Charlotte & Sebastian Read online

  Heading in that direction she pushed through the double doors that led to the training and gym area and continued down the corridor.

  As she entered the room, her attention was caught by the swinging of the heavy bag and she saw Sebastian was the one responsible. Looking around the room, she saw Mikey on the bench press and several other guys in various stages of their workouts.

  Squaring her shoulders she walked over to him and saw him reach out to stop the wild swinging of the bag seconds before she arrived. He must have sensed her.

  His eyes met hers, “What's up, Charlie?”

  “I wanted to know if you'd mentioned me,” her voice lowered so as not to be overheard as she continued, “giving you blood in your report about the mission last night?”

  For a second his eyes flared that icy blue colour before dulling back to his usual sapphire. They locked with hers and she could suddenly feel everything she had felt last night as his teeth bit into her throat, not the pain but the pleasure that followed it; the tingling that began in every nerve ending she possessed and radiated outwards until her body was one hyped up, super sensitive mass. A soft moan left her lips and she bowed towards him.

  Sebastian's gaze dropped from hers and the connection between them broke. She was suddenly back in control of her body and she stared at him in horror as she realised he'd just used his mind control ability on her. Charlotte stumbled a step back and his head shot around to watch her warily.

  “You— How could you—”

  His blue eyes were wide. “Charlie, I'm sorry.”

  She held up a hand to stop him and took another step back, bumping into a hard body.

  “You okay, Charlotte?”

  Her first instinct was to tell him the truth. None of the guys in here were particular fans of Sebastian and she was sure they'd make him regret using his powers on her. But then she saw the tortured look on his face and thought better of it.

  “Yeah, we're good, thanks.”

  There was a strained silence and then she felt the other guy move away from them.

  She'd had enough and just wanted to go back to her room. Softly she asked, “Did you put it in your report or not?”

  Sebastian's body seemed to sag in defeat. “I put that I had some blood on my person and used that.”

  Meeting his eyes for several seconds, she nodded her head and then turned her back on him and left the gym.

  Somehow she kept herself together as she walked back through the lobby, even giving Sarah a smile as she passed her again, and it was only as she got back to her room that she began to break down.

  Her chest felt tight and her head was pounding. She slid down the door, rested her head on her knees and closed her eyes while taking calm, even breaths. The tightness lifted and she dropped her head back against the door.

  Her thoughts drifted back to Sebastian and how easily he'd controlled her. No-one else in that room had known what was happening to her, not even herself. If he could turn it on and off that quickly, it scared her to think of just what he was capable of. How strong he was.

  Pushing to her feet, she walked over to her desk and the agency issue laptop on it and swiped her finger over the touch-pad to blink the screen back into life. She quickly scanned what she'd already written and then put her fingers to the keys to continue, strengthening the lie that Sebastian had started in his own report.

  Ten minutes later it was finished, printed and ready to be handed over. It wasn’t due in until tomorrow but since it was finished, she saw no reason not to and headed out of her room once more.

  Taking the elevator down to the second floor, she turned left and headed through the double doors that lead to the Director's office. Her steps faulted as she saw Adrianna sat behind her desk, a scarf around her neck to hide the bite that Sebastian must have given her this morning. Her stomach rolled for a second before she clenched her free hand into a tight fist making sure to stab her fingernails into her palm.

  Once she was feeling all right again, she stepped forward and Adrianna smiled up at her. “Hi, Charlotte,” she chirped in her almost child-like voice.

  “Adrianna,” she greeted. “I just came to drop my report off for the mission last night.”

  The other woman took the sheet of paper and her eyes scanned the page before she looked back up with a smile. “That's great, thanks. Bastian's already dropped his off, too, with him out again tonight, so I can wipe you both off the list.”

  Bastian?

  Mentally shaking her head, she jumped on the other titbit Adrianna had dropped. “Sebastian's on another mission?”

  “Yeah. Some new information on a vampire the Agency's been after for a while. Luciano?”

  Her heart pumped hard in her chest at the name. “Lucien?”

  “Yeah, that's him. They got a tip off about his location.”

  “Who went?”

  Adrianna looked at her with a frown.

  “Who went?!” She almost shouted, her fist slamming down on the desk.

  “Sebastian, Mitchell, Daniel, Harry, Ben and Mikey. Why?”

  “Because that bastard killed my family.”

  Chapter Six

  It was nearly three o'clock in the morning when the back doors of the Agency flew open, startling Charlotte, who was sat waiting for their return. She climbed to her feet and took a few steps forward.

  Two forms appeared first. As they got closer she saw that Mikey was supporting a hobbling Ben, who was bleeding from a cut to his head and favouring his right arm, around the middle as they progressed towards the medical facilities a little further in the building.

  Charlotte watched them pass and then waited to see if they'd managed to capture Lucien. Her foot started to tap the floor as the minutes passed and no-one else had appeared. Then she saw the group of men come through the doorway and she counted five people. Breath hitching, she took a small step forward.

  As the group grew nearer, she could make out their faces.

  They'd caught him.

