Desari!
Her name was a plea for mercy.
They were moving so leisurely now, Desari was barely aware they were still floating through the passageway. She could feel his body invading hers with exquisite slowness. Julian felt her tight, fiery sheath surrounding him, adjusting to his thickness, squeezing him with strong muscles so that he clenched his teeth to hang on to a vestige of control. Then her teeth sank into his neck, sending a bolt of blue lightning streaking through his body, slamming into him with such sexual ecstasy he had no other recourse but to surge into her with hard, sure strokes, to thrust decisively into her mind to share his erotic thoughts, the emotions and the sheer, passionate pleasure her body was giving his. He felt her pure, uncensored joy in the sharing of their minds and hearts, their bodies and souls, in the spice of his blood flowing like the finest wine into her. Desari’s hair fell around them in a cascade of ebony silk, brushing their sensitive skin like millions of fingers caressing them. He tasted wild and untamed, an erotic blend of animal and man. Julian could taste the very essence of his life through her, and it was erotic beyond anything he had ever known. They hovered in the air, mating wildly, Julian plunging into her again and again, holding her body exactly where he wanted it, exactly where he needed it to be so that the friction building and building was fiery hot and gripping him almost to the point of pain.
Desari closed the tiny pinpricks in his chest with a slow, leisurely lap of her tongue clearly designed to drive him to madness. She threw her head back, exposing her throat in a clear invitation to him. Her arms circled his neck, and she began to move her hips, riding him almost helplessly with the same fast pace he had set. She looked beautiful, her dark eyes glazed with passion and her mouth a lush enticement impossible to ignore.
Julian’s mouth wandered down her satin skin, between the soft swell of her breasts, his breath catching in his throat, in her throat, so that she gasped with pleasure. A small sound escaped, a low cry of need. Desari arced into him even as her hips matched his frantic rhythm. She wanted the whip of lightning flashing through her body, burning her with leaping flames. His tongue stroked her skin, the curve of her breast; his teeth teased her erect nipple gently while his body claimed hers with a fierce possessiveness he had never known he could feel.
“Julian,” Desari whispered in an agony of anticipation, a siren’s temptation, her melodious voice sending feathers of pleasure down his spine. “I may burn up before we have finished.”
He answered her as only a lifemate could, sinking his teeth into the pulse beating so frantically over her breast. She cried out and clutched him tighter as white-hot heat pierced her skin. Incredibly his hips thrust harder into her, his hands holding her still while he drank deeply. The sensation of her body spiraling, gripping him tighter and tighter, went on and on until he could no longer think. There was only feeling, only pleasure, only the erotic taste of her. One skin, one heart and soul. They were soaring together through time and space, and it went on for eternity. How he loved her! How he needed her! She made him alive after centuries of such a bleak emptiness, and he could barely believe his happiness would last. He felt that at any moment it might be wrenched away from him. And he knew he would be far more dangerous than he had ever been in his life.
Savoring the taste of her, their combined scents, he was drowning in ecstasy.
He could feel her surrounding him, her velvet muscles rippling with strength, while she cried out to the very top of the mountain. The intensity of their shared climax rocketed them through the passageway, over cliffs and boundaries of time and space. She clung to him while he feasted, while his body remained locked to hers. Desari’s soft little sigh of total acceptance brought him out of his daze, where there was only pleasure, only senses reeling out of control. That sigh brought him back to the here and now. Desari’s head was pillowed on his shoulder, her long lashes fanning her cheeks. She looked pale beyond belief, her skin nearly translucent.
Julian swore as he impatiently closed the tiny wounds over her breast. His palm swept back the long hair from her face. “Desari. Look at me,
piccola.
Open your eyes.” It was a clear order, delivered in a voice filled with compulsion, filled with naked worry.
She smiled drowsily, leaning into him so that he was bearing her weight. “You must feed,
cara. I
have taken far too much blood from you in my insatiable hunger. It is unforgivable that I would not see to your care even in the midst of such passion. I have no excuse, my love, but you must drink.” He pressed her mouth to his bare chest.
Desari’s head lolled back on her neck. She murmured something unintelligible, a sound of love. Julian took them both safely to earth and gently untwined their bodies. Her protest was more a slight frown passing across her dark winged brows, a faint pout to her lips, than anything verbal. Julian cursed himself and his utter lack of control once again. There was no censure in her mind or heart. She was as accepting of the animal side of his nature as she was of the Carpathian male side. He had taken far more blood than he should have, indulging his passion at the price of her strength.
Julian cradled her in his strong arms, bending to kiss the corner of her mouth.
Hear me,
piccola,
love of my life. I have taken far too much from you. You must replenish yourself with what I provide.
This was no soft plea; it was a strong and deliberate command, a compulsion sent mind to mind by a male of their species with tremendous powers. He gave no thought to it, simply issuing the order to ensure her health and safety. Julian slashed a line over the heavy muscles of his chest and pressed her mouth firmly to him.
He was angry with himself, angry that he had been so selfish in his passion. Had he spent so much time with animals that he had forgotten how to behave as a man? He was more beast than civilized. His newfound emotions were far more difficult to deal with than the most powerful of the undead he had ever vanquished. The lines in battle were always so clear to him, yet now his emotions rendered his unshakable control dust. He found himself tied up in knots, not wanting to hurt her feelings or do the wrong thing, that she might think less of him. He found himself constantly at war with his own instincts. He wanted to carry her off and keep her safe for all time and eternity.
Julian lay his head over hers. “It seems I need to keep you safe from your own lifemate.”
Desari stirred in his arms even as she fed under his hypnotic command. Deep within the layers of compulsion she felt his fierce anger at himself for what he considered his abusive nature. She sent him her warmest love. She managed to project the gentle smile forming in her mind to share it with him, the deep feelings she had already developed for him. It was astonishing to Julian that she was already so much a part of him that she could feel the depths of his rage at himself and seek to soothe him.
And she had somehow managed to do so. He became more calm and accepting of his nature. He was what he was; he could never change that. He wasn’t even certain he would want to if he could. Desari saw his strengths and allowed him to view himself through her eyes. It was another priceless gift she offered him, and he would treasure it always. He was finding out quickly why the male of their race so desperately needed the balance of their lifemates. Their women brought light and compassion to their inner darkness.
Julian lifted his head and regarded her carefully, searching her face for signs of recovery. Color ran under her skin, a much healthier glow. Breathing a sigh of relief, he allowed her to awaken slowly. His arms cradled her protectively. “I am sorry,