Dominion Read Free

your mind? I doubt it. So what is there left to say?”
    “I love you. Not wanting to marry you doesn’t change that.”
    “You married someone like Jackson, but you won’t marry me.”
    She threw up her hands in exasperation. “Oh, for God’s sake. Don’t say this is about some kind of male pride?”
    “I’m sorry, Serenity. I just need some space. Maybe I got my feelings hurt and I should get over it, but right now I need to be by myself.”
    Serenity watched as he snatched his jacket back up and headed back to the front door.
    “Sebastian ...” She called after him, but no sooner had his name left her lips, the door seemed to fly open of its own accord and he’d vanished.

Chapter Two
     
     
    Sebastian had the unsettling notion he was acting like an overgrown, sulky teenager , rather than a two - hundred - year - old vampire, but he couldn’t seem to shake his bad mood.
    And a vampire in a bad mood was never a good thing to be around.
    He ran down his driveway, leapt over the gates and headed into the city. The desire to kill caught him in its grip, tightening his muscles with a burning strength and heighten ing his senses s o his nostrils flared and his ear s strained. It was a natural response to extreme emotion— wanting to lose himself in the rush of blood rather than deal with the issue —but he tried to limit his kills to the bare minimum he needed to survive . Killing someone simply because Serenity had upset him was out of character .
    It wasn’t like him.
    He flew across the city, crossing Santa Monica Freeway, toward the ocean. As he approached Venice Beach, he slowed to human pace. Though late evening, the place thronged with the area’s eclectic mix of locals and tourists.
    He needed to feed at least once a month. To do any less would cause him to lose control over his desire for blood. He couldn’t even imagine ever wanting to feed from his family— he found the thought abhorrent— and he’d never risk getting to the point where wanting to do such a thing might become a possibility.
    Sebastian sat on the low wall running between the beach and the promenade, finding a spot not already occupied by someone tout ing paintings or handmade jewel ry to the tourists. He knew he looked out of place wearing his customary tailored suit, but what did he care? Serenity often teased him about his total lack of concern for fashion. She’d even gone as far as buying him a pair of jeans, but upon presenting him with the pants, he’d only needed to raise his eyebrows. She’d laughed and bundled the offending item away, never to be seen again.
    His boredom for the changing fashion over the centuries wasn’t his only reason for his choice of style. Over the years, he’d learned people were more inclined to trust someone who was smartly dressed. While he did n’t doubt that he caught people s ’ eye s with his striking dark hair and pale skin, wearing a suit made him more respectable. He often wondered , if he had been wearing ripped jeans and a leather jacket the day he’d met Serenity , would she have even taken his hand?
    The thought of Serenity roiled something dark and uncomfortable deep inside of him. To have a proposal of marriage turned down was humiliating for any man—mortal or immortal.
    He couldn’t get past the thought that when Jackson asked her, she’d accepted . There had probably been kisses, laughter and tears of happiness. All the things Sebastian imagined would have happen ed when he asked her. Not the awkward si lence he’d experienced. She’d been confident enough to think of forever with Jackson but not with him.
    P erhaps he was arrogant, but he never even consid ered the possibility of her saying no.
    Restless— a grinding desire for blood still working at his nerve endings— Sebastian got to his feet and began to walk down the promenade. Two young guys with long hair and low slung, baggy shorts raced toward him on skateboards. He stepped deftly out of their way. Another