Dark Prince (27 page)

Mikhail tugged her knees apart, saw the sudden admission of commitment to him deep within her eyes. She was hot, pulsating with need, with her body's invitation. He thrust hard, driving deep, burying himself in her hot core. Her spicy feminine scent mixed with his masculine one, drifted up to become part of their desire. His tongue and teeth glided over her throat, down to capture one aching breast. His hands moved over every inch of her, inciting, exploring, claiming. He was rough, his teeth finding her soft skin, his tongue easing every ache. He could not seem to get close enough. Her tight heat coiled around him, clenching and burning, feeding his wildness.

His body moved in hers. Long, deep, filling every part of her, building the friction, then deliberately easing the rhythm. She was making little keening noises, her body begging for release, velvet muscles gripping him hotly.

Frustrated, Raven, moved frantically against him, urging him closer, deeper, faster, harder. Her blood was like molten lava and she needed more of him. All of him. She hungered for a deeper mating, hungered for his mouth feeding at her, burning her, branding her, welding them together for all eternity.

"Mikhail," she was pleading.

He lifted his head, dark eyes burning with hunger. "I belong to you, Raven. Take what you need from me as I will take it from you." He pressed her head to his chest, his gut clenching hotly as her tongue slid over his muscles. There was a moment, heart-stopping, intimate, as he felt the tentative scrape of her teeth. White-hot pain, blue lightning erotic pleasure. He swelled even more, huge and hard and inflamed as her teeth sank deep.

Mikhail threw back his head in ecstasy, and a growl of pure pleasure escaped. His body pinned hers to the ground, surging powerfully, building, building while her body spiraled around his, gripping and clenching, climaxing again and again. Mikhail held on to his control. The ritual would be completed and the exchange made voluntarily. Bunching her hair in his hand, he repeated the words that would bind them together. "I give you my protection, my allegiance, my mind, my heart, soul, and body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness, and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time. You are my lifemate, bound to me for eternity, and always in my care."

He tugged at her hair, forced her head away from him, observed through half-closed eyes, hungry and watchful while she closed the pinpricks, her tongue sending flames dancing over his heated body. Mikhail kissed her with every ounce of male dominance he possessed. His mouth burned over her throat, rested on her frantic pulse. His hands tightened on her small hips. His body rested in the hot feminine mystery of hers. He waited.

She turned her head, offered her throat. "Take what is yours, Mikhail. Take what you require." She murmured the words breathlessly in an agony of anticipation and need. She was trembling with suspense, with the craving of Carpathian erotic hunger.

As his hips thrust powerfully forward, his teeth sank deep. She cried out, wound her arms around him, arching up as he drank his fill, as his body drove wildly into hers, staking his claim, his right, taking them beyond the boundaries of the earth. Her body gripped his tightly, insistently. Mikhail abandoned any pretense of control and took her as he wanted, driving on and on until she was so wild and hot and crying for him, until her little keening whimpers and the sweet spice of her blood took his raging body over the edge. He emptied himself into her, for the first time in his life feeling totally sated, totally content. They lay joined, their hearts pounding, their lungs laboring, little aftershocks rippling and rocking them. Mikhail rolled them over so his hard length was cushioning her slender body. Her breasts were soft and warm nestled in the tangle of hair veeing down to his stomach. Her head was pillowed on his chest.

Mikhail stroked her hair, letting his overwhelming love for her spill out and surround her. He sensed how fragile the moment was and didn't trust the inadequacy of words. His mind was a warm, safe haven of love and he shared it willingly.

The intense pleasure blocked out reality for a long while. Raven could only revel in her body's powerful reaction. Every tiny cell was alive and shrieking in joy. It didn't seem possible that she could experience such rapture.

She moved a slow hand to push her hair aside. The small movement sent her muscles clenching around him. Mikhail. Who was this man who had so easily taken over her life and her body? Raven lifted her head and studied his face. So handsome. So dark and mysterious. His eyes held so many secrets; his mouth was so sensual, it took her breath away.

"Tell me what I've done, Mikhail."

His eyes were fathomless, watchful. "You have given your life into my care. Rest assured, little one, you are safe in my hands."

She touched the tip of her tongue to her suddenly dry lips. Her heart pounded in alarm at the enormity of her decision. She had the taste of him in her mouth, the smell of him on her body, his seed trickling along her leg, and they were still locked together, her body clenching sensuously, hotly, around his.

"What do I taste like?" His voice was low, compelling. It whispered against her skin like the brush of fingers. The brush of fantasy.

She closed her eyes tightly, like a child wanting to shut him out. "Mikhail." Her body rippled, tightened at the sound of his voice, at the erotic question he whispered.

He eased out of her, retained his hold so he could cradle her close as he slid back into the foaming pool. "Tell me, Raven." He kissed her throat, tiny little kisses, each as potent as wine.

Her arm wound around his neck, her fingers finding his thick mane of hair. "You taste like the forest, wild and untamed and so erotic you make me crazy." The admission broke from her like the confession of a grave sin.

The bubbles fizzed and burst against their sensitized skin, foamed on their most intimate parts. Mikhail leaned back, taking their weight, securing her on his lap. Her rounded bottom brushed against him, sent sweet fire streaking through their blood. "You taste like sweet, hot spice, addictive and so sensual." His teeth grazed the nape of her neck, sent a shiver of excitement down her spine.

