His teeth sank deep. White-hot pain pierced her body, giving way instantly to sheer ecstasy. Lightning flashed in her bloodstream, hot whips of pleasure tormenting her. Heat welled up, threatened to consume her. She held him to her, closer, moving her body enticingly. It should have frightened her, the way he fed on her, devoured her with a hungry, craving lust more sexual than anything else.
Traian traced every line and curve, every hollow, etching her body in his memory, wanting the moment to last several lifetimes. The rush hit him hard, a sexual hunger mixed with a dark craving nearly uncontrollable. For centuries his appetite had been insatiable, a terrible hunger that could never be assuaged, but now her blood satisfied his inhuman need. But his sexuality remained unappeased. Hard and hot and heavy with desire. His tongue swept across the pinpricks on her skin. His lips traveled down to her breast. Ancient words beat in his head, words of a ritual imprinted on him before his birth. Once said, there was no going back. Traian and Joie would be bound for eternity.
The small sound escaping from her throat only urged him on. His tongue teased and danced over her taut nipple, caught the droplets of water as they beaded on her skin. "I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life for you." His hands shaped her body, slid up to cup her breasts.
His face was dark, his gaze intent as he looked into her eyes. Joie felt a strange wrenching in the vicinity of her heart. A part of her tasted fear, wanted to cry out for him to stop, but another part embraced his words, understood the importance of each promise uttered. Her hands slipped over his chest, and she leaned forward to taste his skin, her teeth nipping his chest directly over his heart. She had never been a biter, but something urged her to sink her teeth deep, to connect them together. She swirled her tongue over his heavy muscles.
She was killing him. His body hurt, a hard, painful ache; he was desperate for relief. "I give to you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul, and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time. You are my lifemate, bound to me for all eternity and always in my care." The words spilled out of him, the Carpathian ritual marriage, as old as time. He felt thousands of tiny threads binding them together as they were meant to be joined.
He caught her chin in his hand, lifted her face to his, finding her lips almost blindly, wanting to devour her. She opened her mouth to him, melted into him. Traian caught her up in his arms, kissing her wildly, and carried her to the bed, cradling her in his lap so that his heavy erection pressed tightly against her buttocks. He whispered softly in his language, a strong command, even as his fingernail lengthened and he drew a line over his chest.
Joie kissed his throat, her lips drifting down his neck, unerringly finding his chest and the gash there. A hot flame burst inside him, a firestorm of emotion and sensation. The back of her head fit into his palm as he held her to him, encouraging her to make the exchange. Heat poured through his body. He burned for her, his body hard and painful with need, even as pleasure swept through him. Traian shifted, lowering Joie to the comforter, following her down so as not to break the connection between them. When he was certain she had taken enough for a true exchange, he whispered the command to halt and closed the wound himself. At once his mouth was on hers, stealing her breath, giving her his own.
Joie couldn't remember how she ended up beneath him, his hips wedged between her legs. His hands were everywhere, stroking, caressing, inciting. There wasn't an inch of her skin that he didn't explore. She heard her own strangled cry as his fingers sank deep inside her, felt her muscles clench tightly around him. Ready. Waiting. Desperate for his invasion. Her fingers caught at his hips, pulling him to her in a frantic attempt to find relief. She had never wanted or needed anything more than to feel his body deep inside hers.
Traian, certain she was ready for him, pinned her hips and thrust into her in one long, deep stroke. She gasped with pleasure, arched upward toward him, meeting him thrust for thrust. He cried out, unable to stay silent as he surged into her. She was a silken glide of fire and velvet as her feminine sheath gripped him tightly.
Joie clung to him, unable to do much more than hold on, lifting her body eagerly to meet his as he drove harder and deeper, merging them together in a fiery tango that she wanted to go on forever. They were skin to skin. Their hearts beat with the same wild rhythm. The air crackled with electricity, and sparks leapt from nerve ending to nerve ending. The pressure built and built until she thought she might have to scream with the joy exploding through her.
