Dark Challenge (Dark Series - book 5)

by Christine Feehan

  “That thing with your hair.” Julian leaned down to taste a small bead of sweat running down the back of her neck. He felt her shiver, felt the answering shiver deep within his own body. His hand slid under the edge of her silken blouse to find hot satin skin, his long fingers caressing each rib. “How do women tie up their hair without looking at it?” His voice was raw and edgy, reflecting the way his body was reacting to hers.

  “Why does it feel like forever since you touched me like this?” she whispered. “It is hot, Julian.”

  “It is getting that way,” he agreed. A thought took his shirt from his body so that his bare skin gleamed like bronze. In the blackness of the tunnels, to them it was as if it were daylight. The walls gleamed with yellow sulfur, and all around them was the beauty of nature, shimmering and glittering beneath the earth, ever moving, ever changing, the minerals that enriched the soil and made it fertile and healing, the very things that built the land masses themselves. Because their body temperature could regulate itself, enabling them to be inside the earth, a part of its wonders, they saw it all happening where most humans never could.

  Desari felt the intense heat, not from the earth but from deep within her own body, from Julian’s fingers radiating just under her bare breast, along her side, lingering, caressing, bringing her body to life.

  Julian stopped abruptly, his palm cupping the back of her neck, bringing her to a halt as his mouth fastened on hers. Molten heat raged between them. The taste of them, the moist heat of their mouths mingled. His fingers twined themselves in the thick ebony hair she had so carelessly secured, holding her to him so that he could explore her mouth with languid, lazy seduction and fierce, burning hunger. It was like creating a firestorm. The more they shared, the hotter the flames.

  Julian pulled away first, trailing kisses down her throat to the valley between her breasts. Her breasts thrust so invitingly through the silk, his mouth simply found her nipple through the material. The sexual jolt slammed into her body hard enough that he experienced it also, and he answered by dragging her closer, his mouth drawing her breast into its velvet fire, his tongue stroking, his teeth scraping gently.

  “There is something so beautiful about you, Desari,” he whispered against her. “Something I could never resist even if I wanted to.” His hand slipped across her stomach to her jeans. “Sometimes I think if I do not take you fast enough, you will disappear, and I will wake up and all this will have been a wild dream.” He confessed it against her breast, his breath hot on her aching flesh. Already his hand had dealt with the fastenings of her jeans and pushed impatiently at the material so he could find the damp heat between her legs. She was always so ready for him, every bit as wild with hunger as he was.

  He slipped two fingers into her, his own body reacting as her muscles clenched around him.

  He closed his eyes and savored the way her body bathed his fingers in welcoming hot dampness. He felt there was no way to express the depth of his feelings for her, no way to find words for the intensity of his love and admiration for her, for his hunger and need for her. He could worship her with his body yet never find the right way in all eternity to say that same thing.

  Her body was so hot and tight and welcoming. A solace, a comfort, a dazzling place of heat and ecstasy created for him exclusively. His mouth found her breast once more through the silken fibers, felt her body respond with another rush of liquid heat. She made a soft sound, moved her hips against his hand, arched her body more fully into his. She was restless with hunger and need, maybe even more so than he.

  Julian loved the way it made him feel, to know that she wanted him, needed him with the same savage intensity he felt for her. He allowed himself the freedom of trailing kisses down her throat, of tearing the silken blouse from her glistening body. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured again, awed that she was such perfection. His hands traced her skin, the shape of her, from her shoulders to her waist. It was easy enough to dispense with her clothes, and he did so, wanting to see every inch of her just because he could, because she belonged with him.

  When he touched her again, his hand was trembling. “What you do to me,

  cara,

  should never be done to a male.”

  “Really?” She asked it with a hint of laughter, but her voice was husky with love for him. She read his thoughts as easily as he read hers. She knew the way he felt about her, words or no words. “Do you think it is too much to ask for a bed?”

  His laughter bathed her throat in warmth. “You want a bed? You do not ask for much, do you,

  cara mia!

  ”

  “I thought we could try to make it to the lower caves before we go crazy here.” She linked her hands behind his neck.

  Julian responded immediately, swinging her into his strong arms. He moved with the preternatural speed of their race, taking her through the network of passages, following the map in her mind. He sent his command ahead, preparing the chamber for their arrival, lit candles throwing dancing shadows on the shimmering walls, rose petals on the ground leading to the large bed in the center of the room.

  Julian lowered her gently to the sheets, blanketing her body with his own. He didn’t want to be separated from her, not even by an inch. They had little time before they would have to seek the shelter of the earth, and he intended to rise before the vampire could escape.

  Desari caught his face between her hands and held him so she could look into his eyes. “The way you love me, Julian, so beautifully, so much, that is the way I love you. You are everything to me. If only we have the next few moments together, everything that came before was worth the time we have had.”

  He could drown in her eyes. They were deep, fathomless, a siren’s lure. Bedroom eyes. He had heard the term but had no idea of its true meaning until that moment. “I do love you, Desari. You know it is so much more than mere physical desire.”

  “Of course I know. I am of ancient blood, my love. Even one such as you would have a difficult time hiding the truth from me.” She raised her head to reach his perfect mouth with her own.