Raven lay quietly in his arms, her mind reeling under the impact of what she had done. She would never get enough of Mikhail. There was a wildness between them that could never be sated. Raven was unable to piece it all together; her brain simply refused to acknowledge what she might have become. She had no idea what he meant when he said they "fed." The impressions were there, but she only had knowledge of what Mikhail shared with her. Was sex always involved? He had said no, but she couldn't imagine taking blood deliberately. She closed her eyes tightly. She couldn't do this with anyone else. She couldn't imagine taking blood from a human.

Mikhail pressed her head to him, his fingers soothing in her hair. He murmured softly, his voice pitched low and compelling. She needed time to adjust to her Carpathian blood, the intense emotions and urgent needs. She had willingly participated in the mating ritual. She had made the blood exchange without his silent compulsion. They were irrevocably bound and there was no reason for her to suffer needless human recriminations and fear of the future. Let her mind accept this new reality slowly.

Mikhail was brutally honest with himself. After waiting several lifetimes for this woman, he didn't want her with anyone else. He had never thought of feeding as an intimate thing; it was a simple necessity. But the idea of Raven biting into another man's neck, taking his life force into her body, was abhorrent to him. Every time he gave her his blood, he felt sexual excitement, an overwhelming need to protect and care for her. He had no idea what other Carpathian men felt for their mates, but he knew any man near Raven would be in grave danger. It was just as well her human mind refused to allow her to accept their way of preying on humans.

Raven stirred in his arms, stretched languidly. "I was thinking of something upsetting and you took it away, didn't you?" There was a hint of a smile in her voice.

He allowed her freedom, watched her sink beneath the foaming water, surface a few feet away. Her large eyes were moving over him with definite laughter. "You know, Mikhail, I'm beginning to think my very first assessment of your character was correct. You're arrogant and bossy."

He swam toward her with lazy, easy strokes. "But I am sexy."

She backpedaled, sent a spray of water at him with the flat of her hand. "Stay away from me. Every time you get near me, something crazy happens."

"Now might be a good time to take you to task for placing your life in danger. You should never have followed the assassins from the inn. You knew I was unable to hear if you called for help." He kept swimming toward her, as relentless as a shark.

Raven took the coward's way out and waded out of the pool, flinging herself into the next large one. The water was cold on her heated skin. She pointed a finger at him, her soft mouth curving. "I told you I was going to try to help you. In any case, if you dare to lecture me, I'll have no choice but to go into just how unethical it was to bind me to you without my consent. Tell me—if I hadn't followed the assassins and Jacob hadn't stabbed me, I would have remained human, wouldn't I?"

Mikhail rose out of the pool, water streaming off his body. Raven's breath caught in her throat. He looked magnificent, so masculine and powerful. In one fluid leap, he launched himself into the air, jackknifed, and cut cleanly into the deep pool. She found her heart beating frantically, her blood singing for him. He came up behind her, his hands spanning her waist, dragging her close, his powerful legs keeping them afloat.

"You would still be human," he agreed, his voice a black magic spell that could send heat coiling through her despite the cold water.

"If I had stayed human, how could you have remained with me as a lifemate?" She pushed her rounded bottom against the cradle of his hips, enjoying the sudden excitement as his body swelled and hardened in response to the pressure. She laid her head back on his shoulder.

"I would have chosen to grow old with you and die when you died." His reply was husky, and one hand cupped the softness of her breast. Her hair was brushing his body like so much silk, sending darts of pleasure through him.

Raven lifted her head abruptly, swung around to face him, her blue eyes searching the mysterious depths of his eyes. "Do you mean that, Mikhail? You would have stayed with me as I grew older?"

He nodded, trailed his fingers down her cheek in a gentle caress. "I would have aged right along with you. When your breath ceased, so would mine."

She shook her head. "How can I resist you, Mikhail, when you steal my heart?"

His grin turned her heart over, somersaulted her stomach. "You are not supposed to resist me, little one. I am your other half." His hands settled around her neck, urged her close to him until his mouth found hers and they melted together, sinking beneath the cool waters of the natural pool.

Half the night was gone when Mikhail carried her back to their home. Raven hastily wrapped herself in one of his shirts. "Do you realize I don't have any clothes here?" She couldn't quite meet his eyes, blushing every time his dark gaze brushed 'her body. She could still feel the imprint of his body on hers, the strength of his possession. "I need to get back to the inn. All of my things are there."

His eyebrow shot up. Now was not the time to tell her she really wouldn't need clothes. Her personal things would help ease the transition. He reached a lazy arm for his own clothes. "I'm sure Mrs. Galvenstein will deliver your things for us. I will call and make sure it is done immediately. I will be going out for a short time, Raven. There are a few loose ends that need to be taken care of. You will be safe here."

Her chin lifted in challenge. "I'll throw something together and come with you. I never want to go through another day like the one I had when I couldn't reach you. It was hell. It really was, Mikhail."

At once his dark eyes touched her face with gentleness. "I never wanted that for you. Gregori placed me in a healing sleep, little one, and I could not answer your call. That was not supposed to happen. I sent Father Hummer to you, thinking I would be asleep, but if there was great need, I would surface enough to reassure you."

"But it didn't happen like that."

He shook his head. "No, Raven. Gregori sent me into a healing sleep. One does not surface when Gregori has elected otherwise. He did not know about you, about your need for my touch. It was my failing, not his, and I am sorry."

"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.