Gabriel had never considered the possibility of his twin turning vampire. He had known Lucian had lost his feelings and the ability to see colors at a much earlier age than most, many years before Gabriel; yet he was so strong, so self-reliant, so completely powerful. How had it happened? If only Gabriel had seen it coming, perhaps he could have aided his brother before it was too late. His terrible guilt was oppressive.
With a little sigh, Gabriel pulled Francesca closer to him and buried his face in her wealth of soft, fragrant hair. It gave him a sense of peace to hold her, to have his body wrapped so possessively around hers. He needed her so desperately, far more than she needed him. His last breath took the scent of her into his heart and lungs, carried it with him into the healing sleep of his people.
Chapter Three
Gabriel awoke to fire, hunger, need. Obsession. Every particle of his skin was alive with fiery tongues of heat. His body was hard and aching, urgently demanding he claim what was rightfully his. Beside him she lay pale and still, her skin cool against his. Ignoring the consequences, he disposed of the thin barrier of clothing between them with a single thought. She took his breath away. Her body was slender, perfectly molded for his.
He lay holding her, carefully calculating his options. He was not willing to allow her to choose death. He wanted a chance at life together. He could not exist without her. But even binding her to him with the ritual words would not be enough to keep her from facing the dawn. He had read her mind, her will. He could think of only one way to deter her. There was only one way to force her compliance.
Unforgivable.
He would have to accept that. She would not forgive him, but she would choose life for both of them. It would give him the time to tie her to him emotionally.
Gabriel thought about his lack of options for some time. While he lay holding her his determination only increased. He would have her. It was selfish and wrong and beneath him, but he would not allow her to choose death over life. He could pretend it was for the saving of their race, that both of them owed it to their species to do all they could to continue, but he knew there was nothing noble about his decision. He wanted her. She belonged with him and he was going to make sure not only that he possessed her, but that she no longer had a choice in the matter.
He closed his eyes and sent himself seeking outside his body and into hers. He moved slowly and surely, determined there would be no mistakes. He was an ancient with incredible power and knowledge. He made certain to arouse her body even as he found what he sought. There was only one thing left to do. As he emerged once more into his own body, he recognized that she was a healer, a woman long on the earth. He would have to be certain she had no time to think or feel anything but the hunger raging between them. He was completely confident he could manage that easily enough. Carpathian mating rituals could be fiery and intense.
Gabriel positioned his body over hers so that he could feel the cool satin of her skin against the unbearable heat of his. He bent his dark head and fastened his mouth to hers to take her first breath as he issued the command to wake, to come to him needing him. His mind fully merged with hers, he was unstoppable, a fully aroused male in the heat of the Carpathian mating ritual. His lifemate’s heartbeat found the beat of his, her lungs followed the direction of his and her mind was instantly captured by the hunger radiating from Gabriel. He built the fire into a fierce conflagration. He needed her desperately just to survive. He had to have her. His body raged for her, demanded her. No one else could quench the flames threatening to devour him completely.
His hunger was her hunger, his need became hers. Her body burned and ached, her breasts swelling in invitation against his chest, her hips moving restlessly. Gabriel found some solace in the silken heat of her mouth. His hands explored every inch of her skin, every shadow and hollow. He wanted to take his time, savor each discovery, but he couldn’t give her time to emerge from their mind merge. He stroked his tongue down the column of her throat, lingered over her rapid pulse. His hand moved to the junction of her legs, his knee pushing her legs open to give him better access.
Francesca could only feel fierce longing and terrible, empty hunger. There was a red haze of madness, a fire sweeping through her. Everywhere he touched her, flames danced. She heard a moan come from her throat as his fingers found her hot, moist center. It only made her longing more intense. His teeth scraped gently over her breast, teased her nipple into a hard peak, moved back to the satin-soft swell. She felt him, thick and hard, pressing into her. His mind was feeding her erotic images, projecting his fierce urgency to possess her. She couldn’t think, she could only feel endlessly. Feel and hunger and burn.
Her hair was everywhere, brushing over both of them, the silken strands unbearably erotic on their sensitized skin. There was a strange roaring in her ears. She reached for him a little desperately, her arms circling his head, cradling him to her while his mouth drove every sane thought from her mind, until there was only him. There was no earth or sky, no time or place, only Gabriel with his wide shoulders and hot skin and demanding body needing her as no one ever had. Her body didn’t feel as if it belonged to her; it was soft and pliant, aching every bit as much as Gabriel’s.
He whispered something to her. She recognized the ancient language, but his words were muffled against her breast. He lifted her hips, and paused while one small heartbeat of time passed. She stared up at him, bemused by his sheer sensual beauty. His black gaze held hers. “I claim you as my lifemate.” His body surged forward and took possession of hers.
Francesca cried out, her hands tangling in his dark flowing hair in protest of what he was doing. “Relax, Francesca.” Gabriel breathed the words, his voice beautiful, mesmerizing, enthralling. His hips moved with a slow, sexy surge forward, giving her body time to adjust to the invasion of his. He bent his dark head to kiss her satin skin, his mouth moving over her pulse. He focused on breathing in and out to stop himself from plunging into her. She was tight and hot, surrounding him with velvet fire. She was so utterly perfect. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the feel of her all around him.
Francesca knew she should protest, but his mouth was making her crazy with need. Then white lightning flashed through her as he sank his teeth deep, joining them together in the most erotic way of all. Heart, mind, soul and body. Her life force flowed into him even as his body took hers, his hips moving in a deep, hard rhythm, taking them both toward a shattering release. Gabriel was shaking with the effort to hold on to his control. She tasted like nothing he had ever had. Heady, sexy, everything he could possibly want. Hot. Sweet. Addictive. His body was going up in flames, burying deeper and harder, making them one.
Gabriel swept his tongue over her breast. “Please, Francesca.” The words were husky with need. At once she responded to the urgent plea. Her mouth moved over the heavy muscles of his chest. His body clenched as her teeth teased his pulse, scraped back and forth, nipped. “Francesca.” He spoke her name with desperate urgency. Francesca found she had to comply. It was more than a black magic spell; the age-old lure was on her. His body was so strong, so hard, so perfect. She smelled his blood, his life force calling to her, beckoning. Her mouth moved sensuously over his muscled flesh, her teeth teasing him until he groaned with need. She sank her teeth deep. Lightning splintered through him and he buried himself in her hot, tight sheath, losing himself in the sheer ecstasy of her body. “I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours.” He could barely manage to get the ritual binding words out. Her body was rippling around his, shattering, fragmenting, milking his with hot fiery velvet so tight he thought he would go up in flames. “You are my lifemate, bound to me for all eternity and always in my care.”