  Mitchell was at the front of the group, gun in his left hand and his right hovering near the stakes at his hip. Daniel and Harry were on either side, their postures the same as Mitchell's and Sebastian was bringing up the rear, his hands out of view, probably keeping a tight grip on their prisoner so he didn’t try anything.

  Moving her gaze to the one man she'd avoided looking at so far, she ran her eyes over his familiar face and gritted her teeth against the roar of rage and pain she wanted to let out. Lucien's gaze flicked in her direction as the group walked past but no recognition lit his eyes and she was tempted to kill him right then and there. Her fingers itched for her stakes or her beretta's but they were back in her room.

  How could he not remember?

  Feeling someone's eyes on her, she turned them to Sebastian to see he was watching her questioningly, his dark brows furrowed. Not in the mood to answer him, she turned away and headed out of the room, suddenly needing to talk to the Director.

  She arrived in his office a couple of minutes later, wondering if he'd still be there at this time in a morning. Adrianna wasn’t around so she went straight up to the door separating the rooms and pushed it open.

  The Director looked up as the door opened and then sat back in his chair.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked without preamble. “That monster killed my family! I had a right to know that you were sending a team out—I should have been on that team!”

  He regarded her for several long seconds before answering. “Would you have been able to keep a straight head? Would you have kept this anger,” he said, indicating her, “under control long enough to capture him without killing him, as were their orders?”

  No. She wouldn’t have been able to do that.

  Charlotte's body began to quake as the adrenaline rushing through her body started to ebb, leaving her cold. “Why is he here? Why do we need him alive?”

  Her boss' eyes narrowed on her, “That is not a question I have to answer. What I will
tell you is that as soon as his purpose here is finished, you may kill him for what he did to you. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and talk to our newest prisoner.”

  Taking it as the dismissal it was, she turned and left the room and headed back downstairs and to the infirmary. The least she could do was check on Ben.

  She knocked on the door to the main medical room, which acted as both operating room and ward, depending on the injury.

  “Come in.”

  Pushing open the door, she saw Ben laid out on one of the beds while the resident doctor, Phillips, gave him stitches in his head. Charlotte winced as she watched the needle pierce the skin and then pull it together as the doctor tugged on the thick thread.

  The doctor glanced at her over the top of his glasses and smiled. She returned it and walked further into the room. “Hey, Ben.”

  His eyes moved from the doc to her and he smiled. “Hey.” His voice sounded slightly slurred, probably due to whatever pain relief they were using on him.

  “I saw you come in. I hope you aren't too badly injured?” Charlotte glanced at the doctor for details.

  “Break to the ulna, which means he'll be in a cast for the next six to eight weeks and a three inch long laceration to the forehead, after he was unfortunate enough to be thrown by the vampire and hit a wall. Luckily he has a hard head.”

  Her lips quirked at that. “Thank you.” Returning her attention to her fellow agent, she saw his eyes had closed and he was breathing deeply and evenly.

  Sleep sounded good to her, too. A yawn caught her by surprise and she pressed the back of her hand to her mouth to hide it and saw the doctor's lips twitch.

  “Why don’t you get some rest?”

  “Good idea.” She glanced at Ben again, “Take good care of him.”

  Phillips nodded and pulled the thread through for the last stitch and secured it and grabbed an antiseptic wipe to clean the wound once more.

  Turning, she left him to it and headed back up to her room. Her eyes were burning and she knew the minute her head hit the pillow that she'd be out like a light. All the worry and anger surrounding the mission and Lucien had really wiped her out.

  As the lift doors opened she speared a hand through her hair and fluffed it out a little before exiting and heading to her room.

  Her steps slowed when she saw the dark haired figure leaning against the wall outside her room. As though he'd sensed her, Sebastian's head turned in her direction. Reluctantly she approached him, trying her best to ignore him as she swiped her card key in the lock on her door.

  “Charlie?”

  Her eyes closed and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look, I know this is the middle of your waking hours but it isn’t mine. I'd like some sleep before I have to report for duty at eight.”

  Ignoring her words, he asked, “How do you know that vampire we brought in earlier?”

  “I don’t.”

  “I saw the look on your face. You know him.”

  Snapping her eyes open, she hissed, “Why do you care?!”

  Sebastian's eyes roamed her face before landing on her mouth. A second later, her back was against the wall and he was kissing her, his lips hot and hungry against her own. Eyes-wide, she held herself still, too shocked to do anything else. Then his tongue ran across her bottom lip and her eyelids fluttered shut as her shocked resistance crumbled to nothing. Her lips parted with a sigh and his tongue teased her own as she felt one of his palms land lightly on her waist.

  He pulled back so he could meet her eyes. His other hand cupped her nape. “I want to know everything about you, Charlie.”

  Staring at him in wonder, she whispered, “Why?”

  Pressing his forehead against hers, he answered honestly. “Because I care about you.”

  His words barely registered in her already overloaded and tired brain. She was dealing with too much as it was.

  The look in his eyes caught her attention, though. She saw desire in their blue depths and suddenly she knew that he'd help her forget.

  Forget about the vampire downstairs.

