Dark Song

by Christine Feehan

  They flew back to their favorite spot in the forest, just on the outer edge of the meadow but in the shadow of the trees. As they both shifted to their human forms, he waved his hand to provide them with the thickest of fur rugs. Nudity didn’t bother him and he preferred to look at her feminine form. If she was at all uncomfortable, he would provide her with clothing. Both could regulate their temperature without a problem, and if the weather proved unpredictable—and already a small storm had moved in—he could provide a transparent roof overhead.

  The clouds swirled overhead, moving to cover the small slice of moon and blot out the stars. They would need that gathering storm and the more natural, the better. The Carpathians coming in to aid them from all directions were already doing so, hopefully unseen by any of Sergey’s spies. The breaking weather would definitely be helpful. A series of storms had been predicted over the next few risings, a good break for them. The Carpathians traveling their way would have adequate cover and hopefully, during the battle, they could utilize the storms as well.

  Fingers of mist drifted across the meadow and through the trees. Ferro immediately provided a transparent roof so they could see the slow rolling clouds overhead and the first of the silvery drops as they began to fall from the sky. He laid back, stretching out, drawing Elisabeta with him, so both could look upward at the display. Her head rested on his shoulder, her body tucked in tight against his side. He was aware of her every curve. The softness of her form against the hardness of his.

  “I never noticed how beautiful rain could be until this moment,” he admitted. “Instead of individual beads falling, each looks like a thin silver streak dropping out of the darkness. Each rising I find something new and amazing you have gifted me with.”

  She turned her head to look up at him. “Ferro. You are the true gift. I have spent each rising for hundreds of years living in terror. Now, each is a joy, whether or not there is fear, because there is you.”

  Elisabeta turned completely, her body sliding over his boldly so that she was blanketing him. Her hands framed his face. “Hän sívamak, you have my heart. Always, you have my heart.” She brushed kisses across his eyes and then down his face to the corner of his mouth.

  Ferro’s body reacted with a hot rush of blood pounding through his veins, thundering in his ears, to center in his groin. She moved her hips subtly, rubbing against him, inflaming him further. She began to move down his body, kissing his chin and then his throat.

  Ferro closed his eyes, his hands moving in her hair, stroking and massaging. He needed to be satisfied with what they had together already. She had come so far so fast. Asking any more of her was selfish, and she took him to heaven with that perfect mouth of hers every single rising.

  Elisabeta lifted her head. “Ferro? What more? I catch needs in you that are fleeting, but those needs are very strong. I am your lifemate. I provide for you.”

  He suppressed a groan. “You are providing for me. The things you do to me are beautiful, Elisabeta. What we do to one another is an expression of love.”

  She studied his face for a long moment. “One expression of love. I see that in your mind. I also see other things as well. Intriguing things. I want to do those things with you, Ferro, not just one. All of them.”

  His fist bunched in her hair. She could drive him right to the very edge of his control, and he had always thought himself extremely disciplined. He wanted everything he gave her, everything they did together, to be perfect for her. To be beautiful for her. “When you are ready, sívamet, we will do them.”

  She pressed a kiss to his chest and then looked up again, her dark gaze colliding with his. “How do we know if I am ready if we do not ever try?”

  Ferro’s heart stuttered. She was killing him. How was he going to protect her if she was going to lie on top of him, give him those innocent, seductress eyes and move her silken body over his already inflamed nerve endings, threatening to drive him past all sanity?

  “Ferro?” She pressed kisses to his throat and chin. “I am asking you to show me. To teach me. I want everything with you. Everything there is.”

  He stared up at her beloved face, love for her nearly overwhelming him. “Minan piŋe sarnanak, no woman will ever be as loved or as treasured as you.”

