Rene Lyons - Where the damned come to play

Midnight Sun

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

Turning off the water, she heard Raphael’s voice coming from the bedroom. Quitting the black marble bathroom, Allie threw open the door that connected to Sebastian’s room and waved at her friends.

“Hey guys. Here.” Fishing around in her pocket, she pulled out Raphael’s key and handed it to him.

At the same moment, Constantine’s gaze shot to her bottom lip. He sniffed at the air, a vicious snarl curling back his upper lip. “Why the fuck is she bleeding?”

Unfazed by Constantine’s furious demand, Sebastian threw him a glare. Before things got out of hand, as it easily could when dealing with vampires, Allie waved a hand through the air dismissively. “It’s nothing. We were making with the nice-nice and Sebastian’s fang accidentally caught my lip.”

Three male jaws practically hit the floor when she carelessly threw out that tidbit. Oblivious to the murderous glares Raphael and Constantine were directing at Sebastian, she turned around and glanced in the mirror hanging over the black lacquer dresser. “See? The bleeding already stopped.”

Turning back, she finally noted how furious her friends were. Obviously it didn’t seem to matter that he clipped her by accident. By their reaction one would think he tore off a chuck of her lip and was still gnawing on it when they burst in on him. She also noticed Sebastian looked like he wanted to wring her neck.

Raphael was the first to snap out of his stupor at her flippancy. Given that his anger was now directed at her, Allie wished he was still struck dumb.

“I’ve known you for five months and not once did you ‘make with the nice-nice’ with me. You’re around Sebastian for five minutes and you’re making out with him.”

Allie rolled her eyes over his argument. “Don’t go getting your panties in a bunch about it. Just because I never swooned at your feet when you tried those ridiculous lines on me doesn’t mean I was immune to you. Jeez, Raphael, look at yourself! You’re gorgeous. How could I not be attracted to you? But you’re my friend. And I don’t know,” she shrugged, “I don’t see you in a sexual way.”

Constantine raised a brow at her. “So what am I? Dog shit?”

Allie closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her temple in exasperation. “I am not having this conversation.” When she opened her eyes, she saw Sebastian casually leaning his hip against the fireplace looking entirely too amused. “This is all your fault.”

He stabbed a finger at his chest and shot his brows up in askance. “Me? How the hell am I at fault here?”

Her hands going to her hips, she matched the glare he was giving her with one of her own. “If you didn’t go and kiss me, I wouldn’t have kissed you back and I wouldn’t have to try to convince two furious vampires that I think they’re hot.”

She went to storm out, but Sebastian prevented her dramatic exit when he moved with the speed of lightening and grabbed her. Again. “Allie,” he said too calmly. “Did it ever occur to you that those two,” he motioned to Constantine and Raphael, “wanted us to get together?”

Why would it take her friends this long to work their scheme if they could have executed it months ago? Ready to dismiss Sebastian’s presumption, she peered over his shoulder to see two guilty-looking vampires suddenly vastly interested in the dark gray rug.

“They knew I was going to be home tonight.”

Allie laughed at how guilty they looked—even Constantine—which shocked the hell out of her. “You sly dogs.”Yanking her arm from Sebastian’s grasp, she went over to Constantine, giving him a good shot to the arm. “I didn’t even see this coming.”

“That’s because you’re too damn trusting.”

“Maybe,” she retorted with a shrug. “I gotta go. You guys can deal with Sebastian’s anger on your own. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Unbeknownst to her, three men watched intently as she flounced from the room.