Dark Challenge (11 page)

Julian moved away from her, giving her space, his body fluid and powerful. He shoved a hand through his thick mane of golden hair, his eyes drifting over her possessively. “You would have me allow you to feel pain when it is not necessary?” His voice was strictly neutral.

She knew he was making a point. He was not compelling her. She either trusted him or she didn’t. It was that simple.

Julian folded his arms across his broad chest and leaned one hip lazily against a porch column. “I know you felt it.”

“For a moment,” she conceded, knowing he meant the blast of pain that had blossomed so suddenly in his head. It had been gone in an instant.

“And I removed it immediately. It was your brother. A warning.”

“I heard his warning. I have worried him unnecessarily. I intend to tell him I am coming home this night.”
She said it defiantly, more for her own benefit than his. She didn’t want to go. Julian was so enticing, with his hungry molten eyes. The intensity he felt for her was overwhelming, exhilarating.

“Then we will both return. But do you really believe we can get to know one another in the company of your protectors? It will be unnecessarily difficult.” He waved to a chair on the porch. “Sit for a while and talk to me.”

It was a soft purr of menace. He fully intended to go with her if she left, walk casually into the den of those who would seek to destroy him. His voice was so beautiful. Pure and gentle. It held a hint of tenderness, a trace of arrogance, and more than a little masculine amusement.

It felt like a dare. As if she were a small child, a fledging, afraid of her shadow and of being away from her big brother. Desari tilted her chin and glided regally up the stairs to the chair on the porch. She seated herself, her dark eyes remaining on his face.

He grinned at her, suddenly dispelling the dark danger that clung to him like a second skin. For one moment he looked almost boyish. “I am not going to hold you prisoner, Desari. There is no need to look at me as if I were a monster.”

Desari found herself relaxing. A slow, answering smile lit her face. “Is that what I was doing? I am feeling guilty for defying my brother and making him worry. Perhaps I was taking it out on you. It is so much easier to blame someone other than oneself.”

Julian shook his head. “Do not worry for your brother. He knows in his heart I will not harm you. It is more that he must relinquish his control over you.”

“What is a lifemate?” Desari asked, knowing it was important. She had been in his mind, knew he believed her to be his lifemate.

“Every Carpathian male is born a predator, dark and deadly. True, we have strong instincts to protect those we love, but there is a darkness in us that grows stronger with each passing century. Without a lifemate we lose all emotion, even the ability to see colors. It is an empty existence. Every day the beast within grows stronger, and the darkness inches across our souls. You have not observed this in the males of your group?”

Desari tapped a long fingernail against her cheek. “Actually, yes. At least with Darius and Dayan. Barack was always filled with joy until recently. He is quieter now. And there was another, Savon, who turned into someone none of us recognized.”

“If we males do not find our true lifemate, the other half of our souls, the light to our darkness, disappears. We cannot regain our emotions. We are lost.” Julian sighed softly, watching the gathering dismay on her face. “We have two choices. We can walk into the sun and end our barren existence, or we can choose to lose our soul. We can become the undead, vampires preying on the human race for the ultimate rush, the power of the kill. It is the only feeling left to us.”

Desari knew he spoke the truth. Savon had chosen to become vampire. Darius had destroyed many such un-dead over the centuries. She swallowed hard and looked up at him. “How do people know for certain when they find their lifemate?”

Julian’s smile was like a physical touch, a soft caress. “I have lived centuries without seeing color or feeling emotion. And then I found you. The world is now beautiful again and filled with life, with color, with so much intense emotion I can barely process it. When I look at you my body is alive. My heart is overwhelmed. You are the one.”

“What happens if the woman does not feel it also?”
Desari asked, curious. This was an entirely new concept to her, one she had never considered.

“There is only one true lifemate for each of us. If the male feels it, so does his mate.” His white teeth flashed at her. “Perhaps she might wish to be stubborn and not admit it right away, not wanting her freedom curtailed for all time. Because there are so few of our women, they are guarded carefully from birth and given into the care of their lifemate as soon as they are of age.”

