“Lucian.” Her hand went defensively to her throat.
He didn’t respond, merely caught her fragile wrist in an unbreakable grip and continued walking down the hall, taking her with him to his den. As they entered, he waved a hand, and flames sprang to life in the rock fireplace. He turned in one motion, his fingers wrapping around her throat. He stepped toward her, locking her against the wall, trapping her with his taller, heavier frame.
Jaxon’s heart missed a beat, and she could only stare up at him with wide eyes. He suddenly looked like the dangerous predator he really was.
“You will never defy me like that again and place yourself in danger.” His voice was so soft she barely caught the words, yet she recognized the iron, the command in it. His black gaze moved over her face, brooding, possessive, gleaming with that extra unknown quality that made her heart pound in fear. Abruptly he lowered his mouth to hers, and her heart stopped completely.
The very earth rocked beneath her feet. She felt his immense strength in the fingers curled around her throat, felt the hard aggression of his body, and knew his sudden resolve. She should stop him—she had to stop him—yet his body was hot and heavy with need, and his hunger was swamping her, overwhelming her. She was going up in flames right there with his mouth fastened on hers and his hand threatening to choke the life out of her as punishment for her needing to protect him. Unable to think clearly, she made a small sound of protest, even as her body relaxed into his.
“Listen to me, little love.” He framed her face with his large hands, resting his forehead against hers. “You do not yet love me, I know. But you are a strong woman, and even facing the monster in me, your first thought was to see to my health. I am frightening to you only because you do not fully comprehend what I am.”
“You are my life, my only reason for existence, my heart and my soul, the very air I breathe. I have lived without joy for nearly two thousand years, and in the short time we have been together, you have made every one of those dark, endless minutes worth it. There is no way for you to fully comprehend the depth of my feelings for you at this time—I understand that—but you will have to try. You belong with me. I know this absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt. And my feelings will only grow stronger with the passage of time.”
His fingertips moved over her beloved face, found their way to her hair to tangle in the silky strands. “I need you completely, Jaxon, for all time. I need you safe and protected so that I never wake again with the knowledge that you have placed your life in danger. And you would, over and over. It is not defiance; it is in your nature to protect others. And when I say I need you completely, you must know that I need your body desperately.”
There was fear in her eyes, in the telltale pounding of her heart. “I’ve never been with anyone, Lucian, and you’re very overwhelming.” She bit her lower lip, not wanting to fail him, wanting to be there to take away the terrible hunger building in his eyes, in his body. She had almost wanted to see him a little bit out of control, yet now she could see where that would lead. Lucian was going to have her. She wanted him, yet she was afraid of the dark intensity within him. He seemed so tranquil, yet the fires smoldering beneath the surface were dark and deadly. She sensed them, knew she was unleashing something powerful she could never stop.
Lucian’s dark eyes searched hers, held her gaze. “Before I do this thing, before you are mine for all eternity, I want you to know that I know I can make you happy in this existence, that there is no other who can do so, and that I will move heaven and earth for you if that is what I need to do.”
His black gaze found and captured hers. She saw the terrible hunger so strong in him, so stark and raw and alive with desperate need. The sane part of her knew he was saying something important, something she should analyze before she dared succumb to the dark, beckoning fire, but it was too late. Her arms were already sliding around his neck, and she was giving up her mouth to the sheer domination of his. Heat and fire. A volcano of such need rising seemingly out of nowhere. His need, her need—she couldn’t tell the difference. Couldn’t tell where he began and she left off.
Lucian’s skin was hot and sensitive, far too sensitive to feel fabric brush against it. He needed Jaxon’s soft skin pressed close to him, not the annoying cloth barrier between them. Nothing would ever be between them again.
His resolve was complete, total. She would never again be in such danger. She belonged to him, had been made for him, his miracle, his to love and protect. She was more than his life. She was his soul.
He thought away his shirt—an easy accomplishment. But it was his hands that caught the hem of her blouse and lifted it slowly over her head. She was so beautiful, she took his breath away. It was his breathing that was out of control, his heart that was racing so quickly. Or was it hers? He couldn’t tell anymore. Only that she was hot, silken fire, and he needed to burn. Was already burning. His hands found their way to her skin. So soft. So perfect. The feel of her was almost more than he could bear. He had waited so long, never once believing she existed for him. He had existed in that black, endless void without hope, without the thought of light. Without the possibility of Jaxon. Was she real?
His mouth fastened on hers, hot and hard and hungry, sweeping her into another world where there was only Lucian and his hard muscles, the touch of his hands, the aggression of his body. He was everywhere, swamping her, in her mind, in her heart. His hands were touching her intimately, exploring every inch of her. His mouth was sheer magic, so that her world narrowed to pure feeling, so that there was no way to think, only to feel.
Lucian lifted her easily, his mouth still on hers, so that she had no real awareness of anything but him. There
was
nothing else for her, he knew. His mind removed the last barrier between them—the rest of their clothing—so that when he took her down to the oriental rug on the floor in front of the fireplace, he knew she felt the thick carpet against her already sensitized skin. He lifted his head to look at her, to watch the firelight caress her face. She was so beautiful, simply looking at her actually hurt at times.
Her large eyes were gazing at him with an enticing invitation, sexy yet innocent in that she didn’t really know what she was agreeing to. His world. His woman. His true lifemate for all eternity. Deliberately he bent his head to find her soft mouth, to taste the silken heat so addicting to him. She was his. The reality of it was more than he could comprehend. Her skin was soft, felt like satin. The shape of her curves, the lines of her body, the perfectly proportioned form. She was a miracle to him, and he worshiped her leisurely. His mouth wandered over her throat, so vulnerable to one such as he. With others she was careful, yet with him she was so trusting.
He found the swell of her breast, heard her gasp as he indulged himself, as he lost himself and the world around him in her body. Her waist, so small, so perfectly designed, the triangle of tight blond curls below beckoning him. He inhaled her scented call, the wild, untamed need rising to match his own. His teeth nipped at her inner thigh, easing her legs apart, while his hand found moist heat, a welcoming to the hunger in his body.
Jaxon heard the soft sound escaping from her own throat as Lucian began a slow, intimate exploration, finding her every secret place. He took his time; he had learned patience over the centuries, and he had waited for this moment for so long, he intended her first time to be perfect for her. His mind was firmly merged with hers so she could feel his rising need, a tidal wave swamping him, hot lava pouring through his body where his blood had been. She could feel the painful ache, and the total pleasure he took in the erotic things he was doing to her body. She found his long hair, wrapped her fists in it to hold on to as her body began to wind tighter and tighter with need.