Dark Curse (25 page)

For a moment she was repulsed by her own nature, the need rising to take the essence of his life from him, but his gaze was so hot, so hungry, his hunger fueled her own. She closed her eyes, nuzzling his chest, her lips sliding over his bare skin, tasting. Her tongue darted out, a leisurely foray over the muscle. His body jerked. Against her bottom she felt his shaft, steel-hard, thick and rigid, pressing tightly into her.

A soft moan escaped her throat. She moved against him restlessly. He felt male. Strong. He felt like her other half. Her body smoldered with heat. Longing rose, a helpless desire to taste him—every inch of him. A tidal wave of need swept over her, taking her with it. She lapped at his hot skin. Once. Twice. Her teeth lengthened more in anticipation. Her mouth filled with a tangy spice.

She bit down gently, a small experimental bite. He shuddered in response, his arms tightening possessively, his shaft jerking. She opened her eyes once more, locking her gaze with his, drowning in his hunger. She sank her teeth deep. Nicolas threw back his head and moaned sensually, a husky sound that sent tremors through her body.

And then the addicting taste of him flooded her senses. Power. Energy. A rush of lust so strong her body shook. He simply gathered her closer, one hand supporting her head, holding her to him. Power soaked into her organs and tissue, sizzled through veins and arteries to center in her most feminine core to pulse there with rising hunger.

Everything about him was more vivid, every one of her senses was sharper, so that when she inhaled she drew him into her lungs. She heard the rhythm of his heart calling and her heart answered.

He whispered to her in her mind, his voice slightly husky, so sensual she began to play erotic images in her head—in his head.

Nicolas groaned again, fighting for control. He had wanted to show her a sensual experience, but she was pushing the limits of a centuries-old restraint.
Lara. O jelä sielamak. Light of my soul, you have to stop before it's too late and there is no going back
.

He didn't want her to stop. His hand slid up her rib cage to cup the weight of her breast in his palm. One thought and her clothes would be gone. He could have her, be inside the haven of her body, take them both all the way to paradise.

Her hips moved, she pressed back against him, her bottom sliding intimately over his shaft, the friction sending shudders of pleasure through his body. In another minute the decision would be out of his hands. Right now, in the ecstasy of taking her lifemate's blood, her body was on fire, welcoming his, but she wasn't ready to take that next step and he refused to take advantage—if he could restrain himself.

Reluctantly he left the warmth of her breast and slid his palm between her mouth and his chest.
Enough, fél ku kuuluaak sívam belso. Beloved, you have to help me
.

She swept her tongue across the twin pinpricks, her gaze a sexy, drowsy combination that only increased his desire. She reached one hand up to curl around his neck, bringing his mouth to hers.

His heart stopped as her lips feathered across his. Back and forth, a slow, light touch that stole the air from his lungs.

"You really are the most amazing man, Nicolas."

Even her voice was a seduction. He wasn't going to live through this. His lungs burned, his groin ached and every muscle was tight with sexual tension.

With even more reluctance, he put her aside, laying her body on the bed. It took some doing to get his normally graceful body to move so that he could stand up and pace a little away from her to give himself a reprieve. He had to get out into the cool night air and regain his control.

"I have to go, Lara. You rest until I return." It was cowardly to retreat, and he could see by her face she didn't like it, but it was the only safe avenue open to him.

Chapter 10

"You're going to leave me here? You don't want to talk about what just happened between us?" Lara's hand trembled as she pushed back the silky fall of hair from her face.

Nicolas was in a heightened state of sexual awareness. He was hungry, starving even, and the scent of her drove him crazy. He could already taste her in his mouth. The demon in him roared to life.

He stepped back away from the bed, turning his head so she wouldn't see the red flames he knew would be flickering in his eyes. He curled his fingers into his palms, the sharpened nails digging deep. Teeth sharpened and when he spoke, his usual low voice held the hint of a growl. "Now is not the time to talk with me about sex, Lara. I am not a saint by any means."

She studied his averted face. Her gaze drifted down his body to the thick, impressive bulge pushing at the front of his jeans. There was a heady power in knowing she had driven him to the edge of control, yet she wasn't ready to face the consequences. Nicolas was desperately trying to give her time and truthfully she needed it. She took a deep breath and pulled back from the edge of the precipice she was so tempted to jump off.

"I don't want to be left alone," Lara said. "Not again. Not even when you've made the cave so beautiful. I need to be out in the fresh air with you."

Nicolas shoved his hands through his hair and paced back and forth, reminding her of a trapped jungle cat. Muscles rippled beneath his thin shirt and there was a fluid grace to his every stride. Abruptly he came back to the bed, towered over her for a moment and then he crouched down. "
Fél ku kuuluaak sívam belso
. Beloved, I am in desperate need of blood. I had planned to close down the sharing of our minds so you would not have to experience it. I cannot very well take you with me and have you watch something that distresses you, no matter how necessary."

She pushed herself up, surprised that even with the infusion of his blood, she felt a little weak and dizzy. Ignoring it, she forced herself to stand. "Take me to the inn then. I can visit with Terry and Gerald. I want to see if Terry is doing better. I feel responsible. I never should have taken them along."

He didn't want her near either man, and certainly not until he made certain the parasites were completely gone from Terry's system. He didn't want to share her, not now, not with anyone until their bond was complete, but she needed to be grounded. She needed to feel as if she didn't come from some tainted line. He was wrong to keep her family from her just because he wanted to be the only one she relied on.

He took a breath and let it out, determined to do the right thing no matter the cost to himself because all this goodness wouldn't last. He knew himself better than that. The darkness was as much a part of him as breathing. "I can check on the two of your friends for you, but I actually have something better for you to do if you really think you are up to it."