Then she felt him in her mind. Felt the sensations in his body, the gathering of a great force, much like a volcano. Hot. Thick. An inferno of desire and hunger mixed with intense emotion and pure lust. He filled her with flames and heat, an outpouring of pressure building from his toes to the top of his head. At the same time, he felt her every reaction, the waves of pleasure swamping her, racing to overtake them both, consume them completely.
Joie cried his name, clutched his body tightly as they went over the cliff together, free-falling through space in wild exhilaration. She couldn't catch her breath; her heart was pounding out of control. "I think I see fireworks," she whispered into his chest.
He laughed softly. "I think we produced the fireworks." He lay over her, his body pinning hers, locked tightly inside her while he kissed her slowly. Thoroughly. Leisurely. Savoring her. "Thank you for finding me, Joie."
"My pleasure, Traian," she answered. He was moving yet not moving, and each small shift sent ripples of aftershocks through her entire body. "I can hear our hearts beating. Really hear them, like pounding drums. And I can hear the blood moving through your veins. Is that normal? Because if it is, eww, ick, and yuck."
He laughed softly, the sound vibrating through her entire body so that her muscles gripped even more tightly around him. "Think about turning the volume down. Our minds are very powerful. You can control the volume with a thought." His teeth tugged at her lower lip. "Think about it and you can hear a pin drop in the next room. But if you want quiet, you simply turn the volume down."
"I don't feel that much different inside. I thought I would notice changes."
"You haven't gone through a conversion, Joie. It takes three blood exchanges. We have only exchanged one time." He caught her firmly in his arms and rolled, taking her with him, so that she was straddling him.
He filled her completely, still hard and thick so that every movement sent pleasure dancing through her body. His hands cupped her breasts. "I want to look at you. I still have a difficult time believing I actually found you. That I am with you."
Deliberately Joie moved, a long, slow glide up and down as if riding a thick pole. She felt him shudder with pleasure and arched back, pushing her breasts into his hands, getting a better angle to take more of him deep inside her. "Why are you waiting?"
He watched himself, slick and wet from her body. "I want to give your body time to adjust to the changes." It was difficult to get the words out, difficult to have a coherent thought when she was gripping him so strongly with her muscles, riding him harder and faster with long, deep strokes. Fire licked at his belly, flames erupted over his skin until the heat rushed to one central spot, collected there, and raged out of control.
He let the sexual ecstasy wash over him, through him, take possession of him, all the while watching the glide of her body, the way her muscles moved beneath her skin, the way her breasts pushed into his palms and her nipples teased and tempted him. The sheer enjoyment on her face. Her thoughts, completely taken up with giving them both pleasure, were enough to send him over the edge. He picked up the rhythm, thrusting upward, driving into her as she came down over him. Each stroke took his breath, took his heart. Her body caressed his. Was wet and hot and tight. Brought him to the brink and left him wanting more. He felt her muscles contract, grip, squeeze, and grip until they both went up in flames together.
Joie lay beside him, unable to move, wanting to l
augh with joy. Her fingers found his, tangled, and held on. She believed in living life to the fullest, but she had always thought she would do so alone. For the first time in her life, she felt complete and utter satisfaction. Complete and utter peace.
"I feel exactly the same way," Traian said. "I cannot help wondering—if you had been the Carpathian and I the human with a beloved family, would I have been as trusting as you have been? You cannot know what your faith and trust mean to me."
Joie turned her head, a mischievous grin on her face. "I decided I liked flying and the shape-shifting would be cool. And if you do something so silly as to cheat on me or run off with someone else, I'm very good with a knife."
He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you would be worried about giving up food. It does smell good. I have even sampled some from time to time."
"No one said anything about giving up food." She eyed him with suspicion. "There are certain things women can't do without, Traian. Chocolate at certain times of the month is essential to health. Not necessarily my health, but the health of all males in the vicinity. I'm not giving up chocolate, not even for great sex."
