Dark Curse (31 page)

Another surge of moist heat dampened her thighs. Her breasts ached, felt swollen and needy. Every muscle tightened to the point of strain. She couldn't think anymore, swaying to the throbbing music on a rising tide of desire, in a hazy fog of sexual enthrallment.

He bent his head again, this time to nuzzle her neck, his tongue touching the pulse pounding so frantically. Ordinarily she would have instantly retreated, but the small series of licks accompanied by the gentle scrape of teeth sent her temperature soaring. Flames danced over her skin, centered between her legs and filled emptiness so that her body craved more. His lips were unbelievably warm and firm, his teeth a torment, wracking her body with longing. She could barely breathe, her heart pounding loud enough for both of them to hear.

Nicolas recognized the danger the moment he stepped in close proximity to other men with Lara. The binding ritual wasn't complete. She could still slip away from him. The call of the demon rose to a wild, demanding roar. He saw every shift of the eyes, the way the men watched her as they moved together in perfect rhythm across the dance floor. He scented the heightened sexual awareness.

Lara didn't realize how alluring she was, a mixture of innocence and fantasy. Her skin glowed, her eyes classic bedroom eyes, large and soft and enthralling. A man could drown in her eyes—he was drowning. And having other males in such a close environment was triggering the beast. He could feel it clawing at his gut, making demands to claim his lifemate, make her irrevocably his. More than that, his own fears of losing her heightened his animal instincts, the primitive side of him that demanded he take what was his. He was walking a thin line, trying to court her as she deserved and at the same time, remain stable when his lifemate was just out of reach. It was never easy for a male to balance civility with his own predatory nature and coming to the inn made for a volatile situation he hadn't counted on.

He drew a deep breath into his lungs and scented—Lara. Her feminine call sent blood pounding in his groin. The feel of her soft breasts nestled against his chest nearly drove him mad. He was desperate to hold her, to touch her, to touch all that satin skin. Each moment in her company had escalated his need of her. Need had built so slowly at first, and his desire to court her had kept him from realizing how the fire in him had grown and spread until it was a storm threatening his control.

His shaft pounded with blood and his hammering heartbeat. His need was brutal now, a continual, unrelenting demand that was merciless. His erection wasn't going away anytime soon, not even if he had the opportunity to bury himself deep in the haven of her body. And through it all, each time he looked at her, each time her shy gaze met his, it tripped a strange sensation in the region of his heart.

He wanted to be equally as tender as he did violent. He wanted her to want him with every cell in her body, in the same frightening way he needed her. He had had an utter misconception of lifemates, or maybe it was just different with Lara. He had thought she would save him from the darkness and the chemistry would be good, that they would have several lifetimes to find a way to love one another. He hadn't expected her to touch him in places that he thought were stone cold. He hadn't expected to feel such tender, protective emotions so fast or so strong, but she was really light to his darkness, in all the ways he hadn't expected.

His lips drifted over her pulse, as he inhaled her scent. Her long silky hair slid over his face, a few strands tangling in the shadow along his jaw. He pressed her hips into his body, massaging the terrible ache that refused to go away. Touching her wasn't enough. Even now he could feel his teeth lengthening and sharpening as his entire being demanded he assuage the hunger rising in direct proportion to his sexual needs. He was on the very edge of his control.

Eyes glowed with red flames. His teeth touched her pulse, scraped back and forth in a mesmerizing rhythm. He was close—so close to taking what belonged to him, making her his, yet she had been willing to escape into death rather than be forced.

He had never experienced such raw, primitive lust, welling up, a fever of hunger so sharp and brutal he could barely think straight. His soul, long ago punctured with holes until there was only darkness there, black and ugly and filled with death, she had spilled shining light across and somehow, by some miracle, he felt hope. And his heart, centuries gone from the world—longer even than his soul—she had restored so that he could feel soft inside when he'd forgotten if he ever had.

A small groan escaped his throat and he fought harder, urging the demon to settle down, to be patient and wait—that Lara was worth waiting for. And in the end, what he really wanted was for Lara to give herself to him. To want him. To make the commitment on her own because she had genuine feeling for him. His teeth receded and that hazy red disappeared from his sight as the music faded away.

Lara stood swaying, her body tight against his. He could hear her heart beating the exact same rhythm as his. He lifted his head slowly, reluctant to allow her out of his arms. "You need to eat something." It was mundane—true—but so far from what he wanted to do he could barely get the words past the need clogging his throat.

She nodded, but stood there, so close to him her soft body was imprinted on his hard one. She tilted her face to look up at him. Her eyes were shy, but glowed with an inner light that made him intensely aware of his sexuality. Her skin was luminous, her eyes bright, her body like warm silk beneath his roving fingers.

"Lara?"

She lifted her hand to his face, her touch gentle, tender even. "I want to remember this moment always. I don't have many wonderful memories, but dancing with you is an incredibly beautiful experience and I want to savor this night."

Merged with her, he could see the truth. She wanted to hug their time to her, hold on to it to take out later and replay, moment by moment, no matter what happened in the future. Her response brought a surge of hot blood that nearly destroyed his hard-won control, but along with it, his heart responded, a painful ache of longing to be loved by this woman.

His hand slid down to the small of her back to guide her to the dining room. He cleared his throat. "I hope we make many such memories together. I will enjoy every one."

"Before anything else, I need to check on Terry and say hello to Gerald," Lara said.

Nicolas felt the instinctive animalistic reaction swirling in his gut at the idea of Lara in a small room with her two mail friends. He nodded his head, forcing a smile. "Why not use the house phone to call them first? Make certain they are up to visitors?"

The hard knots in his belly relaxed when Gerald told her he's just gotten Terry to sleep and was going to bed. After reassurances all was well, Lara promised she'd come by earlier the next evening to see them.

