the strip leading into a tunnel. I had to take them further into the mountain. We’re going to enter it soon and it is very narrow. Getting your brother through it was difficult.”
“I’ll bet.” She took a cautious look around. The bridge appeared more fragile than ever with a deep drop off on either side. The ice appeared solid enough on either side of the bridge, but she could see a hole about five feet in. She drew in her breath. “You tried to set them down there to come after me.”
“Yes, your brother went through. I caught his arm and jerked him back. The ice only looks thick. It is an illusion as is much of the ice bridge.”
Joie shook her head. “This cave system is one huge death trap.”
Traian paused outside the entrance to the tunnel, hovering just above the cap of ice. He touched her face with gentle fingers. “I cannot believe you came to find me. I still have a difficult time believing you are real and not an illusion,” he said softly. His lips moved against her cheek, a brush lighter than a butterfly wing, yet she felt it all the way to her toes. That small caress sent blood rushing through her veins, her heart leaping; his touch warmed her as nothing else could.
Joie closed her eyes for a moment, savoring his touch. “I have no idea what’s going on between us, but I feel it too. I just having a difficult time believing that any of this is real,” she admitted. “And what’s up with the wolf? Telepathy, okay, I can accept that. Even your strange little blood fetish, but don’t you think changing into animals and flying through the air might be going a little too far?” She knew she was being flippant, but she did think maybe she was bordering on crazy just a little bit. She felt caught in a horror story.
His arms tightened possessively. “You do not enjoy flying?”
“I don’t enjoy anything when I’m not in complete control.”
His arm was curved around her, pressed against the underside of her breasts. “You will not be in complete control when I make love to you, Joie,” he told her softly.
She closed her eyes at the velvet sound of his voice. Danger surrounded them. Her family was close. It didn’t seem to matter. She was so aware of him, her body ached with need. With hunger. With absolute longing. She felt edgy and hot; a terrible pressure building inside her.
I feel the same way.
She often spoke with her brother and sister using telepathy, a secret they all shared, but this was different. So much more. An intimacy that whispered of erotic nights and appetites that would never be sated. Why? Why with you?
I am your other half. We belong together. I have searched the world for you. Waited lifetimes for you.
Joie tightened her grip on his shirt, burrowed closer to his heart. She was a woman who knew herself well. An adrenaline junkie. A feminist. A believer in justice. She loved her life. Traveling from country to country. One assignment after another taking her into danger. Her recreation time was spent caving, white-water rafting, or skydiving. She was not a woman who wanted or needed a man. She was not a woman who clung to a man and yet already, she couldn’t imagine herself without him.
Joie looked up at Traian, the light from her helmet shining on his face. He had changed her very existence for all time. “I’m not altogether certain I approve of you.”
Laughter rumbled in his throat. “Fortunately, your approval is not strictly necessary. Lifemates simply are. We have no choice in the matter. We are like two magnets that cannot be torn apart.”
“Great. I don’t know a thing about you except I can’t exactly bring you home to my mother and father. My family is very close, by the way.”
“I had not noticed that at all,” Traian said with drawling amusement.
He took her into the narrow opening leading to the left. He was staying with his initial plan, choosing to go left to find a way out.
“You can bring me home to your parents.” He said it softly, honestly, as he followed Jubal and Gabrielle through a narrow hail. “I would never embarrass you, or frighten them. I want to meet them. Anyone important to you is important to me.”
Joie tried to prevent her heart from going crazy. She was no young girl, but a fully grown woman.