed Sebastian to leave her in the protection of Nefri as he went in search of the renegade. Sensibly, she understood the need to halt Drake. As long as he remained at liberty he would pose a constant threat to her as well as to William. Even to Sebastian.
Still, such common sense did not keep her from pacing uneasily beside the carriage where William slept. Nor halt the growing sense of dread that was filling her heart.
She knew all too well just how dangerous the treacherous Drake would be when he was cornered. During the ghastly time in the cottage she had sensed his ferocious lust for power. But more than that, she had sensed a deeper, darker emotion. One of fear.
Her brows furrowed as she continued to pace. Why would the vampire so fear failure?
Because of the retribution his brother vampires would offer? Surely that could not be the explanation. Sebastian had offered to allow him to return to the Veil in safety more than once. So what was it?
What could force the vampire to risk utter destruction rather than concede that the Medallion was out of his reach?
The bothersome question nagged at the edge of her mind until she sternly reined in her thoughts.
What did it matter? Soon Sebastian would have him trapped and he would be forced back to the Veil or destroyed. Either way, the ghastly threat that he posed would be at an end.
Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to concentrate upon the gentleman who was now a part of her very essence.
He was moving ever further away but she could easily assure herself that he was unharmed and filled with a grim determination. A faint smile chased away her fears. Even at such a distance, she could feel the golden warmth of his love flowing through her.