She heard his words as if from a great distance. Her blood roared in her ears. She wasn't certain what he meant, but she couldn't stop. Dax was forced to gently insert his hand between her mouth and his chest.
"Te avio palafertiilam." He caught her hips in both hands, sliding her closer, pushing her legs over his shoulders. "You are my lifemate."
With a small sob she fell back, her gaze locked with his. Her body was threatening to explode, so tight she was afraid she'd shatter into pieces. That movement of his body had his shaft stroking and caressing deep inside her. Brushstrokes of white-hot fire. She was so close to that edge, yet she couldn't tumble over.
"Dax." She cried out his name, reaching for him, her mind hazy, needing him to take her over the cliff with him. "Please. I can't ..." She didn't know what she needed from him, only that she was burning from the inside out.
Dax surged forward, a steel spike of living flesh, burying himself over and over. Deep. So deep. She swore she felt him piercing through her stomach. Over and over. So hard. He pistoned into her, driving deeper still until she was certain he found his way into her soul. There was no pause, no moment to catch her breath, just that relentless pounding at her body.
Riley dug her nails into his arms, her head tossed mindlessly, her lungs burned for air. Deep in her mind, she heard herself scream. Her mouth was open, but no sound actually emerged. Her body clamped down hard on his. The orgasm ripped through her, shattered her, melting bones and muscles, burning cells and tissue in an explosion of shocking pleasure. She felt Dax erupting much like a fiery volcano, pulse after hot pulse while her body seemed to shatter into a million pieces.
Dax slumped over her, breathing raggedly, his heart pounding so hard she could hear it. She couldn't move, her body still alive with pleasure, but leaden, her arms so heavy she couldn't find the strength to move her hands into that thick pelt of hair she loved touching.
Dax turned his head into her neck. Ainaak sivamet jutta oleny. The whisper filled her mind. "You are bound to me for all eternity."
Another shock wave of pleasure washed through her. She shuddered, her body climaxing again and again. She could feel something different inside. She was ... more. Evolving. Tied to him. She never wanted to let him go. It seemed as if there were millions of tiny threads weaving them together.
Dax brushed kisses over her eyes. "Ainaak terad vigyazak. You are always in my care."
Her body shuddering, Riley forced herself to find the energy to lift her hand to his face. His impossibly long lashes were wet. She touched the tips gently.
He turned his head to catch her fingers in his mouth, sucking gently before releasing her. "The binding ritual is our version of marriage, only more permanent. It binds your soul to mine. Perhaps I should have waited until you really have more of a concept of what you're getting into. It's no excuse, but I don't want to be alone again, Riley."
"Neither do I," she assured, blinking back tears. "I want this. No matter what happens, Dax, I choose to be with you. You warned me there would be no going back. I'm prepared for that."
He rolled over, taking her with him, so that she sprawled across his chest. Riley buried her face in the junction between his neck and shoulder, exhausted. She was certain when she was alone, she would be aghast at the enormity of her decision, but she clung to him, one hand in his hair while the other smoothed over his chest.
Dax wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. "Are you going to sleep?"
"Yes. You can gather the flowers for Gary and Jubal," she said. "I'm not moving for the rest of the night."
Dax laughed softly and brushed a kiss on top of her head. "As you wish, my lady."
Chapter 14
Riley woke just before sunset. How she knew it was only minutes away, she wasn't certain, but there was no doubt in her mind exactly when the sun would sink from the sky. She thought the continual drone of the insects might have woken her, the sound seemed so amplified in her head she clapped her hands over her ears. Birds flitted overhead in the trees, the squawking and chattering much louder than normal as they prepared for a long night of predators hunting them. Everything was so much louder, including several of the men's snoring.
Her hand hurt, and when she lifted it to inspect it, it was quite swollen. A spider, or some insect had clearly bitten her and she had an allergic reaction. She couldn't remember having allergies to bites, but in the rain forest, she knew the insects could carry all sorts of venom. She would have to do something about it. Her first aid kit was in her backpack.
Annoyed, she sat up in her hammock and surveyed the campground. Her body was deliciously sore in places she hadn't known she had. Her heart was pounding a little bit too hard at the enormity of what she'd done-giving herself to Dax. She wasn't irritated with anyone but herself.
She had to be honest, she'd practically thrown herself at him. He'd even tried to talk her out of it. In truth, counting actual days, she'd barely met him, but she felt as if she knew him better than she'd known anyone in her life. Sharing his mind, she learned so much about him.
Riley bit down hard on her thumb, scraping her teeth back and forth along the nail, trying to reconcile her staid little life with her behavior in the rain forest. Was she going to go all stupid and regret such an amazing, incredible, hot first time? It wasn't as if she was in high school. She was a college professor for heaven's sake. If she wanted to have sex with the hottest vampire hunter in the rain forest, she certainly didn't have to be ashamed of it.
Was she ashamed? Hell no. She would never regret giving herself to him, but it hadn't been just her body. With a little sigh she shoved long tendrils of hair that had worked their way out of her braid away from her face. She blushed at the memory of Dax pulling out the thick weave, at the memory of his hands in her hair. He had been the one to braid it again, right after he'd collected the flowers for Gary. She'd remained sprawled out naked on the bed, too exhausted to move. Again she felt the color rising into her face.
If it had been just sex she'd had with Dax, she wouldn't be so nervous. She'd given him her heart and soul. Basically she'd jumped off a cliff and had no idea if there was a safety net. He'd shatter her if he didn't feel the same way about her that she felt about him. And there it was. The entire problem. He professed to feel the same way, and last night, she'd been in his mind and had been so certain, but today, she could hardly bear being away from him.
The separation clawed at her. She found she couldn't turn her mind away from him. She felt as if she were holding her breath, waiting for his arrival. She detested that the women in her family were so close to their mates that they wanted to be with them every moment. She had made herself into an independent woman, well educated, able to take care of herself. She spent time with friends and truly enjoyed their company. She wasn't dependent on a man for fun, or for her livelihood. Her ancestors had all died within weeks of their husbands-even her own mother.
Riley had been so determined she would never be the same way and yet ... she was obsessed with Dax. She needed to see him. She rubbed her hands over her face again, trying to think clearly, to assess the situation. There was no going back and if she could, she knew she wouldn't. She was in love with him, more than in love. The moment his mind had shared hers, she was lost. There was no being alone ever again. She had only to reach for him and he was there. His devotion to her was easy to read. Dax didn't attempt to hide his need or his admiration of her. For him, there truly was only Riley.
She pulled the first aid kit from her pack and picked through it until she found the allergy cream. So why was she upset? She had no real idea of what she was getting into and she always, always, had a plan. Her mind just worked that way. She needed stability. A goal. She didn't fling herself headfirst off a cliff and have no idea how she was going to land. She didn't give herself to a man. No, not a man-a Carpathian who considered humans a food source. Ever since she'd set foot in the rain forest, things had been out of control.
She smeared the cream over her swollen hand, sighing as the wind shifted, slightly teasing her face, telling her she wasn't alone. "Weston," she greeted without turning her head. Carefully she put everything back in the first aid kit and stowed the kit in her backpack. "I thought we had an agreement. You were going to stay away from my sleeping area. I like privacy."
"I wanted to talk to you, before the others got up."