Dark Storm ('Dark' Carpathian Series)

by Christine Feehan

  He bunched her hair in one fist, pulling her head back as his mouth came down on hers, demanding entrance. He swallowed her soft gasp as she stroked her tongue along his a little tentatively. He pulled her closer, his other hand shaping her body, smoothing down her back to the curve of her buttocks, his palm sliding over her rounded cheek to press her even closer as he pushed his heavy erection against her. A small keening moan escaped her throat.

  A part of her was still terrified of what she was doing, especially when she could feel his lengthened teeth with her tongue, or scraping along her skin ever so gently. She knew he was using restraint, going slow for her, but her body was raging at her, desperate for his possession.

  Dax feathered kisses from the corner of her mouth, across her jaw to her chin. His teeth nipped at the small dent there. “Éntölam kuulua, avio päläfertiilam.” He said the words against her chin, his voice deep and commanding. “I claim you as my lifemate,” he translated as his hands slipped around to unlatch her bra. He drew the lace from her body and tossed it aside. His heated gaze dropped to her exposed breasts, his breath catching in his lungs.

  Standing in front of him, half naked, with the way he was looking at her, made Riley feel both wanton and sexy. She reached up and traced the lines in his face, the shape of his jaw and his contoured lips.

  “You truly are the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen,” she admitted.

  He cupped her breasts in his hands, his thumbs brushing her nipples before he dipped his head and ran a trail of fire from her chin down her throat to the tips of her breasts. His mouth was hotly erotic, tugging and pulling, his tongue stroking, teeth scraping gently. Just when she thought her legs would give out, he feathered kisses down her ribs to her flat stomach.

  “Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed.” His tongue swirled around her belly button and then dipped inside her. Those crimson-flamed eyes looked up at her as he translated. “I belong to you.”

  Her heart stuttered at his declaration. The idea of Dax belonging to her was an incredible rush. She brushed her fingers through his closely cropped hair. She loved how his thick hair stood in spikes, yet felt as soft as down.

  Dax went to his knees, hands at the waistband of her cargo pants, undoing the button while his smoldering gaze held hers captive. She couldn’t breathe again, the sight of him kneeling in front of her, looking at her as if he was going to devour her any minute sent her body into a melting pool of feminine arousal. With almost languid movements, he unzipped the pants and slipped his hands inside, hooking his thumbs in the waistband to slowly slide them from her body. He took her lacy lavender panties right along with the cargo pants, leaving her body fully exposed and vulnerable to him.

  Where had her boots gone? The thought was fleeting. She knew she had them on, but suddenly her feet were bare and she was naked. His teeth sent little stinging caresses from her navel to her hip where his tongue found an intriguing indentation and remained there for a few moments, indulging his whims and driving out any questions she might have had. Who could possibly think while he was kissing and licking her belly and hip bones, his hands kneading and massaging her buttocks?

  “Élidamet andam. I offer my life for you.”

  His hands went to her legs, pushing them apart, and he ran his tongue up the inside of her left thigh, while that soft, spiked hair brushed up her right.

  She was not going to survive. Riley gripped his shoulders, keening softly into the night. She threw her head back as her body pulsed and throbbed. His mouth left little flames up and down both thighs, his teeth nipping, his tongue easing the sting while she held on to her sanity by a thread.

  He raised his head, his hands on her bare hips, his warm breath teasing the vee of curls at the junction of her legs. “Pesämet andam.” Still retaining possession of her hips, he stood, fully clothed, making her feel all the more vulnerable and sexy. “I give you my protection.” His hands slid to her waist and he walked her backward until the backs of her knees hit the bed and her legs buckled.

  Dax guided her down to the bed, helping her to lie on her back. Riley felt caught in an erotic dream. His hands were gentle as he positioned her on the soft silken sheets, but so firm and strong, she felt as if she couldn’t move, her body molten lead, heated beyond the ability to do anything but wait in desperation.

