"I want to," he a.s.sured her, the slight set of his jaw stating that he wasn"t going to leave, no matter how many times she asked. He was determined to do this, and she realized his decision was based on him showing her brothers that he was not intimidated by them.
She smiled slightly. That realization was oddly appealing. And oddly sweet.
"It is good to have family," she said, deciding if he wasn"t going to be dissuaded, they might as well go back to what they were discussing. And she did love her brothers-having them back was one of the most important things in her life. She wanted Jensen to know that. "But they did act like bullies, which I intend to inform them of, repeatedly."
Jensen shrugged-again, the movement was done gingerly. "They were looking out for you. I"d be a bully for you, too."
She smiled at that. "Hopefully you won"t have to be."
She slipped past him into the loud bar.
"Hopefully not tonight," he agreed wryly.
Chapter 15.
The bar was still crowded, despite the hour, and the band still played on the small stage usually allotted for the karaoke singers. Elizabeth saw both Christian and Sebastian look in their direction as soon as they walked into the room. Christian started to move as if he was going to leave the back of the bar and approach them, but Jolee laid a hand on his arm and stopped him.
Sebastian continued to watch, but didn"t move from the stool he sat on beside Mina.
"So far, so good," Elizabeth said as they found a table and sat down.
"Well, they sort of look like they want to kill me."
Elizabeth glanced at them, slanting them a warning look of her own. Christian had the good grace to look
away. Sebastian, however, watched, a curious glint in his eyes, until Mina caught his chin and leaned forward to whisper something to him, then kiss him soundly. "Well, at least they seem to listen to their women." Elizabeth turned back to Jensen, smiling. "Yes. They are putty when it comes to Jolee and Mina." "Are they married?" Elizabeth nodded. "Yes. Sebastian and Mina just mat-married about six months ago."
"They are newlyweds, then."
She nodded. "It"s funny, because Mina, that"s Sebastian"s ma-" she caught herself, "wife. She was my roommate and I didn"t even realize that she was dating my brother."
Jensen leaned closer. "Really?"
"Yes, I... " Again she stopped.
How did she explain why she hadn"t seen her brothers for years, literally for decades and decades.
Again, Brody popped into her mind, and with that image, more guilt. How could she do this? Even
attempt a normal thing like dating this man, when she could tell him so very little about herself. Yet she heard herself continuing her story. "I actually got separated from my brothers when I was about seventeen, and I believed they were dead. I didn"t find them again until I happened to find them with Mina."
Jensen stared at her for a moment as if he couldn"t quite believe her tale. It was pretty unbelievable, and that was the most believable part of the story.
"That"s like a fairy tale. That sort of fantasy that a kid has when you lose someone, that somehow they will come back." Elizabeth saw the wistful look on his face, and she started to ask him about it, when Jolee appeared at the table.
"Hi, Elizabeth. Can I get you two anything?"
Elizabeth smiled at her sister-in-law, appreciating that she was attempting to keep things normal.
"I"d like a soda." She looked to Jensen.
"I"d like a club soda."
Jolee nodded, giving Elizabeth a small, encouraging smile.
"I guess your sister-in-law isn"t so convinced I"m Satan," Jensen said, obviously pleased that someone in
her family thought he was okay.
"Well, from what I hear, Jolee has some experience with really evil people. Her own family, for example."
Jensen cast a look at Jolee, who had returned to the bar to give Christian their drink order. Christian
appeared reluctant to fill it, but finally did reach for two gla.s.ses.
"Well, I guess it"s good she has someone like your brother," he said.
Elizabeth agreed.
"Hi, Elizabeth."
They both turned to see Mina. She studied Jensen, not even disguising her curiosity.
"Mina." Elizabeth smiled, the gesture easy because she knew her friend understood what she was
feeling.
"I just wanted to meet your friend." Mina smiled at Jensen.
Jensen responded in kind, obviously sucked in by the naively sweet quality so inherent in Mina. It was
probably that same quality that brought Sebastian over to the table. He stood close to his mate.
Elizabeth cast her worries aside and answered Mina"s question.
"This is Jensen Adler. Jensen, this is Mina."
Jensen stood and offered his hand to Mina. She accepted it, shaking it very briefly before Sebastian
offered his hand.
"I"m Sebastian." He gave a pointed look to Jensen and Mina"s clasped hands.
Jensen followed her brother"s train of thought easily and released Mina. He took Sebastian"s hand,
shaking it firmly.
"Yes," Jensen said. "I believe we met earlier."
Sebastian"s lip quirked in amus.e.m.e.nt, which made Elizabeth immediately feel more comfortable. But, of
course, she"d known Sebastian would be the easier of her two brothers. Christian was another story.
Still, she leaned toward Sebastian and murmured, "When did you get so d.a.m.ned alpha?"
Sebastian puffed out his chest. "I always was." Then he looked at Mina. "Well, since I found someone I
want to keep forever."
Mina smiled adoringly at her mate.
Elizabeth glanced at Jensen, fully expecting him to find the whole scene a tad nauseating. Instead, he
watched her. For some reason, she felt her cheeks burn. Jensen studied her for a moment longer, then smiled at Sebastian and Mina. "Why don"t you join us?" Mina hesitated, but Sebastian readily grabbed the back of one of the chairs. "That would be great." Mina gave Elizabeth anI"m so sorry look, but she also sat down. "So Jensen, what are your intentions with my baby sister?" "Sebastian!" Even though that was exactly what Elizabeth was thinking, it was Mina who cried her brother"s name. Elizabeth threw Jensen a mortified look, but to her surprise, Jensen just laughed. "Well, I have to admit they aren"t all pure. But mostly, I just want to be with her." Sebastian laughed, the answer obviously good enough for him. As soon as the words truly registered with her, Elizabeth stared at Jensen. But before she could say anything, one of the band members, the lead singer, came over to speak with Sebastian.
Elizabeth glanced at Jensen as Sebastian introduced the musician, whose name was Ren, to the others at
the table. Jensen shook the singer"s hand, and Elizabeth was again overwhelmed with the surrealism of what was going on.
A werewolf, several vampires, and a completely unaware human.
Elizabeth stopped fixating on the weirdness of the situation, only to realize that the singer was speaking
to Sebastian about her.
"Yeah, I remember Elizabeth," the singer said, giving her a wide smile.
And for the first time, she noticed his eye. Or rather the lash of his left eye. It was totally white-all pigmentation gone. She didn"t remember that, but she did recall him playing in her parents" parlor. Then she remembered who he was... Renauldo D"Antoni, a composer who"d gained some attention in the 1800s.
"I played at your birthday," he said.
"Yes," Elizabeth said, hoping he would say nothing more. She didn"t want him to elaborate, and reveal things that would be hard to explain.
Renauldo must have sensed her uneasiness, because he announced that he needed to go sing some
Journey and headed back to the stage.
"He played your birthday?" Jensen asked. "When?"
"When she was a teenager," Sebastian answered, before Elizabeth could speak. Then his mouth
snapped shut as he realized that might seem strange to Jensen.
And it did. Jensen looked up at Ren, a.s.sessing him. "He must have been young. He can"t be much older
than we are now. Was he sixteen or so when he played your birthday?"
Elizabeth shot a glare at her big-mouthed brother.
"He"s a lot older than he looks," Sebastian supplied, feebly.
Jensen seemed to accept that, and thankfully he dropped the subject, and for a moment, Elizabeth