His mouth moved against her ear. "I am sorry you were upset that you could not speak your mind. With me, you can speak it as much as you like. I find your attitude endearing and sexy, but Aleksei would not. He is . . . fighting demons. Even with his lifemate to balance him, he still has that darkness prevailing. Most of those who live here do. I would shield you from that danger."
Trixie closed her eyes, trying not to hear him. Trying not to believe the sincerity in his voice. Trying not to let in the fact that she was so tight against him she could feel his large, very hard body imprinted against her. She didn't want to feel how hard he was all over, let alone how his erection was pressed so tightly against her. It was all she could do not to rub against him. She hated herself for that.
"Let me go. I want to go home."
"You know I cannot do that, Trixie."
She stiffened, her heart pounding so loudly she was certain it echoed throughout the four empty walls.
"We will return to your family," he said softly. "I promise you that. When the ritual is complete, we will call Teagan in to try to help heal the ancients enough to allow them to leave this place. If it does not work, I have already explained to Aleksei that you need to return home and I will go with you to the States."
She shook her head. She couldn't bring him home. Not to her granddaughters and their husbands. What would they think? They already believed she'd lost her mind. If she showed up with a man as gorgeous as Fane, one who looked far younger than her . . .
"You are beautiful, Trixie. Absolutely beautiful. We belong together. You already know that. I saw the conversation with Gabrielle in your mind. You know what a lifemate is."
"There's a mistake," she said in a low voice. She had to reach for her voice because there was a part of her that wanted to keep him. She didn't know why. She was an independent woman and common sense dictated that she didn't want to have a man around to share her life, to be bossy, and there was no doubt in her mind Fane could be bossy. And he had the ability to silence her. That was totally unacceptable. She would not be silenced. She fought too hard to get where she was. No man was going to take that away from her. "This is a terrible mistake. You recognized the wrong person."
His mouth moved over the nape of her neck, around to the side where her pulse pounded hard. "You know it is not a mistake. You feel it, too." His tongue tasted her skin. Swirled there. Her head fell back of its own volition, turning slightly to give him better access. An invitation.
Her pulse pounded and throbbed in that secret part of her. She felt her womb clench and her sex spasm. Her breath left her lungs in a hot rush. As hard as she tried, she couldn't stop her body's reaction. His mouth was hot. His tongue swirled and his teeth scraped erotically. Anticipation had her body growing hot, but anticipation of what, she couldn't say, only that she wanted . . . needed.
His teeth sank deep and she arched her back, crying out, reaching around behind her for his bent head, trying to circle it with her arm to hold him to her. She felt in a fog, a hazy, sinful dream that sent spears of desire shooting through her, straight to her core. Fire spread, down her thighs, up her belly, traveling to her breasts so that the material of her clothes hurt her skin.
She heard herself moan. Low. Needy. Hungry even. His mouth continued to work at her neck and she knew she would have a love bite there, just like a silly teenager. She thought to protest, but her body was too far gone, already belonging to him. She tasted him in her mouth. That was the odd thing. She knew his taste although she had no idea where it came from, but suddenly the craving was there.
She felt him moving in her mind, stroking caresses there, soothing her, whispering softly in his own language. She had no idea what he whispered to her, but it was soft and sexy and she knew it was beautiful. She knew because the notes around them blended into the most beautiful symphony she'd ever heard. Her own moans seemed to accompany the song playing around and through them.
JoNGesz entolem, fel ku kuuluaak sivam belso. Come to me, beloved. Palj3 na entolem. Closer. Acke entolem it. Take another step toward me.
[email protected] mam. Toward my world. Sol olen engemal, sarna sivametak. Dare to be with me, song of my heart.
His tongue swept across her neck and he turned her around to face him, still locking her body close to his.
Todak pitasz wake bekimet mekesz kaiket, emni. He spoke again in his own language and then once again translated for her, the words in her mind, not spoken aloud. I know you have the courage to face anything, my lady.
