Dark Ghost

by Christine Feehan

  Faint amusement crept back into his eyes. She didn't like how much she loved seeing it there.

  "Normally, I'm really intelligent. I am. But you've short-circuited my brain and fried a few necessary cells. I can't think clearly around you. So no more kissing." She tried to sound decisive. Really firm. She didn't sound that way at all, not even to her own ears. "On top of being gorgeous, did you have to be a world-class kisser?"

  Yep. She blurted that one right out there, too. Of course. Because no matter how much she tried, she couldn't stop her mouth from talking. She even pressed her lips together and seriously--really--she had to remove her hand from his side. Unfortunately, she was afraid if she did, she might just put her lips there.

  She groaned. Out. Loud.

  He smiled and smoothed back her hair, his thumb sliding lower, over her pulse. His gaze dropped to her mouth. "I think there will be many kisses in our future."

  "Really?" She sounded more hopeful than shocked like she wanted to sound.

  "Yes. Really. I think kissing you is a must. I like the taste of you. It would be impossible for me to kiss you just once. One taste and already you are an addiction."

  She shook her head. "I get that you could be an addiction for me, but I don't know how to kiss. I've never done it before. You're the first. And the only. So see, I just don't have enough experience for the kind of world-class kissing that you do. You're so far out of my league it isn't funny."

  Oh, lord. Her runaway mouth struck again. She just had to get the "world-class" in there twice so he couldn't possibly miss it. And admit she had never kissed anyone. That was just great. Now she looked pathetic and desperate. What had Armend called her? A pity . . .

  "Stop." Andre growled the command in a low, almost snarling voice.

  His eyes glittered and began to fill all that ice with a dark midnight blue color. Turbulent storms swirled through the blue. It was fascinating and scary at the same time.

  His fist tightened in her hair. "Do not even think about that man and the disgusting things he said to you. He wanted you. You refused, and he said things to hurt you. To make you think less of yourself. I will not have avio palafertiilam thinking anything but that you are beautiful."

  Teagan had no idea what avio palafertiilam meant, but he definitely was referring to her and she could tell he meant every word. She had no idea why she knew he was so sincere, but for some reason, this gorgeous man really thought she was beautiful. It didn't make sense. Maybe his eyes shone in the dark because he was blind.

  "Did I make myself clear?"

  She swallowed. He could be scary even when he seemed to be defending her. "Very clear. Thank you. But you have to stop reading my mind." Oh. Lord. He was reading her mind again. She really had to control all her thoughts. That was not going to be easy. "Please do me a favor and remove my hand from where it's all melted into your side. I need to get a handle on this and touching you isn't helping."

  "I can do that for you, but first, I really have to kiss you again." He made it a statement.

  "You do?" Who was she to stop him if he really had to kiss her? There was a difference between want and having to do something, right?

  She watched as his head bent slowly to hers. Her tummy did the roller coaster and a million bird wings all at once. Her heart forgot all about following the steady beat of his and began racing overtime. His lips brushed caresses over hers, and she was fairly certain the only thing holding her up was the hand in her hair and the arm locked around her back.

  If she wanted to survive she needed to stop him. But really? Was survival all that important? His tongue touched her lips and the bottom dropped out of her stomach. No. Survival was one of those things people talked about that really wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Not when a world-class kisser was taking his time with you.

  His mouth slanted over hers. Open for me, sivamet. Give yourself to me.

  His sexy voice played along every one of her nerve endings, leaving her burning in need. She should have paid attention to her inner voice for survival, but there was no listening to her brain. She opened her mouth to his. An invitation. Giving herself to him. Surrendering.

  The fingers in her hair moved to her hand, the one melted to his ribs, and he very gently brought it up around his neck. He did the same with the other one. She had to go up on her toes and he simply lifted her as if she weighed no more than a feather, his mouth never moving from hers.

  She did the unthinkable and wrapped her legs around him. Still kissing him. Still burning for him. Kissing. Burning. Floating. It was absolutely wonderful. Perfect. Unbelievable and so unlike Teagan Joanes.