  They melded together, a living flame, coming together as if time and space ceased to exist. Everything fell away until there was just Desari and Julian locked in their own world, where violence and unhappiness could not touch them, would never touch them.

  His hands moved over the satin of her skin, seeking every inch of her. The feel of her beneath the rough palm of his hands was incredibly sexy, adding to the fire spreading through their bodies. He savored her softness. She was exquisite, every hollow, every swell. He loved the triangle of dark curls guarding her damp, steamy treasure. His hand slid lower, caressed, lingered, once more found the heat inside her.

  Desari moaned softly, finding his back with her hands. She needed something strong and solid to hang on to while her body rippled and danced with pleasure. She nuzzled the warmth of his throat, tasted his skin, caught a bead of sweat running over his chest with the tip of her tongue. She heard his heart, the strong beat, the rhythm that matched her own, that belonged to her. His fingers were buried within her, strong and sure, bringing ripples of pleasure to her so that her breath was coming in small gasps and she writhed against his hand, seeking relief.

  Julian moved then, his knee parting her thighs to give him access. For just a moment as he lifted himself above her, he stared down into her dark, beautiful eyes. It was impossible to believe, even now, with her lying, waiting, beneath him, her body crying out for his, that she truly belonged to him. He caught her hips firmly in his hands and thrust deeply, burying himself completely in her tight, hot sheath. He heard the breath slam from his lungs at the intensity of completeness, her body tight and hot around his. He began to move then, long, hard, sure strokes, his hips surging forward, over and over, each time trying to bury himself deeper. She was surrounding him with heat and fire, a velvet sheath that locked him to her, that allowed them to become one, as they were meant to be.

  Desari was moving with him,
matching him stroke for stroke, her body clenching his, releasing, gripping again, until he wanted, even needed, to cry out with ecstasy, but his lungs couldn’t get enough air to do so. He bent his head toward the temptation of her breasts. His incisors exploded into his mouth. Without warning, he sank them deep, so that Desari felt the white-hot pain and pleasure mingle together and flow from her to Julian and back again.

  It was impossible to tell who was feeling what. They were locked together, body and mind, heart and soul, even their blood flowing together. He felt her body tighten around him; she was gasping, her nails in his back. “Julian.” She whispered his name, or maybe it was in his mind. He felt her mind-shattering explosion as her muscles spiraled around him in waves like an earthquake. It was far too much to expect self-control as Julian’s own body tightened to the point of pain. And then he was exploding outward, upward, convulsing with sheer pleasure.

  He could not maintain the intimacy of feeding while his lungs were raging for air and his body was burning itself up. Julian held her to him, his arms possessive as they curved around her slender body. Very gently he stroked his tongue across the pinpricks over her breast. She was clinging to him as if he were her anchor in the center of a storm. It made him feel amazingly powerful.

  Desari reached up to trace his lips. “You have a perfect mouth, Julian. An amazingly perfect mouth.” He arched an eyebrow at her. “Just my mouth is amazing?”

  “You are such a man.” Her eyes laughed at him. “You need constant reassurance that you are magnificent.”

  He nodded. “Magnificent. I like that. I could live with magnificent. Good choice of words, lifemate.”

  She circled his neck with her arms. “Arrogant male. Darius is right, you know. You are incredibly arrogant.”

  “But deservedly so,” he pointed out. He bent his head once more to find her mouth with his.

  She

  had the perfect mouth. And she tasted delicious. There was something about the way she clung to him that turned his heart over every time. Desari shared herself with him without inhibition, without reservation. She gave herself completely into his keeping when they were making love.

  Carefully, he eased his body out of hers and rolled slightly so that his weight was off of her. Her long lashes fanned her high cheekbones, making her more exotic-looking than ever. She snuggled closer to him, enjoying their time alone together and the silly conversations they always seemed to have.

  “You grow sleepy,

  cara mia”

  Julian whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “We should go to your brother’s chamber. I will check him once more before we go to ground.”

  Desari refused to open her eyes. She made a soft purring sound, completely contented to lie in his arms. “Not yet, Julian,” she protested softly. “I do not want to leave this place for a little while longer.”

  “I can feel how tired you are, my love. I can do no other than—”

  “Do not say it!” Desari thumped his chest. “Just lie there and hold me. That is what I want. Men are such difficult creatures, Julian. I am beginning to realize this.”

  He rubbed his chin on the top of her head, her hair catching in the shadow along his jaw. “Men are not difficult. They are logical and methodical.”

  She laughed softly. “You wish it were so. I must tell you, although I am taking a huge chance that you might become impossible to live with, that you are an extraordinary lover.”

  “Keep talking, lifemate. I am listening,” he responded with a deep satisfaction. “Magnificent was only a starting place. Extraordinary lover is the perfect description. I see that now.”

  Her soft laughter washed over him, as gentle as a breeze. Touching him. Just like that. She could touch him with her breath. Julian wrapped his arms around her tightly and buried his face in her ebony hair. “Why is it you always smell so good?”

  “Would you want me to smell like a cavewoman?”

  “I do not know,

  cara

  . I do not know what a cave-woman smells like.”