He propped himself up on one elbow, the pad of his finger tracing a circle around her breast. "Chocolate is that important, is it?"
"Essential. Absolutely essential. That's nonnegotiable."
"What kind of chocolate must you have?"
"Dark chocolate, of course. Is there any other kind?"
He dipped his head to pull her breast into his mouth, suckling strongly just to feel her reaction. His tongue swirled over her nipple before he kissed her. His kiss was long and slow and thorough. When he lifted his head, he laughed softly at her expression. She stared up at him, bemused, one hand touching her lips in wonder where the taste of dark chocolate melting in her mouth was very real.
"How did you do that?"
"You need and I provide—that is how it works. I believe you wanted to see your brother and sister tonight."
She allowed him to pull her up. "Anytime? You can do that anytime? Wow. I think I'm going to like this lifemate business."
Traian laughed, hardly able to believe the happiness blossoming inside him. Hardly daring to believe Joie was real.
* * *
Chapter Nine
Joie stood in the doorway of the lounge, her gaze scanning the crowd as she always did, getting a feel for the throng, picking out the ones most likely to cause trouble and the ones who might be interested in more than they should. She noted a tall, dark-haired man in the corner who looked up when she walked in with Traian. He quickly glanced away from them, taking a sudden interest in his drink, but she could tell he was watching them carefully. A second man drew her interest. He sat in one of the high-backed chairs near the fire, a newspaper in his hands. He was short and slender and wore reading glasses. He was looking over the top of the thick rims at Gabrielle.
Jubal turned and waved to Joie. Gabrielle looked up, gave a glad cry, and rushed toward her. Joie prepared herself to be practically bowled over as her sister embraced her, hugging her joyfully. Over Gabrielle's shoulder, she noted the man in the glasses looking past her to Traian. Recognition flickered across his face, and he carefully folded the newspaper and laid it on the small table in front of him before rising.
Traian, Joie warned. She set Gabrielle gently to her side and just a little behind her.
Traian scanned the room, was slightly shocked when he realized the slender man was human yet seemed to recognize who and what Traian was. Moreover, he was expecting Traian, had come to the inn in the hope of finding him. Traian noted with amusement that Joie had tried to position her body between him and the stranger. The rush of joy and affection, a lightening of his heart and soul, made him tremble. He couldn't remember if anyone in his long lifetime had worried about him or tried to protect him. That small gesture meant the world to him.
Behind it was her faith in him. She'd made a leap of faith, committing herself to his life, his world. She believed he wanted her happiness above his own, and she wanted to give him happiness. He had a mad desire to scoop her up and run back to her room, where he could make love to her all over again. He looked at her, allowed the thought to shimmer in his mind, to glow hot in his eyes.
Joie laughed. "Stop that."
Gabrielle looked from her sister to Traian and made a rude noise. "Oh, no. Joie, we leave you alone with him for a few minutes and you seduced him, didn't you?"
Joie shrugged unrepentantly. "You have to admit, he's pretty hot."
"I'm telling Mom."
"Well, you tattletale, if you say one word to Mom, I'm going to tell her you were thinking of taking that job researching the Ebola virus. You know what she'll do when she hears that."
"You wouldn't dare," Gabrielle said. She pushed at Joie's shoulder as the slender stranger approached, trying unsuccessfully to move her sister aside for a better look. "Now that is a hottie, Joie. There's more to a man than muscle." She grinned at Traian. "No offense or anything."
"None taken," he assured her.
"Your tongue is hanging out, Gabrielle," Joie whispered. "Stop ogling him. For you to be falling at his feet, he must have an IQ of two hundred." She glanced up at Traian. "No man she's ever looked at could carry on a normal conversation. I think she can see straight through to their brains." She nudged her sister. "Your eyes are popping out of your head."
"I was just looking," Gabrielle hissed back. "At least I didn't throw myself at him and show off by doing in underfed trolls fresh out of the grave."
