She hit him repeatedly, hoping to drive him backward. He didn’t move. Rock solid. He didn’t flinch. He was tall and the magazine hit him in his belly. She went for every man’s nightmare and her weapon bounced away from that area. So he was ready for her, protecting himself, trying to show his superiority by not moving. Big mistake. She jumped and went for his throat, jabbing.
He caught her wrist and twisted, drawing her close, easily removing the magazine from her hand and tossing it aside. She fought him. She was strong. He let her struggle, not doing much more than locking her to him, her back to his front. It was impossible to turn around, but she managed to strike a few blows with her heel right into his shin. The entire time she fought, she berated him, calling him the worst names she could think of, but he didn’t react to that either, nor did he silence her. He didn’t wince when her heels connected with his shin. He simply remained silent and stoic.
Eventually she wore herself out. Her breath came in ragged, shuddering gasps and she fought back tears, feeling helpless; she hung like a rag doll over his arm. The moment the fight went out of her, he drew her back against his body, one arm still locked around her waist. His free hand moved her hair from the back of her neck and he pressed his mouth there.
Trixie tried not to let his light touch affect her, but her body shivered. Fingers of desire crept slowly down her spine in a sneak assault.
“Hän sívamak, I know you are hurt and even afraid, but I could not allow you to place yourself in danger. Aleksei is incapable of harming his lifemate. They have already completed the ritual and he is safe. Still, he is extremely dangerous. We have worked hard to strike a balance here at the monastery. We do not engage in battle. Had Aleksei said or done anything against you that could be construed as an attack, I would have defended you and one of us would be killed. Our lifemate would be lost as well. It was simply easier to remove you from the situation in order to explain it to you when all parties were safe.”
His mouth moved against her ear. “I am sorry you were upset that you could not speak your mind. With me, you can speak it as much as you like. I find your attitude endearing and sexy, but Aleksei would not. He is . . . fighting demons. Even with his lifemate to balance him, he still has that darkness prevailing. Most of those who live here do. I would shield you from that danger.”
Trixie closed her eyes, trying not to hear him. Trying not to believe the sincerity in his voice. Trying not to let in the fact that she was so tight against him she could feel his large, very hard body imprinted against her. She didn’t want to feel how hard he was all over, let alone how his erection was pressed so tightly against her. It was all she could do not to rub against him. She hated herself for that.
“Let me go. I want to go home.”
“You know I cannot do that, Trixie.”
She stiffened, her heart pounding so loudly she was certain it echoed throughout the four empty walls.
“We will return to your family,” he said softly. “I promise you that. When the ritual is complete, we will call Teagan in to try to help heal the ancients enough to allow them to leave this place. If it does not work, I have already explained to Aleksei that you need to return home and I will go with you to the States.”
She shook her head. She couldn’t bring him home. Not to her granddaughters and their husbands. What would they think? They already believed she’d lost her mind. If she showed up with a man as gorgeous as Fane, one who looked far younger than her . . .
“You are beautiful, Trixie. Absolutely beautiful. We belong together. You already know that. I saw the conversation with Gabrielle in your mind. You know what a lifemate is.”
“There’s a mistake,” she said in a low voice. She had to reach for her voice because there was a part of her that wanted to keep him. She didn’t know why. She was an independent woman and common sense dictated that she didn’t want to have a man around to share her life, to be bossy, and there was no doubt in her mind Fane could be bossy. And he had the ability to silence her. That was totally unacceptable. She would not be silenced. She fought too hard to get where she was. No man was going to take that away from her. “This is a terrible mistake. You recognized the wrong person.”
His mouth moved over the nape of her neck, around to the side where her pulse pounded hard. “You know it is not a mistake. You feel it, too.” His tongue tasted her skin. Swirled there. Her head fell back of its own volition, turning slightly to give him better access. An invitation.
Her pulse pounded and throbbed in that secret part of her. She felt her womb clench and her sex spasm. Her breath left her lungs in a hot rush. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t stop her body’s reaction. His mouth was hot. His tongue swirled and his teeth scraped erotically. Anticipation had her body growing hot, but anticipation of what, she couldn’t say, only that she wanted . . . needed.