His hand moved to his shirt, opening the front. Very gently he took her hand and smoothed her palm over the heavy muscles of his chest right over his heart. Feel that. You are han ku vigyaz sivamet es sielamet. Once again he whispered the words into her mind, filling her with him. With his strength. With his need. He translated into her language and it was poetry. Keeper of my heart and soul.
She leaned forward to press her mouth over his heated skin. She felt his pulse accelerate. Call to her. She heard the swelling notes of their song.
JoNGesz entolem, fel ku kuuluaak sivam belso. Come to me, beloved, he repeated. Come closer to me, Trixie. I need you.
His finger slid across his chest, right over his pulse, and she followed that path instinctively. He cupped the back of her head and threw back his own, his breath leaving his lungs in a harsh stream. She tasted that exquisite ambrosia in her mouth. It was familiar to her, and immediately she couldn't get enough. She lapped at the tiny beads there and then, at his urging, began to suckle, drawing more and more into her mouth. The taste burst through her like champagne bubbles.
Fane knew he was taking unfair advantage of his lifemate, but right then, it didn't matter. She wanted to leave him. She had a life far from the Carpathian Mountains, one she wasn't willing to give up. He could live with that. She had no intention of incorporating him into her world. He couldn't live with that. He had thought to give her time, to allow her to get used to the idea of Carpathians in the world and then she would become one and live with him.
Andre chased the master vampire. That meant the human assassins, the puppet traveling among them and any lesser vampires would be trying to reach the monastery. Fane had the other ancients to protect. He couldn't allow them to battle. A single kill could send them over the edge. He knew Aleksei would stand with him, but, although Aleksei had a lifemate and had completed the bond, he wasn't certain how far the darkness in the man had spread, or if it would continue to spread with each new kill.
There was no living without this woman. She didn't see herself as he did. She saw herself in human terms. She considered herself old. She was a mere child by Carpathian standards, barely out of her teens. He knew she thought herself too old for him, but that was more amusing than anything else.
Standing so close to her, her mouth moving over his skin, drinking his essence, his body went hard. Aching. He wanted her again. They needed to talk, to sort things out, but his body wasn't going to wait for that to happen. She was so beautiful. He especially loved her skin. The color. The feel. The way her muscles moved under all that softness. The way her lush curves invited his body to paradise.
Her second exchange. So close. Only one more and she walked fully in his world. She would not be able to be comfortable without him close, but he was in her mind and she had determination. Absolute determination. His lady wouldn't hesitate to place herself in an uncomfortable situation, or sacrifice herself for someone she loved. She loved her family and she didn't consider Fane a part of that--yet.
Enough, he said softly, and inserted his hand between her mouth and the laceration he had made over his pulse.
To distract her as his body healed, and because there was nothing else he wanted more, he tipped her face up to his and took her mouth. Her tongue tangled with his and hot spikes of desire pierced deep. Her hand slid under his shirt to find warm skin. The feel of her palms moving over him, her body pressing close, was every bit as amazing and wonderful as the first time he touched her. Kissed her. Felt her skin and the silk of
her hair. He would always have this sense of wonder that she could be real. That she would catch fire from his kiss and burn hotter than he had ever imagined a woman would do.
Behind her, he waved a hand. She had said she wouldn't have sex with him again without a decent bed. He provided her with one, all the while kissing her. Her mouth was sheer magic. He could kiss her for hours and never get enough.
Fane walked her backward until the back of her knees hit the mattress. "Your bed, han sivamak, just as you requested. You have only to ask and it is yours."
Trixie blinked at him, confused. Dazed. Coming out from under the dark veil he'd woven around her. His mouth found hers again before she could make it all the way to the surface. He loved the bemused look on her face. In her eyes. The innocence there. He'd given his woman her first orgasm. He intended to try for many. He wanted that for her.
