Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) (40 page)

She reached up and placed her palm on
his chest. “I love the feeling of your heart beating so strong and steady.”

Opening his mind to her again, hoping
she would merge with him, he placed his hand over her hand. And she did.
Looking up at him she smiled. “Brianna…”

“Let me finish. A few years ago when you
saved me from the fire at the club, I knew we were connected in some big way.
It wasn’t long before I realized we were destined to be together as one. All
this time I’ve been waiting for you to accept me for who and what I am. I
believed that on some level your doubt in me was keeping you from being with
me, but I was wrong, just as wrong as you are wrong right now.  I wasn’t
the threat to myself today. You were the threat.”

“No. I wasn’t. You took the necklace
off. You merged your mind with Demetri.”

“Why did you give the necklace to me?”
she asked.

“For protection.”

 “Would it be so important for me
to wear it if you trusted yourself?”

Of course it wouldn’t, but he wasn’t
going to admit it. “Whether or not I trust myself has nothing to do with it.”

“The necklace is a tool to help you keep
tabs on me while helping you to avoid truly giving yourself to me.”

“You have all of me.” How could she
entertain any doubt in his love for her?

“I don’t have any doubt in your love for
me. You doubt my love for you because you don’t like yourself. Why are you so
hard on yourself?”

“I know what I am.”

“Your inability to embrace what you are
and trust yourself was the threat to me today.”

“That isn’t true. You chose to believe
another male over me.”

 “I didn’t pick Demetri over you. I
only wanted to find my sister. I love her. Wouldn’t you do anything to find me if
I disappeared?”

“Of course. But it’s different. You
can’t compare us. I wouldn’t be risking my life. You risked your life.”

“And you wouldn’t put your life in
jeopardy for me?”

“It isn’t the same.”

“Why?”

“Look at you. You’re perfectly beautiful
from the inside out. Your life is precious. You’re like a bright light shining
in a sea of total darkness. You chase shadows away with every breath you take.
Now, look at me. I lost my temper with you today and gave you a small taste of
the darkness in me. There is much more, too much. It swallows me up.” 

“I scared you. I hurt you. Fear and pain
are powerful emotions. You are powerful beyond my understanding. I assume your
emotions are just as strong. I don’t blame you for being upset and having a
fit. I would’ve done the same.”

“Stop it. You’re making excuses for me.
It wasn’t a little fit. I was wrong.” 

“You need to look past what you see as
darkness and see the goodness in you just enough to like yourself. If you do it
you will no longer doubt my love for you.”

“I can’t.” He looked down. At some point
while talking she’d unbuttoned his shirt. He watched her hand move lovingly
over his bare chest.

“This is it, Nikolas.”

“We shouldn’t.” At war with his sound
understanding of the danger he represented to her and his all-consuming desire
to finally make love with her, the only woman he would ever love, he took a
deep breath and held it.

“Now or never.” She released the
blanket. He met her gaze for a moment, but then he closed his eyes as she
pushed his shirt over his shoulders and down his arms. As it fell to their feet
he sensed she’d taken a few steps back. “I need you. I can’t wait any longer.
Trust yourself with me. Give yourself to me completely now or never.” When he
opened his eyes he discovered she’d moved to the edge of his bed. She’d long
ago given her heart and soul to him. Now, standing before him, offering her
body, she held out her hand to him.

He took a few steps back and turned
around to leave. He needed to get away from her. It was the only way to protect
her. He stopped. “I should walk away, but…” He couldn’t. In an instant he moved
across the room and took her in his arms. “Now.” Bringing her with him he sat
down on the edge of the bed. Holding her hips, he supported her weight until she’d
found a comfortable position on his lap with her legs wrapped around his waist,
and then he framed her face with his hands. “I choose now.”

* * *

About Candice
Stauffer

I live in Zeeland, Michigan, where half the year is winter and the
other, much shorter half, is summer. It’s a wonderful place to live as long as
you own a four-wheel drive vehicle and happen to get a kick out of measuring
the snowfall in feet rather than inches.

I write paranormal romance
because I love to explore and manipulate the limitless possibilities of the
genre. To be completely honest, I’m also very fond of taking a totally hot,
powerful, immortal hero and using a strong, confident, beautiful heroine to
turn his world upside down and make him fight like hell for a victory that
seems impossible to achieve. Some might call it torture. I call it
entertainment and character building. Regardless, it’s great fun!

I have a strong aversion for
helpless heroines. Though she’s afraid, a heroine must always be willing to
fight like hell—and, yes, even if the fighting is against the hero. I’m not
sure why, but I tend to really enjoy it when the heroine fights against the
hero. Putting a hero through the wringer builds personality, right?

I’m often accused of being a
little bit naughtier than nice and slightly rough around the edges. Okay, I
lied—very rough around the edges. Life has been a challenge. But I’m grateful
for every challenge I’ve faced. Through them, I’ve learned to focus on the goal
rather than the walls surrounding it. Basically, I figure that as long as I
enjoy life and do all I can to encourage and help the people around me enjoy
life, it’s all good.

To find out more about me, please visit
my website:

http://www.candicestaufferparanormalromanceauthor.com

For the latest news, check out my
Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/CandiceStauffer-Paranormal-Romance-Author/135025903252623
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