  6

  Andre dazzled her. Cast a spell. He had to be a sorcerer. There was no other explanation. One moment Teagan was standing with him in a chamber with narrow passages leading in a couple of directions and the next, when he took his mouth away from hers--and it had to be said, she mewed her disappointment like a kitten in distress--she was in a completely different chamber.

  This one still had a dirt floor, but it was warm and there was a pool of very inviting water. Steam rose, indicating the water was hot. There was a bed that actually looked clean, not filled with insects, and the chamber was lit up with fantastic stars on the high ceiling. Torches on the wall gave off a dancing light that flickered across the room much like flames from a fireplace.

  Andre lowered her feet to the floor, one arm holding her steady so that she didn't just collapse into a melting pile of boneless flesh--which was exactly how she felt. Her mouth wanted his mouth back. She could taste him. He tasted as good as he looked and then some.

  "Um . . ." She trailed off, looking around her. Um seemed to be her favorite word. She sighed. "Honestly, I do have a college education. As a matter of fact, I have my master's and I'm quite young for that. You fried my brain." She couldn't help sounding slightly accusatory because he really had fried her brain. None of this was her fault.

  His eyebrow shot up and the amused look she was growing so fond of crept back into his eyes. She found Andre was doubly dangerous when he gave her that particular look. She'd already melted. Then she lost her mind and kissed him all the way into another chamber and never even noticed they were moving. Well . . . she did feel as if she were floating.

  "Your brain is just fine," he assured. "I checked."

  She scowled. She was good at scowling. She'd practiced all through school when she was trying to study and some of her rowdier friends--all guys--bugged her to wrestle, do martial arts, climb or just plain diverted her attention when she needed to stay focused. She'd even used the scowl most effectively on her brothers-in-law when they called her "shrimp" and "mini-hotcake." Seriously. They really called her that.

  "Mini-hotcake? They really called you that?" Andre proved he was immune to her scowl by reading her thoughts.

  "Will you stop? Andre, I'm telling you, you don't want to know what's floating around in my head. Especially in regard to you. And right now, I don't want to argue with you, I want to sit in the hot spring."

  "Actually, you want to kiss me again. I have no objections."

  "Actually, I'm thinking about kicking you in the shins. You're a total stranger. I don't know the first thing about you, and I'm not kissing you again. I don't know what happened, but I'm telling you I don't do that sort of thing with everyone."

  "I heard you the first time, sivamet. I believe I pointed out that was a very good thing. I would frown on avio palafertiilam kissing other men."

  He had to stop talking in his native language. Not because she didn't know what he was calling her--and she didn't--but because it sounded ultra sexy. Bonehead was most likely.

  She waved her hand airily and stepped around him. Well, she started to step around him. He was a big man and stepping around him took a little time. It didn't work, because he wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and tugged. He was strong and she found herself hitting him full on, her front to his. Up close. Very, very close.

  She til
ted her head up to look at him, always a mistake, but then she couldn't stop herself. She pressed her palm to the side of his face. Gently. A caress really. It was the way he looked at her. The look in his eyes. Like she was everything to him. The air he took into his lungs. His very breath. His world. No, his entire universe. She didn't understand how that could be so, but she felt the way he was so alone and then not. Then filled--by her.

  "Susu." Andre whispered the word aloud.

  She knew instantly whatever he'd said was important, and she filed the word away to ask him later. He still had that look in his eyes and she couldn't pull her gaze from his.

  Andre covered her hand with his, pressing her palm even closer so she could feel the prickle of the shadow on his jaw. His eyes went bluer than ice blue. Beyond blue. The color was incredible. She stared into his eyes for a long moment and then she made another mistake. Again, she couldn't stop herself. She went up on her toes, pulled his head down to hers and brushed a kiss across his lips.