She deserved more than she ever allowed herself and it was up to him to give her everything she'd ever dreamt about. The trouble was, Trixie didn't dream for herself. She had had big dreams for her daughter and she'd worked day and night sweeping floors and cleaning offices and eventually toilets in bars in order to get off the street before her baby was born. She worked until she had the money for a small room in a boardinghouse and then worked harder to get them out of that and into an apartment.
The more Fane looked into her mind and her memories, the more he admired and respected her. This woman had a will of steel. She had likely passed that legacy on to her daughter and granddaughters. She made her own way in the world and didn't ask anything of anyone. And she was his. This amazing woman who loved her family and made her way in the world without her own dreams. Saving them for her girls.
Fane kissed her again. Long. Hard. Over and over. Wanting her to get what was building so strong in him. That respect. That admiration. The fact that he was going to uncover every secret dream, the ones she didn't even know she had, and give them to her because his lady deserved them.
"A bed?" she murmured into his mouth, her dark eyes looking around her.
As Fane took her down he removed their clothes, needing to be skin to skin. She didn't protest; in fact, her hands swept over him, stroking caresses.
"I like your body," she confessed. Blurted it out and then looked shocked.
He lifted his head and looked down at her. Smiling. Because how could he not smile when she said things like that to him? When she obviously meant them? He liked the way her gaze moved over him. Over his face. His body. Her hands smoothed over his chest and then began to journey down toward his groin. His entire body tightened.
"Thank you, beloved. I am more than pleased that you like the way I look."
"I do. A lot. I have to remind myself you're real. I don't think I could dream up a man as gorgeous as you are."
She moved under him, clearly trying to squirm away from his scrutiny. He caught her thoughts. She was old. Too curvy in a world where curves on a woman weren't appreciated anymore. Although she'd always made certain to take care of herself, to stay fit and to look her best, she didn't want him to see her body.
Fane was going to change that. Right now. "You are truly beautiful, Trixie, such a beautiful woman." He caught both of her wrists and lifted them up above her head, stretching her arms out, pinning both wrists to the mattress easily with one hand. The action lifted her breasts perfectly, tempting him. He stared down at her. Hungry. He let her see that hunger. Possessive. He let her see that, too.
"Fane." She whispered his name on a protest, her eyes sliding from his. Shaking her head. "I can't."
"You can. For me." He bent down and took her mouth again. Letting her taste the need in him. "I cannot convince you with words, han sivamak, so let me show you with my body. Let me show you my need of you. My hunger for you. Only you. There is no other woman in my world and there never will be. Only you."
Trixie closed her eyes, trying to shut out the honesty on his face. In his eyes. That stark, raw hunger had been her undoing earlier. He'd taken her body and then he left her. And then . . .
"Beloved. Stop." He bent his head again and pressed kisses to each eyelid and then trailed more down her face. "Open your eyes and look at me so you know I speak the truth. I cannot lie to my lifemate."
She couldn't stop herself. His voice was so compelling to her that she had to open her eyes. His eyes were so beautiful. Like twin sapphires. She had never considered that she would find a man like him so attractive. He was just so big. Scary big. She'd never let men frighten her, because she was her girls' protection, but if she was being strictly honest with herself, Fane was a very scary man. Not in the demonic, terrifying way that Aleksei was, but she had learned over the years to read people, and her Fane was definitely a man you wouldn't want to cross.
She moistened her lips. Swallowed hard. She didn't protest but just looked him straight in the eye, her heart beating fast. She hadn't realized she was genuinely hurt over the way he'd left her so abruptly. She had wanted something different. She needed something different. She wasn't certain what that was, but she felt abandoned by him. She couldn't move her hands because he had pinned her wrists above her head, leaving her exposed and vulnerable. She'd felt exposed and vulnerable earlier, so raw, and he'd cut her deeply.
Fane groaned softly. "I have to explain to you. I did not want to leave you, Trixie. I had no choice. I could not allow the hunger of the ancients to escalate. They had to be fed. They were dangerous. Far too dangerous. They are predators, and they have grown even more so as each rising passes and they are caught in this endless nightmare. I am what stands between them and the world. Now, because he has completed his bond with his lifemate, I have Aleksei to aid me. I could not take any chances, not even for you, as much as I wanted to stay and comfort you."