  Above her, the mist hovered like a white blanket, swirling into shapes of glittering stars, great constellations untouched by the thick ash that still hovered in the air just beyond the clouds of vapor. She knew Dax had created that beautiful outdoor ceiling for her. The wind touched her heated skin, the cool brush against her burning skin only adding to the urgency of need.

  He grasped her ankles and pulled her legs apart, exposing her most vulnerable entrance to him. Again, his hands were gentle, but his grip unbreakable should she have tried to twist away. Her gaze jumped to his face.

  “Uskolfertiilamet andam.” He swept his shirt over his head and tossed it away. “I give you my allegiance.”

  Riley felt her heart jump toward him in response to his declaration. Something inside of her shifted. She could feel the difference, but there was a roar in her ears, blood pounding in tempo with his.

  One hand shackled her ankle, holding her still as he shed the rest of his clothes with a single thought as most of his kind usually did. Her gaze drifted from his face to his broad chest and flat stomach, lower still to his thick, long erection.

  Her eyes widened; her skin went from raging hot to ice-cold and then back to hot again. Both fists curled into the sheets to hold herself still as he lowered his head to kiss her calf. His lips felt cool against her skin, but sent those fingers of arousal skittering up her thigh. She nearly pulled her leg away, but his grip held her firm. His mouth moved higher, his kisses interspersed with little nips of his sharp teeth and languid licks from his velvet tongue.

  He paused for a moment, his lips against her inner thigh, his hair sliding over her damp opening so that streaks of lightning arced through her. “Sívamet andam.” His eyes met hers. “I give you my heart.”

  Air rushed out of her lungs. Besides being the sexiest man alive to her, the sincerity in his voice—in his eyes—mesmerized her. There was something much deeper, a tenderness, that made her weak. He was handing over his heart into her keeping. The idea of it was humbling to her. Dax was an ancient warrior, a different species altogether, more feral and powerful than the animals and yet he was giving himself into her keeping.

  He turned his head, a lazy languid motion, as if he had all the time in the world when she was clawing at the sheet and tossing her head, her body no longer her own.

  “Your scent is intoxicating,” he whispered against her mound, his warm breath adding to the tension coiling tighter and tighter.

  He was killing her slowly. Slowly. Every word he said. Every move he made. His touch. His mouth. His kisses. The feel of his body, so hard and unyielding against the softness of hers. He inhaled deeply once more and she realized that as the flowers in the field had taken on his scent for her, the strange petals held her scent for him.

  He lifted his head to look down at her, those red-orange flames tinged with gold now. She could see stark, raw hunger stamped in the lines of his face. So sensual. Her entire body seemed to clench, waiting, anticipating. She held her breath. Her heart seemed to stop.

  “Sielamet andam.” The flames in his eyes leapt and burned with a fiery glow. “I give you my soul.”

  She was burning now, her head tossing back and forth on the sheet. She had his heart and soul. His allegiance. She wanted his body as well. Right. Now.

  “Please, Dax,” she whispered, a plea, a prayer.

  “You have to be ready for me, sivamet. I want only pleasure for you for your first time.”

  “I am ready,” she nearly sobbed. Her hands went to his hair, tugging on those silky spikes, trying to bring him over the top of her. Everything in her ached for him, pulsed and throbbed and demanded him. The tension coiled tighter and tighter, the
pressure building until she thought her body might just implode.

  She felt his tongue swiping over her and she bucked mindlessly. He clamped one arm firmly around her hips to hold her still.

  “So impatient. Don’t move.”

  “You’re asking the impossible,” she gasped.

  He lifted his head just enough to give her one look of reprimand. His eyes burned over her, nearly all red now, glowing with a fire threatening to burn out of control.

  Riley curled her fingers tighter in his closely cropped hair, holding on for all she was worth. She truly didn’t think she would survive the gathering pressure, the intensity of the heat. Beneath the layer of his skin she caught the impression of scales and, like his eyes, his skin was fiery red. The temperature of his body, like hers, had gone soaring, as if both of them had caught fire. The red-gold dust from those scales rained down around them.