  She didn't understand what was happening between them, but no one had ever looked at her like that. Not ever. Not even Grandma Trixie, and her grandmother loved her like crazy. No one could look at her like she was the only one in their world. No one other than Andre, who had to be even crazier than Grandma Trixie.

  Still, she couldn't stop herself. She touched her mouth to his. She needed to give him something back. To acknowledge his look. His lips were warm and firm and soft and a blatant invitation to more.

  Andre's hand cupped the back of her head and his mouth moved against hers. For the first time she recognized hunger in the gentle coaxing of his tongue. She should have pulled back. She didn't know him. She was alone with him. She'd already given one man the wrong impression, with disastrous results . . .

  Andre folded her closer, his mouth dominating, commanding even, short-circuiting her brain so that every thought disappeared and she leaned into all that heat and simply caught fire. The rush in her veins was like a fireball spreading through every part of her body. It was the most beautiful, amazing moment in her life. She didn't want it ever to end.

  His mouth was hot and perfect, and she knew she was giving herself to him even as he was taking over. Taking charge of her in a way she would never have allowed if she thought about it. The fire spread fast, out of control, and she wanted it, wanted that burn to consume her. Mostly, she wanted him. She wanted to be his. She felt as if she was his, pure and simple.

  You are mine.

  She absorbed the soft statement, the one more in her head than whispered in her ear. His mouth kept moving on hers, his tongue stroking and caressing until she couldn't breathe. She couldn't catch her breath. For a moment, she thought she might die of kissing if that was even possible, but her lungs refused to work, burning her raw. And then, somehow, weirdly, he filled her lungs with air, exchanging breath with her, air with her, so that she felt him inside her. Close. Twisting through every organ and cell she had, lodging there. Branding himself in her very bones so that if she died and they did an autopsy, his name would be there, on every bone she had.

  He lifted his head reluctantly. She clutched at his hair, his neck, hating to give him up. She felt dazed and a little shaky. He held her steady so that if her legs gave out, he wouldn't allow her to fall.

  She stared up into his blue eyes. "What's happening here, Andre? Because it's scaring me just a little bit. I'm not like this. Not at all. I'm acting totally out of character, and you're a total stranger and I'm scared."

  "I know you are, csitri," he murmured gently, his hand at the nape of her neck, his thumb sliding along her cheek and then finding her pulse in the sexy way that he had. "You do not ever have to be afraid with me. I would give my life before I would ever harm you."

  It was impossible not to hear the utter sincerity in his voice or see it in his eyes. That was just as scary. She was always afraid, but she'd made it a priority to face every fear. This was different. This endangered her heart. She could fall for him, hard. She realized that, looking at his handsome face. If it was just his looks, that would be one thing, but she knew it was much more. They were connected in a way she didn't understand.

  "See?" It had to be said. "Even that is bizarre. You don't know me at all and yet we're so wrapped up in this craziness you'd be willing to give your life for me. Does that makes sense to you?"

  She forced herself to step back. Away from him. Away from the threat and potency of him. He was too mesmerizing. Casting his spell over her and holding her prisoner. It wasn't all him. She was honest enough to evaluate her own behavior. She would have fought to save him. She might even go so far as to give her life before allowing something or someone to harm him as well, and that was really scary.

  Teagan backed farther away from his heat. From the fire. From the gentle promise in his eyes. She could barely breathe again. The only sane thing to do was put distance between herself and this man. A lot of distance. A country or two. She picked up her backpack with one trembling hand. Grandma Trixie might have to stay crazy just a little longer, living in her world of vampires and monasteries.

  She actually turned to go, but somehow, he got there first. She hadn't seen him move. She hadn't heard him move. Not a single rustle of clothes. Not a footfall. Not even a breath. She just blinked and he was there. Solid. An immovable rock. His hand, so very gently, took the backpack out of hers.

  "Teagan."

  Her name. That accent. His low reprimand. She shivered and bit at her lower lip. She was not going to make the mistake of looking into his eyes. That way led to complete and utter disaster and she wasn't going there again.