  Very gently he rolled her over so that she was beneath him. He sat up slowly as he laid her out before him there on the softest of thick furs, not wanting anything to mar her pleasure, not a single twig, pebble, or even the swell of the ground. The feel of the fur as it rubbed against her sensitized skin would heighten her pleasure, not detract from it. He took his time looking down at her body, that perfect feminine form that was so outrageously different from his and yet fit so perfectly with his.

  Elisabeta’s gaze clung to his, trust in her dark eyes. Love for her welled up, a tidal wave of emotion, shaking him as nothing in his long life ever had. He had never considered that he could ever feel such strong emotions, but the strength and depth of his love for her was almost beyond his comprehension. There were no real words to express that to her, so he simply opened his mind more fully to her to allow her to see what she meant to him.

  He had been so careful to protect her from the emptiness of his past, from the disturbing battles and kills. She was too sensitive an empath, and there was no need for her to have to share his violent past, but she needed to see what she truly meant to him. She deserved that much. If she caught glimpses of other things, he hoped that didn’t diminish what he wanted to give her in this moment.

  Tet vigyázam. He whispered the truth into her mind. Saying he loved her in their language. It was not enough, would never be enough, but it was all he had.

  He stroked his hand lovingly from her throat, over her collarbone, down the soft swell of her breasts to her rib cage and belly, lower still to her mound and the dark curls covering treasure beyond any price, that secret haven meant for him. All the while he let himself drown in her dark eyes. Let her see how vulnerable he felt when they were alone together and he could show her how much she meant to him.

  “Can you feel me, Elisabeta? Inside your mind? Merged with you? Loving you?”

  She nodded, her gaze soft, melting. He felt the way she poured love into his mind. It was impossible not to feel her there, filling him, giving him everything she was, because that was her way. Elisabeta never held anything back when she made up her mind to give. For the first time, he had given her the same, letting her see she was his world.

  “I want you to feel me inside you. In your body. Moving in you. Filling you with love. With me. I want our bodies to be one, just the way our minds are.”

  He watched her eyes. Those eyes of hers that said so much, that were so poignant. If she was too afraid, he would see it there almost before he would know it in her mind. Her fear might be in her mind, but admittedly, when she didn’t know what to expect, she was often afraid but willing to try. But her eyes . . . They shared the same soul, and it would be there in her eyes that he would see the truth.

  “If you are not ready, we will wait.” He would find the patience because she was worth the wait. “If it takes years, we will wait.” He let her see that he meant it. “Being with you is a gift I never really expected to have and it is greater than I ever thought possible. You bring me such joy, Elisabeta. Minan piŋe sarnanak, you truly hold my heart and soul in your hands.”

  Elisabeta reached up and framed his face with her hands. “You are what I hold dear, Ferro. You are what I believe in. I wake with joy and look forward to each rising, wondering what new journey we will have together. You have taught me so many things already and I am always eager for each lesson. Sometimes I am afraid, that is true, but I trust you. Each time I have put my faith in you, you have come through for me, so my trust runs very deep. More than anything, I want to be wholly yours in every way.”

  He could hear the ring of truth in her voice. Feel it in her mind. See it in her ey
es. For Elisabeta to be able to trust anyone, let alone a Carpathian male, especially one as dominant and frightening as he knew he appeared, was a miracle in itself. The fact that she gave that trust to him each rising, each time he called her from her slumber and brought her from the healing earth to once more face new lessons that had to terrify her, humbled him beyond imagining.

  Ferro bent his head to brush a kiss gently over her eyes and then her lips. His teeth bit down gently on her lower lip and then slipped over her chin to her throat. His hands were more possessive than he had ever allowed himself to be with her, sliding over her skin, claiming her body, gentle in his touch, but making it clear that she was his.

  He kissed his way to the curve of her breast, found her left nipple and suckled there, drawing her soft flesh into the heat of his mouth and then using the edge of his teeth, making her gasp as he tugged and rolled her right nipple with his hand. He kissed his way down her ribs to her belly button, feeling the delicate little shudder of anticipation that went through her body before lifting his head, knowing his eyes were blazing at her. Possessively. He felt that way.

