“I know,” she acknowledged. “You can see why I can’t be without you now. I’m afraid, Mikhail, afraid of everything, myself, you, what I’ve done here.”
“Not this time, little one,” he said very gently, wishing it could be otherwise. “It is essential to find the other assassins. I cannot let any danger come near you. You will be safe here. I am not asleep; I can touch your mind with mine and you can just as easily reach for me if necessary. There is no need for fear.”
“I’m not the stay-at-home-and-be-safe type,” she objected.
He turned, large, powerful, his face an implacable mask. Mikhail looked menacing, invincible. Raven stepped backwards involuntarily, her blue eyes darkening to a deep sapphire. Instantly Mikhail took her hand and brought it to the warmth of his mouth. “Do not look at me like that. Your life was nearly taken from me. Do you have any idea what it was like for me to awaken to your cry? To feel your fear, know that disgusting excuse for a man hit you? To feel the blade slice into your body again and again? You nearly died in my arms. I breathed for you, kept your heart beating. I made a decision I knew you might never forgive me for making. I am not ready to take a chance with your life. Can you possibly understand that?”
She could feel his body trembling with his intense emotion. His arms wrapped around her, dragged her to him. “Please, Raven, let me just keep you in a cocoon, at least until I get that sight out of my mind.” His fingers tunneled into the thick mass of blue-black hair. Mikhail molded her slender form to his larger frame, held her close as if he could shelter her from any further harm.
Raven wound her arms around his neck. “It’s all right, Mikhail. Nothing is going to happen to me.” She nuzzled his neck, seeking to reassure him, to push his fear away, as well as her own. “I guess both of us are going to have to make some adjustments.”
His kiss was tender and very gentle. “You need to take it easy. Six days of sleep and healing were not enough.”
“Six days? That’s incredible. Has anyone ever analyzed your blood?”
Mikhail released her reluctantly. “None of us can go near a human medical facility. We take care of our own.”
Raven picked up a brush, idly began to use long strokes to smooth the tangles from her damp mane of hair. “Who was the woman trapped in the ground?”
His face closed down, all traces of gentleness gone as if they had never been. “Her name is Eleanor. She gave birth to a male.” His tone was devoid of emotion.
She sat cross-legged on the bed, tilting her head sideways as she brushed her long hair. “You don’t like her?”
“She betrayed you. She allowed that devil woman to overhear her and I nearly lost you.” He was buttoning his shirt, and the sight of his long, lean fingers performing the simple task fascinated her. “You were under my protection. What that means, Raven, is that all Carpathians must put your safety above their own.”
Her small teeth tugged at her lower lip. She sensed, beneath his emotionless mask, a relentless, merciless fury directed toward that unknown woman. Mikhail’s feelings for her were ferociously intense and unfamiliar to him. Just as Raven was having difficulty adjusting, so was he.
She chose her words carefully. “Have you ever seen a woman give birth, Mikhail? It is painful and frightening. For the woman to be in control, she needs a safe environment. She feared for the life of her unborn child. Please don’t judge her so harshly. In her circumstances I would have been hysterical.”
He cupped her face in his large palm, his thumb caressing her soft, satin skin. “You have such compassion in you. Eleanor nearly cost you your life.”
“No, Mikhail. Jacob nearly cost me my life. Eleanor tried as hard as she could. There is no blame, or all of us must share in it.”
He turned away from her. “I know I should have kept you by my side. I should never have sought the refuge of the earth’s healing powers. It took me too far from you. Gregori thinks only of my protection.”
In the mirror, Raven could see pain etched clearly on his face. “There was a moment, little one, when I awoke to your cry, and I was encased in the soil and powerless to help you. Only my fury fed the storm. As I clawed my way to the surface, I felt every slice of the blade, and I knew I had failed you. In that moment, Raven, I faced something so terrible, so savage and monstrous in me, I still cannot examine it too closely. If he had slain you, no one would have been safe. No one.” He made the admission in a tight, controlled voice, his back rigid. “Not Carpathian, not human. I can only pray that if such a thing should ever happen again, Gregori will slay me immediately.”
Raven stepped in front of him and framed his face with her hands. “Sometimes grief brings things out in people better left hidden. No one is perfect. Not me, not Eleanor, and not even you.”
A faint, self-mocking smile touched his well-cut mouth. “I have lived centuries and endured vampire hunts, wars, and betrayals. Until you came into my life, I have never lost control. I never had anything I wanted so much; I never had anything to lose.”
She pulled his head down to her, pressed little healing kisses to his throat, his strong jaw, to the hard corners of his mouth. “You are a good man, Mikhail.” She grinned impishly, her blue eyes teasing. “You just have too much power for your own good. But don’t worry; I know this American girl. She’s very disrespectful and she’ll take all that arrogant starch out of you.”
His answering laughter was slow in coming, but with it the terrible tension drained out of him. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, swinging her around, crushing her to him. As always her heart jumped wildly. His mouth fastened on hers as he whirled them across the room to land on the bed.
Raven’s laughter was soft and taunting. “We can’t possibly again.”
His body was settling over hers, his knee nudging her thighs apart so he could press against her soft, welcoming body. “I think you should just stay naked and waiting for me,” he growled, stroking her to ensure her readiness.
She lifted her hips invitingly. “I’m not sure we’ll know how to do this in a bed.” The last word was a gasp of pleasure as he joined their bodies.
His mouth found hers again, laughter mingling with the sweet taste of passion. His hands shaped her breasts possessively, tunneled in her hair. There was so much joy in her heart, in her mind; so much compassion and sweetness. His eternity would be filled with her laughter and her zest for life. He laughed aloud for the sheer joy of it.
Chapter Eleven
Mikhail had been gone for two long hours. Raven wandered around the house, familiarizing herself with the rooms. She liked her solitude and was grateful for the time to try to sort things out logically. As hard as she tried, she could not make what she had become seem real to her. Only Mikhail was sanity. He was on her mind continually, invading her thoughts, pushing out everything insane until there was only him.
His blood was in her veins, his scent on her body, his mark at her throat and breast. The feel of his possession was in every step, every movement of her body. Raven wrapped his shirt closer. She knew he was alive and well; he had touched her mind often, sending warm reassurance. She found she welcomed the brushing touch, craved it, was aware that he shared the same deep need to merge often with her.
With a sigh she enveloped herself in his long, warm cape. All at once the house was too stifling, like a prison instead of a home. The long wraparound porch beckoned to her; the night seemed to call her name. She caught at the doorknob, twisted. At once the night air rushed over her, cooling and filled with intriguing scents. She wandered out onto the porch, leaned against a tall column and inhaled deeply, drawing the night into her lungs. She could feel a drawing, a calling. Without conscious thought she stepped off the porch and began to wander along the path.