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Chapter Thirty-Two
Luciana
It’s been a week since I escaped Caspian’s creepy underground chamber. With all the aftermath of the raid, and then locating the two blood labs and rescuing the hybrids we found there, I’ve only seen Sebastian briefly in passing.
He’s committed fully to helping the Raven Society shut down the Night Guild’s operations around the world. We transported Aza, Caspian, Violet, and the others to a magical prison. I’ve been focused on helping the supernaturals we freed from the blood banks, the ones who were abducted and turned into hybrids like me. That’s going to be a long-term project, both for them, and for me. Because down in that stone chamber I realized I’ve just begun to scratch the surface of my demon powers.
And I need to learn control, big time.
But tonight we’ve paused on the hybrid project because the Raven Society members need to flesh out the plan to shut down the Night Guild, and to decide the focus of the Society after we wrap up all those loose ends. It’s kind of strange sometimes when you get what you’ve wanted so badly.
Where do we—do I—go from here?
I walk arm-in-arm with my best friend Ven down a street in Reims, France. Ven’s other best friend, Rowan, walks on the other side of us. The sun has just fallen and the city sparkles in twilight purple hues. A huge gothic church rises in the distance, and tiny snowflakes drift down from above, diamond glints against the darkness.
“So, your new man has a penthouse in France—that’s pretty epic,” Ven says with a giggle.
“Well, Reims is the largest city in the Champagne region,” I say. “And he’s pretty obsessed with champagne.” I wrinkle my nose. “But I don’t know that we can really call him my man… I’m not really sure what we are.”
Saying the words out loud makes my stomach flip. I know we’ve been insanely busy saving the world and all, but Sebastian has seemed strangely distant the few times I’ve run into him over the last week. In my head, I keep turning over the look on his face after he found me in the stone chamber with Caspian and Violet… so haunted. As much as he hated his brother, they were still family, after all. And Caspian remains in a vegetative state… my demon magic seems to have fried his brain. I can’t feel bad for defending myself—he was going to murder me, after all—but I hate that what happened has come between me and Sebastian. Will he ever be able to look at me the same way again?
“Well, this is it,” says Ryder, Ven’s boyfriend, from behind us. He points up at a fancy townhouse with an ornate roof and gardens out front.
Xander lets out a low whistle. “Nice place.”
Rowan looks up at him and smiles. “Yeah, maybe we need to get a Raven Society headquarters in France.”
Two more couples approach us from the opposite side of the street, Erik and his girlfriend Astrid, and my sister Tamsin and her fiancé Blake.
“Looks like the gang’s all here,” Astrid says with a wave.
Erik and Xander pull each other into a side hug, both dragon shifters and best friends. I look around at everyone and my heart swells. A lot of terrible things happened to me over the last year. But a lot of truly wonderful thing have happened, too. I’d met and become friends with Ven, reunited with my sister, and now I’ve become a part of the core group of the Raven Society, helping other supernaturals around the world.
I’m going to focus on the good things now. The worst is behind me. We’ve shut down the Night Guild, and my life is going to be mine from here on out. “Alright, well let’s get this meeting underway—the future of the Raven Society!”
I stride up the steps to the front door of the townhouse and knock. A moment later the door is opened by a man in a butler’s suit who greets us solemnly and escorts us into the foyer of the house. He takes our coats and places them in a closet, then leads us into a formal dining room to the left. A fancy Persian rug covers the marble floors, and a fire roars next to the table.
As we enter, I see Sebastian sitting at the head of the table on the far end. Our eyes meet and hold, but I can’t read the emotion there. He stands and makes a welcoming gesture with his hands. “Thanks so much for coming. I hope you don’t mind that I had my chef prepare some dinner so we can dine during the meeting. I don’t make it to France as often as I’d like, and I can’t resist a sumptuous meal amongst friends while I’m here.”
Ven shoots me an impressed look and hides a smile behind her hand. We walk around the far side of the table, and when Ryder tries to sit at Sebastian’s right, Ven elbows him and nudges me forward so I get the seat next to Sebastian instead. When I sit down, I shoot Sebastian a shy smile. Small talk ensues as two catering staff come out and begin to fill everyone’s wine glasses with red wine.
“Pinot noir, made from grapes not far from this city,” Sebastian explains as everyone tastes it.
Nicoise salad and bread are soon brought out, and as everyone starts to dig in, I feel Sebastian’s hand slide across my knee under the table. “Luciana, you have such excellent taste in wine, will you help me pick out the champagne for the second course?”
My heart spikes in my chest. “Of course.”
“Enjoy,” Sebastian calls to the rest of the table. “We’ll be right back.”
Sebastian takes my hand and leads me out of the dining room, down the hall, and through a door at the end of the hall. It leads down to a small wine cellar beneath the kitchen. The furthest wall holds built-in refrigerated glass cases to keep certain varietals chilled, and the other two walls are lined floor-to-ceiling with built-in wine racks. A butcher’s block style table stands near the door.
As soon as we step inside, Sebastian pulls me against him, lifts me, and spins, setting me down on top of the table. His lips crush against mine, his wicked tongue claiming my mouth. He wastes no time in sliding one hand up my thigh under my dress, and when he reaches my sweet core, he slides his middle finger all the way in, his thumb rolling over my clit as he does.
“Sebastian!” I groan against his lips.
He growls against my mouth, pumping his finger in and out of me, assaulting both my G-spot and my clit simultaneously. And then, though I’m already trembling with the beginnings of a climax due to his voracious attack, he sends a pulse of magic into me. Bliss spikes through my core and I cry out again, shuddering against him. It takes just two more fast penetrations with his finger before pleasure explodes inside me, a supernova of ecstasy.
Sebastian kisses down the side of my neck as I cling to him, the ripples of magic and bliss fading. “God, I’ve missed you,” he moans.