Nicolas unashamedly used his influence to secure a table in the darkest, most secluded corner of the room. A single candle lit the table with a soft glow and he dimmed that as well as blurring their images to prevent anyone from interrupting their time together. He held the chair for Lara to slip into and then took the one closest to her, blocking her body from any prying eyes that might manage to slip through his thin shield.

Lara felt cocooned in Nicolas's heat, caught in a sexual web that seemed to only increase, even as he casually summoned the waitress.

"What looks good to you?" He ran the pads of his fingers up and down her bare arm in a slow caress, almost as if he didn't realize he was doing it.

Just the deep timbre of his voice sent a heat wave through her body and, in combination with his touch, she swore flames licked at her skin.

Lara cleared her throat. "Something light." She wanted to leave, to be alone with him. She wanted desperately to explore the sensation of fingers trailing up and down her arm, all over her body, in her body. Desire rose so fast and sharp she felt the walls of her feminine sheath clench with slick, hot heat. "I'm not really very hungry."

He murmured something to the waitress she didn't catch, didn't care. She could only look at him, the pure lust etched deep into his too-handsome face, the dark hunger in the depths of his eyes. Knowing it was there for her, that his entire focus was on her, added to the building excitement. Her nipples pushed against the fabric of her dress, rubbing with each subtle movement.

Nicolas leaned toward her, and sent a stream of warm air bathing her breasts right through her dress. She felt the lick of his tongue curling around her nipple. Gasping, she drew back, color stealing into her face as she realized there was a small wet spot right over her engorged nipple.

"No one can see us," he murmured. "I have to see you like this—wanting me."

"I think you've managed to accomplish that already." Even her voice was different. Husky. Sexually charged. An invitation. She couldn't take her eyes from him, mesmerized by the sheer, naked longing on his face. She had never, under any circumstances, imagined a man looking at her like that, let alone a man such as Nicolas De La Cruz. "You have this way of making me feel as if you are so focused on me you don't see another woman in the room."

"Why would I want to see another woman? You are the only one who matters to me." He continued to absently brush his fingers up and down her arm, absorbing the warm, silky texture of her skin. "You are
my
woman."

His softly spoken tone, like black velvet rubbing over her exposed skin, caused her womb to clench and moisture to gather at the junction of her legs. She twisted her fingers together in her lap beneath the table as trembling began to work from her toes to her head. The music seemed to be playing in her head, or maybe it was the rush of her own blood keeping time with his.

She felt starstruck, unable to speak when her body was shaking with need of him.

Nicolas tugged on her arm until she gave up her hand. His long fingers stroked over the ridges on her wrist, now much fainter than they had been. "Promise me if I drive you to feel so hopeless again, if anything or anyone does, you will tell me." He brought her hand to his chest, over his heart, his fingers still stroking those long caresses up and down her bare skin. "I know I am not an easy man to take, nor will I ever be, but I want only to secure your protection and happiness."

She managed a nod. "I promise."

He leaned closer to her, his lips inches from hers. "And I want to feel your body under mine and hear you scream with pleasure. I plan on taking my time, having you over and over all night long until neither one of us can stand up, until you cannot think, only feel. I want to give you every sensual experience that I can." He brought her hand to his mouth. "I have waited several lifetimes for you, Lara."

His voice was gentle, low and very sensual, his black gaze hooded, but there was nothing gentle in his eyes. Turbulent. A violent storm raging. A hunger that was so sharp and savage he looked ready to throw her onto the dining room table and rip her dress from her body. The thought added to the temperature rising fast inside of her. Between her legs she was so hot she felt on fire. He hadn't really touched her, yet she wanted him almost beyond imagining. The lines etched in his face spoke of control—only by a thread and a part of her wanted to shatter that control, to know what it was like to be thrown on the table and taken by a man whose hunger for her was insatiable.

She blushed and hastily looked down at the table as the waitress approached.

She cannot see you clearly
. His voice brushed intimately against the walls of her mind, making her entire body tingle with awareness. She wanted to be out of the inn and into his bed. She could barely breathe anymore with desire swamping her.

The waitress placed the bowl of vegetable soup in front of her and left without speaking. Nicolas kept possession of her hand. Lara dipped the spoon in the bowl, took it out and then began making little waves with it.

"Are you afraid of me?"

Her gaze jumped to his. "Not of you. I've never had sex before. You seem very experienced."

A slow smile softened the edge of his mouth. "I had many centuries to learn technique and speculate what I would want to do with my partner, should I ever be so lucky to have one. Our males can be quite obsessed with the idea of sex, but as a general rule, it is not fulfilling without our lifemate. Perhaps that is a safeguard for our women as well as the other women around us. My sexual appetite is raging and if just anyone could assuage it, I am not certain how long I could stay in complete control. We are not human, Lara, and we may appear tame and civilized, but we are not."

He didn't look tame or civilized to her. He looked powerful and dangerous and far too sexy for a woman as inexperienced as she was. She wanted him with every fiber of her being.

"You have to eat so we can get out of here," he reminded.

If that was what it took, she was willing. She scooped a little of the broth into the spoon and stared down at the bowl of soup. Her stomach lurched unexpectedly. "I don't think I'm as hungry as I thought I was."

Nicolas frowned. He had given one blood exchange as well as giving her blood twice. She was already Carpathian enough that regular food wouldn't sit well with her, but she needed nourishment. She pushed the contents of the bowl aimlessly around. He very gently took it from her hand and held the broth to her mouth.

Lara shook her head. "I've always had a little trouble eating food. Usually soup is one thing I can get down as long as it is only vegetable, but the smell of it is making my stomach rebel. I honestly don't think I can."