Sweeter Than Wine by Bianca D'Arc

evening Christy awoke wrapped in Sebastian’s strong arms, her body and mind humming with the knowledge that they were One. He’d let her sift through some of his memories, as he’d seen into her past. Of course, he’d lived a couple of centuries longer than she had, so the marvelous things he’d seen and done in eighteenth-century England were like something out of a romance novel to her. It also would take some time to sort through all she could now see in his mind.
    There was bad and good, mixed with the fond memories of friendship with people like Marc LaTour, but under it all, a deep loneliness that haunted him. When they’d joined the night before, that vacant space in his soul had been filled, just as its mate in her own soul had been forever filled with the new beauty of their union. It was the purest form of magic and it humbled her to think this wonderful man could want and love her as much as she wanted and loved him.
    It was all so sudden, but ever so right.
    Sebastian leaned down to kiss her, a smile lighting his handsome face.
    “Good morrow, my love.”
    “Mmm, Sebastian.” They kissed, communicating on that new pathway between their minds.
    “Glad you two are finally awake.” The teasing tone of Matt’s unmistakable voice sounded through the intimacy of their link, breaking them apart.
    “Would it be too much to ask for a little privacy?” Sebastian groused.
    “Sorry, friend, but we’ve got a situation and you need to know about it, like yesterday. So no rest for the wicked. Get your asses out here and let’s get to work.”
    “Where the hell are you? I thought you couldn’t hear us last night after we put some distance between us all.” Sebastian’s tone was suspicious.
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    “That’s true, but I’m waiting outside your door. I knew if I didn’t, you’d spend all night holed up in there, making love.”
    “This better be important then,” Sebastian grumbled as he rose and scrambled through some drawers looking for clothing. He tossed one of his shirts to Christy, along with a pair of gym shorts that came down past her knees, but at least she was covered.
    “It is. I wouldn’t have intruded otherwise.”
    Sebastian opened the door and waited for Christy to precede him up the dark passageway to the chamber above. Sealing everything behind him, Sebastian paused a moment outside the above-ground bedroom door to kiss her once, with promise, before opening the door. Matt waited outside, leaning against the wall, dressed in worn jeans and a tight-fitting black T-shirt. Christy was struck once again by his movie-star good looks and killer body.
    “Stop that.” Sebastian ruffled her hair, his expression teasing. He had to know from the way they shared their minds that she was merely admiring a thing of beauty. Her heart was well and truly Sebastian’s, but Matt was just too good looking not to notice.
    She shrugged and smiled at Sebastian, knowing from his teasing growl that he understood.
    “Now, what was so important?”
    Matt straightened and pulled a large envelope out from behind his back. With an apologetic look at Christy he shared his news. “Jeff Kinsey’s out. Seems the first thing he did when he realized Christy was gone from the hospital was place a call to a man named Benjamin Steel. We have reason to believe he’s a highly placed Altor Custodis agent.
    Hastings had a thick dossier on the man and was already tracking him. Hastings got a heads up from one of his contacts on the East Coast when Steel moved out here a few weeks ago.”
    Sebastian opened the envelope and rifled through the papers as they moved down the hall toward the more public areas of the house. Arriving at the living room, he stopped short. Christy looked between the two big men to find a third seated on another large 71

     
    leather couch, studying what looked like a batch of eight by ten photos strewn on the coffee table in front of him.
    “When Hastings put out a feeler for more