  “You are wholly mine, Elisabeta, in every way. I’m wholly yours. I want you to be very sure. I am not trying to rush you.” He gave her a rueful smile. “Or perhaps I am.” He settled his fist around the girth of his cock. “Perhaps I am. My body is impatient for yours, there is no hiding that fact from you.”

  His smeared the leaking pearly drops of liquid over the aching, sensitive crown with his thumb and then slid it between her lips. Her eyes darkened with passion and her tongue curled around his thumb and then lapped at the pad, making his cock jerk. Her hungry gaze dropped to his heavy erection. He knew exactly what it felt like when she took him into the heat of her mouth. She was so naturally sensual, and yet she had no idea.

  He bent his head once more to hers and kissed her. There was fire there. Pure flames. They burned through him until he could barely breathe or think rationally. He wanted to eat her up. Devour her. He might have started out kissing her gently, but that went away fast when she responded with her fingers bunching in his hair and the other hand digging nails into his buttocks, pulling him closer to her, pulling his weight right over her. He lifted his head and once more started down her body with kisses and nips.

  “Ferro.” There was an ache in her voice.

  “Your body has to be ready to take mine. Have patience.” His little songbird. Nearly as impatient as he was. That was a good omen.

  Her skin was exquisite. The taste every bit as addicting as her blood, as the nectar between her legs. He was making his way in that direction, and already the need to devour her was there, filling his mind until he felt nearly feral, the wild craving driving him to lift her legs over his arms, opening her to him as he settled between her thighs and took that first long, slow lick of the perfect aphrodisiac.

  Elisabeta cried out. Her hips bucked. That mixture of citrus and sandalwood spilled onto his tongue, threatening to drive him insane. He clamped down on her legs, holding her in place, one hand splayed wide on her belly.

  I am only getting started. You have felt my mouth on you before. His tongue circled her clit and then flicked. Her entire body shuddered in reaction. Look up at the rain. Relax and let your body feel the pleasure I am giving to you.

  There was always pleasure, but never like this. This burns. Coils deeper. Burns deeper and hotter as if you are branding me deep inside.

  I want to eat you alive, piŋe sarnanak, not worry that you will be afraid of the things I do with my mouth and teeth to get your body ready for mine. Will you trust me? You will feel pleasure, I promise.

  I will always trust you.

  That was all the consent he needed. He had held himself in check with her since the moment he had first discovered she was his lifemate. He had been careful to suppress his wild nature in order to be whatever his lifemate needed. Now, he let himself feast on her, an aggressive assault on her senses using his lips, tongue, his fingers, flicking and tapping and then raking with the edge of his teeth only to soothe with licks. He suckled gently and then stabbed deep, switching from gentle to rough until she was writhing and sobbing his name, her nails biting deep into his shoulders or, alternately, her fingers fisting in his hair.

  He took her over the edge twice before he was satisfied that she was slick with heat, mindless with need, and ready for the girth of his body. The relentless pounding of his blood through his cock was nearly terrifying as he knelt up between her legs. Her gaze clung to his, her teeth biting down on her lower lip. She looked radiant, disheveled, sensual, and so completely his.

  Ferro pressed the broad crown of his cock into the scalding heat of her slick entrance, feeling the flames licking up his spine with a ferocious burn that spread over his body, a wildfire out of control. He had to breathe deep to keep from slamming into that tight, scorching sheath. Instead, he fought for control and pressed into her with measured care, inch by slow inch.

  Her tight silken muscles resisted but gave way reluctantly in the face of his persistent invasion. Her breath exploded out of her lungs in a long rush. His did the same. She was a pure white-hot silken fist grasping his cock tight, massaging and milking, a thousand fiery tongues licking and stroking, wet and so scorching hot he was nearly out of his mind with the need to move fast and hard in her.