“What do you mean, her freedom is curtailed for all time?” Desari suddenly felt restless. Just watching the easy way his body moved could make her feel hot and achy. She didn’t like the sound of his voice, soft and arrogant, faintly amused when he’d said those words. It sounded as if the woman had no choice in the matter.

He grinned at her, then moved suddenly with astounding speed, fluid and graceful, looming over her when she thought herself safe. “You have no need to worry, Desari. I could do nothing other than see to your happiness.” He held out his hand. “You hunger. I feel your need inside me as if it were my own. There is no need for you to be uncomfortable.”

Her hand was enveloped in his before she could think, an instinctive reaction to the allure of sex that surrounded him. He was drawing her to her feet, his arm circling her small waist before she had a chance to protest. His body was hard and hot, the scent of him filling her mind. When she inhaled, she took him into her lungs so that he rushed through her body like a strong drug. Whatever the chemistry was between them, she could not deny to herself it was hot, inflammatory, and instant.

“I cannot take your blood,” she whispered, afraid if she tasted him she would be lost for all time.

Julian’s white teeth gleamed for an instant above her head; then he bent slowly, almost languidly toward her
soft throat. His golden eyes were hot with desire, holding hers for a long moment before his lashes descended and she felt his mouth move against her skin.

Desari’s entire body clenched in reaction. His arms tightened like steel bands around her, yet his hold was oddly protective. His body swelled against hers with need, a raging demand he made no attempt to hide. His lips were firm and soft as they nuzzled her pulse. His teeth nipped gently; his tongue provided a rougher rasping that teased and enticed. “Would you deny me then?” he asked softly, his mouth against her satin skin.

She could deny him nothing. Her body was no longer her own, but his other half. Desari pressed closer, needing to give him whatever it was he needed so desperately. There was no room for thought. She felt his breath, so warm and enticing, his tongue stroking her skin so that heat pooled low within her and she ached for him. She closed her eyes, her arms sliding up to cradle his head. White-hot heat pierced her throat, a pleasure so intense it was almost pain. She heard herself moan, felt his mouth feeding on her, taking the essence of her life into his body, sealing them together in some erotic way she didn’t understand.

She had fed every night for centuries; she had given blood numerous times when it was needed. It had never been like this. Fire racing through her body, hot, leaping flames demanding relief. She felt like a living flame burning in his arms, her body moving restlessly, aching and impatient for the hard aggression of his.

Julian sealed the marks on her throat with a caress of his tongue, at the same time opening the buttons on his shirt with one hand while the other palmed her nape. He murmured something to her in Italian, something soft and aching and sexy, and the smoky need touched off a wildness in her she had never known. He pressed her to
his heavy muscles, reached down to gather her small, jeans-clad bottom into his hand so he could urge her more closely into the thick evidence of his arousal.

He smelled fresh and masculine. Her body was on fire for him, her skin so sensitive her breasts ached, her nipples chafing in the thin, lacy bra that confined her. Hunger was swamping her, sexual as well as physical. She couldn’t begin to tell where she began and he left off. His heart beat strong and fast, waiting for her, needing her, wanting her. Hunger was a raw ache between her legs, in her stomach, her breasts, gnawing mercilessly at her until she felt her teeth pierce his skin.

At once pleasure beat at her; it took hold and rushed through her body like a wall of flame, a firestorm of beauty and ecstasy. Sweet and hot. Immeasurable. Like nothing she had ever known. It was addictive, consuming, eternal. There would never be a Desari without Julian. Never a Julian without Desari. She would need his body, his blood, and his soul for all the rest of her days. He would need hers.

Gasping, terrified, Desari closed the tiny pinpricks and held on to him, the only solid anchor in a world that seemed to be disintegrating around her. At once his arms were there, real and strong, his chin nuzzling the top of her head so that silken strands of her hair were caught in the golden shadow on his jaw, weaving them together like threads. “Do not fear this,
piccola
. I know what to do. I am ancient and powerful and know the ways of our people. This is natural for us.”

