Templar Vampires - Midnight Sun Part 20

Constantine had the audacity to raise his chin in indignation. "I never lie."

Allie snorted. "Oh please."

"Are you mad?" Lex whispered.

How in the world could Allie be mad at Lex when her sister was giving her that wounded puppy-dog look? "Not if you keep looking at me like that," she grouched. Leave it to those big eyes of Lex's to knock the heat right out her temper.

Constantine had the nerve-the sheer nerve-to throw a supportive and protective arm around Lex's shoulders. And d.a.m.n it all if Lex didn't inch closer to him. Who the h.e.l.l did he think he needed to protect Lexine from? Her? Oh Lord, this was too much. Imagine, the meanest Templar of the bunch taking a s.h.i.+ne to Lexine.

Somehow, it just figured.

Sebastian, leg already healed, strode up behind Allie and threw his arms around her. He smelled incredible. Like spice and fresh night air. She leaned into him and smiled. She could spend the rest of her life right where she was.

"Why don't we ditch this crowd for a while?" he whispered seductively in her ear. Wonderful chills ran traveled over her skin. "I don't want to leave my sister alone with these dogs." She gave Constantine a dirty look.

Of course, Allie was teasing and they all knew it. If she didn't trust the Templars she would have never brought Lex here in the first place.

"I promise it will be worth your while."

Allie's knees went weak.

She turned to Lex. "Are you going to be okay on your own?"

Tristan and Raphael held back their amus.e.m.e.nt at how quick Allie gave in to Sebastian.

Lex rolled her eyes. "Of course I'll be okay," she said with a note of frustration. "I'm not ten years old anymore, Allie. Go." She actually shooed Allie away, much to the amus.e.m.e.nt, and admiration, of the Templars.

It seemed that though Lex looked as delicate as the petal of a flower, her backbone was forged of pure steel.

Oh yeah, she was going to fit right in to this macabre little family of outcasts.

As Allie followed Sebastian to the keep, they heard Lexine remark to Constantine that Raphael was cute. Constantine, in turn, dragged Raphael right back onto the lists.

"Go ahead and b.l.o.o.d.y me up, you grumpy b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I'll have Lexine nurse me back to health. Won't you, love?"

Before Lex could answer, Constantine's ferocious battle cry was heard a second before the clash of swords rang out. It was followed by Lex's husky laughter.

Yep-Lex was going to be just fine.

Chapter Nineteen.

Much like he did the night before, Sebastian led Allie to the room. This chamber, which Tristan kept for him, wasn't nearly as modern as his bedroom at Randall Manor.

If Allie ever envisioned what a "chamber" looked like, this was it. s.p.a.cious. Spa.r.s.ely decorated, it was exactly the sort of room she imagined for him when she thought about Rydon Castle.

Though she knew Sebastian never used this room, she thought it was considerate Tristan kept chambers here for all the Templars. The promise of always having a sanctuary had to be extremely comforting to them all since their existence was plagued with so much threat.

Sinking down on the enormous bed, Allie watched Sebastian as he closed and locked the door. This time, she didn't feel the same apprehension as the other night. Tonight she had the confidence of a woman who knew her lover's touch and wanted more. Her gaze followed him as he went to the hearthand crouched before it. With his back to her, he lit a fire, stoking the flames to life for a few silent minutes. She took the chance to enjoy the sight of the man who, literally, crossed time to reach her.

Only once he got a roaring fire going and took a moment to steal some warmth from it, did he rise to his full and imposing height. Allie felt breathless as he strode over to her, his intent evident in his eyes.

For such a large man he moved with surprising grace. His body was that of a warrior, muscular, tight, perfectly honed for battle. His hands, calloused and scared, were huge, large enough that a hilt of a sword nestled comfortably in them, yet when he touched her he did so with infinite care. To see him was to see a man who knew war and death, who'd faced archangel and devil alike and still stood proud, a force to be reckoned with.

He stood before her and ran his hand through her unbound hair. "I like your hair like this,"

She craned her neck to look at him, smiling as he let her hair run through his fingers. "I like your hair too."

He looked at peculiarly. "I don't have any hair."

"I hadn't noticed," she teased. She let her fingers dance down his bare chest. "How come the others have long hair and you don't have any?"

"I hated the lice." A s.h.i.+ver of disgust pa.s.sed through him. "After three years of begging for my head to be shaved to stave off the vermin, the s.a.d.i.s.tic b.a.s.t.a.r.ds at Chinon found it amusing to do so only days before my execution."

What an awful way to be tormented, She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her cheek against his chest. "I'm so sorry, Sebastian."

He tangled his hands in her hair, pressing her even closer to him. "Don't be, suns.h.i.+ne. I deserved it."