  His mouth touched her again, his tongue stroked wickedly, and then stabbed deep. She nearly convulsed, bucking, her hips jerking in spite of the restraint of his arm. Her muscles clenched hard. A small keening wail escaped. He began a slow, leisurely assault, tongue and teeth, driving her out of her mind. Sounds escaped his throat, hot and desperate, as if he couldn’t get enough of the taste of her. His arms tightened, holding her still as he licked and sucked and took small nips with teeth while she writhed under him, her head tossing and her body spilling more and more hot cream into his mouth. Pleasure gripped her stomach, rising sharply as he pushed a finger into her.

  I’m not going to survive. Fear skittered through her mind as her body coiled tighter and tighter. He was so sexy, hot beyond her imagining, and there was no possible way she could keep up.

  Hold on to me. His voice was rough with stark lust.

  Dax lifted his head, possession in his glittering eyes. Her stomach spasmed as he wedged himself between her thighs, lifting her hips, positioning himself at her entrance. She could feel him tight against her, so hot and thick, velvet over steel. A small sobbing plea escaped. She couldn’t wait another moment.

  His fingers gripped her hips as he slowly, inch by slow inch, began to enter her. He threw his head back, his face a mask of raw pleasure.

  “Ainamet andam. I give you my body.”

  Dax fought for control. She was scorching, wrapping him in fire, so tight he wasn’t certain he would fit. Very reluctantly, her tight muscles gave ground, allowing his invasion, a slow, exquisite submission.

  “Sívamet kuuluak kaik että a ted.” He bit out the words while sensations poured over him and into him. He held himself still when his body demanded he pound into her, but she needed a moment to adjust. “I take into my keeping the same that is yours.”

  He meant every word. Binding ritual or not, the words meant more to him than ties between them. She would be his treasure, cherished, protected and loved above all else. Her heart was his. Her soul. And her body, this beautiful instrument of a pleasure he had never conceived existed. He set his teeth as he pushed deeper, feeling her muscles reluctantly unfolding like the petals of the flowers surrounding him until he was lodged against her thin barrier.

  He wanted to give her such pleasure she would never regret her choice. He shifted, blanketing her, the movement causing her to gasp and writhe under him, her muscles gripping him with a fiery passion. He stroked a caress over the swell of her breast. Again her sheath tightened, nearly strangling him with pleasure.

  She was saving his soul with her decision, no matter what he’d told her. He might never turn vampire, but her gift was even more important to him because she chose him. She followed him into an unknown world, one of danger when she was apprehensive and fearful. She had put her faith in him, trusting him when he’d been in danger of losing faith in himself and the world he’d fought so hard to maintain. She had no idea what she meant to him, but he would never let her down, and her pleasure was just as important to him as her safety.

  Riley’s hands found Dax’s biceps, feeling the coiled strength there. His hard flesh filled her, stretched her. The slightest movement he made sent streaks of fire racing over her skin and lightning arcing through her body. His lips traced a path over her breast, drawing the creamy, aching mound into the heat of his mouth, suckling strongly, his tongue lashing, and his teeth grazing her nipple. The sensation drove her crazy, pushing her need past desperation.

  “Dax, more. I need more.” He had to stop the coiling pressure building, always building with no relief.

  He raised his head for one moment, those multifaceted eyes glowing fiercely with a thousand flames. He opened his mouth to reveal the long, sharp teeth. Her breath caught in her lungs. The teeth sank deep, right along the swell of her breast, while his hips surged forward, breaching her thin barrier. Pain lashed through her body to give way instantly to near ecstasy.

  Riley’s body bowed, the soles of her feet finding the mattress for leverage as she rose to meet the thrust of his hips. Her fists doubled in his hair, holding him to her, while her blood flowed into him, locking them together in the way of his species. He was everywhere, in her body, her mind, wrapping himself in her heart, while the scent of him invaded every one of her senses.

  As merged as closely as they were, she could taste herself, feel the explosion of pleasure in him as her blood filled his cells and organs. His already large erection grew even thicker, stretching her more. Fire streaked through him, her feminine sheath wrapping him in a strangling, velvet soft, fiery grip, milking and squeezing, as he thrust deep and hard with each stroke, bringing both of them closer to that free fall.