"I was happy she did that," Traian pointed out.
"Yes, well, I suppose you would have been, under the circumstances," Gabrielle conceded. "But she has a major hickey on her neck. If Mom saw that, there'd be consequences."
Traian bared his strong white teeth at her. "I think I can handle your mother."
Gabrielle and Joie looked at each other and burst out laughing. "It isn't possible, Traian, even for you," Joie said.
The slender man stopped in front of them and held out his hand to Traian, although Joie noticed that his gaze continually shifted to Gabrielle. "I'm Gary Jansen. Mikhail Dubrinsky sent me. He asked me to convey his apologies, but unforeseen circumstances prevented him from coming himself. Should there be need, he asked that you put out a call to him and he will send Falcon. Mikhail's brother is in Italy at this time, so I was sent to gather the information and aid you in any way I can."
Traian gripped Gary's hand firmly. "I am Traian Trigovise. This is my lifemate, Joie Sanders, and her sister, Gabrielle. I trust the prince and his lifemate are well?"
"Raven has been ill," Gary said briefly.
Traian caught the echo of Gary's thought. Miscarriage. Joie slipped her hand into his, an offer of condolence that betrayed the fact she'd been a silent shadow in his mind. She might not understand the importance of the news, but she could feel his sorrow. "We need to speak somewhere quiet," Traian said. "I have news the prince must hear."
Jubal joined them, slipping an arm around his two sisters and waiting to be introduced. Traian did so as they followed Gary from the lounge to the comparative quiet of his room.
"Nice," Jubal commented. "We're on the second story with small balconies. This is great." He looked out the double doors to the spacious verandah. "Joie, we should have asked for the ground floor."
A dull red swept under Gary's skin, and he glanced at Gabrielle as he hastily cleared clothes from a chair. "Sorry about the mess."
Gabrielle smiled at him. "You should see my room. We were in a cave, and our clothes were filthy. All I could think about was taking a hot shower." She blushed for no reason, turning away from Gary to study the verandah Jubal seemed so interested in.
"Mikhail wanted me to ask you why you did not simply give him the information when you requested that someone join you here," Gary said.
"Had I used the common telepathic link, the undead would have heard what I had to say," Traian said. "I have never exchanged blood with the prince and do not have
a private telepathic link. It was better to keep my news confidential."
Gary nodded toward the Sander siblings. "Forgive me for asking, but you are certain everyone in this room can be trusted?"
"I am more certain of them than I am of you," Traian answered.
Gary smiled, relaxing for the first time. "That's good enough for me. I can give Mikhail your news, although he asked me to have you return home as soon as you are able. He has called in the ancients his father sent out. He needs their knowledge to make informed decisions in the ongoing war with the undead."
"Where is his second? I fear the life of our prince is in danger. I do not like the fact that the undead dare to gather so close to our homeland."
"Gregori is in the United States but will be returning soon. Falcon and Jacques stay close to the prince."
"There are many undiscovered caves in these mountains," Traian said. "I went to ground in one of them and came across several vampires. They were hunting something beneath the earth and they were so frantic to find it, they began to hunt me, instead of avoiding me as would be usual. We had several battles. I destroyed two of them, although more than one master vampire travels with them and they are extremely powerful. I was severely wounded after one of the battles, and they found my resting place. Instead of killing me, they decided to use my blood so they could continue searching. Joie and her brother and sister found us. Joie killed one of the vampires."
"Sort of," Joie corrected when Gary looked at her with admiration. "The darn thing fried my favorite knife. Traian had to incinerate it before it was really gone." He isn't like you, Traian. He's human.
Few humans are trusted with the knowledge he has of our people. He must be much respected for Mikhail to send him to me.
"Vampires are very difficult to kill," Gary said, "and with even one master vampire in the vicinity, it is too dangerous to engage in battle." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm a biochemist, not a hunter, but I've seen the results of what the vampire can do to humans. It's terrifying."
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