Lara sank back into the water, puzzling out why she felt so edgy when only moments earlier she had felt safe and cocooned in a world of heat and aromatic fragrances. This cave was far different from the ice cave. She often caught glimpses of her past-secret little vignettes of a shivering, terrified child, listening to the ominous crack of ice weighted with tremendous pressure. Everything in her memories was cold and barren and frightening. Here, she felt protected and safe, the world sparkling with gems and soft lights, yet…
Nicolas drew her to him with the sound of his voice, low and sexy and so commanding. His physical beauty, intensely male, the burning possession in his black eyes, the force of his personality totally focused on her was all a little overwhelming and thrilling. Even his childhood memories-they were beautiful, the laughter, the camaraderie, everything she'd ever wanted. There was a brightness in all the boys.
A chill ran down her spine.Until the vampire had come out of that forest and attacked Nicolas .
She stood up once again in the shimmering pool, her arms crossed over her breasts, her heart beating too fast. Darkness in Nicolas had risen to meet the vampire. There had been nothing at all bright in Nicolas at that moment. That dark blotch grew and spread, consuming him until she couldn't tell hunter or the undead apart. As if alive, as if a separate entity, the darkness in him had leapt forward, eagerly reaching for the hunt-for the kill. There had been no hesitation, not on his part. Even as that shiny young boy he had embraced that rising darkness, losing himself in it as he rushed to meet the attacking vampire.
She pressed her fingertips to the strange birthmark low on her body, the dragon that warned her when a vampire was near. Earlier, when she had first encountered Nicolas, the dragon had gone hot and cold. Nicolas had triggered the warning with the darkness in him. She swallowed the lump in her throat, her heart slamming now so hard she could see the rise and fall of her breasts, feel a choking in her throat. Remembering that same flash of hot and cold, mixed signals that frightened her as much or more than a steady burn. Her father had often produced that same odd, faulty response whenever she was close to him.
Her pulse thundered in her ears, heart hammering so loud she could barely hear the water pouring from the wall. What was wrong with her? Her stomach lurched and she staggered, her wrist, throat and neck burning painfully. Nicolas appeared charming, but what did she really know of him? He hadn't argued with her. He had even been polite when she'd shoved a knife in his ribs, but she really knew nothing at all about him.
Terror welled up. She had lived life with humans, good-natured, uncomplicated, genuinely nice people for the most part. No, they hadn't understood that lost child and they'd given her from family to family, continually on the move, but they had cared for her basic needs and no one had tried to use her for their own gain. She had almost forgotten a world of deceit, of betrayal, of kill or be killed.
She reached out again tentatively, the lightest of touches, her mind seeking his. At once she was consumed by hunger, by the need for blood. She heard the ebb and flow of life surging and pounding as a farmer hauled a calf from a cow's laboring body. She heard the heartbeat, steady and strong, scented the good health, a large masculine physique toweling off the calf while murmuring to the cow. She crept closer, scenting the blood from the birth. It only added to the need building in her, the hunger raging now, taking a hold and directing her. She ran her tongue along her teeth, and felt a lengthening and sharpness just past her incisors. Her heartbeat increased, began to take on the rhythm of the unsuspecting farmer bent over the cow.
Merged with Nicolas, she felt the smooth, silent glide, stalking prey. A dog tried to bark, but Nicolas/she stopped it with one quick, commanding flick of a hand. Adrenaline rushed through her. She felt the movement in her veins, a high like no other. Blood thundered in her pulse, roared in her ears. Then she was on him, that one moment of recognition, the heart rate jumping, the mind rebelling, only to be taken over completely by Nicolas-by her.
Ultimate power. Life or death. Teeth sank deep and the rich taste burst through her, into her, filling organs and tissue with strength and energy. Lara gasped and pulled her mind away, stumbling through the water toward the rocks where she could steady herself.
Need and hunger poured through her body, overwhelming with its intensity. She fought it back, but knew, once that need was there, only blood would satisfy it. He had awakened the one thing in her she had always tried desperately to suppress.
Nicolas was taking blood from a human being. Using that person as cattle. Worse, he was controlling his victim's mind and he'd done it without using spells and potions. He was that
powerful.
Her wrist ached and burned. She looked down and saw her flesh torn open-chewed-as if teeth had gnawed and ripped. Blood splashed onto the boulders and droplets hit the pool. Her neck ached where Nicolas had sunk his teeth into her and she covered the spot with her palm. It came away smeared with blood. The illusion was so strong she stared in horror before she realized it was illusion.
Slowly, Lara looked around the cave. How had she let this happen? No matter warm and beautiful, a prison was still a prison. A predator was still a predator. She'd been mesmerized by him. She'd recognized the danger in him from the start, but somehow he'd made those concerns vanish from her mind. Was he controlling her? Manipulating her mind?
Shivering, Lara staggered out of the pool, looking around for something to dry herself off with. Where had she planned to sleep? In the ground with him? On the bed with him? With him? Why hadn't she even considered that? She wasn't stupid, yet she'd followed him here without question or protest. What woman would go off alone with a stranger for the night where no one knew where she was? Nicolas De La Cruz exuded sex from every pore. His walk, the roll of his shoulders, the dark eyes burning so intensely-he was a sexual man and she was sure he didn't expect to sleep in a bed with a woman without possessing her body.
Lara dragged on her clothes, heedless of the way the material stuck to her still damp skin. Panic rose, and she spun around, determined to find the way out. He'd given her directions-were they real?
Do not be foolish, Lara. The sun is rising. I will be there soon and we can discuss this calmly. You are merely having a panic attack and there is no reason for it.
The calm voice grated on her nerves. He was condescending and arrogant. She had every reason to panic. Any sane woman would have done so a long time ago. Using the directions in her mind, she sprinted out of the glistening chamber into a long corridor.
I forbid you to risk yourself. Wait for me.
This time that thin veneer of civilization cracked and she could feel the edge to his voice. Her stomach lurched. She gasped and pushed herself harder, increasing her speed, using her night vision in the dark confines of the cave. She couldn't think about how deep she was or the maze of tunnels that ran miles beneath the mountain. The only objective had to be to get out as fast as she could. She rounded a corner and the corridor divided into two paths.
The air is heavy in the cave, difficult to breathe, to run fast. Each step is harder. You are sinking into sand, your legs heavy. You are so tired, Lara. Why not sit and rest. Your mind is confused and the directions are fading from your memory.
The voice was low and insidious, filling her head, the compulsion spreading through her body. She stumbled, confused, and halted, twisting this way and that.
It is becoming difficult to see in the dark. You should stay still.
Stop it! «Stop it!» Lara repeated, shouted aloud.
Her voice echoed through the caverns, disturbing returning bats. The creatures took to the air, wheeling and fluttering, thousands of them, filling the spaces around her. It was difficult to breathe, and impossible