"What?"

He reached for her hand, tugged until she extended her arm and he could bring her fist to his chest—right over the twin marks over his heart. "Razvan has a twin sister and she is alive."

Lara blinked up at him. At once he felt the push of energy. The music filling the cavern went silent. Her hair crackled and streaked, and her eyes, looking up at him went from that deep emerald green to glacier blue. "How long have you known this?"

He looked down at his hands then back up to meet her probing gaze. "I did not tell you right away because I wanted to give us a chance to come together as lifemates. You need to trust someone and I wanted it to be me."

She was silent a moment, her blue eyes on his face. A small sigh escaped. "You really do like control, don't you?"

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Yes."

"Don't do that again. Don't hold back information from me because of something that stupid. Do you really think I would trust my father's twin sister so easily after seeing what my great-grandfather and my father were capable of doing?"

"I do not know her, but I have heard she is a great warrior. She fights the vampire beside her lifemate."

Lara pushed a hand through her hair. "Are you certain she's Razvan's sister?"

"There is no doubt. I can take you to her. She's a good person, Lara. And your father, whatever he is now, appears to have been misjudged. He appears to have been a good man at one time. Natalya, that's her name, can tell you much more about him."

She looked up at him and Nicolas felt a strange melting in the vicinity of his heart. She looked pale and vulnerable, her eyes enormous. There were shadows there, and dark circles beneath her eyes. He wrapped his arm around her and drew her against his body, holding her close to comfort her. It amazed him how right she felt in his arms.

Nuzzling the top of her head with his chin, he rocked her gently. "If it is too soon for you, Lara, we can wait before you talk to her."

She didn't exactly melt into him, but she did put her arms around his waist and hold on. "I don't know what I want to do."

"She's been in the cave."

Lara stepped back, looking up at him. "When? Recently?"

Nicolas nodded. "I do not know too much other than what my brothers told me. Manolito, my brother, fought beside her during a recent battle." He took a breath. "It was thought she killed Razvan with her sword, but he turned up again, or at least he appeared to, possessing a woman's body and striking the blow that sent Manolito to the shadow world."

Lara turned away from him to hide her expression from his watchful eyes. Of course she had to go see her father's twin sister. But she didn't know if she was strong enough to learn about her father. It was much easier to think of him as a monster than a man tortured beyond all endurance. She couldn't imagine the psychological torment of knowing one's body was used to harm others. That would be worse than physical torture.

"And if it's true," she murmured aloud, "I just left him there." She raised a stricken gaze to Nicolas. "That's why he helped bury my memories of him, isn't it? And the aunts agreed to it because they didn't want me to know I was abandoning a father who had tried to protect me. I would never have gone had I known he was a prisoner, being tortured and abused."

She rubbed her wrist. Nicolas had managed to reduce the scarring, but some of the ridges were still there. She brushed her thumb back and forth in a soothing gesture, without realizing she was doing it until she noticed Nicolas's gaze drop to her wrist. Embarrassed, she put her arm behind her back.

"Does it hurt?"

The gentleness in his voice constricted her throat. She shook her head. "I think it's a habit." But it had hurt for years, burning at times, painful for no reason.

"You didn't abandon him, Lara. You were a child, eight years old. Consider it from his point of view. If he was innocent and trying to protect you, the relief he would feel, the freedom from allowing Xavier to use him against you, would have been tremendous for him. Had you stayed, his suffering would have been far more."

"You don't know that."

A small smile softened the edge of his mouth. "He is Dragonseeker. His every instinct is to protect his family, especially his women and children. If Xavier really possessed his body, using him to impregnate women, if he really murdered your mother in front of him as it appeared he did, and if he controlled Razvan, forcing him to take your blood, then Razvan has suffered the torment of the damned for centuries. That would be the worst a Carpathian male could suffer. Your father would have rejoiced to have you out of there and out of Xavier's control."

She pressed her lips together. His hunger was beating at her, yet he stood there patiently trying to reassure her that leaving her father to be tortured and maybe murdered had been a good thing. "Let's go, Nicolas. I'd like to meet my aunt."

"Do you want to try shifting? An owl, perhaps?"

Her jeweled eyes gleamed at him. He had said she was capable of shifting with his help and she wanted it to be true. She was certainly willing to try. "A dragon."

He nodded. "Of course, what else would you choose?" He grinned at her, a teasing invitation to fun. She'd never seen him smile like that, and it made him look younger. "You are already familiar with the dragon's body. The most important thing with shifting—" He held out his hand to her and began to walk with her through the cavern into the labyrinth of tunnels. Candles sprang to life on the walls ahead of them as they hurried along. "—is to remember to keep the image in your head at all times. It has to become automatic so that you do it without really thinking about it and that takes practice. I want you to keep your mind merged fully with mine. Once you shift, excitement and joy—I cannot even begin to describe the feeling for you—sets in and it is easy to lose what you are doing. So keep your mind firmly in mine so I can help you if you need it."

She smiled up at him. "Don't worry, I don't exactly want to fall out of the sky."

He laughed softly, shocking himself. He wasn't a man who laughed often—if ever. He was slowly discovering that with her companionship, Lara also brought a joy in the sharing of everyday things. He tightened his fingers around hers, keeping her close to his side as they moved swiftly through the tunnel. "I did not notice that you scanned the area periodically for vampires. It is very necessary for survival to make that a habit."

"Isn't that a rather faulty system now?"

His eyebrow shot up. "You have been absorbing the information in my mind." He was pleased with her. With everything going on, it hadn't occurred to him that while merged with him she would be seeking as much information as possible to help with her own survival.