Lara felt the surge of power, saw his arms lift and knew he was sealing and safeguarding the cave, which meant no one would get in-or out. Panic hit hard and she leapt forward toward the light spilling into the cavern. She caught a glimpse of his face, all sharp edges, beautifully carved, very masculine, the light throwing the details into sharp relief and highlighting the smoldering anger in his burning black eyes.
Alarm shot through her, but it didn't matter, nothing mattered, except getting out of the cave before he sealed the entrance. She ran fast, using a burst of blurring speed, speed she hadn't even known she was capable of. Desperation drove her past Nicolas. He reached out so fast she couldn't actually see him move, snagging her wrist, whipping her around and bringing her body up hard against his.
She struggled instinctively, trying to free herself from his grip, but he was enormously strong, his body hard like an oak tree. The light faded as the entrance sealed, plunging them into darkness. With the light, the air surrounding them seemed to diminish, so that she renewed her efforts, swinging at his chest, pounding until she felt battered and bruised.
Nicolas tightened his grip on Lara, taking care not to hurt her, but she was wild, fighting him with her fists and attempting to use magic. He could feel the energy pounding in her, trying to escape, just as she was trying. He surrounded her with soothing calm, holding her close to him, swamping her with reassurance.
«Lara, stop,» he hissed softly. «You are only hurting yourself.»
She wanted to hurt him. To move him. To make him understand what he was doing. Energy crackled in the air. Her hair glowed with bands of brilliant red, snapping and popping with electricity. The ground shook and undulated beneath their feet. The mountain groaned, rumbled. Dirt trickled from the walls and several smaller rocks fell and rolled.
Nicolas wrapped his arm around her head to protect her, sheltering her body with his. «Breathe with
me.»
His voice was calm. She hated that he was calm when she was filled with chaos and panic. She felt his breath warm against her cheek as he bent his head toward hers.
«We have to get out of here before the mountain comes down on top of us,» she said, not understanding why he wasn't feeling the same panic when all around them the mountain creaked and groaned and debris fell. «This is an earthquake.»
«It is not natural. You are causing it,» Nicolas said. «Look at me, Lara.»
She couldn't prevent herself from obeying, lifting her face, her gaze colliding-then locking with his.
«Your eyes have changed color. You are generating a tremendous electrical current. Even your hair is banding with color, all signs of power. You have to calm yourself.»
«Open the entrance."Because I'm capable of bringing the entire mountain down on both of us and would rather do that than be a prisoner .
He shook his head. «Do not force me to protect you from yourself."I am quite capable of doing whatever it takes to keep you from harm .
He looked as ruthless as he sounded. There was no give in him-no mercy. Not in his eyes, not on his face and certainly not in his mind. He would force compliance without a second thought. Lara had sworn she would never again feel helpless and vulnerable, as she had when she was a small child, but there was no point in matching her physical strength against Nicolas, and little point in challenging him with power.
«Do you really believe you have the right to dictate to me?»
He shook his head. «No. But I have the right to protect you. I am not threatening you. You are the one putting both of us in danger. It is my duty to protect you. Your fears are groundless. You have looked into my mind and find nothing there to alarm you…»
She made a derisive sound and once again tried to jerk away. He retained possession of her arms, holding her body close to his to prevent the occasional disturbed rock from striking her.
«I found plenty to alarm me. You're every bit as dark as a vampire.»
She expected him to deny the charge-she wanted him to deny it-but he simply nodded his head, his gaze still holding her captive.
«That is so. All Carpathian males who hunt eventually become as dark as a vampire. How could we not when we take the lives of friends and family? When we are judge, jury and executioner? Did you think there wouldn't be a price to pay for what we do? There is always a price, Lara, and we accept that when we take on the job.»
She let her breath out slowly, forcing her mind back under her own control. «Please let go of me.» Breathing deeply, she managed to pull back the power spilling from her, reining in the waves causing the disturbance in the cave.
«I can take you back to the chamber much faster.»
«I would prefer to walk.» She tugged backward, trying to put a little space between her and the heat of his body. He was too big, too solid, too masculine, mostly he was just too powerful, swamping her with his complete confidence.
He let her go the moment the earth beneath them and the walls surrounding them ceased rippling and the last rock tumbled to the ground.
Lara took another breath and looked down the dark corridor. «I wish you could understand that I don't think I can actually stay here all day.» It was hard to get the words out, to try to reason with the unreasonable.
«I realize you are having flashbacks, but I will help you get through this.»
His arrogance set her teeth on edge. As if he could solve her inconsequential problems when she couldn't do it herself. Lara stepped past him and began walking along the narrow corridor. At once candles sprang to life in scones above her head, throwing shadows along the walls of tunnel. The light didn't dispel the fear in her mind. She was a prisoner, anyway she looked at it and she had promised herself it would never happen again-and it wouldn't.
The narrow corridor expanded outward several feet past a veil of stalactites-thin, dark daggers of brown and gold sharpened to lethal points. The hanging spears glittered with earthy tones, so long and thick she had thought the corridor closed, impenetrable on that side, but she could see more corridors, a maze of trails leading in different directions beneath the mountain. He could have gotten her lost, but he had been true to his word, giving her the directions to get out, even though he had no intention of allowing her to leave.
«In the story of lifemates that my aunts told me, the couple seemed to be very much in love. I don't really see that happening between us,» Lara said, her back and shoulders stiff. «Do you?»
«Of course.» There was complete confidence in his tone.
Nicolas paced easily one step behind her, his body so close she could feel his warmth. She sent him a small frown. His breath was on her ear, one hand brushed the small of her back. She tried not to feel the pull between them, that physical chemistry that persisted no matter what. Maybe she was drawn to the very danger in him she so strenuously objected to, but whatever it was, when he was so close to her, it was difficult to think straight. «It was only a story my aunts told me. Maybe it isn't even true.»
«It is true. I could not have bound us together had the words not been imprinted before my birth. We 'marry' our woman immediately to protect the species from extinction.»
«How lovely for the woman.» Sarcasm dripped from her voice. Watching over her shoulder, she caught the faintest of smiles. It didn't quite reach his eyes, but it infuriated her. «Don't you think it's wrong that you can utter a few words and change a woman's life whether she wants it or not?»
«No. Why would a woman want to be with a man like me? It is the only way to protect our species from certain extinction. If you were not tied to me you would not so easily have come with me.»