  Sensations tore through her, the combination of his pleasure with hers pushing her higher still. Heat seared her, scorched her. The tension just stretched out more and more, with no end in sight. She clutched his shoulders, nails digging into his flesh as she tossed wildly beneath him.

  Dax reluctantly lifted his head, watching her blood seep from the two pinpricks over her breast and trickle down the creamy slope to her taut nipple. Her chest rose and fell as he followed that enticing trail, his body slamming harshly into hers again and again as he indulged himself. Finally, he closed the small wounds with his tongue.

  “Ainaak olenszal sívambin.” He uttered the words in a roughened, husky tone, stilling, refusing to give either of them relief. He was close to growling, the pleasure in his body one he’d never conceived of. “Your life will be cherished by me for all my time.”

  She was nearly mindless, tightening her muscles to grip him. Through the connection of their minds, she knew he was on the very edge of his control.

  He slipped his arm beneath her head, his eyes all fire now, burning over her like a brand. “Be still.”

  She panted, her hips unable to obey, her muscles clamping around him, desperate for release, her head tossing wildly. She couldn’t be still, no matter what he said. She strained upward, but he kept her immobile as he lifted one hand to his chest. With one diamond-hard nail, he opened a thin line along the heavy muscle over his heart.

  “Take what I offer, sivamet. Come closer into my world.”

  Her eyes widened. She stared at him in shock. Still, and it shouldn’t have been, he looked so erotic, hot and sexy, there in that open field of flowers, with his hard body and ruby red drops of blood summoning her. She nearly shook her head, but she was mesmerized by the sight.

  “Please,” she whispered. Her body was on fire. She needed release, but she wasn’t certain the plea was for him to take her over the edge. The temptation of tasting him was a dark whisper she was finding hard to ignore. The idea of drinking his blood should have been repugnant, not erotic, but her mouth could already taste him. His scent was everywhere, and her body was hot and needy.

  “You have to make the choice on your own, Riley,” he said implacably. “This is the way to bring you closer to my world, and you have to know it’s truly what you want.” Cradling her head in the crook of one arm, he gathered her hips with the other and thrust deep.

  Riley could feel his thick, hot s
haft like a steel brand spreading fire through her. She knew flames burned in him. She could see the glow beneath his skin, in his eyes, the scorching heat of his body. Every inch of his hard flesh as it buried deep in her sheath spread those flames into her. She caught fire and burned. There was no end in sight. She moved, and he stopped.

  A sob escaped. She needed him. Wanted him.

  You hunger for me.

  A bead of blood trickled over the muscle of his chest to the edge of his flat, hard nipple. Her gaze followed it, her tongue sliding over her lip. He wouldn’t let her hide from the truth. Deep in her veins she could feel a throb, every bit as strong as the terrible ache in her body. She remembered the taste of him in the flower and that intoxicating scent of his, amplified a thousand times by the field of flowers surrounding her. She couldn’t deny what he whispered was true, but human inhibitions held her back.

  I feel your hunger beating at me.

  His voice was seduction, let alone that harsh, jackhammer stroke he drove into her and once again stilled. Desperate, before she could think what she was doing, she licked at that thin trail of crimson with her tongue. His taste burst through her like champagne. She followed the trail back to the source, her mouth latching on, tongue dipping and stroking.

  His groan was a rough, sexy sound. He threw his head back, whispering to her, helping her now that she’d made the decision. The essence of his life poured into her, filling her, restructuring, nurturing.

  “Te élidet ainaak pide minan. Your life will be placed above my own for all time,” Dax bit out between clenched teeth. His body shuddered with the effort to hold back. His skin gleamed red and gold, scales showing beneath.

  Riley stared up at his face. Lines of sheer lust etched deep, sending spirals of arousal spinning deep. The taste of him hit her hard, an aphrodisiac that added to the firestorm in her body. She would never get enough of him, not his taste and not his body.