  "Now you are just scaring yourself. You are tired and your body aches. I can feel the way your muscles are screaming. Please get into the water. It will make you feel so much better."

  His voice was velvet soft, smoothing over her skin like the caress of fingers. She had the feeling if she tried to leave, he would find a way to stop her, and that would really freak her out. Maybe he was a psycho just making her feel safe with him, only she didn't anymore. Why? Because her entire body melted at his touch. No, it was even worse than that. Her entire body melted when he looked at her.

  "Sivamet. I do not like to feel your fear. I am not this psycho you are afraid of. Te avio palafertiilam. Ainaak terad vigyazak."

  Steadfastly refusing to look at him, she took a breath. "Andre, I don't know what that means."

  "If you get into the hot spring, I will tell you."

  She glanced up at him. His blue eyes were the colors of the purest glaciers she'd ever seen. The hot spring was tempting. She was tired. Exhausted. She needed rest if she was going to hike back down the mountain and tell the authorities what had happened to Armend.

  "All right. But I'm putting on my swimsuit, so you need to go into the other chamber." That was definite and she put command into her voice. She could be really firm when she needed to be. Her nieces and nephews always obeyed her when she used that tone.

  He just looked down at her, and slow amusement crept into his eyes. Her stomach took off again and her toes threatened to curl. He reached out and ran his knuckles gently down the side of her face. "I had no idea what the English word cute meant until I met you. When you get all fired up, that is what you are."

  Cute was not what she was going for. He might be a foot taller than she was, and outweigh her by more than a hundred pounds, but he needed to take her seriously. She scowled and pointed to the narrow opening, the only one she saw, although there were two shadowy spots that might be entrances as well.

  "Go." She hissed the command. She'd practiced that one and then used it on her naughtiest nephew. He always obeyed the hiss instantly.

  Andre continued to look down at her and the amusement in his eyes moved slowly to his mouth. For one moment, she held her breath, waiting. His smile was brief, but it was there, showing his strong white teeth--no vampire teeth--and just as quickly it was gone, but still, she felt triumphant. She could tell he didn't smile often and it
was nice that she could make him. Even if he wasn't reacting to her scowl or her hiss or her best scary tone.

  "Andre. I want to change."

  He bent and kissed the top of her head before he turned and walked out of the chamber. She stared after him, her heart beating a little too fast to suit her. He moved so beautifully. Like a great jungle cat, fluid with muscles rippling subtly beneath the surface. He was truly gorgeous. Maybe it was just his body she was after and she was safe after all.

  "Get moving, Teagan, or I will have to come help you."

  She was staring right at the entrance to the other chamber and he wasn't there. He was out of sight, so how did he know she was totally lost in a daydream about him and his fantastic body? She sent a fierce scowl his way and hoped he felt it right through all the dirt and rock.

  She found a corner out of sight of the entrance and pulled on her swimsuit, thankful it was a one-piece. She traveled a lot to foreign countries--not to the cities or tourist areas, but to the wilderness and mountains and rivers. Many of the places she went, the cultures frowned on women showing too much skin. Often she went alone and it was just safer.

  "I'm dressed," she called out, the moment she was close to the pool of steaming water. She dipped her hand in cautiously. It was hot, but not too hot. Hot enough to take the ache out of her muscles and bones.

  She felt him before she heard or saw him. He was directly behind her, close, but not touching. She knew because she felt safe and warm. He had a way of making her feel as if she was in a cocoon of safety. Which was silly when she actually was scared of him.

  "You are not afraid of me."

  Andre's arms went around her waist from behind and he pulled her close to him. Her back to his front. He was bare-chested. Her heart stuttered. Was it possible to have a heart attack just because a man showed off his chest? She wasn't even looking at his bare chest, and already her heart was racing. Faltering. Stopping and starting. Misbehaving.

  "Actually I am, Andre."

  "No, csitri, you are afraid of change. Of what this means to your life. I do not blame you for that. You love your family, and they live in the United States and I live here."