  Elisabeta’s hips bucked. She squirmed. Pushed herself onto him. Caught at him. Ferro. His name was a plea. For more. For everything he could give her.

  “Almost there, piŋe sarnanak. Another minute. We have to be careful.” His voice was nearly hoarse with the effort to hold back.

  I do not want to be careful.

  It was the first time his little songbird sounded out of control, impatient and just a little bossy. He loved that. Loved that he could give that to her. He pushed deeper, found her barrier, gripped her hips hard with his hands and took the pain from her mind as he surged forward, letting her only feel the explosive pleasure as his cock ground over her most sensitive spot. She cried out as he buried himself deep, fully planting himself in her, so they were not only sharing minds but sharing bodies.

  He paused for a moment, savoring the feeling of Elisabeta’s feminine sheath surrounding his cock, gripping him so tightly, so ferociously, as if she would never let him go, feeling her heartbeat right through the walls of her silken sheath, treasuring the intimacy of the moment between them. It was the most exquisite, perfect, amazing moment of his life.

  For me, too. You have given me so much, Ferro, and then you give this to me. Her eyes were dark with passion and liquid with emotion. Silver drops tipped her lashes, just like the dazzling ones falling from the sky above their heads. If I have not yet told you, tet vigyázam, beloved.

  His heart clenched hard in his chest. Turned over. Have no doubt, Elisabeta, that you are in my heart and soul for eternity.

  Then he began to move, withdrawing slowly, savoring the drag of her muscles as they reluctantly released him, stimulating every nerve ending. He surged forward hard and fast, driving through her folds so that lightning seemed to streak through his body, through hers. She cried out following the direction of his hands, lifting her hips to meet his every thrust.

  Her instincts, as always, were right with him, a sensual feast he could never get enough of. Her eyes, her body, the way her breasts swayed and jolted with every surge of his hips as he drove his body into the paradise of hers. Her soft little moans began to rise in urgency. The pleasure in her mind expanding to surround him the way her silken tunnel surrounded his cock. He could feel her heart beating hard and fast right through his thick shaft in time with his, that was how tight she was, squeezing down on him like a vise.

  His breath came in harsh, ragged gasps, accompanying her soft moans, a different music, a different song, but one that resonated with their bodies. The rain hit the roof above their heads, a counterpoint to the building crescendo, the wild expl
osive music tearing up from every cell in his body, every cell in hers, to come together in a fiery climax to their ever-building symphony.

  Ferro. Breathless. Fearful.

  Let go, sívamet. Fall with me. Trust me.

  Elisabeta’s body was coiled tight, and just like that she relaxed, giving herself to him, putting her mind and body into his hands. Her tight silken sheath clamped down around his shaft, strangling him, milking him, biting down with scorching fire. He couldn’t take his gaze from hers, watching her go there with him, as the two of them were taken some place neither had ever been before. Her gaze clung to his, a little dazed, but soft with love, passion darkening her eyes.

  He gripped her hips harder as he emptied himself into her, the wild, helpless jerking of his cock a fiery, volatile reaction to the continuous grip of her silken muscles working him, eager for every drop of his seed. The more he gave her, the hotter the walls of her sheath, until one orgasm rolled into the next and wrung them both out. Until even the little aftershocks were enough to send perfect shuddering through his body as he shared them with her, as he collapsed over the top of her.

  Ferro let himself absorb her soft feminine form, the rightness of loving her, his body still in hers, his mind merged with hers, while their hearts pounded together. He didn’t try to think, he just let himself feel love for her. Feel euphoria. Feel one hand in his hair and the other gliding down his back. Hear the rain and their heartbeats.

  He had no idea how long he lay there but it took effort to slide his body from hers and roll off of her, to lie beside her. Elisabeta lay sprawled out beside him on the fur, staring up at the silvery streaks of rain and the lightly rolling clouds. He threaded his fingers through hers and brought her hand to his chest over his wildly pounding heart.