  About her family's murder.

  Her pain.

  For one night.

  Placing her palms on either side of his face, she brought his mouth back to hers and kissed him hard. His fingers tightened on her waist and the ones in her hair readjusted to get a better grip and he angled her head up so he could deepen the kiss. Moaning into his mouth she shifted one of her hands up into his black hair and tangled it in his inky locks.

  “Charlie,” he breathed.

  Fisting his shirt in her hand, she slipped the key-card in the slot again and opened her door. As she crossed the threshold, she was met with resistance and looked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes questioningly.

  His eyes met hers and he shook his head slowly, “Not like this.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like this!” He growled, indicating her, “When you're that emotionally out of it that anyone will do. I don’t want to be just anyone, Charlie. I want it to matter between us.”

  Charlotte took in his strained face and suddenly felt terrible. It wasn’t fair of her to do that to him. Dropping her gaze from his blue ones, she stared at her scuffed boots. “I'm sorry.”

  Sebastian let out a puff of air, “Don't be. I just wish you'd trust me enough to tell me what's going on with you right now; between you and that vampire downstairs that's causing you to act like this.”

  She swallowed hard and shook her head. “I'm not ready yet.”

  “Well, I'll be around when you are.”

  Chapter Seven

  Charlotte was awoken early the following morning by her alarm and groaned. Cracking her eyes open, she squinted at the red numbers and groaned again before burying her face in her pillow.

  She'd had about three hours sleep. Not nearly enough for her to function properly.

  The alarm continued to beep noisily but she left it, knowing that if she turned it off too early—like before she got out of bed—that she'd fall back to sleep and be late for duty.

  As she lay in the dark her thoughts drifted to last night and a certain vampire. How stupid could she be? Covering her face with her hands, she shook her head.

  Sitting up, finally, she reached across and hit the snooze button on the alarm. The sudden silence was deafening. Reaching a little further, she found the switch for her bedside lamp and blinked against the glare until her eyes had adjusted before climbing out of bed and making her way into her bathroom.

  Ten minutes later, she was showered and dressed in her uniform. Grabbing her sports bag, she spent the next couple of minutes arming herself and then left the room.

  She already knew some of the details surrounding her mission today. To search an apartment building where a low level demon was thought to be hiding out. It sounded easy and was the reason she was going solo on this one.

  Heading out of her room, she went down to the second floor and stared at a perfectly made-up Adrianna, who was sat behind her desk typing away. It was almost like she never slept.

  The other woman glanced up and smiled before picking up a piece of paper and handing it to Charlotte and explaining, “Your mission briefing. The Director's too busy to see you right now.”

  Brain picking out the important bits, she asked, “He's talking to Lucien?”

  Adrianna's eyes widened for a second, like she'd just remembered she wasn’t supposed to mention it in front of her, and then nodded sharply once.

  Taking the hint, she glanced down at the sheet of paper in her hands. It contained an address, description and what little information they had that clearly stated that the demon was so low level in his abilities that she would probably just have to turn up and he'd either hand himself in or be killed by one well aimed throw of her knife to his chest.

  For an instant she thought it sounded far too easy. Like there was a catch.

  Demons were renowned for their evilness and treachery, only appearing when summoned by someone of great
er power who wanted them to do something in return for a bounty.

  Shaking those thoughts out of her head, she thanked Adrianna, “I'll be back within the hour.”

  The woman nodded and then returned her attention to the computer in front of her and began typing at speed.

  Turning on her heel, she exited the office and headed to the garage. It was full apart from the black Hummer H2, which seemed to be a favourite of the guys. She eyed the silver Mercedes and then checked the location again. Too posh for that area; it would probably be stolen. Her eyes went to the car beside it, a beat up, grey, Jeep Wrangler, and smiled. Perfect.

  Climbing inside she adjusted the seat and started the engine. It sputtered a little before catching and she put on her seatbelt before driving out of the garage and out into the morning sunrise.

  The area she was headed to she wasn’t well aware of, she just knew it was rough, hence her choice of car, and it took her a good forty minutes to get there and find the right address. As she pulled up outside, she noticed the group of hooded youths on the corner and was sure they had noticed her too. One of the taller ones stared in her direction as she exited the car and she ignored him as she walked around the bonnet of the Jeep and moved toward the building.

  It looked abandoned, with smashed windows and graffitied walls. The door was hanging off, held on by one hinge and she quickly entered the building, hoping the youths didn’t follow her inside.

  Charlotte took in her new surroundings; a hallway ran on either side of the small entry hall and there was a lift in front of her with a doorway beside it, which was probably for the stairs.

  The demon would most likely be higher up so she headed towards the staircase since she doubted the lift was a safe way to travel.

  There were five floors but she stopped ascending at the fourth, using her logic to try and workout where he would be. She had a feeling the demon was on this floor and pushed open the door as quietly as possible. Her breathing stalled when she saw a small figure in the centre of the hallway, their back to her. Doing a quick scan of the hallway, looking for any threats, she took in the blood splattered walls and cringed. Had the demon she was hunting done that?