"No you didn't."

He grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Yes. I did, and if I ever forget that, the centuries I've spent atoning for my sins will have been for nothing."

As much as she didn't want to bring back his painful memories, Allie couldn't stop herself from asking, "What made you go off on Crusade?"

He gave an indifferent shrug, though Allie knew he was anything but apathetic. "Tristan."

That answer surprised her. She expected to hear he went out of devotion to G.o.d, out of faith. Maybe even for glory and the promise of riches. A million reasons why a man would give his life to go off and fight a war in G.o.d's name ran through her mind, none of which involved him following Tristan off to war.

From what Allie read of the Templars, they were the elite in a time when men were bred for battle.

Feared, respected, and loved, they rose to the level of being more legend than real. They grew so powerful and wealthy that they created the first banking system. Feeling the threat of their might, the King of France charged them with heresy and had the entire Order in France arrested to rid the world of them. Given the legends that only continued to grow about the Knight Templars, Philip of France hadn't done too good a job.

It spoke volumes of the men, and fighters the Templars were, to have been allowed in the sacred Order of the Knights Templar. True, they'd lost their faith, but who knew the horrors they'd witnessed. Allie couldn't begin to imagine the atrocities they'd committed in the name of G.o.d fighting a war against the Muslims.

That they held onto their faith as long as they had was a wonder to her. Most people danced on the fine line of belief and doubt, stepping away from G.o.d with an ease that attested to how fragile their faith was to begin with.

But not the Templars. She knew it took a long while for them to leave their faith on the battlefield.

Even Allie had doubts, suffering a crisis of faith after Christian died. It lasted until she fell into the Templar's world and was confronted with the fact G.o.d did, indeed, exist.

"I didn't know you knew Tristan before you joined the Templar Order."

"Seacrest bordered Rydon. We grew up together." Moving away from her, he went to the hearth. He gripped the mantle and stared into the flames. "When we were sixteen, Guy Sinclair came looking for able bodies to join him on Crusade. Tristan wanted to go for the glory. I wanted to go to get as far away from my family as possible."

Allie stroked his chest, fully aware of how his body tightened at her touch. "You had real winners in the parent department too, huh?"

"They were products of their time." He glanced at her. "We all were."

"No, I don't believe that," she countered, her own anger at her parents coming through. "A s.h.i.+tty parent is a s.h.i.+tty parent. Period. I don't care what time in history they were born in."

"I'll give you that. Anyway," he continued, "after four years fighting for Sinclair, Tristan decided to join the Knights Templar. The rest of us, who grew as close as brothers, went along with him. We all heard of the Warrior Monks and we wanted in."

They were all young and proud warriors. Of course they would want to strive to be the best, to rise above the ranks to etch their names in history.

"You must have all must have been extremely religious to have given up everything when you joined the Order."

He shook his head, his hand idly running through her hair, every now and then his fingers tickling the nape of her neck, her shoulders, sending wonderful chills throughout her body. "Not at all. Lucian was the devout one. He had enough religious conviction for the rest of us. It'd been bred right into him from birth. The rest of us went along solely for the glory."

"No wonder you lost your faith," she remarked softly. "You didn't have much to begin with."

He shook his head. "No. It didn't take much for me to lose what small amount I had, especially not after what we were all forced to do in His name." "I can't even imagine."

Everything in him changed in the flash of an instant. He grabbed her wrists and held them tightly. His fangs were bared in a vicious snarl, which held all the pain and anger burning him in as he recalled his b.l.o.o.d.y past. "How could you? The things I've done were unspeakable."

"Sebastian..."

"I wasn't d.a.m.ned the day I died," he gritted roughly. "I was d.a.m.ned long before that. I sealed my fate the day we took a village filled with nothing but women and children. The men went off to fight, leaving behind only a handful of bodies to protect their families. They were no match for us when we charged in.

We took them easily, cutting them down like gra.s.s. We burned every home, slaughtered every animal.

We were told to leave no one alive. So you know what I did, Allie?" He gave her a hard shake, tears glistening in her eyes. His pain flowed into her in cras.h.i.+ng waves of torment. "I murdered children while they were in their mama's arms, and then I killed the mothers too."

Though she knew his every rasping breath had to be hurting him, she doubted he cared about the pain.

Even realized it. He wasn't here with her now. He stared out into nothing. Allie could almost see what he did, not where he was now, but where he'd once been.

Blood acc.u.mulated in the corners of his eyes. With a terrible growl, he dropped her wrists and went to stalk from the room. Allie wasn't about to let him go. She chased after him, catching his arm. He spun around, pinning her with a ferocious glare.

"Don't touch me."

She didn't let go. "What you did wasn't your fault. It was war and war is brutal and it's ugly. There's no shame in what you were forced to do."