  She opened her eyes at that, her long lashes fluttering in the sexy, flirty little way she had. “You’d better not want me smelling like any other, Julian, or you will find out what a real ancient woman can do when she is enraged.”

  “You do not know what rage is, my love.” He rubbed his face in her hair once more before lifting his head. “There is no rage in you—nothing that can be called upon to save your life should there be need.”

  Desari immediately sat up, coming to her knees to face him, her long hair spilling around her, framing her slender body. “Where did that come from? Why would you worry about such a thing at this moment?”

  He is still out there. My sworn enemy, the one who resides in me. And whoever sent the human assassins after you is still out there, and you are still insisting on singing in front of crowds.

  He tried to censor the thought before she could read it, before it actually was in his mind, but it was too late. She was a shadow within him, just as he remained locked to her mind.

  Desari smiled, her eyes loving and warm. “There is no need for this constant fear you are developing. I have survived centuries and will survive many more. I plan on having a family of my own someday, with my handsome lifemate. No one is going to take my future from me. I may not have what it takes to fight those who threaten us, but I am highly intelligent and have many gifts of my own to ensure my safety. And I can take care of you, too, should there be need. We are partners: I will lean on your strengths often, as I hope you will lean on mine.”

  “I have more faith in you than you can know,” Julian replied honestly. “I just never had anything to lose before.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose and gave her a faint smile. “I used to watch some of the human men, the ones I knew really loved their women, go through the agonies of fearing something might happen to take away their happiness. I always wondered what was wrong with them that they couldn’t just enjoy what they had right then. Now I am like they were.”

  “If we were in your homeland and far from my people, would our life be so different?”

  “In some ways. Many ways,” he admitted. “You will have to come there with me soon. It is so beautiful, and the soil there is amazing. Nothing can match it. Syndil would be astounded.”

  “And what of your brother?” She rubbed her hand along his jaw, coaxing the shadows from his eyes, pleased that his invitation obviously included her family. “Aidan and his lifemate. We must go to see them very soon. I want to meet this man who looks as you do.”

  Julian was silent for a moment. “I, too, want to see him. I owe him an explanation.”

  “Then we will go.” Desari pretended there was no vampire waiting to destroy her family. “Tell me what the people are like in the Carpathian Mountains.”

  Julian thought about that for a moment. A slow smile softened the faintly harsh edge to his mouth. “You always come up with great questions,

  piccola.

  To be honest, I never thought much about what they are like. Mostly they are hardworking people. They pull together in times of crisis. Mikhail and Gregori are very much like Darius. Leaders, hunters, protectors, healers. It will be an experience meeting your older brother, for you and Darius.” His smile deepened, reaching his glittering eyes. “Raven is Mikhail’s lifemate. She is very much her own person and quite a handful, from what I understand. You would probably become great friends.”

  “Try to sound like you might like that,” Desari encouraged him, trying not to laugh at the pained expression on his face, “I think the only safe thing to do is lock you up somewhere far from the rest of the world and keep you to myself.” For one moment he was half-serious, wondering if there was a possibility he could get away with it. “I might like that.” Desari put her hands on his chest to push him back onto the bed. “We are never alone like this, and I think it is very necessary that couples have plenty of time for the things in life that they need. Like great conversation.
” Her hand moved through the golden hair on his chest to follow the path across his flat, hard stomach. “Do you hear me conversing with you?” she asked softly. Her nails were tracing patterns across his skin, moving dangerously low, tangling in golden hair, encountering the thick length of him.

  The breath jolted out of him, and beneath her gently caressing nails he grew harder and thicker, and the need began to build. “I thought you were listening,” she murmured. “See what can happen when we take a little time to be alone? You should not spend so much time chasing enemies.”

  Desari shifted position so she could straddle him, slowly lowering her body over his. Even as she felt his body enter hers, the exquisite slowness heightening the pleasure, Julian suddenly sat up, his arms dragging her against him. He was aggressively male, his hips moving with powerful, sure strokes as Desari clung to him, her breasts pressed into his chest and her head on his shoulder. Julian held her tightly to him as he thrust upward into her. There was no greater joy than to merge with her, physically and mentally. There was no greater joy than to simply be with her, share her body and heart and mind. Julian took his time, wanting their time to last forever, wanting to be one for as long as they could possibly stay that way. In the end, they were gasping for air, clinging to one another, sated and exhausted.

  The sun was obviously making its way to the highest point in the sky and their bodies began reacting as they normally did, protesting the time of day with tremendous fatigue. Soon, neither of them would be able to move. Even though they were already deep within the earth, the daylight still had the unwanted effects on them.

  Julian raised his head first, all too aware of his growing weakness. “

  Cara,

  I am sorry, but we have little time, and I must see to your brother. I feel it necessary to sleep above him to ensure his protection.”

  Desari nodded wordlessly. She had never felt so tired before, her body like lead, yet her heart and soul were completely content. She wanted nothing more than to he with Julian in the soil to allow rejuvenation. Secretly she was very pleased that Julian would care to protect her brother. She loved that about him, his willingness to accept responsibility for her family even though he decried it at every turn.