Dark Guardian (Dark Series - book 9)

by Christine Feehan

  He shot me

  .

  “I’m glad you comprehend, Sherlock. He’s on his way right now. He could be here at any second. You need blood, Lucian.”

  He was doing a quick assessment of his injuries before he scanned the area.

  You are right, Jaxon. He is very close

  . His hand came up to caress her hair, then moved to the nape of her neck. His mouth moved over her throat to find her pulse beating steadily if a little too fast. His tongue stroked once unhurriedly, preparing her for the shock of his teeth sinking into her. She cried out, her arms stealing around his head to cradle him to her. Then she closed her eyes and relaxed. This was Lucian. Injured he might be, even severely, but he could stir her blood and make her feel completely safe under any circumstances.

  Already weak, she found herself drowsy, fading, slipping into a dreamlike state. Her arms fell away from him to her sides. She slumped against him, unable to hold herself up, uncaring that it was so. She heard him murmur her name, heard the love in his voice as he closed the tiny pinpricks in her throat. His hands were gentle as he moved her to a more comfortable position.

  You called me an arrogant jerk, Jaxon. That was not very nice. Your bedside manner needs to improve immensely . You’re lucky I didn’t kick you. You scared me to death. And just remember, Mr. Arrogance, it was a human that nearly did you in. I knew you were the type of woman who would say “I told you so.”

  Despite the weariness in his voice, there was a hint of laughter.

  If she had the strength, she might have hit him, but she was far too tired to make the effort. She lay slumped on the deck, unmoving.

  I knew you had a penchant for violence,

  he teased.

  Jaxon felt it then, her stomach clenching in a hard knot.

  He is here . Yes, my love, I know. Do not worry. This monster will never harm you or anyone you love again.

  His voice, his beautiful, black-velvet voice, was as tranquil as ever. He did not tell her, as he saw no need, that he was incredibly weak and that Gabriel with Francesca was aiding him from a distance, their combined strength pouring into him.

  You must be careful this time.

  Her words, even without her voice to speak them aloud, were slurred in his mind.

  Sleep, my love, and do worry about me. No!

  Her protest was sharp. Do

  not try to force me to sleep. I must be aware in case you have need of my help

  .

  Lucian did not point out that she was too weak to fight her way out of a paper bag. He sat up carefully, not wanting to undo all the repairs Jaxon had so meticulously made. He needed several days of sleep in the rejuvenating soil before he would be back to his full strength.

  Drake was only a few yards away now. Lucian could hear him as he moved through the brush toward the lodge. He waited, sitting beside Jaxon, one hand tangled in the mop of wild silky blond strands he loved so much.

  This was the one then, the monster who had taken control of Jaxon’s life at such an early age. Tyler Drake. Lucian could feel her tension, although she tried to conceal it.

  Lucian sent her a wave of warm reassurance before he turned his attention to the approaching monster. He sent his voice, the perfect weapon, out into the night. “You will come to me unarmed, Drake.”

  There was no way to disobey that voice that could so easily enthrall. Under compulsion, Drake moved out into the open, both hands empty and in plain sight. His eyes were restless, blinking rapidly, repeatedly. He was sick, his mind twisted, his thought processes unnatural. Lucian realized then that he had thought Drake a camper or hiker because the man wasn’t actually thinking of killing anyone. He wasn’t planning it. He considered himself a good man, a man who loved his child.

  “You have caused Jaxon much sorrow in her life, Mr. Drake,” Lucian said quietly, his voice gentle. “I can do no other than ask that you no longer walk this land with her. You must go to a place where one much greater than myself can pass judgment on you.”

  Jaxon’s slight body was trembling visibly. She was far too weak to sit up beside her lifemate. She lay on the deck with her head in Lucian’s lap and his hands in her hair. She touched Lucian’s mind, found him tranquil, at peace. Even with one such as Drake, he felt no anger, no sympathy, no remorse. He carried out his responsibility without emotion, as he always did. She slipped into his mind, allowed his peace to wash over her, through her. She didn’t hate Drake, and she didn’t feel sorry for him; she only knew that Lucian had to destroy him.