"What the f.u.c.k do you know about war and death? How do you know I didn't like what I did? That I didn't relish the kill like the demon I was d.a.m.ned to be."

Allie dropped her arm, yet made no motion to move away from him. She knew this was Sebastian showing her the ugly he believed festered in him, asking her to accept him. "I may not have been to war, Sebastian, but I watched the battle Christian fought against heroin. I can swear to you it was as ugly as any fight you'd ever fought. And as for death, I know it all too well. It took one of the only people I've ever loved and I hated G.o.d for it. I hated Him with the same pa.s.sion you did when you were forced to kill. I wanted to hunt down the old lady who hit him with her car. I wanted to hurt her for taking my brother. So you see, Sebastian? You can't make me hate you, no matter what you did. I love you too much to judge you."

"Jesus Christ, how can you say that when G.o.d judged me and found me sinful enough to d.a.m.n me?"

Allie shrugged and offered him a small smile. "Yeah, well, I'm not G.o.d, am I?"

Feeling as if his heart kicked to life, pumping with the force of Allie's love, Sebastian pushed her back on the bed, coming to lie over her, careful not to crush her with his weight. Her warmth and life seeped into him as he claimed her lips with his mouth and her body with his hands.

Sebastian pulled his mouth from hers, needing to taste her flesh. He trailed his tongue along her neck,pulling a breathless whimper from her as he licked his way down to her collarbone, teasing her with his fangs. He loved the way she gasped each time he nipped her, her fingers digging into his back and her legs squeezing him tight.

Nestled between her thighs, he felt her heat through her clothes, her scent filling him as he lingered over her jugular, pressing his lips to the pulsating vein, taking in the delicious aroma of her blood.

Licking his way back to her mouth, he dragged his tongue over her bottom lip before taking it between his teeth and giving it a gentle bite. She rasped out a breath and thrust her hips up, grinding into his groin.

His groan mixed with her whimper when she opened her mouth to him. He took what she offered, kissing her hard and deep.

Her hands settled at the small of his back. The gentle pressure she applied drove him mad with desire.

"Ready for a ride, suns.h.i.+ne?"

His woman, tiny but tough, grinned wickedly at him. "Always, baby."

That was all Sebastian needed to hear.

Baring his fangs, he let out a rumbling growl a second before he reclaimed her mouth. The kiss was hard, as he let loose the animal in him, taking her in ways she only dreamed two bodies could come together.

By the time he was done with her, Allie knew what it meant to be a well-sated woman. She also realized one very distinct advantage to having a lover who happened to be a medieval vampire.

Stamina.

Constantine leaned against the keep watching Tristan and Raphael out on the lists. Even after almost seven hundred years, he still hadn't tired of the remarkable sound of steel against steel.

A man born to wield a sword, his entire being was designed for it. His fate was to travel down a road paved in blood and lined with death. Such a path was forced upon him even before his b.i.t.c.h of a mother s.h.i.+t him out into this world.

From the time he took his first breath, he was being trained to become a warrior. To become a man who shed blood without care or conscience. Each blow delivered from the fists of his sire made him stronger.

Harder. Henry Draegon battered him until he made certain he beat the humanity right out of his son. Until all that remained was an angry, bitter boy who grew into a savage man with a gift for killing.

His mother's voice echoed in his mind, her voice dripping with ice when she declared she would not abide a weak son. If Aislin Draegon saw him now, he was sure the bloodthirsty b.i.t.c.h would be proud of what she, Henry, and that c.o.c.ksucker Ulric Chambers created.

Over the course of his life the man was beat out of him and replaced with a cold-hearted creature whofaced an archangel defiantly and dared him to take his soul.

The mere thought of Ulric, the man he was given to for the price of a bag of gold, was enough to have Constantine wanting to hurt someone. He needed to take the pain out of himself by beating it into another.

Yet when Lex's husky laugher drifted to him, it chased away memories better left forgotten. They were memories that made him dangerous when allowed to poison his mind.

He looked over at Allie's sister and felt a stab right through his dead heart. Her beauty made his eyes hurt. Small and delicate and so d.a.m.n clean he was afraid if he touched her with his filth he'd soil one of G.o.d's most glorious creations.

Yet he sensed there was more to her than met the eye. He felt what others couldn't, not even the other Templars. There was trouble all over what he felt brewing in her. He felt a power in her, a strength he doubted she even knew she possessed.

She must have felt his hot gaze on her since she turned to him and pierced him with her intense stare. Her eyes cut him clean to the place his soul should have been.

If she knew half the things he wanted to do to her, he wondered if she would still look upon him as if she could see past the monster everyone else saw to the man he might have been if given the chance.