Nicolas recognized the danger the moment he stepped in close proximity to other men with Lara. The binding ritual wasn't complete. She could still slip away from him. The call of the demon rose to a wild, demanding roar. He saw every shift of the eyes, the way the men watched her as they moved together in perfect rhythm across the dance floor. He scented the heightened sexual awareness.
Lara didn't realize how alluring she was, a mixture of innocence and fantasy. Her skin glowed, her eyes classic bedroom eyes, large and soft and enthralling. A man could drown in her eyes-he was drowning. And having other males in such a close environment was triggering the beast. He could feel it clawing at
his gut, making demands to claim his lifemate, make her irrevocably his. More than that, his own fears of losing her heightened his animal instincts, the primitive side of him that demanded he take what was his. He was walking a thin line, trying to court her as she deserved and at the same time, remain stable when his lifemate was just out of reach. It was never easy for a male to balance civility with his own predatory nature and coming to the inn made for a volatile situation he hadn't counted on.
He drew a deep breath into his lungs and scented-Lara. Her feminine call sent blood pounding in his groin. The feel of her soft breasts nestled against his chest nearly drove him mad. He was desperate to hold her, to touch her, to touch all that satin skin. Each moment in her company had escalated his need of her. Need had built so slowly at first, and his desire to court her had kept him from realizing how the fire in him had grown and spread until it was a storm threatening his control.
His shaft pounded with blood and his hammering heartbeat. His need was brutal now, a continual, unrelenting demand that was merciless. His erection wasn't going away anytime soon, not even if he had the opportunity to bury himself deep in the haven of her body. And through it all, each time he looked at her, each time her shy gaze met his, it tripped a strange sensation in the region of his heart.
He wanted to be equally as tender as he did violent. He wanted her to want him with every cell in her body, in the same frightening way he needed her. He had had an utter misconception of lifemates, or maybe it was just different with Lara. He had thought she would save him from the darkness and the chemistry would be good, that they would have several lifetimes to find a way to love one another. He hadn't expected her to touch him in places that he thought were stone cold. He hadn't expected to feel such tender, protective emotions so fast or so strong, but she was really light to his darkness, in all the ways he hadn't expected.
His lips drifted over her pulse, as he inhaled her scent. Her long silky hair slid over his face, a few strands tangling in the shadow along his jaw. He pressed her hips into his body, massaging the terrible ache that refused to go away. Touching her wasn't enough. Even now he could feel his teeth lengthening and sharpening as his entire being demanded he assuage the hunger rising in direct proportion to his sexual needs. He was on the very edge of his control.
Eyes glowed with red flames. His teeth touched her pulse, scraped back and forth in a mesmerizing rhythm. He was close-so close to taking what belonged to him, making her his, yet she had been willing to escape into death rather than be forced.
He had never experienced such raw, primitive lust, welling up, a fever of hunger so sharp and brutal he could barely think straight. His soul, long ago punctured with holes until there was only darkness there, black and ugly and filled with death, she had spilled shining light across and somehow, by some miracle, he felt hope. And his heart, centuries gone from the world-longer even than his soul-she had restored so that he could feel soft inside when he'd forgotten if he ever had.
A small groan escaped his throat and he fought harder, urging the demon to settle down, to be patient and wait-that Lara was worth waiting for. And in the end, what he really wanted was for Lara to give herself to him. To want him. To make the commitment on her own because she had genuine feeling for him. His teeth receded and that hazy red disappeared from his sight as the music faded away.
Lara stood swaying, her body tight against his. He could hear her heart beating the exact same rhythm as his. He lifted his head slowly, reluctant to allow her out of his arms. «You need to eat something.» It was mundane-true-but so far from what he wanted to do he could barely get the words past the need clogging his throat.
She nodded, but stood there, so close to him her soft body was imprinted on his hard one. She tilted her face to look up at him. Her eyes were shy, but glowed with an inner light that made him intensely aware of his sexuality. Her skin was luminous, her eyes bright, her body like warm silk beneath his roving fingers.
«Lara?»
She lifted her hand to his face, her touch gentle, tender even. «I want to remember this moment always. I don't have many wonderful memories, but dancing with you is an incredibly beautiful experience and I want to savor this night.»
Merged with her, he could see the truth. She wanted to hug their time to her, hold on to it to take out later and replay, moment by moment, no matter what happened in the future. Her response brought a surge of hot blood that nearly destroyed his hard-won control, but along with it, his heart responded, a painful ache of longing to be loved by this woman.
His hand slid down to the small of her back to guide her to the dining room. He cleared his throat. «I hope we make many such memories together. I will enjoy every one.»
«Before anything else, I need to check on Terry and say hello to Gerald,» Lara said.
Nicolas felt the instinctive animalistic reaction swirling in his gut at the idea of Lara in a small room with her two mail friends. He nodded his head, forcing a smile. «Why not use the house phone to call them first? Make certain they are up to visitors?»
The hard knots in his belly relaxed when Gerald told her he's just gotten Terry to sleep and was going to bed. After reassurances all was well, Lara promised she'd come by earlier the next evening to see them.
Nicolas unashamedly used his influence to secure a table in the darkest, most secluded corner of the room. A single candle lit the table with a soft glow and he dimmed that as well as blurring their images to prevent anyone from interrupting their time together. He held the chair for Lara to slip into and then took the one closest to her, blocking her body from any prying eyes that might manage to slip through his thin shield.
Lara felt cocooned in Nicolas's heat, caught in a sexual web that seemed to only increase, even as he casually summoned the waitress.
«What looks good to you?» He ran the pads of his fingers up and down her bare arm in a slow caress, almost as if he didn't realize he was doing it.
Just the deep timbre of his voice sent a heat wave through her body and, in combination with his touch, she swore flames licked at her skin.
Lara cleared her throat. «Something light.» She wanted to leave, to be alone with him. She wanted desperately to explore the sensation of fingers trailing up and down her arm, all over her body, in her body. Desire rose so fast and sharp she felt the walls of her feminine sheath clench with slick, hot heat. «I'm not really very hungry.»
He murmured something to the waitress she didn't catch, didn't care. She could only look at him, the pure lust etched deep into his too-handsome face, the dark hunger in the depths of his eyes. Knowing it was there for her, that his entire focus was on her, added to the building excitement. Her nipples pushed