“Uh-uh.” He wouldn’t tell her of his promise to Antaeus yet. “He can hear everything we say. Let’s get you better for now.” Hands on her waist, Bast lifted her onto the porcelain sink. His naked body stood nicely between her thighs. When his hand met the damp heat between her thighs, some of the fight drained from her eyes while she nodded her acquiescence. Bast watched the pleasure rise in her face as his fingers began to dance. There might not be many more moments like this for them, and by God he would enjoy every second of each one as they occurred.
In the down-times while they waited for evening to descend, Bast would call on his inner dragon. Learning it. Analyzing it. He needed this other side of himself to answer when beckoned or to leave at a moment’s notice. The way things were going, no one had to tell him that Alice’s life depended on it.
For now though, they would play.
Chapter Thirty
Alice held Sebastian’s hand tightly as they were escorted into the long, rectangular room. The heat hadn’t risen in hours, and truthfully, she didn’t know which was worse: that or the fact they hadn’t figured out how to get out of this mess. Anteaus and two big guys forced them to leave the motel after the sun had gone down. The drive across the city couldn’t have taken more than forty-five minutes. When the town car stopped in downtown, the locale and sleek look of the high-rise had been a mild surprise.
The men she’d been introduced to, the men who served beneath Sebastian’s leadership, all waited on either side of an anteroom. A few averted their eyes when they entered, as if it were too painful to watch the procession. Drew tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it seemed forced.
Now, as she stared down the large oak table surrounded on both sides by café au lait colored leather chairs, she could almost smell the opulence. Not a surprise at all.
There were seven people, both men and women, seated at the table. All of them had a clear glass of water before them; some had tea cups with saucers resting beneath. No folders or documents of any kind littered the tabletop. In fact, if she hadn’t known better, she might have thought she’d been invited to Sunday brunch somewhere nice and innocent. Instead, these were the people who would decide if she and Sebastian had broken enough rules to warrant their deaths.
An involuntary shudder rippled through Alice.
She searched the people again, trying to find some hint of emotion reflected on any of their faces. She lighted upon Councilman Renner, the vampire who’d been interested in having her map the Council’s history, but his lips were pressed firmly together. Something about his expression steeped in disapproval. He stared at her dispassionately, as if they’d never met before. She was an object of curiosity, not the woman he’d been willing to entrust with the Council’s secrets.
“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” A distinguished-looking gentleman, dark hair coiffed into perfection, rose. He walked to the end of the table where Alice and Sebastian stood. His nose tilted into the air. “I smell the newly transitioned.”
Despite the eloquence with which he spoke, there was disdain beneath his words. Alice slid her hand to Sebastian’s forearm and squeezed.
The man’s gaze skimmed over her and went to Sebastian. “Mr. Kent, you are accused of endangering the Council, dereliction of duty and of hiding your true self, an...abomination, within the vampire community. It seems you compound these offenses by adding the crime of creating a new vampire without the Council’s approval.”
“You forgot to mention that I told a human about vampires, Councilman Sage,” he responded dryly.
Sage ignored him. His tailored suit clung to him as he slid his hands behind his back. He was relaxed, despite his militant pose. “The punishments for these crimes are banishment, stripping of rank, the whim of the Council and death. In that order.”
The whim of the Council. What did that mean? Although it couldn’t be much worse than death.
“Then let me address the first two, Councilman. I think my response would satisfy any needs of the Council to mete out justice,” Sebastian said. His chin tilted into the air. “I have served the Council loyally for more than forty years. Not once did any member of the Council get hurt or injured in any way while I was on duty. No one ever questioned my loyalty. Up until recently, I would have lain my life on the line for the Council. Without hesitation. Without regret. No matter how often the Council challenged me and my decisions, I did what was required of me. I worked hard to prove again and again that I deserved my position. That I was worthy of the Council and community attention.” His gaze went around the room to each and every member. “It seems though that I may have misplaced my loyalty. At the Council’s first opportunity to denounce me, it did. And I am not blind or stupid enough to ignore it. Not when I have another to consider. So it is without regret that I announce my resignation from the Council guard.”