It was unexpectedly exhilarating. Terrifying but exhilarating. They streaked skyward, right up toward the clouds. Jaxon had never experienced anything even close to the feeling. Power flowed through her and out into the night sky.
She was aware of the sights below her, although not in the same sense as seeing them through her own eyes. Rather, she was seeing them through Lucian as they streaked through the sky. They were moving far too fast and she was too inexperienced to be able to focus on any one thing below them. Each time she became at all distracted, Lucian’s mind centered her, holding the picture of mist uppermost in her mind. It was easy for him, second nature, so much so that he was no more aware of the mechanics of shape-shifting than of walking. For Jaxon it was an energy-draining yet wild ride.
By the time Lucian called a halt, Jaxon was so exhausted she was barely able to resume her own form. She was swaying, her skin so pale it was nearly translucent. Without Lucian to hold her up, she would have simply collapsed onto the ground. She had no idea where she was, and she really didn’t care. All around her was forest, thick stands of trees and dark, lush vegetation. They were in a mountainous area, steep and wild. The wind was blowing fiercely through the branches and leaves, creating a whistling that sounded curiously like a moan.
Jaxon felt light, almost insubstantial, in Lucian’s arms. He eased her down to the ground so she could rest her back against a broad tree trunk. “You did exactly right, my love. Shape-shifting is not nearly as alarming as it first appeared, is it?”
Clasping her knees, she shook her head, dizzy and swaying, her head almost too heavy to hold up. She was hungry; hunger beat in her like her a pulse, like her heart. It pounded in her ears, throbbed in her veins. It was a sickness consuming her. She could hear Lucian’s heart beating strongly, beckoning her. The ebb and flow of blood moving through him, his life force like the sap moving through the trees. She could smell his scent calling to her, his very essence beckoning her. She felt the heat of his skin radiating outward toward her, surrounding her like a silken web. She needed the feel of him, strong and powerful, holding her close to him.
Lucian bent to her. The sound of the blood rushing through his veins, bursting with hot, sweet life, tormented her. Without looking up at him, Jaxon pushed at his chest with the palm of one hand. She didn’t want him to see the loathing of her own need in her eyes. It was just that she was so weak, so drained of energy. She had never felt as tired and insubstantial before. She could get her craving under control if he just would move away from her and give her space.
What you are feeling is very normal, little love. You need to feed.
His voice brushed at her, soft, seductive, deliberately intimate.
I know exactly what is wrong, Lucian. To you it’s perfectly normal. To me it’s abhorrent.
She was too tired to speak aloud, to fight for her humanity.
I want to sleep for a while. Can we just find a place for tonight
?
Lucian straightened slowly. He knew they were being tracked. The one following them was a distance away, careful to keep from putting himself in Lucian’s path. Lucian felt a strange blankness in two areas several miles from them. Only those of power could manage such a thing. When a Carpathian scanned a region for life-forms, very few could successfully hide their presence. Lucian was an ancient. He was sensitive enough that he could feel the absence of life as clearly as he could feel life itself.
“Listen to me, honey,” he said very softly, his voice so gentle and tender her heart fluttered. “Our plan is working very well. To the north and west of us, two lesser vampires are tracking us across the country. Another, much more powerful being is following, also. I can detect the taint of him but cannot find his exact location without going out to face all three of them.”
Jaxon raised her head and looked up at him with her large eyes. She was so tired, she had to reach for her voice. “Not alone, you’re not. If you go, I go. Come on then, Lucian. Do your mind-control thing. It’s the only way I’m going to be able to eat. Or feed, or whatever disgusting way you say it.” There was resolve on her face, in the depths of her eyes.
Lucian immediately felt an answering response in the region of his heart. She was totally exhausted and overwhelmed by all the new things she was having to face, yet she rose to the occasion the moment there was need, overcoming her natural aversion to their feeding habits. She knew she needed to be at full strength in order to aid him and was determined to do whatever was necessary to accomplish this.
Before she could change her decision, Lucian acted, merging their minds fully, taking control, commanding her to come to him, to take what she needed from her lifemate. Jaxon rose with one fluid movement, sensuous, sultry, a full-blooded Carpathian temptress. She moved toward him without a sound, like flowing water, graceful and beautiful. The dark night could not hide her incredible beauty, the whiteness of her teeth, the scent of her, her flawless skin or shapely body. Lucian heard a soft groan escape his throat as even there, in the moonlight, with enemies approaching from all directions, the sight of her made his body tighten with urgent demand.
Her small frame, soft and pliant, moved restlessly against his, warm satin skin melting into his heavier muscles. At once his clothes felt confining and coarse against his sensitive skin. Her fingers brushed at him as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt, seeking contact with his warmth. Slender arms wound around his neck as she pressed closer. His heart picked up the rhythm; his gut clenched hotly. She was moving so seductively against him, he thought he might not be able to stand it. She whispered something soft against his chest, her breath warm on his heated skin. Her mouth moved upward over his throat to the pulse beckoning in his neck. Her tongue swirled once, twice, her teeth skimming, nipping, scraping until his body was a taut, urgent demand so hot and needy he found he was having a difficult time concentrating on scanning the area.
Angel, you are going to kill me if you do not feed now.
His voice was husky, betraying the desperate need he had of her.
At once he felt the white-hot lance of pleasure-pain slashing through his body, turning his insides to molten lava. Ecstasy rushed through him like a fireball, spread like a wildfire as his blood flowed into her. They were connected for all eternity. He closed his eyes and savored the way his body felt, hot and hard and uncomfortable yet swamped with wave after wave of pure pleasure.
In all his existence he had never felt sexual desire or enjoyment when he took or gave blood. With Jaxon he couldn’t separate the two. He was not certain he could ever stand by and watch her feed from another man. The thought of her gliding seductively up to another male, her arms circling his neck, his head thrown back to allow her to find his pulse beating strongly, sickened him. Her mouth moving over someone else’s skin, her tongue touching, teasing, her teeth sinking deeply, connecting the two of them—the image swam alarmingly in his mind for a moment.
A fierce growl escaped his throat, and his eyes glowed hotly, red flames leaping in their depths. Jaxon’s tongue swept across the tiny pinpricks to close them, and she looked up at him. “What is it?” There was a hot, coppery flavor in her mouth, addicting and subtly masculine. She put the back of her hand to her lips and wiped surreptitiously, willing her stomach not to rebel although her mind was screaming at her in denial. She blinked up at Lucian, trying desperately to appear normal. He had enough worries without always trying to placate her fears.