His teeth sank deep and she arched her back, crying out, reaching around behind her for his bent head, trying to circle it with her arm to hold him to her. She felt in a fog, a hazy, sinful dream that sent spears of desire shooting through her, straight to her core. Fire spread, down her thighs, up her belly, traveling to her breasts so that the material of her clothes hurt her skin.
She heard herself moan. Low. Needy. Hungry even. His mouth continued to work at her neck and she knew she would have a love bite there, just like a silly teenager. She thought to protest, but her body was too far gone, already belonging to him. She tasted him in her mouth. That was the odd thing. She knew his taste although she had no idea where it came from, but suddenly the craving was there.
She felt him moving in her mind, stroking caresses there, soothing her, whispering softly in his own language. She had no idea what he whispered to her, but it was soft and sexy and she knew it was beautiful. She knew because the notes around them blended into the most beautiful symphony she’d ever heard. Her own moans seemed to accompany the song playing around and through them.
Joŋesz éntölem, fél ku kuuluaak sívam belsö. Come to me, beloved. Palj3 na éntölem. Closer. Aćke éntölem it. Take another step toward me. [email protected] mam. Toward my world. Sõl olen engemal, sarna sívametak. Dare to be with me, song of my heart.
His tongue swept across her neck and he turned her around to face him, still locking her body close to his.
Tõdak pitäsz wäke bekimet mekesz kaiket, emni. He spoke again in his own language and then once again translated for her, the words in her mind, not spoken aloud. I know you have the courage to face anything, my lady.
His hand moved to his shirt, opening the front. Very gently he took her hand and smoothed her palm over the heavy muscles of his chest right over his heart. Feel that. You are hän ku vigyáz sívamet és sielamet. Once again he whispered the words into her mind, filling her with him. With his strength. With his need. He translated into her language and it was poetry. Keeper of my heart and soul.
She leaned forward to press her mouth over his heated skin. She felt his pulse accelerate. Call to her. She heard the swelling notes of their song.
Joŋesz éntölem, fél ku kuuluaak sívam belsö. Come to me, beloved, he repeated. Come closer to me, Trixie. I need you.
His finger slid across his chest, right over his pulse, and she followed that path instinctively. He cupped the back of her head and threw back his own, his breath leaving his lungs in a harsh stream. She tasted that exquisite ambrosia in her mouth. It was familiar to her, and immediately she couldn’t get enough. She lapped at the tiny beads there and then, at his urging, began to suckle, drawing more and more into her mouth. The taste burst through her like champagne bubbles.
Fane knew he was taking unfair advantage of his lifemate, but right then, it didn’t matter. She wanted to leave him. She had a life far from the Carpathian Mountains, one she wasn’t willing to give up. He could live with that. She had no intention of incorporating him into her world. He couldn’t live with that. He had thought to give her time, to allow her to get used to the idea of Carpathians in the world and then she would become one and live with him.
Andre chased the master vampire. That meant the human assassins, the puppet traveling among them and any lesser vampires would be trying to reach the monastery. Fane had the other ancients to protect. He couldn’t allow them to battle. A single kill could send them over the edge. He knew Aleksei would stand with him, but, although Aleksei had a lifemate and had completed the bond, he wasn’t certain how far the darkness in the man had spread, or if it would continue to spread with each new kill.
There was no living without this woman. She didn’t see herself as he did. She saw herself in human terms. She considered herself old. She was a mere child by Carpathian standards, barely out of her teens. He knew she thought herself too old for him, but that was more amusing than anything else.
Standing so close to her, her mouth moving over his skin, drinking his essence, his body went hard. Aching. He wanted her again. They needed to talk, to sort things out, but his body wasn’t going to wait for that to happen. She was so beautiful. He especially loved her skin. The color. The feel. The way her muscles moved under all that softness. The way her lush curves invited his body to paradise.