Dark Challenge (7 page)

The last thing she felt as she shut down her body was a male hand brushing her face in a slow, heart-melting caress. The last thing she heard before her heart ceased to beat was his voice.
I will come to you,
piccola.
I will always be near should you have need of me
.

Security was tight at the singing troupe’s next sold-out concert. Policemen and security personnel were visible everywhere. No one was taking any chances this time, treating Desari as if she were a national treasure. Every entrance was heavily guarded and each person checked with a metal detector before being admitted. Dogs roamed the aisles with their handlers, and Darius oversaw it all. He was not about to allow assassins a second chance at his sister.

The police had searched for the suspects in the attempted murders during the past week, but they could not find a trace of them. A good amount of blood had been discovered leading from the tavern, but no bodies. The police were certain that at least one suspect had died and his companions had removed the corpse, but Darius knew better. He had killed every one of the assailants and left them in plain sight for whoever had sent them
to discover. Someone had interfered, and he suspected just who it was.

Darius continually scanned the crowd, his black eyes moving unceasingly over the people pushing to enter the building. Besides the assassins he had to worry about, he knew the creature would come tonight. Desari hadn’t said anything of the sort to him, but she was restless and emotional, completely unlike herself. Several times he had reached to touch her mind with his, only to find it closed to him. He could have pushed past the barrier with some effort, but he respected her right to privacy.

Julian, dressed in faded blue jeans and a sleeveless black T-shirt, moved with the crowd toward the doors. He spotted Desari’s security guard instantly and took a few minutes to study him. More than ever the man reminded him of Gregori. He was tall, as Carpathians tended to be, but he carried more muscle than most males of their race. Gregori was muscular also. The security guard’s face was a chiseled mask of harsh beauty, very reminiscent of the healer, but his eyes were black ice, where Gregori’s were silver.

The guard’s eyes glinted with menace and seemed to miss nothing as they moved over the crowd. Julian did not want to call attention to his own presence by using any kind of power. Already the security guard had spotted him, those soulless black eyes resting thoughtfully on him as the line he was in moved closer to the entrance. Julian made certain his brain patterns were the same as a mortal’s. A grim smile of amusement touched his mouth. It was like a game of chess. The thoughts he presented to a mind probe were those of any human male about to see an impossibly beautiful, sexy singer performing in person.

He felt the presence in his mind, the sharp thrusting,
the quick scan, then the release. Julian nearly laughed aloud, but he kept his face a blank mask. Even the light, decisive touch was reminiscent of Gregori. Whoever this guard was, Julian was certain he was related to the healer, the one all Carpathians referred to as the Dark One. The guard had to be of the same bloodline. The puzzle intrigued him. The man’s presence irritated him. He didn’t want any Carpathian male near Desari until the ritual mating cycle was complete.

The probe came again, a direct, powerful thrust into his mind. The attitude was so like the Dark One’s, Julian was astonished. The guard was not swallowing his innocent act. Julian kept his mind in the human pattern, evincing only anticipation and harmless if somewhat erotic wishing. It was irritating to allow someone into his mind, but he reminded himself that the intruder was picking up only what he was deliberately broadcasting.

Julian carefully avoided looking at the guard. The male was far too sharp. Even after two mind probes to assure himself, he sensed power. Julian was suspect, and the guard was intuitive enough to keep coming back to him. Julian felt the weight of those burning eyes. This man held real power. He had to be one of the ancients, with the blood and strength of centuries of learning. Julian wished he were in a position to probe the guard, but it was imperative to appear human until he knew more. He had once spent centuries searching, accepting his solitary existence even as he scanned the earth for remnants of their kind. Now, when he had nearly ended his life, he had found a band of his people. The mythical lost ones? They must be.

But Desari belonged to him. And if the other male thought differently, he was in for a hard lesson. Julian
moved into the building and away from those black, prying eyes. Only then did he realize he was excited. He liked challenges. He had always craved knowledge. And he could feel the power and strength he had accrued pursuing information and skills of every kind. A contest with this other powerful male could prove quite interesting.

