I choose life for us.
The words slid into her mind like a caress. She moistened her lips as he straightened to his full height. «Fine then. We understand each other.» She turned to go back to the inn-to safety, because no matter what this man agreed to, she knew she wasn't safe with him and it wasn't entirely his fault.
Once more his fingers settled around her wrist like a bracelet. Warm.
He stroked the pads of his fingers against the bare skin of her inner wrist, halting her. «I do not think you quite understand me and I would not want you later to say you were not in possession of all the facts.»
Lara turned back reluctantly. «I'm listening.»
«You are the one woman-the only woman-mywoman. This is something I take very seriously. Your health. Your safety and your happiness. I will see to these things, but I will not share you. I will not allow others to interfere in our relationship.No other . Man or woman. If you have a problem with something, you tell me. If you are afraid of something, you tell me.»
«I don't know you. And I don't trust that easily.»
«I did not say it would be easy. I just want you to understand who I am.»
She couldn't push down the rising panic. She saw him exactly for what he was. A predator. A hunter. A man who made decisions and expected those around him to follow his lead. Already the ritual words had bound them together. She could feel the pull of him on her mind-even on her body.
Lara let her breath out slowly. «I don't share my blood.»
His lips curved into a small smile. She caught a brief glimpse of his white teeth and then that predatory smile was gone and he once again wore a face carved of stone. «I noticed.»
Color rose in her cheeks. «I have toget back inside. I have a friend who is hurt. Maybe you can help him. You obviously know healing.»
All warmth leeched from his eyes. «Your friend is male?»
She shivered, suddenly cold. «Yes. I came with two colleagues. We're doing research nearby and we're staying here.»
«What kind of research?» There was a bite to his voice, a note of suggestion.
Now her entire body was blushing. She was annoyed with herself for the fluttery nerves in the pit of her stomach. She was trying to establish herself as someone to take seriously, yet each time she looked closely as him something inside her seemed to melt.
He scared the hell out of her. She had faced monsters, yet she hadn't been as afraid as she was at this moment. This man had changed her life for all time. He stood calm and resolute, implacable even, looking at her with possession in his eyes and a mouth that was so fascinating, she could barely tear her gaze away, yet she knew he was one of the most dangerous creatures living on the earth.
«Well, it's hard to explain. Mostly we do sexual research together. You know, sex in every culture down through time.»
«Very funny.»
«You deserved it. You had that tone.»
«I had a tone?»
She swept her green gaze over him and began walking back toward the inn, very aware of him pacing beside her with the silent stride of a jungle cat. «Actually, I explore caves and I've been researching life forms in ice caves.» There was an edge of haughtiness in her voice. «So answer my question: Do you know much about healing? Or do you know someone who does? We were attacked by a hybrid-part plant, part snake-and very venomous.»
He caught her elbow and brought her to a halt. «Did it bite you?» He was already running his hands up and down her arms, tilting her head this way and that. And then she felt the thrust of his mind against hers.
It was such a shock, the sheer intimacy of his mind merging with hers. There was nothing at all soft about him. He could erupt into violence with swift efficiency. When she had thought him one of the most dangerous creatures on earth, she hadn't even come close to understanding the killing machine that he was, yet he hid nothing from her. He didn't attempt to pretend to be different than he was, and she saw that he could. He could have appeared gentle and sweet, but he gave her the respect of showing her exactly who and what she was dealing with.
Lara inhaled sharply. Her aunts had told her Carpathians were powerful. They had presented them as heroic, hunters of the vampires, protectors of human and mage alike. She was unprepared for the ruthless, merciless mind of the hunter. And he was beyond any arrogance she'd ever known.
She couldn't prevent the tremor of awareness or the little shiver of fear. The heat of his body enveloped her, warmed her, driving out the cold of the night when she had forgotten to regulate her temperature. She attempted to retreat, slamming down the barriers in her mind. She had always been powerful, but it had been years since she'd had to utilize her abilities to conceal her mind from any other and she was slow and rusty.
«There is no need to hide yourself from me,» Nicolas said. Not only was her body shivering, but so was her mind. He had triggered a well of fear, tapping into some long-ago memories of someone close to her who had misused and abused her trust. «I cannot lie to you, nor do I attempt to access what you will not give me freely. I look only for parasites and wounds. The snakes are more deadly than you can know.»
She let her breath out, somewhat relieved. He hadn't examined her memories of that lost little girl. He didn't know who she was or what she was. There was always power in knowledge and she trusted no one-least of all the man who could make her body come alive when she had been frozen for so many years. She didn't trust anything that happened so fast, or that walked in an ancient land of enormous power.
«The snakes injected venom into my friend. There were tiny parasitic organisms in the venom and the blood of the snakes burned like acid.» As she spoke, she moved away from him, a delicate feminine retreat.
Nicolas wanted to smile. He didn't smile easily. Hadn't smiled in five hundred years, but her girly reaction when she was trying to be a fierce warrior was so cute.Cute . He had never understood that word before. He'd heard it a thousand times but had no real concept of the meaning until that moment. Instincts told him she wouldn't appreciate being considered cute when she thought of herself as tough, so he kept his observation to himself.
She was shorter than most Carpathian women, barely coming up to the middle of his chest, but her body was all feminine curves. She considered herself overweight-he'd caught that small bit of information before he narrowed the flow of information to specifics. He didn't understand that either. She was
perfect, but then he would have thought her perfect no matter what she had looked like. How could he not? She had restored his life, his very soul. He could feel real love for his brothers. He could feel real honor and a sense of duty to his people. She had turned a bleak, gray world into a dazzling wonderland. She was the epitome of beauty to him with her classic bone structure and the jeweled eyes of the Dragonseeker line.
Power crackled in her. This was no shy, retiring maiden, but a warrior prepared to fight him at every turn. She didn't know he had already won the battle. She was part Carpathian and her nature would draw her to him. The pull between them would grow over time and he would make absolutely certain that he was by her side while time worked its magic on his lifemate.
«Stop staring at me like that.» She walked faster.
He kept pace easily. «I had no idea I was staring in any particular way.»
There was joy in the night as well as breathtaking beauty. He marveled that he could feel it, see it, be one with it. The heavy clouds formed whimsical shapes, drifting overhead with the helpful push of the wind. The village breathed, hearts beating, children's laughter ringing out. Why hadn't he heard those sounds before? Sounds of life and love. Fathers murmuring, mothers calling, children laughing. He had lost the magic of life over the centuries and now it was there, flooding his senses.