She squirmed a little at that. She didn't need comfort. She was a grown woman, capable of taking care of herself. It didn't help that she felt tears burning behind her eyelids. She had wept in an alley when she was a child. She had wept in a hospital room when she'd lost her daughter. She refused--refused--to weep for a man who had used her body and left her.
"You are not listening to what I am saying to you."
She winced at the mild rebuke in his voice. She was listening, she just didn't want to hear. She didn't want to take that chance. She couldn't have him. Couldn't take him home and keep him. She had no idea what to do with him and she hated that she was lying there in her sixty-year-old body, exposed and vulnerable, and he was so fit and perfect. It wasn't right. She couldn't be anyone's lifemate. She couldn't be their entire world. She needed to go home and close her doors and shut out the world.
Fane made a sound deep in his throat, a growling rumble that vibrated through her body, sending damp heat between her legs. His gaze, so hot as it moved over her body, sent a spasm to her sex and blood rushing hotly straight to that same, special place. It shouldn't be so difficult to resist him. She was strong. She had a will of iron. She knew she did, but she couldn't stop the way her body melted and needed and craved him.
Before she could protest, he dipped his head to slide his face along hers. It was such a benign movement, and yet at the feeling of his shadowed jaw sliding along her cheek, her heart accelerated and she felt a melting sensation in the pit of her stomach. He licked her ear, tracing the shell and then dipping along the path to her throat. The burn between her legs grew hotter.
Fane kissed her throat, a mere brushing of his lips, but it felt as if he was worshiping her. He pressed another kiss into the little indentation at her sternum. Butterflies took flight in her stomach. His hand stroked over her, claiming her body.
"I am going to let go of you, but I want you to keep your hands right here. I am in the mood to do some exploring. I would very much like to know every inch of you intimately." He kissed the sweet curve of her breast. "Will you do that for me? I need this, Trixie."
His voice had gone raw. Pure sex. Sinful sex. A temptation she knew she should avoid, but she couldn't resist. Keeping he
r eyes on his, she nodded.
"Watch my hands. My mouth. See the beauty I see. Your body is the most beautiful thing in the world. Mine. A treasure I will cherish for all time."
He said things she was fairly certain most men would never say to a woman, and his words matched their song. He kissed his way across the soft upper curves of her breasts, and she couldn't help herself, she writhed, arching her back, needing his mouth on her. The need was so great it overcame everything. His eyes, staring down at her breasts, so focused, so hungry, were so hot she thought she might spontaneously combust.
He lifted his gaze from her breasts to her eyes. "Look at you. Already panting. Breathing ragged. Your body soft and melting. I love that you do that for me." He swept a possessive hand from the valley between her breasts to the vee at the junction of her legs, watching the shiver that followed his palm. "I bet you are already wet and welcoming for me. Are you, han sivamak? Are you that ready for me?"
She was. To her everlasting embarrassment she was. He made it sound like a good thing. A great thing. As if she was the sexiest woman in the world. More. Just the way he said it to her made her even hotter for him.
His hand continued to trail down her middle, between her breasts, across her belly--which was softer than she would have liked--and lower until his hand hovered just above her mound. More liquid heat spilled out. His mouth moved close to her left breast just above her taut nipple, so close she could feel his warm breath. Her hips bucked and she arched toward his mouth again, unable to stop herself. Needing. Even a moan escaped, a soft little pleading moan.
She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue under the heat of his gaze. His eyes went from desire to lust, but there was something else there. Something she was afraid to name because it was too close to an emotion she knew she couldn't have from him. Still . . . he waited. She knew what he was waiting for. She swallowed and nodded. She was ready for him. She would always be ready for him, no matter where the future took them. She'd never belonged to a man, and right now, for this time, she was wholly his.