He moved easily, maneuvering through the crowd down toward the front. Instead of seating himself, he took up a position along the wall near an exit. Inhaling, he scented the presence of two jungle cats, the same two that had worked in conjunction with the huge black panther. Julian was now certain that the guard had shape-shifted into the form of the large predator. Although the guard showed no evidence of the wounds Julian knew he had inflicted, he was still certain the man had been the panther directing the others in their attack on him.

Desari. He found himself smiling. Their brief mental exchange had been a revelation. She was Carpathian! How she had managed to run around the world undetected was still a mystery. There were remnants of their race, and he had found them! He had always wondered if some of the children had escaped the Turk invasion and scattered. On behalf of their race, at Gregori and Mikhail’s urging, Julian had sought them, particularly the females, in hopes of finding a way to save his people.

And he had found Desari, his own lifemate, when he had been seeking lifemates for others. And she had a temper, this woman. He found himself laughing aloud, remembering her “push” at his mind. She was much stronger than he had anticipated. He had gone from a stark, barren existence to one filled with excitement in the blink of an eye.

The mood of the crowd was almost electric, the air
thick with anticipation. Desari’s performances were always sold out. It didn’t matter where she played, whether a small tavern or a huge stadium. And with the publicity following the recent attempt on her life, she was even more of an celebrity. Reporters, too, were out in numbers.

Julian listened to the conversations in the arena, sifting through them, looking for a whisper of conspiracy. He knew the fanatical nature of the human vampire-hunting society. Desari was a marked woman now. They would not stop with one attack. But Julian was fairly certain the society would need time to recover from the huge blow they had so recently received. He was more concerned now with the threat from vampires. The presence of a Carpathian woman nearby was sure to draw the creatures. And her safety was now of paramount personal importance to him.

Without warning it struck. An intense need to leave the dome, to get out. The feeling, a dark, oppressive dread, beat at him, swamped him, and for a moment he could barely breathe. Furious that he had left himself open for such an assault from the guard, he allowed himself to slump against the wall, the heel of one palm pressed to his forehead in a manner of distress while he carefully sought out the position of the guard.

Only then did it hit him. The touch was feminine, not masculine. Desari. He countered the compulsion to leave with a search of his own. He gathered his strength and waited. She was in a dressing room, seated on a stool. Julian inhaled her scent, taking it into his body. She was nervous. Not about her performance, but because she knew he was there. She was afraid of what he might do.

Julian smiled, his white teeth gleaming like a predator’s. He fed her fear a bit. Not sharply, but with a simple, gentle flow of information. He was there. He was
strong. Invincible. Nothing, no one could stop him. She could not possibly send him away.

Desari’s right hand went to her slim throat in a gesture of protection. She knew the stranger was close by. Waiting. Watching. She could feel the weight of his presence. She could feel Darius’s uneasiness. She was afraid. What was the stranger going to do? She couldn’t bear it if Darius and he got into another fight. Someone would die. The stranger was so strong, he might kill Darius.

Her head jerked up, fury washing through her. No one could defeat Darius! That cad. He was amplifying her fears, her agitation.
Stop it, you!

That irritating, mocking, male laughter echoed in her mind.
You started it. If you want to play games
, cara mia,
I am more than willing.

I do not want you here.

Yes, you do,
Julian countered calmly.
I am in you. I feel your excitement at my presence. The same excitement is in me.

You feel my agitation. I have a job to do. Your presence is unsettling.

Only because you are afraid of your future. You know it lies with me. A major change in life can be frightening. But I can do nothing other than to make you happy
.

Desari pounced on that.
It would make me happy if you left this place. I do not want you and Darius to fight.

The first is a lie
, cara.
You seem to be able to tell untruths easily. But I will respect the second. I will avoid a confrontation with your guard if it is at all possible.