  Lucian stared at Drake, unwilling to utter the command aloud for Jaxon to hear. Drake brought his hands up to his throat as he began to fight for air. Lucian concentrated on the man’s chest. Inside the man, his heart was shutting down, chambers clogging as his blood thickened. Veins collapsed, arteries shattered, and Tyler Drake shuddered and went down abruptly, sitting on the snow-covered ground, then toppling over to lie still.

  Jaxon could only stare in astonishment, half lifting her body in astonishment. That was it? After years living in torment, she couldn’t be free so easily. So quietly. She glanced up at Lucian.

  Is it over? He’s really dead

  ?

  Lucian wrapped his arms around her protectively. “He is dead,” he said out loud, knowing she needed to hear the words spoken.

  Jaxon closed her eyes and slipped back toward the deck, fainting for the first time in her life. Lucian moved with his preternatural speed, his arms cradling her head before it could hit the wood. She wasn’t going to be very happy with herself for fainting.

  Exhausted, Lucian allowed Gabriel to do most of the work as he gathered energy particles from the sky and sent them flaming into Tyler Drake’s body. When there was nothing left but ashes, he lay back beside his lifemate, pillowing her head on his shoulder. It was only then that he noticed she was covered in his blood. The last thing he wanted was for Jaxon to awaken in that state. He was going to have to concede to her that he might have been a little arrogant where Drake was concerned. She would never let him get away with anything less.

  Right now you need to go to ground.

  That was Gabriel, acting as if his twin needed to be taken out behind the proverbial barn.

  Gabriel, easily picking up Lucian’s thought, gave a rather rude snort of derision.

  I do not think that will happen anytime soon. Francesca says get beneath the earth immediately, and take your lifemate with you. She has given far too much of her strength in healing you .

  Lucian shook his head as he gathered Jaxon into his arms. Gabriel had to have the last word. He was like that.

  Only because I am always right.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jaxon curled up on the small sofa right in front of the fireplace. She wore only a thin robe, her small rebellion against the coming event, and the warmth from the flames felt good. She also liked the way fire light flickered and danced on the wall, bringing out the wood trim’s golden hue. She was nervous, striving for normalcy, and needed something to keep her from thinking too much.

  Shaking out the newspaper, she began to scan it, reading as a policewoman, looking for any stray detail that might be of use in any of her open cases. Often some odd item in the paper could help bring together pieces of information in police work.

  Finding an article on the second page, she could hardly believe her eyes. She recognized three names, attributed to three great humanitarians.

  Hal Barton. Harry Timms. Denny Sheldon

  . The three men who had “visited” their home so recently. “Lucian, have you read the paper this evening?”

  He glanced at her, his black eyebrows raised in inquiry.

  “What now?”

  He

  hid his smile, knowing exactly what she was doing, what she was trying to avoid.

  “I wonder. It seems your three friends, the ones who broke into our house and wanted you to invest in their foolproof security system, have become rather wealthy in their own right.”


  “I am glad for them. They will not need my money after all.”

  “They never did. I’m not a moron, you know. You did something to them, didn’t you? What did you do?”

  Lucian’s black eyes were laughing, but his voice was innocent. “What could I have possibly done? You were there. What does the article say?”

  “The three of them worked for a couple of ‘businessmen.’ “ Her large brown eyes were boring into him. “Ha! Probably drug lords. I’m right, aren’t I?”

  She was altogether too smart. Staying one step ahead of her for the rest of their lives was going to require effort. Lucian shrugged, a secret little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

  Jaxon found him altogether too sexy. Likely he was always going to get away with far too much. “Anyway, these two ‘businessmen’ apparently met with a sailing accident and left their companies to the three of these guys, who now seem to be running the businesses legitimately and giving huge profits to charity. According to the reporter, they were investigated thoroughly, and the police are convinced they’re completely legitimate.”

  “Good for them. And this is somehow worrisome to you? You must explain this to me.”

