Dark Destiny Page 0,114

and waved his hand to command the earth to close over them. The soil was warm, welcoming and soothing. He held her close, brushed the top of her head with his lips and allowed his heart to cease beating.

Chapter Fifteen

She woke to the scent of flowers. She was no longer in the earth but lying on a bed with silken sheets. She could feel the silk on her bare skin, already arousing her body as the silk rubbed against her with every movement. Her hair was unbound and fell in a mass around her on the pillows. Destiny inhaled deeply, drawing the fragrance of flowers and her lifemate's masculine scent into her lungs. A small smile curved her mouth.

"Nicolae. You're here with me." She opened her eyes, turned her head to look at him. Drank in the hard angles and planes of his face. The sensuality of his mouth. The beauty of his eyes.

"Where else would I be but with my lifemate?" He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his gaze drifting lovingly over her face like the touch of fingers. His voice was a caress, a velvet stroke that reached deep within her and sent every nerve ending into overdrive.

With an effort, Destiny tore her eyes from his, her amazed stare moving around the chamber to take in what he had done for her. There was no chance for the stench of evil to enter their hidden world. Roses were everywhere. Climbing up the walls of the cavern. Forming an overhead canopy of flowers. Some floated on the surface of the coolest pool. Others sprang up among the rocks. Roses of all colors with soft, inviting petals and beautiful fragrance to please her.

Destiny's smile widened and she turned back to Nicolae. "You took Velda and Inez seriously, didn't you? Should I expect chocolate and the interesting things that can be done with it?"

His fingertip traced her soft skin from her throat, down the valley between her breasts, to her flat stomach. The small caress sent a curling heat spiraling through her body. "I was very afraid to ask Inez for the details of what exactly to do with the chocolate, so I skipped that part. I liked their idea of flowers, though."

There was a note in his voice that turned her heart over. "I like it too." She was very much aware of lying naked on the bed, her body soft and open to his inspection. A part of her wanted to cover up, feeling suddenly shy, but there was another, much stronger side that whispered of seduction. That reveled in the way his eyes were dark and hungry as his gaze moved possessively over her. She loved to see his body, so hard and aggressive, reacting to the sight of her. And she loved knowing that he liked what he saw.

Nicolae picked up her arm and turned it over as if inspecting the thin white scars marring her skin. The scars shouldn't have been there after her body had been repaired by Carpathian blood, but she had been converted by a vampire and those scars would remain for all time. Her heart accelerated in reaction. He bent his dark head and placed his lips gently against the scars, feathering kisses along her sensitive inner arm and wrist.

Destiny felt her stomach somersault in reaction. His lips traveled to her fingers, drawing first one, than another into the searing heat of his mouth. Her mouth went dry. His gaze suddenly locked with hers and she caught a glimpse of the flames burning in his belly, tightening his groin, hardening every muscle in his body. At once she caught fire, her own body restless and hot and needy. Without meaning to, she moved her hips against the silken sheets, her legs shifting in invitation.

It was shocking to her that she could catch fire so quickly, need him so much, want him in every way. A part of her would always hesitate, remain linked to her violent past, but looking into his eyes, Destiny was willing to be lost in him. In his fantasies. In his possession. She was willing to trust him with her body because she could feel the depth of his love.

He bent his head to hers. His hair caressed her skin with thousands of silky strands. Tiny flames seemed to leap over her skin. Electricity arced and sizzled between them. His mouth found hers. Hot. Hard. Totally possessive. While his hands were gentle and his