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small bit of information before he narrowed the flow of information to specifics. He didn't understand that either. She was

perfect, but then he would have thought her perfect no matter what she had looked like. How could he not? She had restored his life, his very soul. He could feel real love for his brothers. He could feel real honor and a sense of duty to his people. She had turned a bleak, gray world into a dazzling wonderland. She was the epitome of beauty to him with her classic bone structure and the jeweled eyes of the Dragonseeker line.

Power crackled in her. This was no shy, retiring maiden, but a warrior prepared to fight him at every turn. She didn't know he had already won the battle. She was part Carpathian and her nature would draw her to him. The pull between them would grow over time and he would make absolutely certain that he was by her side while time worked its magic on his lifemate.

"Stop staring at me like that." She walked faster.

He kept pace easily. "I had no idea I was staring in any particular way."

There was joy in the night as well as breathtaking beauty. He marveled that he could feel it, see it, be one with it. The heavy clouds formed whimsical shapes, drifting overhead with the helpful push of the wind. The village breathed, hearts beating, children's laughter ringing out. Why hadn't he heard those sounds before? Sounds of life and love. Fathers murmuring, mothers calling, children laughing. He had lost the magic of life over the centuries and now it was there, flooding his senses.

Her eyes flashed at him. Green again. Green was her normal color, a dazzling emerald her red hair made deeper. Glacier blue was her power color then. There was satisfaction in discovering that small fact about her. He wanted to know everything about her all at once, but he had learned long ago the lesson of patience and it had stood him in good stead for hundreds of years. Time would reveal her secrets to him and each moment spent with her-finding out the little things, the intimacies of her true self-would bring joy to him.

He even enjoyed the unrelenting ache she brought to his body. It was another sign of being alive-of living and breathing and sharing his world with her. His soul had been so dark, so damaged, he had been unable to feel emotion, keeping pain at bay and guilt and shame, but it also kept away true life.

"You are a miracle to me. Maybe that is what you are seeing in my stare. Sheer wonder." He kept his expression calm, not allowing his joy to overwhelm her, but he did inject the dark seduction of black velvet into his voice so that it caressed her skin and slid deeper into her body, lighting little electrical sparks from breast to feminine channel.

She stopped so abruptly in the open doorway of the inn he nearly ran into her.

Chapter 3

Lara scowled at Nicolas, her green eyes suddenly suspicious. "Are you a ladies' man? All sweet talk and syrup with no substance? Because I'm telling you right now, I've had experience with that kind of man and I can see right through flattery."

She was lying. Looking him right in the eye and lying her pretty little butt off. She had no experience with men. And she couldn't stop blushing every time she looked at him. The smile started in his mind and

spread to his lips. Genuine. Spontaneous. A miracle in itself that he could smile-that he had a reason for smiling.

Nicolas wanted to carry her off to his lair and keep her to himself for a year or two, learning every detail about her. Desire rose sharp and painful. He kept his face without expression. "I do not believe anyone has ever said I talk sweet or that I am syrup in all the years of my existence."

She gave a little undignified snort. "Maybe not, but I'll bet they called you a lady's man."

"I am a Carpathian hunter of great skill but I am certain I will have the necessary skills to become your mate."

She choked and turned away from him, stomping into the inn, her shoulders stiff. Nicolas moved in behind her, very close, aware as they entered that men turned to look at her. She was striking with her skin and hair, the glow many Carpathian women had, a sort of luminous quality combined with