She cried out when he joined them together, her breath exploding from her lungs. She needed more than his body surging, so thick and hot, in hers. She needed.
Needed
. His chest was over her face, his hand cupping the back of her head, holding her against his heart.
You need, angel, and I provide. Taste me, I am yours. Taste me. You are so hungry, and you need to feed. You need only me. I tasted so perfect, honey, remember
? The whisper was soft and seductive, brushing softly in her mind. An invitation. An enticement. Pure seduction.
Her mouth moved over his skin. She felt his body clench.
I need this, angel, the way you need it. I need you to do this
. She could feel it in his mind, the terrible anticipation, the dark desire, his entire body waiting with such urgent obsession. He needed her to do this as much as she needed to do it.
For me, Jaxon, for me. I want this as I have never wanted anything. You need this, too
.
He was everywhere she was—in her mind, in her heart, in her body, in her very soul. He needed, and she could do no other than provide. Her mouth moved of its own accord over his skin, without compulsion, with only the thought of pleasing him, providing for him. She felt the way his body clenched when her teeth nipped his skin and her tongue swirled around to ease the ache.
You have to do this by yourself this time,
he was pleading with her even as his hips were surging forward in a wild rhythm of fierce possession. He moved over her, around her, in her, wanting to flow through her.
He was swamping her with such erotic need, Jaxon was consumed with it. She felt her incisors lengthen as she sank them into his skin until they were connected in every way. White-hot whips of lightning arced through his body and into hers. She heard his voice echoing her name in her mind. Intimate. Sexy. Wild with passion. She felt the blazing heat of his body moving in hers as he thrust forward, burying himself deeper and deeper with each sure stroke.
He tasted wild. He tasted hot and exotic. He was addicting. His blood flowed through her veins with his ancient power, filling her starved cells and flooding her body with such a storm of dancing flames that she had to give in to the demands for relief. She felt herself fragmenting, exploding, seeking to take him with her as she clung to him tighter and tighter, spiraling outward.
Use your tongue to close the pinpricks. I want to feed. I want all of your taste in my body. I want to savor you for all time.
His voice was a dark sorcerer’s weapon, a black-velvet beguilement she couldn’t possibly ignore. Whatever he needed, she would provide.
Whatever you need, I provide. And you need this.
His teeth found her pulse and sank deep. Beneath him, Jaxon moaned softly, her body tightening around his in a convulsion of heated pleasure. She gave herself up to him completely, immersing herself in his passion, in the hot ride of his body, his bunching muscles, the pull of his mouth, the flames engulfing both of them.
It went on forever, for an eternity, until Jaxon thought she might die with the beauty of it. Of them. She held him, cradled his head, savored the sensation of his hair against her sensitized breasts. He thrust into her again and again until she was drowsy and sated, completely satisfied, totally complete.
Very, very gently Lucian allowed their bodies to disengage. The sun had risen; even deep within the sleeping chamber, he knew its exact position. Looking down at Jaxon’s heavy lashes, the beauty of her face, the aftereffects of his lovemaking, he knew she didn’t know or care where the sun was. He bent his head to brush her lush mouth with his. “
Je t’aime,
angel.” he whispered softly as he commanded her to sleep. It was the last thing she heard, the words she carried with her as the air left her lungs and her heart ceased to beat.
Lucian opened the floor of the sleeping chamber and floated down to the deep, beckoning soil with his lifemate. She lay in his arms, her beauty captured in her stillness as he opened the earth and took them to rest.
Chapter Twelve
A discordant note filled the silence of the earth beneath the sleeping chamber. Beneath the layers of dirt a slow, deadly hiss seeped through the dark, rich soil to permeate the air above it. It traveled around the estate, filling the grounds with menace. Lucian’s black eyes snapped open, and he lay with his leaden body listening to the sounds of the insects and animals. A rat scratched for sustenance somewhere close by. A wolf murmured to its pack brother in annoyance. What was the sound so out of place with the rest of the universe that it would reach into the very bowels of the earth and awaken him?
The crackling of the stone wall told him an intruder was testing the strength of his safeguards. Lucian lay quietly listening. He reached out to the alpha pair of wolves, warning them not to touch any meat or food that was thrown to them by an outsider. He warned them to care for the other members of the pack, the young, silly ones that liked to defy authority. In his mind was the clear warning of poison, the death of the pack. He directed the alpha pair to take their brethren deep within the forest, where guns could not reach them. The male bared his fangs and issued a warning growl, alerting the pack.
Satisfied, Lucian continued to listen. The intruder was persistent. He learned he could not get through stone wall or gates. He was climbing a tree, avoiding the back of the estate because of the wolves. No doubt he could see that his “gift” of tainted meat had not been devoured, and he dared not try to make his assault near the cunning beasts. Lucian closed his eyes and sent himself seeking outside his body. He became as light as the air itself, traveling as pure energy, breaking free of the soil. He moved through the narrow passageway up into the cellar and then the kitchen.
As always the heavy drapes prevented any sunlight from intruding into the interior. As pure energy, he moved easily through the house until he was at the vantage point of the balcony. Francesca’s beautifully detailed stained glass masked the brilliant light so that he had a good view of the intruder making his approach to the house. Finally. The one who had destroyed Jaxon’s family. But was this the man? Lucian waited until the face swam into view through the thick foliage.
Disappointment sent Lucian’s silent snarl shimmering in the air. This intruder could not possibly be Tyler Drake. He was wearing a dark blue suit and a silk tie. Lucian observed the ease with which he climbed the branches of the trees overlooking the stone wall. The man was whispering into a two-way radio. “No one seems to be home, but getting in isn’t going to be easy, not if we don’t want to tip them off they have company.”
Lucian’s mind was working quickly. For several centuries he had been asleep deep within the earth, and many things had happened to his people while he lay locked within the soil. He had heard rumors of a society of human hunters who believed themselves to be scientists.
They claimed to have evidence of the existence of vampires and vowed to destroy them. So far, few humans took them seriously, so they were determined to capture a live vampire. The only problem was, they seemed unable to differentiate between a Carpathian, a vampire, and a human with extraordinary gifts. Could members of that vampire-hunting society have found him?