  She glared at him. “You are so innocent, aren’t you, Lucian? You know what? I don’t want to know what you did. It’s probably illegal.”

  “You said they were investigated thoroughly.”

  “Very convenient. No one would know if you did anything, would they?”

  “Angel.” Lucian’s voice was soft and gentle, perfectly innocent of any mischief making. “They live completely across the continent. I do have limitations.”

  “If you do, I haven’t noticed them yet,” she answered and shook out the paper again, raising it high to cover her face.

  Lucian laughed softly. “I think you are just suffering prewedding jitters.”

  The paper rustled warningly. “I am not nervous.”

  “Yes, you are. I am in your mind, honey. You are very nervous. I must say, it is an interesting phenomenon, when you are already irrevocably bound to me. We have been together under the worst circumstances, and you know you are sealed to me, so why are you so apprehensive about a little ceremony?”

  “I’m not nervous.” It was a blatant lie. “Lucian, I don’t know why you’re insisting on this ceremony anyway. You said we were already married. That’s enough for me. And weren’t you worried about paper trails? I thought you said Carpathians had to be careful about such things.”

  “You are trying to squirm out of it,” he accused her. “But it is not going to work. I have been in your mind, and I saw how much such a wedding means to you.”

  Jaxon carefully folded the newspaper and set it aside. “Lucian, look at me.” When he turned to face her, she locked her gaze with his. “It

  meant

  a great deal to me, Lucian. Now I know it isn’t the wedding that counts, it’s what the wedding means. I know we belong together, and your ceremony, although terribly sexist, is as binding as a human ceremony.”

  “More so,” he said softly.

  She smiled. “Maybe.”

  “But still, the human ceremony is quite beautiful, and my brother has come all this way with his wife to stand beside me. I have endured his stupid grins and gloating manner long enough. He believes you have me wrapped around your little finger. You will go through with this, Jaxon, just to pay for that alone.”

  “Maybe we could go hide out in the mountains, Lucian.” Jaxon stood up and went to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing up against him suggestively. “Someplace where we can be alone.”

  He turned immediately and took her into his arms. “You are blatantly trying to seduce me into missing our wedding and disappointing our guests. Shame on you, angel. And I am so susceptible to your charms.” His voice held that husky note of desire that always took her breath away.

  “Many charms,” she corrected, turning up her mouth to be kissed.

  He obliged her, bending his head to her instantly, his mouth moving slowly, thoroughly over hers. His mouth was hot and moist, his tongue dancing with hers suggestively. Her fingers brushed at his long, thick ebony hair lovingly, then slid to his shirt to push it from his shoulders, letting her burrow against his skin.

  “I don’t care if all our guests miss us. I want you, Lucian.”

  “You cannot wait a few hours?” he teased her. “I made love to you just this rising.”

  Her eyes darkened, and she allowed her robe to slip from her shoulders. “Let’s have more hot, crazy sex, then. It works for me.”

  His dark eyebrows shot up, but he obediently waved a hand so the room’s door lock snicked into place. His body tightened painfully, hard and throbbing in anticipation. “You are, after all, my lifemate, and I can do no other than to keep you happy.” His clothes floated to the floor immediately.

  Pressed as she was against him, Jaxon found the thick evidence of his compliance thrust temptingly against her bare breasts. She cupped him in her hand, her fingers sliding, caressing, stroking until his breath slammed out of his lungs. “It seems to me, since I’m being so demanding, that I should help you out... get you in the mood.” Her breath was deliberately warm on him. She blew softly, gently, her tongue stroking curling heat along his length.

  A rough growl escaped from his throat. Jaxon laughed softly. He was pushing against her. “I’m not quite sure what you want,” she teased.

  His fist bunched in her tousled hair. “I will make myself perfectly clear,” he murmured softly. “Open your mouth.”

  He threw back his head, arching more deeply into her as her mouth, hot and moist, closed tightly over the most sensitive part of him. Her tongue teased and danced as her hand tightened to slide over him again and again. “Jaxon,” he groaned, forgetting the wedding, the guests, everything but her mouth and her hand.