You do not understand
. Desari was beginning to feel desperate. She had to find a way to make him leave. She didn’t dare risk his presence, even if what he said was true, that she secretly wanted him there. She had never felt so alive. Every cell in her body was like her music,
wild, free, soaring. She didn’t understand it, but it was exhilarating. And he knew it.

I understand
, piccola. His voice was tender, almost caressing. It slipped under her skin, producing an unexpected curl of heat in her bloodstream.
Trust me.

Desari was battling unfamiliar emotions. In all the centuries of her existence, she had never felt such a sizzling chemistry. She had actually feared that nothing would ever make her feel the erotic longings she had heard and read of for so many centuries. Her body had been cold and unresponsive until now. She had never laid eyes on this stranger, yet he easily evoked this reaction.
I do not know you. How can I trust you?

You know me
. He said it in that same soft, arrogant voice. A statement of fact. Simple. Easy.

A loud knock on the door of her dressing room set her nerves jangling. She should have known someone was right outside. She had never before failed to be aware of the presence of the others. She rose and smoothed the silken sheath that fit her every curve. The slit up one side was nearly to her hip. The fabric was white with a garden of red roses. Her hair fell in a cascade of ebony silk past her hips and moved with a life of its own. For the first time in her life, it mattered that she looked good.

“Desari! Get a move on!” Barack rapped his fist against her door a second time. “The crowd is beginning to get restless.”

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the hall. Barack’s arm instantly swept around her shoulders. “What were you doing in there?” He glanced around, then lowered his head toward hers. “You are not afraid, are you? We are all on alert this time, even the cats. Those assassins will not have a second chance at you.”

“I know.” Desari’s voice came out low and husky. “I
will be fine, Barack. Please do not say anything to Darius. He is already jumpy enough.”

“Do not mistake Darius. He does not fear a return of the assassins. He thinks the other creature will return for you this night.” Barack matched his longer strides to hers as they moved through the hall toward the entrance to the stage.

Dayan fell into step on her other side. “Darius will destroy this creature.”

Desari’s dove-soft eyes darkened to black opal. “Why do all of you insist on referring to him as the creature? Have you become as intolerant as the mortals now? I thought we were one with all of nature, with the universe itself. Because he is something we do not know, must we hate him? Reject him? He saved my life. That should count for something. Or would you prefer that I had died?”

Dayan caught her arm. “Little sister, you need not defend this creature.”

Instantly she heard a soft growl of warming in her mind. The stranger was not happy with another male touching her. Now they were all annoying her!

Desari pulled her arm free, gave Dayan a look of pure disdain, and swept out onto the stage. The roar of the crowd was so tremendous, it filled the dome and burst into the sky. She smiled, her gaze wandering over the mass of people rising out of their seats to pay homage to her voice, to her music. But she was looking for one man. Only one.

Unerringly she found him, her gaze locking with his, and her heart stood still. For a moment she couldn’t breathe as her dark eyes met molten gold. He was standing against a wall, in the shadows, but his face was a carved creation of sensual beauty. His gaze was hot,
burning with possession. Desari’s mouth went dry, and her body seemed to go up in flames.

Do not look at me that way!
The words formed in her mind on their private mental path before she could censor them.

I cannot help how I look at my lifemate
, he responded.
You are so beautiful, you take my breath away
.

The way he said it, the way his voice brushed at her insides, tugged at her heart and brought sudden tears to her eyes. He was so intense, his voice truthful and hungry. Her entire being responded to him. She almost missed her cue as Dayan and Barack played the notes to her opening song. But then she sang for him. To him. Each note a haunting blend of mystery and magic.

Each note sank into Julian’s pores, seeped into his soul. Desari was incredible. She captivated the entire audience. The arena was so silent, not even the shuffling of feet interrupted her song. The crowd could feel each separate note, see it shimmering like a flame dancing in the air. They smelled the sea she sang of, felt the rise and fall of the waves. She brought tears to their eyes, peace to their hearts. Julian couldn’t take his eyes off her. He was mesmerized by her, enthralled completely. He found himself painfully aroused and surprisingly proud.