She shook her head, her heart pounding. “Not for me. You do not understand at all, Julian. I cannot leave my family. I have been in your mind and know your intentions for us. You are a loner, even a bit of a renegade. You like to set your own rules and go your own way. You follow your Prince, but rather loosely.”

Julian’s hand again came up to caress the nape of her neck, easing the tension out of her. “We have time to get used to one another.”

“I sing, Julian. I love to sing. I like the crowds, the sharing, the excitement in the audience, the connection with them. And I love my family. If we have a prince, a leader, it is Darius. He had dedicated his life to us, lived for us, protected us. You do not know what he has done for us. I cannot leave him at this time, when he is so close to the edge of destruction.”

The night whispered to them, enfolding them in its dark cloak. Julian lifted his face skyward, staring at the stars spread above them like a glittering blanket. “Tell me about him. Tell me how it is possible that no other Carpathians know of your existence. If you managed to escape notice, perhaps there are others, also. This could be very important to the continuation of our species.”

His voice was so gentle and tender, it turned her heart over. Yet she could sense his implacable resolve. Like Darius, he had a strong and relentless will. He chose to follow his own path, make his own rules. He coaxed the entire long-ago story out of her. The terrible massacre. The precariousness of the ship. The terror of the children in a savage, lawless land surrounded by predatory animals.

Julian soon realized that Darius and Desari were indeed living relatives of the healer, the Dark One. They had to be Gregori’s younger brother and sister, presumed murdered by the Turks. Perhaps others had escaped as well. The moment he knew the truth, he reached across time and space.
Gregori! I have found what I long sought. There are others. Your bloodline. They survived the massacres and escaped far away
.

It was no wonder that Darius reminded him so much of the healer. Darius was every bit as resourceful and
powerful as his older brother. He would make a bitter, relentless enemy, dangerous beyond imagination. He would make a loyal, protective friend despite his inability to feel emotions. His word was his law. He recognized no other. Julian found himself respecting Darius where he respected few others.

I thank you for sending me word of Darius and Dara, Julian.

I also feel your need, Julian. Desari is your lifemate. Attend to her.
There was great satisfaction evident in the healer’s voice even over the distance.
Have you need of me at this time?

No, healer. I welcome the challenge your male kin provides
. And Julian did. The wonder and beauty of the world was within his grasp.

I will contact Mikhail and inform Savannah. We will come if you have need of us; otherwise, we will all meet at a later date
.

I have no need
, Julian assured the healer. He had faith in his own abilities. He didn’t want or need the healer’s interference or presence. Gregori doubtless knew the exact nature of the darkness crouching in Julian’s soul, a fact Julian had successfully kept even from his own twin. Gregori believed in his honor, but he also knew Julian was shadowed, and might decide such a one had no right to Desari, no right to her at all.

Julian had no intention of giving up Desari. It would be impossible even if he were inclined to do so. They were tied together for all eternity. The ritual words had been spoken. Although they had not completed the entire cycle of the ritual, the ancient words themselves were binding, and Julian knew the consequences. They would be unable to be apart without intense grief, without dire physical discomfort. And the waves of Carpathian heat would eventually overcome them, demanding they unite.
It was a protection for the male’s sanity, for his soul, that he could bind his mate to him for all time regardless of her fears. Fears could be dealt with; the destruction of one’s soul was for all eternity. Desari believed she could control her destiny, that she had a choice, but Julian knew better. She belonged to him, was a part of him. Not even Darius could change that without destroying her. And if his own honor demanded he do the right thing, release her from one such as him, it was already too late. He had tied them together in the heat of their first meeting. It was done.

Julian sighed softly and held her close to him. “Your brother is Carpathian and blood kin to you. I would not wish harm to him. If it is necessary that we remain with him to ensure that he does not allow harm to come to himself, then that is what we will do.”

Desari knew Julian believed he was making a great concession for her, but he wasn’t doing her any favors. Darius would not accept him easily into their circle. Neither would Dayan or Barack. The males were difficult at best. For hundreds of years they had depended upon one another, interacted with one another. They would not willingly allow a stranger into their midst.