  Reveling in his reaction, Jaxon forgot she was deliberately seducing him, the haze of his pleasure echoing in her own mind. She wanted him so much she couldn’t think clearly. This was no longer a ploy to distract him but a necessity.

  “Are you ready for me? You have to be ready for me,” he bit out between clenched teeth.

  She lifted her head slowly and smiled at him sexily. Very deliberately she slid her hand down her body, drawing his attention to her breasts, her narrow rib cage, her stomach. She heard his breath catch as he watched her fingers disappear between her legs. She moved, a sensuous ripple of her body, then withdrew her fingers to hold them up to him. Glistening. Hot.

  Lucian bent his head and drew her fingers into his mouth, his black eyes burning over her. Without any further preliminaries, he simply lifted her into his arms. Jaxon wrapped her legs around him and began to settle over him, taking him into her body inch by exquisite inch until he filled her, stretched her. “All of me, honey, take all of me,” he whispered in encouragement. Her breath came in small, needy gasps as she took him into her sheath, hot and slick and so tight he was shuddering with pleasure. It was her desire, her need, that drove them now, and Lucian let her set the pace.

  He watched her ride him, her body supple and strong, her arms around his neck, her skin, caressed by the firelight, glowing. She began to hasten the rhythm, tightening her muscles, clenching and gripping until he was as breathless as she. One hand caught her small bottom, pressing her to him as he began to move, thrusting into her again and again. Fast. Furious. Hard, hot sex. Just what she wanted, what he wanted.

  He caught the back of her head, brought her face to his, thrusting his tongue wildly into her mouth. His mind thrust into hers, sharing his excitement, the taste of her, of him, sharing the intense pleasure and passion of her body, of his. They moved together in perfect unison. The firestorm burned hot and bright through both of them, sending them soaring, clutching each other, hearts nearly exploding with the shared pleasure.

  Jaxon laid her head on his shoulder, holding him deep within her. “I love you. I know I do. Let’s just run away together, disappear for a w
hile, Lucian, just the two of us, like it was in the cave.”

  Very carefully he lowered her to the floor, separating their bodies. His hands framed her face. “You really are afraid of marrying me.” He kissed her gently, tenderly.

  Her long lashes swept down to conceal her expressive eyes. “It isn’t marrying you, Lucian, it’s the wedding. It’s turned into such a big deal!” she wailed. “Everyone’s going to be looking at me. And I don’t even know half the guests. You have all these big shots attending. Aidan Savage from San Francisco. Desari, the famous singer, singing at my wedding. How did that happen?”

  Almost automatically, without any real thought, Jaxon cleaned and clothed her body in the way of Carpathians. She was still struggling to regain her breath and lower her heart rate.

  Lucian’s eyes lit up with pride. She had accepted her new way of life as she did everything—embracing it quickly, passionately. He matched the rhythm of his breathing and pulse to hers and easily regulated them. Then he responded mildly to her concerns.

  “Desari’s lifemate is Aidan’s twin brother, Julian. When I asked Aidan and Alexandria to attend, along with Antonio, who is practically a member of the family, Aidan asked if we would like Desari to sing. Apparently she and Julian were visiting. From what I understand, she is very nice.” He added his own clothes, then smiled when Jaxon raked a hand through her hair, once more tousling her short, silky cap. “And you do have most of the police force attending.”

  “I’m certain Desari is very nice, Lucian, but she’s

  famous

  .” Jaxon tried not to kick him in the shins. He was being far more difficult than usual. And he looked gorgeous—someone who deserved a tall, elegant, beautiful woman. “And it isn’t most of the police force, just my coworkers and friends. I don’t want strangers looking at me.”

  “You will be beautiful in your wedding gown, angel. A dream.” He said it sincerely. “My dream. I find you very beautiful and incredibly sexy.”

  She glared at him. “I have never worn a pair of high heels in my life. I’ll trip and break my neck.” She wrung her hands.